Development of SMEs and heterogeneity of trajectories: the case of biotechnology in France

Biotechnology is an emergent sector based on the creation of research-intensive Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). While some SMEs are growing, most of them remain small, even those set-up several years ago. What is the pattern of development of the biotech sector? What are the patterns of development of firms? Studies on the development of high-tech SMEs have focused on a business model, in which entrepreneurs rely on growth forecasts to persuade capital investors (business angels and venture capitalists) to invest in a radical innovation project. Firms aim for a world market to industrialise their innovation, and initial public offering (IPO) enables initial investors to make profits that offset risky initial investment. While this model is appealing, it is simply one of the possible models of biotechnology development. Some firms are not designed to experience exponential growth, and choose to target local markets. Moreover, not all firms have the ambition of being listed on the stock exchange. Based on an in-depth analysis of the business and development of 60 French biotech SMEs, this article identifies two business models. By defining the development trajectories of each of these models, it highlights the temporary nature of the emergent model.     

DOES THE SCHOOL COMPOSITION EFFECT MATTER? EVIDENCE FROM BELGIAN DATA

ABSTRACT:  Even if the literature on the effects of pupil composition has been extensive, no clear consensus has been reached concerning the significance and magnitude of this effect. The first objective of this article is to estimate the magnitude of the school composition effect in primary schools (6th grade) in French-speaking Belgium. Different indicators of school composition are used: academic, socio-cultural, 'language' and sex composition. Except for sex composition, the results show that the school composition effect explains significant amount of between schools variance even after controlling for pupils' initial performance, socio-cultural background, and non-cognitive dispositions. The second objective is to examine covariance between school composition and several organisational variables and their joint effect on school performance. The second set of analyses is intended to question the conceptual nature of the school composition effect, establishing whether it is direct or indirect.     

Regional inequality in reading performance: an exploration in Belgium

In the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment, the Flemish community of Belgium outscored its French community in reading, with low achievers accounting for a large proportion of the score gaps. In this study, between-community comparisons based on the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method showed that the Flemish community benefits largely from its policies and practices of giving schools relative autonomy in resource allocation, promoting good student conduct, and decreasing grade retention. Between-community comparisons using the Juhn-Murphy-Pierce decomposition method showed that compared to their Flemish peers in the same percentile, low achievers in the French community are hindered more by their relatively low grade level; disadvantageous school economic, social, and cultural composition; and negative school supportive climate while medium and high achievers benefit more from their advantageous school economic, social, and cultural composition; positive supportive climate; and high proportion of qualified teachers in schools.     

Antiviral activities of extracts from Hong Kong seaweeds

We extracted six Hong Kong brown seaweed species with hot water for their antiviral properties. The cytotoxicity and antiviral activity of these extracts were tested by MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenlytetrezolium bromide] method, cytopathic effect reduction assay, and plaque reduction assay. The antiviral effect was further determined by flow cytometric analysis. The results showed that most of these extracts inhibited the propagation of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2) standard strains with very low cytotoxicity to the host cells. The extracts ofHydroclathrus clathratus and Lobophora variegata showed more potential anti-HSV activities than the extracts of the other four seaweeds. They also had moderate anti-respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activities but could not inhibit influenza A virus. Hydroclathrus clathratus was further extracted by diluted acid and alkali and the antiviral effects of the extracts were also detected. The result showed that the hot water extract contained the main carbohydrate components that exhibited the antiviral activities against various strains of HSV, including the acyclovir-resistant strain. HI-3, a compound fractionated from this hot water extract, showed a dose-dependent anti-HSV activity in flow cytometric analysis and plaque reduction assay.     

