Social Performance Score Research Articles

Clinical symptoms and psychosocial functioning in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders testing seropositive for anti-NMDAR antibodies: a case–control comparison with patients testing negative

Antibodies against the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) have been described in the serum of people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (schizophrenia). However, the prevalence and clinical relevance of these antibodies in schizophrenia is unclear. This knowledge gap includes the possibility of such antibodies being associated with a distinct clinical profile, which in turn might warrant a distinct treatment approach. We aimed to assess the seroprevalence of anti-NMDAR antibodies in schizophrenia, and compare symptoms and psychosocial functioning between patients with schizophrenia who were seropositive and seronegative for these antibodies. In this case-control comparison, by combining new and existing studies, we included patients diagnosed with schizophrenia from four independent cohorts for whom anti-NMDAR serostatus had been assessed (or could be assessed by us) with live cell-based assays. Included cohorts were from the EULAST study (a trial conducted across 15 European countries and Israel), the OPTiMiSE study (an interventional study in Europe), and the PPiP1 and PPiP2 studies (conducted in the UK). Patients from these cohorts were analysed if they had complete Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) data. No participant had been diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis or received treatment for this condition. After calculating the prevalence of serum anti-NMDAR antibodies, we examined possible differences in PANSS scores (negative, positive, and general symptom subscales, and total score) between anti-NMDAR-seropositive and anti-NMDAR-seronegative patients. Psychosocial functioning as measured by Personal Social Performance (PSP) score was also compared. All analyses were exploratory and no adjustment was done for multiple testing. People with lived experience were not involved in the conduct of this study. We collected individual patient data from 1114 patients with schizophrenia across the four cohorts. The study population had a mean age of 28·6 years (SD 7·6) and comprised 382 (34·3%) women and 732 (65·7%) men, including patients of White (929 [83·4%]), Asian (54 [4·8%]), Black (68 [6·1%]), and other (62 [5·6%]) ethnicities. Overall, 41 (3·7%) participants (range 3·1-4·0% across cohorts) tested positive for serum anti-NMDAR antibodies. Lower symptom severity on the negative symptoms PANSS subscale was observed for anti-NMDAR-seropositive patients (mean score 15·8 [SD 6·4]) than for anti-NMDAR-seronegative patients (18·2 [6·8]; Cohen's d=0·36; p=0·026), as well as on the general symptoms PANSS subscale (32·9 [8·9] vs 36·1 [10·1]; d=0·33; p=0·029) and total PANSS score (65·5 [18·5] vs 72·6 [19·3]; d=0·37; p=0·013). Mean PSP score was better in anti-NMDAR-positive patients (62·0 [17·0]) than in anti-NMDAR-negative patients (53·5 [16·3]; d=0·52; p=0·014). Serum NMDAR antibodies are present in 3-4% of patients with schizophrenia and are associated with relatively low severity of negative symptoms and relatively good psychosocial functioning. Thus, although the findings await replication in cohorts from other geographical regions, serum anti-NMDAR antibodies might be associated with a different form of psychotic illness. These findings could inform future prognostic and interventional studies examining whether anti-NMDAR antibodies are associated with a specific course of illness or with treatment response. None.

Does internal audit function outsourcing policy matter for environmental, social and governance performance score? Evidence from Bursa Malaysia

