The aim of this paper is to conceptualise the internationalisation of food and drink SMEs by developing and evaluating a framework specifically for food and drink SME internationalisation. SME internationalisation is an established area of research that has seen a wealth of research since the seminal work of the Uppsala scholars on the stage approach (cf. Johanson & Wiedersheim-Paul, 1975; Johanson & Vahlne, 1977). In recent decades SME internationalisation research has focussed on a range of issues that impact on internationalisation, from company characteristics (cf. Jones & Coviello, 2005; Hsieh et al., 2019) entrepreneur characteristics (cf. Reuber & Fischer, 1997; Ramón-Llorens et al., 2017), network connections (cf. Johanson & Mattson, 1988; Johanson & Vahlne, 2009) and determinants to international growth (Katsikeas et al., 1996; Li, 2018). This wealth of research underlines the complexities in understanding and explaining internationalisation. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to understand and evaluate the critical determinants of internationalisation specifically for food and drink SMEs, through an evaluation of relevant theory and the development of a framework for food and drink SME internationalisation. These aims address three gaps in the literature, namely, limited research on specific industries, limited research on food and drink SMEs, and few efforts to conceptualise the SME internationalisation process.
Insect neuropeptides are involved in most physiological processes in insects, such as diuresis, ecdysis, and pheromone biosynthesis. The peptides perform these functions as ligands for G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) that trigger specific biochemical functions. Our research in this area has focused on the Pheromone Biosynthesis Activating Neuropeptide (PBAN) and its GPCR in fire ants. I will show that PBAN is involved in fire ant pheromone production and interestingly, also in important functions of all colony life stages. Since many neuropeptides play critical roles in insect development and reproduction, the peptide hormones and their receptors are viewed as promising targets for novel biologically-based control. These possibilities will be illustrated. Secondly, the use of venom alkaloids, cuticular hydrocarbons, and pheromones as useful taxonomic characters will be illustrated using Solenopsis species in the USA and in South America.
In perennial crops virus diseases are usually caused by mixed infections rather than by individual viruses. Understanding the contribution of each virus in disease development, the interactions between viruses and how each virus spreads in the field allows for development of control measures that are targeted for disease control rather than controlling all viruses in a complex. There are multiple types of virus-vector interactions and this information can be used to inform vector control strategies to manage virus diseases. Information on virus-vector interactions and insect biology for controlling a disease caused by a virus complex in raspberry will be presented. Understanding the biology of multiple vectors as well as multiple types of virus-vector interactions for a vector of multiple viruses will be presented as a model for managing virus disease in strawberry in different environments. The goal is to describe a systems approach for controlling virus diseases in vegetatively propagated crops from developing clean plants through to fruit production.
The Kepler mission has shown that small planets are extremely common. It is likely that nearly every star in the sky hosts at least one rocky planet. We just need to look hard enough - but this requires vast amounts of telescope time. MINERVA (MINiature Exoplanet Radial Velocity Array) is a dedicated exoplanet observatory with the primary goal of discovering rocky, Earth-like planets orbiting in the habitable zone of bright, nearby stars. The MINERVA team is a collaboration among UNSW Australia, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Penn State University, University of Montana, and the California Institute of Technology. The four-telescope MINERVA array will be sited at the F.L. Whipple Observatory on Mt Hopkins in Arizona, USA. Full science operations will begin in mid-2015 with all four telescopes and a stabilised spectrograph capable of high-precision Doppler velocity measurements. We will observe ~100 of the nearest, brightest, Sun-like stars every night for at least five years. Detailed simulations of the target list and survey strategy lead us to expect 154 new low-mass planets.
This is a descriptive study to identify patterns of teacher questioning discourse. Transcripts from Korean secondary science classrooms were examined while extensive review of literature on classroom discourse was carried out. When it is assumed that teacher questioning discourse can be categorized into different patterns by considering together the apparent exchange structures and pedagogical functions, various patterns of teacher questioning discourse were revealed. Although most patterns found illustrate the centrality of the teacher, a few of them are considered alternatives to the typical IRE discourse. A framework for classifying teacher questioning discourse is suggested and its implications for science teacher education and future research discussed.
This study provides empirical evidence on characteristics of foreign and domestic acquisitions of U.S. manufacturing companies. Specifically, the study examined and compared the five-year premerger profile of 37 and 343 U.S. manufacturing companies, that were acguired in the 1980s by foreign and domestic companies, respectively. The profile was analyzed in terms of various company attributes. The ANOVA results indicate that foreign acquirees did not change as significantly as did domestic acquirees in the five years before merger. Also, differences between the two groups of acquirees were tested. The t-test results show that foreign acquirees were less profitable, more liquid in terms of cash flows but significantly less liquid in terms of working capital, significantly more leveraged, less efficient in assets turnover, paying significant more dividend, significantly less growing, much smaller, and more actively traded than domestic acquirees.
Helminthosporium vicotoriae and H. carbonum were grown under fluorescent plus incandescent lights, or in darkness, with several different temperature regimes. There was little or no effect of light on toxin production by H. victoriae. Light-grown cultures of H. carbonum had significantly higher titres of host-specific toxin than did dark-grown cultures. Light had no significant effect on growth of either fungus. Maximum titres of host-specific toxins from both fungi were evident at the time maximum growth was reached. Minimum pH values in Fries modified medium occurred at the time of, or slightly before maximum level of toxin was reached.