Corporate Social performance and Financial Characteristics

Whereas firms traditionally have been evaluated solely on financial criteria, contemporary firms are also evaluated on various non-financial criteria, including Corporate Social Performance (CSP). Such data is useful in the pursuit of evidence of a relationship between CSP and various financial characteristics, including financial performance. Evidence on such relationships is valuable from many perspectives. It is valuable to managers who seek to improve their understanding of the ways in which CSP interacts with firm characteristics, it is valuable to investors who seek to improve their understanding of how CSP relates to financial asset characteristics, and ultimately it is valuable to regulators who seek to improve their understanding of the firms financial incentive to self-regulate on corporate social responsibility issues. This paper presents a cross-sectional analysis comparing environmental, social and corporate governance performance with financial characteristics of 237 Australian firms over the August 1997 to July 2003 period. The analysis allows for some heterogeneity in CSP-financial characteristics relationships related to company size, trading history and industry, which provides valuable additional information on such relationships. Findings indicate that the financial incentive to self-regulate on environmental criteria is weak and contingent on industry. The financial incentive to self-regulate on social criteria is marginally stronger and less contingent on industry. The financial incentive to self-regulate on governance criteria is very strong across the board, though it is particularly strong within the banking, diversified financials, insurance and telecommunications industries. This is indicated both by a significant positive association between governance and financial performance and very strong significant negative association between governance and risk. Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful to Corporate Monitor and the Securities Industry Research Centre of Asia-Pacific (SIRCA) for supplying data and support.Corporate environmental performance, corporate social performance, corporate governance performance

The Corporate Social Responsibility and the Theory of the Firm

This paper investigates the extent to which the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) challenges the validity of the traditional firm model. Contrary to what have been suggested by some critics of CSR, CSR does not appear to have been accepted as an alternative to the traditional profit maximising objective. Rather, CSR appears to play an integral part in the development of new theories aiming to improve our understanding of how contemporary firms operate, survive and succeed.

Retirement Savings Investment Strategy: Member Choices and Performance

Three crucial ingredients influence how much individuals will have to fund retirement income needs: how much they contribute to savings, how long they save for, and the performance of these savings. This paper focuses on the issue of performance, and how individuals perform when they are given the choice of making their own investment strategy for their retirement savings contributions. An empirical examination using a large sample gathered from four Australian superannuation funds is utilised and finds that on average members underperform their own funds default option both in raw returns and on a risk-adjusted basis. For trustees and regulators charged with the responsibility of looking after the interests of members an important result identifies significant differences in performance based on how members are allowed to construct their investment strategy.Retirement savings, Superannuation, Asset allocation, Investment performance Acknowledgements: The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the four funds who supported this research. We would also like to thank Jacqui Whale for her efforts in making sense of four databases. Paul Gerrans would also like to thank Susquehanna University for the time in writing the paper.

Gender differences in information resource usage when making retirement saving decisions

Population ageing is raising the profile of retirement incomes policy. In Australia assets of retirement savings funds are growing rapidly and fund members are assuming a greater role in determining funds\u27 investment strategies. The decision processes of fund members have not been extensively researched, however, these decisions are significant not only for members but also for employers and government. This paper provides information on retirement savings in Australia and reports on a survey of members of the Superannuation Scheme for Australian Universities (SSAU). In 1999 members of SSAU were asked to choose between a defined benefit scheme or one of four investment accumulation accounts. The paper explores gender differences in resources used to make the decision. Results indicate women were more likely to make less risky investment choices. Men were less likely to consult anyone about their decision and were more likely to use web-based information sources

Retirement savings investment strategy : member choices and performance

Three crucial ingredients influence how much individuals will have to fund retirement income needs: how much they contribute to savings, how long they save for, and the performance of these savings. This paper focuses on the issue of performance, and how individuals perform when they are given the choice of making their own investment strategy for their retirement savings contributions. An empirical examination using a large sample gathered from four Australian superannuation funds is utilised and finds that on average members underperform their own fund’s default option both in raw returns and on a riskadjusted basis. For trustees and regulators charged with the responsibility of looking after the interests of members an important result identifies significant differences in performance based on how members are allowed to construct their investment strategy

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Factors Associated with Revision Surgery after Internal Fixation of Hip Fractures

Background: Femoral neck fractures are associated with high rates of revision surgery after management with internal fixation. Using data from the Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip fractures (FAITH) trial evaluating methods of internal fixation in patients with femoral neck fractures, we investigated associations between baseline and surgical factors and the need for revision surgery to promote healing, relieve pain, treat infection or improve function over 24 months postsurgery. Additionally, we investigated factors associated with (1) hardware removal and (2) implant exchange from cancellous screws (CS) or sliding hip screw (SHS) to total hip arthroplasty, hemiarthroplasty, or another internal fixation device. Methods: We identified 15 potential factors a priori that may be associated with revision surgery, 7 with hardware removal, and 14 with implant exchange. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses in our investigation. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of revision surgery included: female sex, [hazard ratio (HR) 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-2.50; P = 0.001], higher body mass index (fo

The first class: using icebreakers to facilitate transition in a tertiary environment

Transitioning to university can be difficult and encompasses many changes. This paper is concerned with identifying how initial student experiences on campus can be enhanced in order to influence students' perception of university. Universities are now under pressure to develop in graduates a wide range of skills, and we highlight the fact that equal emphasis needs to be placed on successful academic and social integration. Research reflecting processes to develop the concept of 'social support' and overcome the feeling of 'not belonging' at university is scarce. In this paper the concept of icebreakers in the first weeks of student university experience is explored. Icebreakers can also be used as students move to new learning situations through their learning journey. We trialled icebreaking activities in a workshop program designed to facilitate student engagement and develop particular graduate skills. Practical examples from both across and within disciplines are provided. Comments from workshop participants highlight the outcomes of these activities and provide criteria for success