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The purpose of this paper is to explore the possibility of using a metric to measure user acceptability of a system prior to its implementation.

Empirical research is carried within PISO^®, an existing process improvement method that harnesses the expertise of system users in redesigning systems. A metric called “warm glow” is trialled, designed to test the level of user acceptance to system change.

The paper finds that the “warm glow” metric was applied to a number of system redesigns applying the PISO method, to check user opinion of the existing system against the proposed system. It was found that use of the “warm glow” metric does give a measured approach to gauging acceptability. Two possible influences were considered during the study. The first was the Halo effect which suggests an optimal stage in the redesign at which to rate processes in terms of user opinion. Results in this case appeared consistent irrespective of time. The second was the Hawthorn effect which suggests that simply by being “singled out” to redesign the system, user opinions will be positively biased. Findings in this respect were inconclusive. The need is noted for further research into possible effects.

It is likely that such a technique could by used more widely than within the PISO method.

The paper provides a means of testing user acceptance to systems via rating of system processes.

There are intense current debates about the place of belief systems in a secular society, and also whether the mechanistic approach to mental health care is sufficient for human beings. This paper aims to describe the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation NHS Trust (BSMHFT) spirituality and mental health research programme within that context.

The research studies are placed within a discourse of current debates, but also within the specific context of the city of Birmingham. Birmingham is England's second city to London, and is an increasingly multi‐ethnic and multi‐cultural environment.

Those who use mental health services increasingly state that they wish to have the spiritual dimension of their lives attended to by professionals. The BSMHFT project reinforces this message and demonstrates the merits of close working with faith communities and engaging with staff in their understanding of spirituality.

The research by Professor Koenig et al. in the USA has demonstrated the physical and mental health benefits of belonging to a supportive faith community. The BSMHFT project is a rare UK example of research in this area and comes at a time of intense debate in England over the nature of society.

Drawing on a series of RAND interviews with Vietnamese prisoners during the Vietnam War, the paper aims to analyze the role of colonizer–colonized in the production of postcolonial representations (postcoloniality) and the role of the Western corporation in the processes of postcoloniality.

Selected RAND interviews are analyzed using a postcolonial lens and explored through the method of critical hermeneutics.

The analysis supports the contention that Western othering of Third World people is neither completely successful nor one-sided. It is argued that while the Western corporation is an important site for understanding hybridity and postcoloniality, analysis needs to go beyond focusing on the symbolic and the textual to take account of the material conditions in which interactions between colonizer–colonized occur. Finally, there is support for further study of the socio-political character of methods of research in the study of international business.

The case suggests further study of colonizer–colonized interactions outside of the context of an on-going war, which may have heightened some forms of resistance and voice.

The paper draws attention to the continuing problem of Western othering of formerly colonized people through military and commercial engagements that are framed by neo-colonial viewpoints embedded in theories of globalization and research methods.

The paper provides rare glimpses into interactions between colonizing and colonized people, and also the under-research study of the role of the Western corporation in the production of postcoloniality.

This purpose of this paper is to investigate the introduction of French theory into English language accounting research and to assess the impact of the work of French social theorists on the accounting research domain.

The paper presents a citation analysis of articles appearing in selected English language accounting research journals for a sample of French authors, during the periods from the inception of the journals to mid‐2009. In performing this citation analysis, 39 French authors who are well known as social theorists, philosophers, economists or sociologists were included. The accounting research journals chosen for analysis included the top four journals listed in many league tables for accounting research along with several journals that regularly publish research in accounting history or that focus on alternative research paradigms.

The citation analysis identified the following French authors as being the most frequently cited: Michel Foucault, followed by Bruno Latour and Pierre Bourdieu. The citation analysis also identified the English language accounting research journals in which French social theorists have been most often cited. The two most significant journals have been Critical Perspectives on Accounting and Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, followed by Accounting Organizations and Society, Management Accounting Research and European Accounting Review. The analysis also shows the effects of mimeticism, which seems to have produced a sort of isomorphism in the styles of publication. Accounting, Organizations and Society, appears to be the standard‐setter of the critical‐interpretive field of accounting research.

