Steven DeSimone and Kevin Rich
The purpose of this paper is to identify factors associated with the presence and use of internal audit functions (IAFs) at US colleges and universities, as well as their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify factors associated with the presence and use of internal audit functions (IAFs) at US colleges and universities, as well as their relationship with financial reporting quality and federal grant outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a combination of publicly available and manually collected data, this paper uses a two-stage model to examine both the factors associated with the use of IAFs within US institutions of higher education and the consequences therein.
Findings
Results indicate that institutions with larger enrollments and endowments, those that receive public funding and those that have an audit committee are more likely to maintain an IAF. Findings also suggest that the presence of an IAF is negatively associated with reported material weaknesses for major programs at significant levels. Finally, the presence of an IAF is found to have a positive and significant association with federal grants received by the institution, with an even stronger association for IAFs that perform grant-specific procedures.
Originality/value
The study’s findings provide the first large-sample quantitative insights on IAF work within US colleges and universities. Results should be of interest to college/university leadership as they attempt to improve financial reporting quality and grant outcomes, as well as external stakeholders looking to evaluate whether institutions are acting as good stewards over resources. Additionally, the Institute of Internal Auditors may find the results helpful when promoting the profession.
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Nathanaël Betti, Steven DeSimone, Joy Gray and Ingrid Poncin
This research paper aims to investigate the effects of internal audit’s (IA) use of data analytics and the performance of consulting activities on perceived IA quality.
Abstract
Purpose
This research paper aims to investigate the effects of internal audit’s (IA) use of data analytics and the performance of consulting activities on perceived IA quality.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct a 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment among upper and middle managers where the use of data analytics and the performance of consulting activities by internal auditors are manipulated.
Findings
Results highlight the importance of internal auditor use of data analytics and performance of consulting activities to improve perceived IA quality. First, managers perceive internal auditors as more competent when the auditors use data analytics. Second, managers perceive internal auditors’ recommendations as more relevant when the auditors perform consulting activities. Finally, managers perceive an improvement in the quality of relationships with internal auditors when auditors perform consulting activities, which is strengthened when internal auditors combine the use of data analytics and the performance of consulting activities.
Research limitations/implications
From a theoretical perspective, this research builds on the IA quality framework by considering digitalization as a contextual factor. This research focused on the perceptions of one major stakeholder of the IA function: senior management. Future research should investigate the perceptions of other stakeholders and other contextual factors.
Practical implications
This research suggests that internal auditors should prioritize the development of the consulting role in their function and develop their digital expertise, especially expertise in data analytics, to improve perceived IA quality.
Originality/value
This research tests the impacts of the use of data analytics and the performance of consulting activities on perceived IA quality holistically, by testing Trotman and Duncan’s (2018) framework using an experiment.
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Sharon Leiba O’Sullivan, Steven H. Appelbaum and Corinne Abikhzer
Provides an in‐depth description of the expatriate management practices of four Canadian multinationals in order to determine how closely Canadian practices correspond to the…
Abstract
Provides an in‐depth description of the expatriate management practices of four Canadian multinationals in order to determine how closely Canadian practices correspond to the “best practices” described in the international HRM (IHRM) literature. Toward that end, reviews the IHRM literature. A qualitative study design was employed, in the form of a holistic multiple case study with four Canadian MNCs. Results indicated that, contrary to trends noted in the literature, the Canadian firms studied do not neglect expatriate management practices, although they do not fully implement such practices either – at least not to the extent advocated in the literature. The key explanation put forth is the lack of any systematic evaluation of these practices, which might have enabled shortcomings to be more readily recognized. The other key finding was that the participating firms relied extensively on expatriates to be proactive in managing various aspects of their own careers. Discusses implications.
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Jennifer R. Morrison, Joseph M. Reilly and Steven M. Ross
The purpose of this paper is to examine how participants in diverse schools newly implement the Sanford Harmony social and emotional learning (SEL) program and perceive its…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how participants in diverse schools newly implement the Sanford Harmony social and emotional learning (SEL) program and perceive its benefits for students and overall school climate.
Design/methodology/approach
The current study employed a convergent parallel mixed-methods design with a sample of five elementary schools in the western USA. Measures included classroom observations, administrator interviews, teacher interviews and focus groups, student focus groups, and a teacher questionnaire.
Findings
Findings indicated expected variation in implementation across schools, although all participants reacted favorably to the program and, importantly, would recommend the program to others. Administrators, teachers and students all saw the value of the program, particularly in terms of student relationship building and improved school climate. Implementation challenges experienced by schools were consistent with research on diffusion of innovations.
Practical implications
The present study demonstrates the importance of effective professional development, continued support, collective decision making and intentional integration of the SEL program throughout a school to support robust implementation and ultimately achieve intended outcomes.
