Abdel K. Halabi and Brendan Carroll
– The purpose of this paper is to examine how farm management and farm accounting may be improved from the accountant’s perspective.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how farm management and farm accounting may be improved from the accountant’s perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
There has been a dearth of qualitative studies examining accountant’s attitudes to financial reports. This study therefore interviews 13 rural accountants regarding their opinions on the usefulness of financial information they provide to farmers, and what types of financial information could aid farm management.
Findings
Accountants generally agree that the present financial reports provided to farmers are of little decision-making value, since they are made for the purposes of compliance. In response, the accountants suggest a number of management accounting reports can better aid farmers.
Practical implications
Accountants are important to the success of farms, yet in-depth responses have not previously been sought on the reports that accountants produce for farmers. This research provides accountants’ opinions on how reports could be more useful for farmers and how more focused management accounting reports can assist decision-making.
Originality/value
The qualitative approach used in this research provides a fresh and richer perspective on the usefulness of accounting to farm management. Interviewing the adviser rather than the business owner is relatively uncommon in agricultural organisations. The interviews have allowed the thoughts and concerns of accountants to come to light in a manner not previously achieved in organisational studies which relate farming and accounting.
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Gautam Gulati, Brendan D. Kelly, Conor O’Neill, Paul O’Connell, Sally Linehan, Eimear Spain, David Meagher and Colum P. Dunne
The assessment and management of prisoners on hunger strikes in a custodial setting is complex. There is limited clinical guidance available for psychiatrists to draw upon in such…
Abstract
Purpose
The assessment and management of prisoners on hunger strikes in a custodial setting is complex. There is limited clinical guidance available for psychiatrists to draw upon in such cases. The purpose of this paper is to develop a management algorithm through expert elicitation to inform the psychiatric care of prisoners on a hunger strike.
Design/methodology/approach
A Delphi method was used to elicit views from Irish forensic psychiatrists, a legal expert and an expert in ethics using a structured questionnaire. Themes were extracted from the results of the questionnaire to propose a management algorithm. A consensus was reached on management considerations.
Findings
Five consultant forensic psychiatrists, a legal expert and an expert on psychiatric ethics (n=7) consented to participation, with a subsequent response rate of 71.4 per cent. Consensus was achieved on a proposed management algorithm. Assessment for mental disorder, capacity to refuse food and motivation for food refusal are seen as key psychiatric tasks. The need to work closely with the prison general practitioner and the value of multidisciplinary working and legal advice are described. Relevant aspects of law included mental health, criminal law (insanity) and capacity legislation.
Originality/value
This study outlines a management algorithm for the psychiatric assessment and management of prisoners on a hunger strike, a subject about which there is limited guidance to date. Although written from an Irish perspective, this study outlines key considerations for psychiatrists in keeping with international guidance and therefore may be generalisable to other jurisdictions.
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Cognitive science indicates that users of any system create internal representations of it to enable them to structure knowledge. Conceptual models which include appropriate…
Abstract
Cognitive science indicates that users of any system create internal representations of it to enable them to structure knowledge. Conceptual models which include appropriate components, actions and interactions of a system provide students with a conceptual framework for accelerating learning. Such models have proved successful as pedagogical tools in other domains. The author describes a conceptual model of information retrieval within which is embedded a model of the Internet. The use of these models should help students form mature mental models so that they perceive information retrieval as a process and are able to make informed choices of when to use the Internet, and to decide on suitable search strategies for different question types.
Chibuzo Ejiogu and Ikedinachi Ogamba
At the end of this chapter, learners should be able to:
- Explain the major components of executive compensation.
- Understand the role of objectives, costs and risk in designing…
Abstract
Learning Objectives
At the end of this chapter, learners should be able to:
Explain the major components of executive compensation.
Understand the role of objectives, costs and risk in designing executive compensation packages.
Explain the influence of transparency, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility practices on executive compensation in an organisation.
Explain the major components of executive compensation.
Understand the role of objectives, costs and risk in designing executive compensation packages.
Explain the influence of transparency, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility practices on executive compensation in an organisation.
