Understanding Communication of Sustainability Reporting: Application of Symbolic Convergence Theory (SCT)

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature of rhetoric and rhetorical strategies that are implicit in the standalone sustainability reporting of the top 24 companies of the Fortune 500 Global. We adopt Bormann’s (Q J Speech 58(4):396–407, 1972) SCT framework to study the rhetorical situation and how corporate sustainability reporting (CSR) messages can be communicated to the audience (public). The SCT concepts in the sustainability reporting’s communication are subject to different types of legitimacy strategies that are used by corporations as a validity and legitimacy claim in the reports. A content analysis has been conducted and structural coding schemes have been developed based on the literature. The schemes are applied to the SCT model which recognizes the symbolic convergent processes of fantasy among communicators in a Society. The study reveals that most of the sample companies communicate fantasy type and rhetorical vision in their corporate sustainability reporting. However, the disclosure or messages are different across locations and other taxonomies of the SCT framework. This study contributes to the current CSR literature about how symbolic or fantasy understandings can be interpreted by the users. It also discusses the persuasion styles that are adopted by the companies for communication purposes. This study is the theoretical extension of the SCT. Researchers may be interested in further investigating other online communication paths, such as human rights reports and director’s reports

GABA-A Channel Subunit Expression in Human Glioma Correlates with Tumor Histology and Clinical Outcome

GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS and is present in high concentrations in presynaptic terminals of neuronal cells. More recently, GABA has been ascribed a more widespread role in the control of cell proliferation during development where low concentrations of extrasynaptic GABA induce a tonic activation of GABA receptors. The GABA-A receptor consists of a ligand-gated chloride channel, formed by five subunits that are selected from 19 different subunit isoforms. The functional and pharmacological properties of the GABA-A channels are dictated by their subunit composition. Here we used qRT-PCR to compare mRNA levels of all 19 GABA-A channel subunits in samples of human glioma (n = 29) and peri-tumoral tissue (n = 5). All subunits except the ρ1 and ρ3 subunit were consistently detected. Lowest mRNA levels were found in glioblastoma compared to gliomas of lower malignancy, except for the θ subunit. The expression and cellular distribution of the α1, γ1, ρ2 and θ subunit proteins was investigated by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays containing 87 gliomas grade II. We found a strong co-expression of ρ2 and θ subunits in both astrocytomas (r = 0.86, p<0.0001) and oligodendroglial tumors (r = 0.66, p<0.0001). Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards modeling to estimate the impact of GABA-A channel subunit expression on survival identified the ρ2 subunit (p = 0.043) but not the θ subunit (p = 0.64) as an independent predictor of improved survival in astrocytomas, together with established prognostic factors. Our data give support for the presence of distinct GABA-A channel subtypes in gliomas and provide the first link between specific composition of the A-channel and patient survival

Forest landscape ecology and global change: an introduction

Forest landscape ecology examines broad-scale patterns and processes and their interactions in forested systems and informs the management of these ecosystems. Beyond being among the richest and the most complex terrestrial systems, forest landscapes serve society by providing an array of products and services and, if managed properly, can do so sustainably. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the field of forest landscape ecology, including major historical and present topics of research, approaches, scales, and applications, particularly those concerning edges, fragmentation, connectivity, disturbance, and biodiversity. In addition, we discuss causes of change in forest landscapes, particularly land-use and management changes, and the expected structural and functional consequences that may result from these drivers. This chapter is intended to set the context and provide an overview for the remainder of the book and poses a broad set of questions related to forest landscape ecology and global change that need answers

Informações sobre homicídios e sua integração com o setor saúde e segurança pública Linking of information from health and security databases on homicides

