A Sustainability Disclosure Index Using Corporate Sustainability Reports

Background: There are already many indices such as Bloomberg’s environmental-and-social governance (ESG) ratings and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DSJI), which use proprietary methods to rate companies using private and publicly available information processed with proprietary methods. This paper seeks to develop a formative index for researchers and practitioners using only publicly available sustainability reports with a transparent procedure. Methods: Thirty-two indicators, obtained in an earlier study from the literature, GRI, and other sources, were adopted. The sustainability report of each of 331 companies was then scored on a discrete 0–3 scale for each indicator as regards disclosure. The index for the company then is simply a summation of the indicator scores. Tests were conducted to see if the index can be (a) used for companies with different revenues and from different sectors and (b) tested for explaining DJSI or ESG ratings. Results: The index can be used for companies with a wide range of revenues and from different sectors. Despite its simplicity, the disclosure index significantly explains the DJSI and ESG. Conclusions: A disclosure index for companies has been developed here using only their publicly available sustainability reports, unlike existing indices like the DJSI that use public and private information and proprietary methods. Researchers and financial institutions can use this index or develop their own indices by refining the methodology presented here

Hotspot politics―or, when the EU state gets real

This paper was published in the journal Political Geography and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2017.02.012

An exploration of the disclosure of practices for environmental and social sustainability in sustainability reports

This dissertation explores the value of disclosure in sustainability reports. Sustainability reports are part of the information provided publicly by companies and may reveal information about the type of sustainability practices adopted by the company and extent of implementation. To this end, we explore (1) developed constructs using sustainability reporting, and (2) consistency with established sustainability performance measures. Till now, limited research has been conducted pertaining to the specific operational practices that companies are reporting on for the sake of developing a new measure of social and environmental sustainability out of them. Finally, (3) using the proposed measure, we explore links to financial performance and firm size. To meet these three research objectives, we first synthesize and obtain from the literature and relevant guidelines a list of operational practices for environmental and social sustainability. Next, content analysis of 331 sustainability reports is implemented. In particular, scoring is carried out on the identified environmental and social practices to see which of those are prioritized in companies’ sustainability reports. Based on the prevailing practices, we develop two constructs for social sustainability and three constructs for environmental sustainability. These constructs allow us to identify ‘leader’ and ‘laggard’ companies in four industrial sectors for comparison and provide illustrative text from their sustainability reports to demonstrate our scoring methodology. Second, we check consistency of our developed measure with existing measures of sustainability that are considered valuable. Specifically, we correlate our measure with Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Environmental Social and Governance data and find that all three measures are positively and significantly correlated with each other at the same level. Given the consistency between the three measures, we argue that our measure for sustainability performance is valuable and thus sustainability reporting appears to have some value. Finally, we explore the link between our developed measure with financial performance and firm size. Existing literature has extensively studied this relationship using established measures of sustainability performance, thus the results remain inconclusive. We revisit this relation by investigating whether our developed measure can shed light on that relationship. Structural equation modeling is performed, which indicates that there is not a significant relationship between our developed measure and financial performance, at least in the short term, as is consistent with similar research using ESG or other established measures. Thus, some aspects of sustainability but not all appear to be positively linked to financial performance. Also, to account for the industry effect, we are performing cluster analysis in four industrial sectors and identify upper and lower clusters, based on companies’ total sustainability disclosure score. Our analysis indicates sector specificity as regards the relationship between sustainability disclosure and financial performance based on the proposed instrument. Also, size expressed by revenues does not affect the measure we developed, as suggested by some of the literature

