Search Results (1,965)

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting is becoming increasingly relevant in light of modern corporate governance. There is growing activity among empirical research in one-tier systems that considers the link between board composition and CSR reporting. This study is the first of its kind on the German two-tier system with special regard for the supervisory board. We analyze gender diversity, expertise, the presence of former managers, frequency of meetings, and the size of the supervisory board. Our multiple regressions indicate that gender diversity has a positive impact on CSR disclosure intensity, which is in line with prior studies on one-tier systems. Our findings have implications for both users and public policy and suggest that current European corporate governance regulations could help to increase the decision usefulness of CSR reporting. Full article

In the Western Cape Province of South Africa (ZA) a subculture of binge drinking produces the highest global documented prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). FASD prevention research activities in ZA use the Comprehensive Prevention approach from the United States Institute of Medicine. Case management (CM) was delivered as a method of indicated prevention to empower heavy drinking pregnant women to achieve cessation or a reduction in drinking. CM activities incorporated life management, Motivational Interviewing (MI) techniques and the Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA). Data were collected at baseline, 6, 12 and 18 months. Mean drinking decreases 6 months into CM; but overall alcohol consumption rose significantly over time to levels higher than baseline at 12 and 18 months. Alcohol consumption drops significantly from before pregnancy to the second and third trimesters. AUDIT scores indicate that problematic drinking decreases significantly even after the vulnerable fetus/baby was born. CM significantly increases client happiness, which correlates with reduced weekend drinking. CM was successful for women with high-risk drinking behaviour, and was effective in helping women stop drinking, or drink less, while pregnant, reducing the risk of FASD. Full article

Forestry Best Management Practices (BMPs) are used for protection of water quality at forest stream crossings, yet effects and costs for gradients of BMPs are not well documented. We evaluated forty-two truck road and skid trail stream crossings using three surrogates of BMP adequacy: (1) potential erosion rates for stream crossing approaches; (2) adequacy of stream crossing BMPs; and (3) overall BMP rating (BMP−, BMP-standard, and BMP+). Subsequently, BMP upgrades were recommended for enhancing BMP− or BMP-standard stream crossings. Costs for BMP upgrades were estimated using an existing road and skid trail cost method. The majority of truck road stream crossings were culverts, while skid trail stream crossings were primarily portable bridges. Potential erosion estimates, BMP audit scores, and BMP ratings all indicated that skid crossings have lower BMP implementation than truck road crossings. BMP improvements commonly identified for skid trail and truck crossings included addition of cover and water control structures. Improved BMPs at skid trail crossings were less expensive than those at truck road crossings. Current BMP guidelines provide economical and effective techniques for reducing erosion, and BMP upgrades have the potential to reduce erosion rates to similar levels found in undisturbed forests. Full article

The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential effects of corporate governance (CG) elements on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure. The annual reports of companies for the year 2007–2011 are examined to analyze the relationship between CG and CSR reporting. It considers the elements of CG such as board size, independent directors, foreign nationalities and women representation in the board, ownership concentration, institutional ownership, firm size and profitability. The multiple regression technique is used to measure the impact of CG elements on companies’ CSR reporting. The results of the study demonstrate that overall CSR reporting by Pakistani companies are rather moderate however, the assortments of CSR items are really impressive. The study found positive and significant impact from board size, institutions ownership, ownership concentration and firm size on CSR reporting. The results also display contrary relationships between the women and foreign director’s representation in the board and CSR reporting. This study suggests that organizations should audit their CG activities related to CSR in order to prove themselves good corporate citizens to all stakeholders. Full article

The alcohol dependence section of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview questionnaire (MINI) has not been evaluated in young Africans. We applied the MINI in a cross-sectional study of 202 alcohol users from northern-Tanzania, aged 18–24 years (103 male casual workers and 99 students), and validated it against phophatidylethanol (PEth) at a cut-off suggesting heavy chronic alcohol use (≥0.30 µmol/L). Blood was assayed for PEth (16:0/18:1-subform) by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The MINI dependence criteria (≥3 positive responses) were met by 39% participants although their PEth levels were low. Contrary, many young people with high PEth levels were not classified as dependent. The sensitivity of the MINI ranged from 0% to 69% (female students and male workers, respectively) and specificity from 52% to 85% (workers and female students, respectively). The highest AUROC (0.68) occurred with a cut-off of ≥4 positive responses. A modified MINI with three affirmative responses to five questions increased specificity to 92%–97%; however, sensitivity remained low. The performance of the MINI in detecting dependence among young people from northern-Tanzania is unsatisfactory. Specificity was improved using a modified version but sensitivity remained low. An accurate tool for the diagnosis of alcohol dependence is needed for epidemiological and clinical purposes. Full article

