Supermarkets' accountability pertaining to palm oil use: an Australian study

This thesis addresses the issue of supermarkets' accountability pertaining to palm oil used within their private-label products. Specifically, it investigates whether the public disclosures being made by Australian supermarkets enables interested stakeholders to assess whether the palm oil being used is being sourced from sustainable plantations. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the research, identifies motivations for the research and presents the contributions from the research. Chapter 2 starts by discussing the use of palm oil and how it is a very widely used ingredient in a vast multitude of products. The rapid growth of oil palm plantations will be discussed together with a discussion of the many adverse social and environmental impacts (as well as some of the positive social impacts) that have accrued as a result of the proliferation of oil palm plantations. Initiatives created to provide sustainable sources of palm oil will also be explored; and it will be shown that business organisations that use palm oil in their products do have a realistic choice between using sustainable and non-sustainable palm oil. In addressing the issue of `accountability' for the palm oil used within products being sold, and because of the many different ways in which the idea of `accountability' can be interpreted, Chapter 3 (Phase 1 of the research) addresses the issue of accountability in depth and at a general level, and not specifically as it relates to palm oil accountability. As will be demonstrated, `accountability' itself is a normative concept and one that is based upon personal values and judgements. That is, the accountability expected of an organisation by different stakeholders will not be the same, and the expectations will also tend to change across time. Chapter 3 will propose an accountability model that is then utilised within the following chapters of the thesis. Chapter 3 identifies highly cited definitions of accountability from a variety of academic disciplines, as well as definitions from the accounting profession and dictionaries. What will be shown is that the various definitions of `accountability' generally have much in common, but the application of the various definitions can create vastly different prescriptions for accountability (and for accounting) depending upon the various judgements being made by those prescribing or assessing organisational accountability. Individuals' own world views will influence what accountability is expected. Chapter 3 will provide and discuss a sequence of steps that arguably are followed in the process of determining what accountability should be demonstrated, and for assessing the accountability that has been demonstrated. A `model of accountability' is presented that highlights the steps, and these steps can be summarised in terms of judgements, or decisions, about: (1) why accountability should be demonstrated? (2) to whom should accountability be demonstrated? (3) for what aspects of performance should accountability be demonstrated?  (4) how (or where) should the accountability be demonstrated? Chapter 3 will explain the sequential nature of these decisions and how judgements made in terms of one question will then likely impact the judgements made in the decisions that follow. Having proposed an `accountability model' in Chapter 3 that will then be applied in the research that follows, Chapter 4 (Phase 2 of the research) will then investigate and evaluate the accountability being demonstrated by Australian supermarkets in relation to the use of palm oil in their products. Any assessment of accountability is necessarily normative and therefore there are no prescriptions that can be made that will be in accord with the expectations or values of all people. Accordingly, in assessing the accountability of Australian supermarkets, the Accountability Model proposed in Chapter 3 will be utilised to explain the basis of the disclosures the supermarkets should be making. That is, Chapter 4 will explain how the judgements made (by the researcher in terms of the issues of why? to whom? what? and how? information shall be disclosed) led to prescribed lists of assessment criteria on what and how accountability pertaining to palm oil use should be demonstrated by Australian supermarkets Central to the analysis is the belief (based on scientific evidence and the application of the accountability model) that oil palm forest proliferation has had many negative environmental impacts. Hence organisations, such as supermarkets, owe an accountability to interested stakeholders in terms of efforts undertaken (or not) to ensure the use of sustainable palm oil in the products they produce. In developing the lists of expected/prescribed assessment criteria, the study relies upon work undertaken by various interest groups who have a specific focus upon reducing the environmental impacts from palm oil use. Such organisations provided lists of governance policies they would expect to see in place in organisations that use palm oil in the products they produce. The study synthesised these lists to generate: a prescribed disclosure index on what "accounts" supermarkets should provide; and a list of prescribed disclosure avenues on how (or where) the supermarkets should provide the "accounts". This is done on the basis that if various `expert' organisations have identified particular governance policies/procedures they expected to see in place, then an organisation should provide information (disclosures) about whether such policies were (or, were not) in place so as to enable interested stakeholders to assess the degree to which an organisation is accepting a responsibility (and an accountability) in relation to palm oil use. In developing the assessment criteria, the study relies upon NGOs and other interested stakeholders' perspectives in a manner that is consistent with the idea of `surrogate accountability' (see Rubenstein 2007). Whilst Chapter 4 embraced a normative perspective in which the study assesses the disclosures being made by Australian supermarkets against a list of expected/desired disclosures, Chapter 5 and 6 (Phase 3 of the research) embraces a positive perspective in which the study seeks to explain Australian supermarkets' current disclosures, and changes in disclosures across time. Adopting a joint consideration of stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory and institutional theory, this study explains why the disclosures being made by the supermarkets deviate from what the study construed as being appropriate to demonstrate a sound level of accountability (with the `appropriate levels' of disclosure are being determined using the accountability model embraced within this thesis). With the results in mind, the study will identify a number of practical initiatives that the researcher believes could be developed to improve the accountability of Australian supermarkets with respect to the use of palm oil within their `home brand' products

