bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Empirical study on determinants of environmental disclosure
Authors: Chandok Ravi Inder Singh , Singh Sukhdev 
Published: April 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the status of corporate environment on the websites and annual reports of selected companies. This paper also attempts to study the relationship between company variables and the level of corporate environment disclosure on the company website and annual reports.

Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on the websites and annual reports of top 100 listed companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The companies are selected on the basis of market capitalization as on March 31, 2014. The data are collected on the basis of Global Reporting Initiative-3 Guidelines.

Findings
14 and 30 per cent of the companies do not disclose environmental information on the website and annual report, respectively. There is no specific space for the disclosure of information on this vital issue; information was found scattered in the various sections of the website and annual report. Waste treatment, water management and carbon foot is the focus area of 53, 46 and 40 companies on the website, respectively, whereas in annual reports, energy conservation, water management and waste management attracts the attention of 79, 86 and 82 companies, respectively. The environmental disclosure on the website and overall disclosure has association with leverage, company size and systematic risk. Profitability and environmental disclosure were found to be inversely associated.

Practical implications
The government through appropriate guidelines should make the environmental disclosure mandatory for all the companies. Disclosure of environmental information such as penalties imposed and suits faced under environmental laws and notices received from pollution control boards and such other activities which have damaged environmental resources must be made mandatory. The accounting bodies should develop the accounting standard in respect of items and manner of disclosure. While framing environmental disclosure guidelines, special attention should be given to the disclosure of information related to water management, air and land pollution as these are the basic necessities for the existence of life on this planet.

Originality/value
This study is unique as it makes the comparative analysis of disclosure through annual reports and the company website of selected Indian companies.
Sustainability reporting
Authors: Amoako Kwame Oduro , Lord Beverley R. , Dixon Keith 
Published: April 2017

PurposeSustainability reporting serves as a means of communication between corporations and their stakeholders on sustainability issues. This study aims to identify and account for the contents of sustainability reporting communicated through the websites of the plants in five continents of the same multinational mining corporation.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses data published by Newmont Mining Corporation. The corporation has regional headquarters in five continents: Africa, Asia, Australia and North America and South America. The data were drawn from the websites of the five plants adjacent to those regional headquarters. Economic, environmental and social aspects of sustainability as reported by each plant were identified; to do so, a disclosure analysis based on the elements of the Global Reporting Initiative and the United Nations Division for Sustainability Development was used. These aspects were then compared and contrasted to highlight if, and to what extent, institutional isomorphism influences variations in sustainability disclosures among plants compared with the parent company.FindingsIt was found that most of the reporting about sustainability matters comprises narratives; there were also a few physical measures but very little financial information. Notwithstanding that the websites of all five plants used similar headings, the contents of reports differed. The reports from the plants in Australia, South America and Africa were more comprehensive than those from the plants in Asia and North America. The authors attribute these differences to institutionalisation of location-specific characteristics, including management discretion, legislation and societal pressures influencing sustainability reporting. The authors argue that managers responsible for preparing sustainability reports and who work essentially as sustainability accountants should develop templates and measures to raise the standard and comprehensiveness of reports for improved communication, information and behaviour.Originality/valueExtant studies on sustainability reporting have focused mainly on comparisons between sustainability reports published by different corporations or sustainability reports published in different years by the same corporation. The authors believe that this is one of the first studies to have examined differences in sustainability information published by different subsidiaries within the same large corporation and the first to show how concurrent disclosures can differ.
Telephonic qualitative research interviews: when to consider them and how to do them
Authors: Farooq Muhammad Bilal , de Villiers Charl 
Published: April 2017

Purpose
The aims of this study are to review the literature examining the arguments for and against the telephonic qualitative research interviews, to develop criteria for assessing when the use of the telephone is suitable in qualitative research and if suitable to offer detailed strategies for the effective use of this data collection instrument.

