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PloS One 2024Fulfilling corporate social responsibility (CSR) is crucial for society's sustainable development. Executives' academic experience significantly affects their awareness...
Fulfilling corporate social responsibility (CSR) is crucial for society's sustainable development. Executives' academic experience significantly affects their awareness of social responsibility, value orientation, professional ability, and network resources. Thus, it is critical in CSR-related corporate decision-making. This paper explores the impact of executives' academic experience on the fulfillment of CSR. It focuses on non-financial, Special treatment enterprises (ST), and ST* enterprises listed in the A-share market from 2012 to 2021. It utilizes a fixed-effects analysis model to examine the relationship between executives' academic experience and CSR fulfillment. The CSR score and executives' academic experience were positively correlated. This paper also explores the intermediary role of compensation incentives and the moderating effect of marketization level. Both compensation incentives and the level of marketization positively moderated the relationship between executives' academic experience and CSR fulfillment. Meanwhile, the robustness results showed that the experimental findings still held after replacing the explained and explanatory variables. This paper contributes to the advancement of the Upper Echelons Theory and provides empirical evidence for the society's sustainable development.
Topics: Social Responsibility; China; Humans; Administrative Personnel; Motivation; Sustainable Development
PubMed: 38917164
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305813 -
PloS One 2024Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a constantly evolving concept that reflects changes in society and the expectations of stakeholders in a process that leads...
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a constantly evolving concept that reflects changes in society and the expectations of stakeholders in a process that leads companies to adapt to respond to new challenges and demands. Similarly, the theory and practice of CSR have moved from regulatory compliance to a more holistic approach that requires more sophisticated models that allow for a deeper understanding. Following the fact that companies now have access to a greater amount of information related to their social and environmental performance, as well as comparative data from other organizations, which is why it is necessary to have a management tool that allows collecting, process, and generating more accurate and meaningful metrics that more effectively reflect a company's impact on society. Consequently, the present work aims to identify a system of variables and dimensions representative of the management of organizations that allows the validation of a generic model of corporate social responsibility determined through factorial and structural modeling capable of reflecting more accurate and up-to-date dimensions and metrics of model variables and dimensions. To carry out the study, a sample of 667 middle and senior managers from medium and large companies in Guayas, Ecuador, were randomly contacted in their respective business contexts by trained interviewers. The data processing was carried out in stages. First, the exploratory factorial analysis method of the items was applied to form relevant factors. Then, the dimensions' structural modeling was formulated and ratified through the pertinent goodness-of-fit indices. The results determined a system of correlated factors whose items present estimators of commonality and high and significant factorial loads, excluding variables that did not exceed the sensitization criteria applied. Finally, a model made up of 15 factors and 66 variables ratified using the comparative adjustment indices, the chi-square likelihood ratio, and the mean square error of approximation is introduced, confirming the proposed corporate social responsibility model.
Topics: Social Responsibility; Humans; Models, Theoretical; Commerce
PubMed: 38917095
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296761 -
JMIR Human Factors Jun 2024In pandemic situations, digital contact tracing (DCT) can be an effective way to assess one's risk of infection and inform others in case of infection. DCT apps can...
BACKGROUND
In pandemic situations, digital contact tracing (DCT) can be an effective way to assess one's risk of infection and inform others in case of infection. DCT apps can support the information gathering and analysis processes of users aiming to trace contacts. However, users' use intention and use of DCT information may depend on the perceived benefits of contact tracing. While existing research has examined acceptance in DCT, automation-related user experience factors have been overlooked.
OBJECTIVE
We pursued three goals: (1) to analyze how automation-related user experience (ie, perceived trustworthiness, traceability, and usefulness) relates to user behavior toward a DCT app, (2) to contextualize these effects with health behavior factors (ie, threat appraisal and moral obligation), and (3) to collect qualitative data on user demands for improved DCT communication.
METHODS
Survey data were collected from 317 users of a nationwide-distributed DCT app during the COVID-19 pandemic after it had been in app stores for >1 year using a web-based convenience sample. We assessed automation-related user experience. In addition, we assessed threat appraisal and moral obligation regarding DCT use to estimate a partial least squares structural equation model predicting use intention. To provide practical steps to improve the user experience, we surveyed users' needs for improved communication of information via the app and analyzed their responses using thematic analysis.
