Social entrepreneurship in the era of digitalization and disruptive technology

(Galvanauskaite, 2014) mentioned that, “Social entrepreneurship is an emerging phenomenon and an important field that tackles the social problems of today’s world (Mair & Marti, 2006; Nicholls, 2008)”. (MORTENSEN, 2021) in her dissertation mentioned that, “Business models in all industries are being disrupted by advanced technology (Morrar et al., 2017).”. This thesis is aimed at exploring the role of technology in social entrepreneurship. (Holmes, n.d.) mentioned that, “Social constructivism, a social learning theory developed by Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky, posits that individuals are active participants in the creation of their own knowledge (Schreiber & Valle, 2013).”. Through social constructivist and actor-network theory, existing literature covering the phenomenon of social entrepreneurship and the technology’s role in social enterprises has been reviewed. Interviewing the founders of several organizations that lie across the spectrum of social enterprises has been the source of this research’s empirical data, which was then analyzed according to grounded theory. Results showed that by utilizing technological capabilities, social organizations managed to do the job that other sectors failed to do, besides improving both economic and social conditions. Technology use breaks a lot of barriers and facilitates peoples’ lives and helps eradicate the endless loop of social injustice these people live in. in the field of social entrepreneurship, the use of technology enables anyone at any level to have a social impact. How technologies are utilized in social enterprises to serve unprivileged communities, especially in developing countries, how they are implemented, and the role of technology in disrupting the market by creating social impact. In addition to breaking trade hurdles, social organizations tend to co-operate on an inter-organizational level to overcome this. According to social constructivist theory, the findings of this research can be an interest to other researchers in this field, it will provide a clearer understanding of the technology’s role in SE. Policymakers can look for insights on technology means, such as an open-source model, that can be applied to ensure a better life. Nascent social enterprises, governments, and businesses can learn a lesson on using technology to create a social impact instead of using it to extend the gap between the rich and the poor. Finally, this thesis isn’t conclusive; there are still broader questions to be asked and more research opportunities to be taken and hopefully, these findings can define a wider scope for upcoming research on the technology utilization in social entrepreneurship(Galvanauskaite, 2014) mencionó que “el emprendimiento social es un fenómeno emergente y un campo importante que aborda los problemas sociales del mundo actual (Mair & Marti, 2006; Nicholls, 2008)”. (MORTENSEN, 2021) en su disertación mencionó que “los modelos de negocios en todas las industrias están siendo interrumpidos por la tecnología avanzada (Morrar et al., 2017)”. Esta tesis tiene como objetivo explorar el papel de la tecnología en el emprendimiento social. (Holmes, s.f.) mencionó que “el constructivismo social, una teoría del aprendizaje social desarrollada por el psicólogo ruso Lev Vygotsky, postula que los individuos son participantes activos en la creación de su propio conocimiento (Schreiber & Valle, 2013)”. A través de la teoría del constructivista social y de la red de actores, se ha revisado la literatura existente que cubre el fenómeno del emprendimiento social y el papel de la tecnología en las empresas sociales. Entrevistar a los fundadores de varias organizaciones que se encuentran en el espectro de las empresas sociales ha sido la fuente de los datos empíricos de esta investigación, que luego se analizaron de acuerdo con la teoría fundamentada. Los resultados mostraron que al utilizar las capacidades tecnológicas, las organizaciones sociales lograron hacer el trabajo que otros sectores no lograron, además de mejorar las condiciones económicas y sociales. Los usos de la tecnología rompen muchas barreras y facilitan la vida de las personas y ayudan a erradicar el ciclo interminable de injusticia social en el que viven estas personas. En el campo del emprendimiento social, el uso de la tecnología permite que cualquier persona en cualquier nivel tenga un impacto social. Cómo se utilizan las tecnologías en las empresas sociales para servir a las comunidades desfavorecidas, especialmente en los países en desarrollo, cómo se implementan y el papel de la tecnología en la disrupción del mercado al generar un impacto social. Para superar esto, además de romper los obstáculos comerciales, las organizaciones sociales tienden a cooperar a nivel interorganizacional. De acuerdo con la teoría constructivista social, los hallazgos de esta investigación pueden ser de interés para otros investigadores en este campo, ya que proporcionarán una comprensión más clara del papel de la tecnología en la SE. Los formuladores de políticas pueden buscar información sobre medios tecnológicos, como: modelo de código abierto, que se puede aplicar para garantizar una vida mejor. Las empresas sociales nacientes, los gobiernos y las empresas pueden aprender una lección sobre el uso de la tecnología para crear un impacto social en lugar de usarla para ampliar la brecha entre ricos y pobres. Finalmente, esta tesis no es concluyente; Todavía hay preguntas más amplias por hacer y más oportunidades de investigación por aprovechar y, con suerte, estos hallazgos pueden definir un alcance más amplio para la próxima investigación sobre el uso de la tecnología en el emprendimiento social

