Supply chain social responsibility in labour- intensive industries: a practitioner’s perspective

Social responsibility in labour-intensive industries of developing countries is always acontroversial issue among academics and practitioners. Although several studies haveconceptualised or empirically examined social responsibility in developing countries, there islimited research that investigates social responsibility issues spanning the entire manufacturingsupply chain. Using stakeholder and Resource-Based View (RBV) theory, this study examines thebarriers, enablers, motivations, and the current social responsibility facts of the garment and textileindustry from knitting suppliers to apparel or garment manufacturer to fashion retailers in theVietnamese context. The exploratory research design was used through content analysis, paneldiscussion, and in-depth interview. Our results show that most of the companies have notimplemented any significant policies to promote social responsibility but only to adhere to labourlaw. Since managers realize the crucial social responsibility role in the performance of theiroperation, merchandisers and intermediaries have a compelling role in improving their socialresponsibility, and the role of government and NGOs seems to be faded. We also provide themanagerial implications and directions for future research

Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger

International audienceOn 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of $\sim 1.7\,{\rm{s}}$ with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg(2) at a luminosity distance of ${40}_{-8}^{+8}$ Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 $\,{M}_{\odot }$. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at $\sim 40\,{\rm{Mpc}}$) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ∼10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position $\sim 9$ and $\sim 16$ days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta