The Rise of the Social in Entrepreneurial Activities in National and International Contexts: A Clarification of Terms in the Development of a New Conceptual Framework

In examining the ‘social’ in entrepreneurial activities in national and international contexts our focus is on social innovation and business enterprise. Attention is given to what we understand by ‘social’ in entrepreneurial behaviours, innovation and change and the importance of social capital and social networks to understanding the dynamics that drive social innovation within the enterprise. Our social focus takes us on a conceptual journey in examining the meaning and import of social innovation, social capital, social networks and social enterprise. The rise in the import and media attention to social business within the international arena and the growing call for a social-orientation among business practitioners from small to medium enterprises to larger multi-national enterprises has promoted dialogue and debate about social processes that have also brought in its wake a certain amount of confusion and obfuscation. We set out to clarify this growing range of socially-oriented terms and identify the relationships between these concepts with the aim of extending knowledge in this emergent field. A key objective is to build a robust conceptual framework that informs our understanding of these complex relationships and provides a platform for further debate and research

The Rise of the Social in Entrepreneurial Activities in National and International Contexts: A Clarification of Terms in the Development of a New Conceptual Framework

In examining the ‘social’ in entrepreneurial activities in national and international contexts our focus is on social innovation and business enterprise. Attention is given to what we understand by ‘social’ in entrepreneurial behaviours, innovation and change and the importance of social capital and social networks to understanding the dynamics that drive social innovation within the enterprise. Our social focus takes us on a conceptual journey in examining the meaning and import of social innovation, social capital, social networks and social enterprise. The rise in the import and media attention to social business within the international arena and the growing call for a social-orientation among business practitioners from small to medium enterprises to larger multi-national enterprises has promoted dialogue and debate about social processes that have also brought in its wake a certain amount of confusion and obfuscation. We set out to clarify this growing range of socially-oriented terms and identify the relationships between these concepts with the aim of extending knowledge in this emergent field. A key objective is to build a robust conceptual framework that informs our understanding of these complex relationships and provides a platform for further debate and research

Economic Impacts of Not Extending Biofuels Subsidies

This study uses a stochastic model to analyze the impact of not extending the ethanol tax credit, the ethanol import tariff, or the $1.00 per gallon biodiesel tax credit on the biofuels and agricultural commodity markets

The dynamics of innovation and social capital in social enterprises: a relational sense-making perspective

We develop a relational sense-making framework in order to understand the ways in which knowledge and information, when transferred across social networks, enable or inhibit the innovation process and its sustainability within social enterprises. Our model comprises four main elements: (i) Social capital, (ii) the Innovation, (iii) the Process, and (iv) Adoption and ongoing support (SIPA). Collective understanding through sense-making and sense-giving is fundamental to the successful management and sustainability of innovation projects. The social capital which emerges and develops may incorporate formal and/or informal group(s) linked by particular interests, common goals and/or shared agenda(s). Broadly speaking, the innovation may be directed towards either a problem or an opportunity for the collective. The ‘black box’ process through which different views and interests are presented, interpreted and collective sense-making occurs in the further development and uptake of innovation is by its nature: multifaceted, complex and non-linear. The temporal fragility of certain innovations necessitates ongoing support and acceptance in order to achieve longer-term sustainability. The iterative relations between these elements of social capital, innovation, process and adoption occur within a social, political and economic context in which sense-making and sense-giving of individuals and groups often compete. A key objective of our research is, therefore, to tease out the extent to which and the ways in which social relationships and networks, innovation intentions and technology development are influenced by social capital dynamics within organizations, social enterprises in particular

Progressive neurodegeneration following spinal cord injury: Implications for clinical trials.

OBJECTIVE: To quantify atrophy, demyelination, and iron accumulation over 2 years following acute spinal cord injury and to identify MRI predictors of clinical outcomes and determine their suitability as surrogate markers of therapeutic intervention. METHODS: We assessed 156 quantitative MRI datasets from 15 patients with spinal cord injury and 18 controls at baseline and 2, 6, 12, and 24 months after injury. Clinical recovery (including neuropathic pain) was assessed at each time point. Between-group differences in linear and nonlinear trajectories of volume, myelin, and iron change were estimated. Structural changes by 6 months were used to predict clinical outcomes at 2 years. RESULTS: The majority of patients showed clinical improvement with recovery stabilizing at 2 years. Cord atrophy decelerated, while cortical white and gray matter atrophy progressed over 2 years. Myelin content in the spinal cord and cortex decreased progressively over time, while cerebellar loss decreases decelerated. As atrophy progressed in the thalamus, sustained iron accumulation was evident. Smaller cord and cranial corticospinal tract atrophy, and myelin changes within the sensorimotor cortices, by 6 months predicted recovery in lower extremity motor score at 2 years. Whereas greater cord atrophy and microstructural changes in the cerebellum, anterior cingulate cortex, and secondary sensory cortex by 6 months predicted worse sensory impairment and greater neuropathic pain intensity at 2 years. CONCLUSION: These results draw attention to trauma-induced neuroplastic processes and highlight the intimate relationships among neurodegenerative processes in the cord and brain. These measurable changes are sufficiently large, systematic, and predictive to render them viable outcome measures for clinical trials

Multi-layered collagen-based scaffolds for osteochondral defect repair in rabbits.

