The co-creation of social ventures through bricolage, for the displaced, by the displaced

Purpose Although scholars have investigated how social entrepreneurs create and develop social enterprises in the penurious stable environment, how they are created in the penurious unstable environment has yet been overlooked. The purpose of this paper is to address this research gap by exploring how internally displaced individuals, despite the lack of resources, create and develop a social enterprise to serve the other displaced population in the war and conflict zones. Design/methodology/approach Underpinned by a biographical research design, in-depth interviews with internally displaced individuals who have created social enterprises in the war and conflict zones were undertaken. Three social entrepreneurs were chosen for this study from three different social enterprises that are created by internally displaced individuals to serve the other internally displaced people of three different countries, namely, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria. Findings The single and cross-case analysis found that internally displaced individuals deploy bricolage strategy, for example, reconfiguration of pre-existing resources and competencies (both internal and external), to start up a social venture in the war and conflict zones. They utilise pre-existing internal resources, mainly human capital, and external resources, through a frugal approach towards resources acquisitions. The authors also found that the displaced social entrepreneurs utilise resources of other displaced individuals, for example, networks, volunteers, local knowledge and financial supports mainly from older arrivals, and develop their own enterprise ecosystem within the host location to co-create and co-develop social enterprise and social values for all of them. Research limitations/implications The findings show that internally displaced individuals utilise bricolage strategies to create and develop socially entrepreneurial venture to serve other internally displaced individuals in the war and conflict zones. As the findings are based on three case studies, for confirmatory approach, a quantitative study with a large sample size is necessary. Furthermore, as the differences in economic, cultural and linguistic in between the home and host locations can have impact on the creation and the development of a social venture, they should be considered in the future studies. Originality/value This study contributes to the limited literature and studies on social entrepreneurship, specifically, to the context of unstable penurious environment. It also contributes to the literature on bricolage by extending its application from penurious stable environment to the penurious unstable environment. By exploring what and how internal and external resources are utilised to create and develop a socially entrepreneurial venture in a war and conflict zones, this study has added value to the literature on not only bricolage but also entrepreneurship in war and conflict zones

Formal Analysis of Linear Control Systems using Theorem Proving

Control systems are an integral part of almost every engineering and physical system and thus their accurate analysis is of utmost importance. Traditionally, control systems are analyzed using paper-and-pencil proof and computer simulation methods, however, both of these methods cannot provide accurate analysis due to their inherent limitations. Model checking has been widely used to analyze control systems but the continuous nature of their environment and physical components cannot be truly captured by a state-transition system in this technique. To overcome these limitations, we propose to use higher-order-logic theorem proving for analyzing linear control systems based on a formalized theory of the Laplace transform method. For this purpose, we have formalized the foundations of linear control system analysis in higher-order logic so that a linear control system can be readily modeled and analyzed. The paper presents a new formalization of the Laplace transform and the formal verification of its properties that are frequently used in the transfer function based analysis to judge the frequency response, gain margin and phase margin, and stability of a linear control system. We also formalize the active realizations of various controllers, like Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID), Proportional-Integral (PI), Proportional-Derivative (PD), and various active and passive compensators, like lead, lag and lag-lead. For illustration, we present a formal analysis of an unmanned free-swimming submersible vehicle using the HOL Light theorem prover.Comment: International Conference on Formal Engineering Method

Characterization of flax germplasm for resistance to fusarium wilt

Non-Peer ReviewedFusarium wilt of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lini (Fol) is an economically important disease that can result in severe yield losses. Due to the pathogen’s ability to survive in soil for long periods, it is essential to identify fusarium wilt resistant flax varieties. The objectives of the study were to phenotype and compare a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population of flax in a controlled environment and in field wilt nurseries. Disease reaction of a subset (160) of RIL lines developed from cultivars ‘Aurore’ (moderately resistant) and ‘Oliver’ (susceptible) was assessed under controlled environment conditions to two Fol isolates. Disease severity was determined and the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) was calculated. The population varied in response from resistant to highly susceptible, indicating that resistant to wilt was probably polygenic. Twenty-eight days after inoculation, 14% and 5% of the RILs were severely wilted (scores of 8 and 9, with isolates 131 and 81, respectively). Plant height was negatively correlated with AUDPC (r2= -0.13155 for 131 and r2=-0.29841 for 81). Similarly, in the field in wilt nurseries, at Saskatoon and Morden, evaluation of the full set of 200 RILs, the disease reaction varied from resistant to susceptible, with 21% and 42% of RILs severely wilted (rated 8 and 9) at each site at the green boll stage. The results from the two locations were significantly different, although moderately correlated (r2=0.6127). The 160 RILs in controlled environment inoculated with isolates 131 and 81 showed a higher correlation for disease severity at 28 days after inoculation, with the wilt nursery in Saskatoon (r= 0.40028 and r2=0.38046) as compared to Morden (r2=0.33016 and r2=0.21140) at green boll stage. Differences in environmental and experimental conditions (such as seeding date) at the two locations, as well as different Fol strains in the soil combined with the subjectivity of the grading system may explain the differences between locations

