Susan Teather and Wendy Hillman
There has been very little empirical research for the need to identify the importance of an inclusive territory of commonality for “invisible” students with disabilities in…
Abstract
Purpose
There has been very little empirical research for the need to identify the importance of an inclusive territory of commonality for “invisible” students with disabilities in Australian education testing, such as the National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The research methodology used a cross-sectional mixed methods, deductive quantitative, an inductive qualitative, functionalist perspective and interpretivist perspective from internet secondary data analysis. This was undertaken to investigate the government functionalist macrosociology of Australian education to the detriment of the microsociology debate of students with disabilities, for inclusive education and social justice.
Findings
This finding showed vastly underestimated numbers of students with disabilities in Australian schools experienced through “gatekeeping”, non-participation in NAPLAN testing and choices of schools, resulting in poor educational outcomes and work-readiness.
Social implications
The research findings showed that functionalism of Australian education is threatening not only social order, well-being and resilience of an innovative Australian economy through welfare dependency; but also depriving people with disabilities of social equality and empowerment against poverty brought about by a lack of education and of the human right to do a decent job.
Originality/value
The study provided a critical evaluation of the weaknesses of government functionalism; specifically the relationship between the dualism of macro and micro perspectives, which promotes the existence of “invisible” students with disabilities in education, despite government legislation purporting an inclusive education for all students.
Maria Kontesa, Andreas Lako and Wendy Wendy
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between board capital and firm earnings quality with different controlling shareholders for a sample of 252 listed firms…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between board capital and firm earnings quality with different controlling shareholders for a sample of 252 listed firms in Indonesia over the period 2011–2017.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a two-step dynamic generalized method of moments panel regression to estimate the board capital effect on earnings quality. The board capital measure is constructed from educational capital, networking capital and experience capital. Meanwhile, discretionary accrual is used as the proxy for earnings quality. All financial data is from the annual report. Board capital data is a combination of an annual report, RelSci data, Linkedin searching and Bloomberg data.
Findings
The findings of this study report that board capital has a significant effect on earnings quality. Higher board capital may result in better earnings quality. In further investigation, this study finds that firms with higher education backgrounds tend to have better earnings quality. Meanwhile, firms with higher experienced board members tend to have bad earnings quality. Additionally, networking capital does not have any impact on earnings quality. The findings of this study also document a strong size effect of controlling shareholders in moderating the relationship between board capital and earnings quality.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to upper-echelon, institutional, positive accounting and agency theory. It implies that agency cost plays an important role in that relationship. In a more deep analysis, this study records different board capital effects on earnings quality across controlling shareholders.
Practical implications
Shareholders should elect board directors following their competencies and should note that not all competencies will give a quality earning report. The educational background of board members will enhance earnings quality, but the experience of a board member will reduce the earnings quality. Further, the relationship between board capital and earnings quality is significantly moderated by controlling shareholders, implying that different controlling shareholders need different board capital.
Originality/value
This study examines board capital effects on earnings quality with different controlling shareholders using four major theories. The board capital measure is tedious and detailed allowing to capture the comprehensive human capital.
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Dimitra Kalaitzi, Aristides Matopoulos, Michael Bourlakis and Wendy Tate
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implications of supply chain strategies that manufacturing companies can use to minimise or overcome natural resource scarcity, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implications of supply chain strategies that manufacturing companies can use to minimise or overcome natural resource scarcity, and ultimately improve resource efficiency and achieve competitive advantage. The relationship between resource efficiency and competitive advantage is also explored.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed research model draws on resource dependence theory. Data were collected from 183 logistics, purchasing, sustainability and supply chain managers from various manufacturing companies and analysed by applying the partial least squares structural equation modelling technique.
Findings
The results indicate that both buffering and bridging strategies improve resource efficiency; however, only bridging strategies seem to lead to firm’s competitive advantage in terms of ownership and accessibility to resources. The relationship between resource efficiency and competitive advantage is not supported.
