The Case for Social Enterprise

The bottom of the pyramid (BoP) approach popularised Prahalad (2004) as well as other writers such as Hart (2005) and London (2007), calls for the engagement of business with the bottom segment of the global income pyramid, and has attracted considerable attention and debate. The BoP lens is applied chiefly to communities experiencing ‘extreme poverty’ in low income countries with little reference to the growing number of people living in ‘relative poverty’ in high income countries. For the purpose of stimulating academic debate this paper seeks to explore the role of the so-called fourth sector, a domain for hybrid business ventures of social (and, in the case of this paper, Indigenous) entrepreneurs, at what we refer to as ‘the bottom at the top of the income pyramid’ in Australia. Using examples of Indigenous and social entrepreneurship within disadvantaged communities, we seek to highlight the scope for fourth sector enterprises at the lower end of the income spectrum within developed countries. It is suggested that the business models found within the fourth sector offer promising, alternative approaches for addressing the economic as well as social and cultural needs of those living on the fringes of today’s increasingly fragmented high-income societies

Similarity in cognitive complexity and attraction to friends and lovers: Experimental and correlational studies

Abstract OnlyTwo studies are reported examining whether similarities in cognitive complexity foster different forms of interpersonal attraction. Study 1 provided an experimental test of the hypothesis that perceivers would be more attracted to targets with similar levels of complexity than to targets with dissimilar levels of complexity. Participants read interpersonal impressions reflecting low and high levels of cognitive complexity and completed 3 assessments of attraction (social, task, and intellectual) to the source of the impressions. As predicted, there were significant interactions between perceiver complexity and target complexity such that high-complexity perceivers were more attracted to high-complexity targets than were low-complexity perceivers, whereas low-complexity perceivers were more attracted to low-complexity targets than were high-complexity perceivers. Unexpectedly, however, low-complexity perceivers were more attracted to a high-complexity target than a low-complexity target. Study 2 examined the effects of similarities in cognitive complexity on attraction among 126 pairs of dating partners. Partners having similar levels of cognitive complexity expressed significantly greater intellectual attraction to one another than partners having dissimilar levels of cognitive complexity

Long-Term Effectiveness of Tree Removal to Re-Establish Sagebrush Steppe Vegetation and Associated Spatial Patterns in Surface Conditions and Soil Hydrologic Properties

Pinyon (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) woodland encroachment into sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) steppe communities throughout western North America has substantially altered the vegetation structure and hydrologic function of one of the most ecologically important rangeland ecosystems in the world. Various pinyon and juniper tree removal practices are employed to re-establish sagebrush steppe vegetation and an associated resource-conserving ecohydrologic function. The effectiveness of these practices is highly variable owing to the vast domain in which woodland encroachment occurs, climate fluctuations, differences in treatment applications, and myriads of pre-treatment conditions and post-treatment land uses. This study evaluated the long-term (13 years post-treatment) effectiveness of prescribed fire and mechanical tree removal to re-establish sagebrush steppe vegetation and associated spatial patterns in ground surface conditions and soil hydrologic properties of two woodland-encroached sites. Specifically, we assessed the effects of tree removal on: (1) vegetation and ground cover at the hillslope scale (990 m2 plots) and (2) associated spatial patterns in point-scale ground surface conditions and soil hydrologic properties along transects extending from tree bases and into the intercanopy areas between trees. Both sites were in mid to late stages of woodland encroachment with extensive bare conditions (~60–80% bare ground) throughout a degraded intercanopy area (~75% of the domain) surrounding tree islands (~25% of domain, subcanopy areas). All treatments effectively removed mature tree cover and increased hillslope vegetation. Enhanced herbaceous cover (4–15-fold increases) in burned areas reduced bare interspace (bare area between plants) by at least 4-fold and improved intercanopy hydraulic conductivity (\u3e than 2-fold) and overall ecohydrologic function. Mechanical treatments retained or increased sagebrush and generally increased the intercanopy herbaceous vegetation. Intercanopy ground surface conditions and soil hydrologic properties in mechanical treatments were generally similar to those in burned areas but were also statistically similar to the same measures in untreated areas in most cases. This suggests that vegetation and ground surface conditions in mechanical treatments are trending toward a significantly improved hydrologic function over time. Treatments had limited impact on soil hydrologic properties within subcanopy areas; however, burning did reduce the soil water repellency strength and the occurrence of strong soil water repellency underneath trees by three- to four-fold. Overall, the treatments over a 13-year period enhanced the vegetation, ground surface conditions, and soil hydrologic properties that promote infiltration and limit runoff generation for intercanopy areas representing ~75% of the area at the sites. However, ecological tradeoffs in treatment alternatives were evident. The variations in woodland responses across sites, treatments, and measurement scales in this long-term study illustrate the complexity in predicting vegetation and hydrologic responses to tree removal on woodland-encroached sagebrush sites and underpin the need and value of multi-scale long-term studies