This paper is the first known to provide a comprehensive analysis of the introduction of French theory into English language accounting research.;

This paper aims to analyse the nature and extent of convergence within the literature of the narrative turn in narrative accounting research.

The paper offers an actor–network–theoretic perspective drawing on Latour’s theory of citation and Shwed and Bearman’s development of that theory to analyse patterns of convergence.

The paper finds that across the exemplars of narrative turn research examined, there is only a limited level of epistemic engagement so that exemplars achieve their status without undergoing trials of strength.

The paper argues that the resources of the relevant academic community are spread so thinly that each seam – each research question, methodology or method and research context – is mined by no more than a small handful of researchers unable to generate a meaningful volume of contestation. Steps are suggested to better focus research activity.

The use of Latour’s theory of citation to analyse patterns of convergence in accounting research is innovative. The paper proposes a substantial change in the community’s approach to narrative turn research on accounting narratives.

This study, based on stakeholder theory, aims to analyse the factors that can affect the level of visual disclosure in the context of integrated reporting (IR), which represents the last frontier of corporate disclosure.

This study develops an innovative measure to measure the level of visual disclosure of integrated reports that takes into account the use and degree of integration of images and graphs. Furthermore, to test the hypotheses, this study uses a regression model on a sample of 134 international companies that published an integrated report in 2018.

The results show that firm size, firm profitability and industry environmental sensitivity positively affect the level of visual disclosure of the integrated reports.

To our knowledge, this is the first study that examines visual disclosure in the IR context. It also extends the field of application of the stakeholder theory, still little used to explain visual disclosure strategies, and increases knowledge on the determinants of IR.

Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and non-economic activities. Researchers have increasingly focused on the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the economic development of a country is largely dependent on them. Following the success of ICT utilisation in SMEs in developed countries, many developing countries are looking to utilise the potential of the technology to develop SMEs. Past studies have shown that the contribution of ICT to the performance of SMEs is not clear and certain. Thus, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of ICT in generating firm performance since this has implications for SMEs’ expenditure on the technology. This research examines the diffusion of ICT among SMEs with respect to the typical stages from innovation adoption to post-adoption, by analysing the actual usage of ICT and value creation. The mediating effects of integration and utilisation on SME performance are also studied. Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature, institutional theory and resource-based theory, this study has developed a comprehensive integrated research model focused on the research objectives. Following a positivist research paradigm, this study employs a mixed-method research approach. A preliminary conceptual framework is developed through an extensive literature review and is refined by results from an in-depth field study. During the field study, a total of 11 SME owners or decision-makers were interviewed. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo 10 to refine the model to develop the research hypotheses. The final research model is composed of 30 first-order and five higher-order constructs which involve both reflective and formative measures. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the theoretical model with a cross-sectional data set of 282 SMEs in Bangladesh. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire issued to SMEs selected by applying a stratified random sampling technique. The structural equation modelling utilises a two-step procedure of data analysis. Prior to estimating the structural model, the measurement model is examined for construct validity of the study variables (i.e. convergent and discriminant validity).

The estimates show cognitive evaluation as an important antecedent for expectation which is shaped primarily by the entrepreneurs’ beliefs (perception) and also influenced by the owners’ innovativeness and culture. Culture further influences expectation. The study finds that facilitating condition, environmental pressure and country readiness are important antecedents of expectation and ICT use. The results also reveal that integration and the degree of ICT utilisation significantly affect SMEs’ performance. Surprisingly, the findings do not reveal any significant impact of ICT usage on performance which apparently suggests the possibility of the ICT productivity paradox. However, the analysis finally proves the non-existence of the paradox by demonstrating the mediating role of ICT integration and degree of utilisation explain the influence of information technology (IT) usage on firm performance which is consistent with the resource-based theory. The results suggest that the use of ICT can enhance SMEs’ performance if the technology is integrated and properly utilised. SME owners or managers, interested stakeholders and policy makers may follow the study’s outcomes and focus on ICT integration and degree of utilisation with a view to attaining superior organisational performance.