Purpose Anecdotal evidence indicates the internal audit function may be crucial in supporting the implementation of ESG practices and reporting. However, thus far, no study has been empirically conducted to check how and why internal audit function might affect ESG performance. This study aims to address this gap by examining whether the internal audit budget is positively related to the ESG performance of Malaysian listed firms. It also explores whether the sourcing arrangement of the internal audit function can moderate the internal audit budget – ESG nexus. Design/methodology/approach The secondary data for the paper is extracted from two main sources, namely, the Thomson Reuters Eikon database and firms’ annual reports that were downloaded from the Bursa Malaysia website. The final sample consists of public firms listed on Bursa Malaysia over the period 2010 to 2019. Multivariate tests are used to examine the linkage between the variables. Findings The results show that the relationship between the annual internal audit budget and ESG performance is contingent on the sourcing arrangement of the internal audit function. Specifically, the results show that the annual internal audit budget has a positive impact on ESG performance for firms with an in-house internal audit function but not for firms outsourcing an internal audit function to external providers. Overall, the results suggest that the annual internal audit budget promotes ESG performance for firms performing their internal audit activities internally. Practical implications The findings of this paper provide a strong motivation for authorities in Malaysia to develop new policies and rules aiming at ensuring that internal audit departments are adequately resourced to function effectively, thereby promoting corporate ESG performance. Moreover, the findings may be useful in informing the board of directors and other policymakers that establishing an in-house internal audit department assists in advancing corporate sustainability performance. Social implications The findings of this paper suggest that investors, creditors and other stakeholders should link ESG reporting with the attributes of the internal audit function and outsourcing arrangement when evaluating firm performance. The total annual costs allocated to the internal audit function coupled with the outsourcing arrangement by an external provider should be considered for the overall assessment of the ESG performance and provide additional warranty towards corporate goals’ achievement and sustainability for the society. Originality/value This study extends previous studies on the determinants of ESG performance by focusing on two crucial aspects of the internal audit function: the annual budget and the outsourcing arrangement, a hitherto largely unexplored mechanism by the existing literature.

Weighing in on the average weights: Measuring corporate social performance (CSP) score using DEA

This study develops a new DEA approach to incorporate such market-level information (i.e., average weights over firms) to create a composite corporate social performance (CSP) measure. The new model addresses the challenge that stakeholder expectations—expressed as the CSP weights of different CSP dimensions—are usually unknown at the firm level, but some reliable estimates of the average weights (across firms) are available at the industry or market level. Distinct from the traditional DEA, the new approach can incorporate constraints on the average values of weight distributions and is built on a computational framework new to the literature. The new model is compared with the traditional CSP approach, using longitudinal investment data by socially responsible funds (SRF). The regression results show evidence that the traditional CSP score, which is widely used in the management literature, may not be a reliable CSP score: firms with higher CSP scores tend to have lower SRF investment (in both the number of SRF and total shares). In contrast, the DEA-based CSP scores show the correct and positive correlation with SRF investment. Overall, this paper contributes to the literature by presenting a more reliable CSP approach and a new, generalizable DEA model. This is also the first empirical work documenting the potential validity issue of the traditional CSP scores.

The effect of COVID-19 and CEO tenure on environmental and social disclosure scores

Research aims: The study aims to understand the effect of COVID-19 and the tenure of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) on environmental and social disclosure scores.Design/Methodology/Approach: The research sample included listed Indonesian firms, excluding those in the financial sector, for 2015-2021. The samples were analyzed by cross-sectional data regression and controlled by corporate governance mechanisms proxied by the number of women and independent Boards of Commissioners, leverage, size, profitability, and growth opportunity proxied by price-to-book-value ratio and capital-expenditure-to-depreciation ratio.Research Findings: The COVID-19 pandemic has positively affected environmental and social disclosure scores. While CEO tenure negatively affected social disclosure scores, its effect on environmental disclosure scores was statistically insignificant.Theoretical Contribution/Originality: The study provides empirical evidence on the progression of change in environmental and social disclosure scores triggered by COVID-19.Practitioner/Policy Implications: CEOs need to be persuaded and incentivized to increase their firms’ commitment to enhancing social performance and disclosure scores after COVID-19.Research Limitation/Implications: The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and CEO tenure on environmental and social disclosure scores from firms with high stock market capitalization were analyzed. The data did not yet consider the medium and small stock market capitalization firms.

Trajectories of social function in patients with first-episode schizophrenia: Analysis of data from a 10-year follow-up study

BackgroundPatients with schizophrenia may have diverse functional outcomes. However, the long-term functional trajectories of patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) are unclear. MethodsWe extracted data from the Chinese First-Episode Schizophrenia Trial, a 10-year prospective study of antipsychotic-naïve patients with FES. We applied K means cluster modelling to longitudinal data on the social function of patients with FES and examined associations of the empirically derived trajectories with baseline clinical characteristics of the 10-year follow-up. OutcomesThree distinct functional trajectories emerged: improving-favorable (39·3%), improving-poor (17·8%) and improving-stable (42·9%). All three trajectories demonstrated Personal and Social Performance (PSP) score improvement in the first six months. The improving-poor trajectory demonstrated PSP score decline during the second six months and thereafter, while PSP scores in the other two trajectories were mainly stable during the same period. Patients in the improving-favorable trajectory had higher baseline PSP scores than those in the improving-poor trajectory (OR=0·904 [0·852, 0·961], p < 0·05) and the improving-stable trajectory (OR=0·870 [0·825, 0·918], p < 0·001) and were more likely to be female than those in the improving-stable trajectory (OR=2·699 [1·030, 7·074], p < 0·05). ConclusionsPatients with FES demonstrated varied long-term functional recovery profiles. The first year, especially the second half of the first year, is a key period for social function interventions that improve long-term functional outcomes. Male patients and patients with poor baseline function may particularly benefit from such interventions.

