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The purpose of this paper is to use a case study of an online parenting forum to theorise how mothers’ everyday environmental and caring labour is a form of environmental and social activism in the home, that while not organised as such, is still collectivised in a “hybrid activist collective”.

Using ethnographic data and content analysis from an online parenting forum for the nappy-free infant hygiene practice known as “elimination communication”, the author compares the matters of key concern arising for this group of mothers with economic activist concerns as identified by Gibson-Graham et al. (2013) in their community economies work.

The paper finds a high degree of resonance between the key concerns of the elimination communication forum members with the key concerns of community economies. Furthermore, the author identifies the components of what might comprise a “hybrid activist collective” of mothers and others undertaking direct action for environmental and social change.

Mothers and others acting for social and environmental change through domestic practices should be recognised for their important environmental and caring labour.

The paper proposes the “hybrid activist collective” as a way of understanding the human and non-human elements that gather together to act for environmental and social change in a collectivised, but not formally organised manner.

Decontamination following chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN)/Hazmat incidents is a critical activity carried out in order to mitigate and contain the risk posed by any hazardous materials involved. Human behaviour plays a crucial role in such incidents, as casualties will have little understanding of the situation they find themselves in, leading to uncertainty in what actions to take. This will result in very difficult circumstances within which first responders must operate. However, the importance of human behaviour appears to be a fundamental element being missed in the preparation, training and planning assumptions being made by emergency services and planners in preparation for these events.

This paper looks to understand the scope of this omission by reviewing relevant literature on the subject and engaging with Fire and Rescue Service personnel and managers in the UK. This study utilised semi-structured interviews with 10 Fire and Rescue Service Mass Decontamination Operatives, four Fire and Rescue Service Hazardous Material Advisers and three Fire and Rescue Service Strategic Officers participating. These interviews were then analysed using a thematic framework to identified key themes from the research which were then validated using two independent researchers to provide an inter-rater reliability measure. Finally, a follow-up validation questionnaire was also developed to test the validity of the themes identified and this was completed by another with 36 Fire and Rescue Service Mass Decontamination Operatives.

Both the literature review and interviews undertaken with emergency responders and mangers demonstrated the crucial importance of accounting for behavioural aspects in these situations especially in regards to the likely levels of compliance to be expected by responders and the potential problem of casualties not remaining at the scene of an incident to undergo decontamination.

This research identifies a number of key themes so far not recognized through any other research and in doing so offers insights into potential flaws in the UK Fire and Rescue Service response planning for CBRN/Hazmat incidents requiring mass decontamination. It is intended that this research will inform further study into the areas identified in order to ensure gaps in planning, training and strategies for mass decontamination operations can be more fully informed and if required allow for a more effective response.

The aim of this paper is to gain insights into the gap that persists between management accounting education (MAE) and practice.

MAE is examined from four perspectives of the balanced scorecard (BSC), in terms of what is being taught at tertiary level: customer satisfaction, learning and growth, internal business and financial. A survey questionnaire was sent to management accountants selected randomly from a list of practicing management accountants identified by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in South Africa.

The study finds support for allegations that a gap exists between MAE and practice and indicates that to address this gap, a holistic focus using the four perspectives of the BSC would be useful to investigate the gap.

Previous studies in relation to the gap in management education have focused on the lack of skills provided by tertiary education. As one of the few studies to focus on the overall performance of MAE, this study identifies that the gap is not limited to the provision of adequate skills. The findings show that the gap is significant in terms of customer perspective but is not significant in relation to the internal business, learning and growth and financial perspectives of the BSC. The study provides deeper insights into the gap and will help tertiary education providers to improve their performance.

As one of the few studies on gaps between MAE and practice, the study provides insights to the potential gaps. The findings serve as a basis for further empirical and theoretical enquiries.

The study contributes to the management accounting literature by focusing on the gap in MAE using a BSC approach. Rather than single out the lack of skills provided by MAE as a reason for the gap, this paper provides information on the four areas of the BSC as ways to identify the gap.