Focuses on issues restricting providers of new services from using BT’s cooper loop, which is the most likely source of supply to residential and SME markets via enhanced DSL…
Abstract
Focuses on issues restricting providers of new services from using BT’s cooper loop, which is the most likely source of supply to residential and SME markets via enhanced DSL technologies. Outlines five options for regulatory action – taking into account pricing issues, also covers industry response to Oftel’s consultation document.
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Mark E. Hillon and David M. Boje
The purpose of this paper is to offer a reflexive commentary on the nature and validity of actionable knowledge from the authors’ experience with action research in New Mexico and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to offer a reflexive commentary on the nature and validity of actionable knowledge from the authors’ experience with action research in New Mexico and beyond.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors have situated their localized experience in the history and theory of the broader field of action research by posing the question of whether the validity of action research depends more upon the observer's worldview than upon the quality of change in the lives of those involved in the intervention.
Findings
Three fundamental tenets of action research are identified. A pragmatic perspective underlies the need for locality grounded criticality in reflection, instrumental participation leading to trust and genuine understanding of behavior, and a shared desire to actualize untapped human potential to solve a problem.
Research limitations/implications
The paper offer's reflection on the validity of actionable knowledge from the authors’ experience, supported by a brief case example to illustrate the dialogical convergence of theory and practice. Thus, this perspective may not be relevant and useful to all readers.
Practical implications
Reflection, regardless of when or how long it takes, is an essential catalyst in the transition of actionable knowledge into change.
Originality/value
The article attempts to separate a few essential elements of action research from the accumulated bits of technique, personal beliefs, ideology, and collected experiences that practitioners and theorists have attached to the question of validity and utility of knowledge produced by action research.
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James H. Dulebohn and Hsiu‐Lang Chen
State and local public pension plans cover a significant number of workers and represent a major component of the nation's retirement system. This study examined the…
Abstract
State and local public pension plans cover a significant number of workers and represent a major component of the nation's retirement system. This study examined the size‐administrative cost relationship of public pension plans to ascertain whether cost savings can be realized by increasing pension plan size. The results indicated that while the consolidation of smaller plans will generate administrative cost savings, the consolidation of larger plans will generate savings only up to an optimal membership size at which point cost savings will end. In addition, optimal size was found to differ for active and beneficiary members indicating that membership composition needs to be considered when assessing the potential for cost savings.
Circulation In the main library the university has installed a Plessey Satellite system for circulation control of normal loan stock, operating in batch mode and recording the…
Abstract
Circulation In the main library the university has installed a Plessey Satellite system for circulation control of normal loan stock, operating in batch mode and recording the data direct onto ½ inch magnetic tape. The transactions for the previous day are processed every morning, the library not having secure access to sufficient computer time to make online operation a feasible proposition. At the moment, for the great majority of items held by the library there is no bibliographic record available to the circulation system, though this is gradually being remedied and it is intended to use the mag. tape as part of the LOCAS service (see below) to build up automatically a short‐title file of all additions to stock.
Despite its stated intention to be independent, impartial and thorough, the 9-11 Commission was none of the three. The Commission was structurally compromised by bias-inducing…
Abstract
Despite its stated intention to be independent, impartial and thorough, the 9-11 Commission was none of the three. The Commission was structurally compromised by bias-inducing connections to subjects of the investigation, and procedurally compromised, among other reasons, by (1) its failure to take up promising lines of inquiry and its failure to try to force the release of key documents that were closely guarded by the Bush administration, the FBI and various intelligence agencies; (2) its distortion of information about pre-9-11 military preparedness, foreknowledge of the attacks or attacks of like-kind; and (3) omissions of information related to the funding of the plot and the specific whereabouts of key officials on the morning of September 11, 2001.
These structural compromises and procedural failings converged to assure that the Commission would not challenge core elements of the “official story” of the 9-11 attacks. This failure was compounded by the Commission's desire to produce a final report that would read as a “historical narrative” rather than as an exhaustive set of findings on the critical unanswered questions that arose after the attacks. The Commission's unquestioning acceptance of the official narrative also meant that it missed a perhaps larger opportunity to challenge key myths associated with American exceptionalism. Thus, the 9-11 Commission ultimately functioned as an instrument of cultural hegemony, extending and deepening the official version of events under the guise of independence and impartiality.
Stephen A. Zeff and Rachel F. Baskerville
The purpose of this paper is to identify the circumstances that gave rise to an adverse audit opinion by a New Zealand (Christchurch) accounting firm, Hicks and Ainger, on the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the circumstances that gave rise to an adverse audit opinion by a New Zealand (Christchurch) accounting firm, Hicks and Ainger, on the annual financial report of the local firm, T.J. Edmonds Ltd, in 1976. In so doing, this study revealed not only previously undocumented issues surrounding major asset purchases but also the impact of key personalities before and after the adverse opinion decision.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is located within the Cultural Theory of History, to theorize the narratives within the wider contextual perspective. The issues surrounding the use of memory from such interviews are also considered. The key material offered in this study is sourced from a 2015 interview with the two key audit partners in this audit engagement.
