CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: THE SPANISH CASE

ABSTRACT The enormous interest aroused by corporate social responsibility both in the academic and the business worlds forms the background for this study. Its objective is to analyze the relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance in view of the debate in the literature on the subject. The study focuses on a sample of Spanish companies taken from the IBEX 35 stock market index, using panel data methodology, which offers advantages in comparison to methodologies used in other studies. We analyzed the period from 2003 to 2010. Our findings suggest that there is no obvious relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial results, at least in the case of Spain.

Social Work in the Portuguese empire Health Services

Muitos historiadores, particularmente estrangeiros, que vêem Portugal “de fora”, têm-se mostrado críticos do mau desempenho do império colonial português.Aintolerância religiosa, uso excessivo de força para conseguir o monopólio de especiarias, são alguns aspectos que mereceram críticas mais duras [Devo admitir que fui eu um destes críticos!] mas quase sempre bem fundamentadas e difíceis de rejeitar. Mas é preciso admitir que a história colonial portuguesa é também feita de elementos positivos e menos violentos. Os portugueses devem ser considerados pioneiros de assistência social através das suas políticas inovadoras que providenciaram cuidados para os doentes e desgraçados, embora estas políticas não abrangessem os sujeitos não-Cristãos do império.

Reported Use of Anabolic Steroids and Ergogenic Substances in Gym/Health Club Settings: Associations with Psychosocial and Exercise Behavior Factors

The industry of ergogenic supplements is increasing rapidly (Cole et al., 2003). Supplements may constitute an important aid for some vigourous exercise routines, but they may also be used as a hypothetical mean to achieve increases in muscular mass. This supposed effect of suplements can lead to its use by individuals who have high levels of drive for muscularity, a condition that is known to be associated with muscular dismorphy (or as it has been called recently vigorexia, Pope et al., 1997). Another psychological factor which can influence supplement consumption is exercise dependence, a borderline problem, as most studies present a prevalence of less than 10% in regular exercisers (Palmeira & Matos, 2006). Symptoms like tolerance or continuity could lead to the use of ergogenic aids to maintain the exercise levels. Also of interest for the understanding of the use of suplements are exercise frequency, volume and intensity, which could explain the ratesof consumption on a more physicological level.

