Probably one of the most vital periods of any vessel's life is that which is known as the ‘fitting‐out’ stage. This period, from the time of launching until acceptance by the…
Abstract
Probably one of the most vital periods of any vessel's life is that which is known as the ‘fitting‐out’ stage. This period, from the time of launching until acceptance by the owners, frequently sees the development of corrosion attack which may adversely affect the whole of a vessel's future operation.
Protection of a tanker's cargo/ballast tanks by cathodic protection was introduced in 1952 using magnesium anodes. Its success led to the protection of immersed hull areas and now…
Abstract
Protection of a tanker's cargo/ballast tanks by cathodic protection was introduced in 1952 using magnesium anodes. Its success led to the protection of immersed hull areas and now all water ballast spaces in all types of vessels can be so protected. Considerable thought has to be given to reduction of installation costs in tanker compartments and to anode safety.
Jan Noeverman, Bas A.S. Koene and Roger Williams
This paper focuses on the need to revise the conceptualisation and measurement of evaluative style in future Reliance on Accounting Performance Measures (RAPM) research. Based on…
Abstract
This paper focuses on the need to revise the conceptualisation and measurement of evaluative style in future Reliance on Accounting Performance Measures (RAPM) research. Based on a review of the existing literature, we identify a number of issues in the conceptualisation and measurement of evaluative style and conclude that none of the existing measures is ideal for use in future research. We see two general dimensions of evaluative style that need specific attention in future research. The first dimension addresses the evaluative focus of the superior (e.g. budgets, other quantitative targets, short or long‐term targets, etc.). The second dimension addresses the superior’s way of handling the evaluation process (e.g. rigid or flexible, fixing blame, using it as a learning opportunity, etc.). Building on these two dimensions, there i a need for studies that assess how specific performance measures are used in different way within a particular organisational context, enabling a distinction between the design and the use of control tools. These conclusions suggest a need for qualitative indepth field studies within single organisations rather than quantitative survey research across organisations in future research on evaluative style and its behavioural consequences.
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Sinem Somunoğlu and Mehtap Tatar
Breast cancer is a type of cancer affecting the health of women in many countries. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of breast cancer and its treatment procedures…
Abstract
Purpose
Breast cancer is a type of cancer affecting the health of women in many countries. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of breast cancer and its treatment procedures on the quality of life.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was carried out in Hacettepe University Oncology Hospital and The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire and Breast Cancer Module were used.
Findings
It was found that 29.8 per cent of the patients were in phase 4 of the disease, 86.8 per cent already had an operation while 84.1 per cent had chemotherapy. There were statistically significant differences between the levels of the life quality for pain dimension in the symptom scale, body image dimension in the module functional scale, sexual function dimension in the module functional scale, arm symptoms dimension in module symptom scale and age groups; the levels of life quality for dyspnoea dimension in the symptom scale, anorexia dimension of the symptom scale, financial difficulties dimension of the symptom scale and the duration of the disease; the levels of life quality for fatigue dimension in the symptom scale, diarrhea dimension in the symptom scale and the phase of the cancer; the levels of life quality for physical functionality dimension in the functional scale, constipation dimension in the symptom scale and receiving chemotherapy. In the light of the findings, attempts to improve health and creation of different behaviours are important for life quality.
Originality/value
This is original research that sheds light on life quality issues for women diagnosed with breast cancer.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the historiographic writings for accounting concerned with the craft of researching and writing history, published in the English-language…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the historiographic writings for accounting concerned with the craft of researching and writing history, published in the English-language, across a period of 30 years from 1983 to 2012. The study's aim is three-fold: first, to review the literature pertaining to the writing of accounting history and to identify key developments and trends; second, to identify the contributors to this literature and their publication outlets and third, to analyze citations to identify individuals or groups who have gained traction in accounting historiography.
Design/methodology/approach
An essay focusing on developments in the accounting historiography literature as well as a review of some key thoughts or issues in present-day accounting historiography.
Findings
The study shows that a key development in the accounting historiography literature during this period has been the advent of new accounting history, which has contributed much theoretical and topical diversity in historical accounting research and an acceptance of the role of oral history as a means of expanding the archive.
