Enforcing higher labour standards within developing country value chains: consequences for MNEs and informal actors in a dual economy

The 2013 Rana Plaza disaster led external stakeholders to insist on higher labour standards in apparel global value chains (GVCs). Stakeholders now expect MNEs to take ‘full-chain’ responsibility. However, the increased monitoring and enforcement costs of a large network of suppliers have been non-trivial. MNEs instead implement a ‘cascading compliance’ approach, coupled with a partial re-internalization. Elevated costs are further exacerbated in developing countries where the informal and formal sector are linked, and cost competitiveness greatly depends on this duality. Monitoring actors in the informal sector is difficult, and few informal actors can achieve compliance. GVCs have therefore reduced informal sector engagement by excluding non-compliant actors and investing in greater automation. By seeking to strictly enforce compliance, MNEs are attenuating some of the positive effects of MNE investment, particularly the prospects for employment creation (especially among women), and enterprise growth in the informal sector. I discuss how these observations might inform other cross-disciplinary work in development, ethics, and sociology. Finally, I note implications for IB theory from the disparities between the ownership, control and responsibility boundaries of the firm

CT Hounsfield Numbers of Soft Tissues on Unenhanced Abdominal CT Scans: Variability Between Two Different Manufacturers’ MDCT Scanners

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to determine whether Hounsfield numbers of soft tissues on unenhanced abdominal CT of the same patient vary on repeat scans done on two different manufacturers’ MDCT scanners. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A database search was performed to identify patients older than 18 years who underwent unenhanced CT of the abdomen and pelvis performed both on a Volume CT (GE Healthcare) and a Definition AS Plus (Siemens Healthcare) 64-MDCT scanner within 12 months of each other. After excluding those patients for whom Hounsfield unit measurements would be affected by mitigating factors, 48 patients (mean age, 58.8 years) were identified. Hounsfield unit measurements were obtained in nine different soft-tissue anatomic locations on each scan, and the location of these sites was kept identical on each scan pair. Data were analyzed to evaluate Hounsfield unit differences between these scanners. RESULTS: In general, there was a low consistency in the Hounsfield unit measurements for each of these sites on scans obtained by the two scanners, with the subcutaneous fat in the left posterolateral flank showing the lowest correlation (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.198). There were differences in the Hounsfield unit measurements obtained in all anatomic sites on scans obtained by both scanners. Mean Hounsfield unit measurements obtained on the Definition AS Plus scanner were lower than those obtained on the Volume CT scanner, with the intriguing exception of the anterior midline subcutaneous fat Hounsfield unit measurements, which were higher on the Definition AS Plus scanner. All differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Hounsfield unit measurements for unenhanced abdominal soft tissues of the same patient vary between scanners of two common MDCT manufacturers

Computed Tomography-guided fine-needle aspiration and tissue-core biopsy of bone lesions in small animals

Nell'uomo, la biopsia TC-guidata a mano libera è un metodo accurato per ottenere dei campioni di tessuto. Ci sono pochi lavori di questa tecnica in medicina veterinaria. Nel presente studio, 21 cani e 2 gatti sono stati sottoposti a biopsia TC-guidata (17 animali) o ago aspirato fine TC-guidato (6 animali) di lesioni ossee. Due delle 17 biospie sono state anche sottoposta ad esame colturale. Tutte le 17 biospie erano diagnostiche (accuratezza 100%). Cinque dei sei aghi aspirati fini erano diagnostici (accuratezza 83.3%). L'accuratezza totale era 95.7%. In un aspirato, la qualità citologica è stata considerata insufficiente in quanto conteneva solo sangue. Non si sono evidenziate complicazioni maggiori. Sono state diagnosticate 14 lesioni neoplastiche, 2 infezioni, e 6 lesioni benigne. L'esame TC dopo somministrazione di mezzo di cotnrasto endovenoso ha aggiunto informazioni utili per evitare grossi vasi e per biopsare tessuto vitale. La bipsia e l'ago aspirato fine TC-guidati a mano libera sembra essere una tecnica sicura e molto accurata per la diagnosi di patologie ossee nei piccoli animaliIn humans, free-hand computed tomography (CT)-guided biopsy is an accurate method to obtain a tissue sample. There are only a few reports of this technique in veterinary medicine. In the present study, 21 dogs and two cats underwent a free-hand CT-guided tissue-core biopsy (17 animals) or fine-needle aspiration (six animals) of a bone lesion. Two out of 17 tissue-core samples were also cultured. All 17 tissue-core biopsy samples were diagnostic (accuracy of 100%). Five out of six aspirates were diagnostic (accuracy of 83.3%). The overall accuracy was 95.7%. In one aspirate, cytologic quality was insufficient containing only blood. No major complications were encountered. Fourteen neoplastic, two infectious and six benign lesions were diagnosed. CT examination after intravenous contrast medium added useful information to avoid large vessels and to biopsy-viable tissue. Free-hand CT-guided tissue-core biopsy and aspiration appears to be a safe and very accurate procedure for use in the diagnosis of bone-associated diseases in small animal