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The study aims to understand the information services provided to visually impaired users in Indian universities. Further, the study identifies the nuances of information system for visually impaired (ISVI) development suitable to the requirements of the visually impaired community in Indian higher educational institutions.

A two-fold methodology was followed in the study: (1) empirical survey and (2) information system design and development. The empirical survey was conducted in Indian higher educational institutions wherein 316 responses were collected including 185 (58.5%) undergraduate and 131 (41.5%) postgraduate students. A stratified random sampling technique was used in data collection. Empirical study findings were further used as a basis for ISVI design and development for addressing the information requirements of visually impaired users.

The study found that 232 respondents (73.2%) access the Internet every day. “Surprisingly, 143 respondents (45.3%) revealed that no digital infrastructure is available in their institutions, while 173 respondents (54.7%) stated digital infrastructure is available. A total of 210 respondents (75.9%) highlighted that the interface of open access (OA) resources is not designed as per visually impaired (VI) students' requirements. information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure is not up to the mark revealed as by 34 respondents (10.7 percent) and was rated ‘poor.’” A total of 268 respondents (90.2%) expressed that their institution should develop the information system to full their information needs.

The study is conducted in only one state in India due to financial hindrances. Visually impaired students studying in other states of India are not covered in the study, which may have different perception about the design and development of information system for the visually impaired.

An online ISVI is designed and developed under the study, which is accessible at http://www.isvi.in. Furthermore, the findings of the study may also be used by administrators of the higher educational institutions for building ICT infrastructure for visually impaired students.

No study has been conducted in Indian higher educational institutions for understanding the availability and preferences of information services to visually impaired tertiary students.

This study aims to comprehend the perceptions of visually impaired users in development of information systems in Indian universities. This will help higher educational institutions in India to fulfil information requirements of visually impaired users.

A twofold method was used in the study: survey of visually impaired students in four universities; design and development of an online information system for visually impaired (ISVI). A structured questionnaire was used for survey of visually impaired users in Indian universities. The questionnaire with 33 open-ended questions was distributed among 603 visually impaired users and 316 responses were received. Stratified sampling technique was used in data collection. Response rate was 52.4%. The received responses were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 19 and presented through tables and figures.

Majority of respondents revealed that lack of content availability in vernacular language, poor information resources access mechanism, less volume of course content and poor maintenance of assistive software(s) and devices and non-standardized e-resources compatible with the assistive software(s) are some major inhibits faced. Majority of respondents revealed that they prefer scribes in examinations because use of assistive technology (AT) is time-consuming. Lack of training and confidence in using AT is another reason for preferring scribes in examinations.

This study was conducted on a limited number of visually impaired uses in Indian universities. Also, the online system ISVI contains a sample collection related to undergraduate courses only.

This study will help Indian universities to identify problems faced by visually impaired users. Findings of the study can help faculty members, decision-makers to understand the perspective of visually impaired. Besides this, the study can also help government agencies in formulating policies. Findings will help in developing robust information resources suiting the needs of visually impaired.

This study developed an online system ISVI (www.isvi.in) suitable to address the requirements of visually impaired students. Furthermore, it can guide policymakers, faculty members and information professionals in developing seamless open access information systems.

Vulnerability studies are commonly used to inform planning, as cities and regions seek to build resilience to environmental hazards. In Shelby County, Tennessee, socioeconomic census tract data were mapped to identify the socially vulnerable population and places to underpin strategies in the Mid-South Regional Resilience Master Plan (RRMP). While this is an important step in identifying vulnerability in the county, this paper aims to enhance the local analysis through an integrated approach that considers both social factors and environmental hazards in assessing vulnerability.

This paper conducts a social vulnerability assessment by integrating a social vulnerability index with risk exposure analysis at the census tract level to identify the population and places vulnerable to riverine flooding in Shelby County.

The analysis reveals that social vulnerability assessments that do not relate socioeconomic factors to specific environmental hazards such as riverine flooding underestimate the population and places that are vulnerable. For Shelby County, this has the tendency to undermine the prioritization and effectiveness of strategies to build resilience to riverine flooding and can worsen preexisting marginalization.

