Corporate philanthropy, reputation risk management and shareholder value: A study of Australian corporate giving

This study examines the role of corporate philanthropy in the management of reputation risk and shareholder value of the top 100 ASX listed Australian firms for the three years 2011-2013. The results of this study demonstrate the business case for corporate philanthropy and hence encourage corporate philanthropy by showing increasing firms’ investment in corporate giving as a percentage of profit before tax, increases the likelihood of an increase in shareholder value. However, the proviso is that firms must also manage their reputation risk at the same time. There is a negative association between corporate giving and shareholder value (Tobin’s Q) which is mitigated by firms’ management of reputation. The economic significance of this result is that for every cent in the dollar the firm spends on corporate giving, Tobin’s Q will decrease by 0.413%. In contrast, if the firm increase their reputation by 1 point then Tobin’s Q will increase by 0.267%. Consequently, the interaction of corporate giving and reputation risk management is positively associated with shareholder value. These results are robust while controlling for potential endogeneity and reverse causality. This paper assists both academics and practitioners by demonstrating that the benefits of corporate philanthropy extend beyond a gesture to improve reputation or an attempt to increase financial performance, to a direct collaboration between all the factors where the benefits far outweigh the costs.

Turbulence modeling for flows around convex features giving rapid eddy distortion

Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes model performances in the stagnation and wake regions for turbulent flows with relatively large Lagrangian length scales (generally larger than the scale of geometrical features) approaching small cylinders (both square and circular) is explored. The effective cylinder (or wire) diameter based Reynolds number, ReW ≤ 2.5 × 103. The following turbulence models are considered: a mixing-length; standard Spalart and Allmaras (SA) and streamline curvature (and rotation) corrected SA (SARC); Secundov's νt-92; Secundov et al.'s two equation νt-L; Wolfshtein's k-l model; the Explicit Algebraic Stress Model (EASM) of Abid et al.; the cubic model of Craft et al.; various linear k-ε models including those with wall distance based damping functions; Menter SST, k-ω and Spalding's LVEL model. The use of differential equation distance functions (Poisson and Hamilton-Jacobi equation based) for palliative turbulence modeling purposes is explored. The performance of SA with these distance functions is also considered in the sharp convex geometry region of an airfoil trailing edge. For the cylinder, with ReW ≈ 2.5 × 103 the mixing length and k-l models give strong turbulence production in the wake region. However, in agreement with eddy viscosity estimates, the LVEL and Secundov νt-92 models show relatively little cylinder influence on turbulence. On the other hand, two equation models (as does the one equation SA) suggest the cylinder gives a strong turbulence deficit in the wake region. Also, for SA, an order or magnitude cylinder diameter decrease from ReW = 2500 to 250 surprisingly strengthens the cylinder's disruptive influence. Importantly, results for ReW ≪ 250 are virtually identical to those for ReW = 250 i.e. no matter how small the cylinder/wire its influence does not, as it should, vanish. Similar tests for the Launder-Sharma k-ε, Menter SST and k-ω show, in accordance with physical reality, the cylinder's influence diminishing albeit slowly with size. Results suggest distance functions palliate the SA model's erroneous trait and improve its predictive performance in wire wake regions. Also, results suggest that, along the stagnation line, such functions improve the SA, mixing length, k-l and LVEL results. For the airfoil, with SA, the larger Poisson distance function increases the wake region turbulence levels by just under 5%. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Emprego de tecnologias não invasivas de cuidado de enfermagem nos partos acompanhados por enfermeiras obstétricas em maternidade filantrópica do Médio-Paraíba/RJ

A presente pesquisa aborda a temática da assistência ao parto hospitalar na Região Médio-Paraíba, considerando a política pública de humanização do parto e nascimento A medicalização do parto e nascimento vem ocorrendo em todo o mundo. Mesmo em países desenvolvidos, a grande maioria dos partos vaginais e de baixo risco ainda é conduzida com práticas intervencionistas sem evidências científicas de sua eficácia. Em contraposição a este modelo assistencial implantou-se a política de humanização do parto e nascimento. A enfermeira obstétrica tem sido elemento importante para a consolidação do uso de práticas consideradas humanizadas na assistência ao parto de baixo risco em ambiente hospitalar. O objeto deste estudo foi o emprego de tecnologias não invasivas de cuidado de enfermagem em partos acompanhados por enfermeiras obstétricas na Associação de Proteção a Maternidade e à Infância de Resende/RJ (APMIR). Os objetivos foram: identificar as tecnologias não invasivas de cuidado de enfermagem obstétrica (TNICE) usualmente empregadas por enfermeiras obstétricas no cuidado a parturientes; discutir o emprego dessas TNICE por enfermeiras obstétricas no cuidado a parturientes sob a perspectiva da humanização do parto e nascimento; caracterizar o processo de implementação das TNICE na assistência ao parto na maternidade. Trata-se de pesquisa descritiva, quantitativa desenvolvida em uma maternidade filantrópica da região sul-fluminense que pertence ao Médio-Paraíba, na qual enfermeiras obstétricas estão incluídas na equipe de acompanhamento do parto. Foram analisados os registros correspondentes aos partos acompanhados por enfermeiras obstétricas compreendendo o período de Novembro de 2012 à Julho de 2013. Houve registro de 84 partos neste período. Os dados foram obtidos através de Livro de Registros de Parto do serviço. Os registros foram feitos em formulário próprio implantado a partir da pesquisa. O projeto foi submetido à apreciação do Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa do Centro Universitário de Barra Mansa, tendo sido aprovado segundo parecer número 347.254 de 30/07/2013. Os dados foram analisados por procedimentos estatísticos descritivos. Os resultados apontaram que a atuação da enfermeira obstétrica no cuidado à mulher em trabalho de parto caracteriza-se por medidas que promovem a autonomia da mulher no cenário onde ela é protagonista marcando assim a forte presença dessas profissionais neste cenário onde a existência de práticas intervencionistas é significante e muito presente. O estudo concluiu que o cuidado de enfermagem obstétrica pautado sobre as tecnologias não invasivas de cuidado favorece uma assistência humanizada ao parto. Acredita-se que para um cuidado no transcorrer fisiológico do parto é necessário estabelecer uma relação de intimidade, de interação e de empatia com cada mulher dentro do seu contexto, dando a ela encorajamento para tomar posse daquilo que compete somente a ela.

