In Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth, Margaret Atwood examines different forms of debt and their various interrelations. Her work invites, but does not provide, an account or philosophy of debt or its deep implication in Christian beliefs such as sin, satisfaction, and atonement. This paper aims to bring to light insights into the link between debt and some aspects of Christian belief, especially the ideas of sin and satisfaction. It draws upon another unlikely source-the Ethics and political treatises of Spinoza. Spinoza’s view at least implies that the idea that sin (understood as the voluntary actions of a free agent) creates a ‘debt’ that is ‘paid’ by punishment is a potentially dangerous ‘fiction.' Spinoza intuits that the subsumption of the idea of debt into notions of retribution, vengeance, satisfaction, or atonement, are driven by ‘superstition,' envy, and hatred, and through imitating others’ hateful ideas of oneself. The idea of ‘debt’ is an artefact of civil authority that can only assume affective, normative purchase through internalizing fear of the implicit threat of punishment inherent in law. I will seek, finally, to suggest an implicit critique in Spinoza of the imaginative subsumption of debt into the space of religio.

The Eu-XFEL, a 3.4 km long free electron laser situated in Hamburg, Germany was commissioned in 2017, and has since been at the forefront of cutting edge technologies. The short laser-like X-ray pulses produced within the facility can be used to film ultrafast phenomena such as the formation or breakup of chemical bonds, research the composition and structure of complex biomolecules on the atomic scale, and can even be used to study matter under extreme conditions. Since its commissioning, a concern has been raised regarding the demagnetization of the permanent magnets present in the undulator system as a result of stray radiation. To monitor this, Gafchromic EBT-3 films along with other dosimetric tools have been installed at various points along the beamline to monitor radiation induced damages and predict the lifetime of the undulator system. This work focuses on optimizing the calibration of Gafchromic EBT-3 films for accurate estimations of the unwanted dose absorbed in the magnetic material, and was achieved by increasing the amount of calibration measurements and segmenting the measurements, in turn performing the calibration in parts. The results show that calibrating the EBT-3 films according to the proposed method can accurately estimate unknown doses up to 52 Gy.

Farmers’ markets are increasingly promoted as mechanisms for improving access to healthful foods for low-income households, as they are relatively inexpensive to establish and they can provide affordable food for low-income households by offering Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Electronic Benefit Transfer (SNAP/EBT). SNAP/EBT at markets also expands revenue opportunities for participating farmers. Market mangers provide a critical role in overseeing SNAP/EBT at markets and influencing business opportunities for farmers. Using a mixed-method approach, this study aimed to evaluate how managers’ motivations influence SNAP/EBT availability and participation at markets and business opportunities for small- and moderate- sized farms. To develop a survey measuring managers’ attitudes and behaviors and farmers’ market outcomes, focus groups were conducted with farmers’ market managers (n=8) in Western North Carolina, East Tennessee, and Southwest Virginia, and interviews were conducted with farmers in the same region (n=8). Eight themes were identified in the manager focus groups, and 5 were identified in the farmer interviews. Qualitative data yielded insight on how managers influence market outcomes. A survey incorporating qualitative findings was distributed to 271 NC farmers’ market managers in May 2014. Multiple regression models were used to examine the influence of mangers’ motivations to improve access to healthful food and support business opportunities on SNAP/EBT availability and participation and indicators of market vitality. Sixty managers completed the survey. There was no significant association between food access motivation and SNAP/EBT participation. A significant, positive association was found between business motivation and customer count, total vendor count, and average weekly vendor count. More research is needed to understand how managers’ motivations interplay with environmental and organizational characteristics to influence food access for low-income households and business opportunities for farmers. Findings from this study offer a starting point for developing interventions that maximize managers’ impact on these outcomes.