This paper recommends integrated vulnerability assessments for each of the environmental hazards identified in the Mid-South RRMP to augment existing resilience efforts in the county.

This paper enhances the understanding of social vulnerability assessments by consolidating the need for integrated assessment frameworks as basis for resiliency planning.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the results of research work aimed at investigating the approaches to corporate social responsibility (CSR) by Italian companies, and at analysing the emerging analogies and differences in the light of some explanatory contingent variables.

Case study methodology was used for the empirical analysis, due to the objectives and the exploratory nature of the research. The results of the empirical analysis were then used to build an explanatory model of the correlationships between contingent (exogenous) variables and endogenous parameters (i.e. CSR approaches descriptive variables).

The results of the empirical analysis show that there are some industry‐specific aspects, which seem to influence the choices of top management of the interviewed companies. Other relevant context factors seems to be the size and the degree of internationalisation of a company, as well as factors linked to a predominant value system (named “corporate DNA”) and the level of integration between CSR strategy with the overall competitive strategy.

Owing to the research methodology used for the empirical analysis, and the relatively low number of case studies, results cannot be generalised. This was the first stage of a larger research project. Next steps will include both more extensive empirical analysis to test the relevance of the most important correlationships that have been identified, as well as more thorough analysis on industry‐specific issues (through case studies).

The paper is useful both for scholars/academics dealing with CSR, and for managers of companies that operate in the analysed industries.

The paper makes a contribution to the understanding of the different behaviour of companies with regard to CSR issues. In particular, it focuses on Italian companies, and tries to make a first systematisation of the empirical findings according to a contingent approach. It provides also an interesting basis for a cross‐country analysis.

The purpose of this paper is to present some of the continued resistance and challenges faced by drug checking services (DCS) and review how the existing literature and the contributions to the special issue address them, with a view to making recommendations.

The existing literature and the contributions to the special issue are reviewed.

Drug checking cannot be equated with quality control. With the appropriate equipment and chemistry staff, DCS can provide quantitative analysis and reliable results. When the product does not match expectations, service users discard the tested substance of concern. To more easily compare the results of different studies and better evaluate drug checking, standardisation of measures is desirable. Uptake of drug checking, notably in festivals, is low and depends in part on the capacity of DCS. Drug checking has added value in monitoring drug markets and is complementary with chemical (forensic) analysis.

This paper interrogates in a relatively comprehensive way the continued resistance to drug checking in light of theoretical and empirical research to derive recommendations that are specific to drug checking and that are addressed to health professionals, researchers and also to policymakers.

The purpose of this paper is to present the results and context of the drug checking service (DCS) performed by the harm reduction project Échele Cabeza (EC) in Colombia.

Data from several years are presented with a focus on data from 2021. In 2021, data were derived from 2,339 questionnaires filled out by DCS users and a total of 2,868 drug checking test results from samples collected at the fixed-site service in Bogotá and 30 music festivals in 8 cities nationwide.

The tusi phenomenon is gaining strength in Colombia revealing a problem associated with the changing makeup of tusi and, thus, polydrug use. MDMA adulteration and misrepresentations have increased in comparison to 2019. There is an increasing number of people who want to use the DCS in Colombia, which is encouraging but also exposes the limitations of the drug checking methods available to EC.

This paper offers the first publication of the pioneering drug checking organization EC in Latin America.

The purpose of this article is to define a logical process through which social needs can be investigated and integrated into corporate strategy, thus allowing management to meet the expectations of its stakeholder.

The process has been defined on the basis of a review of international literature that helped to identify the main problems related to the recognition of social expectations by the company and the implications of these expectations on the overall competitive strategy.

The research has lead to the construction of a framework to address social needs: the social‐competitive innovation pyramid. It is shaped in order to help companies to understand their degrees of efficiency in responding to their partners' expectations. The pyramid identifies five efficiency levels. The highest one, named “social competitive synthesis”, shows the best response to stakeholders' needs; the lowest level, “temporary sacrifice of social expectations”, is the one where social expectations are sacrificed in the view of the companies strategy.

