Modeling Barriers to Social Responsibility Accounting (SRA) and Ranking its Implementation Strategies to Support Sustainable Performance – a study in an emerging market

Purpose Today, with the increasing involvement of the environment and human beings business units, paying attention to fulfilling social responsibility obligations while making a profit has become increasingly necessary for achieving sustainable development goals. Attention to profit by organizations should not be without regard to their social and environmental performance. Social responsibility accounting (SRA) is an approach that can pay more attention to the social and environmental performance of companies, but it has many barriers. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify barriers to SRA implementation and provide strategies to overcome these barriers. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the authors identify barriers to social responsibility accounting implementation and provide strategies to overcome these barriers. By literature review, 12 barriers and seven strategies were identified and approved using the opinions of six academic experts. Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) has been used to identify significant barriers and find textual relationships between them. The fuzzy technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method has been used to identify and rank strategies for overcoming these barriers. This study was undertaken in Iran (an emerging market). The data has been gathered from 18 experts selected using purposive sampling and included CEOs of the organization, senior accountants and active researchers well familiar with the field of social responsibility accounting. Findings Based on the results of this study, the cultural differences barrier was introduced as the primary and underlying barrier of the social responsibility accounting barriers model. At the next level, barriers such as “lack of public awareness of the importance of social responsibility accounting, lack of social responsibility accounting implementation regulations and organization size” are significant barriers to social responsibility accounting implementation. Removing these barriers will help remove other barriers in this direction. In addition, the results of the TOPSIS method showed that “mandatory regulations, the introduction of guidelines and social responsibility accounting standards,” “regulatory developments and government incentive schemes to implement social responsibility accounting,” as well as “increasing public awareness of the benefits of social responsibility accounting” are some of the essential social responsibility accounting implementation strategies. Practical implications The findings of the study have implications for both professional accounting bodies for developing the necessary standards and for policymakers for adopting policies that facilitate the implementation of social responsibility accounting to achieve sustainability. Social implications This paper creates a new perspective on the practical implementation of social responsibility accounting, closely related to improving environmental performance and increasing social welfare through improving sustainability. Originality/value Experts believe that the strategies mentioned above will be very effective and helpful in removing the barriers of the lower level of the model. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, for the first time, this study develops a model of social responsibility accounting barriers and ranks the most critical implementation strategies

Monstar polarization singularities with elliptically-symmetric q-plates

Space-variant polarization patterns present in the transverse mode of optical beams highlight disclination patterns of polarization about a singularity, often a C-point. These patterns are important for understanding rotational dislocations and for characterizing complex polarization patterns. Liquid-crystal devices known as q-plates have been used to produce two of the three types of disclination patterns in optical beams: lemons and stars. Here we report the production of the third type of disclination, which is asymmetric, known as the monstar. We do so with elliptically-symmetric q-plates. We present theory and measurements, and find excellent agreement between the two

The Impact of Educational Intervention Based on Theory of Planned Behavior in Breast Self-Examination of Women Referred to Health Centers

Aims: Monthly breast self-examination (BSE) is one method for early detection of breast cancer. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of educational intervention based on the theory of planned behavior in promoting BSE of women in Gonabad, IRAN. Materials & Methods: In this clinical trial study, 140 married women aged 20–49 years from Gonabad were chosen randomly and divided into control and experimental groups. Educational needs were determined and the curriculum was developed and presented in 5 sessions. BSE behavior was studied using the constructs of planned behavior theory before, immediately and 3 months after training. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20, using ANOVA, T-test student, Chi-square and multivariate analysis of variance and significant level was set at α=05.0 Findings: The mean age of the subjects was 37.27 ± 6.69 years. After intervention, the average score of BSE skill increased from 17.89 to 18.26 and the mean scores of theoretical constructs in the intervention group increased significantly (P0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that educational intervention based on the theory of planned behavior was effective in promoting BSE behaviors. Therefore, it is recommended that educational interventions to be designed specifically for and consistent with the constructs of the theory of planned behavior

TRPV6 modulates proliferation of human pancreatic neuroendocrine BON-1 tumour cells

Highly Ca2+ permeable receptor potential channel vanilloid type 6 (TRPV6) modulates a variety of biological functions including calcium-dependent cell growth and apoptosis. So far, the role of TRPV6 in controlling growth of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumour (NET) cells is unknown. In the present study, we characterize the expression of TRPV6 in pancreatic BON-1 and QGP-1 NET cells. Furthermore, we evaluate the impact of TRPV6 on intracellular calcium, the activity of nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) and proliferation of BON-1 cells. TRPV6 expression was assessed by real-time PCR and Western blot. TRPV6 mRNA expression and protein production were down-regulated by siRNA. Changes in intracellular calcium levels were detected by fluorescence calcium imaging (fura-2/AM). NFAT activity was studied by NFAT reporter assay; cell proliferation by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), MTT and propidium iodine staining. TRPV6 mRNA and protein are present in BON-1 and QGP-1 NET-cells. Down-regulation of TRPV6 attenuates BON-1 cell proliferation. TRPV6 down- regulation is associated with decreased Ca2+ response pattern and reduced NFAT activity. In conclusion, TRPV6 is expressed in pancreatic NETs and modulates cell proliferation via Ca2+-dependent mechanism, which is accompanied by NFAT activation

