Hybrid organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Khayelitsha Cookie Company (KCC) is a hybrid organisation in South Africa that provides affirming employment for women from disadvantaged township communities, who are paid a fair wage and have equity in the venture. Cookswell Jikos is a hybrid organisation in Kenya that produces and sells energy-efficient cook stoves to achieve its environmental mission of household-level sustainable seed-to-ash cooking in Africa. In Zambia, the hybrid organisation the Mumwa Crafts Association connects low-income craft producers from remote rural areas with domestic and international markets, providing them with a much-needed stable source of income. These are just three examples of hybrid organisations in sub-Saharan Africa, the area of the African continent that lies south of the Sahara Desert. Hybrid organisations, which exist at the interface of the public, private and third sectors, and which span boundaries between them, can now be found across sub-Saharan Africa. In recent times, we have seen a proliferation of hybrid organising, and a growth in the number of hybrid organisations globally (Haigh et al., 2015). It is increasingly suggested that such organisations have an important role to play in tackling ‘wicked’ global sustainable development challenges. Accompanying these developments there has been a surge in academic interest in hybrid organisations and organising (see, e.g., Billis, 2010; Jay, 2013; Doherty et al., 2014; Haigh et al., 2015; Powell et al., 2018). Nevertheless, there remains much about hybrid organisations that we do not know, particularly about hybrids in developing economies. More specifically there remains a relative paucity of work on hybrid organisations and organising in sub-Saharan Africa (Holt and Littlewood, 2015). This reflects wider limited business and management scholarship on sub-Saharan Africa (see Zoogah and Nkomo, 2013; Walsh, 2015). This chapter contributes towards addressing these gaps

Social entrepreneurship and CSR theory: insights, application and value

The phenomenon of social entrepreneurship has proliferated in recent times. Concurrently, scholarly interest in and work examining social entrepreneurship has also blossomed. Yet there remains much about social entrepreneurship that we still do not know, whilst authors continue to highlight limitations in the state of theory development within the field of social entrepreneurship research. This chapter contributes towards advancing social entrepreneurship scholarship, and addressing these limitations, by exploring the insights, application, and value of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) theory for social entrepreneurship research. To do this, two key CSR theories: stakeholder theory and Carroll’s CSR Pyramid, are analysed. We consider how both theories need to be adapted for a social enterprise context, before presenting a revised stakeholder theory of the social enterprise, and introducing the social enterprise responsibility pyramid. Although discussions in this chapter are principally conceptual, illustrative supporting examples are drawn from case study research with small and medium sized social enterprises in Sub-Saharan Afric

Identifying Cultural and Cognitive Proximity between Managers and Customers in Tornio and Haparanda Cross Border Region

Daily intercultural interactions in cross-border regions such as those between customers and managers can be a source of knowledge and ideas. However, such interactions can pose distinctive constraints and opportunities for learning and exchange of ideas. This study adopts a relatively fine–grained quantitative approach to study elements of cognitive and cultural proximity which have a major impact on these interactions. It is based on a survey of 91 managers of small service firms and 312 customers in the twin city of Tornio and Haparanda on the border between Finland and Sweden. Seven elements of proximity were identified and measured. Six elements of perceived cognitive and cultural proximity including values, conservative values towards new ideas, knowledge and use of technology, use of a foreign language, sufficiently focusing or providing specific details and ways of solving problems were found significant in terms of shaping perceptions of Swedish and Finnish managers and customers, which shape these interactions. The results enhance our understanding of how daily cross-border intercultural can be examined in the context of cross-border regional knowledge transfer

Families’ perceptions of and experiences related to a pediatric weight management program.

Objective: To examine parents' and children's perceptions of and experiences related to a Parents as Agents of Change (PAC) intervention for managing pediatric obesity. Methods: Ten families were recruited from a PAC intervention. Participants were interviewed before (10 adults and 9 children), during (9 adults and 8 children), and after (8 adults) the intervention. Results: Before the intervention, families reported goals to increase physical activity, plan and eat healthier meals, reduce screen time, and lose weight. During the intervention, families described different approaches to making behavior changes depending on who assumed responsibility (parent, child, or shared responsibility). After the intervention, group setting, goal setting, and portion size activities were viewed positively. Suggestions for improvement included engaging children and reducing intervention length. Conclusions and Implications: Practitioners delivering PAC interventions should discuss families' goals and concerns, and who is responsible for making lifestyle changes. Practical activities are valuable. The length of interventions and engagement of children should be considere

ASASSN-15lu is a Type Ia Supernova

We report spectroscopic classification of ASASSN-15lu (ATel #7698) in SDSS J132112.88+401556.7 (z=0.035037, via NED) through inspection of an optical spectrum (range 370-680 nm, resolution 0.8 nm), obtained with the 2.3-m Bok telescope (+ Boller & Chivens spectrograph) at Kitt Peak on 2015 June 24.2 UT

Protocol for the STRONG trial: stereotactic body radiation therapy following chemotherapy for unresectable perihilar cholangiocarcinoma, a phase I feasibility study

INTRODUCTION: For patients with perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), surgery is the only treatment modality that can result in cure. Unfortunately, in the majority of these patients, the tumours are found to be unresectable at presentation due to either local invasive tumour growth or the presence of distant metastases. For patients with unresectable CCA, palliative chemotherapy is the standard treatment yielding an estimated median overall survival (OS) of 12-15.2 months. There is no evidence from randomised trials to support the use of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for CCA. However, small and most often retrospective studies combining chemotherapy with SBRT have shown promising results with OS reaching up to 33-35 months.METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This study has been designed as a single-centre phase I feasibility trial and will investigate the addition of SBRT after standard chemotherapy in patients with unresectable perihilar CCA (T1-4 N0-1 M0). A total of six patients will be included. SBRT will be delivered in 15 fractions of 3-4.5 Gy (risk adapted). The primary objective of this study is to determine feasibility and toxicity. Secondary outcomes include local tumour control, progression-free survival (PFS), OS and quality of life. Length of follow-up will be 2 years. As an ancillary study, the personalised effects of radiotherapy will be measured in vitro, in patient-derived tumour and bile duct organoid cultures.ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval for the STRONG trial has been granted by the Medical Ethics Committee of Erasmus MC Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It is estimated that all patients will be included between October 2017 and October 2018. The results of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, and presented at national and international conferences.TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03307538; Pre-results

Electromagnetic wave propagation in rain and polarization effects

This paper summarizes our study on microwave and millimeter-wave propagation in rain with special emphasis on the effects of polarization. Starting from a recount of our past findings, we will discuss developments with these and how they are connected with subsequent research