RESULTS
Data validity and perceived usefulness showed a significant correlation of r=0.38 (P<.001), goal congruity and perceived usefulness correlated at r=0.47 (P<.001), and result diagnosticity and perceived usefulness had a strong correlation of r=0.56 (P<.001). In addition, a correlation of r=0.35 (P<.001) was observed between Subjective Information Processing Awareness and perceived usefulness, suggesting that automation-related changes might influence the perceived utility of DCT. Finally, a moderate positive correlation of r=0.47 (P<.001) was found between perceived usefulness and use intention, highlighting the connection between user experience variables and use intention. Partial least squares structural equation modeling explained 55.6% of the variance in use intention, with the strongest direct predictor being perceived trustworthiness (β=.54; P<.001) followed by moral obligation (β=.22; P<.001). Based on the qualitative data, users mainly demanded more detailed information about contacts (eg, place and time of contact). They also wanted to share information (eg, whether they wore a mask) to improve the accuracy and diagnosticity of risk calculation.
CONCLUSIONS
The perceived result diagnosticity of DCT apps is crucial for perceived trustworthiness and use intention. By designing for high diagnosticity for the user, DCT apps could improve their support in the action regulation of users, resulting in higher perceived trustworthiness and use in pandemic situations. In general, automation-related user experience has greater importance for use intention than general health behavior or experience.
Topics: Humans; Contact Tracing; Mobile Applications; Cross-Sectional Studies; COVID-19; Female; Male; Adult; Surveys and Questionnaires; Middle Aged
PubMed: 38916941
DOI: 10.2196/53940 -
PNAS Nexus Jun 2024Behavioral research in traditional subsistence populations is often conducted in a non-native language. Recent studies show that non-native language-use systematically...
Behavioral research in traditional subsistence populations is often conducted in a non-native language. Recent studies show that non-native language-use systematically influences behavior, including in widely used methodologies. However, such studies are largely conducted in rich, industrialized societies, using at least one European language. This study expands sample diversity. We presented four standard tasks-a "dictator" game, two sacrificial dilemmas, a wager task, and five Likert-risk tolerance measures-to 129 Hadza participants. We randomly varied study languages-Hadzane and Kiswahili-between participants. We report a moderate impact of study language on wager decisions, alongside a substantial effect on dilemma decisions and responses to Likert-assessments of risk. As expected, non-native languages fostered utilitarian choices in sacrificial dilemmas. Unlike previous studies, non-native-language-use decreased risk preference in wager and Likert-tasks. We consider alternative explanatory mechanisms to account for this reversal, including linguistic relativity and cultural context. Given the strength of the effects reported here, we recommend, where possible, that future cross-cultural research should be conducted in participants' first language.
PubMed: 38915735
DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae218 -
BMC Public Health Jun 2024It is well established that the tobacco industry used research funding as a deliberate tactic to subvert science. There has been little wider attention to how... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
BACKGROUND
It is well established that the tobacco industry used research funding as a deliberate tactic to subvert science. There has been little wider attention to how researchers think about accepting industry funding. We developed, then tested, hypotheses about two psychological constructs, namely, entitlement and conflict of interest contrarianism (CoI-C) among alcohol researchers who had previously received industry funding.
METHODS
A mixed-methods pilot study involved construct and instrument development, followed by an online survey and nested 3-arm randomised trial. We randomly allocated alcohol industry funding recipients to one of three conditions. In two experimental conditions we asked participants questions to remind them (and thus increase the salience) of their sense of entitlement or CoI-C. We compared these groups with a control group who did not receive any reminder. The outcome was a composite measure of openness to working with the alcohol industry.
RESULTS
133 researchers were randomised of whom 79 completed the experiment. The posterior distribution over effect estimates revealed that there was a 94.8% probability that reminding researchers of their CoI-C led them to self-report being more receptive to industry funding, whereas the probability was 68.1% that reminding them of their sense of entitlement did so. Biomedical researchers reported being more open to working with industry than did psychosocial researchers.
CONCLUSION
Holding contrarian views on conflict of interest could make researchers more open to working with industry. This study shows how it is possible to study researcher decision-making using quantitative experimental methods.