Design/methodology/approach
The study is a thematic analysis of the literature, informed by the researchers’ experiences using the telephone, computer-based audio and face-to-face interviews for an accounting research project involving 50 semi-structured interviews with managers.

Findings
The study identifies five criteria to determine the suitability of using the telephone in qualitative research interviews. In addition, the study offers a set of detailed strategies on what to do before, during and after a telephonic qualitative research interview.

Research limitations/implications
The study can assist qualitative researchers in deciding when to use the telephone and how to use it effectively.

Originality/value
The study builds on the limited prior research and provides a more complete list of strategies on the effective use of the telephone in qualitative social sciences research. These strategies are a synthesis of existing studies and observations drawn from the author's study, which examines the work of organisational managers. In comparison, prior studies have been based on research projects that explored sensitive personal issues and emotive experiences not always related to managerial work.
The influence of institutional environment on corporate responsibility disclosures in Ghana
Authors: Welbeck Edem Emerald 
Published: April 2017

PurposeThe study aims to analyse the level and trend of corporate responsibility disclosures (CRD) in annual reports of listed firms on the Ghana Stock Exchange against the Global Reporting Index and to examine the influence of the institutional environment on such disclosures.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis of annual reports of 17 listed firms in Ghana over a 10-year period (2003-2012) of social and environmental disclosures using the Global reporting indicators as the standard was undertaken. A multiple regression analysis using the random effect estimator was used to test institutional factors influencing CRD.FindingsThe study finds that listed firms in Ghana disclose some responsibility information; and this has increased over the period, with a significant dip in the year 2010. The study also documents a significant amount of disclosures post International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption. The increase in disclosure is particularly explained by IFRS adoption by Ghana and the number of women on boards. This study finds a positive but weak relationship between companies’ association with foreign firms, majority shareholders and CRD. A positive significant relationship is confirmed for firm size, while capital intensity shows a negative significant relationship with CRD in Ghana.Research limitations/implicationsThe word search may not capture similar words not known to the author, and the words used may have different meanings. In addition, bias may arise from the limited sample size and the choice of companies. Regulators must enforce existing environmental guidelines and streamline reporting for social and environmental issues to help managers disclose more social and environmental information.Originality/valueThe study highlights CRD and its drivers from Ghana, an emerging African economy. To the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to undertake a longitudinal study on social and environmental disclosures of listed companies in Ghana against the Global Reporting Initiative and to determine the effect of IFRS adoption in Ghana on CRD.
Root traits are related to plant water‐use among rangeland Mediterranean species
Authors: Fort Florian , Volaire Florence , Guilioni Lydie , Barkaoui Karim , Navas Marie‐Laure , Roumet Catherine 
Published: April 2017

Summary

Understanding the water‐use of plants is timely under increasing drought stress due to climate change. Despite the crucial role of roots in water uptake, relationships between water‐use and root traits are seldom considered.

Combining a functional trait‐based approach with a water balance model, we tested whether root functional traits are related to spatial and temporal water‐use among 12 Mediterranean rangeland species grown in common garden monocultures. Soil water content was monitored for 10 months, and the dynamics of water uptake of each species was modelled at a daily time step. Root functional traits were measured at two soil depths (shallow and deep soil).

Species with fast resource acquisition strategies in shallow soil, i.e. thin roots, maximised water uptake in a short period and consumed large amounts of water during periods of low water availability. Conversely, species with a more conservative root strategy, i.e. coarse roots, took up less water during the peak‐growing season, maintained water uptake over a longer period of time and consumed less water during periods of low water availability. Deep root traits are strongly related to species’ ability to take up water from deep soil. Deep roots with large diameters and low specific root length improve species’ ability to reach water from deep soil. Biomass investment in the deep soil layer was positively related to the amount of water consumed during periods of low water availability.

Our results highlight that root functional traits influence a range of spatial and temporal water‐use among Mediterranean rangeland species. They account for the amount of water taken up during dry periods but not during the entire growing season.

