PROMOTING INNOVATION AND HIGH-TECH ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES: AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH

ABSTRAC

Promoting Innovation and High-Tech Entrepreneurship in Historically Black Colleges and Universities: An Exploratory Research

This study explores the current state of innovation and high-tech entrepreneurial initiatives in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Previous research showed that institutions’ environment, faculty empowerment, organizational trust, early stage capital, innovation centers and innovative teaching practice had a major effect to support innovation and foster tech-entrepreneurship. We present our conceptual model. The final section explains the current state of research and implications for future research are discussed

Carbon footprint of Nepalese healthcare system: A study of Dhulikhel Hospital [version 1; peer review: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations, 1 not approved]

Background: Though direct greenhouse gas emissions cannot be observed in health care sectors, there can exist indirect emissions contributing to global climate change. This study addresses the concept of the carbon footprint and its significance in understanding the environmental impact of human activities, with a specific emphasis on the healthcare sector through gate-to-gate (GtoG) life cycle assessment. Transportation, energy consumption, and solid waste generated by hospitals are the primary sources of carbon emissions. Methods: Different standards, guidelines and parameters were used to estimate emissions from both the primary and secondary data. All steps and sub-steps involved in GtoG were accessed and analyzed within the standard ISO 14040:44 guideline. An extensive review of existing literature was carried out for the evaluation and verification of secondary data. Results: The total carbon footprint of generators, electricity consumption, transportation activities, LPG cylinders, PV systems was found to be 58,780 kg-CO2-eq/yr, 519,794 kg-CO2-eq/yr, 272,375 kg-CO2-eq/yr, 44,494 kg-CO2-eq/yr, 35,283 kg-CO2-eq/yr respectively and the emissions from non-biodegradable solid waste was found to be 489,835 kg-CO2/yr. Local air pollutants such as PM10, CO, SO2, NOX, and VOCs generated by generators and transportation were also estimated. The CH4 emissions from liquid waste were 1177.344 kg CH4/BOD yr, and those from biodegradables were 3821.6954 kg CH4/yr. Conclusions: Healthcare professionals and policymakers can take action to reduce the sector's carbon footprint by implementing best practices and encouraging sustainable behavior. This study can be taken as foundation for further exploration of indirect emissions from healthcare sectors not only in Nepal but also in south Asian scenario

Promoting Innovation and High-Tech Entrepreneurship in Historically Black Colleges and Universities: An Exploratory Research

This study explores the current state of innovation and high-tech entrepreneurial initiatives in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Previous research showed that institutions’ environment, faculty empowerment, organizational trust, early stage capital, innovation centers and innovative teaching practice had a major effect to support innovation and foster tech-entrepreneurship. We present our conceptual model. The final section explains the current state of research and implications for future research are discussed

Carbon footprint of Nepalese healthcare system: A study of Dhulikhel Hospital [version 2; peer review: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations, 1 not approved]

Background Though direct greenhouse gas emissions cannot be observed in health care sectors, there can exist indirect emissions contributing to global climate change. This study addresses the concept of the carbon footprint and its significance in understanding the environmental impact of human activities, with a specific emphasis on the healthcare sector through gate-to-gate (GtoG) life cycle assessment. Transportation, energy consumption, and solid waste generated by hospitals are the primary sources of carbon emissions. Methods Different standards, guidelines and parameters were used to estimate emissions from both the primary and secondary data. All steps and sub-steps involved in GtoG were accessed and analyzed within the standard ISO 14040:44 guideline. An extensive review of existing literature was carried out for the evaluation and verification of secondary data. Results The total carbon footprint of generators, electricity consumption, transportation activities, LPG cylinders, PV systems was found to be 58,780 kg-CO2-eq/yr, 519,794 kg-CO2-eq/yr, 272,375 kg-CO2-eq/yr, 44,494 kg-CO2-eq/yr, 35,283 kg-CO2-eq/yr respectively and the emissions from non-biodegradable solid waste was found to be 489,835 kg-CO2/yr. Local air pollutants such as PM10, CO, SO2, NOX, and VOCs generated by generators and transportation were also estimated. The CH4 emissions from liquid waste were 1177.344 kg CH4/BOD yr, and those from biodegradables were 3821.6954 kg CH4/yr. Conclusions Healthcare professionals and policymakers can take action to reduce the sector's carbon footprint by implementing best practices and encouraging sustainable behavior. This study can be taken as foundation for further exploration of indirect emissions from healthcare sectors not only in Nepal but also in south Asian scenario

