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Accounting for societal concerns:ESG disclosure regulation and incentives
Full text linkThis dissertation investigates the evolving role of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures in corporate reporting, focusing on two core questions: (1) to what extent ESG-related risks are integrated into financial reporting, and (2) whether ESG disclosure regulations effectively influence firm behavior and investor perceptions. Together, the three studies shed light on how firms, regulators, and markets interact in shaping the content and consequences of ESG disclosures. The first research question focuses on the incorporation of ESG risks into financial reporting. Using climate change as the setting, the study examines impairment disclosures among the world’s largest carbon emitters. Results show that climate-related disclosures increased significantly after 2019, particularly in Europe, following the Non-Financial Reporting Directive. These disclosures are value relevant to investors, but the association is negative, suggesting that investors interpret climate-related impairments as signals of broader risk exposure. At the same time, firms outside Europe are behind, underscoring the role of regulation and enforcement in ensuring compliance. The findings reveal both the variability of practice and the potential need for stronger regulatory intervention to ensure consistent reflection of material ESG risks in financial statements. The second research question examines whether transparency-based regulations can alter firm behavior and investor reactions in human rights and supply chain governance. Analysis of conflict minerals reporting shows that firms follow persistent disclosure trajectories. Even when enforcement weakens, some firms continue reporting voluntarily, suggesting that reputational and strategic incentives complement regulation. Evidence from human rights abuse incidents shows that markets respond negatively to controversies, but the reactions are economically small and unaffected by the introduction of the UK Modern Slavery Act. This casts doubt on the effectiveness of regimes that rely primarily on transparency to drive change. Overall, the dissertation demonstrates that ESG disclosure is shaped by a complex interplay of regulatory design, enforcement, and firm-level incentives. While transparency regimes can encourage reporting, meaningful change requires complementary mechanisms that strengthen both regulatory oversight and stakeholder pressures
Sustainable Digital Finance and its Role in the Energy Transition:Are Investors and Supervisors on the Same Team?
No full textThe management of blunt thoracic aortic injury
Full text linkBlunt Thoracic Aortic Injury (BTAI) is a life-threatening condition that most commonly results from rapid deceleration, such as in high-speed motor vehicle accidents. This trauma leads to tearing or avulsion of the aortic wall. BTAI is the second leading cause of death from blunt trauma, surpassed only by head injuries. Although relatively rare, occurring in about 2% of patients with blunt thoracic trauma, BTAI carries a preadmission mortality rate as high as 80%. The evolution of imaging, especially the introduction of Computed Tomographic Angiography (CTA), has dramatically improved the detection of BTAI. CTA allows for the identification of even minimal aortic injuries that previously went undetected with older, less sensitive imaging techniques. This has led to an apparent increase in the incidence of diagnosed BTAI. Treatment strategies for BTAI have changed significantly over recent decades. Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair (TEVAR) has become the preferred approach for many patients after its feasibility was demonstrated in multiple studies. TEVAR, being less invasive than open surgical repair, is now widely adopted. This thesis aimed to deepen understanding of current management strategies for BTAI and evaluate factors that might improve outcomes. The research focused on three main questions: Which BTAI patients require TEVAR? What is the optimal timing for TEVAR in BTAI? What are the long-term outcomes of conservative management compared to TEVAR? Analysis of the U.S. National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database showed that the number of hospitalized trauma patients diagnosed with BTAI doubled from 375 in 2006 to 750 in 2019. Despite this increase, the mortality rate among BTAI patients remained stable (15% in 2006–2010 vs. 12.6% in 2016–2019). Patients managed non-operatively (NOM) were typically older and had more concurrent injuries, while those treated with TEVAR also became older over time but generally had fewer associated injuries. Studies utilizing the Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP) and Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) databases compared outcomes between male and female BTAI patients treated with TEVAR. Although more men suffered BTAI, the risk of mortality and complications after TEVAR was equal between sexes. Female patients tended to be older and have more comorbidities, but perioperative and five-year mortality rates were similar to those of male patients. No significant differences were found in access-related complications. BTAI severity was classified according to the Society of Vascular Surgery (SVS) grading system. Grade 4 injuries showed the highest perioperative and aortic-related mortality after TEVAR. However, after risk