From a Financial to an Entity Model of ESG

ESG investing evolved over time from the earlier concept of CSR. The process of evolution moved the focus from the external impact of corporate activities to the risk and return implications for financial investors of failing to address ESG issues in their portfolio selection and corporate engagement. The bridge between the two approaches was the framing of sustainability in the early part of the millennium as an overarching concept that could be mapped onto the supply of capital and the techniques employed by institutional investors. The financial model of ESG investing is now the standard approach around the world and is reflected in ESG ratings, codes, guidance and regulatory rules. It focuses on the role of capital and investors in driving change in sustainability practices and pays much less attention to the role of board decision-making and directors’ fiduciary duties. In this research, we trace the origins and trajectory of this change in emphasis from CSR to ESG and attempt to explain why it occurred. We identify shortcomings in the financial model of ESG investing and propose an alternative ‘entity’ model, which we argue would more effectively promote sustainability in the corporate sector around the world.

Towards realization of Board Gender Diversity in Deposit Taking SACCOs in Kenya: A critical review and synthesis

Corporate boards play a critical strategic role in charting the direction and performance of organizations. Such entities ought to embrace diversity since this influences work relations and performance through offering greater perspectives from different lenses on business issues, opportunities as well as wider scope of ideas and solutions. Board gender diversity is ubiquitous as it is the most debated diversity issue in firms. Guidelines and/or mandatory laws have been enacted by several countries including Kenya, to enhance gender diversity on company boards so as to eradicate the existing social and labor grievances that women have been experiencing. Female representation in company boards still remains far from the desired levels despite the enactment of these laws. This study’s main purpose was to recapitulate and critically review literature on board gender diversity. The paper interrogated the importance of board gender diversity, the laws touching on gender diversity issues and empirically reviewed literature on board gender diversity and performance. The study used secondary data. The paper posits that board gender diversity is a driver of organizational performance as well as a way of bolstering inclusivity of both genders on boards thus fulfilling legal expectations. The paper recommends that it is indispensable for Deposit Taking SACCOs to consider gender diversity when electing persons to boards if such entities hope to enrich board decision making, risk management, innovative thinking and competitiveness as well as enhance legal compliance.

Does the board’s on-site decision inhibit over-investment

It is an effective expansion of the research on the Board of Directors to do the research based on different board meeting forms and their effects sampling A-share companies listed in 2007–2017, the article empirically tests the impact of the times of board meetings, the proportion of on-site board meetings on listed companies’ over-investment. Consequently and significantly, the times of board meetings is positively correlated with over-investment, while the proportion of on-site board meetings is negatively correlated with over-investment. That is, the on-site meeting for the Board decision-making will better inhibit the enterprises’ over-investment behaviors. Further research shows that when there is a controlling shareholder in the company or in a dual position, the on-site board meeting no longer has a significant inhibitory effect on over-investment. By research on the independence of the Board of Directors, it is found that when selecting on-site board decision-making, the existence of independent directors has an over-investment suppression effect, and the higher the proportion of independent directors, the more obvious the inhibitory effect is. The samples are divided into state-owned enterprises and private enterprises, the study found that when choosing on-site board meetings, state-owned enterprises have a greater inhibitory effect on over-investment than private enterprises. The findings of this study will enrich the research of the board meeting and provide a new testing method for the relevant research of the Board of Directors.

Parole Board Decision Making and Constitutional Rights

Parole board decision making has changed dramatically over the last century, mirroring broader trends in criminal punishment. Even though parole decisions affect the length of prison sentences and the US Supreme Court has safeguarded defendants’ rights during the sentencing phase of criminal proceedings, the court has largely declined to interfere in parole. After briefly surveying the historical evolution of parole in the United States, this article proceeds in two parts. First, the article analyzes Supreme Court cases involving sentencing and parole and discusses questions raised by those decisions. Second, the article examines modern studies of parole board decisions and highlights ethical and legal questions raised by the research. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Law and Social Science, Volume 17 is October 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Board processes revisited: an exploration of the relationship between board processes, board role performance and board effectiveness in comparable European listed companies

