Literature and insights Editorial

Citation

Evans, S. (2019), "Literature and insights Editorial", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 32 No. 2, pp. I-II. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-10-2019-053

Research sharks

I have to say, I am exceedingly popular. So many people have recognised my ongoing contribution to the intellectual capital of our discipline, and have been willing to do so in writing. I promote the value of creativity in all kinds of areas but, even so, I have been astonished at the effect my work has had. Before you think I have become overly inclined to Trump-et (?) my own virtues, perhaps I should explain.

All sorts of messages come through my e-mail accounts, as I imagine also come to yours. What does seem strange is that if I publish a creative piece, say a poem about the process of writing and struggling through writer’s block (an affliction common in all writing endeavours, academic and otherwise) or publish an editorial centred on risible ethics in stock-car racing, it triggers communications of this kind:

• An invitation to join the board of an international journal, Business and Economics Research.

• “We found your research output very impressive and high in academic valuable. We would like to invite you to join us as Editorial Board Member of our journal, Region-Agroforestry and Silviculture”.

• “We have learnt about your published paper and the topic is so much impressive. So we want to invite you to submit [to] the American Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science”.

• “We have learnt about your published paper with the title [xxx] and the topic has deeply impressed us, so we intend to invite you to submit other articles of related topics to […] Language, Literature and Culture”.

• “In view of the novelty, advance, and possible wide application of your innovation, we invite you with sincerity to submit to the International Journal of Literature and Arts”. We feel deeply honoured to invite you to join us as one of the editorial board members […].

Where else? The American Journal of PharmTech Research, Forests (OA Journal), The Journal of Australian Speliology, and the International Journal of Court Fashion, among many others. While I applaud interdisciplinary studies, I do detect a whiff of opportunism in these instances. One might say that is even predatory.

All of this is pertinent to one of the creative contributions in this issue as it focusses especially on research and opportunities for publication. We have two treats in creative work for you and there is a stark contrast between them.

As we regard the tumult in Europe over economic and political issues and the recent memorial activities regarding the end of WWI, it is timely that Chris Cowton draws our attention to the past and reminds us of the intersection of accounting and war. It begs the question: in what other theatres of politics does this still go on? I think the answer is: all of them. Chris’s poem is a sober reflection on the role of those who make others accountable in terms that the public may not contemplate, or welcome.

The other treat? In the previous Literature and Insights, I featured Niamh M. Brennan’s contribution that offered a framework to help students find their way through the study process. I suggested that supervisors could hand a copy of her previous contribution to their students with a guided plan for productive discussion. In the prior issue, I also foreshadowed her work that would be showcased in this issue, a companion table comprising 100 suggestions for research practice that would maximise the chances of publication, and here it is. Writers’ block, to which I advert above, might have been on her mind in preparing this work. It certainly has to be reckoned with in research projects. Once again, thank you, Niamh!

Your own contributions can be submitted via ScholarOne (see below), and your e-mail correspondence is always welcome at: steve.evans@flinders.edu.au