Kevin K. Jones, Richard L. Baskerville, Ram S. Sriram and Balasubramaniam Ramesh
The purpose of this study is to show how the presence of change caused a shift in the roles and responsibilities of the internal audit function (IAF).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to show how the presence of change caused a shift in the roles and responsibilities of the internal audit function (IAF).
Design/methodology/approach
The methodological design/approach was constructed by combining specific aspects of widely known management accounting and organizational change frameworks. The theoretical premise was based on the old institutional economics component of institutional theory. As such, this study used the case study method to examine and analyze the impact of this change in eight specific organizations using the new two-tiered organizational change framework.
Findings
This new framework analyzes the multidimensional facets of organizational change in the IAF. From the findings, it was observed that the change can be evolutionary, episodic, continuous and/or teleological, and people, organisms and organizations that are subject to it will react or respond to that change in a myriad of ways.
Practical implications
Moreover, the implications of change can be environmental, socioeconomic and political.
Originality/value
This study makes an intellectual contribution by introducing a new two-tiered organizational change framework to explain the IAF’s response to the environmental change factor of regulation.
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Kristof Van Assche, Raoul Beunen, Monica Gruezmacher, Martijn Duineveld, Leith Deacon, Robert Summers, Lars Hallstrom and Kevin Jones
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential, both analytically and practically, of understanding research methods as bridging devices. Methods can bridge theory and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential, both analytically and practically, of understanding research methods as bridging devices. Methods can bridge theory and empirics, but it is argued that they can perform several bridging functions: between theory and praxis, between analysis and strategy and between past and future. The focus is on those forms of bridging relevant for understanding and effectuating change in governance, at community level and at the scale of organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper develops a perspective on methods as bridging devices. It uses the newly minted methods of governance path and context mapping as a case study. These methods conceptually derive from evolutionary governance theory (EGT) and were developed and tested in Canadian empirical research. The case helps to develop insight in features, forms and limitations of methods as bridging devices in governance research and practice. The authors then use the case to further develop the initial concept of bridging more generally, emphasizing the shifting balance between methods as bridging and creating boundaries.
Findings
Both the case study and the theoretical analysis underline the necessary imperfection of any method as bridging device. The authors affirm the potential of method to perform different bridging functions at the same time, while revealing clear tradeoffs in each role. Tradeoffs occur with adapted versions of the method producing new strengths and weaknesses in new contexts. In each of the forms of bridging involved neither side can be reduced to the other, so a gap always remains. It is demonstrated that the practice of bridging through method in governance is greatly helped when methods are flexibly deployed in ongoing processes of bricolage, nesting and modification. Governance enables the continuous production of new framing devices and other methods.
Originality/value
The idea of methods as bridging devices is new, and can assist the development of a broader understanding of the various forms and functions of research methods. Moreover, it helps to discern roles of research methods in the functioning of governance. The context of governance helps to recognize the multi-functionality of research methods, and their transformation in a context of pressured decision-making. Moreover, this approach contributes to the understanding of governance as adumbrated by EGT.
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This paper takes a chronological approach to the cataloguing of electronic resources within the National Library of New Zealand. It briefly outlines the early work in this area…
Abstract
This paper takes a chronological approach to the cataloguing of electronic resources within the National Library of New Zealand. It briefly outlines the early work in this area and then looks at how the role of a national library affects the cataloguing process. This is followed by a description of current approaches to cataloguing published digital materials and the transformation of the catalogue record that has been part of this process. Finally some issues that are still under discussion are outlined.
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It is now generally accepted that, since organised crime has become increasingly sophisticated, globalised and well resourced, law enforcement must consequently shift from its…
Abstract
It is now generally accepted that, since organised crime has become increasingly sophisticated, globalised and well resourced, law enforcement must consequently shift from its traditionally reactive approach to investigating crime to a more proactive one. While this has happened in a range of fields, particularly drug trafficking, it does not appear that money‐laundering investigations have developed in accordance with this trend, with the exception of in the USA. This paper examines the features of money‐laundering sting operations carried out in the USA, the jurisdiction with the greatest experience in conducting this type of operation, and considers the current potential for money‐laundering stings in the UK.
Thirty men from the maximum-security Jessup Correctional Institution (Maryland), and Drew Leder, Professor of Philosophy, through small-group discussion, envision an alternative…
Abstract
Thirty men from the maximum-security Jessup Correctional Institution (Maryland), and Drew Leder, Professor of Philosophy, through small-group discussion, envision an alternative and authentically constructive institution. Uncomfortable with the notion of a truly “beautiful” prison, the group develops ideas of an “enlightened” prison, designed in counterpoint to the de-habilitating and destructive features of the existing prison. The enlightened prison would embody five core virtues: hope, growth, recognition of merit, individuality, and community. In the absence of these attitudes – all too often a characteristic of current-day institutions – there persists the “endarkened” prison, marked by despair, stasis, recognition of demerits, class-ification, and isolation.
Erik M. Hines, Paul C. Harris and Dwayne Ham
In this chapter, the authors discuss how school counselors may create a college-going environment for African American males in middle school. The authors use Bronfenbrenner’s…
Abstract
In this chapter, the authors discuss how school counselors may create a college-going environment for African American males in middle school. The authors use Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) Ecological Systems Theory to explain how environmental influences impact African American males’ college trajectory, both positively and negatively. Moreover, they use Ecological Systems Theory to discuss how multiple stakeholders (e.g., school counselors and parents) and various structured activities that align with the Eight Components of College and Career Readiness (NOSCA, 2010) may promote college preparation among Black male middle school students. The authors also present two case vignettes as examples of how school counselors may assist African American males for postsecondary options. In closing, the chapter concludes with implications for educational policy, research, and practice.
