United States Ending the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Epidemic plan: evaluation of the role of industry funding in published pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) literature

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is integral to the US End of AIDS strategy. However, low adherence, high costs, frequent testing and monitoring side effects make delivery of PrEP complicated. Gilead has sponsored PrEP-related research efforts and access as part of its marketing efforts. We review potential conflict of interests (COI) in the scientific literature for the US PrEP related articles to understand the impact of Gilead’s corporate sponsorship.We identified 93 US PrEP articles published in the top 10 medical journals and top 10 HIV/AIDS journals in 2018. There were 289 first three and senior authors in these articles, of which, 34 (11%) declared a Gilead COI and 28 (10%) had undeclared Gilead COI. Only 10 authors accounted for 50% of the articles, with 70% of them having potential COI including receiving grants, fees and study drugs. The 93 articles were associated with 51 leading institutions (institution of three or more authors or participating institutions in a trial). Authors from 12 (24%) institutions declared an institutional Gilead COI and 22 (45%) institutions had undeclared Gilead support. Overall, of the 93 included articles, 30 (32%) had declared Gilead COI. Combining declared and undeclared COIs for authors and institutions provided an overall 83 (89%) articles with a potential Gilead COI. Of the 93 articles, 60 (71%) had favorable conclusions in 60 (71%). Declared Gilead support was significantly associated with favorable article conclusions (p<.05) but combined declared/undeclared author and/or institutional Gilead support was not associated with favorable conclusion. Nearly 90% of US PrEP articles had Gilead support and authors failed to report individual or institutional COI in 70% of articles. Direct corporate support is important for scientific research. However, Gilead’s marketing push for PrEP, undeclared COI, and potential influence of Gilead supported authors are of concern given the potential impact on the scientific discourse and the US HIV control strategy.

Niche Sport Sponsorship: Providing the Target Market Sponsors Want?

Professional niche sports are tremendously reliant on the resources received via corporate sponsorship as they are unlikely to attract substantial revenue via media contracts, ticket sales, or merchandise sales, especially when compared to mainstream sports. Furthermore, niche sports are vying for the same corporate support as their more established mainstream counterparts. However, niche sports have been found to have the ability to provide sponsors with a more specific demographic of fans compared to mainstream sports. If that demographic aligns with a corporation’s target market, the value of this relationship could increase substantially. Yet, the findings of the current study revealed nearly 60% of the 67 sponsors of two different niche sport teams indicated their target market included all of the categories provided for sex, ethnicity, education, and income, even though results also indicated the two teams were attracting statistically significant different fan bases: from a demographic perspective.

Shared services: configurations, dynamics and performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the configurations of shared service center (SSC) characteristics, their performance implications and the dynamics of SSC configurations during their implementation.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses the capability-based view and configurational approach to suggest a model that explains performance outcomes of shared service configurations. Survey data are analyzed with a cluster analysis to examine shared service configurations in distinct stages of implementation. Moreover, a lifecycle framework of shared service configurations is conceptualized.FindingsThis study considers shared service configurations as operational capabilities to run corporate support activities. The purpose is to examine the configurations of those capabilities, their performance implications and their dynamics during the shared service implementation.Practical implicationsThe findings help senior executives to effectively implement and transform shared services when deciding to renew corporates' support activities.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first that conceptually and empirically explores shared service configurations, performance and configurational dynamics.

ACRL honors the 2021 award recipients: A recognition of professional development

ACRL is pleased to recognize the recipients of its 2021 awards. Made possible by generous corporate support, the annual presentation of ACRL’s awards enables ACRL to honor the very best in academic and research librarianship.

