Understanding the gender gap in immigrant entrepreneurship: a multi-country study of immigrants’ embeddedness in economic, social, and institutional contexts

Given the rising rate of migration across the globe, immigrant entrepreneurship is more than ever a topic of high theoretical and practical relevance. Immigrant entrepreneurship can offer host societies a win-win situation, generating incomes for immigrant entrepreneurs and contributing to knowledge transfer, innovativeness, and economic growth within the host economy. However, studies reveal that immigrant entrepreneurship is primarily male dominated and our understanding of the drivers and contextual factors that explain the gender gap is limited. Based on the mixed embeddedness approach, this multi-country study investigates the effects of immigrants’ embeddedness in supportive economic, social, and institutional environmental conditions on the gender gap in immigrant entrepreneurship. Our key findings are threefold: First, the results confirm that a gender gap in immigrant entrepreneurship exists. Female immigrants, compared with their male counterparts, are less likely to start and run their own business. Second, the results reveal that female immigrant entrepreneurship is encouraged by a supportive entrepreneurial environment, showing that policy can enhance female immigrant entrepreneurship through supportive conditions. Third, we find the same pattern of results for forced immigrants and opposite results for natives, suggesting that entrepreneurship is a “Plan A” employment strategy for (forced) female immigrants, whereas it is only a “Plan B” employment strategy for female natives

Transition Properties of Low Lying States in Atomic Indium

We present here the results of our relativistic many-body calculations of various properties of the first six low-lying excited states of indium. The calculations were performed using the relativistic coupled-cluster method in the framework of the singles, doubles and partial triples approximation. We obtain a large lifetime ~10s for the [4p^6]5s^2 5p_{3/2} state, which had not been known earlier. Our precise results could be used to shed light on the reliability of the lifetime measurements of the excited states of atomic indium that we have considered in the present work.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure and 3 table

The Founder of Physical Geography

n/

Cellular automaton model of precipitation/dissolution coupled with solute transport

Precipitation/dissolution reactions coupled with solute transport are modelled as a cellular automaton in which solute molecules perform a random walk on a regular lattice and react according to a local probabilistic rule. Stationary solid particles dissolve with a certain probability and, provided solid is already present or the solution is saturated, solute particles have a probability to precipitate. In our simulation of the dissolution of a solid block inside uniformly flowing water we obtain solid precipitation downstream from the original solid edge, in contrast to the standard reaction-transport equations. The observed effect is the result of fluctuations in solute density and diminishes when we average over a larger ensemble. The additional precipitation of solid is accompanied by a substantial reduction in the relatively small solute concentration. The model is appropriate for the study of the r\^ole of intrinsic fluctuations in the presence of reaction thresholds and can be employed to investigate porosity changes associated with the carbonation of cement.Comment: LaTeX file, 13 pages. To appear in Journal of Statistical Physics (Proceedings of Lattice Gas'94, June 1994, Princeton). Figures available from author. Requests may be submitted by E-mail ([email protected]) or ordinary mail (Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland

Patent Medicine Sellers: How Can They Help Control Childhood Malaria?

Roll Back Malaria Initiative encourages participation of private health providers in malaria control because mothers seek care for sick children from them. This study investigated Patent Medicine Sellers (PMS) management of presumptive malaria in children in order to identify how they can assist malaria control. A cross-sectional survey of 491 PMS in Kaduna, Nigeria, was done using interviews and observation of shop activities. Most (80%) customers bought drugs without prescriptions. Only 29.5% were given instructions about doses. Between 40–100% doses of recommended antimalarials were incorrect. Some (22%) PMS did not ask questions about illness for which they were consulted. Most children treated in shops received injections. PMS facilitate homecare but have deficiencies in knowledge and practice. Interventions must focus on training them to accurately determine doses, give advice about drug administration, use oral medication, and ask about illness. Training should be made a prerequisite for registering and reregistering shops

Practice rather than preach: cultural practices and female social entrepreneurship

This paper draws on practice theory to argue that the practiced culture of a society and gender interact to create cultured capacities for social entrepreneurship among entrepreneurs. We combine data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) with the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) and World Bank (WB) to identify what cultural practices are most relevant for female entrepreneurs’ practice of social entrepreneurship across 33 countries. Our findings suggest that female entrepreneurs are more likely to engage in social entrepreneurship when cultural practices of power distance, humane orientation, and in-group collectivism are low, and cultural practices of future orientation and uncertainty avoidance are high, when compared to male entrepreneurs

Socioeconomic Equity in the Receipt of In-Hospital Care and Outcomes in Australian Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients: The CONCORDANCE Registry