The paper presents corporate responsibility as an integral part of corporate strategy, so much so that it helps corporate management to find innovative solutions to fulfil stakeholder expectations. Therefore, corporate responsibility becomes a creative factor in developing competitiveness.

The purpose of this paper is to shed lights on both economic and social impacts associated to the increasing amount of western companies acquired by multinationals from emerging countries. Focussing on the Italian context, its main intent is to analyze changes in targets’ performance and capability to contribute to stakeholders’ wealth to assess the business and social viability of this type of deal.

Operations of mergers and acquisitions (M & As) were identified through Zephyr (Bureau VanDijk’s database). Only acquisitions of a controlling interest were considered for a total of eight case studies. Financial Statements and Management Reports over a eight-year period have been analyzed to understand the rationale of the deal and to assess financial performance and company social impact before and after the merger.

Results suggest that foreign investors mainly search for know-how and technical expertise and their arrival does not lead to better financial performance. Only one target records profits. Four companies are still controlled by Indian investors while the other four have been dismissed. Nevertheless Indian investors are not destroying profitable organizations as these were recording negative results already before the merger. With reference to value added distribution, acquisitions do not reduce local stakeholders’ wealth for the benefits of shareholders. Jobs are preserved and valued added is mainly distributed to employees. Great difficulties in achieving the expected value resulting from synergies emerge.

Observations emerging from this explorative study are limited to the case studies analyzed while it could be important to enlarge the number of companies to investigate, including targets acquired by Russian, Chinese and Brazilian investors. Moreover, additional information could be obtained from interviews with top managers to reveal how they interpret the merger’s success or failure. Also interviews with local stakeholders like suppliers, clients, representatives of employees and local institutions could be of great importance as they can help identify their specific point of view about the social and economic impact of foreign investors’ arrival.

With reference to the public debate on the increasing number of European companies sold to foreign investors, research findings indicate that FDI from emerging economies do not necessarily lead to job losses or target’s closure. Indian investors are interested in brand, knowledge and other intangible assets (like Chinese ones). However they do not relocate production or expertise abroad. Some target companies record higher investments financed by the new shareholder, indicating that the arrival of new investors owing a large amount of money to invest in financial distressed Italian companies, can be beneficial to the local economy.

Most literature studies M & As from the buyer’s perspective to assess if shareholders’ value is created (Tuch and O’Sullivan, 2007; Meglio, 2009; Dauber, 2012). On the contrary this research adopts the target’s and stakeholders’ perspective, in order to measure the value created and distributed to the territory. Moreover it focuses on unlisted companies, while most studies deal with publicly traded companies (Meglio and Risberg, 2010; Meglio and Risberg, 2012b). Lastly it enriches M & A mainstream literature, which usually adopts a positivistic mindset and rely on statistical analysis, by adopting a qualitative approach based on case study analysis.

The recent influx of interest in and the changing status of drug checking has led us to reconsider some fundamental questions about drug checking. This commentary aims to define drug checking. It proceeds in three parts: terminology, definitions and programmes that are excluded from the definition of drug checking that still have value for harm reduction.

To inform the commentary, an informal review of pertinent publications on the topic was conducted to extract relevant definitions and terminology.

Drug checking services (DCS) have five necessary features: (1) aim of reducing harm; (2) analyse samples directly from the public; (3) return results to the service user; (4) involve information exchange between service user and DCS; and (5) conduct a tailored intervention with the service user. Variable features include the populations served, setting, analysis methods, immediacy of results, nature of intervention, levels of engagement with other stakeholder groups, funding models, legal status and staff skillsets. Programmes that are not DCS but have some similarities to DCS include non-publicly accessible testing of drugs as well as testing of bodily fluids where results may inform drug alerts.

Drug checking remains a legally, politically and commercially sensitive health service. Reflecting on the history and evolution of drug checking, both as a term and as a harm reduction service, helps provide clarity in terms of what drug checking is and what it is not. This facilitates more effective framing of evaluations, in terms of what DCS aim to do and achieve.