University Research

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 18 may 2015

In the Wikipedia article on 'Mentorship', Prof. Barry Bozeman and Prof. Mary K. Feeney, who are currently at Arizona State University, in their paper 'Toward a useful theory of mentoring: A conceptual analysis and critique' define 'Mentoring' as 'A process for the informal transmission of knowledge, social capital, and the psychosocial support perceived by the recipient as relevant to work, career, or professional development; mentoring entails informal communication, usually face-to-face and during a sustained period of time, between a person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom, or experience (the mentor) and a person who is perceived to have less (the protégé).' Entrepreneurs often need mentors at various stages of their venture's development. Sramana Mitra, Founder of One Million by One Million, suggests the following points regarding a good mentor - (1) Has superior knowledge and network in the industry that entrepreneur is venturing. (2) Is willing to tell what the entrepreneur 'need' to hear and not what he/she 'want' to hear. (3) Looks out for entrepreneur's best interest (4) Connects dots whenever possible to get entrepreneur further and grow. (5) Gives knowledge, advice, introductions without wasting anybody's time. (6) Pushes entrepreneur to do more, do better. (7) Will not sit next to entrepreneur and hold hand. (8) Is busy, active, in-demand. (9) Helps entrepreneur learn, become self-sufficient. Read on...

Huffington Post: An Entrepreneurs' Guide to Good Mentoring
Author: Sramana Mitra

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 25 apr 2015

The survey of 924 nonprofit board directors conducted by team of researchers (David F. Larcker, William F. Meehan III, Nicholas Donatiello, Brian Tayan) from Stanford Graduate School of Business supports a long-held hypothesis that many nonprofit boards are ineffective. The study revealed that a significant minority are unsure of their organization's mission and strategy, dissatisfied with their ability to evaluate their organization's performance, and uncertain whether their fellow board members have the experience to do their jobs well. According to Prof. Larcker, the lead researcher, 'Our research finds that too often board members lack the skill set, depth of knowledge, and engagement required to help their organizations succeed.' Researchers offer following recommendations to improve nonprofit board governance - (1) Ensure the mission is focused, and its skills and resources are well-aligned. (2) Ensure the mission is understood by the board, management, and key stakeholders. (3) Establish explicit goals and strategies tied to achieving that mission. (4) Develop rigorous performance metrics that reflect those goals. (5) Hold the executive director accountable for meeting the performance metrics, and evaluate his or her performance with an objective process. (6) Compose your board with individuals with skills, resources, diversity, and dedication to address the needs of the nonprofit. (7) Define explicitly the roles and responsibility of board members. (8) Establish well-defined board, committee, and ad hoc processes that reflect the nonprofit's needs and ensure optimal handling of key decisions. (9) Regularly review and assess each board member and the board's overall performance. Read on...

Business Wire: Stanford Research Offers Nine Tips to Improve Nonprofit Governance
Author: Heather Hansen

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 18 apr 2015

Professor Shree K. Nayar of Columbia University, research engineer Daniel Sims and consultant Mikhail Fridberg of ADSP Consulting, have invented a fully self-powered video camera that can produce an image each second, indefinitely, of a well-lit indoor scene. They designed a pixel that can not only measure incident light but also convert the incident light into electric power. According to Prof. Nayar, 'We are in the middle of a digital imaging revolution. I think we have just seen the tip of the iceberg. Digital imaging is expected to enable many emerging fields including wearable devices, sensor networks, smart environments, personalized medicine, and the Internet of Things. A camera that can function as an untethered device forever - without any external power supply - would be incredibly useful.' The team used off-the-shelf components to fabricate an image sensor with 30x40 pixels. In this prototype camera, which is housed in a 3D printed body, each pixel's photodiode is always operated in the photovoltaic mode. Read on...

