scholarly journals Gatekeeping the Gatekeepers: The Need for a Licensing Requirement for Crowdfunding Portals in the Wake of the DreamFunded Decision

2020 ◽  
pp. 251
Author(s):  
Nick Worden
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Capital Formation ◽  
Internet Site ◽  
Securities Law ◽  
Equity Crowdfunding ◽  
Long Time ◽  
A Site ◽  
Jobs Act ◽  
Securities Laws ◽  
Do So

Most people are familiar with crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter and GoFundMe—sites that allow users to part with their money in exchange for products or donate their capital to organizations they believe in. However, these sites have one trait in common: they do not offer contributors equity or a promise for future profits. For a long time, selling equity meant complying with the costly requirements of federal securities laws, which was cost-prohibitive for many small businesses; it was illegal for businesses to offer equity over a site in the way businesses on Kickstarter offered products. The Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act changed that. Small businesses, initially precluded from raising capital through the promise of equity, could do so now. However, the passage of the JOBS Act came with a number of requirements for businesses trying to sell equity via crowdfunding. In particular, these businesses could not offer their equity through just any Internet site. They had to do so through a registered intermediary—a gatekeeper to the equity crowdfunding scene. These intermediaries came in two types: broker-dealers (a familiar party in securities law) and a new statutorily created entity called a “funding portal.” Funding portals have many requirements imposed on them, but unlike broker-dealers, they are not required to be licensed to act as an intermediary. The absence of a licensing requirement for funding portals is problematic. The first litigated case involving a funding portal, Department of Enforcement v. DreamFunded Marketplace, LLC, presented that the lack of a licensing requirement threatens the twin purposes of the JOBS Act: capital formation and investor protection.

“As Slow as a Tortoise, and as Clever as a Hare.” Folktales as Lessons on Democracy, Equal Opportunities, and Human Rights among the Ndebele

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindiwe Ndlovu ◽  
Faith Sibanda
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Equal Opportunities ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Animal Community ◽  
Do So

Indigenous African societies have, for a long time, been using their knowledge for the betterment of their lives. They have also demonstrated an ability to manipulate their immediate or remote surroundings to live sustainably. Those who claim to fight for equal and human rights in Africa do so under the misconception that they, and the developing world, have historically and inherently violated, and continue to violate, human rights in numerous ways. While this might not be completely dismissed, there is a plethora of evidence from African folktales to demonstrate that Africans have not only respected human rights, but have also encouraged equal opportunities for every member of their society. This article cross-examines Ndebele folktales with the intention of demonstrating that African indigenous knowledge exhibited through folktales was a well-organised system, which ensured respect for human rights for all members, regardless of their physical or social stature. Central to this discussion are the folktales which focus on the role played by the vulnerable members of the animal community, who replicate their human counterparts. Folktales are unarguably a creation by the indigenes and emanate from their socio-political experiences, as well as their observations of the surroundings. This suggests that indigenous people already had an idea about human rights as well as the need for equal opportunities since time immemorial. 

CELL AND TISSUE THERAPY OF HEART

2019 ◽  
pp. 77-84
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Heart Tissue ◽  
Decellularized Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Tissue Therapy ◽  
Essential Components ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
A Site ◽  
Recipient Tissue

The strategy of heart tissue engineering is simple enough: first remove all the cells from a organ then take the protein scaffold left behind and repopulate it with stem cells immunologically matched to the patient in need. While various suc- cessful methods for decellularization have been developed, and the feasibility of using decellularized whole hearts and extracellular matrix to support cells has been demonstrated, the reality of creating whole hearts for transplantation and of clinical application of decellularized extracellular matrix-based scaffolds will require much more research. For example, further investigations into how lineage-restricted progenitors repopulate the decellularized heart and differentiate in a site-specific manner into different populations of the native heart would be essential. The scaffold heart does not have to be human. Pig hearts carries all the essential components of the extracellular matrix. Through trial and error, scaling up the concentration, timing and pressure of the detergents, researchers have refined the decellularization process on hundreds of hearts and other organs, but this is only the first step. Further, the framework must be populated with human cells. Most researchers in the field use a mixture of two or more cell types, such as endothelial precursor cells to line blood vessels and muscle progenitors to seed the walls of the chambers. The final challenge is one of the hardest: vasculariza- tion, placing a engineered heart into a living animal, integration with the recipient tissue, and keeping it beating for a long time. Much remains to be done before a bioartificial heart is available for transplantation in humans.

scholarly journals A MODEL OF CREATIVE HERITAGE FOR INDUSTRY: DESIGNING NEW RULES WHILE PRESERVING THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF RULES

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 141-150
Author(s):  
Honorine Harlé ◽  
Pascal Le Masson ◽  
Benoit Weil
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Innovation Management ◽  
Present System ◽  
Innovative Capability ◽  
Current Change ◽  
A Site ◽  
Do So

AbstractIn industry, there is at once a strong need for innovation and a need to preserve the existing system of production. Thus, although the literature insists on the necessity of the current change toward Industry 4.0, how to implement it remains problematic because the preservation of the factory is at stake. Moreover, the question of the evolution of the system depends on its innovative capability, but it is difficult to understand how a new rule can be designed and implemented in a factory. This tension between preservation and innovation is often explained in the literature as a process of creative destruction. Looking at the problem from another perspective, this article models the factory as a site of creative heritage, enabling creation within tradition, i.e., creating new rules while preserving the system of rules. Two case studies are presented to illustrate the model. The paper shows that design in the factory relies on the ability to validate solutions. To do so, the design process can explore and give new meaning to the existing rules. The role of innovation management is to choose the degree of revision of the rules and to make it possible.

Engineering Management for Zone Construction of Ships

1985 ◽  
Vol 1 (04) ◽  
pp. 266-287
Author(s):  
Thomas Lamb
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Management ◽  
Shipbuilding Industry ◽  
Ship Construction ◽  
Production Department ◽  
Engineering Department ◽  
Traditionally Prepared ◽  
Hard Times ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Do So

Zone construction has been proposed as the way for the U.S. shipbuilding industry to improve its productivity and survive the current hard times. Obviously as the production requirements for zone construction are different from traditional ship construction, so are the engineering requirements. While production could perform zone construction from traditionally prepared engineering, it would do so inefficiently and after waiting a long time for most of the engineering to be completed before they could start, thus defeating one of the goals of zone construction. The production department in a shipyard changing to zone construction will probably reorganize into major zone sections. To obtain maximum benefits from zone construction it is necessary for the engineering department to be like-organized and managed. The paper therefore discusses engineering aspects that are influenced by the change to zone construction

scholarly journals Doing Well By Doing Good In The Community: Evidence From Some South African Small Businesses

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 227
Author(s):  
D. Y. Dzansi
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Economic Performance ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Business Practice ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
High Degree ◽  
African Setting ◽  
Do So

<p>Researchers and policy makers worldwide are convinced that only clear empirical evidence of the economic benefits of business social responsibility (BSR), rather than normative assertions, can motivate small businesses enough to accept and adopt it as an integral business practice. Unfortunately, empirical research so far has yielded mixed results, such that smaller businesses are right to be skeptical about adopting BSR. This paper reports the findings of empirical research on patterns of BSR engagement practices and growth in firms’ sales and gross profit among small and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in a South African setting. This is to determine how a small firm’s economic performance varies (if at all) with the degree of its BSR performance and the kind of BSR activity it engages in. The results suggest a high degree of BSR activity among firms with substantial portions of profit dedicated to BSR. However, contrary to expectations, very weak (minor) link was found between BSR performance and economic performance among the sample of small businesses on some but not all dimensions of BSR considered in the study. Nonetheless, it is recommended that managers and owners of small businesses be encouraged to adopt and practice BSR. Even if they do not do so for economic reasons, they would be right to do so to ‘atone’ for the widely acknowledged detrimental impacts of business on society. </p>

SEC credits self-reporting and cooperation in not imposing penalty on ICO sponsor

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-15
Author(s):  
Daniel Hawke
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Securities And Exchange Commission ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Enforcement Action ◽  
Expert Analysis ◽  
Securities Laws ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Civil Penalty ◽  
Do So

Purpose To explain a February 20, 2019 US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settled enforcement action against Gladius Network LLC for failing to register an initial coin offering (ICO) under the federal securities laws, in which Gladius was able to avoid a civil penalty by self-reporting the violation and cooperating with the SEC enforcement staff. Design/methodology/approach Explains Gladius’ self-reporting, cooperation and remedial steps; why the SEC imposed no civil penalty on Gladius; and two similar cases the SEC instituted in July 2018 against companies that conducted unregistered ICOs, did not self-report, and were penalized. Provides analysis and conclusions. Findings The Gladius case offers important insight into how the SEC and its staff think about cooperation credit in resolving SEC enforcement actions and sends a clear message that self-reporting to the SEC can result in meaningful cooperation credit. In three recent cases, the Commission has made clear that once it put the industry on notice that ICOs could be securities that must be registered under the federal securities laws, a party risks enforcement action by failing to do so. Originality/value Expert analysis and guidance from an experienced securities lawyer who counsels clients on all manner of SEC enforcement, examination and regulatory policy matters.

