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Landmark US legislation will help millions afford vital treatments

European policies are promoting energy communities and energy sharing to decarbonize the energy system through increased penetration of renewables thereby reducing European energy dependency. However, the implementation of energy communities takes place following different patterns, and it is not entirely clear how the composition may affect community performance. This research evaluates and compares different energy-sharing scenarios at technical and economic levels. Several possible energy community solutions are evaluated. Analyses are conducted by combining the monitored electricity consumption of industries, services, and residential buildings with simulated photovoltaic production and heating consumption. The results highlight the conflict between the economic goal and the objective of maximizing the self-sufficiency of the energy community. The Italian incentive scheme currently makes it possible to double the economic value of the energy fed into the grid if physical self-consumption and shared energy reach 90% of the energy produced.

Despite the clear policy intent to contain it, the marketing of formula milk remains widespread, powerful and successful. This paper examines how it works. The study comprised a mix of secondary analysis of business databases and qualitative interviews with marketing practitioners, some of whom had previously worked in formula marketing. The World Health Assembly Code aims to shield parents from unfair commercial pressures by stopping the inappropriate promotion of infant formula. In reality marketing remains widespread because some countries (e.g. the USA) have not adopted the Code, and elsewhere industry has developed follow-on and specialist milks with which they promote formula by proxy. The World Health Assembly has tried to close these loopholes by extending its Code to these products; but the marketing continues. The campaigns use emotional appeals to reach out to and build relationships with parents and especially mothers. Evocative brands give these approaches a human face. The advent of social media has made it easier to pose as the friend and supporter of parents; it is also providing companies with a rich stream of personal data with which they hone and target their campaigns. The formula industry is dominated by a small number of extremely powerful multinational corporations with the resources to buy the best global marketing expertise. Like all corporations they are governed by the fiduciary imperative which puts the pursuit of profits ahead of all other concerns. This mix of fiscal power, sophisticated marketing, and single-mindedness is causing great harm to public health. Formula marketing is widespread and using powerful emotional techniques to sell parents a product that is vastly inferior to breast milk. There is an urgent need to update and strengthen regulation.

Correspondence to Professor Stanton Glantz, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA; Stanton.Glantz@ucsf.edu Smokeless tobacco (SLT) is a global public health concern because it is used in 140 countries.1 The 200 million SLT users in India represent about two-thirds of the global SLT users; India continues to be the leading SLT producer and consumer.2 Every year more than 350 000 people die due to SLT-related diseases in India.3 India ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and implemented a domestic tobacco control law that prohibited direct and indirect advertising of tobacco products in 2003. Zarda is commonly used in Southeast Asia and in countries to which people from this region have emigrated.15 16 Qiwam: A thick paste prepared from tobacco leaf extract, spices (eg, saffron, cardamom, aniseed) and additives such as musk.15 16 After the complete prohibition on direct and indirect advertising of tobacco products stipulated under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) in 2003,6 companies like DS Group started to diversify into manufacturing non-tobacco products, particularly mouth fresheners. The law prohibited ‘the use of a name or brand of tobacco products for marketing, promoting or advertising other goods, services and events’ in 2005.7 In addition, the implementing guidelines for FCTC Article 13 recommend that ‘Parties should ban “brand stretching” and “brand sharing”, as they are means of tobacco advertising and promotion’.8 In addition to COTPA, advertising of tobacco products is prohibited under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act of 1995.9 Section 6 of the Act prohibits any advertisement that violates the prescribed advertisement code under the 1994 Cable Television Networks Rules. Tulsi Royal Zarda is another chewing tobacco brand of the DS Group that was applied to Tulsi Royal Khajoor Plus (silver coated dates), a non-tobacco product, in 2018 (figure 1).12 Considering that India is the biggest consumer and exporter of SLT products in the world, brand stretching not only helps in keeping the brand name and imagery in domestic consumers’ minds but also supports the brand equity in other global markets, for example North America, Europe, UK, Middle East and other parts of the world in violation of the restrictions on cross-border advertising under Article 13 of the FCTC.13 Efforts should be undertaken to ensure compliance with the prohibition on indirect advertisements under Section 5 of COPTA and Article 13 of the FCTC and its guidelines.