Life cycle energy use and carbon emission of a modern single-family residential building in Nepal

The rapid urbanization and rural-urban migration trends have led to an increase in building construction activities, shifting from traditional practices to modern concrete structures. However, this transition has imposed significant environmental pressures, including heightened resource and energy demands, resulting in increased emissions. To gauge the environmental impact of construction, a thorough examination of each phase is crucial. This study used the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool, based on ISO 14040:2006, ISO 14044:2006, and EN 15978:2011, to evaluate the carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq) emissions throughout the complete life cycle of a modern single-family residential building. The findings reveal a total energy use of 6411.33 MJ per square meter and emissions of 718.35 kg CO2-eq per square meter over the building's lifespan of 50 years. Notably, the production of building materials and the construction phase contribute to the highest percentage (60.29%) of the total life cycle emissions owing to 49.51% of energy use. In contrast, emissions during the operational phase are relatively lower, attributed to increased electricity usage for cooking and minimal energy consumption for heating and cooling. Additionally, the study suggests that achieving complete electricity sufficiency within the country could reduce building emissions by 39.30%, as fossil fuel-based imports from India would be replaced with cleaner hydroelectricity

Potential of biogas production to reduce firewood consumption in remote high-elevation Himalayan communities in Nepal

Remote communities in the Nepalese mountains above 2500 m a.s.l. belong to the most precarious in the world. Inhabitants struggle for the minimum in terms of safe drinking water, food and sanitation. Reliable, affordable and clean energy for cooking, room heating and warm water for personal hygiene is often lacking and dependency on firewood very high. The remoteness and unlikeliness of electric grid connection in the coming decades make a diversified energy supply from renewable local resources crucial. Small-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic substrates has been used for long in rural areas of developing countries to produce biogas as energy source and recover residue as organic fertilizer. AD is challenging at high elevations due to year around lower ambient temperatures and lower annual biomass production per area compared to lowlands. Nevertheless, examples of operational household AD exist even above 3000 m a.s.l. in the Andes. Here we compare firewood consumption with biogas potential from organic substrates in a community with 39 households at 3150 m a.s.l. in Jumla District, Nepal. In five households with varying numbers of members and animals kept, mean firewood use and its energy content per capita (cap) and day (d) were 2.1 kg or ca. 25 MJ in spring and 2.3 kg or ca. 28 MJ in winter. Easily available substrates include cow, sheep and horse dung from overnight shelters and human excrements from pit latrines, amounting on average to 1.7 kg wet weight (kgww) cap−1 d−1 in spring and 2.2 kgww cap−1 d−1 in winter. Adjusted to normal conditions (Nm3 at 0 °C, 1013.15 hPa), these substrates yielded on average 0.08 Nm3 cap−1 d−1 biogas in spring and 0.12 Nm3 cap−1 d−1 in winter (35–60% methane content) in biochemical methane potential (BMPs) tests at 36 °C. This could provide up to 60% of basic cooking needs on average and up to 75% in a “typical” household in terms of members and animals kept. Of the overall thermal energy needs including also room heating ca. 10–20% could be covered, substituting 0.1–0.4 (mean: 0.2) kg firewood cap−1 d−1. If only animal dung and human excrements are considered, no competition for resources arises as residues can still be used as organic fertilizer. This study supports the design and introduction of planned pilot digesters integrated into on-going community development including pit latrines for substrate availability, greenhouses as possible way of thermal insulation, and planned pico-hydropower plants to use excess electricity during the night for digester heating