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Corporate social and digital responsibility in esports
Full text linkPurpose The esports industry has experienced a dynamic growth. In this context, a significant evolution in the logic of corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be observed, particularly in the digital sphere. By extending Carroll's three-dimensional model to include corporate digital responsibility (CDR), this paper addresses a key research question: How does CSR evolve and develop in the dynamic digital industry of esports? Design/methodology/approach This study employed a qualitative multiple case study research design. It drew on secondary data from 50 professional esports organisations and key players in CSR development in the global esports industry, such as game publishers, pro-teams, pro-athletes, event organisers, and governing bodies. A content analysis of 50 official websites and 72 public annual, CSR, and environmental reports for the financial years ending in 2021 and 2022 was conducted. Findings Our empirical findings not only map the territory of esports CSR and CDR but also provide practical insights. These insights are later synthesized to develop an esports CSR/CDR framework that extends Carroll's three-dimensional model. CSR and CDR domains of esports are theoretically grounded (business performance, responsiveness, social issues, and digital responsibilities), while practical implications for managers and academics are forwarded. Originality/value This paper stands out as a pioneering empirical study, filling a significant research gap in the fields of CSR and CDR in esports. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first to illuminate these concepts within the unique ecosystem of esports, thereby contributing to the evolving understanding of CSR in the digital context
Military Sports Recovery Athletes’ Perspectives on Role of the Coach in Athletes’ Well-Being: The Importance of Supporting Basic Psychological Needs
Full text linkThe purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of athletes in a competitive military sports recovery program with a specific focus on the extent to which coaches supported, or frustrated, athletes’ basic psychological needs. Eight military veteran athletes competing in parasport took part in semi-structured interviews. The accounts of their experiences of working with coaches in this context and their influence on their psychological needs and well-being were thematically analyzed. Results demonstrated that coaches’ behaviors that support basic psychological needs can have positive effects on athletes’ well-being and support their wider rehabilitation. Furthermore, frustration of these needs through controlling behaviors contributed to psychological ill-being. Findings suggest practical implications to help inform coaching practice to support optimal recovery and an environment that promotes well-being
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) strategically manipulate their environment to deny conspecifics access to food
Full text linkHumans modify their environment to grant or prevent others’ access to valuable resources, for example by using locks. We tested whether sanctuary-living chimpanzees (N = 10) would flexibly modify their environment to either allow or deny a dominant conspecific access to a shared food source by giving them the option to change a food reward’s pathway prior to releasing it. The food could end up in one of two locations: one was accessible to both the subject and a dominant conspecific, the other one was only accessible to the subject. We further manipulated the extent of inhibitory control needed for modifying the pathway by varying the subjects’ starting position. Our subjects reoriented the pathway competitively to monopolize food but changed the pathway less often in trials with high inhibitory demands. We further show how inhibitory task demands in a social context influence chimpanzees’ future planning. Our results show that chimpanzees will strategically manipulate their environment to maximize their own and deny a dominant conspecific access to food
Understanding farmed salmon imports and e-commerce consumer satisfaction in China: A text mining approach
Full text linkSalmon, a luxury aquatic species, has seen a steady increase in imports in China. The rapid development of the Internet, the transformation of consumption behaviour, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted consumers to purchase salmon products from e-commerce platforms in China. In this context, understanding salmon import trends and consumer satisfaction with salmon e-commerce is critical to promoting and sustaining sales of salmon products through e-commerce platforms. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the import trend analysis of salmon in China as well as understand factors influencing consumer satisfaction with salmon e-commerce. We analysed 10,064 consumer comments out of 25,763 for this study after resampling the proportion of positive/negative comments. Sentiment analyser, Textblob, classified 65.2 % of consumer comments as positive, 21.7 % as negative, and 13.1 % as neutral. Additionally, Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modelling identified five areas critical for satisfaction with salmon e-commerce: purchase decision (19.5 % of the comments), eating experience (22.3 %), service quality and delivery (20.6 %), purchase history (17.5 %), and general product quality (20 %). Our findings indicate that service quality and delivery are the most critical factors affecting consumer satisfaction, whereas purchase history has the least impact. Consumers’ PLUS membership profile, salmon product style, and preservation form had a significant influence on consumer satisfaction, while the country of origin, weight and price of the product had no significant influence. Salmon e-commerce platforms need to improve logistic service and delivery quality to influence consumer satisfaction
'Possessing a most exquisite taste in every species of literature': Reading, Moral Taste and Creative Action in Jane Austen's Novels
No full textIn Henry Austen’s ‘Biographical Notice of the Author’, written shortly after Jane Austen’s death in 1817, he dwells briefly on her artistic talents, focussing on her drawing, music and dancing, and then moving on to discuss her talent for reading aloud (which she did ‘with very great taste and effect’) and her reading choices (in which Henry emphasized ‘the natural discrimination of her mind’ and her excellent and judicious taste). Henry’s account was expanded and embroidered by James Edward Austen-Leigh in his own 1870 Memoir of Jane Austen, and in both cases, Austen’s male relatives interestingly align the practice of reading with the creative arts (music, drawing, dancing, embroidery, and writing), in the service of creating an overall picture of Jane Austen’s ‘exquisite taste’ in all things. In this chapter, I consider Austen’s reading as a kind of artistic practice both in its own right, and in relation to her writing practices
Evidence of interspecific plasmid uptake by pathogenic strains of Klebsiella isolated from microplastic pollution on public beaches
