Articles
How African knowledge-based enterprises seek scale: Research findings from 10 countries
Innovation is a vital practice in the knowledge economy. Also vital is finding ways to scale innovations so that they can have significant impact. The Open African Innovation Research (Open AIR) network has collected data in numerous African innovation settings over the past decade, and has, in the process, developed a four-pillar taxonomy of scaling practices. As outlined in its […]
Gender inequality in entrepreneurship: How to improve funding outcomes for female entrepreneurs
Does industry served come into play when investors make funding decisions involving female vs. male entrepreneurs seeking capital? Yes, the perception of industry fit does play a role, says Dr Dana Kanze, Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School. Dr Kanze, along with an international research team, set out to investigate whether female-led ventures were particularly disadvantaged in […]
Exploring mental benefits of the natural environment
Natural environments affect behavioural and neural processes, facilitating increased positive emotions and creativity, and reducing stress and impulsive decision-making. Kerry Jordan of Utah State University explores this domain, focusing on impulsive decision-making. With limited neurological literature on mental benefits of natural environments, she recently employed event-related potentials and attention restoration theory in an electrophysiological exploration of implicit decision-making when viewing […]
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The legacy and long afterlife of Old English poetry
The Germanic people who inhabited England before William the Conqueror became ruler in 1066 spoke a language known as Old English. Steeped in the art of storytelling, theirs was essentially an oral culture and few tales were committed to manuscripts that have survived. Those that do are testament to the rich legacy of its verse. The legacy and long afterlife […]
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Novel cancer therapeutics could target ion channels
Although gynaecological cancers are amongst the most lethal cancers in women, treatments for the advanced stages of these cancers are scarce. Dr Saverio Gentile at the University of Illinois Cancer Center has been researching potassium ion channels as a potential target for novel cancer therapeutics. He has found that the use of potassium channel activators greatly reduced cell motility, tumour […]
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COVID-19: An individualized treatment framework
The elderly are among those at greatest risk of serious infection and death from the coronavirus (COVID-19). By individualizing treatment for COVID-19 and its complications, a significant advance in medicine and improving care could be achieved. Dr Richard Aguilar and colleagues have developed the first known evidence-based recommendations for individualized treatment. These recommendations were derived from a preliminary review of […]
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Sensing in a disordered environment
Dr Farzan Beroz has developed a physical theory of sensing that predicts cell behaviour. Cells measure stiffness by pushing and pulling on their surroundings. However, because their tissue surroundings are disordered, it has been unclear what information cells actually learn by probing. Dr Beroz estimated what a cell learns and predicted that some cells change their shape and move around […]
What media arts can teach us about technology and its use
What if? That’s the question behind the Synthesis Center, a unique institutional experiment at Arizona State University in the United States. Created by Professor Sha Xin Wei, the transdisciplinary ‘atelier’ or workshop brings like minds together to explore the interface between media arts, the environment, engineering and technology. With the potential for global social impact, the results generate significant insights […]
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Bidirectional relationship between chronic pain and insomnia
Dr Aubrey Husak, internal medicine resident at the Ohio State University, and Dr Matthew Bair, Core Investigator at VA HSR&D Center for Health Information and Communication and Associate Professor at Indiana University School of Medicine, carried out a review on the bidirectional relationship between chronic pain and insomnia. They found common comorbidities, including depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and catastrophising. Patients […]
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An objective, holistic and fair tool for measuring productivity
Every employer wants to be able to assess the productivity of their employees, and employees can benefit from having access to that data and understanding their performance. This is especially true in the construction industry, where delays can have knock-on effects causing creeping deadlines. How can employers identify and encourage productivity in their workforce? Elie AlChaer wondered the same thing […]
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