OBJETIVO: O aumento verificado nas taxas de homicídios aponta para a necessidade de melhorar a compreensão do problema. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi conhecer as informações adicionais acerca da mortalidade por homicídios provenientes de diferentes fontes de dados. MÉTODOS: Foram analisados os dados de homicídios entre residentes do Município de São Paulo, para o segundo semestre de 2001 obtidos nas declarações de óbito, laudos de necropsia e boletins de ocorrência policial. As informações foram analisadas sob a forma de números absolutos, proporções e coeficientes. Para a verificação de diferenças estatísticas foi utilizado o teste do qui-quadrado de Pearson. RESULTADOS: O coeficiente de homicídios foi 57,2/100.000, sendo que os valores mais altos foram encontrados entre os homens na faixa de 15 a 29 anos. O percentual do uso de armas de fogo foi 88,6%, mais alto entre homens que em mulheres. A localização anatômica de lesões mais freqüentes foi a cabeça (68,9%). Entre as vítimas que tiveram o exame toxicológico realizado, 42,5% tinham feito uso de álcool (44% para os homens e 24% nas mulheres). Há maior concentração de ocorrências nos finais de semana no horário noturno. Em 74,6% dos óbitos, as vítimas residiam próximas ou no mesmo local de ocorrência do evento. CONCLUSÕES: Os achados do estudo apontam que a integração de dados permite melhorar a qualidade da informação, contribuindo para a compreensão dos homicídios.<br>OBJECTIVE: Increased homicide rates in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in the last two decades points out to the need for better understanding this subject. The purpose of the present study was to link information about homicide from different sources of data. METHODS: Homicide data from death certificates, medical examiners and police records of residents in the city of Sao Paulo was linked for the second semester of 2001. Variables about victims, risk factors and homicide circumstances were analyzed using absolute numbers, proportions and coefficients. Statistical differences were tested using Pearson's Chi-square test. RESULTS: Homicide crude rate was 57.2/100,000. Higher rates were observed among men aged 15 to 29 years (56.0% of all cases). The proportion of firearm-related homicides was 88.6%, higher among men than women. Most injuries were to the head (68.9%). Among the victims who underwent to drug screening, 42.5% had high blood alcohol concentrations (44.0% for men and 24.0% for women). Most events occurred at night during weekends and it was found a high correlation (74.6%) between the victim's place of residence and event location. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings highlight that linking information provides better quality of data and allows for better understanding of homicides

Biological versus geochemical control and environmental change drivers of the base metal budgets of a tropical montane forest in Ecuador during 15 years

To assess the susceptibility of the base metal budget of a remote tropical montane forest in Ecuador to environmental change, we determined the extent of biological control of base metal fluxes and explored the impact of atmospheric inputs and precipitation, considered as potential drivers of ecosystem change, on the base metal fluxes. We quantified all major base metal fluxes in a ca. 9.1 ha forested catchment from 1998 to 2013. Mean (±s.d.) annual flux to the soil via throughfall + stemflow + litterfall was 13800 ± 1500 mg m−2 Ca, 19000 ± 1510 mg m−2 K, 4690 ± 619 mg m−2 Mg and 846 ± 592 mg m−2 Na of which 22 ± 6, 45 ± 16, 39 ± 10 and 84 ± 33%, respectively, were leached to below the organic layer. The mineral soil retained 79–94% of this Ca, K and Mg, while Na was released. Weathering rates estimated with three different approaches ranged from not detected (ND) to 504 mg m−2 year−1 Ca, ND-1770 mg m−2 year−1 K, 287–597 mg m−2 year−1 Mg and 403–540 mg m−2 year−1 Na. The size of mainly biologically controlled aboveground fluxes of Ca, K and Mg was 1–2 orders of magnitude larger than that of mainly geochemically controlled fluxes (sorption to soil and weathering). The elemental catchment budgets (total deposition − streamflow) were positive for Ca (574 ± 893 mg m−2) and K (1330 ± 773 mg m−2), negative for Na (−370 ± 1300 mg m−2) and neutral for Mg (1.89 ± 304 mg m−2). Our results demonstrate that biological processes controlled element retention for Ca, K and Mg in the biological part of the ecosystem. This was different for Na, which was mainly released by weathering from the study catchment, while the biological part of the ecosystem was Na-poor. The deposition of base metals was the strongest driver of their budgets suggesting that the base metal cycling of the study ecosystem is susceptible to changing deposition