INTRODUCTION: Identification of a suitable treatment for osteochondral repair presents a major challenge due to existing limitations and an urgent clinical need remains for an off-the-shelf, low cost, one-step approach. A biomimetic approach, where the biomaterial itself encourages cellular infiltration from the underlying bone marrow and provides physical and chemical cues to direct these cells to regenerate the damaged tissue, provides a potential solution. To meet this need, a multi-layer collagen-based osteochondral defect repair scaffold has been developed in our group. AIM: The objective of this study was to assess the in vivo response to this scaffold and determine its ability to direct regenerative responses in each layer in order to repair osteochondral tissue in a critical-sized defect in a rabbit knee. METHODS: Multi-layer scaffolds, consisting of a bone layer composed of type I collagen (bovine source) and hydroxyapatite (HA), an intermediate layer composed of type I and type II collagen and HA; and a superficial layer composed of type I and type II collagen (porcine source) and hyaluronic acid (HyA), were implanted into critical size (3 × 5 mm) osteochondral defects created in the medial femoral condyle of the knee joint of New Zealand white rabbits and compared to an empty control group. Repair was assessed macroscopically, histologically and using micro-CT analysis at 12 weeks post implantation. RESULTS: Analysis of repair tissue demonstrated an enhanced macroscopic appearance in the multi-layer scaffold group compared to the empty group. In addition, diffuse host cellular infiltration in the scaffold group resulted in tissue regeneration with a zonal organisation, with repair of the subchondral bone, formation of an overlying cartilaginous layer and evidence of an intermediate tidemark. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate the potential of this biomimetic multi-layered scaffold to support and guide the host reparative response in the treatment of osteochondral defects. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Osteochondral defects, involving cartilage and the underlying subchondral bone, frequently occur in young active patients due to disease or injury. While some treatment options are available, success is limited and patients often eventually require joint replacement. To address this clinical need, a multi-layer collagen-based osteochondral defect repair scaffold designed to direct host-stem cell mediated tissue formation within each region, has been developed in our group. The present study investigates the in vivo response to this scaffold in a critical-sized defect in a rabbit knee. Results shows the scaffolds ability to guide the host reparative response leading to tissue regeneration with a zonal organisation, repair of the subchondral bone, formation of an overlying cartilaginous layer and evidence of an intermediate tidemark

Climate smart agriculture? Governing the sustainable development goals in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines the political economic and governance challenges faced by African governments in operationalizing Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) as part of their pursuit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There is a need to enrich our understanding of the diverse contexts and ways in which governments will have to navigate and address the inevitable choices and conflicts, synergies and trade-offs that will characterize efforts to simultaneously implement these global goals. Here we seek to develop an account of why and how countries are managing the interrelationship between SDGs, particularly those associated with food security and climate action. We develop explanations for the diversity in approaches and provide an initial assessment of what the consequences are for policy and practice. The analysis is informed by the contrasting experiences of four Eastern African countries, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Rwanda, as they seek to build more “climate resilient” food and agricultural systems that are compatible with achieving the SDGs

Enabling R&D for accurate simulation of non-ideal explosives.

We implemented two numerical simulation capabilities essential to reliably predicting the effect of non-ideal explosives (NXs). To begin to be able to treat the multiple, competing, multi-step reaction paths and slower kinetics of NXs, Sandia's CTH shock physics code was extended to include the TIGER thermochemical equilibrium solver as an in-line routine. To facilitate efficient exploration of reaction pathways that need to be identified for the CTH simulations, we implemented in Sandia's LAMMPS molecular dynamics code the MSST method, which is a reactive molecular dynamics technique for simulating steady shock wave response. Our preliminary demonstrations of these two capabilities serve several purposes: (i) they demonstrate proof-of-principle for our approach; (ii) they provide illustration of the applicability of the new functionality; and (iii) they begin to characterize the use of the new functionality and identify where improvements will be needed for the ultimate capability to meet national security needs. Next steps are discussed

Phloem: the integrative avenue for resource distribution, signaling, and defense.

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