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Phenomenology has a long tradition as a qualitative research method in the social and health sciences. The application of phenomenological methods to understand lived experiences and subjectivities offers researchers a rich tapestry of methodological approaches, often however, the availability of these methods to researchers is tempered as a result of inflexible ideas regarding their use. This article aims to highlight the uniting features between approaches.

The paper begins by offering a brief overview of the two traditions within phenomenology, the descriptive and interpretive approaches and traces the development of each one. It then presents an overview of the commonalities shared by both approaches in with particular reference to the philosophical and methodological cohesion between them.

Frequently, the literature fails to focus on how these methodologies can be used together, and instead foregrounds the ontological and methodological differences between them. While an overview of some of the more vociferous debates within phenomenology are included and acknowledged, the paper calls for a focus on the shared goals of the phenomenological project.

This article aims to illustrate that, while recognising differences, the two phenomenological traditions have more in common that unites them, and argues that once this is applied pragmatically, a multiplicity of phenomenological traditions are available to researchers.

A simulation procedure is presented to estimate the throughput availability of a serially interconnected manufacturing system. The model presented in the article is able to analyse, predict and suggest ways for improving productivity. The model is applicable to systems with branching and converging process streams, recycling, and intermediate buffer storages. The simulation has been carried out for a wire‐rope manufacturing plant and has been implemented by using a personal computer.

Presents a simulation model for studying the availability of an iron‐ore production plant interconnected logistically with a large Integrated Steel Manufacturing System (ISMS). The objective of the simulation experiment is to validate whether there exists adequate capability of the existing iron‐ore production plant to meet the demands of the hot metal production plant of ISMS. Availability estimation has been made for the total unit of the iron ore production plant and sensitivity tests have been carried out with respect to buffer storages in between workstations. The model has been applied to a real‐life large ISMS in India and the results have been implemented also by the management of the company.

This study employs creative strategies to contentanalyse Super Bowl commercials from 2001 to 2009, focusing specifically on message strategies. The findings aim to answer four research questions. What are the message strategies commonly employed in Super Bowl commercials? What are the trends of the message strategies employed in Super Bowl commercials over time? What are the relationships between the message strategies and the commercial likeability? What are the specific roles played by the high- vs. low-involvement product categories?

Prior to the sudden collapse of large companies following the turn of the century and the implication that the auditing of these enterprises had failed, the large public accounting firms sought to re‐engineer the audit. A comprehension attempt to convert that which had been designed as a social good into one more aligned with a commercial logic was halted by the legislative response to this departure from classic professionalism. Recent developments suggest that change in this direction is regrouping. The purpose of this paper is to provide a reflective analysis of the thoughts of the authors on the early development of the new audit approach.

Most of the information in the piece was garnered from conversations with public accounting partners during the era in question. Logical argumentation derived from the academic and theoretical literature is the primary method.

Attributes of the firms' strategies during this period are outlined. Features of the new audit are developed, especially as they vary from the traditional audit. These techniques and approaches are analyzed in terms of their ability to serve the public interest. This paper argues that motivating factors of the new audit will continue to be a force even in the more hostile regulatory environment of today.

An appreciation of the findings of the study is useful in maintaining a level of skepticism about changes to the audit that are advocated by audit firms. Users of audit services, regulators, and legislators would benefit from an appreciation of the recent past. The motivating factors underlying these changes to audit environment continue to operate over time as the social purposes of the audit are less likely to be converted by the firms to ones that can be commercially exploited.

The study contributes insights into the origins of the new business audit approach and related strengths and limitations. These factors should be considered as the approach is developed and moves forward into the future in order for the audit approach to be effective in performing its social functions.

Peers and friends are among the most influential social forces affecting adolescent behavior. In this chapter, the authors investigate peer effects on post high school career decisions and on school choice. The authors define peers as students who are in the same classes and social clubs and measure peer effects as spatial dependence among them. Utilizing recent developments in spatial econometrics, the authors formalize a spatial multinomial choice model in which individuals are spatially dependent in their preferences. The authors estimate the model via pseudo maximum likelihood using data from the Texas Higher Education Opportunity Project. The authors do find that individuals are positively correlated in their career and college preferences and examine how such dependencies impact decisions directly and indirectly as peer effects are allowed to reverberate through the social network in which students reside.

