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Charity experience of directors and corporate social responsibility:Global evidence
Get PDFThis paper studies the role of directors with prior experience of working in the charity sector (here labelled ‘charity directors’) in determining the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity of firms on whose boards they sit. We predict that these charity directors shape the ethical climate of their boards and influence their CSR policies. The findings on firms across 50 countries show that the presence of such directors on a board is positively associated with the firm's environmental and social (E&S) performance. Such charity directors exert more influence following disasters that exogenously increase societal demand for CSR, suggesting a causal interpretation of their role. We further show that charity directors play a more active role in those countries where societal norms stress the importance of E&S issues. This does not seem to be a manifestation of organizational slack, as the link between charity directors and CSR is stronger in the presence of good corporate governance. Furthermore, the death of a charity director leads to a negative market reaction, suggesting that their efforts are in line with shareholder interests
The boundaries of the jobseeker category in Europe
Get PDFSupport for the unemployed, through income transfers and public employment programmes and services, is a core area of welfare state activity. While comparative welfare state research focuses mainly on cross-national differences in the level of this support, the development of a harmonised statistical definition of unemployment has tended to obscure continuing variations among welfare states in how far situations of need are administratively recognised as unemployment in the first place. This paper illustrates this by focusing on the related but distinct category of jobseekers. Using aggregate data, it shows that the boundaries of the jobseeker category are drawn highly variably across European welfare states. Deeper comparison of two country cases then illustrates how this variation is partly shaped by the differential classification of similar needs – specifically, in these cases, of people in marginal employment – as a result of the operation of the welfare state itself
Genetic Relationships Among Resilience, Fertility and Milk Production Traits in Crossbred Dairy Cows Performing in Sub-Saharan Africa
No full textChange in climate over the past years and its impact on the environment have necessitated the inclusion of resilience traits in the breeding objectives of dairy cattle. However, the relationship between resilience and other traits of economic importance in dairy production is currently not well known. This study examined the genetic parameters and relationships among resilience, fertility and milk production traits in dairy cattle in Kenya. Indicators of general resilience and heat tolerance were defined from the first parity test-day milk yield records. Indicators of general resilience included variance of actual deviations (LnVar1), variance of standardised deviations (LnVar2), lag-1 autocorrelation (r auto) and skewness (Skew) of standardised deviations in milk yield. Heat tolerance indicators at temperature-humidity index 80 included the slope of the reaction norm (Slope), absolute slope of the reaction norm (Absolute), and the intercept of the reaction norm model (Intercept). Cows with > 50% taurine genes had lower age at first calving (AFC), longer calving intervals (CI) and higher test-day milk yield (MY). The heritability estimates of AFC, CI and MY were 0.17 ± 0.033, 0.06 ± 0.012 and 0.35 ± 0.021, respectively. The repeatability estimates of CI and MY were 0.06 ± 0.012 and 0.47 ± 0.009, respectively. The low heritability and non-significant permanent environmental variance of CI showed that CI is heavily influenced by external factors, such as management practices. AFC was negatively genetically correlated with both CI (−0.88 ± 0.077) and MY (−0.53 ± 0.059) showing that animals that attain sexual maturity earlier exhibit longer CI and higher milk production. A positive genetic correlation (0.62 ± 0.077) between CI and MY shows that high-yielding cows face challenges in maintaining shorter calving intervals. Heritability estimates of nearly all resilience indicators were significant and ranged from 0.05 to 0.34. Heat tolerance indicators showed low to non-significant genetic correlations with general resilience indicators, suggesting that different genetic factors are involved in responses to different types of disturbances. There was a generally positive genetic correlation between resilience and fertility, implying that resilient animals might have better fertility. All indicators, except LnVar1 and LnVar2, revealed an antagonistic genetic relationship between resilience and milk production. The findings present an opportunity for including resilience in the development and application of selection indices in dairy cattle, especially for the tropics.</p
Modelling geomagnetic jerks with core surface flow derived from satellite gradient tensor elements of secular variation