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, previously ‘food stamps’), is the nation’s largest federal entitlement nutritional assistance program which assists individuals and households living below the federal poverty level in order to reduce the amount of money they spend on food. With the conversion of food stamps coupons to Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), vendors at farmers markets are unable to accept SNAP benefits due to lack of necessary technology adoption. The number of farmers markets has increased 39 percent since 2010 yet only 21 percent of the nation’s farmers markets are equipped to accept EBT (USDA AMS, 2015a). The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to apply the theory of Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) to explain EBT technology adoption at mid-west farmers markets (Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin). This study intended to identify the socio-demographic characteristics and levels of communication of farmers market managers, market compatibilities, and perceived EBT attributes that might influence EBT adoption at farmers markets. A survey was administered electronically to market managers of three mid-west states to collect the necessary information to answer the research objectives. A total of 181 managers completed the survey. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify effects of several variables on EBT adoption. Analysis of Variance and Chi-square test were utilized to compare the states and adopter groups. Results of logistic regression showed significant effects of specific variables on EBT adoption. Market managers’ level of communication (Farmers Market Association membership and having partnerships with other organizations), market characteristics (availability of public transports to the market and number of SNAP recipients living in the area), and market managers’ perceptions of EBT attributes (perceived usefulness, ability to try-out, and acceptability) were statistically significant predictors of EBT adoption. For market managers and organizers who are seeking resources and considering EBT adoption assessment of compatibility and level of communication prior to adoption should be considered. In conclusion, the theory of DOI was able to explain effects of market characteristics, market managers’ level of communication, and perceived attributes of EBT on its adoption among the respondents of mid-west farmers markets. Findings of the study can be useful for policymakers in navigating through financial, human, organizational, and political constraints to develop a reachable goal in providing EBT to farmers markets across the nation. Improving the rate of EBT adoption will ultimately have a positive impact on the health of low-income population and sustainability of local agriculture.

While traditional behavioral weight loss programs have been successful at producing weight loss, weight maintenance is difficult to achieve. Addressing stress, one major contributing factor in weight gain, may be a potential solution. The purpose of this study was to test a stress-management program (EBT) for changes in weight and blood pressure, and maintenance of those changes. Obese adults (N=33) were randomized to two weight loss groups for a seven-week intervention and a seven-week follow-up period: an intuitive eating group or a stress management group. The intuitive eating group did not have any statistically significant changes in weight or blood pressure at seven or 14 weeks. The stress management group had significant changes at seven weeks in weight (p=0.05) and systolic (p=0.005) and diastolic (p=0.05) blood pressure. Weight decreased by 2.9 pounds at seven weeks and decreased a total of 4.4 pounds over the 14 weeks (p=0.05) in the EBT group. The EBT approach appears promising for weight loss and weight maintenance. More research with larger samples sizes and longer trial periods need to be done in order to draw a conclusion on the usefulness of this intervention.

This study explicates Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) as a textually mediated discursive management tool. EBT is the mandatory method for food benefits and replaces the previous food stamp coupons, but the broad reaching significance is that this program is just a developmental infrastructure. The goal of the U.S. Treasury is for all government transactions, approximately $2.5 trillion a year, to be electronically conducted (National Performance Review 1993). To initiate the process, they set the first target as the 126 government benefit programs, including Social Security, Social Security, Veteran's Administration, Student Loans, Medicaid, Medicaid, Unemployment, even tax refunds. The food stamp program (now called SNAP) was selected to develop the foundational architecture of EBT. It is the forerunner of things to come. With every transaction, EBT collects data not about shopping activities or food purchases, but social and life activities that are used to construct an institutional hyperreality. EBT is to create invisible access to and uninterrupted use of data as hypertext to manufacture and orchestrate a