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A comparison of the difference in chemical nature of re‐dispersible polymer powders useful for the modification of cement based compositions is made. Core‐shell acrylic lattices synthesised by multi‐step sequential polymerisation are formulated and spray‐dried to obtain re‐dispersible powders. The heterogeneous acrylic copolymers prepared are characterised by excellent re‐dispersibility, high chemical stability and good application properties.

Posits that, because of environmental awareness and concern for our surroundings, we should be using more friendly technologies such as radiation curing and waterborne systems instead of solvent‐based formulas. The market is getting bigger for these “friendly” systems and discusses here the pros and cons of this. Concludes that a broad range of new applications is available and reduced environmental pollution, safer maintenance and higher product performance are the desired norms.

Waterborne polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) continue to show growth in commercial usage due to the ever increasing environmental legislation to reduce VOC in coating and adhesive materials. The transition from solvent‐based to waterborne has also been facilitated by advances in both the chemistry and technology employed and the formulation expertise required. This has resulted in coating performance that cannot only match but in some cases surpass their solvent‐based counterparts. This paper gives an overview of PUDs and introduces urethane/acrylic hybrids, giving an insight into the chemistry and technology. Particular emphasis is given to new developments and the application areas where they are finding increasing use. Some formulating techniques are also illustrated.

The paper's aim is to synthesise ultraviolet (UV) curable polyurethane acrylate based on polyester polyol and to study change in its mechanical, chemical, optical and weather resistance properties with varying amount of nanosilica. It also seeks to determine its optimum loading levels for property maximisation.

New UV curable polyurethane acrylate has been synthesised using polyester polyol, blend of isophorone diisocyanate and toluene diisocyanate and hydroxyl ethyl acrylate. This resin was incorporated with nanosilica (1‐3 per cent) on the basis of total solids. The newly synthesised material was characterised by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The mechanical, chemical and optical properties of the coating films were studied and compared.

The hardness, tensile strength and abrasion resistance show significant enhancement with increasing amount of nanosilica. It is also found that UV cured polyurethane acrylate nanocoating exhibited improved weather resistance. The optimum concentration of nanosilica for better performance is found to be 3 per cent of total solids. The improvement is the result of inherent nature of nanosilica.

Nanosilica used in present context is having 10 nm mean diameter and near about 600 m²/g surface area. Nanosilica having different particle size, surface area and surface modification can be used to improve more specific properties.

Addition of nanosilica particles to polyurethane acrylate coating is a simple and inexpensive method resulting in phenomenal increase in properties.

The new organic‐inorganic hybrid nanocoating with improved weather resistance was synthesised. These coatings could find applications in demanding fields such as automotive topcoats.

This is a field-researched case about a nonprofit organization, the Accelerated Cure Project (ACP), dedicated to accelerating advances toward a cure for multiple sclerosis (MS). Inspired by the successful open source software development platform, ACP brings the strengths of that platform into the medical research and development environment. At the opening of the case, Robert McBurney, an Australian scientist with extensive experience in the biotech world, has been named CEO. McBurney and his team want to use ACP's bio-sample and data Repository to drive innovation in the search for the cure for MS by fostering collaborative research and development across research institutions, pharmaceutical and bio-tech companies. To encourage such collaboration ACP waives its rights to potentially lucrative Intellectual Property. This decision to foster collaboration at the expense of revenue sources appears problematic, since ACP does not have the staff or resources to undertake fundraising at the scale needed to fund current projects. ACP chooses to serve instead as an open access research accelerator making an impact on the field by functioning as an innovation driver rather than a profit maker. Is this an innovative recipe for success in finding a cure for MS or a recipe for financial disaster for ACP?

Interviews provided the primary source of data for this case. Four semi-structured interviews were conducted with the CEO of ACP, the Vice President of Scientific Operations, and a member of the organization's Board of Trustees, a collaborating university researcher, and the President of a bio-tech company working with ACP. Interview data was supplemented with additional information from ACP's web site, news reports, McBurney's comments at Suffolk University's Global Leadership in Innovation and Collaboration Award event, and follow-up conversations.

This case is intended for use in an undergraduate course examining strategic management issues midway through the term. The case discussion can center on issues relating to: first, the development of the business model; second, revenue resources and fundraising. Students are expected to spend two to three hours of outside preparation reviewing concepts of change leadership and the collaborative enterprise business model. They should read the case materials and brainstorm options for improved change leadership. The case can be taught in one two-hour class period.