Columbia Engineering: Columbia Engineering Professor Invents Video Camera that Runs without a Battery
Author: Holly Evarts

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 16 apr 2015

Using technology to bring social change and improve people's lives is a challenging task. 'One-size-fits-all' approaches to implement technology strategies may not be effective and provide expected results. There is need to have proper context, clarity of purpose and supportive environment to fulfil the promises that technology intends to bring for the well-being and welfare of the society. Professor Kentaro Toyama of University of Michigan, in his latest book 'Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology', argues that technologists undermine efforts at social progress by promoting 'packaged interventions' at the expense of more difficult reforms. Prof. Toyama has worked extensively in India and launched various projects that sought to use computers and Internet connectivity to improve education and reduce poverty. Following are selected excerpts from his Q&A session done by Brian Bergstein, deputy editor of MIT Technology Review - • 'There are already several randomized, controlled trials of schools with and without One Laptop per Child. Generally, what most of these studies show is that schools with laptops did not see their children gain anything in terms of academic achievement, in terms of grades, in terms of test scores, in terms of attendance, or in terms of supposed engagement with the classroom.' • 'I think it's perfectly sensible for parents to want a certain amount of exposure to technology for their children, both as a form of explorative play and as a way to get them used to technology that they'll undoubtedly encounter later in their life. I think the fundamental error people make is that, therefore, we should have the computer be the primary instrument of education for all children...I think one of the issues is we tend to think of education as being the content. We overemphasize the importance of content, as opposed to emphasizing the part that's really difficult in any good education, which is adult-supervised motivation - the motivation of the child to learn something.' • 'If you measure some positive benefit in the technology case, your conclusion is that technology helped. But it was always the people that we worked with, the partners that we chose and the people on the ground who interacted with the people that we wanted to support. All of those human factors were required for the technology itself to have an impact; whether the technology helped or not was really up to people.' Read on...

MIT Technology Review: Putting Technology in Its Place
Author: Brian Bergstein

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 07 apr 2015

Technology-enabled learning is an important part of today's education landscape. MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), interactive learning platforms, course management systems, learning analytics, mobile learning and education apps are some of the technological innovations transforming education. Following is a partial list of ways, identified by researchers and teachers, in which technology has influenced learning and education - (1) Critical Thinking: Technology fosters analogical, expressive and experiential thinking, and also problem solving ability. Authors of 'Meaningful Learning With Technology', David H. Jonassen, Jane L. Howland and Rose M. Marra, argue that students do not learn from teachers or from technologies. Rather, students learn from thinking. Thinking mediates learning. (2) Mobile Learning: Tablets and smartphones are driving mobile learning. In one survey, 73% of teachers said that they and their students use smartphones for educational purposes. (3) Access to Education: X-Prize is challenging entrepreneurs to develop open-source software that children can use to acquire basic literacy and arithmetic skills on their own. According to Matt Keller, director of the Global Learning X-Prize, 'It's based on the supposition, still unproven, that kids can teach themselves how to read and write.' (4) Deeper Learning: 'The most powerful uses are where people are producing,' says Karen Cator, president and CEO of Digital Promise and former head of the Office of Technology at the US Department of Education. (5) Continuous Feedback: At Utah State University researchers conducted a study to examine the use of frequent, anonymous student course surveys as a tool in supporting continuous quality improvement (CQI) principles in online instruction. (6) Unlimited and Immediate Learning (7) Creation and Contribution (8) Social Connectedness: Researchers at the University of North Texas found that university students who used text messaging to communicate with other students during group projects felt more socially connected and communicated more often with questions and ideas. (9) Global Awareness: José Picardo, head of modern foreign languages at Nottingham High School, says 'Options that would not have occurred to us before stand out as obvious if we understand how other people experience the world. That's why it is so important for students to have a deeper global awareness and understanding of other cultures.' (10) Understanding Learning: Professor Rich Lamb of Washington State University has figured out a dramatically easier and more cost-effective way to do research on science curriculum - through video games. Called 'computational modeling', it involves a computer 'learning' student behavior and then 'thinking' as students would. Prof. Lamb says, 'The process could revolutionise the way educational research is done.' Read on...