discursive hyperreality and ideologically imagined users. These data are a social hypertext (Smith 1990, 1999). They are connected and arranged, and applied in very specific ways to communicate, activate, and articulate social and institutional relationships. They are used to represent not the lived experience but the institutional view. While they have meaning and use in their original form, hypertexts take on new proportion and significance in terms of social relations. Using institutional ethnography, I begin with the standpoint of the lived experiences of people with disabilities using EBT as the point of entry, then follow EBT's workings to reveal how it is shaping social relations and hegemonic restructuring. Topics covered include disability, age, welfare, privatization, data mining, data warehousing, and socio-technical systems and products. They lead to findings I conceptualize as hyperveillance: the use of data not just for surveillance and control, but to reify social constructs and orchestrate ruling relations. Hyperveillance is how data as hypertext are institutionally managed to invisibly insert and mediate power, mediate interdependent discursive linkages, and orchestrate social relations on both and individual and class level. To achieve this, I analytically explicate a five step Hyperveillance Circuit in terms of a digital dialectic. It begins with the swipe of the EBT card that generates the data (i.e., hypertext) and follows it through collection, analysis, ideological assemblage, and finally, its use to construct events in the institutional lens to reify hyperreality and sociological constructs. Along the hyperveillance circuit, I make analytical departure that informs broader social relations and hegemonic restructuring. This includes analytic indulgence to the fact that data as hypertext are mined, warehoused, and cross-matched with up to 2000 additional databases, and shared with other institutions and agencies for a virtually endless array of applications. At this point, I examine the implications of the ubiquitous and atemporal aspects of these practices of hyperveillance to include how they are changing social relations and how they contemporize foundational sociological concepts, especially objectification, interaction, and reification. Another analytical direction inculpates a hyperveillance industry: the government pays private companies to use the hypertext to manufacture socio-technical products that reify institutional ideology, then the companies further their profits and power by selling the products back to the government. These finding lead me to offer a Dynamic Model of Institutionalization as a research tool to explicate other digital discourses and socio-technical processes. It consists of three primary components - a target population, a dialectic of hypertext, and a legislated policy; ideology is used to unify and operationalize discursive workings. Throughout my work, the supporting analytical framework is digital discourse consisting of hypertext and what I conceptualize as hyperveillance. My research on EBT shows how hyperveillance is weaving itself into our social fabric as a way of life, and into ruling relations as an `improved' discursive approach. EBT has been uncontested and unrecognized as a discursive management tool and insertion of social and ruling relations. My research changes that, but what remains unanswered is the extent to which EBT, digital discourse, will ultimately change our social structure.

Little is known about the barriers and facilitators to local food procurement among women of reproductive age (WRA). Therefore we conducted qualitative interviews with WRA in rural eastern and western NC (ENC and WNC) to learn of factors related to locally sourced food procurement. In-depth interviews were conducted among low-income White, Black, and Hispanic English-speaking WRA (N=62 (ENC: 37; WNC: 23) (18-44 years)). Independent coders used a consensus codebook to double-code all transcripts. Coders then came together to discuss and resolve coding discrepancies, and identified themes and salient quotes. Cross-cutting themes from both ENC and WNC participants included access to local food sources; acceptance of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/Electronic Benefit Transfer (SNAP/EBT); freshness of produce; support for local agriculture; and the community aspect of local food sourcing. The in-depth understanding gained from this study could be used to guide tailored policy and intervention efforts aimed at promoting fruit and vegetable consumption among low-income WRA.