While the traditional English public house still represents the largest part of the market, its share is falling with the introduction of themed branded establishments. The UK’s pub retailers have over the past five years reacted to a developing society whereby attitudes towards leisure time, drinking, eating out, health and entertainment have changed. Through diversification, they have moved away from the traditional British public house towards branded outlets that are able to appeal to diverse consumer demands. The reasons for this diversification will be explored along with the brewers’ response. Within this process of diversification lies the matter of promotion and branding. The emphasis seems to be slowly moving away from the beer product of a particular brewer to a focus on the service providers’ corporate image, name and reputation. In cases such as Whitbread and Bass, companies are introducing a hierarchy of brands that revolve around five issues: physical evidence, service delivery, process, people, and quality. It is the customer’s perception of these five attributes that will determine establishments’ success. One such brand has been the Irish themed pub. This paper will critically analyse the reasons for the success of this Irish phenomenon with a link made between the nature of this particular “product” and customers’ perception of it.

In retail environments, the atmosphere communicates to consumers through non‐verbal channels, impacting on their beliefs about a product, a service or the way in which a service is provided. The current paper explores the bar environment, and the use of atmospherics by managers as well as responses to atmosphere by consumers,

The research takes a qualitative approach, utilising focus groups with consumers, and in‐depth interview with bar managers to assess the use and importance of atmospheric elements in the bar environment.

The findings suggest that managers and consumers want the same things from the bar environment. However, parties are divided as to the best way of achieving this.

The research is limited to a sample of bars in one city. However, implications for bar retailing in general can be drawn from the observations by customers and managers.

The study provides confirmation that atmospheres have the ability to creative positive emotions and behaviours. The results also highlight areas where atmospherics can not only be used to attract more patrons, but also to allow managers to reflect on their atmosphere creation practices.

Research into atmospherics in service and retailing is still limited, with specific studies of unique environments' aspects required to further our knowledge of the part that atmospheric elements play in the success of these settings.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate budgetary solvency (BS) as a part of the financial condition of local governments (LGs), considering that the growing demand for public services is primarily affecting this variable.

The study investigates a sample of 132 Italian LGs with more than 50,000 inhabitants for the period 2005–2014. The authors obtain a set of indicators as proxies of BS, which serve as the dependent variable of a regression model aimed at testing several independent variables which the authors are interested in, namely, financial autonomy, current equilibrium, level of indebtedness and investments.

BS, as well as its three indicators—sustainability, flexibility and vulnerability—are positively related to financial autonomy and current equilibrium and negatively related to the level of indebtedness and investments.

To cover citizens’ demands for public services guaranteeing sound financial management, policymakers are advised to control both the balance between current revenue and expenses and the level of indebtedness while preserving financial autonomy from external sources.

This study adds fresh insight to the literature on financial health, emphasising the relevance of public financial management.

This study provides insights into the meanings given to audit quality (AQ) by audit partners responsible for delivering audit services. It explores the influence of contextual factors in the auditing setting on constructing such meanings and its representations.

Drawing on a symbolic-interactionist framework, this study takes an interpretive approach, employing semi-structured interviews with audit partners from the United Kingdom (UK).

Three primary meanings of AQ are identified. First, in contradiction to that offered by “mainstream” AQ research, audit partners in this study predominantly regarded the meaning of AQ as an economic concept in the context of the “business” of auditing, delivering the service quality (e.g. value-added auditing and value-for-money) that is expected by their audit clients. Second, the audit partners also espouse the meaning of AQ to be “fit for purpose” audit documentation and adherence to quality control that meets the standards of compliance demanded by independent audit inspections. Third, and similar to the classic convention of AQ, audit partners consider “inputs” to AQ, attributes related to individual auditors (e.g. qualifications, experience and training) as one of the key AQ meanings. A range of stimuli underlies AQ meaning construction, including the audit firm's commercial interests, legitimacy, image management and social identity resulting from audit partners' interactions with audit clients, regulators, and their own self-reflexivity. Interestingly, this study identifies a considerable potential conflict between the meanings assigned to AQ, which suggests that auditors are struggling to strike a balance between the competing demands of those meanings.

This exploratory study addresses only the audit partners' perceptions concerning the meaning of AQ. Findings of this study are relevant to auditors and other parties, such as regulators, in addressing competing dimensions of AQ and potential choices involving conduct and content in any individual audit engagement.

The study complements existing research into AQ by exposing the rationales and potential behaviours that underlie commitments to quality by those involved in commissioning audit engagements. It also adds detailed evidence of how contextual factors in the auditing environment interact with auditors' notions of AQ.