Background: Persistent nipple pain is one of the most common reasons given by mothers for ceasing exclusive breastfeeding. We aimed to determine the frequency of nipple pain as a reason for consultation, the most common attributed aetiologies, and the effectiveness of the advice and treatment given. Methods: All consultations at the Breast Feeding Centre of Western Australia (WA) were audited over two six-month periods in 2011 (n = 469) and 2014 (n = 708). Attributed cause(s) of nipple pain, microbiology results, treatment(s) advised, and resolution of pain were recorded. Results: Nipple pain was one of the reasons for consultation in 36% of cases. The most common attributed cause of nipple pain was incorrect positioning and attachment, followed by tongue tie, infection, palatal anomaly, flat or inverted nipples, mastitis, and vasospasm. Advice included correction of positioning and attachment, use of a nipple shield, resting the nipples and expressing breastmilk, frenotomy, oral antibiotics, topical treatments, and cold or warm compresses. Pain was resolving or resolved in 57% of cases after 18 days (range 2–110). Conclusion: The multiple attributed causes of nipple pain, possibly as a result of a cascade of events, suggests that effective early lactation management for prevention of nipple pain and early diagnosis and effective treatment are crucial to avoid early weaning. Full article

Background and objective: The aim of this study was to analyze cesarean section (CS) rates using Robson Ten Group Classification System (TGCS) and to identify the main contributors to the overall CS rate in Lithuania.
Materials and methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out. All women who delivered between January 1 and December 31, 2012, in Lithuania were classified using the TGCS. The CS rates overall and in each Robson group were calculated, as was the contribution of each group to the overall CS rate.
Results: The CS rate was 26.4% (6697 among 25,373 deliveries) in 2012. Nulliparous women with single cephalic full-term pregnancy in spontaneous labor (Group 1) or who underwent induction of labor or prelabor CS (Group 2) and multiparous women with a previous CS (Group 5) were the greatest contributors (67.7%) to the overall CS rate. In addition, significant variation of CS rates between different institutions was observed, especially in women with single cephalic full-term pregnancy without previous CS (Groups 1–4), showing big differences in obstetric care across country.
Conclusions: Women in Groups 1, 2 and 5 were the largest contributions to the overall CS rate in Lithuania. It seems that efforts to reduce the overall CS rate should be directed on increasing vaginal birth after CS and reducing CS rates in nulliparous women with single cephalic full-term pregnancy (Groups 1 and 2). Full article

Promoting tropical forest sustainability among corporate players is a major challenge. Many tools have been developed, but without much success. Southeast Asia has become a laboratory of globalization processes, where the development and success of agribusiness transnationals raises questions about their commitment to environmental concerns. An abundance of literature discusses what determines the behavior of Asian corporations, with a particular emphasis on cultural factors. Our hypothesis is that financial factors, such as ownership structure, may also have a fundamental role. We analyzed the audited accounts of four major Asian agribusiness transnationals. Using network analysis, we deciphered how the 931 companies relate to each other and determine the behavior of the transnationals to which they belong. We compared various metrics with the environmental commitment of these transnationals. We found that ownership structures reflect differences in flexibility, control and transaction costs, but not in ethnicities. Capital and its control, ownership structure, and flexibility explain 97% of the environmental behavior. It means that existing market-based tools to promote environmental sustainability do not engage transnationals at the scale where most of their behavior is determined. For the first time, the inner mechanisms of corporate governance are unraveled in agricultural and forest sustainability. New implications such as the convergence of environmental sustainability with family business sustainability emerged. Full article