Research limitations/implications
Future research could confirm the robustness of these findings by using a larger sample size and taking into account other supply chain members.
Practical implications
This research provides guidance to managers faced with the growing risk of resource scarcity to achieve a resource efficient supply chain and an advantage over competitors.
Originality/value
Studies have explored the appropriate strategies for minimising dependencies caused by the scarcity of natural resources in the field of supply chain management; however, there is limited empirical work on investigating the impact of these strategies on resource efficiency and competitive advantage.
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Kwee Pheng Lim, Chun-Teck Lye, Yee Yen Yuen and Wendy Ming Yen Teoh
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between women on board and the financial performance of Malaysian listed companies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between women on board and the financial performance of Malaysian listed companies.
Design/methodology/approach
Panel generalised method of moments (GMM) analysis was used over 928 public-listed companies listed on the Malaysian Stock Exchange from 2010 to 2016. GMM overcomes the problem of endogeneity and simultaneity bias. The dependent variable was firm performance, measured by Tobin’s Q. The explanatory variable was gender diversity, proxied by the percentage of women on board, the presence of women and gender heterogeneity indices, Blau and Shannon indices.
Findings
More gender diversification leads to declining firm performance possibly due to issues of tokenism and gender stereotypes.
Research limitations/implications
Further studies should look into the impact of various types of ownership structures on firm value and also by sectors.
Practical implications
As women represent half the population in Malaysia, more positive affirmative policies must be introduced to enhance their contributions to society.
Social implications
As women progress in society, their contributions towards nation building will be significant. Women not only play a nurturing role, but also can shape the destiny of a country.
Originality/value
Studies on the relationship between board gender diversity and financial performance have been conducted in the context of a few developed economies. This study contributes to the literature by examining such an issue in a developing economy that has a different environment from that of developed economies.
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Why is it that highly trained and seasoned executives fail? On the surface, this doesn’t make sense because they are very successful; yet research in the organization sciences…
Abstract
Why is it that highly trained and seasoned executives fail? On the surface, this doesn’t make sense because they are very successful; yet research in the organization sciences provides no shortage of evidence to prove just that. From the classic Mann Gulch fire disaster of Weick’s famous collapse of sensemaking study, to studies of myopia of learning, escalation of commitment, threat-rigidity, dominant logic, the architecture of simplicity, the Icarus Paradox, to core competencies turning into core rigidities, and navigating new competitive markets using “old” cognitive maps, and many more such examples point to a ubiquitous phenomenon where highly trained and experienced professionals find themselves “stuck” in the heat of battle, unable to move and progress. On the one hand, for some, there is a desperate need for change, but are unable to do so, due to their trained incapacities. On the other hand, some simply cannot see the need for change, and continue with their “business as usual” mentality. For both, their visions of the world shrink, they have a tendency to cling onto their past habitual practices and oversimplify the complexity of the situation. In moments like these: DROP YOUR TOOLS and UNLEARN! This book chapter introduces a framework (grounded in clinical psychology) that has had consistent success in helping seasoned executives and key decision-makers open up the alternatives whenever they find themselves stuck with complexity.
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Alexandra L. Ferrentino, Meghan L. Maliga, Richard A. Bernardi and Susan M. Bosco
This research provides accounting-ethics authors and administrators with a benchmark for accounting-ethics research. While Bernardi and Bean (2010) considered publications in…
Abstract
This research provides accounting-ethics authors and administrators with a benchmark for accounting-ethics research. While Bernardi and Bean (2010) considered publications in business-ethics and accounting’s top-40 journals this study considers research in eight accounting-ethics and public-interest journals, as well as, 34 business-ethics journals. We analyzed the contents of our 42 journals for the 25-year period between 1991 through 2015. This research documents the continued growth (Bernardi & Bean, 2007) of accounting-ethics research in both accounting-ethics and business-ethics journals. We provide data on the top-10 ethics authors in each doctoral year group, the top-50 ethics authors over the most recent 10, 20, and 25 years, and a distribution among ethics scholars for these periods. For the 25-year timeframe, our data indicate that only 665 (274) of the 5,125 accounting PhDs/DBAs (13.0% and 5.4% respectively) in Canada and the United States had authored or co-authored one (more than one) ethics article.
