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Corporate accountability for human rights: Evidence from conflict minerals ratings
Get PDFThis article examines the impact of sustainability-oriented governance factors on companies reporting on due diligence requirements of conflict minerals (DDRCM). We use the rating scores that are assigned by the Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN) on a sample of multinational companies between 2015 and 2019. We consider whether the existence and type of an independent external audit, the existence of sustainability reports to communicate a firm’s message, the inclusion of sustainability-related targets in executive compensation contracts, and the existence of board-level sustainability committees are associated withDDRCM reporting. We find that the combined effect of sustainability-oriented governance factors is associated with higher DDRCM reporting suggesting that sustainability governance plays an effective role in shaping the corporate response to conflict mineral risks. We also find that effective boards moderate the association between sustainability governance and DDRCM reporting suggesting that effective boards can substitute for the resources that arerequired for sustainability governance
Catch yield and selectivity of a modified scallop dredge to reduce seabed impact
Get PDFGlobal scallop fisheries are economically important but are associated with environmental impacts to seabed communities resulting from the direct physical contact of the fishing gear with the seabed. Gear modifications attempting to reduce this contact must be economically feasible such that the catch numbers for the target species is maintained or increased. This study investigated the outcome of reducing seabed contact on retained catch of scallops and bycatch by the addition of skids to the bottom of the collecting bag of scallop dredges. We used a paired control experimental design to investigate the impact of the gear modification in different habitat types. The modified skid dredge generally caught more marketable scallops per unit area fished compared with the standard dredge (+5%). However, the skid dredge also retained more bycatch (+11%) and more undersize scallops (+16%). The performance of the two dredges was habitat specific which indicates the importance of adjusting management measures in relation to habitat type. To realize the potential environmental benefits associated with the improvement in catchability of this gear modification, further gear modification is required to reduce the catch of undersize scallops and bycatch. Furthermore we advocate that technical gear innovations in scallop dredging need to be part of a comprehensive and effective fisheries management system. [Abstract copyright: Copyright: © 2024 Fenton et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Land management shapes drought responses of dominant soil microbial taxa across grasslands
Get PDFSoil microbial communities are dominated by a relatively small number of taxa that may play outsized roles in ecosystem functioning, yet little is known about their capacities to resist and recover from climate extremes such as drought, or how environmental context mediates those responses. Here, we imposed an in situ experimental drought across 30 diverse UK grassland sites with contrasting management intensities and found that: (1) the majority of dominant bacterial (85%) and fungal (89%) taxa exhibit resistant or opportunistic drought strategies, possibly contributing to their ubiquity and dominance across sites; and (2) intensive grassland management decreases the proportion of drought-sensitive and non-resilient dominant bacteria-likely via alleviation of nutrient limitation and pH-related stress under fertilisation and liming-but has the opposite impact on dominant fungi. Our results suggest a potential mechanism by which intensive management promotes bacteria over fungi under drought with implications for soil functioning.</p
Ecological and genetic studies on the Arabian spiny-tailed lizard Uromastyx aegyptia microlepis (BLANFORD, 1875) in the State of Kuwait
Get PDFRecent increase in species-wide diversity after interspecies introgression in the highly endangered Iberian lynx
Get PDFGenetic diversity is lost in small and isolated populations, affecting many globally declining species. Interspecific admixture events can increase genetic variation in the recipient species’ gene pool, but empirical examples of species-wide restoration of genetic diversity by admixture are lacking. Here we present multi-fold coverage genomic data from three ancient Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) approximately 2,000–4,000 years old and show a continuous or recurrent process of interspecies admixture with the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) that increased modern Iberian lynx genetic diversity above that occurring millennia ago despite its recent demographic decline. Our results add to the accumulating evidence for natural admixture and introgression among closely related species and show that this can result in an increase of species-wide genetic diversity in highly genetically eroded species. The strict avoidance of interspecific sources in current genetic restoration measures needs to be carefully reconsidered, particularly in cases where no conspecific source population exists
Assessing qualitative data richness and thickness: Development of an evidence-based tool for use in qualitative evidence synthesis
