Corporate Social Reporting Initiative - Report to Minister of Finance

In response to a Private Member’s Resolution calling upon the Ontario Securities Commission to conduct a consultation on corporate social responsibility and environmental, social and governance reporting standards and to adopt an enhanced standardized reporting framework, the Hennick Centre for Business and Law and Jantzi-Sustainalytics undertook a multi-stakeholder consultation process in respect of requirements regarding corporate social disclosure standards. This report to the Minister of Finance reflects a synthesis of the views that emerged from that process. The recommendations herein complement those contained in the Commission’s report to the Minister of Finance, dated December 18, 2009 (regarding environmental and governance disclosure), as well as those reflected in OSC Staff Notice 51-716. They reflect a growing demand for improved social performance disclosure to facilitate better governance and decision-making on the part of issuers, investors and other stakeholders

Corporate Social Reporting Initiative - Report to Minister of Finance

In response to a Private Member’s Resolution calling upon the Ontario Securities Commission to conduct a consultation on corporate social responsibility and environmental, social and governance reporting standards and to adopt an enhanced standardized reporting framework, the Hennick Centre for Business and Law and Jantzi-Sustainalytics undertook a multi-stakeholder consultation process in respect of requirements regarding corporate social disclosure standards. This report to the Minister of Finance reflects a synthesis of the views that emerged from that process. The recommendations herein complement those contained in the Commission’s report to the Minister of Finance, dated December 18, 2009 (regarding environmental and governance disclosure), as well as those reflected in OSC Staff Notice 51-716. They reflect a growing demand for improved social performance disclosure to facilitate better governance and decision-making on the part of issuers, investors and other stakeholders

Crowd-Sourced Focus Groups on Twitter: 140 Characters of Research Insight

Researchers have traditionally relied on in-person focus groups to test and obtain feedback regarding behavioral and technology-based interventions for specific disease processes. An increasing generation of engaged and connected patients turn to Twitter, a popular microblogging service, to discuss health related topics. Regularly scheduled Twitter-based chats (tweetchats) can potentially function as an additional source of input and information from a diverse, global group of engaged participants. We report the first use of a “tweetchat focus group” to explore data collection issues using this methodology. The speed at which tweetchat conversations occur, coupled with the ability to pursue multiple streams of conversation both in real time and in a delayed fashion, make tweetchat data collection particularly challenging. We discuss important considerations and preparation that should be undertaken by the researchers prior to initiating a tweetchat focus group, consider facilitation challenges and issues of confidentiality.

Real-Time Mobile Detection of Drug Use with Wearable Biosensors: A Pilot Study

While reliable detection of illicit drug use is paramount to the field of addiction, current methods involving self-report and urine drug screens have substantial limitations that hinder their utility. Wearable biosensors may fill a void by providing valuable objective data regarding the timing and contexts of drug use. This is a preliminary observational study of four emergency department patients receiving parenteral opioids and one individual using cocaine in a natural environment. A portable biosensor was placed on the inner wrist of each subject, to continuously measure electrodermal activity (EDA), skin temperature, and acceleration. Data were continuously recorded for at least 5 min prior to drug administration, during administration, and for at least 30 min afterward. Overall trends in biophysiometric parameters were assessed. Injection of opioids and cocaine use were associated with rises in EDA. Cocaine injection was also associated with a decrease in skin temperature. Opioid tolerance appeared to be associated with a blunted physiologic response as measured by the biosensor. Laterality may be an important factor, as magnitude of response varied between dominant and nondominant wrists in a single patient with bilateral wrist measurements. Changes in EDA and skin temperature are temporally associated with intravenous administration of opioids and cocaine; the intensity of response, however, may vary depending on history and extent of prior use.University of Massachusetts Medical School. Department of Emergency MedicineNational Institute on Drug AbuseNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01DA033769-01

Portal de Santa Madrona

Primer pla del Portal de Santa Madrona, al fons la Rambla.Digitalitzat per Tecnodo

The Longevities of Policy-Shifts and Memories Due to Single Feedback Numbers

What proportion of people in the U.S. are imprisoned? Would knowing this number affect one’s views on U.S. justice? Policy-makers, voters, and consumers need a sense of such quantities to help shape effective policies, and schools must prepare students for such roles. Our past research has documented changes in individuals ’ numerical concepts—and often their views on issues—after they received a single critical number. In the experiment, we examined eighth grade students within the Numerically-Driven Inferencing paradigm (NDI), using an experimental method (EPIC) in which participants: Estimate policy-relevant quantities, state Preferences for these, briefly receive actual quantities as feedback to Incorporate, and offer preferences again that may exhibit any policy Changes. Students were then asked (post-EPIC) to recall the actual number and indicate their current preference for the quantity—either eight or 84 days after they received the feedback. Memory for the actual values was considerable after eight days, and still evident after 12 weeks. Further, feedback-triggered policy shifts were also evident after both eight and 84 days post-feedback. Therefore, recall and policy shifts spawned by minimalist interventions–– briefly viewed solitary numbers––can have substantial longevities