Stakeholder Theory in Corporate Law: Has It Got What It Takes?

There has been much debate for many years regarding what should be the objective of the large public corporation. This issue is important for a number of reasons, not least of which is that the theory nominated will underpin corporate governance and dictate, to a large extent, the kind of corporate governance system that will exist. As far as the corporation’s objective is concerned, two theories have been dominant: the shareholder primacy theory and the stakeholder theory. The former is operative in what I will call “Anglo-American jurisdictions,” namely jurisdictions that model their law and practice on one or both of the United States or the United Kingdom. Jurisdictions falling within this category also include Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The stakeholder theory operates in many continental European and East Asian countries. Prime examples are Germany and Japan

Moving the National Soil Database for England and Wales (LandIS) towards INSPIRE Compliance

Established and developed over the last 30 years, the Land Information System (LandIS) holds significant national soil-environmental datasets collected primarily by the Soil Survey of England and Wales between 1939 and 1987, and latterly by the National Soil Resources Institute (NSRI) at Cranfield University. LandIS data are in widespread use through systems of architecture designed to facilitate access across a range of contemporary applications including: environmental impact assessment; land suitability and evaluation; natural resource inventory; area-based risk and geo-hazard assessments; and characterisation of ecosystem goods and services. For users of LandIS information working on these themes, access to the data is made available through readily-accessible web-based services and applications, dataset provision and fully-functional bespoke applications. The INSPIRE Directive sets out to address the availability, quality, organisation, accessibility, interoperability and sharing of spatial information across a large number of policy and information themes, for all levels of public authority within the Community through the adoption of common standards. Annex III of INSPIRE refers directly to the theme of soil, typified by the information resources held in LandIS. With NSRI a registered soil Spatial Data Infrastructure for England and Wales, this paper examines how LandIS information could be made further compliant with the principles and requirements of INSPIRE

The human cytomegalovirus UL55 (gB) and UL75 (gH) glycoprotein ligands initiate the rapid activation of Sp1 and NF-kappaB during infection.

The cellular transcription factors Sp1 and NF-kappaB were upregulated shortly after the binding of purified live or UV-inactivated human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) to the cell surface. The rapid time frame of transcription factor induction is similar to that seen in other systems in which cellular factors are induced following receptor-ligand engagement. This similarity suggested that a cellular receptor-viral ligand interaction might be involved in Sp1 and NF-kappaB activation during the earliest stages of HCMV infection. To focus on the possible role viral ligands play in initiating cellular events following infection, we first used purified viral membrane extracts to demonstrate that constituents on the membrane are responsible for cellular activation. Additionally, these studies showed, through the use of neutralizing antibodies, that the viral membrane mediators of this activation are the major envelope glycoproteins gB (UL55) and gH (UL75). To confirm these results, neutralizing anti-gB and -gH antibodies were used to block the interactions of these glycoproteins on whole purified virus with their cell surface receptors. In so doing, we found that Sp1 and NF-kappaB induction was inhibited. Lastly, through the use of purified viral gB protein and an anti-idiotypic antibody that mimics the image of the viral gH protein, it was found that the engagement of individual viral ligands with their appropriate cell surface receptors was sufficient to activate cellular Sp1 and NF-kappaB. These results support our hypothesis that HCMV glycoproteins mediate an initial signal transduction pathway which leads to the upregulation of host cell transcription factors and suggests a model wherein the orderly sequence of virus-mediated changes in cellular activation initiates with viral binding via envelope glycoproteins to the cognate cellular receptor(s)

Constraining the long-term evolution of the slip rate for a major extensional fault system in the central Aegean, Greece, using thermochronology