ObjectivesTo use industry-specific denominators to more accurately examine trends in prevalence rates for occupational cases of elevated blood lead levels (eBLLs) in Pennsylvania.MethodsWe used adult (aged ≥16 years) blood lead level data from Pennsylvania (2007–2018) and industry-specific denominator data from the US Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns to calculate prevalence rates for eBLLs, defined as ≥25 µg/dL.ResultsOf the 19 904 cases with eBLLs, 92% were due to occupational lead exposure, with 83% from workers in the battery manufacturing industry. In 2018, the prevalence rate of eBLLs for battery manufacturing (8036.4 cases per 100 000 employed battery manufacturing workers) was 543 times the overall Pennsylvania prevalence rate. The prevalence rate for battery manufacturing steeply declined 71% from 2007 to 2018.ConclusionsThe battery manufacturing industry had the highest burden of occupational lead exposure in Pennsylvania, illustrating the importance of using industry-specific denominators to accurately identify sources of lead exposure. Although the prevalence rate of eBLLs declined over time, lead exposure remains a major concern among battery manufacturing workers.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the vital determinants on the extent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in a US context. The selected variables are CEO duality, the presence of women in the board, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, emission reduction initiatives, company's risk premium, financial leverage and industry's profile. Design/methodology/approach – The environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure score is used as a proxy for the extent of CSR disclosure calculated by Bloomberg. The influence of plausible variables on the ESG disclosure score and its sub-categories was examined by using the least squares dummy variable model (LSDV) incorporating 100 companies listed on Standard & Poor's 500 Index for the period 2009-2012. Findings – The results show that the emission reduction initiatives and GHG emissions influence positively the extent of ESG score. In addition, slight differences exist concerning the determinants of different types of disclosures. Furthermore, it is illustrated that a company's industrial profile seems to have differences among the extent of the different types of disclosure. Research limitations/implications – The sample of companies is based on the US companies incorporating only large-sized ones. Originality/value – The study extends previous studies with the inclusion of both traditional and innovative determinants of the CSR disclosure in USA taking into account four years of corporate data. A third party rating approach was adopted in order to calculate the extent of CSR disclosure. Finally, both the shareholders’ and the investors’ attitudes in relation to CSR disclosure are presented.

The perception of the chemical field by the public has degraded proportionally with the growth of the industry. Chemical plants, as the largest source of chemical production and storage, have significant impact on the levels of chemophobia harbored in our society. Specifically, chemical disasters not only create significant loss, but they also work to propel the common distrust of chemistry in a dangerous direction. Repeated mishandling of distinct compound types coupled with disasters across the world harming thousands sends the message that our industry is unsafe and out of control. The preventable nature of these events demands that we seek means to curb the errors behind these major events within the industry required to support their importance to our economy and way of life in the United States. Additionally, we must strive to use educational approaches and constant dialogue as tools to surmount unfounded fears and augment public understanding of the nature and value of chemistry.

BOOKS Brand, Erick D. Band Instrument Repairing Manual. 1978. \"Comparative Analysis of Four Measurement Instruments for Clarinet Mouthpieces and An Investigation of Dimensional Consistency of Intermediate Mouthpieces.\" \"A Study of Alterations to the Baffle of the Clarinet Mouthpiece and How They Affect Tone Quality, Intonation, and Response.\"

Purpose The case of Philips Lighting shows how management coped with the ambiguous but real threats and opportunities of a highly disruptive emerging technology using three insight-producing approaches: 10; 10;∙9; Probe and learn widely. 10;∙9; Explore creative hypotheses. 10;∙9; Develop multiple scenarios. 10; Design/methodology/approach The case shows how leadership teams can effectively respond when confronted with ambiguous but potentially disruptive signals. Findings When assessing a potential digital disruption, leaders can begin by probing the latent needs of current as well as potential customers more thoroughly. Once ‘probe and learn’ approaches have surfaced new perspectives and strategic possibilities, the organization should generate context-expanding hypotheses about the meaning and consequences of various weak signals. Practical implications A limited number of disparate scenarios, clearly organized around a few pivotal uncertainties, provide leaders with a strategic context for interpreting ambiguous signals. Originality/value In the current VUCA environmen, when turbulence is high or major disruption is feared, all leaders need to examine at least one scenario that directly challenges the organization’s current mindset.

Purpose The aim of this study is to investigate the potential effects of corporate governance and financial characteristics on the extent of CSR disclosure focused on US companies. Design/methodology/approach The sample consists of 366 companies from the Fortune 500 list for the year 2011. The Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosure score calculated by Bloomberg is used as a proxy for the extent of CSR disclosure. Multiple regression analysis was developed to identify factors that affect the extent of CSR disclosure. Findings Results shows that the company’s size and the board size are significantly and positively related to the extent of CSR disclosure, companies with CEO duality characteristic publish less information to their CSR disclosure, while there are significant differences between different industries and the extent of CSR disclosure. Research limitations/implications The research is based only on presence or absence of CSR disclosure without receiving the quality aspect of the CSR disclosure which could lead to misinterpretation. The results should not be generalized as the sample was based on large in size US companies for the year 2011. Originality/value This study extents the scope of previous studies by introducing new independent and dependent variables. It contributes to the understanding of determinants of CSR disclosure in order to improve the implementation of disclosure guidelines.