No full textThe Swarm mission provides along- and across-track differences of magnetic field measurements, making it possible to generate spatial gradients of the geomagnetic field and its secular variation (SV). Similar data are obtainable from the CHAMP mission by taking along-track differences. These can be combined into a spatial gradient tensor of SV. We compare core-surface flow inversions from vector and tensor datasets, with a particular focus on the equatorial geomagnetic jerks observed by the CHAMP and Swarm missions. Our models are obtained directly from the SV data, without relying on numerical simulations for prior information or enforcing any flow geometry. We develop three different flavours of model, all damped to minimise spatial complexity and acceleration between epochs, and find all provide good fits to the data. With these, we scrutinise the extent of equatorial asymmetry requiredby core-surface flow to fit the data, and relate the flow to observations of changes in length-of-day.We find that using spatial gradients for flow-inversions improves the spatial resolution compared to using vector measurements, resolving ∼ 1.4 times as many flow coefficients for the Swarm models and ∼ 1.2 for the CHAMP models.During the 2017 and 2020 Pacific region geomagnetic jerks, our models show pulses in azimuthal flow acceleration, time-centred between the two jerks, and a new pulse occurring in mid-2022. This suggests that a new geomagnetic jerk in this region will occur at the end of 2024. We propose that the observed azimuthal acceleration pulses may occur when previouslyhypothesised Alfvén wave-packets interact with flow at the surface of the core
A Conceptual Framework for Measuring Ecological Novelty
Get PDFBackgroundHuman pressures are driving the emergence of unprecedented, ‘novel’, ecological and environmental systems. The concept of novel (eco)systems is well accepted by the scientific community, but the use and measurement of novelty has outgrown initial definitions and critiques. There are still unresolved methodological and conceptual differences in quantifying novelty that prevent a unified research approach.FrameworkHere we present a conceptual framework and guidelines to unify past and future measurement of ecological novelty. Under this framework, novelty is a property of an ecological or environmental entity of interest. Novelty is quantified as the comparison between the target entity and a reference set, measured as the summary of degrees of difference across one or more dimensions. Choices in these components, particularly the reference set, can change resulting novelty measurements and inferences.ShowcaseWe provide a case-study to showcase our framework, measuring pre- and post-European novelty in 99 pollen assemblages in Midwest USA forests. We paired this quantitative exploration with a five-step process designed to improve the utility and outcomes of novelty analyses.ConclusionsQuantitative novelty has immense value in studies of abrupt ecological change, linking climatic and ecological change, biotic interactions and invasions, species range shifts and fundamental theories. Our framework offers a unified overview and is also primed for integration into management and restoration workflows, providing consistent and robust measurements of novelty to support decision making, priority setting and resource allocation
Exogenous sex steroid hormones and asthma phenotypes: a study protocol for a prospective cohort analysis with UK-wide primary care data
Get PDFIntroduction:The role of female sex hormones and their influence on asthma’s development and natural history remains uncertain. Our study aims to enhance understanding of exogenous sex hormones’' role in asthma development and manifestation, considering phenotypic heterogeneity, and focusing on metabolic syndrome-linked asthma that has shown increased severity in females.Methods and Analysis: A cohort study using primary care data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) databases linked with additional data sources (Hospital Episode Statistics, ethnicity, and deprivation) will include individuals aged 16–70 years, spanning 1 January 1, 2005, to 31 December 31, 2019. We will use appropriate statistical learning methods depending on the outcome: extended Cox regression for late-onset asthma; Poisson or negative binomial regression for asthma exacerbations; binary logistic regression for asthma control; and ordered logistic regression for asthma severity. Asthma exacerbation will be defined based on the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society Task Force definition as the presence of either one of an asthma-related accident and emergency department visit, an asthma-related (unscheduled) hospital admission, or an acute course of oral corticosteroids (OCS) with evidence of asthma-related medical event and/or review within two2 weeks of OCS prescription. Poor asthma control in any given month will be defined by the occurrence of an exacerbation episode or use of short-acting beta agonist (SABA). Asthma severity will be defined based on the British Thoracic Society (BTS) asthma severity steps. Asthma phenotypes will be identified using k-means clustering. Analyses will be undertaken using both GOLD and Aurum to ensure coverage across UK nations.Ethics and Dissemination:CPRD has received ethics approval from the Health Research Authority (East Midlands—Derby, REC reference number 21/EM/065) to support research using anonymised data. Approval to conduct this study was obtained through CPRD’s Research Data Governance (RDG) process. The results will be disseminated through academic publications and conference presentations, contributing to the understanding and practice of asthma management, particularly in the context of the impacts of exogenous sex steroid hormones