Purpose This study aims to analyse the relationships between board processes, board role performance and board effectiveness for a cross-country (UK and Romania) sample of comparable European listed companies. Design/methodology/approach The research design is quantitative in nature and based on the survey method, a self-administered questionnaire which was send to 342 chairmen of selected Romanian and British listed companies and which contains validated statements measured through a seven-point Likert-type scale and grouped in validated constructs. Findings This study found further empirical evidence that board processes are stronger determinants of board effectiveness than board characteristics and that board roles mediate the relationship between board processes and board effectiveness. It further confirmed the relevance of the three board processes mentioned by Forbes and Milliken (1999) in their seminal work on board decision-making. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of this study is the relatively small number of responses (55), which indicates a reduced reliability and generalizability of the results. However, several steps were taken to assure the homogeneity of the sample, starting with a unique data set of firms of comparable size and industry representation. Practical implications This study is useful to board directors and chairmen of listed companies, as it can help them to better understand and manage board behaviour. Originality/value This study contributes to the limited body of research that investigates specific board process constructs derived from the small team literature and their effect on board effectiveness.

Persons found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCRMD) for sexual offences: characteristics, risk factors, and Review Board decision making

This thesis examined the characteristics of persons found NCRMD for sexual offences, their offences, and the degree to which empirically supported risk factors predicted Review Board decisions. Reasons documents dated from 2006 to 2015, and examining index sexual offences were collected from LawSource ©. Search terms were derived from the Canadian Criminal Code (1985, c. C-46), and commonly accepted terminology for sexual offending. Findings suggest that persons found NCRMD for sexual offences present with general and sexual offence specific risk factors for recidivism. However, Review Board decisions were only predicted by factors related to clinical functioning and risk management factors. These findings suggest that further research is needed to examine risk assessment, decision making, and forensic mental health outcomes of persons found NCRMD for sexual offences. Implications for treatment of persons found NCRMD and knowledge dissemination to Review Boards are also discussed.

Persons found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCRMD) for sexual offences: characteristics, risk factors, and Review Board decision making

This thesis examined the characteristics of persons found NCRMD for sexual offences, their offences, and the degree to which empirically supported risk factors predicted Review Board decisions. Reasons documents dated from 2006 to 2015, and examining index sexual offences were collected from LawSource ©. Search terms were derived from the Canadian Criminal Code (1985, c. C-46), and commonly accepted terminology for sexual offending. Findings suggest that persons found NCRMD for sexual offences present with general and sexual offence specific risk factors for recidivism. However, Review Board decisions were only predicted by factors related to clinical functioning and risk management factors. These findings suggest that further research is needed to examine risk assessment, decision making, and forensic mental health outcomes of persons found NCRMD for sexual offences. Implications for treatment of persons found NCRMD and knowledge dissemination to Review Boards are also discussed.

Bayesian Framework to Augment Tumor Board Decision Making

PURPOSE Ideally, specific treatment for a cancer patient is decided by a multidisciplinary tumor board, integrating prior clinical experience, published data, and patient-specific factors to develop a consensus on an optimal therapeutic strategy. However, many oncologists lack access to a tumor board, and many patients have incomplete data descriptions so that tumor boards must act on imprecise criteria. We propose these limitations to be addressed through a flexible but rigorous mathematical tool that can define the probability of success of given therapies and be made readily available to the oncology community. METHODS We present a Bayesian approach to tumor forecasting using a multimodel framework to predict patient-specific response to different targeted therapies even when historical data are incomplete. RESULTS We demonstrate that the Bayesian decision theory's integrative power permits the simultaneous assessment of a range of therapeutic options. CONCLUSION This methodology proposed, built upon a robust and well-established mathematical framework, can play a crucial role in supporting patient-specific clinical decisions by individual oncologists and multispecialty tumor boards.

Information governance: The role of information architecture for effective board performance

Among the growing demands in corporate governance is better decision-making. The best board dynamics and focus on substantive business issues do not ensure effective boards functioning. Better decision-making implies the availability of quality information in adequate amounts. Better information does not exist on its own, it is necessary to design adequate information architectures in order to gather such information for effective board decision-making. Relying on solid information sources fosters awareness and lies the grounds for a better information architecture, so directors can do their job in a more effective and efficient way. What, why, how and where questions shall be raised in order to reach such goals, and the pillars for such architecture shall be laid down, by means of an adequate information architecture. This text provides clarity and the main thinking behind such information architecture design, ending with a set of recommendations