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Article
Publication date: 18 February 2022

Hilary du Cros

Australia appears to be encountering a crisis in the protection of certain heritage places, despite its strong reputation in heritage conservation built up since the 1970s…

Abstract

Purpose

Australia appears to be encountering a crisis in the protection of certain heritage places, despite its strong reputation in heritage conservation built up since the 1970s. Consequently, this paper examines changes to national cultural heritage management policy over the last few decades to understand more about this crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage) was selected as the key focus. This paper applies a cultural heritage management framework tested first in Hong Kong to measure Australian paradigm change over 45 years.

Findings

It found the 1990s shift away from the provision of independent technical advice on national heritage policy has had a major impact. This shift is based on a change in ethos away from the earlier Whitlam/National Estate broader vision of heritage responsibilities towards a narrower more conservative one at the national level. Also, it found that studies and policymaking should allow for Indigenous voices. More Indigenous input in heritage policy formulation at all levels of government would further decolonise Indigenous heritage governance to deal justly with Indigenous Australians and their heritage.

Research limitations/implications

Resources did not allow for comparative studies of the non-Indigenous (historic) and natural heritage as part of the current study.

Practical implications

The study also included a consultation paper and an online conference presentation that have raised questions about the efficacy of current national policy on Indigenous places, on which a national conversation is urgently needed. The recent review of the National Heritage Strategy by the Australian Commonwealth Government based some of its proposed options on those listed in the consultation paper to initiate this conversation in a limited way.

Social implications

One finding is that attention to heritage policy and protection must be ongoing at all levels of government and inclusive of First People's human rights, particularly those concerning their heritage. In regard to Australia, most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents in this study would like to see targeted funding return for more than just iconic Indigenous places and for the creation of a more independent heritage body that allows them more self-determination in the care of their heritage.

Originality/value

The paper's value is that it investigates the Australian Heritage Commission's impact in the development of Australian cultural heritage management and associated national policy. Also, it provides insights for other postcolonial or New World settler societies dealing with the same issues or any decision-makers considering establishing a national independent body to oversee heritage protection and policymaking.

Details

Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-1266

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 14 December 2023

Francine Darroch, Sydney Smith, Audrey Giles and Heather Hillsburg

Mothers play important roles in their families' lives. When they are high performance athletes, they need specific supports that will enable them to excel in their roles as mother…

Abstract

Mothers play important roles in their families' lives. When they are high performance athletes, they need specific supports that will enable them to excel in their roles as mother athletes. The feminist qualitative research in this chapter is based on data from two studies drawn from semi-structured interviews with elite female distance runners: 14 in 2013–2014 and 11 in 2021. We address two questions: (1) what are the considerations that elite female distance runners make around planning their pregnancy(ies) and family lives? and (2) how have experiences shifted between athlete interviews in 2013–2014 and a new cohort of athletes in 2021? In order to address these questions, we drew on three complementary theoretical approaches: liberal feminism, radical feminism, and strategic essentialism. Further, we then used thematic analysis and generated three broader themes about elite female distance runners that aligned with both cohorts of athletes. First, athletes are forced to plan/strategize their pregnancies around finances, competitions, contracts, and spousal supports due to the lack of support from athletic governing bodies or corporate sponsors. Second, female athletes who choose to have children experience stress and uncertainty in their athletic careers that their male counterparts do not. Third, elite female athletes are demanding that further change occur to address these inequalities, and participants offered a number of potential solutions to improve supports for these athletes. Although solid progress has been noted in the timeframes of our two cohorts, further commitment from athletic governing bodies and corporate sponsors is needed to work toward gender equity in athletics.

Article
Publication date: 30 June 2022

Arash Arianpoor and Zahra Sahoor

This study aims to mainly explore the impact of business strategy and annual reports readability on financial reporting quality in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE).

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to mainly explore the impact of business strategy and annual reports readability on financial reporting quality in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE).

Design/methodology/approach

The sample comprised 160 companies listed in TSE from 2014 to 2020. Five proxies (including two accounting-based attributes and two market-based attributes) were used to measure financial reporting quality. In this study, cost leadership and differentiation strategies were considered and Fog index was used to measure the annual report readability.