The psychological benefits of open-water (wild) swimming:Exploring a self-determination approach using a 19-country sample
Get PDFA growing body of qualitative and quantitative research has explored the potential benefits to mental health and well-being of open-water or “wild” swimming. To date, most studies have used small samples in specific locations, limiting generalisability, and have not distinguished open-water swimming from other forms of outdoor swimming, such as in open-air pools, raising questions about any additional benefits of wild swimming over and above swimming outside per se. Using survey data from n = 1200 recently recalled outdoor swimming visits across 19 different countries, we compared self-reported well-being outcomes for swims in either open-water (wild) locations or open-air pools. Additionally, we explored the degree to which satisfaction of the motivations identified by self-determination theory (i.e. autonomy, relatedness, and competence) may explain any differences. Swimming visits in both locations were associated with high levels of positive, and low levels of negative, well-being, as well as high levels of autonomy, relatedness and competence. Open-water swimming was, nonetheless, associated with significantly higher positive well-being than open-air pool swims, with mediation analysis indicating that feelings of greater autonomy and competence (but not relatedness) primarily accounted for the difference. Results for anxiety were more nuanced, perhaps because more competent swimmers were more likely to swim in less safe, more anxiety inducing, places. Results re-iterate, help explain, and support the generalisation of previous research reporting potential benefits of open-water swimming for mental health and well-being, and highlight the need to support further safe access to high quality open-water locations.</p
Early Medical Abortion
Get PDFEarly medical abortion (EMA) with mifepristone and misoprostol is expanding access to safe abortion across the world. The drug regimen has changed and the steps involved in EMA have been significantly simplified since EMA was first introduced over 35 years ago. Evidence shows that women can safely self-administer both mifepristone and misoprostol themselves at home and self-manage the procedure including confirming the success of the procedure with a self-performed pregnancy test. Telemedicine has expanded access to EMA and evidence shows that it is associated with similar outcomes to traditional models of delivery and is acceptable to both women and clinicians. Further research is required to optimise the analgesic regimen for EMA. Greater efforts are required to expand availability of medical abortion at home at both very early gestations (less than 6 weeks) and up to the end of the first trimester. More evidence is needed to develop guidelines to support provision in remote settings
Surveys of the scientific community on the existence of extraterrestrial life
Get PDFDuring February–June 2024 we conducted four surveys among researchers regarding the likely existence of basic, complex, and intelligent extraterrestrial life. Our results offer a snapshot of community opinion and reveal a significant degree of consensus that extraterrestrial life is likely to exist
Enhancing ecosystem services and biodiversity in agrivoltaics through habitat-enhancing strategies
Get PDFAgrivoltaics offers a promising solution to the dual challenge of ensuring food security and expanding renewable energy infrastructure while optimising land use and bolstering climate resilience. This study addresses a research gap by evaluating habitat-enhancing strategies for agrivoltaics. Using the InVEST modelling framework, the effectiveness of these strategies on key ecosystem services - carbon storage, sediment retention, water retention, and pollinator supply – was assessed. Fifty-one utility-scale solar farms in North-Eastern Germany served as a hypothetical case study to analyse the potential ecosystem service benefits between habitat-enhanced and conventional farming practices in agrivoltaics. The Mini and Midi scenarios, aligned with the German agrivoltaic standard, integrated up to 15 % of habitat-enhancing elements in the field, while Maxi incorporated 22 %. Eco-Horticulture and Agriforst Orchard explored agricultural diversification by combining annual and perennial crops with habitat-enhancing features. Model results revealed significant ecosystem service gains compared to conventional farming practices: a 33–88 % increase in pollinator supply, 9–22 % in water retention, 7.5–20 % in sediment retention, and up to 8 % in carbon storage. Notably, the diversification approaches demonstrated exceptional potential to enhance biodiversity while providing income diversification for farmers. The study provides actionable insights for policymakers to scale agrivoltaics in line with countries’ biodiversity targets and inform future agrivoltaic standards, balancing renewable energy deployment, land use efficiency and biodiversity conservation, aligned with multiple SDGs. Integrating habitat-enhancing features in agrivoltaics could improve the aesthetic appeal of solar infrastructure, fostering public acceptance. Further field studies are recommended to validate outcomes in agrivoltaic-specific microclimatic conditions and refine strategies to local contexts.</p
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