O planejamento econômico no Brasil: considerações críticas

In the past thirty years, a series of plans have been developed by successive Brazilian governments in a continuing effort to maximize the nation's resources for economic and social growth. This planning history has been quantitatively rich but qualitatively poor. The disjunction has stimulated Professor Mello e Souza to address himself to the problem of national planning and to offer some criticisms of Brazilian planning experience. Though political instability has obviously been a factor promoting discontinuity, his criticisms are aimed at the attitudes and strategic concepts which have sought to link planning to national goals and administration. He criticizes the fascination with techniques and plans to the exclusion of proper diagnosis of the socio-political reality, developing instruments to coordinate and carry out objectives, and creating an administrative structure centralized enough to make national decisions and decentralized enough to perform on the basis of those decisions. Thus, fixed, quantified objectives abound while the problem of functioning mechanisms for the coordinated, rational use of resources has been left unattended. Although his interest and criticism are focused on the process and experience of national planning, he recognized variation in the level and results of Brazilian planning. National plans have failed due to faulty conception of the function of planning. Sectorial plans, save in the sector of the petroleum industry under government responsibility, ha e not succeeded in overcoming the problems of formulation and execution thereby repeating old technical errors. Planning for the private sector has a somewhat brighter history due to the use of Grupos Executivos which has enabled the planning process to transcend the formalism and tradition-bound attitudes of the regular bureaucracy. Regional planning offers two relatively successful experiences, Sudene and the strategy of the regionally oriented autarchy. Thus, planning history in Brazil is not entirely black but a certain shade of grey. The major part of the article, however, is devoted to a descriptive analysis of the national planning experience. The plans included in this analysis are: The Works and Equipment Plan (POE); The Health, Food, Transportation and Energy Plan (Salte); The Program of Goals; The Trienal Plan of Economic and Social Development; and the Plan of Governmental Economic Action (Paeg). Using these five plans for his historical experience the author sets out a series of errors of formulation and execution by which he analyzes that experience. With respect to formulation, he speaks of a lack of elaboration of programs and projects, of coordination among diverse goals, and of provision of qualified staff and techniques. He mentions the absence of the definition of resources necessary to the financing of the plan and the inadequate quantification of sectorial and national goals due to the lack of reliable statistical information. Finally, he notes the failure to coordinate the annual budget with the multi-year plans. He sees the problems of execution as beginning in the absence of coordination between the various sectors of the public administration, the failure to develop an operative system of decentralization, the absence of any system of financial and fiscal control over execution, the difficulties imposed by the system of public accounting, and the absence of an adequate program of allocation for the liberation of resources. He ends by pointing to the failure to develop and use an integrated system of political economic tools in a mode compatible with the objective of the plans. The body of the article analyzes national planning experience in Brazil using these lists of errors as rough model of criticism. Several conclusions emerge from this analysis with regard to planning in Brazil and in developing countries, in general. Plans have generally been of little avail in Brazil because of the lack of a continuous, bureaucratized (in the Weberian sense) planning organization set in an instrumentally suitable administrative structure and based on thorough diagnoses of socio-economic conditions and problems. Plans have become the justification for planning. Planning has come to be conceived as a rational method of orienting the process of decisions through the establishment of a precise and quantified relation between means and ends. But this conception has led to a planning history rimmed with frustration, and failure, because of its rigidity in the face of flexible and changing reality. Rather, he suggests a conception of planning which understands it "as a rational process of formulating decisions about the policy, economy, and society whose only demand is that of managing the instrumentarium in a harmonious and integrated form in order to reach explicit, but not quantified ends". He calls this "planning without plans": the establishment of broad-scale tendencies through diagnosis whose implementation is carried out through an adjustable, coherent instrumentarium of political-economic tools. Administration according to a plan of multiple, integrated goals is a sound procedure if the nation's administrative machinery contains the technical development needed to control the multiple variables linked to any situation of socio-economic change. Brazil does not possess this level of refinement and any strategy of planning relevant to its problems must recognize this. The reforms which have been attempted fail to make this recognition as is true of the conception of planning informing the Brazilian experience. Therefore, unworkable plans, ill-diagnosed with little or no supportive instrumentarium or flexibility have been Brazil's legacy. This legacy seems likely to continue until the conception of planning comes to live in the reality of Brazil.

Health knowledge of prostitutes in Saigon, Vietnam: a study of health attitudes and habits relating to venereal diseases taken from a group of prostitutes

A study of health knowledge and practices of prostitutes is presented here. The study took place at the V. D. Center in Saigon, Vietnam. It was designed with the objective of obtaining information to be used in preparing an educational program to be offered to the prostitutes at the Center, and for using, in preparing educational materials with focus on V. D. prevention. The outline of a course is also presented.

An appraisal of the health planning method proposed by the Pan-American Health Organization for Latin America

A brief description of the main features of the health planning technique developed by the "Centro de Estudios del Desarrollo" (CENDES) in Venezuela, and proposed by the Pan-American Health Organization for use in Latin America, is presented. This presentation is followed by an appraisal of the planning method which includes comments both upon its positive aspects and upon its negative points. Comments are also made referring to other recent publications of the WHO/PAHO on health planning. In conclusion, the CENDES technique is considered a health planning method of great potential for use especially in underdeveloped areas, the success of its application depending upon the hability of the health planners to introduce the necessary modifications to adapt to the local circunstamces.

Notes on health care planning in Latin America and the Caribbean

Attention is called to the fact that the efforts to improve health of populations in Latin America have generally failed. The inequality in the distribution of ill-health is great. The authors accept the fact that the lack of resources available to the health sector may be a restriction towards the improvement of the situation, but they argue that a much more important issue is the misuse of such resources and their maldistribution within the health sector. The lack of integration and coordination between the health services, the conflict of public and private health systems, the under-utilization of existing services and the gap between planning and real implementation are discussed.

Health education: the role and functions of the specialist and the generalist

Education for health is a process in which all public health and medical care personnel are involved. People learn both formally (planned learning experiences) and informally (unplanned learning experiences). Since the patient, the client, the consummer and the community expect public health and medical care personnel to assist them with health and disease issues and problems, the response of the professional "educates" the customer whether the professional intends to educate or not. Therefore, it is incumbent on all public health and medical care professionals to understand their educational functions and their role in health education. It is also important that the role of the specialist in education be clear. The specialist, as to all other specialists, has an in-depth knowledge of his area of expertise, i.e., the teaching/learning process; s/he may function as a consultant to others to enhance the educational potential of their role or s/he may work with a team or with communities or groups of patients. Specific competencies and knowledge are required of the health education specialist; and there is a body of learning and social change theory which provides a frame of reference for planning, implementing and evaluating educational programs. Working with others to enhance their potential to learn and to make informed decisions about health/disease issues is the hallmark of the health education specialist.