Rubble Pile Characterization Model

Rubble piles created following the collapse of a building in a combat situation can significantly impact mission accomplishment, particularly in the area of movement and maneuver. Rubble characteristics must be known, for example, in order to predict the ability of a vehicle to override the collateral damage from weapon effects in urban areas. Two types of models are developed: a first-order model and a first-principles-based model. In both models, we assume complete rubblization of the building and develop a rubble profile model using the size and composition of the collapsed structure to predict the rubble volume. In both cases, this profile model includes the size of the footprint area surrounding the original building assuming that the rubble is free to expand horizontally as well as the resulting height of such a rubble pile. Empirical data is now needed to verify the predictive capabilities of these models

The Dean’s Racial Justice Curriculum Challenge

This Work in Progress paper will present the College of Engineering Dean’s Racial Justice Curriculum Challenge. This challenge tasks all faculty in the college to use their engineering problem-solving skills to develop creative ways to incorporate issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and racial justice in every class we teach. The challenge was inspired by our students, who requested a greater connection between the technical content of classes and real world issues, in particular the role engineers play in either fostering inclusive solutions or contributing to the propagation of inequities. The intent is to engage faculty in the development of new curriculum, and success was measured by the level of engagement, and featured direct student feedback into the curriculum ideas. Starting in 2020-2021 academic year, we challenged every faculty member to contribute to the Dean’s Curriculum Challenge. Each lesson plan was reviewed by a team of students, and at least one was highlighted each week. We received 67 lesson plans from 45 faculty members, impacting 52 courses. Several courses included more than one racial justice themed lesson during the semester. Faculty participation rates were higher in Fall 2020, but varied across departments: 33% of biomedical engineering (BME), 7% of civil engineering (CE), 61% of chemical engineering (CHE), 15% of electrical and computer engineering (ECE), and 26% of mechanical and industrial engineering (MIE). In Spring 2021, 83% of BME, 14% of CE, 26% of CHE, 5% of MIE, and 33% of our Junior Year Writing faculty participated. In total, 3 freshmen, 10 sophomore, 12 junior, 8 senior, 12 senior/graduate, and 9 graduate level classes were impacted. In Fall 2021 we added a second challenge faculty could contribute to: the Inclusive Design challenge. Thus far, we have had 5 submissions from 3 faculty members and 1 graduate student teaching fellow. In addition, the challenge inspired individual department “brainstorming sessions” to discuss pedagogy and best practices for introducing these topics into a variety of class types. This paper will describe the lessons learned as the Dean’s Curriculum Challenge has been implemented as well as plans for sustaining and further supporting the challenge. This will include types of lesson plans, activities, and class discussions that were introduced. Once the program has been established, data will be collected from faculty on what they found effective and whether they continued these or other related activities in future semesters. In the 2021-2022 academic year, several highlighted submissions were presented by the faculty to a wider audience within the college

Charge Form Factor and Cluster Structure of 6^6Li Nucleus

The charge form factor of ${}^6$Li nucleus is considered on the basis of its cluster structure. The charge density of ${}^6$Li is presented as a superposition of two terms. One of them is a folded density and the second one is a sum of ${}^4$He and the deuteron densities. Using the available experimental data for ${}^4$He and deuteron charge form factors, a good agreement of the calculations within the suggested scheme is obtained with the experimental data for the charge form factor of ${}^6$Li, including those in the region of large transferred momenta.Comment: 12 pages 5 figure

MARCKS regulates growth and radiation sensitivity and is a novel prognostic factor for glioma

Purpose This study assessed whether Myristoylated Alanine Rich C-Kinase Substrate (MARCKS) can regulate glioblastoma (GBM) growth, radiation sensitivity and clinical outcome. Experimental Design MARCKS protein levels were analyzed in five GBM explant cell lines and eight patient-derived xenograft tumors by immunoblot, and these levels were correlated to proliferation rates and intracranial growth rates, respectively. Manipulation of MARCKS protein levels was assessed by lentiviral-mediated shRNA knockdown in the U251 cell line and MARCKS over-expression in the U87 cell line. The effect of manipulation of MARCKS on proliferation, radiation sensitivity and senescence was assessed. MARCKS gene expression was correlated with survival outcomes in the Repository of Molecular Brain Neoplasia Data (REMBRANDT) Database and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Results MARCKS protein expression was inversely correlated with GBM proliferation and intracranial xenograft growth rates. Genetic silencing of MARCKS promoted GBM proliferation and radiation resistance, while MARCKS overexpression greatly reduced GBM growth potential and induced senescence. We found MARCKS gene expression to be directly correlated with survival in both the REMBRANDT and TCGA databases. Specifically, patients with high MARCKS expressing tumors of the Proneural molecular subtype had significantly increased survival rates. This effect was most pronounced in tumors with unmethylated O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoters, a traditionally poor prognostic factor. Conclusions MARCKS levels impact GBM growth and radiation sensitivity. High MARCKS expressing GBM tumors are associated with improved survival, particularly with unmethylated MGMT promoters. These findings suggest the use of MARCKS as a novel target and biomarker for prognosis in the Proneural subtype of GBM

Total immersion : Designing for affective symbiosis in a virtual reality game with haptics, biosensors, and emotive agents

Peer reviewe