The brittle/ductile transition is a major rheologic boundary in the crust yet little is known about how or if rates of tectonic processes are influenced by this boundary. In this study we examine the slip history of the large-scale Naxos/Paros extensional fault system (NPEFS), Cyclades, Greece, by comparing published slip rates for the ductile crust with new thermochronological constraints on slip rates in the brittle regime. Based on apatite and zircon fission-track (AFT and ZFT) and (U–Th)/He dating we observe variable slip rates across the brittle/ductile transition on Naxos. ZFT and AFT ages range from 11.8 ± 0.8 to 9.7 ± 0.8 Ma and 11.2 ± 1.6 to 8.2 ± 1.2 Ma and (U–Th)/He zircon and apatite ages are between 10.4 ± 0.4 to 9.2 ± 0.3 Ma and 10.7 ± 1.0 to 8.9 ± 0.6 Ma, respectively. On Paros, ZFT and AFT ages range from 13.1 ± 1.4 Ma to 11.1 ± 1.0 Ma and 12.7 ± 2.8 Ma to 10.5 ± 2.0 Ma while the (U–Th)/He zircon ages are slightly younger between 8.3 ± 0.4 Ma and 9.8 ± 0.3 Ma. All ages consistently decrease northwards in the direction of hanging wall transport. Most of our new thermochronological results and associated thermal modeling more strongly support the scenario of an identical fault dip and a constant or slightly accelerating slip rate of 6–8 km Myr− 1 on the NPEFS across the brittle/ductile transition. Even the intrusion of a large granodiorite body into the narrowing fault zone at 12 Ma on Naxos does not seem to have affected the thermal structure of the area in a way that would significantly disturb the slip rate. The data also show that the NPEFS accomplished a minimum total offset of 50 km between 16 and 8 Ma

Ascertaining the notion of board accountability in Chinese listed companies

Accountability is a concept that has been frequently referred to in Anglo-American systems and in the OECD’s corporate governance documents, as well as in the English translations of corporate governance documents from non-English speaking jurisdictions. It is in the Anglo-American literature, in particular, where the word finds prominence. It has been suggested in China that accountability is one of the basic principles of corporate governance that needs to be consistently enforced. But does this mean that board accountability, as it has been provided for in the Anglo-American system, is actually an element of Chinese corporate governance? If not, should it be adopted? Or should China develop a concept that is more appropriately included as a critical part of its own particular corporate governance needs? The paper aims to address these matters in order to ascertain where Chinese corporate governance stands on accountability as far as the boards of large listed companies are concerned, and what it should do. We opine that while there are elements of accountability in Chinese corporate governance, it does not have the form of accountability embraced in Anglo-American systems. But, it is argued, as China moves from having a system totally based on administrative governance to one that is based more on economic governance the kind of approach that applies in Anglo-American jurisdictions is likely to become more relevant. Within a hybrid corporate governance system combining elements of both administrative and economic governance, we develop a unique “wenze system” with forms and characters of accountability that is likely to develop to address the needs of corporate governance in China and the fostering of its listed companies

A brain-based pain facilitation mechanism contributes to painful diabetic polyneuropathy.

The descending pain modulatory system represents one of the oldest and most fundamentally important neurophysiological mechanisms relevant to pain. Extensive work in animals and humans has shown how a functional imbalance between the facilitatory and inhibitory components is linked to exacerbation and maintenance of persistent pain states. Forward translation of these findings into clinical populations is needed to verify the relevance of this imbalance. Diabetic polyneuropathy is one of the most common causes of chronic neuropathic pain; however, the reason why ∼25–30% of patients with diabetes develop pain is not known. The current study used a multimodal clinical neuroimaging approach to interrogate whether the sensory phenotype of painful diabetic polyneuropathy involves altered function of the ventrolateral periaqueductal grey—a key node of the descending pain modulatory system. We found that ventrolateral periaqueductal grey functional connectivity is altered in patients suffering from painful diabetic polyneuropathy; the magnitude of which is correlated to their spontaneous and allodynic pain as well as the magnitude of the cortical response elicited by an experimental tonic heat paradigm. We posit that ventrolateral periaqueductal grey-mediated descending pain modulatory system dysfunction may reflect a brain-based pain facilitation mechanism contributing to painful diabetic polyneuropathy.Funding for this work was generously provided from the following sources: National Institute for Health Research Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Medical Research Council of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Wellcome Trust (London, UK) and the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking (Brussels, Belgium), under grant agreement no 115007 resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) and EFPIA companies’ in kind contribution. D.L.B. and A.C.T. are members of the DOLORisk consortium funded by the European Commission Horizon 2020 (ID633491). D.L.B. and A.C.T. are members of the International Diabetic Neuropathy Consortium, the Novo Nordisk Foundation (Ref. NNF14SA0006). D.L.B. is a senior Wellcome clinical scientist (Ref. 202747/Z/16/Z). The project was supported by a strategic award from the Wellcome (Ref. 102645). A.R.S., D.L.B., and I.T. are members of the Wellcome Pain Consortium (Ref. 102645). A.C.T. is an Honorary Research Fellow of the Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Fusion of secretory vesicles isolated from rat liver

