Revisiting the Relationship of CSR and Corporate Philanthropy by Using Alignment Theory

Both, CSR and corporate philanthropy are expressions of the interferences between the company and its societal environment. However, the question of the relationship between CSR and corporate philanthropy remains unclear. We apply alignment theory to shed light on the interdependencies of CSR and corporate philanthropy. The relationship may be based on alignment, misalignment, or non-alignment. Our research is based on an empiric analysis of the sustainability rating of U.S. companies and its influence on the related corporate foundation expenditures. Our main finding is that there is no clear relationship between sustainability rating and the annual expenditures of the corporate foundation. Hence, we call for further studies on the exclusive role of corporate philanthropy. While corporate social responsibility is closely related to the core business, corporate philanthropy is voluntary by nature

Jahrbuch der Hilfswerke 2017

Diese dritte Auflage des Jahrbuchs der Hilfswerke enthält zahlreiche wichtige Finanzkennzahlen von gemeinnützigen, spendensammelnden Nonprofit-Organisationen (NPO). Es basiert auf den öffentlich verfügbaren Jahresrechnungen der 506 Zewo-zertifizierten Organisationen (Stand 31.12.2016).Neu erhoben werden auch Angaben zu den Finanzierungsquellen sowie zum Fundraising- und Administrationsaufwand . Als Spezialthema umfasst das Jahrbuch Praxistipps zum Investment Controlling, zum Finanzierungsmix und zu Bankmandaten

Determination of the biologically active flavour substances thujone and camphor in foods and medicines containing sage (Salvia officinalis L.)

BACKGROUND: The sage plant Salvia officinalis L. is used as ingredient in foods and beverages as well as in herbal medicinal products. A major use is in the form of aqueous infusions as sage tea, which is legal to be sold as either food or medicine. Sage may contain two health relevant substances, thujone and camphor. The aim of this study was to develop and validate an analytical methodology to determine these active principles of sage and give a first overview of their concentrations in a wide variety of sage foods and medicines. RESULTS: A GC/MS procedure was applied for the analysis of α- and β-thujone and camphor with cyclodecanone as internal standard. The precision was between 0.8 and 12.6%, linearity was obtained from 0.1 - 80 mg/L. The recoveries of spiked samples were between 93.7 and 104.0% (average 99.1%). The time of infusion had a considerable influence on the content of analytes found in the teas. During the brewing time, thujone and camphor show an increase up to about 5 min, after which saturation is reached. No effect was found for preparation with or without a lid on the pot used for brewing the infusion. Compared to extracts with ethanol (60% vol), which provide a maximum yield, an average of 30% thujone are recovered in the aqueous tea preparations. The average thujone and camphor contents were 4.4 mg/L and 16.7 mg/L in food tea infusions and 11.3 mg/L and 25.4 mg/L in medicinal tea infusions. CONCLUSIONS: The developed methodology allows the efficient determination of thujone and camphor in a wide variety of sage food and medicine matrices and can be applied to conduct surveys for exposure assessment. The current results suggest that on average between 3 and 6 cups of sage tea could be daily consumed without reaching toxicological thresholds

Holistic Control of Herbal Teas and Tinctures Based on Sage (Salvia officinalis L.) for Compounds with Beneficial and Adverse Effects using NMR Spectroscopy

A methodology that utilizes 1H-NMR spectroscopy has been developed to simultaneously analyze toxic terpenes (thujone and camphor), major polyphenolic compounds, the total antioxidant capacity (ORAC) and the Folin-Ciocalteu (FC) index in foods and medicines containing sage. The quantitative determination of rosmarinic acid (limit of detection (LOD) = 10 mg/L) and total thujone (LOD = 0.35 mg/L) was possible using direct integration of the signals. For other parameters (derivatives of rosmarinic acid, carnosol and flavone glycosides, ORAC and FC index), chemometric regression models obtained separately for alcohol-based tinctures (R2 = 0.94–0.98) and aqueous tea infusions (R2 = 0.79–0.99) were suitable for screening analysis. The relative standard deviations for authentic samples were below 10%. The developed methodology was applied for the analysis of a wide variety of sage products (n = 108). The total thujone content in aqueous tea infusions was found to be in the range of not detectable (nd) to 37.5 mg/L (average 9.2 mg/L), while tinctures contained higher levels (range nd—409 mg/L, average 107 mg/L). The camphor content varied from 2.1 to 43.7 mg/L in aqueous infusions and from not detectable to 748 mg/L in tinctures (averages were 14.1 and 206 mg/L, respectively). Phenolic compounds were also detected in the majority of the investigated products. 1H-NMR spectroscopy was proven to have the ability to holistically control all important adverse and beneficial compounds in sage products in a single experiment, considerably saving time, resources and costs as NMR replaces four separate methodologies that were previously needed to analyze the same parameters

