Der Einfluss des EcoVadis-Labels auf die finanzielle Performance von privat geführten Unternehmen

Diese Masterarbeit untersucht den Zusammenhang zwischen Nachhaltigkeitszertifizierungen, konkret dem EcoVadis-Label, und der finanziellen Performance von privat geführten Unternehmen im deutschsprachigen Raum (DACH). Während ESG-Themen und Nachhaltigkeitsberichterstattung bereits in börsennotierten Konzernen stark verankert sind, besteht in der Forschungsliteratur eine erkennbare Lücke hinsichtlich der Auswirkungen solcher Initiativen auf kleine und mittelständische Unternehmen (KMU), insbesondere solche ohne gesetzliche ESG-Berichtspflicht. Ziel der Arbeit war es, zu analysieren, ob und in welchem Ausmaß das EcoVadis-Rating wirtschaftliche Vorteile in Form verbesserter Kennzahlen wie Umsatz, EBIT, ROE oder Liquidität mit sich bringt. Im Rahmen einer standardisierten Online-Befragung wurden Daten von 31 Unternehmen erhoben, die aktuell oder in der Vergangenheit eine EcoVadis-Zertifizierung durchlaufen haben. Die Daten wurden mittels deskriptiver Statistik, Pearson-Korrelationen und multipler Regressionsanalysen ausgewertet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass kurzfristig kein signifikanter Zusammenhang zwischen dem EcoVadis-Score und den erhobenen betriebswirtschaftlichen Kennzahlen festgestellt werden konnte. Dennoch deuten qualitative Rückmeldungen und langfristige Erwartungshaltungen der Unternehmen darauf hin, dass nachhaltige Geschäftspraktiken mit positiven Effekten auf Reputation, Lieferkettenmanagement und Stakeholder-Dialog verbunden sind. Besonders der wahrgenommene Einfluss auf Investorengespräche und strukturelle Verbesserungen in der Lieferkette war deutlich ausgeprägt.This master's thesis examines the relationship between sustainability certifications, specifically the EcoVadis label, and the financial performance of privately held companies in the German-speaking region (DACH). While ESG issues and sustainability reporting are already strongly anchored in listed corporations, there is a noticeable gap in the research literature regarding the impact of such initiatives on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially those without a mandatory ESG reporting obligation. The aim of the study was to analyze whether and to what extent the EcoVadis rating brings economic benefits in the form of improved key figures such as turnover, EBIT, ROE or liquidity. As part of a standardized online survey, data was collected from 31 companies that have currently or in the past undergone EcoVadis certification. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations and multiple regression analyses. The results show that in the short term, no significant correlation was found between the EcoVadis score and the key business indicators surveyed. Nevertheless, qualitative feedback and long-term expectations of the companies indicate that sustainable business practices are associated with positive effects on reputation, supply chain management and stakeholder dialog. The perceived influence on discussions with investors and structural improvements in the supply chain was particularly pronounced

ACCURACY INVESTIGATION OF DEM BASED ON GÖKTÜRK-2 STEREO IMAGES

In December 18, 2012, Gokturk-2 satellite has been launched to the space from the Jiuguan station in China. The satellite has the pushbroom camera, which could enable to take panchromatic imaging with 2.5 m resolution and multispectral imaging with 5 m resolution at the height of 685 km. Satisfying the requests of Turkish Armed Forces, Turkish government agencies and institutes for satellite images has been aimed by the data provided by Gokturk-2 satellite. High Resolution Satellite Images (HRSI) have been extensively used in such fields as mapping, intelligence service, exploration, monitoring of environment, agriculture and change tracking; mapping is one of the most widespread application areas of HRSI.In order to use satellite images like a map, geometric deformations should be removed; in other words, the deformations are required to be orthorectified. The model, Ground Control Points (GCP) and Digital Elevation Models are needed for an accurate orthorectification application.In this study, block adjustment was made by using 20*60 km sized stereo image of Gokturk-2 satellite, GCPs and Check Points (CP) in different numbers. Average errors in X, Y, Z dimensions were analyzed at the end of the adjustment. Furthermore, the accuracy of Digital Elevation Model was controlled by the heights of primary bench marks

Prevalence and microbiological characteristics of clinically infected foot-ulcers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A retrospective exploratory study

Background: The prevalence of foot ulcers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been reported at almost 10 %. These foot ulcers often occur at multiple sites and are reoccurring, with the potential risk of infection increased due to RA diagnosis and disease modifying medications. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of clinical infection in foot-ulcers of patients with RA; describe the microbiological characteristics and investigate risk factors. Methods: Retrospective clinical data was collected for all patients attending a rheumatology foot ulcer clinic between 1st May 2012 and 1st May 2013: wound swab data was collected from those with clinical infection. Results: Twenty-eight patients with RA and foot-ulcers were identified; eight of these patients had clinical infection and wound swabs taken (29 %). Of these eight patients there were equal men and women, with median age 74 years, and average disease duration 22 years. Cardiovascular disease/peripheral-vascular disease (CVD/PVD) were reported in six patients, diabetes in two patients. Six patients were treated with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs); three were on biologic medications and two on steroids. Five wound swabs cultured skin flora, one staphylococcus aureus, one had no growth after culture; and one was rejected due to labelling error. Conclusion: Almost a third of people with RA and foot ulcers attending clinic over one year had clinical infection, however microbiological analysis failed to isolate pathogens in six of seven wound swabs. This may be due to inaccurate diagnosis of ulcer infection or to issues with sampling, collection, transport, analysis or reporting. There was insufficient data to relate risk of clinical infection with risk factors. Further research is required to identify the most appropriate techniques for infection diagnosis, wound sampling and processing. Trial registration: Ethical approval was obtained from University of Leeds, Faculty of Medicine and Health (Reference number: SHREC/RP/349)

I am just shy and timid: Student teachers' explanations for their performances of their presentations

GlobELT Conference / International Conference on Teaching and Learning English as an Additional Language -- MAY 18-21, 2017 -- Ephesus, TURKEYAs part of the research on motivation, causal attribution studies have an important role in predicting and improving academic performance since controllable and uncontrollable attributions have an effect on learners' future actions. Following this path, the present qualitative study investigates the attributions of students in an English Language Teaching (ELT) program for the performances of their presentations as part of an oral communication skills course. Upon the completion of the course, a total of 83 second year ELT students scored their performances out of 10 and provided explanations for their performances. This data set illustrated their attributions and estimated future achievements. Data analysis consisted of two phases: first, the students were divided into two groups based on the perceived successes of their performances, and secondly, their explanations were examined with content analysis. The initial analysis showed that 20 students scored themselves as less successful and 63 students scored themselves as successful. It revealed that the less successful group attributed their performances mostly to their mood and lack of effort, both of which are categorized in the internal attributions. In contrast, the successful students attributed their performances to effort, mood, and strategy use, all of which fell into the internal category as well. From these results, it can be concluded that the learners had a higher locus of control in that they attributed their performances to mostly internal attributions. In addition, providing immediate teacher feedback and creating a classroom environment for vicarious learning were effective for increasing learners' effort and motivation for their presentations. These findings may imply that teachers focus on providing immediate feedback and create an effective classroom atmosphere that will probably lead to vicarious learning. (c) 2020 EJAL & the Authors. Published by Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics (EJAL). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY-NC-ND) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)