Evidence of Early Supershear Transition in the Mw 7.8 Kahramanmara\c{s} Earthquake From Near-Field Records

The Mw 7.8 Kahramanmara\c{s} Earthquake was larger and more destructive than what had been expected for the tectonic setting in Southeastern Turkey. By using near-field records we provide evidence for early supershear transition on the splay fault that hosted the nucleation and early propagation of the first rupture that eventually transitioned into the East Anatolian fault. The two stations located furthest from the epicenter show a larger fault parallel particle velocity component relative to the fault normal particle velocity component; a unique signature of supershear ruptures that has been identified in theoretical and experimental models of intersonic rupture growth. The third station located closest to the epicenter, while mostly preserving the classical sub-Rayleigh characteristics, it also features a small supershear pulse clearly propagating ahead of the original sub-Rayleigh rupture. This record provides, for the first time ever, field observational evidence for the mechanism of intersonic transition. By using the two furthest stations we estimate the instantaneous supershear rupture propagation speed to be ~ 1.55 Cs and the sub-Rayleigh to supershear transition length to be around 19.45 km, very close to the location of the station nearest to the epicenter. This early supershear transition might have facilitated the continued propagation and triggering of slip on the nearby East Anatolian Fault leading to amplification of the hazard. The complex dynamics of the Kahramanmara\c{s} earthquake warrants further studies

The Human-Based Sustainability: a Responsive Approach towards Cities Redevelopment

Cities are complex and dynamic systems facing multiple challenges, such as environmental degradation, population growth, urban sprawl, social inequality, economic instability, and others. Environmental and physical sustainability approaches are insufficient to face these challenges. Cities need to adopt a more sustainable and flexible human based approach that takes into account the needs and aspirations of their residents, as well as paying attention to applying simple affordable environmental techniques and systems. The paper presents a new vision for achieving success when transforming existing cities into sustainable cities by creating a human-based sustainability model through an applied study. Firstly, it reviews recent literature on the concept of human-based sustainability strategies, presenting the goals of sustainable development, priciples and process for transforming existing cities into sustainable cities. Presenting some examples of sustainable projects that have failed, analyzing them and mentioning the reasons. The paper’s novel perspective emphasizes the crucial role of the humans in achieving sustainability. This comes after it has been established that the mere application of advanced environmental techniques is insufficient for transformation success. This perspective serves as a starting point to underscore the importance of human-based approaches in sustainable practices. Seven theories of human needs will be discussed to identify key needs that can influence people’s shift towards sustainable behaviour. This will serve as a prelude to highlight the significance of merging five crucial elements, known as the 5A elements (attractiveness, accessibility, awareness, affordability, availability), with sustainability strategies. Finally, the theories of human needs and the five elements that instigate behavioural change will be amalgamated based on their priorities and ralative importance, so as to set up a human-based approach model to be applyied to existing Egyptian cities for sustainability tranformation. This will be followed by a conclusive summary as a guide to practical application, as this process demonstrates the significance of the human factors in achieving sustainability, as opposed to solely relying on modern physical and environmental sustainability technologies

