Decades of research efforts to link economic and environmental performance: still data in search of a theory?

With the proliferation of social investment vehicles, stakeholders, particularly investors, are increasingly aware of the relationship between economic, social and environmental performance, and disclosure to external parties. This is particularly evident in The Securities and Exchange Commission's Environmental Disclosure Rules. The thesis of this paper is that, after three decades of academic and professional research efforts, there are still no firm proactive guidelines to firmly link the financial performance with environmental and social performance. The purpose of this paper is to revisit empirical research efforts spanning three decades in order to delineate potential links that may assist in systematic, comparable reporting

Measuring wellness through interdisciplinary community development: linking the physical, economic and social environment

The aim of this study is to answer the question: Is there evidence that the quality of life of residents in a community that has had community development intervention is different as compared to the quality of life of residents in a nearby community that did not have community development initiatives? This was done by administering community development initiatives in a local area and comparing it to a similar community that did not receive this intervention. The residents of these communities rated the quality of their lives and communities in two purposively selected suburbs in Perth, Western Australia using the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index to measure individual and neighbourhood well-being. The quality of life of residents in both communities is then compared to national averages for quality of life or well-being. Answering this question provides empirical evidence of variation between ratings of quality of life of residents in different communities and highlights the utility of the Wellbeing Index for the evaluation of interdisciplinary community development

Ethical, economic and efficient sector : is it a gamble? The case of New Zealand Health

The New Zealand public sector has gone through major reform as a result of fiscal deficit in 1984 (KettI, 1997; Schwartz, 1997), resulting in shift of emphasis from quality service provision to establishing financial supremacy (Kettl, 1997). This raises concern as to how public sector employees are attaining balance between their service objectives with financial ones and how is the ethics negotiated in this process. Following this concern, this paper focuses on determining the organisational variables consisting of organisational policies in the District Health Boards (DHBs) and hospitals of New Zealand on ethical behaviours of managers and the ethical climate of these departments. The aim of this study is to increase our understanding of the ethical climate of the public health. Our findings suggest that little emphasis has been provided to the aspect of ethics in New Zealand health sector. There is no reward for employees who exhibit exemplary ethical behaviour, no hot line to consult/report about ethics, any detailed guidelines and policies, and not enough ethics-related training provided to staff.

Development and preliminary evaluation of the OsteoArthritis Questionnaire (OA-Quest): a psychometric study

OBJECTIVE: This study reports the development of the OsteoArthritis Questionnaire (OA-Quest) - a new measure designed to comprehensively capture the potentially modifiable burden of osteoarthritis.

DESIGN: Item development was guided by the a priori conceptual framework of the Personal Burden of Osteoarthritis (PBO) which captures 8 dimensions of osteoarthritis burden (Physical distress, Fatigue, Physical limitations, Psychosocial distress, Physical de-conditioning, Financial hardship, Sleep disturbances, Lost productivity). One hundred and twenty three candidate items were pretested in a clinical sample of 18 osteoarthritis patients. The measurement properties of the OA-Quest were assessed with exploratory factor analysis (EFA), Rasch modelling, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in a community-based sample (n = 792).

RESULTS: EFA replicated 7 of the 8 PBO domains. An exception was PBO Fatigue domain, with items merging into the Physical distress subscale in the OA-Quest. Following item analysis, a 42-item 7-subscale questionnaire was constructed, measuring Physical distress (seven items, Cronbach's α = 0.93), Physical limitations (11 items, α = 0.95), Psychosocial distress (seven items, α = 0.93), Physical de-conditioning (four items, α = 0.87), Financial hardship (four items, α = 0.93), Sleep disturbances (five items, α = 0.96), and Lost productivity (four items α = 0.90). A highly restricted 7-factor CFA model had excellent fit with the data (χ(2)(113) = 316.36, P < 0.001; chi-square/degrees of freedom = 2.8; comparative fit index [CFI] = 0.97; root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.07), supporting construct validity of the new measure.

