Accounting and Public Policy: The Importance of Credible Research

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine A. Denison ◽  
Sue P. Ravenscroft ◽  
Paul F. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Professional Practice ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
The Public ◽  
Accounting Practice ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Interest Section ◽  
Scientific Standards

ABSTRACT Accounting as a professional practice plays a profound, unavoidable, and often unnoticed role in the lives of all citizens. As members of the Public Interest Section of the American Accounting Association, we explicitly explore the myriad social roles of accounting and promote its use to improve the general well-being. In this forum, to say accounting matters is to state the obvious and uncontested. Accounting's important social role imposes responsibilities on those defining and studying that role; as academics we are obligated to promote the highest standards in our research on accounting practice and its social implications. However, the dominant accounting research that explores and attempts to underlay accounting practice does not consistently adhere to the basic precepts of good scientific research practice. To serve the public interest, researchers in accounting can and must do more than award and distribute status via publication in journals whose prestige is high but whose requirements fail to meet scientific standards of reproducibility. We look first at the importance of accounting's role in society. Then we evaluate existing research practices in accounting and find them inadequate to the demands of scientific standards. We provide examples accounting academics could adopt from related disciplines in pursuit of more reliable research findings.

scholarly journals Peran Pengusaha Perempuan UMKM dan Pola Pengeluaran Rumah Tangga pada Situasi Bencana Covid-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedicta Evie ◽  
Susy Yunia R. Sanie
Keyword(s):  
Social Role ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Expenditure Patterns ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Role ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Electricity Costs ◽  
The Cost

Women as assets of Indonesia's human resources have a crucial role in disaster management. This research is descriptive using a qualitative approach that photograph the adjustment of women's activities based on their role in the current Covid disaster. The research findings shows the  informant’s perception that Covid-19 is a disaster, and they are worried, so they try to prevent themselves and their family members from being infected by implementing health protocols. They also provide nutritious food and vitamins as well as a variety of food/drink ingredients that are believed to ward off Covid. Increasing domestic role activities are child care and education. Meanwhile, the public role of economy has undergone adjustments, such as working from home, losing customers or jobs. To be able to survive, adjustments to household expenditure patterns were carried out, namely: increasing the cost of kitchen expenditures, and increase in electricity costs and telephone pulses as the implication of all family members are WFH/SFH online. Reduced expenses: spending on clothes / shoes / bags, cosmetics, and recreation. The social role of the public in this Covid situation is to participate in distributing food to the poor.

‘This Happens All the Time’: Organizations, Rationalization and Ethical Dilemmas in Engineering

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 985-1003
Author(s):  
Tracey L Adams
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Ethical Standards ◽  
Professional Misconduct ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Impact

Given their positions of public trust, regulated professions are legally required to uphold ethical standards, and ensure that professional practice protects the public. Nonetheless, there is ample evidence that professionals do not always behave ethically. One proposed solution is greater organizational surveillance; however, research from a neo-Weberian perspective encourages scepticism about such arguments. Organizations may not only fail to stop professionals from violating ethical codes, but rationalizing organizations might actively encourage such violations in the name of efficiency. This article explores the impact of organizations and rationalization on professional misconduct through a mixed-methods study of professional engineers in Ontario, Canada. Findings suggest engineers are impacted by rationalization, and that those with less decision-making authority experience pressures discouraging practice in the public interest.

scholarly journals Perceptions of the Maltese Public towards Local Marine Protected Areas

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Mifsud ◽  
Marielle Verret
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Central Component ◽  
The Public ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Level Of Knowledge

Abstract The marine environment represents a central component of Maltaís local environment, and its ecosystem services play a vital role in supporting the economy as well as human well-being. Plans have been made to protect the unique ecology found within Maltese waters through the institution of five marine protected areas (MPAs). This quantitative study assessed the environmental knowledge and attitudes of the Maltese public towards the local marine environment, MPAs and education for sustainable development (ESD). A questionnaire was administered to members of the public (n = 200) at three different locations. The study found that although the Maltese public strongly appreciates the beauty of Maltaís marine environment, the level of knowledge surrounding the marine environment is low. Furthermore, the research indicates that while the public agrees that the marine environment should be protected, there is a notable lack of awareness of the five local MPAs. Based on the research findings, a model linking ESD to MPAs and aiming to foster a sense of ownership among the public by encouraging their involvement in the management of local MPAs is proposed.