Innovation Excellence: 10 Most Powerful Uses of Technology for Learning
Author: Saga Briggs

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 23 mar 2015

'Synthetic Biology' is an interdisciplinary and emerging area of research in biology. SyntheticBiology.org defines it as - (a) the design and construction of new biological parts, devices and systems and (b) the re-design of existing natural biological systems for useful purposes. 'Synbio' as it is often termed as, involves writing genetic code and inserting it into simple organisms to change their function. Boston-based Ginkgo Bioworks sells custom-crafted organisms - mostly yeasts, baceteria and algae and they make synthetic scents that might be used in sprays and perfumes in future. Ginkgo was mostly funded initially by US government agencies. Jason Kelly, co-founder of Ginkgo, says 'Their belief was that the United States should be on the leading edge of creating tools to program cells - sort of like creating the base elements of the early Internet.' According to Professor Pamela Silver of Harvard Medical School, 'Synbio industry is going to grow quickly, especially in Boston.' Tom Knight, another founder of Ginkgo, explains 'Engineering biology has been an artisanal craft. You did things at a small scale, manually. We're moving into an age when we can start automating a lot of the processes and take advantage of economies of scale.' Read on...

The Boston Globe: Manufacturing's cutting edge - custom organisms
Author: Scott Kirsner

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 03 mar 2015

In addition to just aesthetics, architects are now applying neuroscience, by studying how brain reacts to various environments through brain scanners, to design schools, hospitals, community spaces etc. Eve Edelstein, president of consulting firm Innovative Design Science, says 'Understanding the power and significance of design is not a luxury. It has a direct impact on wellness issues and a direct influence on activity within that space.' According to Betsey Olenick Dougherty of Dougherty + Dougherty Architects, 'Visual access to sky, trees and landscape stimulates brain function. Providing vistas throughout the facility and particularly in classrooms has been a major strategy in the design of this building (Corona del Mar High School, Newport Beach, California).' Justin Hollander, co-author of the book 'Cognitive Architecture' and urban planning professor at Tufts University, says 'Patterns matter. And edges matter. The research argues that not only do we need order but our brain likes hearing stories...When you go to Times Square, you're told a story. You go to Disneyland, it's a story.' He further adds, 'Humans have a clear bias for curves over straight or sharp lines. Studies have shown that curves elicit feelings of happiness and elation, while jagged and sharp forms tend to connect to feelings of pain and sadness.' Hospitals and care centers are now being designed based on how brains of Alzheimer's patients reacts or how lighting affects patient's sleep cycle. Neuroscience shows light triggers brain reactions far beyond vision. 'It has an impact on heart rate.' says Edelstein. Michael Arbib of University of Southern California Brain Project and the vice president of the Academy of Architecture and Neuroscience, says 'Smart architecture can learn from brain science. To use artificial intelligence to build buildings that can better interact with people...is going to be very applicable to a home.' Read on...

Al Jazeera: Smart buildings- Architects using brain science for design guidance
Author: Haya El Nasser

