Mohammed Arif, Jack Goulding, Jeff Rankin and Farzad Pour Rahimian
Randolph Nsor-Ambala, Gabriel Sam Ahinful and Jeff Danquah Boakye
This study applies social identity theory (SIT) to explore the perceptual differences among various stakeholder groups regarding the relevance of social and environmental…
Abstract
Purpose
This study applies social identity theory (SIT) to explore the perceptual differences among various stakeholder groups regarding the relevance of social and environmental accounting (SEA), SEA education and mandatory disclosure of SEA.
Methodology
The study adopts a mixed method applying a qualitative and quantitative approach. In total, 325 structured questionnaires were analyzed quantitatively, using ANOVA and group comparison methods. Responses from 18 interviews were analyzed qualitatively to provide complementary evidence for the quantitative study.
Findings
There were significant differences between various stakeholder groups regarding the relevance of SEA practice and SEA education. Regulators were mostly affected by considerations about the external perception of work quality, followed by financiers. Practitioners and shareholders were influenced by the ability of SEA in its current state to affect actual work quality. This possibly indicates that academic qualifications have marginal effects on predicting considerations about SEA compared to social identity.
Originality/Value
This is the first application of SIT to SEA research and contributes to the effort to improve SEA within emerging economies, highlighting that a one-size-fits-all approach may be ineffective.
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Teerooven Soobaroyen, Dinesh Ramdhony, Afzalur Rashid and Jeff Gow
This paper examines the evolution and determinants of the extent and quality of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in a developing country (Mauritius).
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the evolution and determinants of the extent and quality of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in a developing country (Mauritius).
Design/methodology/approach
CSR disclosures from annual reports of all listed companies were hand-collected for a 12-year period (2007–2018). The extent of disclosure was measured using a dichotomous index (41 items) while the quality of each disclosure item was assessed on a three-point scale. We rely on organisational legitimacy and resource dependence theories to investigate (1) trends in CSR disclosure extent and quality (2) the role of selected board and firm characteristics, namely the business qualifications of board members, extent of cross-directorships and the firm’s use of employee volunteering scheme, on CSR disclosure.
Findings
CSR disclosure extent, notably in relation to environment and human resources, gradually increased to an overall score of 45%. Comparatively, the quality of disclosures was low, with an average score of 20%. The proportion of business-qualified directors is only positively associated with CSR disclosure extent. The extent of cross-directorships is negatively associated with CSR disclosure quality while employee volunteering is positively associated with disclosure extent and quality.
Originality/value
The findings reveal the relatively low quality of information being disclosed, and in spite of CSR and governance reforms, there seems to be limited influence from the board of directors and their networks; prompting a call to foster greater board engagement on CSR matters. The results also highlight the need for a multi-dimensional assessment of CSR disclosure.
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Odhiambo Odera, Albert Scott and Jeff Gow
This study aims to identify the differences between local and foreign companies’ social and environmental disclosures (SEDs) practices operating in the Nigerian oil sector. It…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the differences between local and foreign companies’ social and environmental disclosures (SEDs) practices operating in the Nigerian oil sector. It aims at distinguishing SED levels by comparing local and foreign companies operating in the oil sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyses annual reports through content analysis. SED extent and type are measured by the number of sentences. SEDs are further classified into three subcategories according to whether they are negative, neutral or positive disclosures and then their proportions are compared through descriptive analysis. To better understand SED differences, the Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney–Wilcoxon tests are used.
Findings
Local companies are found to provide more content and a wider variety of SED than foreign companies. The majority of the total SEDs in both local and foreign companies are positive with very little evidence of negative news.
Research limitations/implications
The measurement of SEDs focuses on only annual reports, without consideration of other disclosure media such as standalone reports and corporate websites. SEDs are assumed to be voluntary for the companies and they may choose not to disclose any information in annual reports, as there are no regulations or disclosure guidelines in Nigeria to be followed.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this study lies in identifying the factors that have led to diversity and uniqueness in SED between local and foreign oil companies. As such, this study seeks to contribute to the development of understanding multiple factors that could give rise to changing patterns of SED.