A lay summary is available for this article.
Effects of biological legacies and herbivory on fuels and flammability traits: A long‐term experimental study of alternative stable states
Authors: Blackhall Melisa , Raffaele Estela , Paritsis Juan , Tiribelli Florencia , Morales Juan M. , Kitzberger Thomas , Gowda Juan H. , Veblen Thomas T. 
Published: April 2017

Summary

Ecological memory, often determined by the extent and type of retained biological legacies present following disturbance, may produce persistent landscape patterns. However, after fire, the persistence or switch to an alternative state may depend on the complex interplay of ecological memory (biological legacies) and potential effects of new external factors influencing the post‐fire environment. The current study assesses both the strength of ecological memory resulting from biological legacies of pre‐burn vegetation types as well as post‐fire effects of livestock.

Following a severe fire in 1999, we set up a network of long‐term exclosures to examine the effects of legacies and cumulative herbivory by cattle on fuel types, amounts, distribution, flammability and microenvironmental conditions in two post‐fire communities representing alternative fire‐driven states: pyrophobic Nothofagus pumilio subalpine forests and pyrophytic Nothofagus antarctica tall shrublands in northwestern Patagonia, Argentina.

Our results show that the retained post‐disturbance legacies of tall shrublands and subalpine forests largely determine fuel and flammability traits of the post‐fire plant communities 16 years after fire. The importance of biological legacies retained from the unburned plant communities was reflected by the substantially higher amounts of total fine fuel, greater vertical and horizontal fuel continuity and the higher temperatures reached during experimental tissue combustion at post‐fire shrubland compared to post‐fire forest sites.

We show that herbivores may produce antagonistic effects on flammability by decreasing tissue ignitability, total fine fuel and litter depth, and disrupting the vertical and horizontal fine fuel continuity, therefore reducing the probability of fire propagation. However, cattle can increase ratios of dead to live fine fuels, reduce soil moisture, and inhibit tree height growth to canopy size, consequently impeding the development of a closed pyrophobic forest canopy.

Synthesis. Our results support the hypothesis that biological legacies, most importantly the dominance by pyrophytic woody plants that resprout vigorously vs. the dominance by pyrophobic obligate seeders, favour fuel and flammability characteristics at the community level which reinforce the mechanisms maintaining pyrophytic shrublands vs. pyrophobic forests. Herbivory by introduced cattle can partially blur sharp pyrophobic/pyrophytic state boundaries by promoting the development of novel post‐fire transitional states.
Does Temporal Aggregation Explain the Persistence of the S&P/Case‐Shiller Indices? Evidence from a Longitudinal Specification
Authors: Giannetti Antoine 
Published: April 2017

AbstractTemporal aggregation is a repeat sale index construction methodology that consists of aggregating paired‐transactions in a moving‐average window. In particular, the methodology is used to calculate the popular S&P/Case‐Shiller home price indices. In this article, I focus the insights of the literature on measurement error to demonstrate that temporal aggregation produces idiosyncratic biases in predictive regression slopes. I further estimate a dynamic instrumental variable (IV) panel for the 20 S&P/Case‐Shiller metro areas. The main empirical finding is that temporal aggregation is a short‐lived statistical disturbance that does not explain the homogenous robust persistence of the indices.
Frequent Attenders of the Emergency Department: Patients’ Perspectives and Impact of a Multidisciplinary Case Management Intervention in Reducing Attendance
Authors: Ho Shu Fang , Lye Weng Kit , Pasupathi Yogeswary , Lian Sherman Wei Qiang , Ayoob Salimah Bte Mohd , Seng Gek Siang , Tan Lay Hong , Koh Chee Wai , Fook‐Chong Stephanie Man Chung , Chong Shu‐Ling , Ong Marcus Eng Hock 
Published: April 2017

