Local Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility for Arctic Petroleum in the Barents Region

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is promoted and critiqued by many players involved in or opposed to petroleum exploration and extraction, although a common understanding of CSR’s theoretical and practical meanings rarely exists. This paper uses Arctic petroleum in the Barents region (Norway and Russia) to investigate local perceptions of CSR. We conducted open-ended, semi-structured interviews in four locations: Hammerfest, Murmansk, Komi Republic, and Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO). Interviewees included the local population, regional and local authorities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and petroleum company representatives. The field research suggests that those who gain directly from the petroleum industry and do not directly experience negative impacts were more inclined to be positive about the industry, although overall, general support for petroleum activity was high. In some cases, positive economic benefits resulted in greater tolerance of environmental risk. Sometimes, the industry and government were criticised by locals for failing to support a more equitable distribution of broader economic benefits. Rather than splitting along for-profit/NGO or indigenous/non-indigenous lines, our analysis suggests that those who are closer to the petroleum industry or its benefits, termed ‘insiders’, tend to be more positive than ‘outsiders’. This study is perhaps the first of its kind in its focus on local perceptions of CSR for Arctic petroleum across the Barents region. The findings of this study not only match with that of the previous literature on Arctic petroleum but also provide further practical and theoretical insights by indicating subtleties and nuances within the localities examined.(Published: November 2016)Citation: I. Kelman et al. ‘‘Local Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility for Arctic Petroleum in the Barents Region.’’ Arctic Review on Law and Politics, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2016, pp. 152–178. http://dx.doi.org/10.17585/arctic.v7.41

The 2018 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: shaping the health of nations for centuries to come

The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change was established to provide an independent, global monitoring system dedicated to tracking the health dimensions of the impacts of, and the response to, climate change. The Lancet Countdown tracks 41 indicators across five domains: climate change impacts, exposures, and vulnerability; adaptation, planning, and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; finance and economics; and public and political engagement. This report is the product of a collaboration of 27 leading academic institutions, the UN, and intergovernmental agencies from every continent. The report draws on world-class expertise from climate scientists, ecologists, mathematicians, geographers, engineers, energy, food, livestock, and transport experts, economists, social and political scientists, public health professionals, and. doctors. The Lancet Countdown’s work builds on decades of research in this field, and was first proposed in the 2015 Lancet Commission on health and climate change,1 which documented the human impacts of climate change and provided ten global recommendations to respond to this public health emergency and secure the public health benefits available (panel 1)

“Hot standards” for the thermoacidophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus

Within the archaea, the thermoacidophilic crenarchaeote Sulfolobus solfataricus has become an important model organism for physiology and biochemistry, comparative and functional genomics, as well as, more recently also for systems biology approaches. Within the Sulfolobus Systems Biology (“SulfoSYS”)-project the effect of changing growth temperatures on a metabolic network is investigated at the systems level by integrating genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic and enzymatic information for production of a silicon cell-model. The network under investigation is the central carbohydrate metabolism. The generation of high-quality quantitative data, which is critical for the investigation of biological systems and the successful integration of the different datasets, derived for example from high-throughput approaches (e.g., transcriptome or proteome analyses), requires the application and compliance of uniform standard protocols, e.g., for growth and handling of the organism as well as the “–omics” approaches. Here, we report on the establishment and implementation of standard operating procedures for the different wet-lab and in silico techniques that are applied within the SulfoSYS-project and that we believe can be useful for future projects on Sulfolobus or (hyper)thermophiles in general. Beside established techniques, it includes new methodologies like strain surveillance, the improved identification of membrane proteins and the application of crenarchaeal metabolomics

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Acne in the era of COVID-19 quarantine

Introduction: The social isolation and stay at home order due to COVID-19 pandemic precipitate several emotional disorders and behavior changes, reflecting in new cutaneous manifestations, such as development of acne and also acne breakouts in a healthy population. Aims: Suggest a correlation between acne as well as the potential triggers and causes during quarantine. Objectives: Explore acne etiology along with acneiform eruptions based on biological and psychosocial aspects in this population. Methods: Cross-sectional, quantitative and descriptive study with a simple random sampling of 5.000 participants in social isolation in the absence of COVID-19 infection, however showing acne complaint. The participants completed a structured questionnaire in Google Forms Platform, distributed though social media. Results: Acne breakouts (55.4%), dietary supplements (5.6%), Whey Protein intake (8.1%), PCOS (9.8%), anxiety (89.8%), skin picking disorder (55.3%), dermatological cosmetics purchase without medical advice (61%), suspended acne treatment owing to pandemic (42.6%), skin xerosis (33.2%), itching (17.6%) and face peel (10%). Discussion: The worsening of acne seems to be a consequence of dysbiosis and comedogenesis, arisen from the new daily routine in home quarantine. For example, behavior disturbances, in particular anxiety and dietary changes, WHO recommendation to wear masks as a preventive measure of COVID-19, inadvertent use of dermatological cosmetics and interruption of current treatments for acne. Conclusion: The role of healthy body balance, social wellness in addition to maintaining daily habits are primordial for skin microbiota regulation, maintenance of skin protective barrier defense, immunity and self-esteem in purpose of avoiding acne

Arctic petroleum's community impacts: Local perceptions from Hammerfest, Norway

This article examines perceptions of petroleum developments in the Norwegian Arctic town of Hammerfest, especially in the context of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Based on eighteen semi-structured interviews conducted in Hammerfest, the perceived effects of petroleum developments are identified and discussed. Local support for petroleum activity is high, particularly given the upsurge in job opportunities and economic ripple effects, both of which are considered essential to the community's survival. Environmental concerns and opposition to oil and gas are largely ascribed to external forces and do not feature as much in the locals’ perceptions. While CSR is not part of the interviewees' vocabulary, the local population has clear expectations and views about petroleum companies' responsibilities to their community. In order to grasp the full picture of the Arctic petroleum debate, it is important to acknowledge that expectations, desires, and reality on the ground will sometimes diverge strongly from non-local considerations

Arctic petroleum: Local CSR-perceptions in the Nenets region

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