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The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of external auditors, preparers and users (investors and analysts) of financial statements in Jordan about this new segmental reporting standard; a decision usefulness framework underpins the research.

The objective of this study is to explore the perceptions of external auditors, preparers and users (investors and analysts) of financial statements in Jordan about this new segmental reporting standard; a decision usefulness framework underpins the research.

The findings reveal that a majority of interviewees found that IFRS 8 was not a problematic standard, and that the management approach of IFRS 8 was an improvement on the previous standard – International Accounting Standard (IAS) 14R – because the information produced was seen as useful to users of financial statements. Moreover, the respondents indicated that there was an improvement in the quantity and quality of segmental information under IFRS 8 in annual reports for 2009; it was more understandable, relevant, reliable and comparable than the segmental information which had previously been reported.

No attempt was made to assess the usefulness of segmental information reported under IFRS 8 by Jordanian listed companies in their annual reports for other groups such as lenders, suppliers, customers, trade creditors and the general public (IASC, 1989). Thus, a survey about the impact of IFRS 8 on other groups may yield further insights about the decision usefulness of the new standard’s disclosures. However, Jordanians are not familiar with such research instruments and the culture within the society is relatively secretive (Piro, 1998).

The findings of the current research should be valuable for international accounting standard setters at the International Accounting Standards Board. It provides some indication about the impact of this new standard.

This research shows that segmental information reported under IFRS 8 is more useful for decision makers needs compared to segmental information that previously reported under IAS 14R. It also provides a great insight about the impact of this new segmental disclosure standard.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the segmental information disclosures of Jordanian companies under IFRS 8 for 2009 with disclosures under IAS 14R for 2008.

A sample of 109 Jordanian companies is used in this research. A disclosure index checklist was constructed to assess the segmental information provided by the sample companies. In particular, the checklist collected information about: the number of segments reported; the number and type of segmental items published; the geographic segment definitions (areas) used; and the identity of the chief operating decision maker (CODM).

The results suggest that segmental disclosures under IFRS 8 have increased compared to the information published under IAS 14R. There is an increase in the number of companies disclosing segmental information while the number of business and geographic segments for which information is provided rose under IFRS 8. Items required under the previous standard (IAS 14R) are still being provided in 2009, and the new segmental information required (if reviewed by the CODM) under IFRS 8 is also disclosed. As a result, the total number of segmental items disclosed increased. Moreover, a majority of companies identified the CODM as the chief executive officer.

This research highlights that the introduction of IFRS 8 has been associated with more Jordanian companies now disclosing segmental information. However, factors other than IFRS 8 may have contributed to the increased disclosure; these are not considered in the current paper.

This research shows that IFRS 8 compliance amongst Jordanian first market companies has resulted in an increase in the number of segments and items per segment disclosed.

The paper aims to investigate disclosure practices in the annual reports of Libyan banks in the run‐up to the opening of the nation's first stock exchange. Banks dominate this embryonic market but very little research has examined the extent (or determinants) of transparency achieved by these firms, an issue argued by Stiglitz and others to be crucial in the post‐crisis era. Currently, no detailed evidence of disclosure practices prior to the launch of the exchange exists, making an accurate assessment of the market's impact in this area impossible; the present study therefore contributes in this regard as well.

The study employs two main methods: a disclosure index‐based analysis of mandatory and overall disclosure levels; and panel regression analysis of the determinants of the overall disclosure levels.

The results suggest that while many items are disclosed on a regular basis, on average barely more than half of all possible items appear in the annual reports. As regards compliance with mandatory requirements, the figures are higher but, worryingly, begin to fall as the launch of the market neared. The results of panel‐data analysis suggest that the overall extent of disclosure is non‐random, instead reflecting the profits achieved by the banks concerned.

This paper is the first detailed analysis of disclosure practices in Libyan banks and the results suggest that market authorities should be looking for an improvement in the figures, in particular the reversal of a downward trend in compliance with mandatory requirements. The paper reports a link between profit level and disclosure propensity; this evidence might be of use to regulators charged with increasing disclosure levels in the future. More generally, the results provide a comparative basis on which to assess the effect of the market's launch on disclosure practices in Libya.

The purpose of this paper is to discover peer mentors’ perspectives of an education doctoral (Doctorate of Education) peer mentoring program implemented in a mid-sized public institution.

Data from one focus group and an interview collected from peer mentors as part of a larger case study of mentors and mentees in a peer mentoring program for education doctoral students are presented. Four (n=4) peer mentors participated in a focus group (n=3) and an interview (n=1). Participants were asked about their perceptions of the program and their experiences as mentors.

Four themes were discovered within the data: mentors relate to social, emotional and academic life balances of mentees, mentors provide support and reassurance to mentees, mentors guide mentees to focus on the future, and mentors gain personal and professional growth from the peer mentoring program. Results indicated that mentors believed that the program was helpful for their mentees and beneficial to their own personal and professional development.

Limitations of this study include the small sample size (n=4) and the short period of time in which participants were asked to be a part of the mentoring program and reflect in focus groups and interview (one academic year). Implications of this study include the benefits of peer mentoring for both mentors and mentees alike.

In contrast to many other studies of peer mentoring programs, this peer mentoring program targeted scholar-practitioner students who were balancing full-time careers with their coursework and family lives. Thus, peer mentors focused more on career and work-life balance with mentees than mentors may in other programs, as well as finding benefit to their own professional development.