Topics: Humans; Conflict of Interest; Male; Female; Decision Making; Research Personnel; Adult; Pilot Projects; Food Industry; Middle Aged; Research Support as Topic
PubMed: 38914989
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18961-5 -
PhytoKeys 2024Caesalpinioideae is the second largest subfamily of legumes (Leguminosae) with ca. 4680 species and 163 genera. It is an ecologically and economically important group...
Caesalpinioideae is the second largest subfamily of legumes (Leguminosae) with ca. 4680 species and 163 genera. It is an ecologically and economically important group formed of mostly woody perennials that range from large canopy emergent trees to functionally herbaceous geoxyles, lianas and shrubs, and which has a global distribution, occurring on every continent except Antarctica. Following the recent re-circumscription of 15 Caesalpinioideae genera as presented in Advances in Legume Systematics 14, Part 1, and using as a basis a phylogenomic analysis of 997 nuclear gene sequences for 420 species and all but five of the genera currently recognised in the subfamily, we present a new higher-level classification for the subfamily. The new classification of Caesalpinioideae comprises eleven tribes, all of which are either new, reinstated or re-circumscribed at this rank: Caesalpinieae Rchb. (27 genera / ca. 223 species), Campsiandreae LPWG (2 / 5-22), Cassieae Bronn (7 / 695), Ceratonieae Rchb. (4 / 6), Dimorphandreae Benth. (4 / 35), Erythrophleeae LPWG (2 /13), Gleditsieae Nakai (3 / 20), Mimoseae Bronn (100 / ca. 3510), Pterogyneae LPWG (1 / 1), Schizolobieae Nakai (8 / 42-43), Sclerolobieae Benth. & Hook. f. (5 / ca. 113). Although many of these lineages have been recognised and named in the past, either as tribes or informal generic groups, their circumscriptions have varied widely and changed over the past decades, such that all the tribes described here differ in generic membership from those previously recognised. Importantly, the approximately 3500 species and 100 genera of the former subfamily Mimosoideae are now placed in the reinstated, but newly circumscribed, tribe Mimoseae. Because of the large size and ecological importance of the tribe, we also provide a clade-based classification system for Mimoseae that includes 17 named lower-level clades. Fourteen of the 100 Mimoseae genera remain unplaced in these lower-level clades: eight are resolved in two grades and six are phylogenetically isolated monogeneric lineages. In addition to the new classification, we provide a key to genera, morphological descriptions and notes for all 163 genera, all tribes, and all named clades. The diversity of growth forms, foliage, flowers and fruits are illustrated for all genera, and for each genus we also provide a distribution map, based on quality-controlled herbarium specimen localities. A glossary for specialised terms used in legume morphology is provided. This new phylogenetically based classification of Caesalpinioideae provides a solid system for communication and a framework for downstream analyses of biogeography, trait evolution and diversification, as well as for taxonomic revision of still understudied genera.
PubMed: 38912426
DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.240.101716 -
Congenital Heart Disease 2024Given the pervasive issues of obesity and diabetes both in Puerto Rico and the broader United States, there is a compelling need to investigate the intricate interplay...
BACKGROUND
Given the pervasive issues of obesity and diabetes both in Puerto Rico and the broader United States, there is a compelling need to investigate the intricate interplay among BMI, pregestational, and gestational maternal diabetes, and their potential impact on the occurrence of congenital heart defects (CHD) during neonatal development.
METHODS
Using the comprehensive System of Vigilance and Surveillance of Congenital Defects in Puerto Rico, we conducted a focused analysis on neonates diagnosed with CHD between 2016 and 2020. Our assessment encompassed a range of variables, including maternal age, gestational age, BMI, pregestational diabetes, gestational diabetes, hypertension, history of abortion, and presence of preeclampsia.
RESULTS
A cohort of 673 patients was included in our study. The average maternal age was 26 years, within a range of 22 to 32 years. The mean gestational age measured 39 weeks, with a median span of 38 to 39 weeks. Of the 673 patients, 274 (41%) mothers gave birth to neonates diagnosed with CHD. Within this group, 22 cases were linked to pre-gestational diabetes, while 202 were not; 20 instances were associated with gestational diabetes, compared to 200 without; and 148 cases exhibited an overweight or obese BMI, whereas 126 displayed a normal BMI.
CONCLUSION
We identified a statistically significant correlation between pre-gestational diabetes mellitus and the occurrence of CHD. However, our analysis did not show a statistically significant association between maternal BMI and the likelihood of CHD. These results may aid in developing effective strategies to prevent and manage CHD in neonates.