Autosomal recessive primary microcephaly: an analysis of locus heterogeneity and phenotypic variation

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Locus heterogeneity is well established in autosomal recessive primary microcephaly (MCPH) and to date five loci have been mapped. However, the relative contributions of these loci have not been assessed and genotype-phenotype correlations have not been investigated. DESIGN: A study population of 56 consanguineous families resident in or originating from northern Pakistan was ascertained and assessed by the authors. A panel of microsatellite markers spanning each of the MCPH loci was designed, against which the families were genotyped. RESULTS: The head circumference of the 131 affected subjects ranged from 4 to 14 SD below the mean, but there was little intrafamilial variation among affecteds (± 1 SD). MCPH5 was the most prevalent, with 24/56 families consistent with linkage; 2/56 families were compatible with linkage to MCPH1, 10/56 to MCPH2, 2/56 to MCPH3, none to MCPH4, and 18/56 did not segregate with any of the loci. CONCLUSIONS: MCPH5 is the most common locus in this population. On clinical grounds alone, the phenotype of families linked to each MCPH locus could not be distinguished. We have also shown that further MCPH loci await discovery with a number of families as yet unlinked

NPK detection spectroscopy on non-agriculture soil

Soil is a medium for plant roots to grow, absorb water and necessary solutes for growth. Soil macronutrient testing is helpful for determining the nutrients content in soil before applying fertilizer for quality and process controls of agricultural produce and soil fertility. Spectroscopy is an emerging technology which is rapid and simple has been widely used in agricultural and food analysis processes. The capability of spectroscopy to characterize material from the transmission or absorbance has been used in this paper to measure nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) content in non-agriculture soil. The paper details preliminary characterization of soil spectroscopy with a Deuterium-Halogen light source and Ocean Optic spectrometer to measure the absorbance level of the macronutrients. The extracted nutrients were mixed with the colour reagent and specific colored solution was developed. Two soil samples have been employed for the experimental characterization, which are mud flood and kaolin. The result shows that high absorbance level of N at 450 nm in wavelength, P at 750 nm for both samples. The absorbance level of K was measured high at 500nm for mud flood and 450nm for kaolin. In addition, the tested macronutrients give similar wavelength of peak absorbance level at 970 nm for both samples. For future works, the optical measurements will be implemented using visible and near infrared LED and the photodetector in order to replace the spectrometer usage for soil spectroscopy. This would lead to achieve the primary objective of this research in developing a simple and low cost spectroscopy uses light-emitting diode (LED)

On the unitarity of higher-dervative and nonlocal theories

We consider two simple models of higher-derivative and nonlocal quantu systems.It is shown that, contrary to some claims found in literature, they can be made unitary.Comment: 8 pages, no figure

Prevalence of hepatitis B and C viral infections in Pakistan: Findings of a national survey appealing for effective prevention and control measures

A prevalence survey on hepatitis B and C infections was carried out to obtain national estimates and assess epidemiological dynamics and underlying risk factors. Overall prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) of 2.5% and 4.8%, respectively, reflected a combined infection rate of 7.6% in the general population, consistent with an ongoing high burden of chronic liver disease (CLD). There was significant association of these viral infections with a range of risk factors led by reuse of syringes. These findings validate currently implemented strategies by the national programme for the control of hepatitis viral infections, including universal vaccination of newborns and high-risk groups, support of auto-disable syringes, promotion of infection control and patient safety, public health education, and management of needy CLD patients as a poverty-reduction health intervention

Free Convection of Ag/H2O Nanofluid in Square Cavity with Different Position and Orientation of Egg Shaped Cylinder

A numerical simulation was conducted to study the free convection of Ag/H2O nanofluid between a square cavity with cold walls and an egg shaped cylinder with a hot wall. Utilizing the egg equation, dimensionless governing equations were solved using the Galerkin Finite Element Method (GFEM). In this work, several parameters were studied, i.e. Rayleigh number (103 ≤ Ra ≤ 106), volume fraction (0 ≤ φ ≤ 0.05), position (-0.2 ≤ Y ≤ 0.2), and orientation angle (-90° ≤ γ ≤ 90°). The numerical results are presented as streamline contours, isotherm contours, and local and average Nusselt numbers. Moreover, the results were used to analyze the fluids’ structure, temperature distribution, and heat transfer rate. The numerical results confirmed that the stream intensity value increased with an increase of the Rayleigh number as well as the movement of the cylinder towards the bottom wall for all values of the orientation angle. Variation of the vertical position of the cylinder inside the cavity had a noticeable effect on , which increased by 50% at γ = -90°, and by 58% at γ = -45°. However, at Y = -0.2,  increased by 58% at γ = -45° and decreased by 7% at γ = -90°. The highest heat transfer rate was obtained at high Rayleigh number (Ra = 106), volume fraction (φ = 0.05), negative position (Y = -0.2), and the highest positive orientation angle (γ = 90°)