Entrepreneurship for Veterans with Disabilities: Lessons Learned from the Field

A 2009 research brief produced for the NTAR Leadership Center, a consortium led by the John H. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Founded in 2007 under a grant/contract with the Office of Disability Employment Policy at the U.S. Department of Labor, the NTAR Leadership Center's mission is to build capacity and leadership at the federal, state, and local levels to enable change across workforce development and disability-specific systems that will increase employment and economic self-sufficiency for adults with disabilities. This brief examines entrepreneurship as a viable option for veterans with disabilities, particularly those returning from the present-day conflicts in the Middle East. As entrepreneurs, veterans have an array of opportunities to customize their employment, accommodate their challenges, maximize their strengths and skills, and achieve their financial and career goals. This brief takes a close look at one program -- the Entrepreneurship Boot Camp -- and discusses some lessons learned from the operation of this program

Shape Recovery from Robot Contour Tracking with Force Feedback

In this paper we describe a process for shape recovery from robot contour-tracking operations with force feedback. Shape recovery is an important task for self-teaching robots and for exploratory operations in unknown environments. An algorithm which directs a position controlled robot around an unknown planar contour using the steady state contact force information is described in this paper. The shape recovery from the planar contouring is not a trivial problem. It is experimentally found that there is significant distortion of the original contour if direct kinematics is used to recover the object’s shape, as we are unable to recover the exact position of the robot tool due to the errors present in the kinematic model of the arm and the non-linearities of the drive train. Drive train errors can consist of the joint compliance, gear backlash and gear eccentricity. A mathematical model of the errors generated by the drive train has been previously addressed. In this paper a compensation process is explored for purposes of planar shape recovery. It is found through experimentation that the joint compliance is most conveniently compensated for in practice. Improvements in the shapes recovered from robot contouring are seen with our compensations. Experimental details and difficulties are also discussed

Palyonological studies of the semi-desert plant species from Pakistan

The detailed palynological description of 40 angiospermic plant species, belonging to 22 families and 38 genera were made. Out of the 22 families, 3 families were monocotyledonous and 19 dicotyledonous. The Brassicaceae and Papilionaceae were the largest families regarding number of species having four species each. In all the species except Poaceae, the pollen types were tricolporate. In case of Calendula arvensis L., Salvia aegyptica, Melia azedarrach tetracolporate pollens were observed, in Carum copticum(L.) Bth, the pollens were bicolpate; in Cynoglosum lanceolatum Forssk., it was fenestrate while in Bougainvillea glabra Choisy., it was periporate. Thus, the present study was fruitful as it avoids the difficulties faced by taxonomists and plant scientists in correlating and differentiating plant species

Weakest link in the Textile Chain. Pakistani Cotton Pickers' bitter Harvest

A million tonnes of cotton are hand-picked by women and girls every year in Pakistan’s ‘cotton belt’. Despite their evident contribution to the economy, the pickers’ fates remain invisible in the daily headlines on cotton production as well as in academic research. The present article tries to address this blind spot while focussing on the working conditions of Pakistani cotton pickers. It investigates the determinants of their work, wages and occupational safety and health, and questions whether the link with the global cotton chain benefits labourers in Pakistan’s cotton field

Mathematical modelling of ciliary propulsion of an electrically conducting Johnson-Segalman physiological fluid in a channel with slip

Bionic systems frequently feature electromagnetic pumping and offer significant advantages over conventional designs via intelligent bio-inspired properties. Complex wall features observed in nature also provide efficient mechanisms which can be utilized in biomimetic designs. The characteristics of biological fluids are frequently non-Newtonian in nature. In many natural systems super-hydrophobic slip is witnessed. Motivated by these phenomena, in the present article, we present a mathematical model for the cilia-generated propulsion of an electrically-conducting viscoelastic physiological fluid in a ciliated channel under the action of an externally applied static magnetic field. The rheological behavior of the fluid is simulated with the Johnson-Segalman constitutive model which allows internal wall slip. The regular or coordinated movement of the ciliated edges (which line the internal walls of the channel) is represented by a metachronal wave motion in the horizontal direction which generate a two-dimensional velocity profile with the parabolic profile in the vertical direction. This mechanism is imposed as a periodic moving velocity boundary condition which generates propulsion in the channel flow. Under the classical lubrication approximation (long wavelength and low Reynolds' number), the boundary value problem is rendered non-dimensional and solved analytically with a perturbation technique. The influence of the geometric, rheological (slip and Weissenberg number) and magnetic parameters on the velocity, pressure gradient and the pressure rise (evaluated via the stream function in symbolic software) are presented graphically and interpreted at length