Ben Kerrane and Margaret K. Hogg
The purpose of this paper is to examine children's consumption experiences within families in order to investigate the role that different family environments play in the consumer…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine children's consumption experiences within families in order to investigate the role that different family environments play in the consumer socialisation of children.
Design/methodology/approach
Key consumer socialisation literature is reviewed and family communication patterns and parental socialisation style studies are introduced. Such studies argue for the homogenous and shared nature of the family environment for children. A three‐stage qualitative study of six families is reported, incorporating existential phenomenological interviews. The voices of children and their parents are captured, and the transcribed interview texts are analyzed on two levels (within and across family cases) using a hermeneutical process.
Findings
The findings of the study point towards the differential treatment of children within the family environment by both parents and siblings. It is proposed that children inhabit a unique position, or micro‐environment, within their family setting. Consumer micro‐environments are introduced; these have important implications in terms of children's consumption behaviour and, more importantly, their consumer socialisation process within the family setting.
Research limitations/implications
Consumer micro‐environments have potentially important implications in any re‐evaluation of the literature on consumer socialisation, and it is suggested that children may not have equal access to socialisation advice and support offered by family members. A limited number of families and family types are recruited in this exploratory study, and scope exists to explore family micro‐environments across a greater variety of family forms.
Originality/value
A series of micro‐environments, which have implications for the consumer socialisation of children, will be developed on a theoretical level. Existing consumer research views the family environment in homogenous terms, with suggestions that children are socialised by their parents in a similar manner (inhabiting a shared family environment). These findings problematise such a view and also offer insights into the role played by siblings in the consumer socialisation process.
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Kevin A. Jones and Ravi S. Sharma
This chapter is a retrospective commentary on the efficacy of teaching and learning in a higher education space that embraces the incredible diversity of delivery modes available…
Abstract
This chapter is a retrospective commentary on the efficacy of teaching and learning in a higher education space that embraces the incredible diversity of delivery modes available in the post-Covid-19 era of “Smart Cities.” The current reality of widespread and leading-edge experimentation with online learning necessitates that existing brick-and-mortar institutions reimagine their places as providers of higher education in this new age of digital disruptions that will resonate with all stakeholders a future of endless possibilities. The authors, with four decades between them of practice and field research at leading universities and colleges in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, and UAE, advocate an approach to higher education that is personalized for learning effectiveness, industrial operations, and institutional evolution; that is, a higher education that is democratized. They warn that the wasted opportunities of meaningful digital transformation pre-Covid-19 have led to an urgency of transformation at the present time. While randomized control trials continue to be the “elephant in the room”; scholars, leaders, technocrats, and regulators must drive the quest for the growth and relevance of a diversified and learner-driven higher education in the years ahead. The platform of a “smart city” may just be the catalyst for such a radical innovation.
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Most of us knew Leo Jolley at Aslib or through his writings only, so we are grateful to Kevin Jones for telling us of his career. We are not surprised, because Jolley's own…
Abstract
Most of us knew Leo Jolley at Aslib or through his writings only, so we are grateful to Kevin Jones for telling us of his career. We are not surprised, because Jolley's own presentations made it clear that they arose from long experience and deep thinking. Here lies my difficulty. It is my task to outline his theory the of holotheme, but no one could do it better than he nor, indeed, as well. So I will recommend to you his contribution in absentia to the Ottawa Conference of 1971. Admittedly his writings are concentrated. He had what is sometimes called the mathematician's approach to prose. The writing is coherent, but every sentence is meant to mean something and something different. This leads to clarity, but it does demand attention and thought. His style certainly sharpens his arguments and the impact of his apt and often witty examples. I will indicate in what field of endeavour his work lies, and then go over the salient features of his grand design.
This paper considers the principles underpinning the proposals for a comparative information scheme for personal financial services products. In October 1999 the Financial…
Abstract
This paper considers the principles underpinning the proposals for a comparative information scheme for personal financial services products. In October 1999 the Financial Services Authority (FSA) issued Consultation Paper 28: ‘Comparative Information for Financial Services’ which outlines the preliminary work carried out by the FSA and its consultants in this area. The scheme has some similarities to the league tables found in the education sector and it is likely that, if implemented, the proposed scheme will become known as the ‘Finan‐cial Services League Tables’. The consultation paper identifies specific outcomes which the FSA states are its policy objectives in this area. These objectives are in the areas of consumer knowledge and competition. This paper considers the rationale for the proposed scheme and looks at its potential benefits and problems. To do this it draws on both the FSA's Consultation Paper and the established body of research int the effectiveness of performance measurement and league tables. The paper considers the issue that in order to be worthwhile a performance measurement system must generate a net benefit. Specifically, the costs of setting up and maintaining the system plus the imperfections in the information generated by the system must be outweighed by the value of the information to its users. The costs of setting up and administering a system for financial services league tables can be quantified. The potential both for imperfections in the information generated and in the way in which that information is used are not so easily quantified, however, and require careful analysis. This paper concentrates on providing analysis of these potential imperfections. It concludes by discussing whether these potential problem areas are of sufficient significance to undermine the purpose and value of the proposed league table scheme.