[EN] Predicting entrepreneurial behaviour within the environment of public sector research is considered to be of great interest, because this is what will determine the creation of new technology-based start-ups - often known as spin-offs - in universities, hospitals and other public research bodies. In the framework of the knowledge economy, and specifically in the life sciences sector, or "bioeconomy" (European Commission, 2012), the creation and development of a biotech company is considered an extremely useful technology transfer mechanism (Coduras et al., 2006; Morales-Gualdrón, 2008; Pisano, 2006). Said company's progress depends on the determination of the researchers behind it, given that creating a company is ultimately the personal decision of the entrepreneur. In most of the studies on entrepreneurship, the psychological process which leads an individual to "take the plunge" and set up a new company has been left to one side (Liñán et al., 2007; Moriano et al., 2008). How this process takes shape is expressed in the contemporary models of entrepreneurial intention (Krueger et al., 2006). According to Shaver (2012), entrepreneurial action is rooted in a number of background factors, both intrinsic and extrinsic to the entrepreneur, which shape his/her behaviour. This doctoral thesis aims to contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon of spin-off creation from the perspective of those factors which are intrinsic to the entrepreneur, analysing and providing evidence related to the entrepreneurial intention of public sector researchers in life sciences (or "bioresearchers"), and the characteristic features and motivating factors that, when considering which direction to take professionally, may cause them to view the setting up of a biotech company an ideal option (Shane, 2004). In order to study this type of phenomena, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991) is used, as one of the most widely accepted theoretical models to explain the links between people's attitudes and behaviour, based on which a large number of empirical studies concerned with predicting entrepreneurial intention in academic and scientific fields have been produced (Schlaegel et al., 2014). The model provides the link between the predictors of behavioural intention - attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control - and the intention, as well as the capacity of this intention to predict behaviour. From the results obtained, we can highlight the model based on TPB concludes that with the adjustments carried out in this study, 27% of the variance of the intention to set up a business can be explained, thus confirming the validity of this theoretical model to explain how the intention to create a biotech company is shaped. In this way, from the psychosocial point of view, it can be observed that entrepreneurship as a function is dependent, on the one hand, on the skill and motivational factors of the individuals involved in the process and, on the other hand, on their surrounding environment. One of the fundamental arguments of this doctoral thesis is based on the fact that the shaping of the intention, in a conscious and deliberate way, is a key precedent as to whether an entrepreneur decides to set up a business based on his/her research results. Therefore, the need to design more complex training policies to encourage entrepreneurial intention is clearly demonstrated, as is the need to reduce the barriers observed so that those bioresearchers with high entrepreneurial intention can develop entrepreneurial behaviour. In the same way, it is necessary to continue working hard on research and to continue deepening our understanding of how the process of creation of intention, and its later behavioural development within the framework of scientific entrepreneurship, is carried out by those people involved in the process. / [ES] Predecir la conducta emprendedora, en el ámbito del sistema público de investigación, se considera de gran interés, ya que este hecho condicionará la creación de nuevas empresas de base tecnológica -que denominamos spin-off- en universidades, hospitales y organismos públicos de investigación. En el marco de la economía del conocimiento y, en concreto, en el sector de ciencias de la vida -lo que se denomina bioeconomía (Comisión Europea, 2012)-, la creación y desarrollo de una bioempresa se considera un mecanismo de transferencia de tecnología de gran utilidad (Coduras et al., 2006; Morales-Gualdrón, 2008; Pisano, 2006), y su desarrollo está condicionado a la voluntad de los investigadores que quieran convertirse en empresarios, ya que en última instancia, crear una empresa es una decisión personal del emprendedor. La mayoría de los estudios sobre el emprendimiento han soslayado el proceso psicológico que lleva al individuo a tomar la decisión de arriesgarse y crear una nueva empresa (Liñán et al., 2007; Moriano et al., 2008). La configuración de este proceso está plasmada en los modelos contemporáneos de intención emprendedora (Krueger et al., 2006). Con la realización de esta tesis doctoral, se pretende contribuir a la comprensión del fenómeno de creación de spin-off desde su perspectiva de los factores endógenos del emprendedor, analizando y aportando evidencias sobre la intención emprendedora de los investigadores