The role of social media in the collaboration, interaction, co-creation and co-delivery of a social venture in an uncertain conflict environment

This research case study examines the creation and development of a bottom-up social enterprise immediately after the outbreak of a civil war in an Arab country by a group of young patriots in the aftermath of the Arab Spring uprisings in the 2010s. Drawing on Linders’ (2012) model of social action lifecycle, our study examines how different actors become involved and co-created a socially entrepreneurial venture (SEV), how these actors contributed to the coproduction and co-delivery of the social actions (values) over time, and how social media play roles in these processes. Drawing from the empirical evidences of citizen co-production within the existing literature, we found that SEVs operate in very different ways in which the role of social media is critical, both from their equivalents operating in a penurious but stable environment, and those intending to pursue political action within a conflict situation. In our case study, social media was not intended for mass-mobilisation, but for selected mobilisation amongst those within the network. This is due to the insecure environment and the fear of infiltration from opposing parties. We also examine how new actors were, over time, being carefully screened and selected, and potential harmful existing players being excluded, which in turn contributed to the evolving nature of the social enterprises

Path-and Place-dependence of entrepreneurial ventures at times of war and conflict.

Studies have previously examined the path development of entrepreneurs within a penurious environment but what if their path encounters a conflict situation? Does it make the place even more resource-poor and subsequently squeeze out any remaining life from entrepreneurism? Utilising Isaksen?s (2014) characterisation of path-dependence, we intend to examine how entrepreneurs negotiate their path through the ?double whammy? of penurious environment and conflict. Through an event-based approach examining the entrepreneurial paths of three wartime entrepreneurs, our study indicates that, whilst the immediate aftermath is chaos leading to limited path-extension and even path-exhaustion, once the initial fog is clear, entrepreneurial individuals find different ways to adapt, not only through path-extension, but also through path-renewal and path-creation. These opportunities are place-dependent, the recognition of which requires considerable local knowledge and resources acquired through experience and prior local investment as well as interdependent networks

Cooperative emission of a pulse train in an optically thick scattering medium

An optically thick cold atomic cloud emits a coherent flash of light in the forward direction when the phase of an incident probe field is abruptly changed. Because of cooperativity, the duration of this phenomena can be much shorter than the excited lifetime of a single atom. Repeating periodically the abrupt phase jump, we generate a train of pulses with short repetition time, high intensity contrast and high efficiency. In this regime, the emission is fully governed by cooperativity even if the cloud is dilute.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Communications system evolutionary scenarios for Martian SEI support

In the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) mission scenarios, expanding human presence is the primary driver for high data rate Mars-Earth communications. To support an expanding human presence, the data rate requirement will be gradual, following the phased implementation over time of the evolving SEI mission. Similarly, the growth and evolution of the space communications infrastructure to serve this requirement will also be gradual to efficiently exploit the useful life of the installed communications infrastructure and to ensure backward compatibility with long-term users. In work conducted over the past year, a number of alternatives for supporting high data rate Mars-Earth communications have been analyzed with respect to their compatibility with gradual evolution of the space communications infrastructure. The alternatives include RF, millimeter wave (MMW), and optical implementations, and incorporate both surface and space-based relay terminals in the Mars and Earth regions. Each alternative is evaluated with respect to its ability to efficiently meet a projected growth in data rate over time, its technology readiness, and its capability to satisfy the key conditions and constraints imposed by evolutionary transition. As a result of this analysis, a set of attractive alternative communications architectures have been identified and described, and a road map is developed that illustrates the most rational and beneficial evolutionary paths for the communications infrastructure

How entrepreneurial are social entrepreneurship education providers? The role of universities’ entrepreneurial ecosystems in the provision of elective social entrepreneurship courses to business students

With the growing emphasis on social entrepreneurship (SE), many universities are delivering social entrepreneurship courses (SECs) to develop students’ social awareness and aspirations, and socially-entrepreneurial behaviors. This study investigates the extent to which the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE), entailing entrepreneurism at individual, university and regional levels, may impact on universities’ decisions to offer SECs to business students. Using data from 501 US-based, AACSB-accredited business schools, the finding indicates the importance of the universities’ EE and entrepreneurialism at multi-levels in their commitment to SECs

Does social performance contribute to economic performance of social enterprises? The role of social enterprise reputation building. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research

Purpose Literature on the relationship between social performance and economic performance of social enterprises has long been inconclusive. This paper aims to investigate whether and, if so, how social performance contributes to economic performance of social enterprises. Specifically, drawing from the resource-based view and signalling theory, the study examines how the development of reputation, which enables social enterprises to signal the enterprises' stakeholders' commitment towards social causes, mediates the relationship between the two. Design/methodology/approach Employing a quantitative research design, data were collected from a sample of 164 social enterprises in the UK and analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings The results illustrate that whilst the direct relationship between social and economic performance is inconclusive, social performance contributes indirectly to improve economic performance through improving social enterprise reputation. Originality/value To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first of this kind in the context of social enterprises which sheds light on the long-standing conflicting literature on the relationship between the dual objectives (i.e. social and economic) by providing reputation as the mediating variable

Compulsory school-based enterprise education as a gateway to an entrepreneurial career

This article explores the direct influence of school-based enterprise education on career choices and particularly, how this might be limited as entrepreneurial intentions dissipate over time. We propose that it is the indirect influence of school-based enterprise education, through encouraging voluntary engagement with other forms of enterprise education, which is important. Drawing upon data from the United Kingdom (UK) Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) study this paper utilises a binary logistic regression approach and finds evidence to support the proposed indirect role. This shows the importance of collaboration between those delivering and designing enterprise education at all stages to ensure that young people are prepared correctly to move seamlessly between such stages

Wireless sensor network for cattle monitoring system

This paper describes a cost effective Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) technology for monitoring the health of dairy cows. By monitoring and understanding the cow individual and herd behaviour, farmers can potentially identify the onset of illness, lameness or other undesirable health conditions. However, the WSN implementation needs to cope with various technical challenges before it can be suitably and routinely applied in cow management. This paper discusses results concerning data transportation (i.e. mobility) from the cow mounted sensory devices