Patient and public views on electronic health records and their uses in the United kingdom: cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: The development and implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) remains an international challenge. Better understanding of patient and public attitudes and the factors that influence overall levels of support toward EHRs is needed to inform policy. OBJECTIVE: To explore patient and public attitudes toward integrated EHRs used simultaneously for health care provision, planning and policy, and health research. METHODS: Cross-sectional questionnaire survey administered to patients and members of the public who were recruited from a stratified cluster random sample of 8 outpatient clinics of a major teaching hospital and 8 general practices in London (United Kingdom). RESULTS: 5331 patients and members of the public responded to the survey, with 2857 providing complete data for the analysis presented here. There were moderately high levels of support for integrated EHRs used simultaneously for health care provision, planning and policy, and health research (1785/2857, 62.47%), while 27.93% (798/2857) of participants reported being undecided about whether or not they would support EHR use. There were higher levels of support for specific uses of EHRs. Most participants were in favor of EHRs for personal health care provision (2563/2857, 89.71%), with 66.75% (1907/2857) stating that they would prefer their complete, rather than limited, medical history to be included. Of those "undecided" about integrated EHRs, 87.2% (696/798) were nevertheless in favor of sharing their full (373/798, 46.7%) or limited (323/798, 40.5%) records for health provision purposes. There were similar high levels of support for use of EHRs in health services policy and planning (2274/2857, 79.59%) and research (2325/2857, 81.38%), although 59.75% (1707/2857) and 67.10% (1917/2857) of respondents respectively would prefer their personal identifiers to be removed. Multivariable analysis showed levels of overall support for EHRs decreasing with age. Respondents self-identifying as Black British were more likely to report being undecided or unsupportive of national EHRs. Frequent health services users were more likely to report being supportive than undecided. CONCLUSIONS: Despite previous difficulties with National Health Service (NHS) technology projects, patients and the public generally support the development of integrated EHRs for health care provision, planning and policy, and health research. This support, however, varies between social groups and is not unqualified; relevant safeguards must be in place and patients should be guided in their decision-making process, including increased awareness about the benefits of EHRs for secondary uses

Implementation and delivery of group consultations for young people with diabetes in socioeconomically deprived, ethnically diverse settings

BACKGROUND: Young people with diabetes experience poor clinical and psychosocial outcomes, and consider the health service ill-equipped in meeting their needs. Improvements, including alternative consulting approaches, are required to improve care quality and patient engagement. We examined how group-based, outpatient diabetes consultations might be delivered to support young people (16-25 years old) in socio-economically deprived, ethnically diverse settings. METHODS: This multi-method, comparative study recruited a total of 135 young people with diabetes across two implementation and two comparison sites (2017-2019). Informed by a 'researcher-in-residence' approach and complexity theory, we used a combination of methods: (a) 31 qualitative interviews with young people and staff and ethnographic observation in group and individual clinics, (b) quantitative analysis of sociodemographic, clinical, service use, and patient enablement data, and (c) micro-costing analysis. RESULTS: Implementation sites delivered 29 group consultations in total. Overall mean attendance per session was low, but a core group of young people attended repeatedly. They reported feeling better understood and supported, gaining new learning from peers and clinicians, and being better prepared to normalise diabetes self-care. Yet, there were also instances where peer comparison proved difficult to manage. Group consultations challenged deeply embedded ways of thinking about care provision and required staff to work flexibly to achieve local tailoring, sustain continuity, and safely manage complex interdependencies with other care processes. Set-up and delivery were time-consuming and required in-depth clinical and relational knowledge of patients. Facilitation by an experienced youth worker was instrumental. There was indication that economic value could derive from preventing at least one unscheduled consultation annually. CONCLUSIONS: Group consulting can provide added value when tailored to meet local needs rather than following standardised approaches. This study illustrates the importance of adaptive capability and self-organisation when integrating new models of care, with young people as active partners in shaping service provision. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN reference 27989430