The Holy Grail of Retail Investment

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Brakman Reiser ◽  
Steven A. Dean
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Securities Regulation ◽  
Tax Burden ◽  
Holy Grail ◽  
Social Mission ◽  
Jobs Act ◽  
The Impact

This chapter explores solutions to the trust deficit inhibiting social enterprises’ access to the retail investment market. Although the size of this market makes it an attractive source of capital, the chapter explains how securities regulation traditionally hindered small businesses from reaching it. It surveys the impact of reforms under the 2012 JOBS Act, identifying new pathways for retail investment in small businesses. Even with these changes, however, the chapter argues social enterprise’s access to retail investment will be stymied unless founders and investors can trust each other. It conceives a surprising solution: offering electing social enterprises a federal tax benefit linked to mission-driven expenditures, paired with an elevated tax burden on distributions of profits. The tax benefit would be broadly attractive, but only entrepreneurs and investors devoted to social mission would accept the associated tax burden. Entrepreneurs, investors and crowdfunding platforms could use election to identify trustworthy social enterprises.

scholarly journals Land-use legacies: multi-centuries years-old management control of between-stands variability at the landscape scale in Mediterranean mountain forests, France

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (No. 1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Chauchard ◽  
F. Guibal ◽  
C. Carcaillet
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Forest Stand ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Land Abandonment ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Long Time ◽  
A Site ◽  
Tree Composition

Traditional land use has shaped the Mediterranean region for a long time and has resulted in present-day complex landscapes. The land abandonment dating from the 19<sup>th</sup> century at a site located in the southwestern Alps (France) makes it possible to analyse how present-day forest stands inherit from past land uses. Tree composition and tree age structure were analysed in three stands resulting from different former land uses, i.e. ancient coppice, formerly grazed area and formerly tilled area. The ancient coppice contains the densest tree cover and is dominated by Fagus sylvatica, whereas the formerly ploughed and&nbsp; grazed areas are less dense, both dominated by Pinus sylvestris. Forest stand in the ancient coppice is older than in the formerly grazed area, and forest stand is the youngest in the formerly ploughed area. These stand differences are largely explained by former land use and the abandonment process. Albeit strong changes result from the land abandonment, these landscapes inherit aspects of their land use during the 19<sup>th</sup>century at least and the dynamics does not match the expected pattern of soil fertility. &nbsp;

scholarly journals Underground imaginations, environmental crisis and subterranean cultural geographies

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harriet Hawkins
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Research Collaboration ◽  
Environmental Crisis ◽  
Environmental Concerns ◽  
Practice Based Research ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Creation ◽  
A Site ◽  
Do So

It is claimed that our current environmental crisis is one of the imaginations: we are in desperate need of new means to understand relations between humans and their environment. The underground was once central to the evolution of Western environmental imaginations. Yet, this has waned throughout the 20th century as eyes and minds turned up and out. After outlining some of the history of the underground as a site from which to evolve environmental imaginations, the article will explore how the underground might propagate environmental imaginations fit for pressing contemporary environmental concerns. It will do so using examples of three caves evolved through an ongoing arts practice-based research collaboration with artist Flora Parrott. Exploring these three caves, I will explore how the underground offers a powerful site for doing the imaginative work that our current environmental crisis requires, focusing in particular on the challenges of engaging lively earths and deep times (pasts and futures) that have become commonplace in the Anthropocene. To close, the article begins to reflect on the possibilities of collaborative creative geographies as a means to rethink the idea of the imagination within geography, as not just something that might be studied but that these creative practices might enable the creation of much-needed new imaginations.

scholarly journals Are international small business owners really that different?

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-117
Author(s):  
Sarah Gundlach ◽  
Andre Sammartino
Keyword(s):  
Small Business ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Small Business Owners ◽  
Female Entrepreneurs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Traits ◽  
Tolerance For Ambiguity ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Do So

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of individual traits and attributes on the entrepreneurial and internationalization actions of Australian businesswomen, many of whom run small businesses. Design/methodology/approach This study is exploratory and quantitative, based on a questionnaire survey of 323 Australian businesswomen. Drawing upon the extant literature on internationalization, gender and entrepreneurship, the study explores two micro-foundational relationships of interest – personality and capability assessment differences between female business owners and their employed counterparts, and the impact of such traits and assessments on their internationalization. A further question is explored in terms of any differentials in perceptions of barriers in internationalization. Findings The findings show key personality dimensions do not differ dramatically between Australian businesswomen working in their own businesses (i.e. entrepreneurs) or as employees in organizations, while there are surprisingly few differences between women who are engaged internationally and those yet to do so. When comparing the female entrepreneurs and employees, in particular, the findings around tolerance for ambiguity and management efficacy are notably counterintuitive. This leads to the development of testable propositions to refine the causal claims in this domain. Practical implications The study calls into question the distinctiveness of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial endeavors, at least for female businesswomen. Originality/value By including entrepreneurs and employees, women who have engaged internationally and those that are yet to do so, the study avoids some of the potential self-selection and confirmation biases inherent in studies of only entrepreneurs or small business owners. The investigation of individual traits, attributes and experiences as micro-foundations for internationalization motivations challenges existing theories of small business expansion.

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