CONCLUSIONS: The OA-Quest is a new measure of osteoarthritis burden that is founded on a comprehensive conceptual model. It has strong evidence of construct validity and provides reliable measurement across a broad range of osteoarthritis burden.

Reducing sedentary behaviour and increasing physical activity among 10-year-old children: overview and process evaluation of the 'Switch-Play' intervention

Overweight and obesity has doubled among children in Australia. There is an urgent need to develop primary prevention strategies to prevent current and future unhealthy weight gain. The aims of this paper are to describe a randomized controlled trial (‘Switch-Play’) developed to prevent unhealthy weight gain among 10-year-old children and to report the findings of the process evaluation. Children from three government primary schools were randomized by class to one of four conditions: a behavioural modification group (BM; n = 69); a fundamental motor skills group (FMS; n = 73); a combined BM and FMS group (n = 90); or a control (usual classroom lessons) group (n = 61). Children in the BM group participated in 19 sessions that encouraged them to reduce screen-based behaviours, and identified physical activity alternatives. The FMS group participated in 19 lessons that focused on mastery of six skills: run, throw, dodge, strike, vertical jump and kick. The combined group participated in all the BM and FMS activities. The intervention specialist teacher reported that the children showed high enjoyment and engagement (88% lessons attended) in most aspects of the programme. At-home tasks were completed by 57–62% of the children, and 92% completed the in-class tasks. Two-thirds of the children in the BM group participated in the behavioural contracting to switch off the TV. Most of the children reported high enjoyment of the programmes, and only a small proportion (7–17%) reported difficulties in switching off their nominated TV shows. More than half the children reported reducing their TV viewing; however, less than half reported increasing their physical activity. It was found that most aspects of the intervention arms of the programme were successfully delivered to the majority of children participating in ‘Switch-Play’; that the programmes were delivered as intended; and that the programmes were favourably evaluated by participating children and their parents.

Foreign debt and financial hedging : evidence from Australia

We investigate the role of foreign currency denominated debt (FCDD) as a natural hedging instrument using a sample of Australian firms. Our results show that the incidence of foreign debt use among industrial sector firms is associated with a lower level of exchange rate exposure. The practice of issuing foreign debt within the industrial sector also conforms better to the hypothesis that firms do so to satisfy a demand for hedging. In contrast, although the incidence of foreign debt issues is higher in the resource/mining sector, the underlying motive for such arises from a demand for financing.

Stem cell research and ethics : a socio-economic and marketing perspective

This paper addresses the ethical and moral issues surrounding stem cell research (SCR) and development within the socio-economic and macro marketing environments. A two dimensional conceptual framework is developed towards broadening the understanding of the complexities of these issues in an international context. The conceptual model captures the two dimensions of narrow moral/ethical to broader imperatives and the cost-benefits realm of SCR. Four quadrants emerge within these two dimensions which are likely to help identify the dominant views and the people associating themselves with these views in terms of their demographics and psychographic characteristics. These findings have important socio-economic and marketing implications which are highlighted in the paper.

Implementing FATF standards in developing countries and financial inclusion : findings and guidelines

This report, emanating from a project commissioned by the FIRST Initiative, considers the impact of the implementation of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) controls on financial inclusion in five countries (Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan and South Africa). Based on these findings, it develops a set of guidelines to assist the authorities in developing countries to design effective AML/CFT regimes that are compliant with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards and supports financial inclusion.
The report and guidelines will be of benefit to countries striving towards the dual goals of protecting their institutions against money laundering and the financing of terrorism as well as extending financial inclusion, irrespective of whether protective measures are being considered in the process of implementing or amending AML/CFT controls to meet the Forty Nine Recommendations of the FATF or in order to meet other, related international requirements, such as those set out in the 2000 United Nations Convention on Transnational Organised Crime or the 2003 United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
The project was supervised and guided by a steering committee consisting of representatives from the FIRST Management Unit, World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), the South African National Treasury, the FinMark Trust and Professor Nikos Passas, an acknowledged world expert on AML/CFT standards and implementation.