adjustment, injury grade was not independently associated with perioperative, aortic-related, or five-year mortality. Notably, grade 1 injuries had a relatively high rate of postoperative spinal cord ischemia. A matched analysis compared early (within 24 hours) and delayed (after 24 hours) TEVAR. Early TEVAR was associated with higher in-hospital mortality, whereas delayed TEVAR resulted in longer ICU stays and more ventilator days. Early TEVAR was also linked to a lower risk of acute kidney injury. The proportion of patients receiving delayed TEVAR remained unchanged over time. Among patients treated with TEVAR, the 90-day nonelective readmission rate was 13%. The most common causes for readmission were sepsis, wound complications, and neurological issues. Graft-related complications were rare. Predictors for readmission included younger age, female sex, acute renal failure, and sepsis during the initial hospitalization. A meta-analysis of non-operative management (NOM) showed low rates of mid-term all-cause mortality and aortic-related interventions, with no aortic-related deaths. Grade 1 and 2 injuries did not progress, while most grade 3 injuries remained stable over a mean follow-up of 38 months. Another review comparing TEVAR, open aortic repair (OAR), and NOM found no significant differences in long-term outcomes among the three modalities. Adverse event rates were low across all treatments
Spatio-temporal changes in cropland system and its impacts on grain production in China
No full textCONTEXT: Global food security remains a pressing concern, with rising undernourishment rates exacerbated by urbanization, climate change, and soil degradation. Understanding the dynamics of cropland systems is therefore crucial for enhancing grain production, particularly in countries like China, which supports a significant portion of the world's population with limited cropland resources. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to analyze spatial variability in cropland intensification at the prefectural scale in China from 1980 to 2018. It further reveals the spatial-temporal changes of the cropland management systems by combining cropland-use intensity and spatial variability in cropland intensification. This focuses on the relationship between changes in cropland area and intensification and evaluates their relative contributions to grain production. METHODS: A K-means clustering algorithm was adopted to identify distinct cropland management systems. The LMDI (Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index) method was applied to quantify the contribution of changes in cropland area and intensification to grain production. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate a sharp rise in agricultural input intensity, particularly pesticide and fertilizer, alongside a notable decline in time investment by laborers. Six distinct cropland management systems were identified, with Type 1 and Type 3 being the most prevalent. Type 1, predominantly observed in the northeast and northwest, exhibited low initial intensity with a slight input growth and a minor time investment decrease. Type 3, concentrated in the south, demonstrated stable input increases accompanied by a moderate drop in time investment. Furthermore, expansion of cropland area and intensification co-occur in 58 % of the prefectures. Intensification drove 79 % of grain production growth, yet with clear spatial disparities: large gains in northeastern and central prefectures contrasted with declines in southeastern coastal areas due to cropland loss. The study underscores the pivotal role of cropland intensification in enhancing grain production. These findings advocate for targeted, region-specific strategies to support sustainable intensification and labor-saving technologies, thereby ensuring long-term food security amid urbanization and rising labor costs. SIGNIFICANCES: This study offers a novel, long-term analysis of cropland system dynamics in China—integrating cropland intensification and area changes—at a fine spatial scale and examines their collective impact on grain production. The study not only helps to understand that production can be increased through area expansion or intensification, but also to understand which pathway dominates where, to what degree, and in what combination. The study provides critical insights for policymakers and stakeholders, contributing to the discourse on sustainable agricultural practices and national food security.</p
Radical Stability Paradox:Substituent Effects versus Heats of Formation
No full textRecently, we have shown that alkyl substituents destabilize the carbon radical center of organic radicals. However, seemingly in contradiction with this earlier finding, the series of isomeric n-butyl, s-butyl, and t-butyl radicals shows an increasingly stable (less positive) heat of formation ∆Hf, despite an increasing number of alkyl substituents at the radical center. Herein, we provide a solution to this apparent paradox of contradicting pictures. The crux of the matter is that ∆Hf not only comprises the substituent effect on the radical center but also the intrinsic stability of the substituents. Furthermore, we provide a generalizable framework for extracting the actual intrinsic substituent effects from experimental and computational data, an approach with broad applicability to radical chemistry, thermochemistry, and beyond.</p
Environmental regulation, green innovation, and productivity:Crowding-out or reallocation?