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 21 feb 2015

In recent reports it is found that execution, the way of translating strategy into results, is not only more challenging but enough is not even written about it in business literature. A survey of 400 global CEOs mentions that executional excellence was the number one challenge facing corporate leaders in Asia, Europe, and the US. Moreover studies have also found the difficulty associated with the execution, about 2/3rd to 3/4th of large organizations struggle to implement their strategies. Extensive and ongoing research by Donald Sull of MIT Sloan School of Management, Rebecca Homkes of London Business School and Charles Sull of Charles Thames Strategy Partners, in which a survey of about 8000 managers in 262 companies and across 30 industries has been done, found that several commonly held beliefs regarding strategy implementation are wrong. They provide five myths and explain relevant and accurate perspective and insights that will help managers to effectively execute strategy - (1) Execution Equals Alignment (Coordination and cooperation across all functions and units horizontally is the need in addition to hierarchical alignment from top down) (2) Execution Means Sticking to the Plan (Real-time adjustments, adaptiveness to the changes on the ground and seizing unexpected opportunities at the right moment with creative solutions on an ongoing basis are required apart from sound planning. The need to be agile within the framework of overall strategy is the key. Concentrate on fluid reallocation of funds, people and attention. Failure to exit when needed also creates a drag on execution) (3) Communication Equals Understanding (Explaining and making everyone understand with clarity the strategic objectives of the organization and how they relate and connect with the overall strategy is essential. Leaders need consistency in communicating strategic priorities and avoid confusing and conflicting messages) (4) A Performance Culture Drives Execution (In addition to performance, a culture that supports execution must also recognize and reward abilities and skills like agility, teamwork, and ambition. Excessive emphasis on performance can impair execution as it may lead to play it safe attitude and making conservative performance commitments. Culture of coordination and collaboration among team members is essential for execution) (5) Execution Should Be Driven from the Top (Effective execution in large, complex organizations emerges from countless decisions and actions at all levels. Concentrating power at the top may boost performance in the short term, but it degrades an organization's capacity to execute over the long run. Distributed leadership is where execution is propelled and achieved. It includes not only middle managers but also technical and domain experts who are part of the ecosystem that get things done. Although execution should be driven from the middle but it should be guided from the top. Top leaders should bring out structured processes to facilitate coordination and teamwork. Micromanagement and alignment traps should be avoided). Read on...

Harvard Business Review: Why Strategy Execution Unravels - and What to Do About It
Authors: Rebecca Homkes, Donald Sull, Charles Sull

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 16 nov 2014

Successful change and transformation in an organization is often a result of the collaborative efforts of workers at various levels of hierarchy. Mid-level managers stand out considering their critical role in bringing large-scale organizational change. According to research study of 56 randomly selected companies from diverse industries, by Professor Behnam Tabrizi of Stanford University, most of the large-scale change and innovation efforts failed, but the successful 32% were due to the involvement of mide-level managers two or more levels below the CEO. In these successful efforts, mid-level managers weren't only manageing incremental change but they were leading it by working levers of power up, across and down in their organizations. Prof. Tabrizi, who is also Managing Director of Rapid Transformation LLC, mentions defining characteristics of managers who emerge as successful change leaders - (1) Change leaders have a North Star - and they talk about it (2) Change leaders use a GPS to guide them toward their North Star (3) Change leaders work across boundaries (4) Change leaders move fast. Moreover he also suggests five stages of a process, from his book 'Rapid Transformation', that managers should adopt, stick to it and inspire others to embrace it - (i) Inspiration (ii) Shifting the mindset (iii) Envisioning and articulating the future (iv) Planning how to accomplish change (v) Implementing the change. Read on...

HBR Blog: The Key to Change Is Middle Management
Author: Behnam Tabrizi

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 10 nov 2014

Number of start-ups are often considered to have a positive correlation with the health of the economy. But Professor Daniel Isenberg of Babson College, and Fernando Fabre, president of Endeavor Global, argue that 'Scale-ups', growing businesses that promote long-term entrepreneurship, have more impact on the economy as they lead to more innovation and create more jobs as compared to a high-number of quickly failed start-ups. They negate the Brookings Institution report that blames the decline of entrepreneurship in US on established companies and point out that the report doesn't classify company as entrepreneurial if it has lasted for more than 16 years, implying that fewer start-ups reflect an economy that can't support new business. On the contrary, companies that exist for longer period continue to grow and innovate and contribute substantially to the economy. Prof. Isenberg and Mr. Faber have created a 'Scale-up Declaration' that explains the benefits of scale-ups: 'Entrepreneurs create value and are necessary in all sectors of society. What makes great entrepreneurs are people who scale up their operation and then reinvest their knowledge or financial gains to help the next generation of entrepreneurs.' An example of successful scale-up entrepreneur cited by Mr. Faber is Fadi Ghandour, founder of Aramex, who reinvested in Jordanian entrepreneurs and helped create an entrepreneurial ecosystem there alongwith other successful entrepreneurs. Scale-up entrepreneurs have the power to recycle life and energy into the economy by reinvesting in innovation. Read on...

Chronicle-Independent: A broader definition of entrepreneurs
Author: John Hoffmire, Krystal Bailey

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