Lin Mei Tan, Fawzi Laswad and Frances Chua
Employability skills are critical for success in the workplace, even more so in this era of globalisation of economies and advancement in technologies. However, there is ample…
Abstract
Purpose
Employability skills are critical for success in the workplace, even more so in this era of globalisation of economies and advancement in technologies. However, there is ample evidence of the gap between the skills acquired by graduates at universities and the skills expected by employers in the workplace. Applying the modes of grasping and transforming the experience embodied in Kolb’s experiential learning theory (ELT) (1976, 1984), the purpose of this paper is to examine the development of employability skills of accountancy students through their involvement in two extracurricular activities: community accounting and an accountancy club.
Design/methodology/approach
Underpinned by Kolb’s (1976, 1984) four modes of ELT and work-integrated learning to develop professional competencies required for future work, an online survey of accounting students was conducted to assess their reflections on involvement in these two aforementioned extracurricular activities over a two-year period.
Findings
The findings indicate that the students had developed useful cognitive and behavioural skills from their participation in these extracurricular activities. These findings are consistent with the literature on internships and service-learning, both of which have been associated with transferable skills development.
Originality/value
Prior studies focused on in-classroom learning activities or internships to help students develop various essential skills required in the workplace. However, extracurricular activities have received little attention in the accounting education literature. This study provides insights into skills accounting students can gain from extracurricular participation in community accounting and an accountancy club.
Details
Keywords
Mohammed Ali Al Mallak, Lin Mei Tan and Fawzi Laswad
The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the perceptions of Saudi university accounting students of the importance of developing generic skills in their accounting…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the perceptions of Saudi university accounting students of the importance of developing generic skills in their accounting education, the levels of competence they should acquire and expect to achieve during the academic study, and the constraints that may hinder the development of generic skills in accounting education.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses the skills outlined in the IFAC’s International Education Standards (IES) 3 (intellectual, personal, organizational and business management, and interpersonal and communication) and IES 4 (ethics in accounting/business). A survey questionnaire was used to collect the data.
Findings
The findings show that students perceived all five generic skill categories to be important, with ethical skills rated as the most important. However, the students expected that they would achieve a somewhat lower level of generic skill by the end of their studies in all areas, and they perceived a number of constraints that impede their skill development. The results indicate the importance of developing generic skills in accounting education and suggest that the Saudi accounting education system could do more to provide students with opportunities to develop generic skills to enable them to succeed in their future careers.
Originality/value
As little of the current literature has focused on generic skills in accounting education in a non-Western country, this research contributes to the literature on generic skills in a developing nation.
Details
Keywords
Lin Mei Tan and Carrol Chin‐Fatt
Positive attitudes towards factors such as the perceived fairness of the tax system are considered to play an important role in the level of tax compliance within a country…
Abstract
Positive attitudes towards factors such as the perceived fairness of the tax system are considered to play an important role in the level of tax compliance within a country (Strumpel, 1968). The tax literature indicates that not only knowledge but an understanding of the tax system may have an effect on taxpayers' perceptions of fairness and attitudes towards compliance. This study examines the linkages between an increase in tax knowledge on perceptions of fairness and tax compliance attitudes by using students enrolled in an introductory taxation course in a New Zealand tertiary institution. Contrary to prior research, the results indicated that an increase in tax knowledge did not have a significant impact on perceptions of fairness and tax compliance attitudes.
The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of five factors, reflecting students' diversity in prior content and metacognitive knowledge, on students' academic performance…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of five factors, reflecting students' diversity in prior content and metacognitive knowledge, on students' academic performance in the introductory accounting course.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a conceptual framework of prior knowledge, five factors are hypothesised to have an impact on students' performance. They are: prior accounting knowledge, age, gender, intended academic major, and first language. A self‐administered questionnaire is completed by students enrolled in the compulsory introductory accounting course at a large multi‐campus NZ university. Multivariate analysis is carried out to test the research hypotheses and the predictive ability of the five independent variables on students' performance.
Findings
Consistent with the educational psychology literature, prior content knowledge has a significant impact. Students' metacognitive knowledge, which differs according to their language and gender, also has a significant effect on students' performance.
Research limitations/implications
The low R2 in the regression model suggests that, although some of the study variables are significant, a high proportion of variation in academic performance remains unexplained by the model. The results may also not be representative of student population in general as information is elicited from students from one particular university. Future research could extend the sample to more than one tertiary institution and consider the effect of other potential variables such as students' intrinsic motivation and learning strategies.
Originality/value
Unlike many prior studies which lacked a theoretical framework to support their research, this study proposes a conceptual framework drawn from the education psychology literature for examining students' performance in the introductory accounting course.
Details
Keywords
Hui Guo, Jinzhou Jiang, Suoting Hu, Chun Yang, Qiqi Xiang, Kou Luo, Xinxin Zhao, Bing Li, Ziquan Yan, Liubin Niu and Jianye Zhao
The bridge expansion joint (BEJ) is a key device for accommodating spatial displacement at the beam end, and for providing vertical support for running trains passing over the gap…
Abstract
Purpose
The bridge expansion joint (BEJ) is a key device for accommodating spatial displacement at the beam end, and for providing vertical support for running trains passing over the gap between the main bridge and the approach bridge. For long-span railway bridges, it must also be coordinated with rail expansion joint (REJ), which is necessary to accommodate the expansion and contraction of, and reducing longitudinal stress in, the rails. The main aim of this study is to present analysis of recent developments in the research and application of BEJs in high-speed railway (HSR) long-span bridges in China, and to propose a performance-based integral design method for BEJs used with REJs, from both theoretical and engineering perspectives.
