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Certain classes of organic chemicals that can behave like carbon black in protecting polythene from thermal degredation have recently been developed at Bell Telephone laboratories in the U.S.A. Mrs. A. Worthington and Dr. W. L. Hawkins described their discovery at a recent meeting of the American Chemical Society in New York. They demonstrated that a number of compounds containing alternating unsaturated bonds provide excellent thermal anti‐oxidant properties in combination with previously reported sulphur‐bearing compounds.

Nowadays, an analysis of the circumstances that have led to the development of specific industries within regional entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) is extremely relevant. The chapter carries out a twofold analysis, in order to fully explore the reasons that have led to the creation of a specific industrial district. On the one hand, the tissue paper industry in the Italian province of Lucca is analysed through a qualitative approach; on the other hand, the contextual traits of the Toscana EE influencing firm performance are investigated through using a quantitative research approach. This mixed research analysis provides some important hints. First, it helps to understand how systemic, framework and human conditions affect firm performance. Second, it examines how historical, social, and economic factors have shaped regional industries. Through an in-depth analysis, the chapter provides theoretical and empirical insights into the dynamics that affect industrial transformation in response to globalisation, technological innovation, and changing market demands. After completing the chapter, readers will understand how knowledge, collaboration, and shared resources drive regional competitiveness. Through the qualitative analysis, readers will be aware of the tissue paper industry evolution. The combination with the quantitative study allows us to capture the different drivers swaying firm performance, such as infrastructure, innovation capacity, and institutional support. Therefore, the use of empirical data enables for a more objective assessment of the earlier contextual elements, revealing trends and patterns that may not be immediately evident through qualitative analysis.

Corporate governance research suggests that board structure can impact organizational outcomes such as financial performance and executive remuneration. Agency theory posits that a board composed of independent directors and chaired by an independent chairperson can provide effective control over agency costs, while stewardship theory suggests that effective decision-making is facilitated when the board is chaired by the CEO and majority of directors are from the executive team. Empirical research into the association between board structure and performance in Jordan has provided mixed results, with no consensus supporting either theory. This study takes a different approach to researching the assumed association between board structure and performance by surveying directors’ perspectives on such assumed relationship between financial performance and four of boards’ characteristics (i.e., board independence, CEO duality, board size, and female ratio on board). Findings of this research indicate that Jordanian directors perceive a medium to strong association between financial performance and each of board independence, independent chair of board, and female ratio on board. However, directors of Jordanian boards perceive no association between financial performance and board size.

The competition reality television show Dragula (Boulet Brothers, 2016-present) features a parade of monsters from the horror canon. Each episode, queer drag artists present outfits based on the show's aesthetic tenants: horror, filth and glamour. Nearly every outfit presented by the show's contestants, dubbed ‘drag monsters’, features some element of monstrosity and many pay specific homage to monsters from horror cinema. In drawing the monster figure into the world of gender performance, Dragula showcases the vast queer possibility of the monster figure. Like queerness itself, these drag monsters prove monstrosity is fluid and need not by associated to any one specific gender; the monster figure provides a canvas on which these artists can move between both human and non-human and male and female. This chapter traces the show's horror lineage – most notably the text from which it queers its name, Bram Stroker's Dracula (1987), and Stephen King's Carrie (1974) as well as the alternative precedent set by the drag legend Divine. Its analysis demonstrates Dragula's creative power in reimaging gender beyond the binary of man/woman by way of the monster figure.

In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.

This study aims to identify necessary conditions for innovative entrepreneurship in cities and determine similarities in entrepreneurial configurations among them.

The authors assessed the necessary conditions for various levels of entrepreneurial output and categorized cities based on similar patterns by applying necessary condition analysis (NCA) and cluster analysis in a sample comprised of 101 cities from the entrepreneurial cities index, representing a diverse range of urban environments in Brazil. A comprehensive data set, including both traditional indicators from official Bureau of statistics and nontraditional indicators from new platforms of science, technology and innovation intelligence, was compiled for analysis.

Bureaucratic complexity, urban conditions, transport infrastructure, economic development, access to financial capital, secondary education, entrepreneurial intention, support organizations and innovation inputs were identified as necessary for innovative entrepreneurship. Varying levels of these conditions were found to be required for different entrepreneurial outputs.

The static nature of the data limits understanding of dynamic interactions among dimensions and their impact on entrepreneurial city performance.

Policymakers can use the findings to craft tailored support policies, leveraging the relationship between city-level taxonomy and direct outputs of innovative entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs).

The taxonomy and nontraditional indicators sheds light on the broader societal benefits of vibrant EEs, emphasizing their role in driving socioeconomic development.

The cluster analysis combined with NCA’s bottleneck analysis is an original endeavor which made it possible to identify performance benchmarks for Brazilian cities, according to common characteristics, as well as the required levels of each condition by each city group to achieve innovative entrepreneurial outputs.

In the previous two articles the emphasis was on wet and electrochemical techniques, with particular reference to the potentiostat. The physical examination of corrosion products is of equal importance, especially, for example, in the study of oxidation by dry gases at elevated temperatures where electrochemical studies are not normally feasible. In this article the application of physical techniques to corrosion studies will be discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of team building and employee empowerment on employee competencies and examine the moderating role of organizational learning culture in between these relationships.

An integrated research model is developed by combining resource-based view, signalling theory and experiential learning theory. The validity of the model is tested by applying moderated structural equation modelling (MSEM) approach to the data collected from 653 employees working in cement manufacturing companies. The reliability and validity of the dimensions are established through confirmatory factor analysis and the related hypotheses are tested by using MSEM.

The findings suggest that organizational learning culture significantly strengthens the relationships of team building and employee empowerment on employee competencies.

The research is undertaken in Indian cement manufacturing companies which cannot be generalized across a broader range of sectors and international environment.

The findings of the study have potential to help decision makers of manufacturing companies to develop strategies which will enable them to improve employee competency, to formulate effective human resource development interventions and to enhance the capability of the employees to achieve desired goals and objectives of the organization.

The research is unique in its attempt to combine three frameworks to build a new theoretical model explaining the importance organizational learning culture along with team building and employee empowerment.