Learning-related translocation of δ-opioid receptors on ventral striatal cholinergic interneurons mediates choice between goal-directed actions.

The ability of animals to extract predictive information from the environment to inform their future actions is a critical component of decision-making. This phenomenon is studied in the laboratory using the pavlovian-instrumental transfer protocol in which a stimulus predicting a specific pavlovian outcome biases choice toward those actions earning the predicted outcome. It is well established that this transfer effect is mediated by corticolimbic afferents on the nucleus accumbens shell (NAc-S), and recent evidence suggests that delta-opioid receptors (DORs) play an essential role in this effect. In DOR-eGFP knock-in mice, we show a persistent, learning-related plasticity in the translocation of DORs to the somatic plasma membrane of cholinergic interneurons (CINs) in the NAc-S during the encoding of the specific stimulus-outcome associations essential for pavlovian-instrumental transfer. Wefound that increased membrane DOR expression reflected both stimulus-based predictions of reward and the degree to which these stimuli biased choice during the pavlovian-instrumental transfer test. Furthermore, this plasticity altered the firing pattern of CINs increasing the variance of action potential activity, an effect that was exaggerated by DOR stimulation. The relationship between the induction of membrane DOR expression in CINs and both pavlovian conditioning and pavlovian-instrumental transfer provides a highly specific function for DOR-related modulation in the NAc-S, and it is consistent with an emerging role for striatal CIN activity in the processing of predictive information. Therefore, our results reveal evidence of a long-term, experience-dependent plasticity in opioid receptor expression on striatal modulatory interneurons critical for the cognitive control of action

Developing mobile applications for and with young people with long-term conditions learning to share their healthcare with professionals: a young person and family-led approach

Although young people are frequent users of mobile devices in day-to-day life, there is little reliable research that actually involves young people with long-term conditions as partners in the development and testing of mobile technology applications to support their health needs. However, the transition from child to adult health services means that young people need to develop their own clinical skills and knowledge so that they can manage their condition in a confident and competent manner. Therefore this area of research is ripe for development. A group involving a patient with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), a parent, doctors, nurses, researchers and technologists have established a Manchester-based research and development programme on mobile technologies for young people with long term conditions. We have fostered strong partnerships with other national groups to help us agree on research priorities in this important area, and a plan of work to help us achieve these. First we obtained valuable suggestions from a national group of children and young people with JIA on the types of information and tools they would like to see included in a JIA specific mobile application. Next we are reviewing the research evidence to help us in our future work, and working with young people, parents and health professionals to produce a detailed software specification for a prototype application to test with young people. This poster will explore and discuss the progress we have made, with a focus on the central role of young people and their families living with JIA in the project

Effects of Single and Integrated Water, Sanitation, Handwashing, and Nutrition Interventions on Child Soil-Transmitted Helminth and Giardia infections: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial in Rural Kenya

Helminth and protozoan infections affect more than 1 billion children globally. Improving water quality, sanitation, handwashing, and nutrition could be more sustainable control strategies for parasite infections than mass drug administration, while providing other quality of life benefits

Soundscape assessment: Towards a validated translation of perceptual attributes in different languages

The recently published ISO/TS 12913-2:2018 standard aims to provide researchers and practitioners around the world with a reliable questionnaire for soundscape characterization. The ISO Technical Specifications report protocols and attributes grounded in the soundscape literature, but only includes an English version. The applicability and reliability of these attributes in non-English speaking regions remains an open question, as research investigating translations of soundscape attributes is limited. To address this gap, an international collaboration was initiated with soundscape researchers from all over the world. Translation into 15 different languages, obtained through focus groups and panels of experts in soundscape studies, are proposed. The main challenges and outcomes of this preliminary exercise are discussed. The long-term objective is to validate the proposed translations using standardized listening experiments in different languages and geographical regions as a way to promote a widespread use of the soundscape attributes, both in academia and practice, across locations, populations and languages

