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1 – 10 of over 77000
Article
Publication date: 7 December 2015

Val Spikmans

Environmental forensic investigations rely on the collection, analysis and interpretation of evidence from an environmental scene to assist in identifying the party responsible…

Abstract

Purpose

Environmental forensic investigations rely on the collection, analysis and interpretation of evidence from an environmental scene to assist in identifying the party responsible for the introduction of exogenous material. These investigations also try to elucidate if the environment and/or human health have been affected. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Environmental forensic investigations are considered a sub-category of the forensic sciences. The potential scientific evidence is subjected to the same rigour as for other forensic science disciplines, including quality control, accreditation, chain of custody and evidence integrity. The manner in which evidence is analysed and interpreted is also similar. Even though strong similarities can be drawn between environmental forensic investigations and the general forensic sciences, some important differences need to be understood.

Findings

Environmental forensic investigations can be more complex than they first appear and identifying, analysing and interpreting scientific evidence is not always straightforward. It is crucial in the comprehension of the complexities of the environmental forensic discipline to understand the intricacies of the investigations, including the limited sample numbers, complex matrices, wide range of exogenous materials encountered, often large size of the scene, changes to the scene and, above all, the potential for degradation or transformation of evidence. In addition, scientific evidence is frequently used to gather intelligence rather than to provide knowledge that can be brought forward to determine guilt or innocence of an accused party.

Originality/value

This paper explores the complexities of the discipline and discusses the difficulties that are encountered during environmental investigations.

Details

Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, vol. 1 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-3841

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 August 2010

Alexander J. Martín

Archaeological evidence from the prehistoric Spondylus industry of coastal Ecuador is analyzed here to clarify how craft production was structured and the role that it played in…

Abstract

Archaeological evidence from the prehistoric Spondylus industry of coastal Ecuador is analyzed here to clarify how craft production was structured and the role that it played in the rise of social complexity. Many models of social development propose that elite cooption of specialized craft production can be a useful avenue through which aspiring elites can gain differential status. Contrary to the expectations of these models, data from coastal Ecuador indicates that craft production of sumptuary goods was an activity primarily carried out by household units for the benefit of the domestic economy. Increased trafficking with northern Peruvian states at ca. 750 seems to have promoted local social stratification by attracting large numbers of households to the restricted locales where they could exploit these resources, which in turn prompted a strengthening of the kinds of political conditions that facilitate orderly interaction and minimize internal social conflict.

Details

Economic Action in Theory and Practice: Anthropological Investigations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-118-4

Content available
Article
Publication date: 2 February 2010

David Pearce Snyder

949

Abstract

Details

On the Horizon, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1074-8121

Book part
Publication date: 5 December 2017

Gail P. Clarkson and Mike A. Kelly

The implications and influence of different cognitive map structures on decision-making, reasoning, predictions about future events, affect, and behavior remain poorly understood…

Abstract

The implications and influence of different cognitive map structures on decision-making, reasoning, predictions about future events, affect, and behavior remain poorly understood. To-date, we have not had the mechanisms to determine whether any measure of cognitive map structure picks up anything more than would be detected on a purely random basis. We report a Monte Carlo method of simulation used to empirically estimate parameterized probability outcomes as a means to better understand the behavior of cognitive map. Using worked examples, we demonstrate how the results of our simulation permit the use of exact statistics which can be applied by hand to an individual map or groups of maps, providing maximum utility for the collective and cumulative process of theory building and testing.

Details

Methodological Challenges and Advances in Managerial and Organizational Cognition
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-677-0

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 December 2022

Marina Arnaut and James Temitope Dada

Motivated by the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-7: clean and affordable energy, SDG-8: sustainable economic growth, SDG-13: climate action), this study aims to…

Abstract

Purpose

Motivated by the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-7: clean and affordable energy, SDG-8: sustainable economic growth, SDG-13: climate action), this study aims to investigate the role of economic complexity, disaggregated energy consumption in addition to economic growth, financial development, globalization and urbanization on the ecological footprint of United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts unit root tests (with and without a structural break), autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test and dynamic ordinary least squares.

Findings

The results obtained from the ARDL model suggest that economic complexity (EC), nonrenewable energy and economic growth increase the ecological footprint in both the short and long run, thus deteriorating the environment. However, renewable energy and urbanization reduce the ecological footprint in UAE during the two periods, thus improving environmental quality. Globalization and financial development have different influences on ecological footprint during these periods. These findings are robust to other estimation techniques.

Practical implications

Based on these results, this study offers significant policy implications such as increasing renewable energy supply, particularly solar energy and aligning the product manufacturing structure and complexity toward producing environmentally friendly products which can be used to realize the nation’s agenda of reducing fossil fuels consumption to 38% by 2050 and achieving sustainable environment and growth.

Originality/value

This study provides an empirical attempt to investigate the influence of EC and renewable and nonrenewable energy on the ecological footprint of the UAE.

Details

International Journal of Energy Sector Management, vol. 17 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6220

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 6 February 2007

John F. Dalrymple

593

Abstract

Details

Quality Assurance in Education, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0968-4883

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 15 October 2016

Price level movements have been under scrutiny for forty years. Yet, a need still exists for further classification of the concept of business income. This is so because…

Abstract

Price level movements have been under scrutiny for forty years. Yet, a need still exists for further classification of the concept of business income. This is so because accounting has a justifiably duty to report on actual transaction experience. General prices, on the other hand, cannot speak so specifically, but business decisions nonetheless need to consider such data. With this in mind, an alternative emerges: include price level adjustments in accounts or report them separately as supplements. The support is given in this study to the latter, while acknowledging that time is needed for the interpretative benefits of supplementary reports to be more widely recognized. Given enough time, it is reasonable to expect that a favorable consensus will emerge. Financial statement users would no doubt favorably receive supplementary data on the impact of inflation, and companies would not suffer from enlightening the people at interest in this manner.

