Conflicts of interest and disclosure: A critical assessment of the current COI policy and the value of integrity

Contextualising UK moorland burning studies: geographical versus potential sponsorship-bias effects on research conclusions

10.1101/731117 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Lee E. Brown ◽

Joseph Holden

Keyword(s):

Prescribed Burning ◽

Conflicts Of Interest ◽

Critical Assessment ◽

Policy Implications ◽

List Type ◽

Review Of The Literature ◽

Extreme Caution ◽

Geographical Variability ◽

Peer Reviewers ◽

Policy Community

AbstractIt has recently been claimed that geographical variability resulted in false conclusions from some studies examining the impacts of prescribed moorland burning, including the Effects of Moorland Burning on the Ecohydrology of River basins (EMBER) project. We provide multiple lines of evidence to contradict these claims and show that the EMBER results are reliable.A systematic review of the literature also confirms that EMBER conclusions were not out of line with the majority of other published UK studies on responses to prescribed burning of Sphagnum growth/abundance, soil properties, hydrological change, or peat exposure and erosion.We suggest that sponsorship-bias is associated with some recent research conclusions related to moorland burning. Thus, it is of grave concern when sponsorship or other potential conflicts of interest are not declared on publications related to moorland burning.We show that sponsorship and other conflicts of interest were not declared on a recent publication that criticised the EMBER project, thereby entirely undermining that critical assessment.Policy implications: The EMBER findings are robust. Our study suggests that publications on moorland burning that have been funded by pro-burning groups should be treated with extreme caution by the policy community. Publications that have been shown to have failed to declare conflicts of interest from the outset, when first submitted to a journal, should be disregarded by the policy community because peer reviewers and editors may have been unable to evaluate those pieces of work properly.

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Bribery and corruption in telecommunications – the Kingdom of Morocco

Info ◽

10.1108/info-11-2014-0048 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 16-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Ewan Sutherland

Keyword(s):

Design Methodology ◽

Conflicts Of Interest ◽

Critical Assessment ◽

Conflicts Of Interests ◽

Content Type ◽

Country Case Study ◽

Small Stock ◽

Practical Implications ◽

Detailed Picture

Purpose – This paper aims to analyse telecommunications in Morocco and the control exercised by the absolute monarch who also owns one of three mobile operators. Design/methodology/approach – The single country case study provides a detailed picture of legislative, market and policy developments over a period of 15 years. Findings – Severe conflicts of interests with the king as absolute monarch, head of the judiciary, chairman of the cabinet of ministers and owner of one of the largest operators exist. Market entry has only been possible with his sanction and only by acquiring in a stake in one of the existing operators. Investment is predominantly by domestic and Gulf Arabs. No attention has been given to competition and market bottlenecks. Expansion of the royal operator was observed. Research limitations/implications – This is a single-country case study of an absolute monarchy. Practical implications – Short of ending the monarchy, it is difficult to see a means to remove the conflicts of interest. Social implications – The interests of the citizens take second place to royal profit-seeking. Originality/value – This is the first critical assessment of telecommunications in Morocco. It adds to the small stock of case studies about bribery, corruption and patrimonialism in telecommunications.

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