HRQoL Evaluation of Pediatric Osteogenesis Imperfecta with Zoledronic Acid Therapy

Background: Zoledronic acid as bisphosphonates could increase bone mineral density (BMD), which in osteogenesis imperfecta will reduce clinical manifestations. Pediatric patients with osteogenesis imperfecta given zoledronic acid therapy should improve their quality of life.Methods: A retrospective analytic study was conducted on 16 pediatric osteogenesis imperfecta patients who had received intravenous zoledronic acid. Interview using PedsQL 4.0 regarding the condition before and after therapy assessed the quality of life. A paired t-test was used to assess the contrast in each aspect of PedsQL 4.0. Results were expressed as an adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval. P-value &lt;0.05 is considered statistically significant.Results: A significant increase was found in the child report of social performance (+12.083, p=0.023), and proxy report of physical performance, social performance, and total score of the proxy report (+14.844, p=0.006; +10.625, p=0.010; +10.364, p=0.006). An insignificant increase was found in the child report of physical performance, school performance, and total score of the child report (+8.833, p=0.148; +5.000, p=0.359; +7.065, p=0.115), and proxy report of emotional performance and school performance (+2.500, p=0.669; +6.250, p=0.167). An insignificant decrease was found in child reports of emotional performance (-2.500, p=0.669).Conclusion: After receiving bisphosphonate therapy, pediatric patients with osteogenesis imperfecta experienced an increased quality of life in most aspects within every perception. Physical and social aspects experienced the greatest improvement. Emotional is the aspect that experienced the lowest increase in the child's perception and decreased parent perception of the value of quality of life after bisphosphonate therapy.

Long-term Efficacy and Safety of Paliperidone 6-month Formulation: An Open-label 2-year Extension of a 1-year Double-blind Study in Adult Participants With Schizophrenia.

Paliperidone palmitate 6-month (PP6M) demonstrated noninferiority to paliperidone palmitate 3-month (PP3M) in preventing relapse in patients with schizophrenia in a phase-3 double-blind (DB) study (NCT03345342). Here, we report long-term efficacy and safety results from a 2-year single-arm, open-label extension (OLE; NCT04072575) of this DB study. Participants who completed the DB study without relapse were enrolled and followed-up every 3 months up to 2 years. Participants received 4 PP6M gluteal-injections (700/1000mg eq.) at baseline, 6-month, 12-month, and 18-month visits. Efficacy endpoints included assessment of relapse, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score, Personal and Social Performance (PSP) score, and Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) scale change from baseline. Safety was assessed by treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), physical examinations, and laboratory tests. Of 178 participants enrolled, 154 (86.5%) completed the OLE; mean age: 40.4 years, men: 70.8%. Mean duration of PP6M exposure during OLE was 682.1 days. Overall, 7/178 (3.9%) participants relapsed between 20-703 days after enrolment. Mean (SD) change from baseline to endpoint: PANSS total score, 0.7 (8.22); CGI-S, 0.0 (0.51); PSP Scale, 0.5 (7.47). Overall, 111/178 participants (62.4%) reported ≥1 TEAE; most common (>5%) TEAEs were headaches (13.5%) and increased blood prolactin/hyperprolactinemia (18.0%); 8/178 (4.5%) participants experienced serious TEAEs, and 6/178 (3.4%) participants withdrew due to TEAEs; no deaths were reported. The relapse rate observed with PP6M during the 2-year OLE was low (3.9%). Clinical and functional improvements demonstrated in the DB study were maintained during OLE and no new safety concerns were identified.