Background: Socioeconomic status (SES) is a social determinant of both health and receipt of health care services, but its impact is under-studied in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The aim of this study was to examine the influence of SES on in-hospital care, and clinical events for patients presenting with an ACS to public hospitals in Australia. Methods: Data from 9064 ACS patient records were collected from 41 public hospitals nationwide from 2009 as part of the Cooperative National Registry of Acute Coronary Syndrome Care (CONCORDANCE) registry. For this analysis, we divided the cohort into four socioeconomic groups (based on postcode of usual residence) and compared the in-hospital care provided and clinical outcomes before and after adjustment for both patient clinical characteristics and hospital clustering. Results: Patients were divided into four SES groups (from the most to the least disadvantaged: 2042 (23%) vs. 2104 (23%) vs. 1994 (22%) vs. 2968 (32%)). Following adjustments for patient characteristics, there were no differences in the odds of receiving coronary angiogram, revascularisation, prescription of recommended medication, or referral to cardiac rehabilitation across the SES groups (p = 0.06, 0.69, 0.89 and 0.79, respectively). After adjustment for clinical characteristics, no associations were observed for in-hospital and cumulative death (p = 0.62 and p = 0.71, respectively). However, the most disadvantaged group were 37% more likely to have a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) than the least disadvantaged group (OR (95% CI): 1.37 (1.1, 1.71), p = 0.02) driven by incidence of in-hospital heart failure. Conclusions: Although there may be gaps in the delivery of care, this delivery of care does not differ by patient's SES. It is an encouraging affirmation that all patients in Australian public hospitals receive equal in-hospital care, and the likelihood of death is comparable between the SES groups

Surface Modification of Porous Polyethylene Implants with an Albumin-Based Nanocarrier-Release System

Background: Porous polyethylene (PPE) implants are used for the reconstruction of tissue defects but have a risk of rejection in case of insufficient ingrowth into the host tissue. Various growth factors can promote implant ingrowth, yet a long-term gradient is a prerequisite for the mediation of these effects. As modification of the implant surface with nanocarriers may facilitate a long-term gradient by sustained factor release, implants modified with crosslinked albumin nanocarriers were evaluated in vivo. Methods: Nanocarriers from murine serum albumin (MSA) were prepared by an inverse miniemulsion technique encapsulating either a low-or high-molar mass fluorescent cargo. PPE implants were subsequently coated with these nanocarriers. In control cohorts, the implant was coated with the homologue non-encapsulated cargo substance by dip coating. Implants were consequently analyzed in vivo using repetitive fluorescence microscopy utilizing the dorsal skinfold chamber in mice for ten days post implantation. Results: Implant-modification with MSA nanocarri-ers significantly prolonged the presence of the encapsulated small molecules while macromolecules were detectable during the investigated timeframe regardless of the form of application. Conclusions: Surface modification of PPE implants with MSA nanocarriers results in the alternation of release kinetics especially when small molecular substances are used and therefore allows a prolonged factor release for the promotion of implant integration.</p

Entrepreneurs’ age, institutions, and social value creation goals: a multi-country study

This study explores the relationship between an entrepreneur's age and his/her social value creation goals. Building on the lifespan developmental psychology literature and institutional theory, we hypothesize a U-shaped relationship between entrepreneurs’ age and their choice to create social value through their ventures, such that younger and older entrepreneurs create more social value with their businesses while middle age entrepreneurs are relatively more economically and less socially oriented with their ventures. We further hypothesize that the quality of a country’s formal institutions in terms of economic, social, and political freedom steepen the U-shaped relationship between entrepreneurs’ age and their choice to pursue social value creation as supportive institutional environments allow entrepreneurs to follow their age-based preferences. We confirm our predictions using multilevel mixed-effects linear regressions on a sample of over 15,000 entrepreneurs (aged between 18 and 64 years) in 45 countries from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data. The findings are robust to several alternative specifications. Based on our findings, we discuss implications for theory and practice, and we propose future research directions

Community Health Worker programmes’ integration into national health systems: Scoping review

Background: Community health worker (CHW) programmes, when adequately integrated into mainstream health systems, can provide a viable, affordable and sustainable path to strengthened health systems that better meets demands for improved child health, especially in resource-constrained settings. However, studies that report on how CHW programmes are integrated into respective health systems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are missing. Aim: This review presents evidence on CHW programmes’ integration into National Health Systems for improved health outcomes in SSA. Setting: Sub-Saharan Africa. Method: Six CHW programmes representing three sub-Saharan regions (West, East, and Southern Africa) were purposively selected based on their deemed integration into respective National Health Systems. A database search of literature limited to the identified programmes was then conducted. Screening and literature selection was guided a scoping review framework. Abstracted data were synthesised and presented in a narrative form. Results: A total of 42 publications met the inclusion criteria. Reviewed papers had an even focus on all six CHW programmes integration components. Although some similarities were observed, evidence of integration on most CHW programme integration components varied across countries. The linkage of CHW programmes to respective health systems runs across all reviewed countries. Some CHW programme components such as CHW recruitment, education and certification, service delivery, supervision, information management, and equipment and supplies are integrated into the health systems differently across the region. Conclusion: Different approaches to the integration of all the components depict complexity in the field of CHW programme integration in the region. Contribution: The study presents synthesized evidence on CHW programmes integration into national health systems in SSA