When overfishing is the sustainable option
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Sustainable supply chain management practices and performance: The moderating effect of stakeholder pressure
Currently, sustainable supply chain management practices have become an important strategy for firms to improve performance and gain competitive advantage. However, there is a current debate over the performance outcomes of sustainable supply chain management practices. Additionally, the role of stakeholder pressure is frequently overlooked. Drawing on Natural Resources-Based View and Stakeholder Theory, this study aims to elucidate the ambiguous connection between sustainable supply management, sustainable process management, stakeholder pressure and performance, and investigate the mediation role of sustainable process management and the moderation effect of stakeholder pressure. Our analysis, based on data collected from 235 Chinese manufacturing firms, reveals significant insights. First, stakeholder pressure positively moderates the relationship between sustainable process management and performance, while negatively moderates the relationship between sustainable supply management and performance. Second, sustainable process management has a complete mediation effect on the relationship between sustainable supply management and performance. The conclusion not only explains the inconsistent relationship between sustainable supply chain management practice and performance, but also reveals clearly the relationship between sustainable supply management and sustainable process management. Besides, it also highlights the difference in performance outcomes of sustainable supply management and sustainable process management under stakeholder pressures, and has valuable guidance to the practice of sustainable supply chain management in Chinese manufacturing firms.
Exploring corporate social responsibility practices in the telecommunications, broadcasting and courier sectors: a comparative industry analysis
This study aims to dissect and understand the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) endeavours of organisations within Malaysia’s telecommunications, broadcasting, postal and courier services sectors, particularly those holding licenses from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). These sectors were chosen for this study due to their crucial role in Malaysia’s economy and society, their notable environmental influence, the regulatory and public attention they receive as well as the distinct challenges and opportunities they face in implementing CSR. Employing a qualitative methodology, the study utilises a semi-structured interview protocol to gather rich, detailed insights from top management across eight listed and non-listed companies. This approach ensures a comprehensive exploration of CSR types, practices and their implementation within the target sectors. Purposive sampling was adopted to select informants with specific expertise, ensuring that the data collected was relevant and insightful. The findings of this study underscore that while telecommunications firms actively participate in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, their efforts predominantly benefit the broader society, with less emphasis placed on shareholders. Additionally, it was observed that environmental issues receive relatively minimal attention from these organisations. This diversity highlights the necessity for a more equitable CSR approach that caters equally to the needs of all stakeholders, including the environment. Such a strategy is crucial for cultivating a sustainable and ethically sound business environment. The implications of this research are manifold. For companies, it emphasises the critical nature of adopting an all-encompassing CSR strategy that fosters competitive advantage while promoting sustainable development. The study advocates for a paradigm shift towards CSR practices that are not only philanthropic but also prioritise environmental stewardship and value creation.
Flash optimization of drug combinations for Acinetobacter baumannii with IDentif.AI-AMR
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an emerging threat to global public health. Specifically, Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii), one of the main pathogens driving the rise of nosocomial infections, is a Gram-negative bacillus that displays intrinsic resistance mechanisms and can also develop resistance by acquiring AMR genes from other bacteria. More importantly, it is resistant to nearly 90% of standard of care (SOC) antimicrobial treatments, resulting in unsatisfactory clinical outcomes and a high infection-associated mortality rate of over 30%. Currently, there is a growing challenge to sustainably develop novel antimicrobials in this ever-expanding arms race against AMR. Therefore, a sustainable workflow that properly manages healthcare resources to ultra-rapidly design optimal drug combinations for effective treatment is needed. In this study, the IDentif.AI-AMR platform was harnessed to pinpoint effective regimens against four A. baumannii clinical isolates from a pool of nine US FDA-approved drugs. Notably, IDentif.AI-pinpointed ampicillin-sulbactam/cefiderocol and cefiderocol/polymyxin B/rifampicin combinations were able to achieve 93.89 ± 5.95% and 92.23 ± 11.89% inhibition against the bacteria, respectively, and they may diversify the reservoir of treatment options for the indication. In addition, polymyxin B in combination with rifampicin exhibited broadly applicable efficacy and strong synergy across all tested clinical isolates, representing a potential treatment strategy for A. baumannii. IDentif.AI-pinpointed combinations may potentially serve as alternative treatment strategies for A. baumannii.
Regional patterns of wild animal hunting in African tropical forests
Wildlife contributes to the diets, livelihoods and socio-cultural activities of people worldwide; however, unsustainable hunting is a major pressure on wildlife. Regional assessments of the factors associated with hunting offtakes are needed to understand the scale and patterns of wildlife exploitation relevant for policy. We synthesized 83 studies across West and Central Africa to identify the factors associated with variation in offtake. Our models suggest that offtake per hunter per day is greater for hunters who sell a greater proportion of their offtake; among non-hunter-gatherers; and in areas that have better forest condition, are closer to protected areas and are less accessible from towns. We present evidence that trade and gun hunting have increased since 1991 and that areas more accessible from towns and with worse forest condition may be depleted of larger-bodied wildlife. Given the complex factors associated with regional hunting patterns, context-specific hunting management is key to achieving a sustainable future.
Leveraging the collaborative power of AI and citizen science for sustainable development
Both artificial intelligence (AI) and citizen science hold immense potential for addressing major sustainability challenges from health to climate change. Alongside their individual benefits, when combined, they offer considerable synergies that can aid in both better monitoring of, and achieving, sustainable development. While AI has already been integrated into citizen science projects such as through automated classification and identification, the integration of citizen science approaches into AI is lacking. This integration has, however, the potential to address some of the major challenges associated with AI such as social bias, which could accelerate progress towards achieving sustainable development.
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