Assessing resilience of sustainability to climate change in China's cities

Achieving sustainability and coping with climate change are the greatest challenges to human survival and harmonious human-nature relationship. However, there is a lack of research on quantifying the resilience of sustainability to climate change over space and time. Here, a quantification method was developed to evaluate resilient performance of sustainability (includes economic, social, and environmental sub-resilient performance and resilient performance index) to climate change, and performed the first demonstration in China's 280 cities. It was found that resilient performance index of China's sustainability to climate change improved from 2005 to 2017, especially in Southwest China, but 6.8 % of cities showed a decreasing trend. With the improvement of the resilient performance index, the synergy degree among economic, social, and environmental sub-resilient performance scores increased. Economic development and sustainability improvement related to a higher but more disparity of the resilient performance index. This study encourages researchers and policymakers worldwide to focus on resilience of sustainability to climate change to help achieve sustained development and prosperity under climate change.

Long-term efficacy and safety of paliperidone 6-month formulation: An open-label extension of a double-blind study in adult patients with schizophrenia

IntroductionPaliperidone palmitate 6-month (PP6M), administered twice-yearly, demonstrated non-inferiority to paliperidone palmitate 3-month (PP3M) in preventing relapse in patients with schizophrenia in a phase-3 randomized, double-blind (DB) global study.1 We report results of a 2-year single-arm, open-label extension (OLE) of this study (NCT04072575).ObjectivesTo assess long-term efficacy and safety of PP6M in patients with schizophrenia.MethodsPatients who completed DB study without relapse were enrolled and followed up every 3 months for up to 2 years. Patients received 4 PP6M injections (700/1000 mg eq.) at baseline, 6-month, 12-month, and 18-month visits. Efficacy endpoints included relapse rate, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score, Personal and Social Performance (PSP) score, and Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) scale change from baseline. Safety was assessed by treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), physical examinations and laboratory tests.ResultsOf 178 patients, 154 (86.5%) completed the study; mean age: 40.4 years; 70.8% were men. Mean duration of PP6M exposure was 682.1 days. Overall, 7/178 (3.9%) patients relapsed between 20 to 703 days after enrolment. Mean (SD) change from baseline to endpoint: PANSS total score, 0.7 (8.22); CGI-S, 0.0 (0.51); PSP Scale, 0.5 (7.47). Overall, 111/178 patients (62.4%) reported ≥1 TEAE; most common (&gt;10%) TEAEs were headache (13.5%) and blood prolactin increased (10.7%). Total, 7/24 patients withdrew due to TEAEs, and 8/178 (4.5%) patients experienced serious TEAEs; no deaths were reported.ConclusionsRelapse rate with PP6M was very low (&lt;4%). Clinical improvements in PANSS, CGI-S, and PSP scales demonstrated in DB study were maintained during this 2-year OLE study and no new safety concerns were identified.Reference1. D. Najarian et al. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2022 Mar 17;25(3):238-251.Disclosure of InterestD. Najarian Shareolder of: Johnson &amp; Johnson, Employee of: Janssen Research &amp; Development, LLC, I. Turkoz Shareolder of: Johnson &amp; Johnson, Employee of: Janssen Research &amp; Development, LLC, S. Galderisi Consultant of: Janssen, Gedeon Richter-Recordati, Angelini, Speakers bureau of: Angelini, Gedeon Richter-Recordati, Janssen, Lundbeck, Sunovion, Recordati, H. Lamaison Grant / Research support from: Novartis, Eli Lilly, Lundbeck, Servier, AstraZeneca, Wyeth, Pfizer, Otsuka, Takeda, Sunovion, Roche, Janssen Pharmaceutical, Speakers bureau of: Servier, Abbot, Raymonds, Raffo, Temis Lostalo and Janssen Pharmaceutical, P. Zalitacz: None Declared, S. Aravind Shareolder of: Johnson &amp; Johnson, Employee of: Advarra, Inc. USA, U. Richarz Shareolder of: Johnson &amp; Johnson, Employee of: Janssen Research &amp; Development-Cilag, Switzerland.