Taxonomic significance of leaf epidermal anatomy of selected Persicaria Mill. species of family Polygonaceae from Pakistan

Leaf epidermal anatomy of selected Persicaria Mill. species of the family Polygonaceae revealed variation in size and shape of epidermal cells, stomata, glandular and non glandular trichomes. This study proves to be taxonomically important tool in the delimitation of taxa. Epidermal cell shapes are variable but mostly polygonal. Five different stomatal patterns are reported for Persicaria Mill. Two types of non glandular trichomes are observed only in P. barbata, P. stagnina and P. orientalis which serve as their distinguishing characters. Glandular trichomes are 1, 2 and 4-celled peltate, capitate and spheroidal. Cluster analyses elucidate relationship among different taxa by utilization of leaf epidermal characters

The Effect of Creativity on Entrepreneurial Behavior: The Moderating Role of Demographics

This study aims to determine the effect of creativity on entrepreneurial behavior with demographics as a moderating variable. Creativity is critical for improving entrepreneurial behavior (EB). However, few studies exist in the literature about this topic in developing countries. Building on the literature, the study proposed a positive effect between creativity and entrepreneurial behavior. The study also proposed the demographic variables as moderating variables. The population of the study consists of all the entrepreneurs and workers at entrepreneurial enterprises in Jordan. The sample of study was composed of 155 respondents; the responses were gathered using the convenience sampling method. Simple linear regression and hierarchical regression were employed to examine the data. Results show a significant effect of creativity on entrepreneurial behavior. The results also demonstrate that none of the demographic characteristics produce a significant statistical change in the influence of creativity on EB. More studies on creativity and its impact on the EB of firms and employees at entrepreneurial firms are needed

What is the best management strategy for high grade dysplasia in Barrett's oesophagus? A cost effectiveness analysis

Background: Multiple treatment strategies for subjects with high grade dysplasia (HGD) in Barrett’s oesophagus (BO) have been suggested. However, it is unclear which of these strategies provides the greatest life expectancy, and the costs associated with the management strategies are unknown

Effect of vaginal progesterone in combination with cervical cerclage on improved gestational age and perinatal outcome in twin pregnancy: A prospective randomized study

Background: Prematurity is the second leading cause of death in the first month of life. Objective of present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of vaginal progesterone and cervical cerclage each alone and in combination in improving gestational age in twin pregnancy and its subsequent impact on perinatal outcome.Methods: A sample size of seventy-five patients has been calculated out of those recruited from outpatient clinic at menoufia university hospital. All fulfilled eligibility criteria of having a twin pregnancy with a history of spontaneous preterm labour, or with a sonographic short cervical length <25mm in mid trimester. The participants were randomly assigned to three groups. Group 1 (N-25): received vaginal progesterone supplementation of 200 mg from 20 weeks until 34 weeks of gestation. Group2 (N-25): were remedied with cervical cerclage of Mc Donald type at 14-16 weeks of gestation Group 3 (N-25): received both vaginal progesterone as well as cervical cerclage. The primary outcome measure was spontaneous delivery between 34-37 weeks of gestation. Secondary outcomes were delivery prior 34 weeks of gestation as well as some parameters of neonatal morbidity and mortality.Results: There was a statistically significant higher gestational age in combination group when compared to progesterone group or cerclage group (P<0.001). Comparison between progesterone and cerclage groups did not reach statistical significance(P=-0.85). Both progesterone and cerclage groups demonstrated significantly lower birth weights, lower Apgar scores and a higher NICU admission rate than in combination group(P<0.001), while such significant difference did not exist between progesterone and cerclage groups.Conclusions: Combination of vaginal progesterone and cervical cerclage can improve gestational age at delivery as well as some parameters of perinatal morbidity and mortality in twin pregnancy