Originality/value
Researchers have yet to examine in-depth implementation of the Sanford Harmony program and how best to support scale-up and more intentional implementation in schools. As implementation fidelity is a key component of a program achieving intended outcomes, the findings from the present study contribute to the knowledge base of supporting SEL program implementation.
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Alebel Bayrau Weldesilassie, Ricardo Sabates, Tassew Woldehanna and Moses Oketch
This study analysed students’ perceptions of teachers’ behaviours, teachers’ management practices and the use of inputs by teachers and whether these are associated with primary…
Abstract
Purpose
This study analysed students’ perceptions of teachers’ behaviours, teachers’ management practices and the use of inputs by teachers and whether these are associated with primary school progression and completion.
Design/methodology/approach
School-level fixed effect analysis is conducted using cross-sectional data collected from 4,000 randomly selected primary school-aged students and their schools.
Findings
Our findings reveal that students’ perceptions of teachers’ behaviours are associated with the probability of grade progression during primary school, and whether students complete primary school. Particularly important are positive behaviours, like students perceiving their teachers to be engaged and being praised by their teachers while in primary schools. It increased the likelihood of school progression by at least 15%. The use of inputs such as worksheets/written handouts and reading stories/books in the language of instruction were also found to have a statistically significant positive effect on students’ primary school performance. These are important results which hold after accounting for school management, household and child-level factors and regional differences.
Originality/value
Our findings provide a deeper understanding of the teaching practices which pupils perceive as beneficial to retention. While we are unable to conclude that learning is taking place, our contention is that greater time in school could increase the opportunity to learn. In this respect, beyond its policy relevance in improving educational outcomes, the paper contributes to the limited literature on the student–teacher classroom relationships particularly when looking from the perspective of students’ perception of their teachers’ teaching behaviours in developing countries.
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The iconic vigilante Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) returned to cinema screens via Death Wish 2 (Michael Winner) in 1982 and vigilantism would remain a key theme in American urban…
Abstract
The iconic vigilante Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) returned to cinema screens via Death Wish 2 (Michael Winner) in 1982 and vigilantism would remain a key theme in American urban action films throughout the 1980s. Susan Jeffords subsequently argued that Hollywood's ‘hard bodied’ male action heroes of the period were reflective of the social and political thematics that distinguished Ronald Reagan's tenure as America's President (1994, p. 22). But while Jeffords' arguments are convincing, they overlook contemporaneous films featuring female and ‘soft’ bodied urban action heroes.
The Angel trilogy (Angel, 1984; Avenging Angel, 1985; and Angel III: The Final Chapter, 1988) features three such understudied examples. Indeed, the films' diverse and atypical range of action heroes demand that they are interrogated in terms of their protagonists' gender, sexual orientation, lifestyle choices and age. Featuring narratives about the prostitutes and street folk who frequent Los Angeles' Hollywood Boulevard, the films' key characters are a teenage prostitute and her guardians: a transvestite prostitute, a lesbian hotelier and an elderly cowboy. All three films feature narratives that revolve around acts of vengeance and vigilantism.
This chapter will critically discuss the striking ways in which the films' ‘soft’ bodied and atypical protagonists are presented as convincing action heroes who subvert contemporaneous ‘hard’ bodied norms. It will also consider to what extent their subversive rewriting of typical urban action film narratives and character relations might be understood to critique and deconstruct the themes and concerns that usually characterized such films during the Reagan era.
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An argument for the importance of unconscious processes is emerging across social science literatures (Petty et al.; Uleman). The purpose of this study is to investigate the role…
Abstract
Purpose
An argument for the importance of unconscious processes is emerging across social science literatures (Petty et al.; Uleman). The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of implicit attitudes on the formation of digital piracy desires and behavioral intentions. If implicit attitudes are found to contribute to consumer digital piracy intentions, then marketers face an additional challenge in developing effective strategies and appeals designed to attenuate the practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The study captures both indirect and direct measures of implicit attitudes to test the research model. A total of 285 respondents provided data in a controlled lab setting for purposes of structural equation analyses.
Findings
The results first contribute to growing evidence generally supporting the importance of attitudinal influences in the formation of digital piracy intentions. The reported study further suggests the necessity of including implicit attitudinal considerations in explanatory models of these behaviors, particularly attitudinal explanatory models. Specifically, marketers attempting to manage DP should consider implicit attitudes in explanatory models of DP intention formation in addition to traditional self‐report measures of attitudes.
Originality/value
The study presents the first known empirical evidence supporting the contribution of implicit attitudes to digital piracy desires. Considering implicit influences in this process offers the promise of increasing our understanding of how digital piracy behaviors form, which can offer insights into how to more effectively attenuate the practice.