Rituximab as an adjunctive treatment for schizophrenia spectrum disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder: Two open-label pilot studies on treatment-resistant patients

In this explorative study, we investigated if an adjunctive treatment with one single dose of the monoclonal antibody rituximab would improve symptoms and function in treatment-resistant patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD, n = 9) or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD, n = 10), based on the inflammatory hypothesis for mental disorders. Patients were followed for one year. Disability was measured with the Personal and Social Performance score (PSP). At baseline, the mean PANSS score in the SSD group was 99 ± 32 and the mean Y-BOCS score in the OCD group was 27.5 ± 7. Mean PSP scores were 32 ± 10.2 and 42.5 ± 9.9 in the SSD and OCD groups, respectively. Seven had Paediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) in retrospect, and 3 SSD patients had schizo-obsessive subtype. 4/8 SSD patients showed a ≥40% reduction in PANSS at endpoint I week 20, however, 7/9 were similarly improved already at week 12. Among the OCD patients, 2/10 showed a ≥35% reduction in Y-BOCS at week 20. Disability was significantly improved only in the SSD group. The percentual decrease of PANSS scores in SSD patients was associated with the increase in immunoglobulin levels week 20 (n = 8: IgG r = 0.85, p = .007; IgA r = 0.79, p = .019; IgM r = 0.73, p = .038).Rituximab was generally well tolerated in these patients. Self-rated improvements since baseline were reported for psychic (p = .021), neurological (p = .059), and autonomic (p < .001) side effects (UKU-SERS-Pat side-effect scale). Anxiety was commonly reported by OCD patients, while an initial increase in psychotic symptoms was seen in a few SSD patients. An RCT is underway to evaluate rituximab in SSD.

Type I Social Life Cycle Assessments: Methodological Challenges in the Study of a Plant in the Context of Circular Economy

Policymakers need to know where the social externalities of products occur in order to act at the macro level. The Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) method can contribute to the assessment of the social externalities of products; a necessary method supporting the European Union while they transitioning to a circular economy. This study follows the type I approach that explores how the S-LCA results of products manufactured by circular systems can be interpreted. A hypothetical case of industrial water production was designed comprising two product systems: a linear and a circular one. The S-LCA results are calculated using the Subcategory Assessment Method and aggregated or normalized to the number of organizations involved. Furthermore, allocation and weighting were applied to the circular system. The results show that the number of organizations involved in the system boundaries is crucial for the social performance score. Circular systems are expected to comprise more organizations than the existing linear systems. When the results are normalized by the number of organizations, the circular system provides social benefits, but the score values of each involved organization fall outside the score value range of the Subcategory Assessment Method, and they become challenging to interpret. Weighting the contribution of organizations to S-LCA results provides valuable insights, but it is unclear whether it should be performed on characterized inventory data or aggregated results. The application of the type I approach requires development, especially now that the circular economy systems are designed and constructed. The type I approach can be useful to organizations when selecting suppliers, but it is unclear how it can provide useful information to policymakers.

Remote assessment of cognitive dysfunction in hematologic malignancies using web-based neuropsychological testing.

Cognitive impairment is a frequent adverse effect of cancer and its therapies. As neuropsychological assessment is not often standard of care for patients with non-CNS disease, efficient, practical assessment tools are required to track cognition across the disease course. We examined cognitive functioning using a web-based cognitive testing battery to determine if it could detect differences between patients with cancer and controls. We enrolled 22 patients with multiple myeloma (MM) or non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and 40 healthy controls (mean age=56 ± 11 years, 52% male). Participants completed the BrainCheck cognitive testing battery and online versions of select measures from the Patient Reported Outcome Measures Information System (PROMIS) during a video conference. MANOVA was used to compare BrainCheck and PROMIS scores between groups controlling for age and sex. An exploratory linear regression analysis was conducted within the cancer group to determine potential contributors to cognitive functioning. All participants except for one control completed the online assessment measures without difficulty. Compared to controls, the cancer group demonstrated significantly lower scores in objective and subjective cognitive function, physical functioning, and social role performance and elevated fatigue scores. Corticosteroid treatment, immunotherapy, lower physical functioning, lower income, and older age significantly contributed to lower cognitive function (adjusted R2 = 0.925, F= 19.63, p= 0.002). Remote assessment of cognitive and psychosocial functioning is feasible with patients with cancer following treatments. The BrainCheck cognitive testing battery has the potential to detect differences in cognition between patients with cancer and controls.