生命安全教育：体育教育的本源回归探索

摘要：生命安全教育是现代教育“以人为本”的核心价值体现和素质教育的重要内容。采用文献资料法、逻辑分析法,以体育的本源为逻辑起点和研究对象,从生命安全教育的视角审视体育产生过程和体育起源学说。旨在探索原始体育的价值取向和隐性功能,进而分析生命安全教育在体育教育中的本源地位和作用,阐释体育教育中的生命安全教育品性,体现个体生命发展的安全需求,以期回归体育教育的本真。其研究价值在于为学校体育中生命安全教育的课程建设提供理论依据。结论：体育的产生、形成和发展过程带有明显的生存技能及安全教育特征;生命安全教育是体育的本源要素;进入21世纪的现代文明社会,生命安全教育在学校体育教育中具有重要的价值和功能。     

Differential effects of a long teacher training internship on students’ learning-to-teach patterns

To become a lifelong learner as a teacher, student teachers already have to learn how to direct their own learning during initial teacher education programmes. Previous empirical research has shown that student teachers differ in their patterns of learning-to-teach, but few is known about the changeability of these learning patterns throughout teacher education and the role of teacher training internships in this. In this study, the changes in student teachers’ patterns of learning-to-teach amongst pre-service teachers were investigated using a longitudinal design. 253 student teachers were asked to complete the ‘Inventory Learning To Teach Process’ questionnaire at two points during the last semester of a three-year teaching programme: immediately prior to and immediately following a long teacher training internship. The results of this study demonstrate that learning-to-teach patterns are subject to a relative degree of change. In particular, survival-oriented student teachers appear to have undergone a greater degree of change after the long teacher training internship.     

Visualisation to support children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder learning to solve mathematical word problems: A randomised controlled trial

This randomised controlled trial experimental study compared the effectiveness of using two different types of visualisation – self-constructed visualisation (SCV) and passively received visualisation (PRV) – to help children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) solve mathematical word problems. While SCV refers to drawings that children create to help solve given word problems, PRV refers to pre-made images that accompany word problems. Twenty children with ADHD in Kuwait, aged nine to 11 years, were randomly assigned to either the SCV or PRV group, where they were taught to use either SCV or PRV to solve word problems across 20 daily one-to-one sessions. The results showed that regardless of the visualisation type, children's word problem-solving ability significantly improved. Children with ADHD should thus be encouraged to use visualisation to help make the word problem-solving process more accessible to them.     

Learning pattern development throughout higher education: A longitudinal study

Research on learning pattern development in higher education contexts is scarce. This longitudinal study seeks to address this issue by analysing the development of students' learning patterns throughout University College. Vermunts' Inventory of Learning Styles was used to assess individual differences in learning conceptions and learning strategies. By examining intra-individual changes in learning patterns we expected to find developmental trends within learning patterns. Results show that meaning oriented learning increases over time and undirected learning decreases. Some learning patterns are however more subject to change than others. The development of learning patterns was found to be relative and dependent on the learning pattern which students have already acquired in the first-year of University College.     

Power,performance, and expectations in the dismissal of NBA coaches: A survival analysis study

Researchers focusing on coach dismissal often examine organizational performance as an antecedent; however, there has been minimal attention to the ways in which countervailing dimensions of power associated with coaches and ownership influence dismissal decisions, while still considering performance as well as expectations. To understand how power, performance and expectations affect coach dismissals, the authors examine the tenures of coaches in the North American-based National Basketball Association and use survival analysis to test a model of coach dismissals using 31 years of observations. The authors find that coach dismissal is a process influenced not only by team performance, but also expectations and a coach’s power that accrues from both structure and prestige. Additional findings suggest that expert power influences the likelihood of coach dismissal, but only after the coach has been in the job for several years. Finally, the authors found a non-linear relationship between performance and the probability of coach dismissal, suggesting that single events (i.e., wins or losses) have less influence on the probability of dismissal when performance is very poor or above average.     

Theory of Employee Survival

ABSTRACT This paper presents the Theory of Employee Survival, which states that an applicant's initial attraction and selection into an organization, and an employee's retention and promotion within the organization are dependent on an authoritarianism congruence between the applicant and/or employee, and the employer.