The Economic Role of the Greek City

1999 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Salmon
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Well Being ◽  
New Labour ◽  
Greek City ◽  
Economic Role ◽  
The Public ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Collapse Of Communism ◽  
Economic Well Being

The economic role of the state is controversial, even after the collapse of communism and the election of New Labour. The demand that governments get off the backs of wealth-creators has barely diminished since the 1980s; but some still urge control of private and corporate greed in the public interest. There is no sign of such controversy in Greek antiquity; but I shall suggest that the practice of the cities depended on political considerations which reveal comparable principles. All governments, whatever their complexion, now accept some responsibility for general economic well–being, even if their actions may amount to little more than a claim that prosperity will ‘trickle down’ from top to bottom. Numerous functions which would now be identified as economic were performed by Greek cities; after brief preliminaries to set the economic scene, I shall explore them, and try to determine why they were undertaken.

scholarly journals Government-to-Business (G2B) Research Data Sharing and the GDPR: Reconciling the 'Public' with the 'Private'?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stergios Aidinlis
Keyword(s):  
Data Processing ◽  
Data Sharing ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Data Protection ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
The Public ◽  
Private Interests ◽  
The Eu

Governments across the EU are increasingly turning their attention to advanced big data analytics, aiming to use their data to inform the design and implementation of public policies. Due to limitations in expertise and resources, this is often impossible without the formation of data sharing partnerships with private actors. Yet, the prevailing view in EU data protection regulatory guidance is that the ‘public interest’ and private interests as lawful grounds for data processing under article 6 GDPR find themselves in a zero-sum relationship. The ‘public interest’ under article 6(1)(e) GDPR is construed as the exclusive realm of public authorities, which are often advised against relying on other grounds for processing, associated with private interests, such as ‘legitimate interests’ under article 6(1)(f) GDPR. This chapter argues against the presently dominant divide between public and private interests under lawful grounds for processing, sketching the emergence of Government-to-Business (G2B) research data sharing in the EU. A conceptualisation of the ‘public’ interest as not incompatible with private interests, as long as a contribution to societal well-being is made through data processing, is offered in that regard. The chapter elaborates on this conceptualisation and the requirements for ensuring protection of the fundamental rights of data subjects, while reflecting on the research questions that should concern future EU data protection law researchers with regard to its adoption.

Problems of organizing digital leisure in foreign research practice

2021 ◽  
pp. 210-222
Author(s):  
Marina I. Dolzhenkova ◽  
Tatyana G. Bortnikova
Keyword(s):  
Leisure Time ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Work Processes ◽  
Online Activity ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The One ◽  
Sports Activities

An overview of the research into digital leisure that has intensified in recent decades is presented. When studying this issue, a variety of interdisciplinary integrations and collaborations arise, which made it possible to identify positive and negative trends, as well as promising directions for the development of this segment of leisure activities. In particular, foreign studies have established vectors for the development of digital leisure associated with overcoming the dichotomy of the workspace and the recreational sphere, gamification of work processes, the simultaneous execution of several types of activities, including leisure. The “digital turn” leads to the deterritorialization of space and leisure time, overcoming the inequality of resources and opportunities, contributes to personalization, privatization, simplification and marketization of the public sphere, and stimulates a recreational and entertainment model of behavior. Digital technologies, on the one hand, alienate family members, and on the other, connect physically separated friends and relatives. At the same time, online activity reduces the time for communication with other people, sports activities and amateur creativity. On this basis, a variety of Internet addictions and addictive behavior arise. According to the research results, it was found that digital leisure significantly affects the indicators of well-being of older people: their physical and cognitive functioning is optimized, intergenerational interactions improve, and social isolation decreases.

scholarly journals Compliance with the Planning Standards in Regulating Building Lines. The Case of Kisii Town, Kenya

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-111
Author(s):  
Wilfred Ochieng OMOLLO
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
Spatial Development ◽  
County Government ◽  
The Public ◽  
Residential Developments ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Public Interest Theory ◽  
Building Plans

Planning standards provide a basis for controlling land use to attain orderly spatial development. This study examined the extent to which developments in Kenya have been complying with the planning standard on building lines, having Kisii town as a case study. It also investigated the factors contributing to the observed non-compliance. The analysis was based on the public interest theory of regulation. A sample size of 364 residential developments was randomly and proportionately drawn from the seven neighbourhoods. Remote sensing and questionnaires were used to collect data and thereafter analyzed using GIS, descriptive and inferential statistics. Research findings disclosed that most residential developments did not comply with the recommended building lines. The results of hypothesis similarly confirmed low compliance that was statistically significant. Non-compliance was found to be caused by the failure of the County Government of Kisii to ensure that developers obtained the obligatory development permissions in addition to meeting other requirements namely using registered professionals and ensuring regular inspection of buildings during construction. Also, the interpretation of the applicable planning standards of building lines by the County Government when approving building plans was misleading and eventually contributed to non-compliance. These problems ensue due to insufficient development control, therefore contributing to unsustainable spatial development. This study addresses a critical issue in spatial planning practice and aims to contribute to the specialist literature by demonstrating how compliance with the planning standards that regulate building lines may be statistically and spatially evaluated.

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