Investigating the challenges of applying the principles of the circular economy in the fashion industry: a systematic review

This is a systematic literature review paper that aims to synthetically report on the challenges of implementing circular economy (CE) in the fashion industry, to help key stakeholders in the industry shape their strategies and turn these challenges into opportunities. The method adopted to achieve the purpose of the paper is the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). Following the PRISMA 2020 flow diagram, 55 studies and 7 other sources were included and used to analyze the findings. Using a deductive research approach, the paper categorises the aspects related to the circular economy and their challenges identified through the systematic review of hard aspects and soft aspects of business management. The hard aspects identified include business model innovation, regulatory pressures, stakeholders' pressures, and financial pressures. Whilst the soft aspects identified include green intellectual capital and consumer-related issues. A conceptual framework is proposed to represent the hard and soft aspects identified in the literature, which could provide a guideline to management to facilitate the implementation of circular economy. The main implication of the paper is that management needs to focus on managing and overcoming the challenges of soft aspects first, by emphasizing the different practices identified in the paper, to be able to manage the challenges of hard aspects effectively and achieve better outcomes. However, it is recommended that the implications of this paper are empirically tested to uncover their values

Mapping of the circular economy implementation challenges in the fashion industry: a fuzzy‑TISM analysis

The fashion industry creates a large amount of pollution, making it one of the least environmentally friendly industries in the world with an ever-growing adoption of the linear fashion system “take-make-dispose” that continues to exploit scarce natural resources and energy. This advocate shifting to a circular economy to achieve sustainable production and consumption. However, numerous challenges are faced when introducing the principles of circular economy, obstructing the system transition. The ten challenges identified from the literature include poor material and energy efficiency, poor circular design, technological challenges, regulatory pressures, internal stakeholders’ pressures, financial pressures, insufficient human capital, poor management and leadership, lack of external collaborations, and consumer-related challenges. This research aims to identify the level of significance of the challenges identified from the literature to assist top management with formulating a strategy. Decisions will be made and prioritised based on the key challenges to ensure a successful and effective implementation of the circular economy in the fashion industry. To achieve the aim of this research, seven experts within both the circular economy and fashion context are interviewed. Fuzzy Total Interpretive Structural Modelling (Fuzzy-TISM) is used to arrange the challenges into a hierarchy-based model and to illustrate the interrelationship between these challenges. Also, Fuzzy MICMAC analysis is used to map and rank these challenges depending on their driving and dependence power. Based on the findings, regulatory pressures and poor management and leadership are the key challenges with the highest significance level. Therefore, successful and effective implementation of a circular economy requires a change in managerial strategies

The Effect Of Temperature On Age Estimation Of Semen Stains On Porous Versus Non-Porous Surfaces Using Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Measurement

Background: While mRNA can be used to identify the type of a body fluid, its degradation can also give some indication of the time interval since it was deposited. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of temperature on the age estimation of human semen stains using mRNA deposited on porous versus non-porous surfaces at different time intervals. Methods: Ten semen samples were applied on two different media (glass and cotton) and exposed to three different temperatures (4°C, room temperature, 40°C) and examined at three time intervals (0, 45, and 90 days). The semen-specific mRNA markers PRM1 and PRM2 were quantitatively assessed along with a reference gene, beta-actin, using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results: Mean Cq values of mRNA markers (PRM1 and PRM2) and the reference gene (beta-actin) increased with time of storage at different temperatures on both examined media. The mean quantification cycle (Cq) values of PRM2 were lower than PRM1, indicating that the levels of PRM2 marker in semen stain were higher than those of PRM1 marker. However, the mean Cq values of PRM2 at each time interval were not significantly different between temperatures, while PRM1 showed statistically significant differences in mean Cq values between temperatures at day 45 on both media. Conclusion: These results indicate that PRM2 can serve as a reliable mRNA marker to estimate the time since deposition of semen stain at different temperatures on two different media