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The purpose of this paper is to describe and critique ways in which the threats from confirmation bias have been rejected.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe and critique ways in which the threats from confirmation bias have been rejected.
Design/methodology/approach
Dismissals of the existence of, or threats from, confirmation bias are identified from a review of literature across a very wide range of disciplines. The dismissals are robustly examined.
Findings
The dismissals are categorised as: (1) radical scepticism (2) consequentialism: and (3) denial. Each type of dismissal, it is argued, is flawed.
Originality/value
The three-fold structuring of confirmation bias dismissal is novel. In addition to drawing from organisation, management and wider social science literature, the article also uses arguments and examples from the creative arts.
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Furnishes a narrative reflecting an in‐depth examination of managerial conceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the Irish context. The narrative locates itself…
Abstract
Furnishes a narrative reflecting an in‐depth examination of managerial conceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the Irish context. The narrative locates itself within the debate surrounding the extent to which corporate management may capture social accountants’ efforts to promote a broad society‐centred conception of CSR. Three key findings emerge from the narrative. First, there is evidence of a tendency for managers to interpret CSR in a constricted fashion consistent with corporate goals of shareholder wealth maximisation. Second, pockets of robust resistance to and defences of this narrow conception do, however, also emerge in the narrative. Third, the complexity of conceiving of a clear meaning for CSR, particularly for those exposed to the structural pressures encountered by these managers, is apparent. This is evident in the initial, somewhat contradictory, nature of many of the conceptions analysed. Reflects on these findings and considers their broad implications for social accountants’ attempts to promote greater society centred corporate accountability in Ireland.
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Although aviation is an indispensable part of modern transportation, it attracts less popular attention today than at any time during this century. Ironically, the very dominance…
Abstract
Although aviation is an indispensable part of modern transportation, it attracts less popular attention today than at any time during this century. Ironically, the very dominance of aviation, with its attendant “professionalization,” has stolen much of its romance.
Brendan Boyle, Rebecca Mitchell, Anthony McDonnell, Narender Sharma, Kumar Biswas and Stephen Nicholas
This paper explores the challenge of “fuzzy” assessment criteria and feedback with a view to aiding student learning. The paper untangles three guiding principles as mechanisms to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the challenge of “fuzzy” assessment criteria and feedback with a view to aiding student learning. The paper untangles three guiding principles as mechanisms to enhance the effectiveness of assessment and feedback through overcoming the inherent challenges which stem from tacit judgement during assessment.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper applies a realistic evaluation methodology, with a framework for assessment and feedback consisting of three principles – Means, Opportunity and Motivation (MOM). Through in-depth interviews with undergraduate and postgraduate management students the paper identifies how and when the means, opportunity and motivation principles impact student learning through assessment and the utility of the feedback received on their learning.
Findings
The findings in the paper illustrate that students do not always understand the feedback they receive on their learning because they do not fully understand the criteria to which it refers due to the tacit dimensions of assessment. The findings substantiate the proposition that effective assessment processes must ensure that students have the means, opportunity and motivation to use feedback and to understand the criteria, a central component of which is understanding tacit dimensions of assessment.
Practical implications
The paper deciphers three practical implications for instructors related to (1) teaching, (2) course and program design and (3) the nature of the feedback instructors should provide.
Originality/value
While prior scholarship has flagged the challenge of “fuzzy” assessment and feedback, this paper identifies when and how the means, opportunity and motivation principles are manifested in the process of making the tacit components of assessment codified and actionable, a critical process in developing expert learners.
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Reinhold Sackmann, Michael Windzio and Matthias Wingens
Suggests that youth unemployment is seen in East Germany as a critical life event because not only may it “scar” individuals’ careers but there is the fear that it may be a cause…
Abstract
Suggests that youth unemployment is seen in East Germany as a critical life event because not only may it “scar” individuals’ careers but there is the fear that it may be a cause of other social problems such as criminal and racist behaviour. Bases the study on event‐history and optimal‐matching analysis. Considers seven hypotheses about the impact of unemployment on social mobility career transitions. Findings suggest that unemployment can raise those chances of upward, downward and lateral mobility.