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Donald Trump portrayed himself as a crusader against corrupt elites, claiming he would “drain the swamp.” Corporate elites generally depicted themselves as either trying to work…
Abstract
Donald Trump portrayed himself as a crusader against corrupt elites, claiming he would “drain the swamp.” Corporate elites generally depicted themselves as either trying to work with him or as directly opposed to him. Yet a closer analysis of Trump's policies and their outcomes in key issue areas, from taxes to immigration to the environment, shows continuity with previous pro-corporate policies. Furthermore, by positioning Trump as opposed to the elite, Trump and commentators on his presidency created a “radical flank” effect that made status quo, pro-corporate policies appear as progressive victories. This analysis suggests that a focus on the personal characteristics of politicians is misleading, and that the focus of political discourse needs to be on the power structure that shapes policy outcomes.
Jeffrey Braithwaite, Kristiana Ludlow, Kate Churruca, Wendy James, Jessica Herkes, Elise McPherson, Louise A. Ellis and Janet C. Long
Much work about health reform and systems improvement in healthcare looks at shortcomings and universal problems facing health systems, but rarely are accomplishments dissected…
Abstract
Purpose
Much work about health reform and systems improvement in healthcare looks at shortcomings and universal problems facing health systems, but rarely are accomplishments dissected and analyzed internationally. The purpose of this paper is to address this knowledge gap by examining the lessons learned from health system reform and improvement efforts in 60 countries.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 60 low-, middle- and high-income countries provided a case study of successful health reform, which was gathered into a compendium as a recently published book. Here, the extensive source material was re-examined through inductive content analysis to derive broad themes of systems change internationally.
Findings
Nine themes were identified: improving policy, coverage and governance; enhancing the quality of care; keeping patients safe; regulating standards and accreditation; organizing care at the macro-level; organizing care at the meso- and micro-level; developing workforces and resources; harnessing technology and IT; and making collaboratives and partnerships work.
Practical implications
These themes provide a model of what constitutes successful systems change across a wide sample of health systems, offering a store of knowledge about how reformers and improvement initiators achieve their goals.
Originality/value
Few comparative international studies of health systems include a sufficiently wide selection of low-, middle- and high-income countries in their analysis. This paper provides a more balanced approach to consider where achievements are being made across healthcare, and what we can do to replicate and spread successful examples of systems change internationally.
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The problem of workers at risk should be reframed to reflect the impact of social stratification, power relations and divergent interests in occupational health practices. The…
Abstract
The problem of workers at risk should be reframed to reflect the impact of social stratification, power relations and divergent interests in occupational health practices. The past two decades have seen rapid developments in technology for detecting genetic traits and abnormalities in individuals that may indicate damage from chemical exposure. Occupational physicians, industrial managers and biomedical scientists increasingly favour this technology. However these methods have only selective appeal and are quite controversial. Their accuracy in identifying high‐risk workers is disputed as well as their value and consequences. Social factors that shape the way workers at risk have been defined are discussed. These social processes help to explain the way issues of risk are framed and industrial practices are conducted. They also explain patterns of support and opposition to genetic technology.
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Clive Bingley, Helen Moss and Allan Bunch
OF THE desultory correspondence in the Times provoked by the announcement in March of the go‐ahead for the new British Library building next to St. Pancras railway station—a…
Abstract
OF THE desultory correspondence in the Times provoked by the announcement in March of the go‐ahead for the new British Library building next to St. Pancras railway station—a gentle lap‐dog to lie down along‐side a portly crinolined Victorian lady—the most interesting to my mind was a letter pointing out that because of the impending electrification of an ancillary line, that particular railway station would in due course be surplus to British Rail's requirements. Why not, asked the correspondent, build a bridge from the new library across Midland Road to the old station, and convert the train shed into a magnificent reading‐room?