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Immunoglobulin, glucocorticoid, or combination therapy for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: a propensity-weighted cohort study

Background: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a hyperinflammatory condition associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, has emerged as a serious illness in children worldwide. Immunoglobulin or glucocorticoids, or both, are currently recommended treatments. Methods: The Best Available Treatment Study evaluated immunomodulatory treatments for MIS-C in an international observational cohort. Analysis of the first 614 patients was previously reported. In this propensity-weighted cohort study, clinical and outcome data from children with suspected or proven MIS-C were collected onto a web-based Research Electronic Data Capture database. After excluding neonates and incomplete or duplicate records, inverse probability weighting was used to compare primary treatments with intravenous immunoglobulin, intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, or glucocorticoids alone, using intravenous immunoglobulin as the reference treatment. Primary outcomes were a composite of inotropic or ventilator support from the second day after treatment initiation, or death, and time to improvement on an ordinal clinical severity scale. Secondary outcomes included treatment escalation, clinical deterioration, fever, and coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution. This study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN69546370. Findings: We enrolled 2101 children (aged 0 months to 19 years) with clinically diagnosed MIS-C from 39 countries between June 14, 2020, and April 25, 2022, and, following exclusions, 2009 patients were included for analysis (median age 8·0 years [IQR 4·2–11·4], 1191 [59·3%] male and 818 [40·7%] female, and 825 [41·1%] White). 680 (33·8%) patients received primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin, 698 (34·7%) with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, 487 (24·2%) with glucocorticoids alone; 59 (2·9%) patients received other combinations, including biologicals, and 85 (4·2%) patients received no immunomodulators. There were no significant differences between treatments for primary outcomes for the 1586 patients with complete baseline and outcome data that were considered for primary analysis. Adjusted odds ratios for ventilation, inotropic support, or death were 1·09 (95% CI 0·75–1·58; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids and 0·93 (0·58–1·47; corrected p value=1·00) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Adjusted average hazard ratios for time to improvement were 1·04 (95% CI 0·91–1·20; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, and 0·84 (0·70–1·00; corrected p value=0·22) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Treatment escalation was less frequent for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids (OR 0·15 [95% CI 0·11–0·20]; p<0·0001) and glucocorticoids alone (0·68 [0·50–0·93]; p=0·014) versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Persistent fever (from day 2 onward) was less common with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids compared with either intravenous immunoglobulin alone (OR 0·50 [95% CI 0·38–0·67]; p<0·0001) or glucocorticoids alone (0·63 [0·45–0·88]; p=0·0058). Coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution did not differ significantly between treatment groups. Interpretation: Recovery rates, including occurrence and resolution of coronary artery aneurysms, were similar for primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin when compared to glucocorticoids or intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids. Initial treatment with glucocorticoids appears to be a safe alternative to immunoglobulin or combined therapy, and might be advantageous in view of the cost and limited availability of intravenous immunoglobulin in many countries. Funding: Imperial College London, the European Union's Horizon 2020, Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Foundation, UK National Institute for Health and Care Research, and National Institutes of Health

Immunoglobulin, glucocorticoid, or combination therapy for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: a propensity-weighted cohort study