High efficiency liquid crystal lasers giving "white light" emission from arrays and flexible substrates

The self-organization of the helical structure of chiral nematic liquid crystals combined with their sensitivity to electric fields makes them particularly interesting for low-threshold, wavelength tunable laser devices. We have studied these organic lasers in detail, ranging from the influence specific macroscopic properties, such as birefringence and order parameter, have on the output characteristics, to practical systems in the form of two-dimensional arrays, double-pass geometries and paintable lasers. Furthermore, even though chiral nematics are responsive to electric fields there is no facile means by which the helix periodicity can be adjusted, thereby allowing laser wavelength tuning, without adversely affecting the optical quality of the resonator. Therefore, in addition to studying the liquid crystal lasers, we have focused on finding a novel method with which to alter the periodicity of a chiral nematic using electric fields without inducing defects and degrading the optical quality factor of the resonator. This paper presents an overview of our research, describing (i) the correlation between laser output and material properties,(ii) the importance of the gain medium,(iii) multicolor laser arrays, and (iv) high slope efficiency (>60%) silicon back-plane devices. Overall we conclude that these materials have great potential for use in versatile organic laser systems.

Giving and Receiving: Nuruddin Farah's Gifts, or, the Postcolonial Logic of Third World Aid

Woods, T. (2003). Giving and Receiving: Nuruddin Farah's Gifts, or, the Postcolonial Logic of Third World Aid. Journal of Commonwealth Literature, 38 (1), 91-112.

The journal of the Bishop of Montreal : during a visit to the Church Missionary Society's north-west America mission; to which is prefixed, by the secretaries, an introduction, giving an account of the formation of the mission and its progress to August 1848.

http://www.archive.org/details/journalofthebish00mounuoft

The journal of the Bishop of Montreal the Church Missionary Society's North-west America Mission. To which is added, by the secretaries, an appendix, giving an account of the formation of the mission, and its progress to the present time.

http://www.archive.org/details/bishopofmontreal00mounuoft

Prevalence and predictors of giving birth in health facilities in Bugesera District, Rwanda.

BACKGROUND: The proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel is one of two indicators used to measure progress towards Millennium Development Goal 5, which aims for a 75% reduction in global maternal mortality ratios by 2015. Rwanda has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world, estimated between 249-584 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The objectives of this study were to quantify secular trends in health facility delivery and to identify factors that affect the uptake of intrapartum healthcare services among women living in rural villages in Bugesera District, Eastern Province, Rwanda. METHODS: Using census data and probability proportional to size cluster sampling methodology, 30 villages were selected for community-based, cross-sectional surveys of women aged 18-50 who had given birth in the previous three years. Complete obstetric histories and detailed demographic data were elicited from respondents using iPad technology. Geospatial coordinates were used to calculate the path distances between each village and its designated health center and district hospital. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to identify factors associated with delivery in health facilities. RESULTS: Analysis of 3106 lifetime deliveries from 859 respondents shows a sharp increase in the percentage of health facility deliveries in recent years. Delivering a penultimate baby at a health facility (OR = 4.681 [3.204 - 6.839]), possessing health insurance (OR = 3.812 [1.795 - 8.097]), managing household finances (OR = 1.897 [1.046 - 3.439]), attending more antenatal care visits (OR = 1.567 [1.163 - 2.112]), delivering more recently (OR = 1.438 [1.120 - 1.847] annually), and living closer to a health center (OR = 0.909 [0.846 - 0.976] per km) were independently associated with facility delivery. CONCLUSIONS: The strongest correlates of facility-based delivery in Bugesera District include previous delivery at a health facility, possession of health insurance, greater financial autonomy, more recent interactions with the health system, and proximity to a health center. Recent structural interventions in Rwanda, including the rapid scale-up of community-financed health insurance, likely contributed to the dramatic improvement in the health facility delivery rate observed in our study.

Giving credit where it's due

Discusses the entitlement to occupation rent where one party to a relationship no longer lives in the matrimonial or family home in which he/she has an interest and a right of occupation. Describes the case law illustrating that forceful exclusion of the non-occupying party is not a prerequisite to entitlement to an occupation rent. Considers the calculation of the parties' respective credits where the occupying party has made mortgage repayments since the separation and the other is entitled to an occupation rent.