PurposeIn this study, the authors aim to explore whether the financial sector differs from the non-financial sectors in terms of board monitoring and advising.Design/methodology/approachFor the empirical investigation, the study is built on a wide range of cross-sectoral and international sample for the period 2002-2021. A generalized linear mixed model and a linear mixed model are used.FindingsIn line with the study's expectations, the authors find that the financial sector has stronger board monitoring ability, as ensured by less CEO duality but more non-executive, independent and female directors on board. On the other hand, the financial sector has weaker board advising ability, which is characterised by having fewer foreign and expert directors on board. In terms of affiliated and tenured directors, the authors could not detect any significant difference between the financial and non-financial sectors.Practical implicationsThe study offers valuable insights for managers and policymakers. For managers, it underscores the importance of tailoring board composition to sector-specific needs, emphasising the trade-offs between monitoring and advising. For policymakers, the findings highlight the need for regulatory frameworks that encourage diversity and independence in the financial sector which has implications for policymaking of the financial sector as well as corporate governance code formulation.Originality/valueThe study advances our understanding of how sector-specific characteristics influence board composition. Secondly, this study contributes to the literature by focusing on a comprehensive, cross-sectoral and international dataset. Lastly, it is unique in focusing on the financial versus non-financial sectors' wide range of board characteristics.
While any particular school of thought's impact on the field of anthropology tends to be limited to scholarly interpretation, this paper argues that it can also reveal complex ethical entanglements with places and people affected by our research. Taking as a starting point the impact of the ontological turn on archaeological fieldwork in rural Guatemala, I interrogate my earlier assumptions about the ubiquity and importance of positivism in the social sciences. Using Proyecto Salinas de los Nueve Cerros as a case study, I argue that a reliance on Western ethical considerations is fundamentally inadequate for conducting ethical research since they are inexorably linked to other hegemonic practices that lionize Western ethics over Indigenous counterparts. Finally, I suggest several starting points for creating a more relevant and collaborative ethical framework for conducting cross-cultural research.
We examine whether business complexity increases firms' exposure to negative environmental, social, and governance (ESG) outcomes, specifically ESG controversies, using a global panel of firms from 37 countries over the period 2002-2021. We further investigate the moderating roles of external monitoring by financial analysts; internal governance mechanisms, including board independence and workforce gender diversity; and international policy frameworks, with particular emphasis on the Paris Agreement as a regulatory tightening mechanism. Our results show that business complexity is strongly and positively associated with ESG controversies worldwide. Analyst scrutiny amplifies, rather than mitigates, this effect, indicating that external capital market monitoring does not effectively discipline ESG risk in complex firms. In contrast, stronger internal governance, reflected in greater board independence and a higher proportion of female employees, significantly attenuates the complexity controversy link. We also find that the positive effect of complexity on ESG controversies weakens in the post-Paris Agreement period, consistent with heightened regulatory pressure and compliance expectations imposed on firms following the Agreement. Overall, the study provides novel cross-country evidence on how organizational structure shapes negative ESG outcomes, integrating insights from complexity and agency theories with important implications for managers, policymakers, and investors.
Dehydration diversely affects on health and performance. The effects of whole body dehydration on intracellular volume and plasma osmolality are limited as those compartments are tightly protected, but small changes in plasma osmolality even up to ~20mOsm×kg-1 (milliosmoles per kilogram) may affect circulating immune cells (peripheral blood mononuclear cells, PBMCs) in ways that alter global gene expression landscapes that may impact resiliency or susceptibility to infection acutely and with chronic stress. Thus, our study aim was to 1) quantify hypertonicity experienced by circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells and neutrophils during passive dehydration and rehydration protocols administered to healthy participants over multiple, consecutive days, and in that context, 2) quantify genome-wide transcriptomic changes in cell lysates using RNAseq. 18 healthy, male study volunteers (23±3.28 years, 80.09±9.6 kg, 175.78±5.68 cm) participated in our study with 3-5 (Days -5 to 0) days of baseline testing and establishment of euhydrated state measures as confirmed by urine, plasma, and acute body mass changes, per individual. Day 1 designated the first day that participants were euhydrated and on Day 2 asked to commence a 24-hour passive dehydration protocol during which participants restrict fluid consumption to induce levels of whole-body dehydration that correspond to ~ 2-4% relative body mass loss in water. A repeated measures analysis of variance was used to analyze the differences across timepoints for plasma osmolality nad other hydration measures. RNAseq was conducted (Illumina NextSeq 500) to achieve 40-45 million paired end reads (2x75bp (base pair)) per sample at 5 time points during which participants were euhydrated (EUH), partially euhydrated from rehydration with water (PARTEUH), or hypohydrated (PARTDEHY, partial dehydration or DEHY, full dehydration achieved with protocol): Days 2AM (EUH), 2PM (PARTDEHY), 3AM (DEHY), 3RH (PARTEUH), 4AM (EUH). Standard RNAseq analysis and functional annotation pipelines were used to determine differentially expressed genes and associated functions between time points within subjects. ANOVA revealed significant group by time interaction with respect to plasma osmolality (F=4.960, p< 0.00001, observed power=.996). Differentially expressed gene numbers were 350, 961, 334, and 109 for comparisons between Day2AM and 3AM, 2AM and 2PM, 2AM and 3RH, and 2AM and 4AM, respectively. In the most pronounced difference (2AM vs. 3AM), upregulated biological process GO Terms included coagulation, humoral immune response, granulocyte activation, neutrophil-mediated immunity, and regulation of body fluid levels. Downregulated biological process GO Terms included response to interferon-gamma, interferon-gamma-signaling pathway, innate immune response, and lymphocyte mediated immunity. Ongoing work is determining functional and pathway annotation of comparisons between hydration states and examining specific genes to determine their candidacy as key regulators of immune response during hydration stress or novel biomarkers related to dehydration. This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2026 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.