Details

A. C. Littleton’s Final Thoughts on Accounting: A Collection of Unpublished Essays
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-389-4

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2020

Anete Pajuste, Elva Poriete and Reinis Novickis

This paper explores how the text complexity and content of management discussion and analysis (MD&A) relate to earnings management in Baltic listed companies.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores how the text complexity and content of management discussion and analysis (MD&A) relate to earnings management in Baltic listed companies.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a panel data set of 250 firm-year observations from the Baltic markets in the period 2012–2016, this paper uses linear regression analysis to examine the relation between earnings management and reporting complexity.

Findings

The results show that earnings could be managed in about 6–11% of firm-years, depending on specification, and there is a positive relationship between earnings management and reporting complexity; however, this relationship is confined to more liquid companies. The authors argue that higher scrutiny by market participants in more liquid companies incentivizes managers to obfuscate negative financial results through report complexity.

Originality/value

This paper presents a novel application of the opportunistic perspective of positive accounting theory (PAT) in relation to managers' choice of reporting complexity. The findings of this paper contribute by providing empirical evidence for strategic reporting by managers and can be useful for regulators and investors that should monitor the level of reporting complexity in the listed companies.

Article
Publication date: 10 November 2017

Maysara Sayed, Linda C. Hendry and Marta Zorzini Bell

The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the impact of institutional pressures, institutional logics and institutional complexity on Sustainable Supply Chain…

5057

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the impact of institutional pressures, institutional logics and institutional complexity on Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) practices across mixed public and private sector supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach

Multi-case study data were collected from three tiers of food and catering supply chains: the customer/consumer tier; focal public sector UK Universities; and private sector suppliers/contractors.

Findings

The findings indicate that: normative and mimetic pressures are more prevalent in focal Universities, compared to suppliers; there is typically no single dominant logic across these supply chains; and the multiplicity of institutional logics (e.g. sustainability logic versus financial logic) increases institutional complexity. Therefore, in the typical case of homogeneity in terms of institutional pressures and logics, e.g. with a dominant sustainability logic throughout the supply chain, radical change in SSCM practices is facilitated. In contrast, in the more typical case when there is heterogeneity, with competing logics at different supply chain tiers, this limits SSCM to more incremental changes in practices.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited to three tiers of the food and catering supply chains of UK Universities.

Practical implications

To aid in the successful implementation of SSCM, this study suggests a need for managers to develop an initial understanding of the prevailing institutional logics and pressures at different tiers of the supply chain.

Social implications

A number of the SSCM practices studied address social sustainability.

Originality/value

No previous studies have empirically investigated the impact of institutional complexity in the context of SSCM practices across supply chains, involving both mixed public and private sector organisations.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 November 2023

Javad Rajabalizadeh

This study investigates the relationship between the Chief Executive Officer's (CEO) overconfidence and financial reporting complexity in Iran, a context characterized by weak…

1056

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates the relationship between the Chief Executive Officer's (CEO) overconfidence and financial reporting complexity in Iran, a context characterized by weak corporate governance and heightened managerial discretion.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample consists of 1,445 firm-year observations from 2010 to 2021. CEO overconfidence (CEOOC) is evaluated using an investment-based index, specifically capital expenditures. Financial reporting complexity (Complexity) is measured through textual features, particularly three readability measures (Fog, SMOG and ARI) extracted from annual financial statements. The ordinary least squares (OLS) regression is employed to test the research hypothesis.

Findings

Results suggest that CEOOC is positively related to Complexity, leading to reduced readability. Additionally, robustness analyses demonstrate that the relationship between CEOOC and Complexity is more distinct and significant for firms with lower profitability than those with higher profitability. This implies that overconfident CEOs in underperforming firms tend to increase complexity. Also, firms with better financial performance present a more positive tone in their annual financial statements, reflecting their superior performance. The findings remain robust to alternative measures of CEOOC and Complexity and are consistent after accounting for endogeneity issues using firm fixed-effects, propensity score matching (PSM), entropy balancing approach and instrumental variables method.

Research limitations/implications

This study adds to the literature by delving into the effect of CEOs' overconfidence on financial reporting complexity, a facet not thoroughly investigated in prior studies. The paper pioneers the use of textual analysis techniques on Persian texts, marking a unique approach in financial reporting and a first for the Persian language. However, due to the inherent challenges of text mining and feature extraction, the results should be approached with caution.

Practical implications

The insights from this study can guide investors in understanding the potential repercussions of CEOOC on financial reporting complexity. This will assist them in making informed investment decisions and monitoring the financial reporting practices of their invested companies. Policymakers and regulators can also reference this research when formulating policies to enhance financial reporting quality and ensure capital market transparency. The innovative application of textual analysis in this study might spur further research in other languages and contexts.

Originality/value

This research stands as the inaugural study to explore the relationship between CEOs' overconfidence and financial reporting complexity in both developed and developing capital markets. It thereby broadens the extant literature to include diverse capital market environments.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 61 no. 13
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

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