Reference intervals for canine hematologic analytes using Siemens ADVIA 120

Η γενική εξέταση του αίματος (ΓΕΑ) θεωρείται μείζονος σημασίας για την εκτίμηση του επιπέδου υγείας των ζώων συντροφιάς. Ωστόσο, για την ορθή ερμηνεία των εργαστηριακών αποτελεσμάτων απαιτούνται ακριβείς τιμές αναφοράς. Στο πλαίσιο αυτό, ο πρωταρχικός στόχος της παρούσας εργασίας ήταν η εξαγωγή τιμών αναφοράς για τις παραμέτρους της ΓΕΑ στον σκύλο, με τη βοήθεια του Advia 120, ενός, ευρέως χρησιμοποιούμενου στην κτηνιατρική, αυτόματου αιματολογικού αναλυτή. Δευτερευόντως, διερευνήσαμε εάν απαιτείται διαχωρισμός των τιμών αναφοράς της ΓΕΑ με βάση το φύλο των σκύλων, καθώς και αν το μέγεθος της φυλής μπορεί να επηρεάσει τις τιμές αναφοράς της ΓΕΑ. Τα ζώα επιλέχθηκαν από το ιατρικό αρχείο της πανεπιστημιακής κλινικής ζώων συντροφιάς του Τμήματος Κτηνιατρικής του Α.Π.Θ. Τον παραπάνω πληθυσμό αποτελούσαν 284 αρσενικοί και θηλυκοί σκύλοι διαφόρων φυλών. Το σύνολο των σκύλων ταξινομήθηκε σε 3 ομάδες με βάση το μέγεθος της φυλής (μικρού, μεσαίου, μεγάλου). Οι τιμές αναφοράς υπολογίστηκαν μη παραμετρικά, χρησιμοποιώντας τα αποτελέσματα της ΓΕΑ των σκύλων που πληρούσαν τα κριτήρια ένταξης στη μελέτη. Προκειμένου να αποφασιστεί εάν απαιτείται ο διαχωρισμός των τιμών αναφοράς της ΓΕΑ με βάση το φύλο, εφαρμόστηκαν τόσο στατιστικά όσο και μη στατιστικά κριτήρια. Ανάλογα με την κατανομή των δεδομένων πραγματοποιήθηκε σύγκριση μέσων ή διαμέσων, με σκοπό να ελεγχθεί η πιθανή επίδραση του μεγέθους της φυλής στις τιμές της ΓΕΑ. Εννέα ζώα αποκλείστηκαν από τη μελέτη, λόγω της ύπαρξης φανερώς ακραίων τιμών στη ΓΕΑ. Σε γενικές γραμμές, οι τιμές αναφοράς που υπολογίστηκαν στην παρούσα εργασία είναι παρόμοιες με αυτές που αναφέρονται στη διεθνή βιβλιογραφία. Επιπλέον, με βάση την εφαρμογή των στατιστικών κριτηρίων, υποδεικνύεται ότι για κάποιες παραμέτρους της ΓΕΑ απαιτούνται διαφορετικές τιμές αναφοράς για τα δύο φύλα. Παρόλα αυτά, από κλινικοεργαστηριακής απόψεως, ο διαχωρισμός των τιμών αναφοράς αμφισβητείται και πιθανώς δεν είναι αναγκαίος. Επίδραση του μεγέθους της φυλής παρατηρήθηκε στις τιμές αναφοράς της ΓΕΑ. Οι τιμές αναφοράς που παρουσιάζονται στην παρούσα εργασία μπορούν να χρησιμοποιηθούν ως οδηγός για την ερμηνεία των αποτελεσμάτων της ΓΕΑ στους σκύλους και να «υιοθετηθούν» από κτηνιατρικά εργαστήρια που χρησιμοποιούν τον αιματολογικό αναλυτή Advia 120. Τέλος, με βάση τα αποτελέσματά μας, το μέγεθος της φυλής θα πρέπει, πιθανώς, να λαμβάνεται υπ’ όψιν κατά την ερμηνεία των αποτελεσμάτων της ΓΕΑ.Hematologic investigation is essential for the evaluation of health status of companion animals. Appropriate and accurate reference intervals (RIs) are required for the interpretation of laboratory results. Thus, the primary aim of the present study was to establish canine complete blood count (CBC) RIs using Advia 120, a widely used in veterinary medicine automated hematology analyzer. Additional objectives were to evaluate sex as a partitioning factor of RIs and to investigate the effect that breed size has on CBC RIs. Reference individuals were selected by indirect sampling method from the medical records of a veterinary teaching hospital. The reference population comprised 284 adult dogs of both sexes and various breeds. The reference individuals were allocated into 3 groups based on breed size (small-sized, medium-sized and large-sized breeds). Complete blood count results from the dogs that met the inclusion criteria were used for the nonparametric calculation of RIs. Statistical and nonstatistical criteria were employed in order to decide whether sex-specific RIs are needed. Depending on the data distributions, mean or median comparisons were used to determine the effect of breed size and lifestyle on CBC results. Nine outliers were detected based on CBC results. The estimated RIs were generally comparable to those previously reported in the literature. Sex-dependent partitioning of RIs was indicated by the statistical criteria for a few analytes. From a clinicopathologic point of view though, sex-dependent partitioning of RIs is questioned and seems not to be required. Breed size appears to have an effect on CBC RIs. The RIs determined in the present study can be used as a guide for the interpretation of CBC results in dogs and can potentially be adopted by veterinary laboratories using Advia 120. Finally, based on the results of this study, breed size should probably be considered when interpreting CBC results

Left inferior frontal cortex and syntax: function, structure and behaviour in patients with left hemisphere damage.