del sector público en ciencias de la vida -denominados bioinvestigadores-, sus características y motivaciones para que, en el contexto de su elección de carrera profesional, lleguen a considerar la creación de una bioempresa como una alternativa óptima (Shane, 2004). Para estudiar este tipo de fenómenos, se utiliza la teoría de la acción planificada (TAP) (Ajzen, 1991), como uno de los modelos teóricos más aceptados para explicar las relaciones entre las actitudes y los comportamientos de las personas, dando lugar a un número importante de estudios empíricos en relación con la predicción de la intención emprendedora en el ámbito académico y científico (Schlaegel et al., 2014). El modelo ofrece la relación entre los predictores de la intención conductual -actitudes, norma subjetiva y control conductual percibido-, y la intención, así como en la capacidad de esta intención para pronosticar la conducta. De los resultados obtenidos podemos destacar que el modelo basado en la TAP concluye que, con los ajustes realizados en este estudio, se explica el 27% de la varianza de la intención de emprender. Por consiguiente, se confirma la validez de este modelo teórico para explicar cómo se forma la intención de crear una bioempresa. De este modo, desde el punto de vista psicosocial, se observa que el emprendimiento es una función dependiente, por un lado, de las habilidades y motivaciones de los individuos involucrados en el proceso y, por otro lado, de la situación donde éstos se encuentran inmersos. Uno de los argumentos fundamentales de esta tesis doctoral, se fundamenta en que la formación de la intención, bajo una naturaleza deliberada y consciente, es un precedente clave en el hecho de que un emprendedor decida crear una empresa a partir de los resultados de su investigación. Por lo tanto, se pone de manifiesto la necesidad de diseñar políticas de formación más complejas para fomentar la intención emprendedora, así como atenuar las barreras observadas para que aquellos bioinvestigadores con una elevada intención emprendedora, desarrollen la conducta de emprender. De igual manera, se hace necesario seguir centrando esfuerzos de investigación, en mejorar la comprensión de cómo el proceso de creación de la intención, y su posterior desarrollo conductual en el marco del emprendimiento científico, se lleva a cabo en las personas involucradas en el proceso. / [CA] Predir la conducta emprenedora, en l'àmbit del sistema pùblic d'investigaciò, es considera de gran interés, ja que aquest fet condicionarà la creació de noves empreses amb una base tecnològica - que anomenem spin-off- en universitats, hospitals i organismes públics d'investigació. En el marc de l'economia del coneixement i, en concret, en el sector de ciències de la vida -que anomenem bioeconomia (Comissió Europea, 2012)-, la creació i desenvolupament d'una bioempresa es considera un mecanisme de transferència de tecnologia de gran utilitat (Coduras et al., 2006; Morales-Gualdrón, 2008; Pisano, 2006), i el seu desenvolupament es troba condicionat a la voluntat dels investigadors que volen convertir-se en empresaris, ja que en última instància, crear una empresa és una decisió personal de l'emprenedor. La majoria dels estudis sobre l'emprenedoria han deixat de banda el procés psicològic que porta l'individu a prendre la decisiò d'arriscar-se i crear una nova empresa (Liñán et al., 2007; Moriano et al., 2008). La configuraciò d'aquest procés es veu reflectida en els models contemporanis d'intenció emprenedora (Krueger et al., 2006). Amb la realització d'aquesta tesi doctoral, es pretén contribuir a la comprensió del fenòmen de creació d'spin-off des de la seua perspectiva dels factors endògens de l'emprenedor, analitzant i aportant evidències sobre la intenció emprenedora dels investigadors del sector públic en ciències de la vida -denominats bioinvestigadors-, les seues característiques i motivacions per què, en el context de la seua tria de carrera professional, arriben a considerar la creació d'una bioempresa com una alternativa òptima (Shane, 2004). Per estudiar aquest tipus de fenòmens, s'utilitza la teoria de l'acció planificada (TAP) (Ajzen, 1991), com un dels models teòrics més acceptats per explicar les relacions entre les actituds i els comportaments de les persones, donant lloc a un nombre important d'estudis empírics en relació amb la predicció de la intenciò emprenedora en l'àmbit acadèmic i científic (Schlaegel et al., 2014). El model ofereix la relació entre els predictors de la intenció conductual -actituds, norma subjetiva i control conductual percebut-, i la intenció, així com en la capacitat d'aquesta intenció per pronosticar la conducta. Dels resultats obtinguts podem destacar que la intenció emprenedora desenvolupada en el model basat en la TAP, conclou que amb els ajustaments fets en aquest estudi, s' explica el 27% de la variabilitat de la intenció d'empredre. Per tant, es confirma la validesa d'aquest model teòric per explicar com