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Venture capital is a critical source of funding and development of new ventures. The investment decision of venture capitalists (VCs) is a multi-stage assessment process where the entrepreneurs’ characteristics are the most important criteria to determine the decision to accept or to reject the proposal at the screening stage. At this stage, the decision-making of VCs is influenced by their subjective characteristics and their interactions with the entrepreneurs who share the same characteristics as theirs. How do the entrepreneurial experiences of both VCs and entrepreneurs interact and bias the evaluation? Several studies have tried to provide an answer to this still pending question. Research concurs in that entrepreneurial experience drives primarily the screening decisions of VCs. Yet, if many studies have shown that VCs are prone to cognitive biases in their evaluations, research focusing on the relationship between of those biases and entrepreneurial experience in the context of investment decision is scarce. VCs’ cognitive biases have been linked to the subjective characteristics of VCs. Most precisely, many studies have shown that a common bias among investors is the similarity-attraction bias such that VCs’ evaluations improve when VCs and entrepreneurs share the same characteristics. As a result, it is likely that entrepreneurial experience plays a significant role in explaining biases in investment decisions. Overall, research points out the importance of entrepreneurial experience of both VCs and entrepreneurs, their interactions and the cognitive biases shaped by their respective experiences in explaining the investment decisions of VCs at the screening stage.

This paper aims to examine the planning and policy processes in relation to the pollution in Lake Taupo. This paper describes and explains the manifestation of the tenets of deliberative democracy and the impediments of mobilising the tenets in the planning and policy-making processes.

This interpretive case study makes sense of interview transcripts, minutes of meetings, media reports and public documents and adopts deliberative democratic theory as the theoretical framework for the interpretive analysis.

Some factors fostered and others challenged the mobilization of the tenets of deliberative democracy. Local government processes facilitated the expression of multiple views in relation to the impacts of human activities on the Lake. Confrontations and tensions were inevitable elements of the deliberative processes. Pre-determined outcomes and domination of local authorities, aiming for environmental sustainability of Lake Taupo, posed as challenges to the operation of deliberative democracy. Some stakeholders need to sacrifice more than others, but recognition of pluralism, conflicts and differences is an essential part of deliberative democracy.

There is scarcity of research that empirically examines local government processes in light of deliberative democratic principles. The study also extends environmental and social studies that have explored the arena approach to accountability and decision-making.

With Complete College America and renewed interest in performance‐based funding models for higher education, colleges are focused on improving retention, progression and graduation rates. Many schools bring lower‐achieving students to campus for a pre‐first‐year program called Summer Bridge to give them an introduction to college. These summer programs have varying levels of library involvement. The authors aim to compare the level of library involvement at their institution with that of libraries where similar programs exist.

The authors searched for schools with summer bridge programs, read through their program descriptions to find ones that were similar to their own situation (e.g. not STEM‐focused or Upward Bound), and sent a survey to 103 libraries. In total, 42 responded.

Of the responding libraries 88 percent have face‐to‐face instruction with the summer bridge participants, however only 33 percent of the libraries did any assessment of this contact. Ten of the respondents teach credit‐bearing information literacy courses, but none offers this to the summer bridge students.

Many states require institutions to demonstrate student success in order to compete for limited state funds. Libraries have an important role to student success and librarians should strategically place themselves within that conversation. This article provides some possible means to help with summer bridge students.

A search through library and education literature reveals that little has been written about library involvement with programs that are not Upward Bound affiliated. This case study and its survey respond to a gap in the literature of both fields.

This paper aims to provide new insights regarding the impact of International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs on income inequality.

The paper uses a novel methodological approach proposed by Acemoglu et al. (2019), using (1) the regression adjustment, (2) the inverse probability weighting and (3) the doubly robust estimator, which combines (1) and (2), and a sample of annual data for 135 developing countries over the time period 1970 to 2015.

The findings show that IMF programs are associated with greater income inequality for up to five years. By differentiating the effect of IMF programs, the authors find that only IMF non-concessional programs have a significant detrimental effect on income inequality, while IMF concessional programs do not have a consistent effect on income inequality. In addition, the authors find that only IMF programs with a higher number of conditions have a detrimental and statistically significant effect on income inequality, compared to IMF programs with a smaller number of conditions, where their effect on income inequality is found to be insignificant.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the analysis developed in this paper contributes to the existing literature by applying the most methodologically sound identification strategy, which does not rely on the linearity assumption, the selection of instruments or matching variables and additionally takes into account the selection bias related to IMF program participation.

Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

Examines the ninth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

Looks at the eighth published year of the ITCRR and the research, from far and near, involved in this. Muses on the fact that, though all the usual processes are to the fore, the downside part of the industry is garment making which is the least developed side. Posits that the manufacture of clothing needs to become more technologically advanced as does retailing. Closes by emphasising support for the community in all its efforts.

Food-borne illnesses are common worries for tourists. In-flight food safety issues reflect the interrelated factors arising from an expanding airline industry, with its increased passenger loads, extended flight times, and multiple service activities. Adapting to these new challenges, and especially the global spread of food-borne diseases, requires an understanding of the cabin crew role as food handlers and the risks associated with this task. This chapter outlines the key factors that determine the safe delivery of in-flight food services, highlights the benefits of best practice to airline operators, passengers, and tourism boards, and addresses the policy implications for airline regulators and national health authorities.

Discusses the 6th ITCRR, its breadth of textile and clothing research activity, plus the encouragement given to workers in this field and its related areas. States that, within the newer research areas under the microscope of the community involved, technical textiles focuses on new, ‘smart’ garments and the initiatives in this field in both the UK and the international community at large. Covers this subject at length.