Findings

The results showed that in all methods of calculating financial reporting quality, cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy and annual report readability had a positive and significant impact on financial reporting quality. Also, only at the high level of the differentiation strategy, the annual reports readability influenced financial reporting quality. In addition, at all levels of high and low annual report readability, cost leadership strategy affected financial reporting quality, but only in companies with a high annual report readability, the differentiation strategy affected financial reporting quality. Only for companies with a low readability, the annual report readability affected financial reporting quality.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study had examined the impact of business strategy and annual report readability on financial reporting quality at the core of the present study. Furthermore, little was known about the strategic choices made in Iran. So, the research filled this gap in TSE. This study provided insights for policymakers to enhance the readability and reduce the complexity of annual reports.

Details

Journal of Asia Business Studies, vol. 17 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1558-7894

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 February 2023

Bismark Osei, Mark Edem Kunawotor and Paul Appiah-Konadu

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of flood occurrence on mortality rate and life expectancy amongst 53 African countries.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of flood occurrence on mortality rate and life expectancy amongst 53 African countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The study utilizes panel data from the period 2000–2018 on 53 African countries and system generalized method of moments (system GMM) for the analysis.

Findings

The result indicates that flood occurrence causes the destruction of health facilities and the spread of diseases which reduces life expectancy. In addition, flood occurrence increases mortality rate amongst 53 African countries.

Research limitations/implications

Practical implications

The study recommends that governments amongst African countries should implement strategies being enshrined in Conference of Parties (COP, 2021) on climate change. This will help to reduce the level of climate change and flood occurrence.

Originality/value

Previous studies focussed on the adverse effect of flood occurrence without considering the issue of life expectancy amongst African countries. This study contributes to existing empirical studies by examining the effect of flood occurrence on mortality rate and life expectancy amongst African countries.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-07-2022-0508.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 50 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 January 2023

Abla Chaouni Benabdellah, Kamar Zekhnini, Anass Cherrafi, Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes, Anil Kumar and Jamal El Baz

Blockchain technology (BT) is creating a new standard for all business operations. It can assist businesses in handling the complexity of circular digital supply chain (DCM…

Abstract

Purpose

Blockchain technology (BT) is creating a new standard for all business operations. It can assist businesses in handling the complexity of circular digital supply chain (DCM) management. Despite this optimistic view, several barriers hinder its implementation. In this regard, this study contributes to Industry 4.0, circular economy (CE), the viability with a critical emphasis on its potential ramifications and influence on the future agenda while using BT technology in the supply chain (SC). In addition, the research reduces the knowledge gap by investigating and ranking the key barriers to the deployment of BT in viable circular digital supply chains (VCDSCs) and studies their interdependencies and causal relationships. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The barriers to BT adoption in the VCDSC are identified through a thorough literature review and considering viability performance. These barriers are then classified using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method. Decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) is then employed to examine the cause/effect, correlation, and connection among the 14 barriers selected barriers from the AHP classification to estimate each barrier's overall degree of impact over the others.

Findings

This paper identifies and analyzes the BT adoption barriers in the VCDSC as well as examines how the key barriers interact. As a result, according to the AHP/DEMATEL method, the most prominent influencing barriers to the BT implementation in the VCDSC are “Data transparency,” “Market competition,” “Missing infrastructure,” “Lack of standardization,” “Complex protocol,” “Lack of industry involvement,” “Financial constraints,” “Missing infrastructure,” “Data transparency” and “Interoperability.” The outcomes offer a potential path for identifying important barriers as well as insight into the implementation of BT in the SC while integrating different capabilities such as viability, sustainability and CE principles.

Practical implications

Managers and researchers will benefit from this research by gaining an understanding of the challenges that must be prioritized and examined for BT to be implemented successfully in the VCDSC.