Related Party Transactions and Earnings Management: The Moderating Effect of ESG Performance

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of ESG performance on the possible association between related party transactions (RPTs) and different types of earnings management (EM). We study a sample of Italian non-financial listed firms over the 2014–2019 period, controlling for the fixed effects of the company’s sector of operation and the year. We investigate the effect of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance scores on the association between related party transactions and real earnings management (REM), as well as accrual-based earnings management (AEM). We provide evidence that firms might use RPTs in association with downward AEM or as a substitute of REM perpetrated by sales anticipations and discretionary expenses reductions, as well as an autonomous form of earnings manipulation. Our empirical evidence shows a significant moderating effect of ESG performance on earnings management. In particular, social as well as governance performance significantly moderate the association between RPTs and downward AEM; environmental performance moderates the possible use of RPTs in association with cashflow-based REM. This is the first study that analyzes the effect of ESG performance on the possible association between related party transactions and earnings management.

Effectiveness and safety of blonanserin for improving social and cognitive functions in patients with first-episode schizophrenia: a study protocol for a prospective, multicentre, single-arm clinical trial

IntroductionBoth the pharmacological characteristics of blonanserin and its related small sample size studies suggest that blonanserin could alleviate social and cognitive dysfunctions in patients with schizophrenia. However, no large sample...

Board characteristics and sustainability performance: empirical evidence from emerging markets

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the effects of board attributes, i.e. board independence, gender diversity, board size and board activity, on the sustainability performance of 439 publicly-listed non-financial companies across 20 emerging countries over the period of 2010–2019.Design/methodology/approachWe use Refinitiv environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance scores and board attributes variables derived from Thomson Reuters Eikon database. We examined the relationship between board features and sustainability performance by using the dynamic panel two-step system generalized method of moments estimator.FindingsOverall, our findings suggest that smaller, gender diverse and independent boards that convene frequently achieve better sustainability performance. The authors document a positive relationship between board gender diversity and sustainability performance across a broad spectrum of sustainability indicators. The authors also find evidence that board independence has a positive impact on two sustainability performance measures, i.e. environmental and governance performance. Although board size does not influence aggregate sustainability measures (ESG score, ESG controversies, and ESG combined score), the authors find a negative relation between board size and governance performance. Finally, board activity seems only relevant in explaining ESG controversies, i.e. other things being equal frequently held board meetings significantly reduce sustainability issues (ESG controversies).Practical implicationsThe authors’ findings provide implications to support regulators and emerging market companies on how to improve sustainability performance through the design and use of specific governance mechanisms. These interventions will help resolve agency problems among different stakeholders and, in turn, benefit sustainability.Social implicationsThis study also has social implications because it sheds light on how companies may change their attitudes towards sustainable practices through adjusting their corporate governance structures to increase the welfare of the society.Originality/valueThis study examines the behaviour of companies in emerging markets on sustainability performance by discussing a broad range of board characteristics and covering a large sample of emerging markets. Thus, it provides valuable insights to the companies for further growth opportunities in emerging markets.

Do Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Performance Scores Reduce the Cost of Debt? Evidence from Indian firms

This study aims to assess the impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings on the cost of debt of Indian firms from the year 2015 to 2020. One of the challenges that corporate India is going to face moving forward is that regulations with respect to environmental conservation, transparency, corporate social responsibility, and corporate governance will get stricter. This will undoubtedly push the companies to follow better ethical practices, adopt fair employee policies, and safeguard the environmental policies. So, this paper intends to evaluate the ESG lens of Indian companies concerning their financing decisions, viz the cost of debt. The firms under investigation are listed on the NIFTY 500, which reflects the top 500 companies in the eligible universe based on complete market capitalization. Data was sourced from the Bloomberg database. The paper uses cost of debt as the dependent variable; ESG score & individual E, S, G scores as independent variables; Market capitalization, net debt to equity ratio, and percentage of women on board and total debt to total asset ratio as control variables. Since the data was in a panel data format, we performed panel data regression from FY2015 to FY2020, and the method used was Least Squares Method (L.S. and A.R.). Different models were considered and it was found that the cost of debt which is the dependent variable, had a negative coefficient i.e., higher the ESG score, lower the cost of debt component for the firm and according to our model, it could be significantly proven at 10% level.