Get PDFBackgroundWell-conducted qualitative evidence syntheses (QESs) can provide invaluable insights into complex phenomena. However, the development of an in-depth understanding depends on the analysis of rich, thick data from the included primary qualitative studies. Sampling may be needed if there are too many eligible studies. Data richness and thickness are among several criteria that can be taken into consideration when sampling studies for inclusion. However, existing tools do not address explicitly the assessment of both data richness and thickness in the context of QES.MethodsTo address this gap, we have developed, piloted, and conducted initial user testing of a richness and thickness assessment tool. The tool has been in development since 2014. Three pilot versions from three review teams have been used in six Cochrane reviews. Key members from the original three review teams subsequently came together to create a consensus-based definitive version 1 of the tool. Four review authors piloted the version 1 tool, which has been subject to initial user testing. The version 1 assessment tool consists of two components: assessing the thickness of contextual data and assessing the richness of conceptual data. The accompanying guidance emphasizes the importance of assessing data that addresses the review question.ResultsThe paper provides guidance on how to apply the tool, emphasizing the importance of reaching a consensus among review authors and fostering a shared understanding of what constitutes rich and thick data in the context of the review. The potential challenges related to the time and resource constraints of this additional review process are acknowledged.ConclusionVersion 1 of the tool represents a significant development in QES methodology, filling a critical gap and enhancing the transparency and rigor of the sampling process. The authors invite feedback from the research community to further test, refine and improve this tool based on wider user experiences
Understanding how children and young people with chronic non-cancer pain and their families experience living with pain, pain management and services: a metaethnography
Get PDFAbstractBackgroundChildhood chronic pain is a widespread public health issue. We need to understand how children with chronic pain and their families experience chronic pain and its management.ObjectivesTo conduct a meta-ethnography on the experiences and perceptions of children with chronic pain and their families of chronic pain, treatments and services. We investigated how children and their families conceptualise and live with chronic pain; what they think of and want from health and social care services; and what they conceptualise as ‘good’ pain management.DesignMeta-ethnography with stakeholder and patient and public involvement in the design, search and sampling strategies, analysis and dissemination.Review strategy: comprehensive searches of 12 bibliographic databases and supplementary searches in September 2022, to identify qualitative studies with children aged 3 months to 18 years with chronic non-cancer pain and their families. We included studies with rich explanatory data; appraised methodological limitations using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool; and extracted, analysed and synthesised studies’ findings. We used Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation-confidence in the evidence from reviews of qualitative research to assess confidence in review findings. We integrated findings with 14 Cochrane treatment effectiveness reviews on children’s chronic non-cancer pain.ResultsWe synthesised 43 studies sampled from 170 eligible studies reported in 182 publications. Studies had minor (n = 24) or moderate (n = 19) methodological limitations. Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation-confidence in the evidence from reviews of qualitative research assessments of review findings were high (n = 22), moderate (n = 13) or very low confidence (n = 1).Moderate and severe chronic pain had profound adverse impacts on family members’ well-being, autonomy and self-identity; family dynamics; parenting approaches; friendships and socialising; children’s education and parental paid employment. Most children and families sought a biomedical cure for pain. They experienced difficulties seeking and receiving support from health services to manage pain and its impacts. Consequently, some families repeatedly visited health services.Cochrane reviews of intervention effects and trials did not measure some outcomes important to children and families, for example effects of pain on the family and resolution of pain. Reviews have mainly neglected a biopsychosocial approach when considering how interventions work.LimitationsThere were limited data on common pain conditions like migraine/headache, abdominal pain; some rarer conditions; children with learning disabilities and under-fives; siblings; fathers and experiences of treatments/services. We excluded studies on cancer, end-of-life pain and experiences of healthcare professionals.ConclusionsWe developed the family-centred theory of children’s chronic pain management, integrating health and social care with community support
Demystifying the English bias in science: exploring the factors influencing bilinguals' uptake of STEM subjects in minority language education:STEM-related study and minority language education
Get PDFIn minority language contexts, schools are constantly having to negotiate between thecompeting demands of minority language maintenance on the one hand, and the all-encompassing privilege of English in certain subject areas on the other. This dilemma isexacerbated in domains where English is seen to have a global tradition. Whilst theprevalence of English in STEM-related fields is well established, less is understood about theopportunities to study these subjects in languages other than English. Exploring the extentto which an English bias may influence pupils’ conscious choices around the study of STEM-related subjects can help inform school language policies and practices. Likewise,understanding how pupils negotiate the linguistic choice dilemma can help identify ways ofsupporting pupils’ engagement with these subjects and help address some of the limitationsof a monolingual teaching approach for bilingual pupils. This study examined pupils’likelihood of studying STEM-related subjects in Welsh-medium secondary schools in Wales,their linguistic choices around these subjects and their attitudes towards learning suchsubjects in English and/or in Welsh. The results revealed a general impression among pupilsof the importance of English for STEM, which, mediated by their own linguistic backgrounds,abilities and experiences, influence pupils’ linguistic choices and desires to various extents,particularly at the latter stages of education. Since the propensity towards monolingualengagement with these subjects – in Welsh or in English – may limit the scope forscaffolding their learning across languages and the benefits that incur, we proposealternative bilingual approaches to STEM-related subject teachin