Originality/value

The use and implementation of blockchain-enabled VCDSC continue to face challenges despite an increase in relevant practice and research. Despite the benefits of BT, managers struggle to apply such technology in the context of their company. In this respect, this paper uses an integrated AHP–DEMATEL for categorizing the BT barriers as well as the interrelationship between them. In this respect, this paper presents the BT barriers studied are those related to the use of BT in the SC while integrating different paradigms such as viability, digitalization and CE. While many studies look at the barriers to BT adoption; none of them has ever included the viable capability, which means the ability to “react agilely to positive changes, be resilient to absorb negative events and re-cover after disruptions and survive at long-term periods.” The study concludes with insightful comments based on the findings and suggestions for eradicating those obstacles and their associated effects.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 30 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 January 2022

Luca Ferri, Alessandra Allini, Marco Maffei and Rosanna Spanò

This study aims to investigate the readability of financial risk disclosure divulged by listed banks of the first five European countries according to gross domestic product.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the readability of financial risk disclosure divulged by listed banks of the first five European countries according to gross domestic product.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts the management obfuscation hypotheses and tests data gathered for a sample of 790 observations from listed banks in Europe covering the 2007–2018 period. This study uses a readability index (Gunning’s fog index) as the dependent variable for measuring the readability of banks’ mandatory financial risk disclosures. Moreover, it relies on a completeness index, discretionary accruals and several control variables for identifying the determinants of risk disclosure readability using ordinary least square regression for testing the hypotheses.

Findings

The findings show the existence of a positive relation\nship between readability and completeness of risk disclosure. In contrast, a negative relationship exists between readability and banks’ discretionary accruals.

Originality/value

This study expands the stream of accounting literature analyzing the lexical characteristics of narrative risk disclosure, and, by focusing on the financial risk disclosure of banks, it extends the readability-related debate, which has primarily concentrated on other types of disclosure to date. This study is relevant to regulators and policymakers for fostering reflections as actions for improving the financial risk disclosures readability. This study is also of potential interest for investors to better delve into the questions surrounding risk disclosure.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 31 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-372X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 July 2023

Amar Ghelani

The Canadian government legalized cannabis in 2018 and funded harm reduction campaigns to educate youth about the risks. Cannabis can contribute to psychosis in vulnerable…

Abstract

Purpose

The Canadian government legalized cannabis in 2018 and funded harm reduction campaigns to educate youth about the risks. Cannabis can contribute to psychosis in vulnerable populations, and consumption is common among youth in Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI) programs. The purpose of this study is to understand the views of youth in EPI programs on the risks related to cannabis and methods to reduce those risks.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative design and thematic analysis were used to understand the perspectives of youth in EPI programs (n = 15) towards cannabis risks and harm reduction.

Findings

Participants associated Δ−9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) with problems related to cognition, psychosis, respiration, addiction, motivation, finances, relationships and anxiety. Cannabidiol (CBD) was believed to be safe and risk-free. To reduce the risks associated with THC, participants suggested using in moderation, delaying use, using CBD over THC, accessing legal sources, avoiding high THC dosages and using non-combustible methods.

Research limitations/implications

Participants self-selected to participate, were psychiatrically stable and may not represent youth in EPI programs with more severe psychotic symptoms.

Practical implications

Assessing risk perceptions, motives for use and perspectives towards the cannabis and psychosis connection can reveal educational needs. CBD may offer a harm reduction option for EPI clients wanting to decrease THC intake, though more research is needed and adverse effects should be explained. Educational campaigns should disseminate the connection between cannabis and psychosis to facilitate early intervention.

Originality/value

This study adds to the literature by highlighting knowledge of harm reduction methods and gaps in risk awareness among EPI program youth.

Details

Mental Health and Social Inclusion, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-8308

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 November 2021

Heba Mohamed Adel and Raghda Abulsaoud Ahmed Younis

To empirically study the direct and mediating relationships between blockchain technology adoption strategy (BCTAS), electronic supply chain management diffusion (eSCMD)…

1307

Abstract

Purpose

To empirically study the direct and mediating relationships between blockchain technology adoption strategy (BCTAS), electronic supply chain management diffusion (eSCMD), entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and human resources information system (HRIS) in Egyptian banks. This paper aims to connect the dots and show the relationships linking these related constructs after the emergence of this breakthrough blockchain technology.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have undertaken a thematic review of relevant multidisciplinary business management literature and then developed a conceptual model. This model was examined through adopting a mixed-methods approach, through which 300 quantitative questionnaires were filled by information technology (IT) staff at 12 banks in Egypt utilising a snowball sample. Besides, 20 qualitative interviews were carried out with international and Egyptian blockchain experts for exploratory and explanatory purposes. The suggested hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling.