This study uses a company’s due diligence system (DDS) as an operational tool to ensure the origin of wood coming from northwestern Russia. The company exports a majority of its wood products to European Union (EU) countries, and its DDS consists of a statement of origin, geographical information, and field verification audits. Its DDS is assessed against the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR). Enforcement of the EUTR began in March 2013 and is compulsory for all companies importing wood-based material from outside the EU. The DDS must contain three key components: access to information on operator’s supply of timber or timber products placed on the market, a risk assessment, and a risk mitigation method. The workflow of the conformity assessment must include a literature review, statistical and field data collection, and further analysis of the requirements. Although enforcement of the EUTR began almost two years ago, there is little research on its implementation. This DDS system showed high functionality of its existing components corresponding with the general requirements of the standards developed by the Nature Ecology and People Consult (NepCon), a non-profit organization recognized as the monitoring organization by the European Commission. This wood origin system also meets the requirements of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification system, while maintaining full harmonization with the EUTR legislation. However, major obstacles persist in implementation of legislation by EU member states, in terms of interpretation of requirements, prosecutions and fines, and the role of third-party evidence. Full article

The aim of this review is to provide a global perspective of Home Enteral Tube Feeding (HETF) and to outline some of the challenges of home enteral nutrition (HEN) provisions. It is well established that the number of patients on HETF is on the increase worldwide due to advances in technology, development of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy techniques, and the shift in care provisions from acute to community settings. While the significance of home enteral nutrition in meeting the nutritional requirements of patients with poor swallowing reflexes and those with poor nutritional status is not in doubt, differences exist in terms of funding, standards, management approaches and the level of infrastructural development across the world. Strategies for alleviating some of the challenges militating against the effective delivery of HETF including the development of national and international standards, guidelines and policies for HETF, increased awareness and funding by government at all levels were discussed. Others, including development of HEN services, which should create the enabling environment for multidisciplinary team work, clinical audit and research, recruitment and retention of specialist staff, and improvement in patient outcomes have been outlined. However, more research is required to fully establish the cost effectiveness of the HEN service especially in developing countries and to compare the organization of HEN service between developing and developed countries. Full article

Companies that are listed on a stock exchange should know that reporting only financial measures is not enough for ensuring sustainable development. To be truly competitive, they should also include information about environmental policies and about the benefits that the company offers to its employees. The present research aims to provide information on how Romanian listed companies report environmental and social indicators and whether or not this has an impact on financial performance. We used a four time period panel fixed effect model for Romanian companies that are listed in the first category of the Bucharest Stock of Exchange. The results point out that increasing water, air and soil protection has a negative impact on current return on equity, while no effects were detected on return on assets and stock market returns. Other environmental variables such as gas, energy or sound were found not to be statistically significant. Training and benefits after retirement have a mixed effect on financial measures. The research correlates Romanian accounting regulation changes with companies’ characteristics and the influence of financial audit on financial performance, and concludes that increasing environmental and social protection could have an impact on financial performance in the long run, as positive correlation was detected between social or environmental performance and stock market returns one year after the changes occurred. Full article

School cafeterias are a significant source of food waste and represent an ideal opportunity for diverting food waste from landfills. In this study, cafeteria waste audits were conducted at three Florida schools. Food waste comprised the largest fraction of school cafeteria waste streams, ranging from 47% to 58%, followed by milk, paper products (tissue, milk cartons, pasteboard, paper plates, and cardboard), and plastics (plastic wrap, packaging, and utensils). Metal and glass comprised the smallest fraction of the waste stream. Average total waste generation ranged from 50.5 to 137.6 g·student⁻¹·day⁻¹. The mean generation rates for food waste ranged from 24.7 to 64.9 g·student⁻¹·day⁻¹. The overall average for cafeteria waste generation among all three schools was 102.3 g·student⁻¹·day⁻¹, with food waste alone contributing 52.2 g·student⁻¹·day⁻¹. There are two primary approaches to diverting school food waste from landfills: reduction and recycling. Food waste can be reduced through educating students and staff in order to change behaviors that cause food waste. Food waste can be collected and recycled through composting or anaerobic digestion in order to generate beneficial end products, including soil amendments and bioenergy. Over 75% of the cafeteria waste measured in this study could be recycled in this manner. Full article