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This chapter presents “what we know” about the application of technology to instruction for students with learning and behavioral disabilities. Information is presented on…
Abstract
This chapter presents “what we know” about the application of technology to instruction for students with learning and behavioral disabilities. Information is presented on research-based effective practices in technological interventions for teaching specific academic skills, delivering content at the secondary level and using technology as a tool for assessment. The chapter concludes with a discussion on Universal Design for Learning and the promises this paradigm holds for educating not only students with special needs, but all learners. The chapter begins where parents and teachers typically begin: the consideration of technology.
Luca Fiorito and Sebastiano Nerozzi
According to what is reported by the North America Oral History Association, oral history was established in 1948 as a modern technique for historical documentation when Columbia…
Abstract
According to what is reported by the North America Oral History Association, oral history was established in 1948 as a modern technique for historical documentation when Columbia University historian Allan Nevins began recording the memoirs of people who had played a significant role in American public life. While working on a biography of President Grover Cleveland, Nevins found that Cleveland's associates left few of the kinds of personal records – private correspondences, diaries, and memoirs – that biographers generally rely on for their historical reconstructions. Nevins thus came up then with the idea of filling the gaps in the official records with narratives and anecdotes from living memory. Accordingly, he conducted his first interview in 1948 with New York civic leader George McAneny, and both the Columbia Oral History Research Office – the largest archival collection of oral history interviews in the world – and the contemporary oral history movement were born (Thomson, 1998).
Tre Wentling, Carrie Elliott, Andrew S. London, Natalee Simpson and Rebecca Wang
Purpose: We respond to a call for studies of “embodied experiences of stigma in context” by investigating how transgender embodiment shapes perceived needs for access to and…
Abstract
Purpose: We respond to a call for studies of “embodied experiences of stigma in context” by investigating how transgender embodiment shapes perceived needs for access to and experiences of “sex-specific” cancer screenings (SSCS) (e.g., breast and prostate exams, Pap smears) in the North American healthcare system.
Design/Methodology/Approach: We analyze data from semistructured interviews with a diverse sample of 35 transgender-identified adults. Based on thematic narrative analysis, we explore four themes in relation to embodiment: discrimination; discomfort and hyperawareness of genitalia; strategic reframing and active management; and SSCS health care encounters as positive and gender affirming.
Findings: In relation to SSCS, transgender individuals experience discrimination, do emotion work, and actively manage situations to obtain needed health care, and sometimes forego care because barriers are insurmountable. Health care providers' responses to transgender embodiment can disrupt health care encounters, but they can also facilitate access and create opportunities for affirmation, agency, advocacy, and new forms of interaction. Embodiment- and gender-affirming interactions with health care providers, which varied by gender, emerged as key influences on participants' experiences of SSCS.
Research Limitations/Implications: Our sample primarily includes binary gender-identified individuals, and while our interview guide covered many topics, the SSCS question did not explicitly reference testicular exams.
Practical Implications: Cancer prevention and detection Cancer prevention and detection require health care professionals who are prepared for differently embodied persons. Preventive cancer screenings are not “sex-specific”; they are relevant to individuals with medically necessary needs regardless of gender identity or embodiment.
Social Implications
Originality/Value: Few medical sociologists have focused on transgender embodiment. Findings enhance our understanding of how transgender embodiment and minority stress processes influence access to needed SSCS.
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Mark C. Goniwiecha and David A. Hales
Americans have become increasingly interested in their ethnic heritage in recent years. Assimilated Euro‐Americans, whose ancestors arrived in the New World generations ago, are…
Abstract
Americans have become increasingly interested in their ethnic heritage in recent years. Assimilated Euro‐Americans, whose ancestors arrived in the New World generations ago, are rediscovering their roots and are enrolling in foreign language classes, taking up folk dancing, learning ethnic cuisine, tracing their genealogical pedigrees, and returning to the religious traditions their parents may or may not have passed on to them. Now it's “in” to be ethnic.