Re-Investigating the Roles of Green Service-scape to Improve Tourism Performance Marketing Service Dominant Logic Perspective: A Literature Review

This study aims to investigate previous research on the co-creation of Green Service-scape Destination (GSD) specifically concerning definitions, theories used, research themes, methodologies, and contexts; studied in accordance with the perspective of Service Dominant Logic (SDL). This study used bibliometric analysis and used Publish or Perish software with Google Scholar as the database. A total of 183 articles published in 122 journals from 2010 to 2020 were selected. This study used systematic data to reveal trends in development markets and qualitative inductive analysis to define relevant themes within the topic. Search results according to keywords, found that the total number of research articles there are 1246, with the most cites themed SDL totally 910. This study provides future directions for research on GSD. GSD generates increased variety of tourist needs through proactive green innovation activities in efforts to adjust services. GSD provides improved methods, types, quality and service design with green environmental conditions, resources and service provider corporate support. To get the maximum advantage of layout and atmosphere is given added value through Innovation. This study reveals trends in co-creation GSD and sustainable marketing performance has the potential to generate job opportunities, empower resources effectively and strategically, increase social expectations and awareness, improve the economy and meet the needs of destinations and the sustainability of a value chain.

Farmers’ Agitation in India Due to Audacious Farm Bill of 2020

Farmers are doing primary and significant duty for the society by engaging in agriculture. They are tirelessly ploughing the field, planting the seed, watering the land and yielding crops. Production of cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetable are necessary to feed people of billion plus nation and ensuring food security. It is necessity of the government to provide necessary support with legislation of law, enactment of the same, crop insurance and provision of subsidy for agricultural inputs. There should be advancement in irrigation facility, application of biotechnology, credit facility, land reform and availability of market. But new framed agricultural reform act enraged the farmers and injected fear in their mind. Farmers feel apprehensive regarding the restructuring of the Indian agriculture. There is a shadow of uncertainty about annulment of minimum support price facility. It is presumed that new farm bill would take away Mandi facility which so far gave assurance to selling of crop. Although middle men were involved in the process, farmers were sanguine about selling of agricultural output with intermediation of them. Farmers so far enjoyed crop insurance and minimum support price for agricultural output. But newly passed bill in parliament spread tension among farmers about future uncertainties. Fear and ambiguity lingered with respect to corporate support and assurance. Loss of land and livelihood to corporate also gripped the minds. Question revolved about farmers wherewithal and whereabouts if corporates fail to buy crop or agricultural output. Like majority of Indian citizen, farmers are devoid of social security measure. Corporate indifference might cause grave loss for poor farmers in the absence of safety net. But sticking to this defunct system, would result in more harm than good for Indian farmers.

Corporate support for threatened species recovery efforts: three case studies from the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

ABSTRACT A diverse range of corporations, businesses and organisations play an important role in threatened species conservation. During the unprecedented bushfire season in Australia in the 2019–20 summer, corporations, businesses and organisations contributed significant financial and in-kind support for the Saving our Species Program’s threatened species recovery efforts. On the eastern coast, a combination of food shortages and heat stress events resulted in large numbers of Grey-headed Flying-foxes Pteropus poliocephalus requiring rescue and rehabilitation. Prolonged drought and intense bushfires reduced available foraging resources for the Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby Petrogale penicillata and Mountain Pygmy-possum Burramys parvus. Corporations donated produce to feed flying-foxes in care and provide supplementary feeding for wild populations of rock-wallabies and pygmy-possums. Local businesses and organisations also supplied resources, funding and food storage capacity to support these conservation actions. The contributions from corporations, businesses and organisations in these case studies totalled more than $70,000.

Ethical considerations in managing the hydrosphere: an overview of water ethics

Water has a unique importance as the basis of life, and the ethical ramifications of managing water are correspondingly complex. Values about water constitute the building blocks for ethical guidance. Modern interest in developing a practical field of water ethics began with a UNESCO initiative (1998–2004) that analysed best ethical practice in various water sectors (e.g. irrigation, domestic water supply, ecosystem health, etc.). A complementary approach has been to focus on particular normative values borrowed from the field of Human Rights such as integrity, justice and solidarity. A water ethics framework helps to integrate diverse and sometimes conflicting values through rendering the values about water visible and creating ethical space for dialogue and mediation. There is growing interest in approaching water policy decisions on the basis of normative values that can be diverse and mutually supportive. The widespread acceptance of agroecology as an alternative to mono-crop industrial farming, and corporate support for water stewardship initiatives, illustrate a societal turn towards valuing a broader range of spiritual, environmental and social benefits of water. We are undergoing a transformation in how we perceive the water around us. The need for clarifying the ethical foundations of water management decisions has never been greater.