The purpose of this case is to introduce students to the strategic management and funding challenges faced by an organization that is using a non-traditional business model in an increasingly complex environment. As a result of discussing this case, students should be able to: first, examine strategic organizational strengths, analyze opportunities created by business, market and environmental factors, and strategize to minimize weaknesses and to address threats identify an organization's strategic focus; recognize and recommend options at crucial decision making junctures in a business situation; second, assess an organization's revenue model; analyze how this model can be improved; third, analyze the functionality and sustainability of an organization's business model.

This paper aims to examine whether the mode of privatisation and the subsequent ownership structure affects post‐privatisation performance.

Utilising a theoretically derived sample of two matched telecommunications firms in New Zealand and Australia, and non‐parametric analysis of financial data, the performance of two forms of privatisation are compared: full privatisation via direct sale to foreign anchor investors versus partial privatisation via a domestic share issue restricting foreign ownership.

Concentrated ownership through direct sales to foreign owned anchor investors is not more efficient or profitable, nor does it result in increased capital investment; it does, however, result in higher dividend payouts.

These findings contradict the accepted wisdom and dominant theory in the field that full privatisation outperforms partial privatisation, and that FDI transfers firm‐specific ownership advantages enabling the recipient to outperform domestically owned firms. However, the findings are applicable to the two firms and countries studied and future studies need to extend these to the wider population of privatised firms.

While privatisation will improve organisational performance, the choice of whether to privatise by direct sale to anchor investors and foreign owners versus a partial share issue privatisation and keeping a domestic focus will have post‐privatisation performance implications.

A more nuanced understanding is provided of the performance implications of modes of divestiture and ownership structures in advanced economies.

Islamic finance is becoming a core part of the financial services economy in the Middle East countries. There is a strong likelihood that Islamic finance is also driving the expansion of trade in insurance services. However, research on Islamic finance’s effect on trade in insurance services is scant. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating if Islamic finance has promoted trade in insurance services.

This study adopts the gravity modelling framework and the panel data estimation procedure in understanding the effects of Islamic finance on trade in insurance.

The empirical results reveal a statistically significant positive correlation of Islamic finance with the exports and imports of insurance services. Economic sizes (domestic and trading partners), growth in trading partners, cost of doing business, legal rights and financial freedom are other statistically significant determinants.

It makes a positive contribution to the Islamic financial services literature. Islamic finance is an integral part of the conventional banking and financial sector in the Middle East that actively fosters the expansion of insurance services that need support, given its essential role in services trade.

This study is unique as it directs attention to the role of Islamic finance in fostering trade in insurance services within an inclusive modelling framework that has been overlooked in the Islamic finance literature.

This study aims to reexamine the moderating role of human capital on the effect of extended financial inclusion (FI) for entrepreneurship, using data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor for a sample of 42 countries from 2006 to 2017.

This study distinguished between actual and perceived human capital. Actual human capital was measured through formal education while perceived human capital was captured by self-perceived capabilities for business start-ups. The moderating role of human capital was captured by the interaction terms between FI and human capital to investigate how the effects of FI on entrepreneurship vary with levels of human capital. The estimation used the panel-corrected standard error estimators and the two-step system generalized method of moments estimators.

Higher levels of formal education decrease the positive effect of extended FI on entrepreneurial activities. Individuals with high levels of self-capability do not leverage FI for entrepreneurial activities as much as those with lower levels of perceived capability. The results are robust to different estimation methods and different forms of actual human capital.

Both financial and human capital matter for new business formation worldwide. The findings suggest that FI policies must account for the decreasing effect in response to high levels of human capital. Future research should explore different measures of entrepreneurial performance, various types of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship across gender groups to gain deeper insights into strategies for promoting entrepreneurship.

Education strategies should focus on specific types of education, such as entrepreneurship education with financial literacy, rather than traditional academic curriculum, to foster entrepreneurship knowledge, skills and creativity. Likewise, entrepreneurship support schemes should aim to nurture and share appropriate levels of self-efficacy, avoiding excessively high self-efficacy, which is deleterious to the benefits of FI for entrepreneurial activities.

This study offers novel evidence of the decreasing effects of FI on entrepreneurial activities in response to increased actual and perceived human capital.