A multi-objective location inventory routing problem with pricing decisions in a sustainable waste management system

This paper presents a multi-objective optimization model for a sustainable municipal solid waste management system, emphasizing recycling and waste-to-energy technologies. The objective functions attempt to minimize total net cost, greenhouse gas emissions, and total waste collection and treatment time. The social aspect of the system is controlled by assessing the social performance of waste treatment technologies. The novel feature of this study is incorporating pricing decisions into the traditional location-allocation-routing-inventory waste management problems. The model is implemented on a case study in the southeast part of Tehran and is solved using the Lexicographic and AUGMECON2 approaches. Comparing the results of these methods indicates that considering all three objective functions as equally important leads to 21.5% more costs and 27% less environmental effects, comparing when minimizing costs is the priority. Moreover, results suggest establishing a landfill with gas recovery, material recovery facility, and composting plant with capacities of 700, 500, and 1170 tons/day. The model's outcomes suggest considering a minimum social performance score between 1.5 and 2.5 for the system under study regarding the impact of social performance on the objective functions

Acting with Impunity? Assessing the Performance Effects of Corporate Social Irresponsibility

This study examines whether corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR) negatively impacts firm performance, both financial (proxied using Tobin’s q) and non-financial (measured through corporate social performance scores). Building on instrumental stakeholder theory (IST), we consider the moderating role of corporate political activity (CPA) to investigate if firms’ political actions buffer or intensify the potential negative effect of CSiR. Our analysis of a sample of S&P 500 firms for the period 2007-2017 finds that CSiR does not influence a firm’s Tobin’s q. But CSiR does diminish corporate social performance, a negative effect that is intensified by firms engaging in financial and relational CPA.

Met and Unmet Needs in an Inpatient Psychiatry Setting in Spain.

PurposePatients with severe mental disorder have health and social needs that require care. The aim of the study was to determine the main areas of perceived needs among inpatients with severe mental disorders and to identify risk factors of the group of patients with the greatest unmet needs.Patients and MethodsA total of 150 patients with severe mental illness were assessed during admission prior to discharge from the hospital. Camberwell Assessment of Needs was used as evaluation measure, in addition to clinical status (The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale), social functioning (Personal and Social Performance) and sociodemographic variables. A descriptive and a multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to analyse variables related to the group of patients with the highest number of unmet needs (≥3).ResultsMean number of needs was 7.93, being 4.61 the mean number of needs met and 3.32 the needs unmet. The highest proportion of unmet needs were intimate relationships (44.0%), company (40.7%) and daytime activities (38.7%). A relationship was also found between the presence of three or more unmet needs and the following variables: Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale score (p=0.004), Personal and Social Performance score (p = 0.013), marital status (p=0.018), employment status (p=0.009) and voluntary admission (p=0.032). The multivariate model explained 29.5% of the variance (Nagelkerke’s R2: 0.295).ConclusionTreatments aimed at improving social relationships and daytime activities could be a good option for inpatients with many unmet needs.

Social sustainability of regional transportation: An assessment framework with application to EU road transport

The assessment of transportation social sustainability appeals to many scholars as an essential issue but imposes a risk of selecting inadequate factors and methods to measure social phenomena. In this study, based on an extensive review, we identify the measurable key social indicators (instead of the economic or environmental factors commonly used) and propose a comprehensive evaluation framework for relative performance analysis of social sustainability in the regional context. This work is the first attempt to assess regional social sustainability of transport explicitly utilizing a multi-output performance measure. We use Shannon entropy to combine the results of selected data envelopment analysis (DEA) models into a unified social sustainability performance score. The method is applied to regional road transport in the European Union (EU) member states for the period 2004–2017. The empirical section explores individual profiles of EU countries, compares the states grouped into two clusters of old (EU-15) and new (EU-13) EU members, and examines their social sustainability performance over time. The analysis suggests that considering only social factors in the measurement eliminates the bias resulting from the inclusion of economic factors. As a result, our method prevents inaccurate inflation of the scores of more economically advanced countries. The findings also draw attention to the car dependence problem associated with high motorization rates in affluent EU-15 states. The study confirms the capacity of the proposed DEA-based framework to serve as an adequate tool for measuring the social sustainability of transport, which can support policymakers by providing useful benchmarks employing social factors.