Full text linkMicroplastic beads are becoming a common feature on beaches, and there is increasing evidence that such microplastics can become colonised by potential human pathogens. However, whether the concentrations and pathogenicity of these pathogens pose a public health risk are still unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine realistic environmental concentrations of potential pathogens colonising microplastic beads, and quantify the expression of virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). Microplastic beads were collected from beaches and a culture-dependent approach was used to determine the concentrations of seven target bacteria (Campylobacter spp.; E. coli; intestinal enterococci; Klebsiella spp.; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Salmonella spp.; Vibrio spp.). All seven target bacteria were detected without the need for a pre-enrichment step; urban sites had higher bacterial concentrations, whilst polymer type had no influence on bacterial concentrations. Klebsiella was the most abundant target bacteria and possessed virulence and ARGs, some of which were present on plasmids from other species, and showed pathogenicity in a Galleria melonella infection model. Our findings demonstrate how pathogen colonised microplastic beads can pose a heightened public health risk at the beach, and highlights the urgency for improved monitoring and enforcement of regulations on the release of microplastics into the environment
Toxigenic Vibrio cholerae can cycle between environmental plastic waste and floodwater: Implications for environmental management of cholera
Full text linkGlobally, there has been a significant rise in cholera cases and deaths, with an increase in the number of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) reporting outbreaks. In parallel, plastic pollution in LMICs is increasing, and has become a major constituent of urban dump sites. The surfaces of environmental plastic pollution can provide a habitat for complex microbial biofilm communities; this so-called 'plastisphere' can also include human pathogens. Under conditions simulating a peri-urban environmental waste pile, we determine whether toxigenic Vibrio cholerae (O1 classical; O1 El Tor; O139) can colonise and persist on plastic following a simulated flooding event. Toxigenic V. cholerae colonized and persisted on plastic and organic waste for at least 14 days before subsequent transfer to either fresh or brackish floodwater, where they can further persist at concentrations sufficient to cause human infection. Taken together, this study suggests that plastics in the environment can act as significant reservoirs for V. cholerae, whilst subsequent transfer to floodwaters demonstrates the potential for the wider dissemination of cholera. Further understanding of how diseases interact with plastic waste will be central for combating infection, educating communities, and diminishing the public health risk of plastics in the environment
Towards the humane slaughter of decapod crustaceans: identifying the most effective indicators of insensibility following electrical stunning
Full text linkDecapod crustaceans provide a valuable food source worldwide, both through wild capture and captive rearing. They are also used extensively in scientific research, both as subjects for the investigation of basic biological processes and as model organisms for the detection of environmental changes. There is now an increasing acceptance that decapod crustaceans are sentient, and legislation is being introduced in numerous countries to ensure crustacean welfare when they are harvested or held captive. Moreover, methods for the humane slaughter of these animals are being developed, and of these electrical stunning is a prime candidate. Optimisation of electrical stunning is underway for a range of commercially-exploited or scientifically-important species, and the present study contributes to that process by examining further crab (Carcinus maenas) and lobster (Homarus gammarus) species using a rigorous neurophysiological approach. By recording nerve activity in both the central and peripheral nervous systems, we have found that electrical stunning with a standard commercial instrument arrests nerve activity in both these species at all levels: sensory, motor and central, rendering the animals neurologically insensible. This methodology is the most direct and effective way to establish if insensibility is successfully achieved. However, ultimately the routine monitoring of effective stunning in commercial and laboratory settings will have to depend on simple, yet reliable physiological or behavioural indicators, following their calibration against neurological methods. Monitoring heartbeat is used widely to establish metabolic activity, locomotory performance, agonistic interactions and responses to environmental conditions. We have therefore assessed the potential to use cardiac activity as an indicator for the state of sensibility. We recorded the heartbeat in both C. maenas and H. gammarus before and after electrical stunning, but find that in many cases even though nerve activity has ceased both centrally and peripherally, cardiac activity actually continues (though at a reduced rate) for a substantial time (>1h). The heartbeat is therefore not a reliable indicator of the state of sensibility, making it an unsuitable indicator of effective stunning. Possible reasons for these findings, and ways to validate behavioural measures that may be more appropriate for routinely establishing effective electrical stunning, are discussed
UK funding agency launches digital health hubs: a new catalyst for change?
Full text linkFirst paragraph: In 2021, the UK government’s life sciences set out an ambitious strategy and vision for investment, innovation, and collaborative practice1 to respond to the growing “silent pandemics” facing the UK, such as diabetes, obesity, and dementia. Underpinning that vision and aligned to recently launched workforce plans2 in England is the recognition that health systems must embrace new “ways of working,” which include the scaled adoption of digital technologies, AI, and a preventative approach to healthcare
Infection of Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) by the parasite Hematodinium sp.: insights from 30 years of field observations
Full text linkThe Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus, is an important representative of the benthos and also supports valuable fisheries across Europe. Nephrops are susceptible to infection by Hematodinium sp., an endoparasitic dinoflagellate that causes morbidity and mortality. From an epizootiological perspective, the Clyde Sea Area (CSA; west of Scotland) is the best-studied Hematodinium–Nephrops pathosystem, with historical data available between 1988 and 2008. We have revisited this pathosystem by curating and updating prevalence values, differentiating host traits associated with disease exposure and progression, and comparing Hematodinium sp. disease dynamics in the CSA to other locations and to other decapod hosts (Cancer pagurus, Carcinus maenas). Prevalence from a 2018/2019 survey (involving 1739 lobsters) revealed Hematodinium sp. still mounts a synchronized patent infection in the CSA; hence this pathogen can be considered as enzootic in this location. We highlight for the first time that Nephrops size is associated with high severity infection, while females are more exposed to Hematodinium sp. More generally, regardless of the host (Norway lobster, brown and shore crabs) or the geographical area (Ireland, Wales, Scotland), Hematodinium sp. patent infections peak in spring/summer and reach their nadir during autumn. We contend that Hematodinium must be considered one of the most important pathogens of decapod crustaceans in temperate waters
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