Prior research has considered variations in accounting practice to be a function of a range of environmental factors. This paper investigates by means of a survey, the…
Abstract
Prior research has considered variations in accounting practice to be a function of a range of environmental factors. This paper investigates by means of a survey, the relationship between culture and professionalism. The results of the study have a number of implications for international accounting research, as they cast some doubt on the strength of relationship between culture and professionalism proposed by Gray. Furthermore, doubts are raised concerning the relevance of Hofstede's culture index scores in modern society.
The purpose of this article is to assess the state of financial reporting in provincial government departments in South Africa. One of the obstacles in transforming financial…
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to assess the state of financial reporting in provincial government departments in South Africa. One of the obstacles in transforming financial reporting in South Africa is changing from cash accounting to accrual accounting. The survey in this study revealed that, while most public sector accounting guidelines and legislation are in place, government departments are still using cash accounting. The current accounting information system seems to be unsuitable for accrual accounting. Respondents assigned a poor rating to the effectiveness of public sector financial reporting, and the slow rate at which this system is being transformed.
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Michael De Martinis, Amy Aw and Er Meng Kim
This study adds to the literature on the audit expectations gap (AEG) by examining the extent to which lower levels of user cognisance of the role, objectives, and limitations of…
Abstract
This study adds to the literature on the audit expectations gap (AEG) by examining the extent to which lower levels of user cognisance of the role, objectives, and limitations of an audit are associated with unreasonable audit expectations and perceptions. Cognisance is proxied by respondents' demographic characteristics including profession, work experience, university qualification, age, and gender. Respondents include 130 Singaporean auditors, prepares, and users of audited financial reports. Results indicate that the AEG prevails where respondents have relatively little business work experience, and no university qualifications. This supports the premise that lower levels of cognisance of the audit function are associated with the AEG The study also argues that in obtaining results consistent with prior AEG studies set in other countries, the AEG is not affected or constrained by political, legal, social, or economic factors. The study recommends that the accounting professions continue to address the AEG by further educating the public on the role and limitations of an audit, extending the auditor's current responsibilities to match users' expectations, and ensuring the existence and monitoring of audit quality.
This is a study of how members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) produce their talk, using the principles of ethnomethodological conversation analysis. The focus is on two interralated…
Abstract
This is a study of how members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) produce their talk, using the principles of ethnomethodological conversation analysis. The focus is on two interralated phenomena of the openings of turns. Recurrently, the first words of the turns, i.e., greetings and self‐identification, are followed with a resonse space during which members display their orientation to coparticipants through allusions to prior speakers. Positive references to prior speakers are stated directly and addressed explicitly, typically through a phrase such as: “I identified with X and what X said,” wheras critical remarks are stated implicitly and without any address. Through this procedure, members establish their individual position in each meeting without posing challenges to other members. The allusions occasions initiation of a subsequent topic of the turn that characteristically is biographically relevant for the speaker. This procedure of organization of talk permits AA meetings to handle delicate issues in a sociable, nonconfrontive way.
Mayank Dhaundiyal and Joseph Coughlan
The effect of personality traits on impulse purchase is not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how two such traits, shyness and sociability, impact on…
Abstract
Purpose
The effect of personality traits on impulse purchase is not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how two such traits, shyness and sociability, impact on impulse buying tendency. Understanding drivers of impulse purchase, a significant source of retail sales, is important to succeed in the challenging environment that store-based retailers face.
Design/methodology/approach
A customer intercept approach was taken to collect 194 responses from two locations in a busy city centre shopping street in Dublin, Ireland, and the hypotheses were tested using covariance-based structural equation modelling.
Findings
Sociability has a significant positive effect on both affective and cognitive impulse buying tendencies whereas shyness has a positive effect on cognitive impulse buying tendencies only. Age was found to be a significant moderator of these effects.
Research limitations/implications
This study uses an in vivo street-intercept approach and hence the results may differ for other data collection approaches. The lack of discriminant validity of the sub-scales for impulse buying tendencies has implications for future research.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that retailers should factor customers’ psychological traits into their decision making. Individuals with high levels of sociability and shyness are prone to buying on impulse but in different ways. Younger people are more likely to exhibit these behaviours.