Clinical Ethics Consultation – a Particular Form of Valuation

Clinical ethics consultation is a relatively young field of expertise that supports ethically reflected decision-making. This process shakes up the existing hierarchy in two ways; first, by involving further perspectives in a structured and transparent way, and, second, by shifting the focus to a more comprehensive, interdisciplinary view. A major challenge for those providing clinical ethics consultation is building trust, which involves being considerate towards the needs of patients, relatives and healthcare professionals as well as towards customs and organizational culture. As this service emphasizes the relational aspect of medical care, it is difficult to realize within existing institutional frameworks. This paper explores how clinical ethics consultation developed and changed over the past few decades alongside an evolving understanding of respect for patient autonomy within an ethics of care approach. One of the most influential images related to clinical ethics consultation marks the beginning of this era, however, it also signifies some of the limitations and challenges of the practice still valid nearly 60 years after the first clinical ethics committee had been installed.Clinical ethics consultation is a relatively young field of expertise that supports ethically reflected decision-making. This process shakes up the existing hierarchy in two ways; first, by involving further perspectives in a structured and transparent way, and, second, by shifting the focus to a more comprehensive, interdisciplinary view. A major challenge for those providing clinical ethics consultation is building trust, which involves being considerate towards the needs of patients, relatives and healthcare professionals as well as towards customs and organizational culture. As this service emphasizes the relational aspect of medical care, it is difficult to realize within existing institutional frameworks. This paper explores how clinical ethics consultation developed and changed over the past few decades alongside an evolving understanding of respect for patient autonomy within an ethics of care approach. One of the most influential images related to clinical ethics consultation marks the beginning of this era, however, it also signifies some of the limitations and challenges of the practice still valid nearly 60 years after the first clinical ethics committee had been installed

Combined numerical and experimental investigations on Fretting wear

AbstractIn mechanical engineering applications, cyclic loadings are most commonly seen. In many assemblies of moving components, contact problems under various lubrication conditions are lifetime-limiting. There, the relative motion of the contacting bodies combined with high loads transmitted via the contact surface leads to fretting fatigue and fretting wear failure. The present contribution gives first promising results within a long-term research project concerned with developing a methodological approach for the design and lifetime estimation of components under tribo-mechanical loading

Jahrbuch der Hilfswerke 2018

Diese vierte Auflage des Jahrbuchs der Hilfswerke enthält zahlreiche wichtige Finanzkennzahlen von gemeinnützigen, spendensammelnden Nonprofit-Organisationen (NPO). Es basiert auf den öffentlich verfügbaren Jahresrechnungen der 497 Zewo-zertifizierten Organisationen (Stand 31.12.2017). Dieses Jahr wurden auch Angaben zum Thema der Nachhaltigkeit erhoben, und erstmals werden Entwicklungen über drei Jahre dargestellt. Diesjährige Spezialthemen umfassen nachhaltiges Investieren, internationale Standards sowie ein Glossar mit Erklärungen zu den wichtigsten Begriffen der Vermögensanlage

Randomized, double blind study of non-excitatory, cardiac contractility modulation electrical impulses fr symptomatic heart failure

AIMS: We performed a randomized, double blind, crossover study of cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) signals in heart failure patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: One hundred and sixty-four subjects with ejection fraction (EF) < 35% and NYHA Class II (24%) or III (76%) symptoms received a CCM pulse generator. Patients were randomly assigned to Group 1 (n = 80, CCM treatment 3 months, sham treatment second 3 months) or Group 2 (n = 84, sham treatment 3 months, CCM treatment second 3 months). The co-primary endpoints were changes in peak oxygen consumption (VO2,peak) and Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLWHFQ). Baseline EF (29.3 +/- 6.7% vs. 29.8 +/- 7.8%), VO2,peak (14.1 +/- 3.0 vs. 13.6 +/- 2.7 mL/kg/min), and MLWHFQ (38.9 +/- 27.4 vs. 36.5 +/- 27.1) were similar between the groups. VO2,peak increased similarly in both groups during the first 3 months (0.40 +/- 3.0 vs. 0.37 +/- 3.3 mL/kg/min, placebo effect). During the next 3 months, VO2,peak decreased in the group switched to sham (-0.86 +/- 3.06 mL/kg/min) and increased in patients switched to active treatment (0.16 +/- 2.50 mL/kg/min). MLWHFQ trended better with treatment (-12.06 +/- 15.33 vs. -9.70 +/- 16.71) during the first 3 months, increased during the second 3 months in the group switched to sham (+4.70 +/- 16.57), and decreased further in patients switched to active treatment (-0.70 +/- 15.13). A comparison of values at the end of active treatment periods vs. end of sham treatment periods indicates statistically significantly improved VO2,peak and MLWHFQ (P = 0.03 for each parameter). CONCLUSION: In patients with heart failure and left ventricular dysfunction, CCM signals appear safe; exercise tolerance and quality of life (MLWHFQ) were significantly better while patients were receiving active treatment with CCM for a 3-month period