es forma la intenció de crear una bioempresa. D'aquesta manera, des del punt de vista psicosocial, s'observa que l'emprenedoria és una funció que depén, per una banda, de les habilitats i motivacions dels individus involucrats en el procés i, per l'altra, de la situació on aquestos es troben immersos. Un dels arguments fonamentals d'aquesta tesi doctoral, es fonamenta en el fet que la formació de la intenció, davall una naturalesa deliberada i conscient, és un precedent clau en el fet que un emprenedor decidesca crear una empresa a partir dels resultats de la seua investigació. Per tant, es posa de manifest la necessitat de dissenyar polítiques de formació més complexes per fomentar la intenció emprenedora, així com minvar les barreres observades per què aquells bioinvestigadors amb una elevada intenció emprenedora, desenvolupen la conducta d'emprendre. De la mateixa manera, cal seguir centrant esforços d'investigació, en millorar la comprensió de com el procés de creació de la intenció, i el seu posterior desenvolupament conductual en el marc de l'emprenedoria científica, és du a terme en les persones involucrades en el procés. / Rodríguez Batalla, F. (2015). Estudio de la intención emprendedora en el ámbito científico público. El caso de las ciencias de la vida en España [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/54117

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[pt] O objetivo da dissertação é contribuir para o avanço do conhecimento sobre a importância das funções da Tecnologia Industrial Básica (TIB) no ciclo de inovação das micro, pequenas e médias empresas (MPMEs) de base tecnológica no Brasil. Reconhecendo que essas empresas têm um papel fundamental no desenvolvimento econômico e social do país, a motivação da pesquisa é responder como elas percebem a importância das funções da TIB para o ciclo de inovação, na perspectiva de ressaltar os benefícios oriundos da consolidação da infraestrutura nacional de serviços tecnológicos de apoio a MPMEs de base tecnológica. A metodologia utilizada compreende: (i) revisão bibliográfica e documental para a elaboração do referencial teórico sobre os temas centrais da dissertação: MPMEs de base tecnológica; TIB; e inovação tecnológica; (ii) definição do objeto de estudo; da fonte primária de dados – Pesquisa de Inovação Tecnológica (PINTEC) do IBGE; e da grade de análise; (iii) solicitação ao IBGE de tabulações especiais da PINTEC; recebimento, formatação e análise dos dados; e elaboração e análise dos resultados; (iv) formulação das conclusões da pesquisa e de sugestões para a próxima PINTEC e estudos futuros. Destacam-se como resultados: (i) identificação de quatro itens da PINTEC diretamente associados às funções da TIB; (ii) análise da percepção das MPMEs brasileiras de base tecnológica sobre a relevância das funções da TIB para a inovação; (iii) análise comparativa dos padrões de respostas das MPMEs de base tecnológica inovadoras e não inovadoras. Como conclusão, tais resultados permitem afirmar que, em geral, essas empresas consideram as funções da TIB relevantes para suas atividades inovativas. A comparação entre as respostas das empresas inovadoras e não inovadoras reforça essa percepção: as inovadoras percebem melhor a importância de algumas funções da TIB do que as não inovadoras. / [en] The aim of this dissertation is to contribute to the understanding of some basic infrastructural technologies (TIB acronym in Portuguese) supporting innovation of technology-based micro, small and medium size enterprises (MSMEs) in Brazil. Given the critical role played by these firms in Brazil s social and economic development, the work seeks to answer how they perceive the importance of TIB in their innovation cycle. The methodology comprises: (i) a literature survey to elaborate a theoretical outline to characterize the core subjects of the dissertation: technology-based MSMEs; TIB; and technological innovation; (ii) definition of the object of study, of the primary data source – Technological Innovation Survey (Pesquisa de Inovação Tecnológica-PINTEC), of IBGE (Brazilian Statistical Office), and the analytic framework; (iii) to request IBGE to produce special tabulations; receipt, formatting and analysis of data; and analysis of results; and (iv) formulation of conclusions and suggestions for the next PINTEC survey and for future research. The main results can be summarized as follows: (i) identification of four PINTEC items associated with some TIB functions; (ii) identification and analysis of Brazilian technology-based MSMEs perceptions of the relevance of TIB functions for supporting innovation; and (iii) comparative analysis of patterns of response of innovative and non-innovative technology-based MSMEs. As conclusion, it can be said that, in general, these firms positively respond to TIB functions in innovation cycle. In particular, results show that innovative enterprises perceived better some TIB functions than the non-innovative ones.