Secretory vesicles isolated from rat liver were found to fuse after exposure to Ca2+. Vescle fusion is characterized by the occurrence of twinned vesicles with a continuous cleavage plane between two vesicles in freeze-fracture electron microscopy. The number of fused vesicles increases with increasing Ca2+-concentrations and is half maximal around 10–6 m. Other divalent cations (Ba2+, Sr2+, and Mg2+) were ineffective. Mg2+ inhibits Ca2+-induced fusion. Therefore, the fusion of secretory vesiclesin vitro is Ca2+ specific and exhibits properties similar to the exocytotic process of various secretory cells. Various substances affecting secretionin vivo (microtubular inhibitors, local anethetics, ionophores) were tested for their effect on membrane fusion in our system. The fusion of isolated secretory vesicles from liver was found to differ from that of pure phospholipid membranes in its temperature dependence, in its much lower requirement for Ca2+, and in its Ca2+-specificity. Chemical and enzymatic modifications of the vesicle membrane indicate that glycoproteins may account for these differences

Invisible Disabilities in Education and Employment

More than 1 in 5 UK adults are disabled. Disabilities that are not immediately obvious are known as ‘invisible disabilities’, such as mental health conditions, neurodivergences and energy-limiting conditions.1 Evidence on this topic is limited as most research focuses on disability in general, or on a few specific conditions. Those with invisible disabilities may face challenges due to a lack of awareness and difficulty accessing support and services. Strategies aimed at increasing access and inclusion for adults with invisible disabilities in employment, and in higher and further education, could include: increasing awareness and understanding via training and reciprocal mentoring schemes; introducing ‘passports’ for transfer of adjustments to avoid repeated disclosure; inclusive design that considers sensory and informational barriers to access; maintaining online access to events and services post-pandemic; updating policy and guidance with examples of less recognised invisible disabilities; and promoting flexible working and learning arrangements. The 2021 National Disability Strategy set out the actions the Government would take to improve the lives of disabled people, including making workplaces more inclusive and accessible. However, the High Court ruled in 2022 that the strategy was “unlawful due to inadequate consultation”, which the Government has sought permission to appeal. Fourteen policies in the strategy are currently paused

Corporate Governance for Sustainability

The current model of corporate governance needs reform. There is mounting evidence that the practices of shareholder primacy drive company directors and executives to adopt the same short time horizon as financial markets. Pressure to meet the demands of the financial markets drives stock buybacks, excessive dividends and a failure to invest in productive capabilities. The result is a ‘tragedy of the horizon’, with corporations and their shareholders failing to consider environmental, social or even their own, long-term, economic sustainability. With less than a decade left to address the threat of climate change, and with consensus emerging that businesses need to be held accountable for their contribution, it is time to act and reform corporate governance in the EU. The statement puts forward specific recommendations to clarify the obligations of company boards and directors and make corporate governance practice significantly more sustainable and focused on the long term

Can physical education and physical activity outcomes be developed simultaneously using a game-centered approach?

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a pilot intervention using a gamecentered approach for improvement of physical activity (PA) and physical education (PE) outcomes simultaneously, and if this had an impact on enjoyment of PE. A group-randomized controlled trial with a 7-week wait-list control group was conducted in one primary school in the Hunter Region, NSW, Australia. Participants (n = 107 students; mean age = 10.7 years, SD 0.87) were randomized by class group into the Professional Learning for Understanding Games Education (PLUNGE) pilot intervention (n = 52 students) or the control (n = 55) conditions. PLUNGE involved 6 x 60 min PE lessons based on game-centered curriculum delivered via an in-class teacher mentoring program. Students were assessed at baseline and 7-week follow-up for fundamental movement skills (FMS) of throw and catch, game play abilities of decision making, support and skill performance; in-class PA; and enjoyment of PA. Linear mixed models revealed significant group-by-time intervention effects (p < 0.05) for throw (effect size: d = 0.9) and catch (d = 0.4) FMS, decision making (d = 0.7) and support (d = 0.9) during game play, and in-class PA (d = 1.6). No significant intervention effects (p > 0.05) were observed for skills outcome during game play (d = -0.2) or student enjoyment (d = 0.1). Game-centered pedagogy delivered via a teacher professional learning program was efficacious in simultaneously improving students' FMS skills, in-class PA and their decision making and support skills in game play