For the past 150 years, neurobiological models of language have debated the role of key brain regions in language function. One consistently debated set of issues concern the role of the left inferior frontal gyrus in syntactic processing. Here we combine measures of functional activity, grey matter integrity and performance in patients with left hemisphere damage and healthy participants to ask whether the left inferior frontal gyrus is essential for syntactic processing. In a functional neuroimaging study, participants listened to spoken sentences that either contained a syntactically ambiguous or matched unambiguous phrase. Behavioural data on three tests of syntactic processing were subsequently collected. In controls, syntactic processing co-activated left hemisphere Brodmann areas 45/47 and posterior middle temporal gyrus. Activity in a left parietal cluster was sensitive to working memory demands in both patients and controls. Exploiting the variability in lesion location and performance in the patients, voxel-based correlational analyses showed that tissue integrity and neural activity-primarily in left Brodmann area 45 and posterior middle temporal gyrus-were correlated with preserved syntactic performance, but unlike the controls, patients were insensitive to syntactic preferences, reflecting their syntactic deficit. These results argue for the essential contribution of the left inferior frontal gyrus in syntactic analysis and highlight the functional relationship between left Brodmann area 45 and the left posterior middle temporal gyrus, suggesting that when this relationship breaks down, through damage to either region or to the connections between them, syntactic processing is impaired. On this view, the left inferior frontal gyrus may not itself be specialized for syntactic processing, but plays an essential role in the neural network that carries out syntactic computations

Why do GPs rarely do video consultations? qualitative study in UK general practice.

BACKGROUND: Fewer than 1% of UK general practice consultations occur by video. AIM: To explain why video consultations are not more widely used in general practice. DESIGN AND SETTING: Analysis of a sub-sample of data from three mixed-method case studies of remote consultation services in various UK settings from 2019-2021. METHOD: The dataset included interviews and focus groups with 121 participants from primary care (33 patients, 55 GPs, 11 other clinicians, nine managers, four support staff, four national policymakers, five technology industry). Data were transcribed, coded thematically, and then analysed using the Planning and Evaluating Remote Consultation Services (PERCS) framework. RESULTS: With few exceptions, video consultations were either never adopted or soon abandoned in general practice despite a strong policy push, short-term removal of regulatory and financial barriers, and advances in functionality, dependability, and usability of video technologies (though some products remained 'fiddly' and unreliable). The relative advantage of video was perceived as minimal for most of the caseload of general practice, since many presenting problems could be sorted adequately and safely by telephone and in-person assessment was considered necessary for the remainder. Some patients found video appointments convenient, appropriate, and reassuring but others found a therapeutic presence was only achieved in person. Video sometimes added value for out-of-hours and nursing home consultations and statutory functions (for example, death certification). CONCLUSION: Efforts to introduce video consultations in general practice should focus on situations where this modality has a clear relative advantage (for example, strong patient or clinician preference, remote localities, out-of-hours services, nursing homes)

Timing of selective basal ganglia white matter loss in premanifest Huntington’s disease

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the timeframe prior to symptom onset when cortico-basal ganglia white matter (white matter) loss begins in premanifest Huntington's disease (preHD), and which striatal and thalamic sub-region white matter tracts are most vulnerable. METHODS: We performed fixel-based analysis, which allows resolution of crossing white matter fibres at the voxel level, on diffusion tractography derived white matter tracts of striatal and thalamic sub-regions in two independent cohorts; TrackON-HD, which included 72 preHD (approx. 11 years before disease onset) and 85 controls imaged at three time points over two years; and the HD young adult study (HD-YAS), which included 54 preHD (approx. 25 years before disease onset) and 53 controls, imaged at one time point. Group differences in fibre density and cross section (FDC) were investigated. RESULTS: We found no significant group differences in cortico-basal ganglia sub-region FDC in preHD gene carriers 25 years before onset. In gene carriers 11 years before onset, there were reductions in striatal (limbic and caudal motor) and thalamic (premotor, motor and sensory) FDC at baseline, with no significant change over 2 years. Caudal motor-striatal, pre-motor-thalamic, and primary motor-thalamic FDC at baseline, showed significant correlations with the Unified Huntington's disease rating scale (UHDRS) total motor score (TMS). Limbic cortico-striatal FDC and apathy were also significantly correlated. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that limbic and motor white matter tracts to the striatum and thalamus are most susceptible to early degeneration in HD but that approximately 25 years from onset, these tracts appear preserved. These findings may have importance in determining the optimum time to initiate future disease modifying therapies in HD