No full textDoes environmental regulation enhance firm productivity through reallocation toward green innovation, conditional on firms' pollution intensity and productivity levels? We analyze Chinese listed firms (2010–2018) using a Crépon–Duguet–Mairesse recursive framework, a three-equation causal chain that links regulation, innovation, and productivity. We find that a variety of environmental policies raise compliance costs, crowding-out average R&D investment. Non-green innovation yields higher productivity returns in low-pollution firms and exhibits a U-shaped return pattern across the productivity distribution, whereas green innovation's returns follow an inverted-U-shaped profile, peaking at medium-high productivity—where, for high-pollution firms, they exceed those of non-green innovation, boosting TFP. These results provide mechanism-based evidence for the strong Porter hypothesis as a context-dependent reconfiguration of technological and productive efficiency under regulatory stimuli. Policy support for green innovation should be targeted at high-pollution, mid-to-high-productivity firms based on verifiable outcomes, turning the crowding-out of R&D into productive reallocation.</p
The pain of suspecting and the comforts of knowing the worst
No full textWillful ignorance is often framed as a strategy for avoiding moral responsibility in social decision making. We propose a broader view: individuals also avoid or seek information in purely individual contexts as a way to regulate emotions. People may delay confronting themselves to useful, yet painful, truths, or, paradoxically, pursue distressing but useless information to relieve uncertainty. This duality reflects a strategic balance between the emotional costs of knowing and the psychological discomfort of not knowing. We review recent research illustrating how information avoidance and search serve both self-protection and moral regulation. Ultimately, willful ignorance is reframed as a dynamic emotion-regulation strategy that helps individuals navigate the tension between uncertainty, truth, and emotional endurance in both social and personal domains.</p
Comparative Analysis of OHIP Versions for Research on Temporomandibular Disorders
No full textBackground: An international team has recommended assessing oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in four dimensions and using the Oral Health Impact Profile-5 (OHIP-5) for all oral health conditions. Objectives: This study compared OHIP summary, domain, and dimension scores among individuals with no and different Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD) symptoms, examined correlations across OHIP versions, and explored the use of OHIP-5 for TMD research.Methods: Young adults completed the Five TMD Symptoms (5Ts) screener and items from the OHIP-49, OHIP-14, OHIP-5, and OHIP-TMD. Participants were categorised into no (NT), intra-articular (IT), pain-related (PT), and combined (CT) TMD symptom groups. Data were analysed with the chi-square test and nonparametric tests, including Spearman's correlation (α = 0.05).Results: The final sample consisted of 573 individuals (mean age 19.3 years [SD 1.3]; 82.6% women), of whom 64.0% reported NT, while 21.8%, 4.2%, and 10.0% had IT, PT, and CT symptoms, respectively. Significant differences in summary scores were consistent across participant groups (CT/PT/IT>NT; CT>IT) for all OHIP versions, though variations were observed in domain and dimension scores. Notably, no significant differences in the Psychosocial Impact dimension were identified for the OHIP-5. Summary scores for the OHIP-49 and OHIP-14 were very strongly correlated with those for OHIP-TMD, whereas the OHIP-5 demonstrated a strong correlation (rs = 0.86–0.94).Conclusions: A four-dimensional impact framework is suitable for use in TMD research. While the OHIP-5 can evaluate overall OHRQoL, its substitution for OHIP-14 or OHIP-TMD should be considered only when brevity is prioritised over dimension-specific assessment.</p
Opportunities for Epidemiological Data Collection in Dental Practices:A Thematic Analysis of Dutch Dentists’ Views
No full textIntroduction and aims Epidemiological oral health data are essential for informing public health policy and evaluating care. In the Netherlands, OrangeForce and the Oral Health Monitor seek to resume data collection by extracting information from dental practices using both automated (ie, software-based extraction) and manual (ie, user-entered in web-based forms) methods. As the success of these methods depends on cooperation from providers, this study aimed to explore the perspectives of Dutch dentists on collecting oral health data from practices, focussing on automated and manual data collection.Methods Thirteen dentists were individually interviewed between May-December 2024 using a predefined topic list. The initial three participants were purposively sampled; others were approached to ensure variation in background characteristics. The interviews were thematically analysed using Atlas.ti.Results The dentists – assisted by a dental assistant – recorded most data directly during check-ups. Recorded data varied considerably in both content and method of documentation. Although the dentists generally supported data collection, they noted that more consistent and structured recording would be required for automated methods. Manual collection was perceived as time-consuming, although clear instructions could mitigate this. Eventually, the decision to participate in manual data collection largely depended on the required workload and time investment. Benchmark feedback could serve as a key incentive but is informative only with sufficiently large samples per dentist.Conclusions Dutch dentists widely acknowledged the importance of epidemiological oral health data collection but identified several practical challenges. Currently, manual data collection via web-based forms seems more feasible than automated registration, which requires technical improvements and workflow changes. Clear instructions and the involvement of oral care providers in the development of the data collection procedures are necessary to improve data quality and manage research burden. Further advancement of dental software systems is needed to facilitate structured data collection in the future.</p