Findings
The accounting standard on depreciation at that time, SSAP 3, had not been applied properly to the accounting treatment of four helicopters for wild deer operations, purchased a week before balance date. Neither the artificial suppression of profits by this purchase decision and accounting choice nor the fall in profits nor the adverse opinion, influenced share prices or shareholder perceptions long term.
Originality/value
The significance of this project is that it informs the appreciation of the importance of contextual understanding of a singular adverse audit opinion.
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Water is essential for mental health. In spite of research evidence that dehydration has detrimental effects on cognitive functioning, the element of water has often been…
Abstract
Purpose
Water is essential for mental health. In spite of research evidence that dehydration has detrimental effects on cognitive functioning, the element of water has often been understated in the nutrition literature. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the necessity to integrate water as an essential nutrient for healthy cognitive functioning in nutrition research.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on a general review. The first section reviews the literature on the relationship between dehydration and cognitive performance in both adult and children populations, using electronic databases for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (excluding vulnerable populations, such as infants, the elderly and people with disabilities). The second section examines the status of water, as a nutrient, in nutrition and water-related documentation by international authorities (FAO, UNICEF, World Food Program, WHO, etc.).
Findings
Dehydration, even at mild levels, is associated with impairments in basic and higher order cognitive functions. Websites from international authoritative nutrition sources understate the role of water in healthy nutrition, and omit the discussion of the impact of dehydration on cognitive functioning.
Originality/value
The relation between dehydration and cognition is under-documented and not enough elaborated in guidelines and texts of authoritative international health policy and dietary sources.
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This chapter provides an alternative interpretation of the emergence of the “Ramsey-Cass-Koopmans” growth model, a framework which, alongside the overlapping generation model, is…
Abstract
This chapter provides an alternative interpretation of the emergence of the “Ramsey-Cass-Koopmans” growth model, a framework which, alongside the overlapping generation model, is the dominant approach in today’s macroeconomics. By focusing on the role Paul Samuelson played through the works he developed in the turnpike literature, the author’s goal is to provide a more accurate history of growth theory of the 1940–1960s, one which started before Solow (1956) but never had him as a central reference. Inspired by John von Neumann’s famous 1945 article, Samuelson wrote his first turnpike paper by trying to conjecture an alternative optimal growth path (Samuelson, 1949 [1966]). In the 1960s, after reformulating the intertemporal utility model presented in Ramsey (1928), Samuelson began to propound it as a representative agent model. Through Samuelson’s interactions with colleagues and PhD students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and given his standing in the profession, he encouraged a broader use of that device in macroeconomics, particularly, in growth theory. With the publication of Samuelson (1965), Tjalling Koopmans and Lionel McKenzie rewrote their own articles in order to account for the new approach. This work complements a recently written account on growth theory by Assaf and Duarte (2018).
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Edmond Berisha, David Gabauer, Rangan Gupta and Jacobus Nel
Existing empirical evidence suggests that episodes of financial stress (crises) can act as driver of growth of inequality. Consequently, in this study, the authors explore the…
Abstract
Purpose
Existing empirical evidence suggests that episodes of financial stress (crises) can act as driver of growth of inequality. Consequently, in this study, the authors explore the time-varying predictive power of an index of financial stress for growth in income (and consumption) inequality in the UK. The authors focus on the UK since income (and consumption) inequality data are available at a high frequency, i.e. on a quarterly basis for over 40 years (June, 1975 to March, 2016).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use Wang and Rossi's approach to analyze the time-varying impact of financial stress on inequality. Hence, the method provides a more appropriate inference of the effect rather than a constant parameter Granger causality method. Besides, understandably, the time-varying approach helps to depict the time-variation in the strength of predictability of financial stress on inequality.
Findings
This study’s findings point that financial distress correspond to subsequent increases in inequality, with the index of financial stress containing important information in predicting growth in income inequality for both in and out-of-sample periods. Interestingly, the strength of the in-sample predictive power is high post the period of the global financial crisis, as was observed in the early part of the sample. The authors believe these findings highlight an important role of financial stress for inequality – an area of investigation that has in general remained untouched.
Originality/value
Accurate prediction of inequality at a higher frequency should be more relevant to policymakers in designing appropriate policies to circumvent the wide-ranging negative impacts of inequality, compared to when predictions are only available at the lower annual frequency.