BackgroundRecent literature shows that multidisciplinary case management (MDCM) is the most cost‐effective intervention in reducing emergency department (ED) overutilization by frequent attenders (FAs). It is unclear whether we can extrapolate this finding to a Singapore‐based practice in light of the differences between healthcare systems and social structures.ObjectivesOur objectives were understand from the FA's perspective the reasons behind frequent ED visits and determine the clinical effectiveness of MDCM intervention in reducing ED visits by FAs at a tertiary hospital in Singapore.MethodsWe conducted a two‐stage pilot study that involved prospective recruitment of eligible patients for a qualitative study via face‐to‐face in‐depth interviews and subsequent random assignment of these patients into a dual‐arm randomized control trial with MDCM intervention.ResultsWe recruited 40 patients (67.5% male, mean age = 58.25 years) between June 2014 and March 2015. Six main themes on why FAs chose to visit ED emerged: free/subsidized consultation, convenience, perceived better quality of care, perceived emergencies, third party's advice, and health services issues. Interim data analysis was conducted after 6 months’ follow‐up. The median percentage reduction of ED visits between control arm (50%, IQR = –80.00 to –5.00) and MDCM intervention arm (50%, IQR = –76.70 to 30.00) showed no significant difference (95% CI, p = 0.461).ConclusionWhile we discovered six major themes on patient's perspective of reasons behind frequent ED visits, the ability of MDCM intervention to reduce ED visits by FAs was not seen in the initial 6‐month interim analysis. Further research in FA subgroups is needed to develop more targeted interventions.
A systematic review of left unilateral electroconvulsive therapy
Authors: Kellner C. H. , Farber K. G. , Chen X. R. , Mehrotra A. , Zipursky G. D. N. 
Published: April 2017

ObjectiveTo systematically review the published clinical trials, case series, and case reports on left unilateral (LUL) electrode placement for clinical electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).MethodPubMed, Ovid Medline, and the Cochrane Library were searched for articles concerning LUL ECT. Number of patients, efficacy, and cognitive outcomes were extracted from the papers that met our inclusion criteria.ResultsA total of 52 articles were included in this review, consisting of 33 clinical trials, seven case series, and 12 case reports.ConclusionOverall, the efficacy of LUL electrode placement for the treatment of depression and psychosis is similar to that of right unilateral (RUL) and bilateral (BL) electrode placements. Patients receiving LUL ECT tend to experience more verbal memory impairment than patients receiving RUL ECT, but less verbal impairment than patients receiving BL ECT. In contrast, patients receiving LUL ECT tended to experience the least visual and nonverbal memory impairment, compared to patients receiving RUL or BL ECT.
Primary lymphocytic hypophysitis: Clinical characteristics and treatment of 50 cases in a single centre in China over 18 years
Authors: Wang Shuchang , Wang Linjie , Yao Yong , Feng Feng , Yang Hongbo , Liang Zhiyong , Deng Kan , You Hui , Sun Jian , Xing Bing , Jin Zimeng , Wang Renzhi , Pan Hui , Zhu Huijuan 
Published: April 2017

SummaryObjectivePrimary lymphocytic hypophysitis (LYH) is rare, and it is often evaluated in a small case series. This study aimed to describe the diagnosis and treatment of primary LYH in a larger cohort.DesignA retrospective study of the diagnosis and treatment of primary LYH was conducted at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 1999 to 2016.PatientsFifty patients (28 histologically diagnosed and 22 clinically‐diagnosed) were eligible for inclusion.MeasurementsClinical, endocrine, pathological and imaging findings; therapies and outcomes were assessed. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between the clinical parameters and outcomes (eg, improvements in pituitary function, regression of lesion size on MRI and disease recurrence).ResultsCentral diabetes insipidus (CDI) (72.0%) was the most common endocrine dysfunction. Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism was the most frequently observed (60.0%) manifestation of anterior pituitary dysfunction; adrenal insufficiency was the third most common (26.0%) manifestation; and IGF‐1 axis defects were the least frequent (22.0%). Thickening of the pituitary stalk was the most frequent (96.0%) imaging finding, and 78.0% of the patients exhibited both intrasellar and suprasellar expansion. Pharmacological dose of glucocorticoids was identified to be significantly associated with increased odds of anterior pituitary function improvement. No observed covariates were significantly associated with improvement of CDI and recurrence.ConclusionThe sequence of anterior pituitary deficiencies in Chinese primary LYH patients was atypical (LH/FSH>TSH>ACTH>IGF‐1 axis deficiency). A pharmacological dose of glucocorticoids was significantly associated with the improved anterior pituitary insufficiency.
Diabetic kidney transplant recipients: Impaired infection control and increased alloreactivity
Authors: Schachtner Thomas , Stein Maik , Reinke Petra 
Published: April 2017