Background Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a hyperinflammatory condition associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, has emerged as a serious illness in children worldwide. Immunoglobulin or glucocorticoids, or both, are currently recommended treatments. Methods The Best Available Treatment Study evaluated immunomodulatory treatments for MIS-C in an international observational cohort. Analysis of the first 614 patients was previously reported. In this propensity-weighted cohort study, clinical and outcome data from children with suspected or proven MIS-C were collected onto a web-based Research Electronic Data Capture database. After excluding neonates and incomplete or duplicate records, inverse probability weighting was used to compare primary treatments with intravenous immunoglobulin, intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, or glucocorticoids alone, using intravenous immunoglobulin as the reference treatment. Primary outcomes were a composite of inotropic or ventilator support from the second day after treatment initiation, or death, and time to improvement on an ordinal clinical severity scale. Secondary outcomes included treatment escalation, clinical deterioration, fever, and coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution. This study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN69546370. Findings We enrolled 2101 children (aged 0 months to 19 years) with clinically diagnosed MIS-C from 39 countries between June 14, 2020, and April 25, 2022, and, following exclusions, 2009 patients were included for analysis (median age 8·0 years [IQR 4·2–11·4], 1191 [59·3%] male and 818 [40·7%] female, and 825 [41·1%] White). 680 (33·8%) patients received primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin, 698 (34·7%) with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, 487 (24·2%) with glucocorticoids alone; 59 (2·9%) patients received other combinations, including biologicals, and 85 (4·2%) patients received no immunomodulators. There were no significant differences between treatments for primary outcomes for the 1586 patients with complete baseline and outcome data that were considered for primary analysis. Adjusted odds ratios for ventilation, inotropic support, or death were 1·09 (95% CI 0·75–1·58; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids and 0·93 (0·58–1·47; corrected p value=1·00) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Adjusted average hazard ratios for time to improvement were 1·04 (95% CI 0·91–1·20; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, and 0·84 (0·70–1·00; corrected p value=0·22) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Treatment escalation was less frequent for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids (OR 0·15 [95% CI 0·11–0·20]; p<0·0001) and glucocorticoids alone (0·68 [0·50–0·93]; p=0·014) versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Persistent fever (from day 2 onward) was less common with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids compared with either intravenous immunoglobulin alone (OR 0·50 [95% CI 0·38–0·67]; p<0·0001) or glucocorticoids alone (0·63 [0·45–0·88]; p=0·0058). Coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution did not differ significantly between treatment groups. Interpretation Recovery rates, including occurrence and resolution of coronary artery aneurysms, were similar for primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin when compared to glucocorticoids or intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids. Initial treatment with glucocorticoids appears to be a safe alternative to immunoglobulin or combined therapy, and might be advantageous in view of the cost and limited availability of intravenous immunoglobulin in many countries. Funding Imperial College London, the European Union's Horizon 2020, Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Foundation, UK National Institute for Health and Care Research, and National Institutes of Health

Spiral Groove Bearing Multiphysics Modeling

Cone crushers are widely used in the mining, mineral processing and quarrying segments of the industry to crush ores and large rocks. In such machinery, the load to be carried is rather heavy and the motion is gyratory which creates a need for a bearing set that can withstand such severe conditions. Sandvik AB is a high-technology Swedish engineering group specialized in tools and tooling systems for metal cutting, equipment, as well as tools and services for the mining and construction industries. One of their products relevant to the mining industry is the cone crusher which utilizes a 3-piece bearing set to carry thrust load. This bearing can be classified as a Spiral Groove Bearing \footnote{The abbreviation S.G.B will be used interchangeably throughout the thesis.}, and it has been incurred that it wears out rather quickly and is believed to be running under mixed-lubrication conditions where the interfaces in the bearing-set are not fully lubricated. The aim behind this thesis is to create a multiphysics model of this bearing in order to understand deeply how it works and the reasons why it does not perform as expected as well as to predict design improvements which can improve the performance of the bearing-set, thus increasing its operating life. It has been concluded that the bearing operates under severe mixed-lubrication conditions and that the generation of a squeeze film is the only method by which lubrication takes place due to the excessive depth of the grooves which is needed to allow for an adequate amount of cold oil to flow into the grooves and cool the interface as well as to accommodate for a considerable amount of wear particles. In light of the results and insight gathered from the simulations, possible design variations of the bearing which can be advantageous in terms of mitigating asperity friction in the interfaces of the bearing are discussed and tested