Topics: Humans; Female; Pregnancy; Puerto Rico; Infant, Newborn; Heart Defects, Congenital; Adult; Risk Factors; Maternal Health; Young Adult; Diabetes, Gestational; Body Mass Index; Gestational Age; Retrospective Studies; Incidence; Male; Maternal Age
PubMed: 38912385
DOI: 10.32604/chd.2024.046339 -
Perspectives on Medical Education 2024Medical education has acknowledged the impact of structural societal factors on health, prompting the need for curricula seeking to eliminate health inequities upstream...
PROBLEM & BACKGROUND
Medical education has acknowledged the impact of structural societal factors on health, prompting the need for curricula seeking to eliminate health inequities upstream while simultaneously caring for downstream effects of existing inequities. The Keck School of Medicine of USC (KSOM) implemented one such comprehensive curriculum, Health Justice and Systems of Care (HJSC), integrating health systems science, structural competency, and service-learning in a required course spanning the pre-clerkship and clerkship phases with an optional post clerkship elective.
APPROACH
The HJSC course addresses topics including racism in medicine, health inequities, and health systems science. Using transformative learning theory, it fosters critical consciousness and structural competency. Assessments include case analyses, reflections, team-based learning sessions, and group projects related to social justice in healthcare. The program aims to instill cultural humility and practical application, fostering a holistic approach to medical education that implores physicians to become advocates for health justice.
OUTCOMES OF THE INNOVATION
Feedback from students indicated generally positive perceptions of the curriculum. Students provided overall positive comments about discussions with guest speakers. However, students expressed a desire for more concrete examples of how health inequities can be remedied. Some found small-group activities less engaging. Other challenges included providing students of different readiness levels with tailored experiences and seamlessly integrating HJSC content within basic and clinical sciences courses.
CRITICAL REFLECTION
Next steps include continuing to integrate content into the science curriculum and clerkships, improving opportunities for meaningful student interactions, and enhancing faculty development to address health justice concerns in clinical settings.
Topics: Humans; Curriculum; Social Justice; Students, Medical; Delivery of Health Care; Clinical Clerkship
PubMed: 38912167
DOI: 10.5334/pme.1325 -
Annals of Surgery Open : Perspectives... Jun 2024Mini abstract The financial benefits of instituting the American College of Surgeons Geriatric Surgery Verification Program far exceed the costs, with the added benefits...
Mini abstract The financial benefits of instituting the American College of Surgeons Geriatric Surgery Verification Program far exceed the costs, with the added benefits of enhanced patient satisfaction and improved staff morale.
PubMed: 38911623
DOI: 10.1097/AS9.0000000000000439 -
SSM. Qualitative Research in Health Jun 2024Existing literature has portrayed numerous challenges that healthcare workers (HCWs) faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as heightened risks of transmission against...
Existing literature has portrayed numerous challenges that healthcare workers (HCWs) faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as heightened risks of transmission against the scarcity of protective equipment, burgeoning workload, and emotional distress, to name a few. However, most studies explored HCWs' experiences at the individual level rather than examining the collective responses. Exploring these experiences could reveal the social-cultural locality of the pandemic while identifying the system constraints in public health emergencies. As part of a mixed-method study on COVID-19 pandemic impacts, we analysed qualitative interview data with 129 HCWs and health-related staff to explore their experiences during the pandemic between 2020 and 2021 in Vietnam, Indonesia, and Nepal. Using Bahers' sociological framework, Community of Fate, we describe five themes reflecting the formation of a community of HCWs and the social cohesion underlying their efforts to survive hardship. The first three themes characterise the HCW community of fate, including (1) Recognition of extreme work-related danger, (2) physical and figurative closures where HCWs restrict themselves from the outside world, (3) chronic ordeals with overwhelming workload and responsibilities, encompassing recurrent mental health challenges. Against such extreme hardship, cohesive bonding and social resilience are reflected through two additional themes: (4) a mutual sense of moral and professional duty to protect communities, (5) the vertical and horizontal convergence among HCWs across levels and among government departments. We discuss these HCWs' challenges in relation to systemic vulnerabilities while advocating for increasing investment in public health and collaboration across government sectors to prepare for emergency situations.
PubMed: 38911289
DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmqr.2024.100404