AbstractBackgroundPost‐transplantation diabetes mellitus (PTDM) has been associated with inferior patient and allograft outcomes. However, previous studies did not identify differences in infection control and alloreactivity.MethodsWe studied 449 kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) between 2005 and 2013. Fifty (11.1%) KTRs were diagnosed with PTDM and 60 (13.4%) KTRs with pre‐existing diabetes. Samples were collected pretransplantation, at +1, +2, +3 months post‐transplantation. CMV specific and alloreactive T cells were quantified by interferon‐γ Elispot assay. Lymphocyte subpopulations were quantified by flow cytometry.ResultsUpon multivariate analysis, age, obesity, and the use of tacrolimus increased the risk of PTDM (P<.05). KTRs with pre‐existing diabetes/PTDM showed higher rates of sepsis (P<.01). Total CD3+ and CD4+ T cell counts were significantly lower in KTRs with PTDM/pre‐existing diabetes post‐transplantation (P<.05). No differences were observed for CMV‐specific T cells between any group (P>.05). KTRs developing PTDM showed increased frequencies of alloreactive T‐cells post‐transplantation (P<.05).ConclusionsOur results suggest higher rates of infection in KTRs with pre‐existing diabetes/PTDM that may be attributed to impaired overall immunity. Higher frequencies of alloreactive T cells contribute to inferior long‐term outcomes. As acute rejection, but not pre‐existing diabetes/PTDM, was associated with inferior allograft survival and function, maintaining adequate immunosuppression to prevent rejection seems important.
How should development co‐operation evolve? Views from developing countries
Authors: Davies Robin , Pickering Jonathan 
Published: April 2017

AbstractThis article provides evidence on what developing country governments expect to be their main challenges within five to 10 years, and how they want their relationships with development assistance providers to evolve in order to meet these challenges. The results, based on a survey commissioned by the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) of 40 partner country governments, indicate that demand for official development assistance (ODA) is likely to remain strong in the medium term, but that partner countries are actively diversifying providers in order to spread risk. Countries want ODA providers to shift to a more enabling role in the coming years, providing vital finance, but in support of government‐led sector programmes, delivering more and better technical and policy support, and leveraging more private finance.
Development of the headspace Family and Friends Satisfaction Scale: Findings from a pilot study
Authors: Nicholas Angela , Holloway Erin , Telford Nic , Rickwood Debra 
Published: April 2017

AimsThe primary aim of this pilot study was to determine the psychometric properties of the 18‐item headspace Family and Friends Satisfaction Scale (hFAFSS).MethodsDuring August 2015, staff from 22 headspace centres approached family members and friends of young people attending headspace to complete the hFAFSS. Principal components analysis with oblique Promin rotation and polychoric correlations were used to assess the factor structure of the hFAFSS.ResultsThere were 277 usable responses. Satisfaction was high, resulting in little variance. Parallel analyses suggested that the scale items tapped a single factor (68% of variance).ConclusionsThis study is one of the first attempts to measure the satisfaction of family and friends with primary care‐based youth mental health services. Satisfaction of family members and friends was shown to be high, but limited variance restricts the usability of the hFAFSS as an evaluation measure, and revision and further testing is needed.