Long‐Term Outcomes Following Achievement of Clinically Inactive Disease in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

OBJECTIVE: Potential targets for treat‐to‐target strategies in juvenile idiopathic arthritis are minimal disease activity (MDA) and clinically inactive disease (CID). We undertook this study to compare short‐ and long‐term outcomes following achievement of MDA and CID on the 10‐joint clinical Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score (cJADAS10) and following achievement of CID on Wallace et al's preliminary criteria. METHODS: Children recruited to the Childhood Arthritis Prospective Study, a UK multicenter inception cohort, were selected if they were recruited prior to January 2011 and diagnosed as having oligoarthritis or rheumatoid factor–negative or –positive polyarthritis. One year following diagnosis, children were assessed for MDA on the cJADAS10 and for CID on both Wallace et al's preliminary criteria and the cJADAS10. Associations were tested between those disease states and functional ability, absence of joints with limited range of motion, psychosocial health, and pain at 1 year and annually to 5 years. RESULTS: Of 832 children, 70% were female and the majority had oligoarthritis (68%). At 1 year, 21% had achieved CID according to both definitions, 7% according to Wallace et al's preliminary criteria alone, and 16% according to the cJADAS10 alone; 56% had not achieved CID. Only 10% of children in the entire cohort achieved MDA without also achieving CID. Achieving either early CID state was associated with a greater absence of joints with limited range of motion. However, only CID according to the cJADAS10 was associated with improved functional ability and psychosocial health. Achieving CID was superior to achieving MDA in terms of short‐ and long‐term pain and the absence of joints with limited range of motion

Разработка бизнес-плана как основа подготовки конкурентоспособного специалиста

Objective: The aim was to investigate the time course of lower limb disease activity and walking disability in children with JIA over a 5-year course. Methods: The Childhood Arthritis Prospective Study is a longitudinal study of children with a new JIA diagnosis. Childhood Arthritis Prospective Study data include demographics and core outcome variables at baseline, 6 months and yearly thereafter. Prevalence and transition rates from baseline to 5 years were obtained for active and limited joint counts at the hip, knee, ankle and foot joints; and walking disability, measured using the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire walking subscale. Missing data were accounted for using multiple imputation. Results: A total of 1041 children (64% female), with a median age of 7.7 years at first visit, were included. Baseline knee and ankle synovitis prevalence was 71 and 34%, respectively, decreasing to 8-20 and 6-12%, respectively, after 1 year. Baseline hip and foot synovitis prevalence was <11%, decreasing to <5% after 6 months. At least mild walking disability was present in 52% at baseline, stabilizing at 25-30% after 1 year. Conclusion: Lower limb synovitis and walking disability are relatively common around the time of initial presentation in children and young people with JIA. Mild to moderate walking disability persisted in ∼25% of patients for the duration of the study, despite a significant reduction in the frequency of lower limb synovitis. This suggests that there is an unmet need for non-medical strategies designed to prevent and/or resolve persistent walking disability in JIA

In Enterovirus 71 Encephalitis With Cardio-Respiratory Compromise, Elevated Interleukin 1β, Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist, and Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor Levels Are Markers of Poor Prognosis

Background. Enterovirus 71 (EV71) causes large outbreaks of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), with severe neurological complications and cardio-respiratory compromise, but the pathogenesis is poorly understood. Methods. We measured levels of 30 chemokines and cytokines in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from Malaysian children hospitalized with EV71 infection (n = 88), comprising uncomplicated HFMD (n = 47), meningitis (n = 8), acute flaccid paralysis (n = 1), encephalitis (n = 21), and encephalitis with cardiorespiratory compromise (n = 11). Four of the latter patients died. Results. Both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory mediator levels were elevated, with different patterns of mediator abundance in the CSF and vascular compartments. Serum concentrations of interleukin 1β (IL-1β), interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) were raised significantly in patients who developed cardio-respiratory compromise (P = .013, P = .004, and P 100 at admission being the most accurate prognostic marker for death (P < .001; accuracy, 85.5%; sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 84.7%). Conclusions. Given that IL-1β has a negative inotropic action on the heart, and that both its natural antagonist, IL-1Ra, and G-CSF are being assessed as treatments for acute cardiac impairment, the findings suggest we have identified functional markers of EV71-related cardiac dysfunction and potential treatment options