Policies for decentralization and development of health education

How the policy of action and professional standards have influenced the development and decentralization of health education is discussed. It is concluded that a review of policies both of developing as well as of developed countries could help to put some observations into a perspective that is closer to the Brazilian reality.

The engine or the caboose: health policy in developing countries

A discussion of health policy in developing countries is presented. It argues that developing countries must adopt a progressive approach to health policy which rejects the two-tiered system of public and private health care. However, it also points out that ideology is not sufficient to maintain support. A progressive health system must utilize administrative and social and behavioral sciences to achieve effectiveness and efficiency in health care delivery. It cannot ignore these goals any more than a private health care system can.

Health and poverty: health management by the woman

The goal this follow-up study was to relate the mother's marital satisfaction to family health status in a low SES. The random sample was made up of 30 families with children under 7 years old: 15 considered as sick (Group A) and 15 as healthy (Group B). Both group had similar demographic characteristics (age of father and mother, persons per family group and age of children) and SES. Results showed that mothers were those mainly in charge of their family groups. Mothers of Group A were significantly less understanding and more dissatisfied than those of Group B ( p < .05 and p < .01). Mothers of Group A had significantly more arguments with their partners than those of Group B (p < .006). Health care was learned less from the child's own mother in group A than in B (p < .05). Health was considered by mothers of Group A as something that "must be taken care of" more than by those of Group B (p < .01). The behaviours of mothers in choosing one of the health systems was similar in both groups. Dissatisfied mothers were associated more with sick family members during the 6 month follow-up. It is suggested that the satisfaction of the mother is a factor that needs further investigation because health is managed by mothers is the large majority of families.

The social adjustment of patients with schizophrenia: implications to the mental health policy in Brazil

A sample (n=124) of schizophrenic patients from a defined catchment area of the city os S.Paulo, Brazil, who had been consecutively admitted to hospital, was assessed for psychopathological status and social adjustment levels. Sociodemographic, socio-economic and occupational characteristics were recorded: almost 30% of the subjects had no occupation and received no social benefit, more than two-thirds had a monthly per capita income of US$ 100.00 or less. Sixty-five percent presented with Schneiderian firstrank symptoms. Nearly half the sample showed poor or very poor social adjustment in the month prior to admission. The most affected areas of social functioning were participation in the household activities, work and social withdrawal. The current mental health policy of promoting extra-mural care as an alternative to the previous hospital-based model will then mean the investment in a network of new community-based services, that give effective treatment and support to patients and their families. The need of further research into the current picture of mental disorders in the country is stressed.

Health related quality of life in patients with refractory chronic heart failure undergoing cardiac resynchronization: type of therapeutic response

The benefits of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in the health-related quality of life (HRQL) are largely demonstrated in selected patients with severe congestive heart failure (CHF). However, the differences between responders and non-responders, with regard to the effect of CRT in the various dimensions that constitute HRQL are still a matter of discussion. Objective: To evaluate the impact of CRT on the HRQL of patients with CHF refractory to optimal pharmacological therapy, within 6 months after CRT. Methods: 43 patients, submitted to successful implantation of CRT, were evaluated in hospital just before intervention and in the outpatient clinic within 6 months after CRT. HRQL was analyzed based on the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ). Patients were classified as super-responders (ejection fraction of left ventricle - LVEF - ≥45% post-CRT), n=15, responders (sustained improvement in functional class and LVEF increased by 15%), n=19, and non-responders (no clinical or LVEF improvement), n=9. Results: In the group of super-responders, CRT was associated with an improvement in HRQL for the various fields and sums assessed (ρ<0.05); in responders, CRT has been associated with an improvement of HRQL in the various fields and sums, except in the self-efficacy dimension (ρ<0.05); in non-responders, CRT was not associated with improvement of HRQL. Conclusion: In a population with severe CHF undergoing CRT, the patients with clinical and echocardiographic positive response, obtained a favorable impact in all dimensions of HRQL, while the group without response to CRT showed no improvement. These data reinforces the importance of HRQL as a multidimensional tool for assessment of benefits in clinical practice.