This study urges concerned business enterprises and government to look at the environmental and cultural factors with a view to achieving ICT usage success in terms of enhanced firm performance. In particular, improving organisational practices and procedures by eliminating the traditional power distance inside organisations and implementing necessary rules and regulations are important actions for managing environmental and cultural uncertainties. The application of a Bengali user interface may help to ensure the productivity of ICT use by SMEs in Bangladesh. Establishing a favourable national technology infrastructure and legal environment may contribute positively to improving the overall situation. This study also suggests some changes and modifications in the country’s existing policies and strategies. The government and policy makers should undertake mass promotional programs to disseminate information about the various uses of computers and their contribution in developing better organisational performance. Organising specialised training programs for SME capacity building may succeed in attaining the motivation for SMEs to use ICT. Ensuring easy access to the technology by providing loans, grants and subsidies is important. Various stakeholders, partners and related organisations should come forward to support government policies and priorities in order to ensure the productive use of ICT among SMEs which finally will help to foster Bangladesh’s economic development.

The purpose of this paper is to formulate an analytical model for interpreting photographs in accountability statements from Barthes' celebrated theoretical work on photography, La chambre claire; to offer a study of the communication of accountability by an NGO through the first detailed analysis, within accountability literature, of one photograph.

The study establishes a conceptual framework for examining photography based on La chambre claire's contrast of rational codes (Studium) with intuitive elements (Punctum). An application of the framework is provided in considering the heterogeneity and accountability of NGOs through an examination of the Oxfam Annual Review 2003/2004 front cover photograph.

The framework is enlightening: the photograph's Studium reflects the complexity of Oxfam's dual engagement in the corporate and charitable sectors, and the developed and developing worlds; its Punctum arouses sentiment and compassion.

The study provides a model which may be applied to the wealth of photographs produced by contemporary organizations; the framework encompasses promotional images as well as photographic art, and is well suited to figurative photography. It is limited regarding photographs of a hybrid or abstract nature.

The analysis is of interest to accounting researchers, practitioners, trainees, auditors and any user of accounting and accountability statements. It illuminates the way in which photographs highlight, complement and supplement information more traditionally communicated in numbers and words.

The paper adds to research into NGOs; augments theoretical work on photographs in accountability literature; and expands the empirical literature on the interpretation of photographs in accounting and accountability statements.

The purpose of this paper is to re-kindle debate about finding a conceptual and pragmatic basis for accounting and accountability researchers and to incorporate biodiversity management into the internal practices, routines and communication of organizations.

A qualitative interplay of theories, particularly structuration theory, applied to an interdisciplinary, communitarian and eco-centric perspective will be used to demonstrate the need for change: for researchers and practitioners to interact with other disciplines and adapt their professional, institutional and governance practices to incorporate biodiversity management and reporting within organizational structures.

Collective community action can be undertaken by aligning physical biodiversity and its setting with the interrelationship between external information structures, accountability and internal information structures, agent behaviour and the reporting of outcomes. This should assist in reducing the loss of species and richness triggered by unsound economic decision-making.

This is perhaps one of the few accounting studies which discuss theoretical frameworks for the integration of accounting/accountability systems and biological diversity information through a conceptual rethinking.

This should assist in reducing the loss of species and richness triggered by unsound economic decision-making.

This paper re-opens the debate regarding the need for an alternative conceptual approach through which biodiversity management can be incorporated into the complexities of business interactions, and the social and natural systems, by using management accounting as a primary vehicle. This is perhaps one of the few accounting studies which discuss theoretical frameworks for the integration of accounting/accountability systems and biological diversity information through a conceptual rethinking.