Originality/value
This paper meets a need for research on how customers’ traits affect their impulse purchase tendencies, and offers retailers advice on how to attract and serve customers with these traits.
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THERE was once a small boy with a large head and a frown above his short‐sighted eyes who, every Friday night in life, with a large bundle of books under his arm, passed through…
Abstract
THERE was once a small boy with a large head and a frown above his short‐sighted eyes who, every Friday night in life, with a large bundle of books under his arm, passed through the grey streets of the town of Greenock. There was the look of a student about this pug‐nosed youngster, and decent motherly persons, marking his regular passages to and from the Watt Library, spoke of him as “an awfu' boy for books.” He seemed to such, no doubt, a scholar in embryo, a professor in the making; and you know what women are with the shy and retiring of the other sex. But had some knowing person stopped that earnest lad and examined a typical batch of titles, he would, I fear, have had to laugh at the preposterous variety of it, at the incredible mixture of good and bad with which the boy satisfied his craving to read.
In this paper a systematic and well-defined student participation assessment scheme for college courses is proposed. The scheme supports the involvement of students in a variety…
Abstract
In this paper a systematic and well-defined student participation assessment scheme for college courses is proposed. The scheme supports the involvement of students in a variety of areas of participation within and outside the classroom with the aim of improving their learning. The scheme addresses mostly the challenges related to the practicality of the structure and design of the assessment. It also addresses the subjectivity of grading student participations. Areas of participation are widened to allow the faculty more accurate information about the conduct of each individual student towards more objective assessment. In addition, it provides the faculty with the flexibility to select areas that best fit the learning outcomes, nature of the course, availability of time and resources, and class atmosphere. The proposed scheme is initiated and developed using feedback from the teaching staff of Nizwa College of Technology, (NCT) through a survey and open discussion. The results indicate that over two thirds of the surveyed staff show agreement with the concept of assessing participation and find the scheme design clear and systematic, while 82% of them perceive the scheme as effective in improving the motivation and learning of students.
The author offers a perspective on the complex new concepts of Michael Raynor and others on managing strategic risk.
Abstract
Purpose
The author offers a perspective on the complex new concepts of Michael Raynor and others on managing strategic risk.
Design/methodology/approach
The author explains Raynor's theories of strategic paradox, strategic options, requisite uncertainty and strategic flexibility, all of which have special meanings in the Raynor vocabulary.
Findings
The strategy paradox arises from “the collision of commitment and uncertainty.” Since the mark of high impact strategies requires making clear commitments in the face of future uncertainty, the key question is, how can the risks involved best be mitigated? One option is to shy away from making clear strategic commitments. This is the route to mediocrity.
Practical implications
The management of “strategic uncertainty” and “strategic options” employs a four‐phase methodology: Anticipate (build scenarios of the future). Formulate (create optimal strategies for each of those alternative futures, distinguishing between core and contingent elements). Accumulate (determine what strategic options are required to cover the contingent elements). Operate (manage the portfolio of options, exercising or abandoning them, as the future unfolds).
Originality/value
Leavy provides an explanation of Raynor's unconventional wisdom that corporate leaders will find helpful.
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Ravit Alfandari, Gemma Crous and Nuria Fuentes-Peláez
The objective of the chapter is to provide an integrative appraisal of recent participatory research projects with children on violence and maltreatment conducted by members of…
Abstract
The objective of the chapter is to provide an integrative appraisal of recent participatory research projects with children on violence and maltreatment conducted by members of the COST Action CA 19106 working group on children's participation (WG3) and their colleagues to identify what is working well and what needs to change in future research. The evaluation of research examples clustered around four key questions: Why, when, how and how much do children participate in research? Data were collected using a unified tool designed to characterise participatory research, which was distributed among WG3 members. In addition, chapters of the current book were another source of data about participatory research. Overall, data on 19 studies involving 46,761 children were collected and analysed using Shier's matrix. Findings show that most studies (n = 10) engaged children as consultants to adults in data collection, whereas a few studies (n = 5) demonstrated a more children-led research approach. The analysis uncovered specific areas where more progress is required, including engaging children in decisions about the research topic, involving young children, utilising methods that are more natural and familiar to children, and gaining children's reflective accounts about their participation experience. The authors encourage scholars to publish their work to advance evidence-based knowledge and skills in participatory research with children about sensitive topics.