Design/methodology/approach
The study first presents a summary on the application and maintenance of BEJs in HSR long-span bridges in China representing an overview of their state of development. Results of a survey of typical BEJ faults were analyzed, and field testing was conducted on a railway cable-stayed bridge in order to obtain information on the major mechanical characteristics of its BEJ under train load. Based on the above, a performance-based integral design method for BEJs with maximum expansion range 1600 mm (±800 mm), was proposed, covering all stages from overall conceptual design to consideration of detailed structural design issues. The performance of the novel BEJ design thus derived was then verified via theoretical analysis under different scenarios, full-scale model testing, and field testing and commissioning.
Findings
Two major types of BEJs, deck-type and through-type, are used in HSR long-span bridges in China. Typical BEJ faults were found to mainly include skewness of steel sleepers at the bridge gap, abnormally large longitudinal frictional resistance, and flexural deformation of the scissor mechanisms. These faults influence BEJ functioning, and thus adversely affect track quality and train running performance at the beam end. Due to their simple and integral structure, deck-type BEJs with expansion range 1200 mm (± 600 mm) or less have been favored as a solution offering improved operational conditions, and have emerged as a standard design. However, when the expansion range exceeds the above-mentioned value, special design work becomes necessary. Therefore, based on engineering practice, a performance-based integral design method for BEJs used with REJs was proposed, taking into account four major categories of performance requirements, i.e., mechanical characteristics, train running quality, durability and insulation performance. Overall BEJ design must mainly consider component strength and the overall stiffness of BEJ; the latter factor in particular has a decisive influence on train running performance at the beam end. Detailed BEJ structural design must stress minimization of the frictional resistance of its sliding surface. The static and dynamic performance of the newly-designed BEJ with expansion range 1600 mm have been confirmed to be satisfactory, via numerical simulation, full-scale model testing, and field testing and commissioning.
Originality/value
This research provides a broad overview of the status of BEJs with large expansion range in HSR long-span bridges in China, along with novel insights into their design.
Details
Keywords
See Kwnog Goh, Julio Diéguez-Soto and Jing Yi Yong
This case is based on a family business in the retail industry located in various cities in Malaysia. Celebrating its 33rd anniversary in 2023, the company was officially…
Abstract
This case is based on a family business in the retail industry located in various cities in Malaysia. Celebrating its 33rd anniversary in 2023, the company was officially established by Tan Lee Hong in 1990, who later invited his brothers and sisters to join the business, making it a family business. Tan Lee Hong started the stationary store business because he was determined to provide his family a better life. Similar to most family businesses, there were challenges that the CEO needed to cope with in addressing family and business. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, all the stores were temporarily closed which affected the performance of the business, and they had to come up with a solution to overcome the situation.
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Purpose
Coal and power generation are related upstream and downstream industries. Coal price marketization and electricity price regulation have caused the price of coal to be sensitive to the benefits of generators. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
As a financial tool, contracts for differences can both help balance interests and reduce risks caused by spot price fluctuation. This thesis regards coal demand as a triangular fuzzy stochastic variable while directing a levelling consideration towards risk returns for coal and power enterprises that are involved in coal generation contracts for differences. Risk and benefit measurement models were established between coal suppliers and power generators, and risk and benefit balance optimization models for contract negotiation were constructed.
Findings
A numerical example showed that the above models can be effectively used to avoid the risks of coal-electricity parties.
Originality/value
This thesis regards coal demand as a triangular fuzzy random variable while directing a levelling consideration towards the risk return to coal and power enterprises that are involved with coal generation contracts for differences. The features of this thesis are the following: demand information is regarded as a fuzzy random variable instead of a random variable. With historical data, sales experience and increasingly clear macro-economic conditions, coal and power enterprises are able to make a fuzzy decision – to a certain extent – when the transaction approaches. Accurate market information enables the supply chain system to satisfy the clients’ needs better, improve the profit level or avoid severe financial damages; by developing a feasible set of contracts for different parameters, it is possible to estimate whether the price difference enables supply chain coordination, requires changes or gives accounts to all involved parties of the supply chain; and without the assumption that the traditional M-V rule is unfavourable to decision makers, this thesis proposes the prospect M-V rule, which involves decision makers’ projections of future coal generation prices and enables wide applicability of the response method to contracts for differences.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the relationship quality on customer loyalty. The moderating role played by online service recovery in this study is further…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the relationship quality on customer loyalty. The moderating role played by online service recovery in this study is further discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative Web-based survey study was conducted to statistically test these relationships among relationship quality, service recovery and customer loyalty. Data collected from 183 respondents were taken for analysis through partial least squares.
Findings
The findings reveal that relationship quality has significant influence on customer loyalty, whereas service recovery has moderated effect on the relationship between relationship quality and customer loyalty.
Research limitations/implications
The respondents of this study were recruited from online panels; thus, a purposive sample could be a biased indication of the characteristics of the actual population. Therefore, it is suggested that future researchers enroll subjects from a statistical population that accurately represents the entire population and, in addition, that they collect more responses to increase the generalizability of the findings.
Practical implications
Because failures in service delivery are inevitable, recovery of such encounters thus represents a significant challenge for service firms. Hence, this study proposes concrete suggestions for firms to manage and operate e-commerce websites, as well as to enhance relationship quality and customer loyalty.
Originality/value
Service failures have been the bane of e-commerce, compelling customers to either abandon transactions entirely or switch to a physical competitor. Many firms have realized the importance of maintaining strong relationships with customers to enhance their loyalty. However, previous literature has a few studies conducted on the relationships among service recovery, relationship quality and customer loyalty in the e-commerce context. Therefore, it is meaningful to identify these relationships.