The subject of this paper is the role of marketing consulting in development of performances of agrarian clusters in Serbia. The research that was carried out has pretensions to point out to many issues that are linked to these problems, initiate their solving, inform those that are obligated to be interested on the role and significance of consulting, as well as the methods of its use. About everything that could contribute to an increase in benefit and improvement of agriculture, including proposing solutions that resulted from exact researches through application of scientific methods by logical conclusions. The empirical research of impact of marketing consulting on the performances of agrarian clusters in Serbia was carried out by a survey. Audit was performed by a procedure by which some relevant scientific conclusions were achieved—by researching data in the field specifically, by collecting adequate data on the agrarian clusters which operate in Serbia. In this paper we started from the following hypothesis: Using marketing consulting improves marketing performances of agrarian clusters, which indirectly leads to an improvement in their financial performance. The basis of the research hypothesis is the so called, PIMS program whose starting point is the influence of the market’s strategy on an enterprise’s profit, i.e., it shows the connection between marketing and financial performance of an enterprise. Finally, regardless to the level of success of the research, and proving the obtained results, this paper will surely represent a basis for future researches of marketing consulting and their support to business management. Full article

SHOT (Serious Hazards of Transfusion scheme) is the UK’s National confidential haemovigilance system, and was set up in 1996. It is an independent, confidential, professionally led haemovigilance scheme. Initially the reporting was voluntary but now required by several professional bodies. SHOT publishes annual reports with recommendations and circulates to all relevant organizations including the 4 UK Blood services, Departments of Health in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, all relevant professional bodies and reporting hospitals. Over the 17 years of reporting, the evidence gathered has prompted changes in transfusion practice from the selection and management of donors to changes in hospital practice, better education and training. Acute transfusion reactions and transfusion-associated circulatory overload carry the highest risk for morbidity and death. Greatest risk to patients remain errors in the process at the point of blood sampling, in the laboratory and at bedside administration. SHOT’s objectives are to use findings to improve standards of hospital transfusion practice, to educate users on transfusion hazards and prevention, to aid production of clinical guidelines in blood transfusion and to inform national policy on transfusion safety. MHRA is the UK competent authority to which serious adverse reactions and events have to be reported annually. Overall the most common adverse incidents are caused by errors, resulting in the transfusion of an incorrect component or one that does not meet the specific requirements of the patient (e.g. not irradiated or not appropriately antigen matched). TACO (transfusion associated circulatory overload) accounts for most deaths and major morbidity reported to SHOT but is overall underreported. Transfusions are not always given appropriately. This may be due to wrong haemoglobin results, failure to assess patients appropriately, or avoidable use of emergency O RhD negative units because of poor communication or planning. Review of cases of haemolytic transfusion reactions (HTR) shows that they are observed mainly in Sickle Cell Disease patients. HTR are associated with major morbidity (10/16 cases in sickle cell patients over 3 years) and death (a child in 2010). SCD patients are at particular risk of alloimmunization and this can be reduced by red cell phenotyping prior to the first transfusion followed by routine matching for at least the Rh and Kell groups. SHOT output data led over the time to the development of strategies to improve transfusion safety such as the implementation of guidelines for improving practice, implementation of the National Comparative Audit of Blood Transfusion programme, the publication of the Better blood transfusion initiatives and the establishment of The UK transfusion laboratory collaborative. Full article

Since the 1990s, national green building certification indices have emerged around the globe as promising measurement tools for environmental-friendly housing. Since 2008, tools for countries in the Northern “colder” hemisphere have been adapted to tropical countries. In contrast, the Tropically Adapted Energy Performance Certificate (TEPC), established in 2012, translates the United Nations’ triple bottom line principle into green building sustainability (planet), thermal comfort (people) and affordability (profit). The tool has been especially developed and revamped for affordable green building assessment helping to reduce global warming. Hence, by the comparably simple and transparent energy audit it provides, the TEPC examines buildings for their: (1) contribution to reduce CO₂; (2) transmission rate in shielding a building’s envelope against the effects of the tropical heat; (3) generation of thermal comfort and (4) referring total cost of ownership to green the building further. All four dimensions are measured in the rainbow colour scale in compliance with national energy regulations. Accordingly, this research examines the tool’s implementation in tropical countries. Exemplified tropical case studies in residential areas seek to demonstrate the practicability of the approach and to derive a holistic certification by an internationally accredited certification board. Full article