Characteristics of New Firms: A Comparison by Gender

Based on data from the Kauffman Firm Survey, compares characteristics of the owner, type of business, industry, financing, size, and performance of new firms owned by women and by men. Considers the factors behind women-owned firms' underperformance

Fundamental Researcher Attributes: Reflections on Ways to Facilitate Participation in Community Psychology Doctoral Dissertation Research

As novice researchers, Community Psychology doctoral students encounter fresh challenges when they attempt to facilitate participation by members of the community in their dissertation projects. This article presents the merit in adopting fundamental researcher attributes, which have been described in published academic literature as personal characteristics that facilitate participation by members of the community in research studies. The value of these researcher attributes is exemplified in the discussion of one of the author’s experiences in the early stages of his dissertation research process. This article also presents new researcher attributes for facilitating participation by community members that the author recognised after critical reflection on his experiences during the same research process. Cultural humility, shared vulnerability, reflexivity, methodological flexibility, academic assiduity and creative resourcefulness are researcher attributes doctoral students should consider adopting and developing if they intend to facilitate participation by members of the community in their dissertation projects

Modelling of AlAs/GaAs interfacial structures using high-angle annular dark field (HAADF) image simulations

High angle annular dark field (HAADF) image simulations were performed on a series of AlAs/GaAsinterfacial models using the frozen-phonon multislice method. Three general types of models were considered—perfect, vicinal/sawtooth and diffusion. These were chosen to demonstrate how HAADFimage measurements are influenced by different interfacialstructures in the technologically important III–V semiconductor system. For each model, interfacial sharpness was calculated as a function of depth and compared to aberration-corrected HAADF experiments of two types of AlAs/GaAs interfaces. The results show that the sharpness measured from HAADF imaging changes in a complicated manner with thickness for complex interfacialstructures. For vicinal structures, it was revealed that the type of material that the probe projects through first of all has a significant effect on the measured sharpness. An increase in the vicinal angle was also shown to generate a wider interface in the random step model. The Moison diffusion model produced an increase in the interface width with depth which closely matched the experimental results of the AlAs-on-GaAs interface. In contrast, the interface width decreased as a function of depth in the linear diffusion model. Only in the case of the perfect model was it possible to ascertain the underlying structure directly from HAADFimage analysis

Portable machine welding head automatically controls arc

Portable weld tool makes weld repairs out-of-station and on the side opposite the original weld. It provides full automatic control of the arc voltage, current, wire feed, and electrode travel speed in all welding attitudes. The device is readily adaptable to commercially available straight polarity dc weld packs

The Capital Structure Decisions of New Firms

Based on data from the Kauffman Firm Survey, examines the funding sources of firms in their first year of operations. Highlights start-ups' reliance on external debt financing such as bank loans and credit cards, regardless of their credit scores

Entrepreneurship, Self-Employment and Business Data: An Introduction to Several Large, Nationally-Representative Datasets

Only a few large, nationally-representative datasets include information on both the owner and the business. We briefly describe several of the most respected and up-to-date sources of data on entrepreneurs, the self-employed, and small businesses. More information including estimates of recent trends in business ownership and performance (e.g. survival rates, sales, employment, payroll, profits and industry) from these datasets is contained in Fairlie and Robb (2008).small businesses, business owners, self-employment, entrepreneurship, data

FORC Analysis of homogeneous nucleation in the two-dimensional kinetic Ising model

The first-order reversal curve (FORC) method is applied to the two-dimensional kinetic Ising model. For the system size and magnetic field chosen, the system reverses by the homogeneous nucleation and growth of many droplets. This makes the dynamics of reversal nearly deterministic, in contrast to the strongly disordered systems previously studied by the FORC method. Consequently, the FORC diagrams appear different from those obtained in previous studies. The Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami (KJMA) theory of phase transformation by nucleation and growth is applied to the system. Reasonable agreement with the Monte Carlo simulations is found, and the FORC method suggests how the KJMA theory could be extended.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, presented at 2004 MMM meeting, to appear in conference proceedings in J. Appl. Phys. (May 2005); rephrased several section

Inducing strong density modulation with small energy dispersion in particle beams and the harmonic amplifier free electron laser

We present a possible method of inducing a periodic density modulation in a particle beam with little increase in the energy dispersion of the particles. The flow of particles in phase space does not obey Liouville's Theorem. The method relies upon the Kuramoto-like model of collective synchronism found in free electron generators of radiation, such as Cyclotron Resonance Masers and the Free Electron Laser. For the case of an FEL interaction, electrons initially begin to bunch and emit radiation energy with a correlated energy dispersion which is periodic with the FEL ponderomotive potential. The relative phase between potential and particles is then changed by approximately 180 degrees. The particles continue to bunch, however, there is now a correlated re-absorption of energy from the field. We show that, by repeating this relative phase change many times, a significant density modulation of the particles may be achieved with only relatively small energy dispersion. A similar method of repeated relative electron/radiation phase changes is used to demonstrate supression of the fundamental growth in a high gain FEL so that the FEL lases at the harmonic only

An Overview of the Kauffman Firm Survey: Results From 2009 Business Activities

Highlights findings from longitudinal data on new businesses' performance since 2004 as well as new firms founded in 2009, including trends in customer payment problems and loan denials, financial injections, and sources of comparative advantage