Research limitations/implications
The present study, with its focus on contributions on the craft of researching and writing history, does not itself examine actual research studies which have been undertaken on accounting's past across the same period of time.
Originality/value
The study may assist in making the contributions examined more generally assessable and comprehensible to researchers to both explore and re-explore and may even contribute to the development of further contributions on accounting historiography to guide the approaches to, and direction of, historical accounting research in future.
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David Marginson and Stuart Ogden
The interplay between accounting and organisational change has been a topic of considerable interest in recent years. This paper is concerned with exploring the ways in which…
Abstract
The interplay between accounting and organisational change has been a topic of considerable interest in recent years. This paper is concerned with exploring the ways in which managers’ attitudes towards budgets may be influenced by processes of organisational change. Traditionally a high reliance on accounting measures of performance has generally been associated with provoking unfavourable reactions from managers on account of the pressure they experience to meet pre‐determined budgetary targets, with concomitant dysfunctional consequences for the achievement of organisational objectives. In contrast the paper argues that processes of organisational change, particularly the increasing use of “stretch” targets and empowerment strategies, may be prompting a more positive disposition towards budgets amongst managers. Drawing on recent research evidence, and building on notions of “psychological empowerment”, the paper suggests that managers may value the existence of pre‐determined budgetary targets as an “empowerment facilitator” in conditions of uncertainty. This possibility opens up new directions in behavioural accounting research.
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Bradley Bowden and Peta Stevenson-Clarke
Postmodernist ideas – most particularly those of Foucault but also those of Latour, Derrida and Barthes – have had a much longer presence in accounting research than in other…
Abstract
Purpose
Postmodernist ideas – most particularly those of Foucault but also those of Latour, Derrida and Barthes – have had a much longer presence in accounting research than in other business disciplines. However, in large part, the debates in accounting history and management history, have moved in parallel but separate universes. The purpose of this study is therefore one of exploring not only critical accounting understandings that are significant for management history but also one of highlighting conceptual flaws that are common to the postmodernist literature in both accounting and management history.
Design/methodology/approach
Foucault has been seminal to the critical traditions that have emerged in both accounting research and management history. In exploring the usage of Foucault’s ideas, this paper argues that an over-reliance on a set of Foucauldian concepts – governmentality, “disciplinary society,” neo-liberalism – that were never conceived with an eye to the problems of accounting and management has resulted in not only in the drawing of some very longbows from Foucault’s formulations but also misrepresentations of the French philosophers’ ideas.
Findings
Many, if not most, of the intellectual positions associated with the “Historic Turn” and ANTi-History – that knowledge is inherently subjective, that management involves exercising power at distance, that history is a social construct that is used to legitimate capitalism and management – were argued in the critical accounting literature long before Clark and Rowlinson’s (2004) oft cited call. Indeed, the “call” for a “New Accounting History” issued by Miller et al. (1991) played a remarkably similar role to that made by Clark and Rowlinson in management and organizational studies more than a decade later.
Originality/value
This is the first study to explore the marked similarities between the critical accounting literature, most particularly that related to the “New Accounting History” and that associated with the “Historic Turn” and ANTi-History in management and organizational studies.
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This chapter develops the theoretical framework used to inform the study, which is based largely on neoinstitutional theory. This monograph recognizes that a holistic perspective…
Abstract
This chapter develops the theoretical framework used to inform the study, which is based largely on neoinstitutional theory. This monograph recognizes that a holistic perspective and richer insights are needed when examining complex issues associated with the adoption of internationally acceptable practices. The proposed theoretical framework incorporates international influences, domestic influences, and intraorganizational dynamics. In the context of globalization, China’s convergence with internationally acceptable principles and standards is largely shaped by international forces, including supranational organizations, foreign investors, and international accounting firms. Furthermore, in order to examine the operation of those imported ideas, it is essential to consider China’s contextual setting, which comprises the political system, economic system, legal system, social and cultural system, and accounting infrastructure. In addition, the convergence process is also influenced by interaction among organizational players who may actively mobilize their power to preserve the status quo and protect their power and interests. The outcome and the process of loose coupling deeply intertwine with and reflect upon international influences, domestic influences, and intraorganizational dynamics.