An economic insight into additive manufacturing system implementation

With an ever growing diffusion of Additive Manufacturing (AM) system in industrial and commercial level, as well as the direct and indirect dynamics which are being introduced resulting from its inclusion as a possible production technology on companies’ portfolio, the need to reconfigure production system and adapt the production strategy becomes even more relevant than before. There are several studies which have emphasized on the importance of a paradigm shift in order to exploit advantages of AM, not only considering changes within design and functionality of the product, but also concerning AM’s impact on the entire value chain (re)configuration. Thus, it is of crucial importance to take into consideration that for this shift to be feasible and manageable, there is a need to include both technical and managerial aspects of manufacturing. This work proposes an economic insight in order to provide a guideline for the proper evaluation of AM system implementation. © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2015

Conscious sedation and analgesia in colonoscopy: Ketamine/propofol combination has superior patient satisfaction versus fentanyl/propofol

Background: Colonoscopy is performed without preparing sedation in many countries. However, according to the current literature patients are more satisfied when appropriate sedation is prepared for them. Objectives: We hypothesize that propofol-ketamine may prepare more patient satisfaction compared to propofol-fentanyl combination. Patients and Methods: Sixty adult patients older than 18 with ASA physical status of I, II or III were enrolled in the present study after providing the informed consent. They were prospectively randomized into two equal groups: 1- Group PF: was scheduled to receive IV bolus dose of fentanyl 1μg/kg and propofol 0.5mg/kg. 2- Group PK: was scheduled to receive IV bolus dose of ketamine 0.5mg/kg and propofol 0.5mg/kg. As a primary goal, patient's satisfaction was assessed by the use a Likert five-item scoring system in the recovery. Comparisons of hemodynamic parameters (mean heart rate, mean systolic blood pressure, mean diastolic blood pressure), mean Spo2 values during the procedure and side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and psychological reactions during the recovery period were our secondary goals. Level of sedation during the colonoscopy was assessed with the Observer's Assessment of Alertness/Sedation score (OAA/S). Results: Mean satisfaction scores in the group PK were significantly higher than the group PF (P = 0.005) while the level of sedation during the procedure was similar (P = 0.17). Hemodynamic parameters and SpO2 values were not significantly different (P > 0.05). Incidence of nausea and vomiting was the same in both groups. Conclusions: IV bolus injection of propofol-ketamine can lead to more patients' satisfaction than the other protocols during colonoscopy. © 2013 Iranian Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine

3D printing in COVID-19: Productivity estimation of the most promising open source solutions in emergency situations

Copyright © 2020 by the authors. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a surge of demand for medical supplies and spare parts, which has put pressure on the manufacturing sector. As a result, 3D printing communities and companies are currently operating to ease the breakdown in the medical supply chain. If no parts are available, 3D printing can potentially be used to produce time-critical parts on demand such as nasal swabs, face shields, respirators, and spares for ventilators. A structured search using online sources and feedback from key experts in the 3D printing area was applied to highlight critical issues and to suggest potential solutions. The prescribed outcomes were estimated in terms of cost and productivity at a small and large scale. This study analyzes the number and costs of parts that can be manufactured with a single machine within 24 h. It extrapolates this potential with the number of identical 3D printers in the world to estimate the global potential that can help practitioners, frontline workers, and those most vulnerable during the pandemic. It also proposes alternative 3D printing processes and materials that can be applicable. This new unregulated supply chain has also opened new questions concerning medical certification and Intellectual property rights (IPR). There is also a pressing need to develop new standards for 3D printing of medical parts for the current pandemic, and to ensure better national resilience.Academy of Finland, grant number 325509, in the frame of project Directdigital manufacturing in health care production and operations (DiDiMinH)

A variant in CYP2R1 predicts circulating vitamin D levels after supplementation with high-dose of vitamin D in healthy adolescent girls

Aim The determinants of serum vitamin D seems to be the environmental factors (dietary and supplementary intake and exposure to ultraviolet light) and genetic factors. We aimed to study the relationship between a vitamin D‐associated genetic polymorphism and serum 25(OH)D concentrations in healthy adolescent girls in Iran, and its effects on a high‐dose supplement of vitamin D. Material and method A total of 616 healthy adolescent girls with mean age 15 received 50,000 IU of vitamin D3 weekly over 9 weeks. Serum vitamin D levels and other metabolic factors were measured at baseline and after the intervention. The genotyping of the CYP2R1 variant (rs10741657) was performed by TaqMan genotyping assays. Results Regardless of the genetic background, at baseline, 87% of adolescent girls were vitamin D deficient (serum 25(OH)D level < 50 nmol/l). High‐dose supplementation with VitD reduced the proportion of girls who were deficient substantially to about 24%. The genetic analysis revealed that although at baseline there was not a gene‐vitamin D association ( p trend = 0.1), the response to supplementation appeared to be modulated by this variant ( p trend < 0.001). However, other anthropometric and biochemical measures were not affected by this intervention, over this short period. Serum 25(OH)D was increased in all participants although the carriers of the minor A allele seemed to be better responders so that the percentages of the change serum vitamin D in the holder of AA and AG genotypes were 539.4 ± 443.1 and 443.7 ± 384.6, respectively, compared with those with common GG genotype (363.3 ± 354.0). Our regression analysis revealed that the probability of an increase in serum 25(OH)D in a participant with AA genotype was 2.5‐fold greater than those with a GG genotype (OR = 2.5 (1.4–4.4); p value = 0.002). Conclusion Based on our findings, it appears that the rs10741657 variant of the CYP2R1 gene modulates the response to high‐dose of vitamin D supplementation