Findings

The results revealed that EO affects positively and significantly BCTAS and HRIS. BCTAS affects positively and significantly both HRIS and eSCMD. Concerning the linkage between external/supply chain and internal/organisational information diffusion, HRIS has a positive and significant effect on eSCMD. The direct EO–eSCMD relationship is not supported. Yet, indirectly, BCTAS mediates significantly EO–eSCMD and EO–HRIS relationships. Further, HRIS mediates significantly the indirect BCTAS–eSCMD relationship.

Practical implications

The findings of this research shed light on the benefits and challenges of adopting BCTAS within emerging markets in general and Egyptian banking in specific, which can support an effective and efficient decision-making process undertaken by strategic and functional banking managers with EO in similar emerging economies.

Originality/value

Conceptually and empirically, it is the first article that investigated direct and mediating EO–BCTAS–HRIS–eSCMD relationships in a promising banking industry of an emerging market. It solved an interdisciplinary research puzzle by piecing together the relevant contemporary literature on production, operations and SC management, entrepreneurship, HR management and strategic technology adoption.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 5 July 2023

Javad Rajabalizadeh

While existing research explores the impact of audit market competition on audit fees and audit quality, there is limited investigation into how competition in the audit market…

1484

Abstract

Purpose

While existing research explores the impact of audit market competition on audit fees and audit quality, there is limited investigation into how competition in the audit market influences auditors' writing style. This study examines the relationship between audit market competition and the readability of audit reports in Iran, where competition is particularly intense, especially among private audit firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample comprises 1,050 firm-year observations in Iran from 2012 to 2018. Readability measures, including the Fog index, Flesch-Reading-Ease (FRE) and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG), are employed to assess the readability of auditors' reports. The Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI) is utilized to measure audit market competition, with lower index values indicating higher auditor competition. The concentration measure is multiplied by −1 to obtain the competition measure (AudComp). Alternative readability measures, such as the Flesch–Kincaid (FK) and Automated Readability Index (ARI) are used in additional robustness tests. Data on textual features of audit reports, auditor characteristics and other control variables are manually collected from annual reports of firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE).

Findings

The regression analysis results indicate a significant and positive association between audit market competition and audit report readability. Furthermore, a stronger positive and significant association is observed among private audit firms, where competition is more intense compared to state audit firms. These findings remain robust when using alternative readability measures and other sensitivity checks. Additional analysis reveals that the positive effect of competition on audit report readability is more pronounced in situations where the auditor remains unchanged and the audit market size is small.

Originality/value

This paper expands the existing literature by examining the impact of audit market competition on audit report readability. It focuses on a unique audit market (Iran), where competition among audit firms is more intense than in developed countries due to the liberalization of the Iranian audit market in 2001 and the establishment of numerous private audit firms.

Details

Asian Review of Accounting, vol. 32 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1321-7348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 December 2021

Yosra Mnif and Jihene Kchaou

This paper aims to explore the relationship between the readability of sustainability reports and chief executive officer (CEO) attributes, comprising monetary, non-monetary…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the relationship between the readability of sustainability reports and chief executive officer (CEO) attributes, comprising monetary, non-monetary incentives and personal characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on an international sample of companies operating in sustainability-sensitive industries during 2016–2018.

Findings

The results prove that CEO monetary incentives, as well as CEO non-monetary incentives, negatively influence the readability of sustainability reports, revealed in a positive relationship with readability indexes, by providing reports with greater reading difficulty. Additionally, this study shows evidence about the relation of complementarity between these incentives. Other CEO characteristics have no significant effect on the readability of sustainability reports.

Originality/value

This research sheds the light on the role of CEO incentives in obfuscating sustainability information to portray the company, operating in sustainability-sensitive industries, in a favorable image.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 31 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-372X

Keywords

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