Search results

This paper aims to evaluate the effect of consumption of a high-fat diet (HFD) rich with total saturated fats on adiposity and serum levels of vascular cell adhesion molecule (sVCAM-1), a biomarker of endothelial inflammation/dysfunction. Another aim is to evaluate whether supplementation of a phytosomal formulation of curcumin would reduce adiposity measures and sVCAM-1 levels in HFD rats.

The study was conducted on 17 male rats which were allocated to one of three feeding regimen groups: normal diet (ND); HFD, or HFD with dietary phytosomal curcumin (HFD-C). Anthropometric measures were recorded weekly up to 20 weeks of feeding intervention, at the end of which, sVCAM-1 levels were also compared with one-way ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc analysis.

The HFD group had the greatest values for raw anthropometric data, and there was a group difference in anthropometric measures, however there was no significant difference between HFD and HFD-C for any measure. The gain at 20 weeks from initial values did reveal significant differences in weight and abdominal circumference between HFD and HFD-C groups. There were significant group differences in sVCAM-1 levels, with only HFD-C displaying significant lower levels than HFD group.

This is the first study that shows the capacity of a phytosomal formulation of curcumin in reducing adiposity and sVCAM-1 levels during daily intake of saturated fats above the recommended level. The results are promising in that this formulation can protect against endothelial inflammation/dysfunction, and can be used as complimentary therapy to suppress dyslipidemia/obesity-related cardiovascular complications.

New Space activities offer benefits for human progress and life beyond the Earth. However, there is a risk that the New Space Economy may develop according to an anthropocentric mindset favouring human progress and survival at the expense of all other species and the environment. This mindset raises concerns over the social and environmental impacts of space activities and the accountability of space actors. This research article explores the accountability of space actors by presenting a pluralistic accountability framework to understand, inspire and change accountability in the New Space Economy. This study also identifies future research opportunities.

This paper is a reflective and normative essay. The arguments are developed using contemporary multidisciplinary academic literature, publicly available evidence and examples. Further, the authors use Dillard and Vinnari's accountability framework to examine a pluralistic accountability system for space businesses.

The New Space Economy requires public and private entities to embrace hybrid and pluralistic accountability for their social and environmental impacts. A new way of seeing the relationship between human life, the Earth and celestial space is needed. Accounting language is used to mirror and mobilise broader forms of responsibility in those involved in space.

This paper responds to the AAAJ's special issue call for examining how accountability can be ensured in the New Space Age. The space activities businesses conduct, and the anthropocentric view inspiring their race toward space is concerning. Hence, the authors advocate the need for rethinking accountability between humans and nature. The paper contributes to fostering the debate on social and environmental accounting and the accountability of space actors in the New Space Economy. To this end, the authors use a pluralistic accountability framework to help understand how the New Space Economy can face the risks emanating from its anthropocentric mindset.

The Agenda 2030 have drawn a lot of interest in academic studies. This necessitates accounting research on nonfinancial reporting and sustainable development goals (SDG) disclosure in an under-investigated context. The purpose of this study is to examine the contribution of nonfinancial reporting practices to SDG disclosure by 120 companies from 12 African nations for the years 2016 to 2020.

The study uses a content analysis to gauge how much information are disclosed on SDG by the selected firms. The authors carried out content analysis using the global reporting initiative frameworks to determine the level of SDG disclosure across the companies by examining the selected nonfinancial reports.

Sustainability reports account for 50% of such SDG disclosure making it the highest. This is followed by corporate social responsibility report which accounts for 23%, while environmental reports account for 20% and Chairman’s statement accounts for 7%. The result is expected since corporate sustainability report has been the major channel for disclosing activities relating to social and governance issues in recent times.

The results of this study demand that corporate entities in Africa take responsibility for their actions and exert significant effort to achieve the SDG. While the government has the main responsibility, corporate entities must support the SDG to be realized.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the few studies that examines nonfinancial reporting practices with a focus on SDG disclosure. In addition, this study offers novel insight into how accounting research contributes to nonfinancial reporting practices and SDG disclosure.

To investigate the impact of board characteristics (board gender diversity, board chair age, board subcommittees, board meetings, board skill, board size and board independence) on corporate social responsibility disclosures (CSRD) of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Kenya during the period 2015–2018.

The study employed fixed-effects balanced panel data to examine the impact of board characteristics on CSRD. The analysis is repeated using two regression estimators (robust least square and random effects) and the four CSRD subcomponents to evaluate the robustness of the main analysis.

The results established that board gender diversity, board chair age and board subcommittees had significant negative effects on CSRD. The impact of the remaining board characteristics was found to be insignificant.

The study was limited to the disclosures included in the annual reports, which means that information disclosed in other media, like websites, was not considered. The second limitation concerns mediating and moderator variables that were not considered.

There is a need for a stricter corporate governance implementation mechanism, as opposed to the “comply or explain” principle, since results suggest that most of the board characteristics do not appear to be impactful. Additionally, the low level of reported CSRD calls for the establishment of Corporate Social Responsibility or related committees.

The evidence suggests that SOEs are reluctant to report on issues such as ethics, health and safety initiatives, environment and social investments.

The paper extends the literature on the impact of board characteristics on CSRD in unlisted non-commercial SOEs in a developing country context.