Education doctoral (EdD) students (mentees) typically hold full-time leadership positions in education-related fields while completing their degree. The types of support these scholar-practitioners need is unique because of their focus on balancing full-time work, academic, and personal needs. This study aims to explore mentor support systems for mentees in their first and second year of the EdD program through a group mentoring program, which is designed to provide resources and access to mentors to promote successful degree completion in five years or less.

Mentors participated in monthly presentations and discussions with mentees throughout the 2018–2019 academic year, which were video recorded. At the end of the academic year, mentors partook in an interview or focus group meeting.

Themes emerged related to mentors’ focus on the dissertation process; emphasis on outreach for support; discussions and work/life balance; selection of presentation topics; perceptions of networking opportunities with mentees; desire to build stronger connections with mentees; and concerns/opinions about the mentoring format.

The design of a mentoring program for EdD mentees varies throughout the doctorate degree pathway. Mentors support mentees in their doctoral journey through presentations and discussions about relevant topics during their first two years in the doctoral program. Additional studies are needed regarding EdD mentoring programs for students in the third year to the completion of the degree.

Few studies exist related to mentoring programs for scholar-practitioners in EdD programs. Results from this research provide EdD faculty and advisors insights to group mentoring and discussion topics for first and second year EdD students, based on the mentors’ perspectives.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the adoption of social software in public libraries and to explore its impact.

This research uses a qualitative methodology and took the form of open‐ended interview questions using an e‐mail format. The research uses Rogers' diffusion of innovations theory as a framework.

This research found that participants consistently described social software as a means to deliver a library service that truly reflected their users' wants and needs. Participants indicated that social software would help achieve this goal in two ways. Firstly, participants felt that social software enabled users to interact with the library in the ways they wanted to. Secondly, the participative elements of social software made it easier for users to provide feedback on all aspects of the library service. The study also revealed that while social software is not currently being used to its fullest extent in public libraries, public librarians are exploring the meaning and potential of this new technology.

This paper advances the discussion on social software by providing concrete examples of its impact in practice. It is a resource for public librarians considering the potential impact of implementing social software in their own library which will allow them to learn from the experiences of others.

It has been at least twenty years since I was first alerted to the notion that my interest in a research topic arises from my unconscious. More recently, feminist theorists have developed the insight by arguing that integration of experience is helpful in defining research questions, as a source of data, to test findings and, in the words of Jean Bethke Elshtain, in assisting them to be less removed from the ‘wellsprings’ of their own ‘thought and action’. My aim in this article is to reconnect my experience with constructions of teachers in Australian children’s literature and to explore ways in which they are imagined in the literature. In my initial foray into this topic, I used Maurice Saxby’s historical review of Australian children’s literature as a guide for data gathering. This linear, chronological approach, while probably a helpful place to start, is not one I can sustain with any passion. In this article, I am returning to my experience to find a starting point, acknowledging that history is a ‘process of intellectual production as well as discovery’

This paper aims to explore how volunteers choose one nonprofit organisation (NPO) rather than another. It identifies the drivers of choice, and the relationship between them, to enable NPOs to strengthen their volunteer recruitment.

A total of 51 service-delivery volunteers were interviewed, drawn from 5 leading NPOs. A laddering technique was used to understand the context in which the choice of organisation was made and the underlying personal needs and goals. The data was analysed using means-end chain (MEC) methodology to uncover the relationships between, and hierarchy of, the decision drivers.

Brand, cause, and role were found to be important in meeting personal needs and goals through volunteering. The paper makes three contributions. Firstly, it presents a clearer understanding of NPO choice through adopting an integrated theoretical perspective. Secondly, it identifies the decision-making process and key relationships between the attributes of the NPO, the consequences for the volunteer, and the connection to their personal needs. Finally, the study makes an important contribution to literature through presenting a new conceptual framework of volunteer decision-making in the nonprofit context to act as a catalyst for future research.

This research is both impactful through, and limited by, its context selection: regular service-delivery volunteers from five NPOs within two causes. The paper presents a rich research stream to extend this understanding to other nonprofit stakeholders, other causes including medical volunteer, and smaller NPOs.

In an increasingly competitive nonprofit environment with a growing need to support the vulnerable in society, NPO sustainability is dependent on their ability to recruit new volunteers. NPOs compete not only with other organisations with similar causes but also those offering similar volunteering roles, and other uses of time to meet personal needs such as sport, career, or community. Understanding how volunteers make their choice of NPO rather than other uses of their time is of vital importance to make the most effective use of scarce marketing resources. This paper contributes to that practitioner understanding.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to extend the understanding of generic motivations of volunteers to consider specific choice of NPO. Unlike previous literature, the authors bring together theory on brand, cause, and role with personal needs. The authors are also the first to apply MEC methodology to the nonprofit context to uncover the personal underlying, less salient reasons behind NPO choice and the relationship between them.

This paper presents a critical discourse analysis of “choice” as it appears in UK policy documents relating to food and public health. A dominant policy approach to improving public health has been health promotion and health education with the intention to change behaviour and encourage healthier eating. Given the emphasis on evidence-based policy making within the UK, the continued abstraction of choice without definition or explanation provoked us to conduct this analysis, which focuses on 1976 to the present.

The technique of discourse analysis was used to analyse selected food policy documents and to trace any shifts in the discourses of choice across policy periods and their implications in terms of governance and the individualisation of responsibility.

We identified five dominant repertoires of choice in UK food policy over this period: as personal responsibility, as an instrument of change, as an editing tool, as a problem and freedom of choice. Underpinning these is a continued reliance on the rational actor model, which is consonant with neoliberal governance and its constructions of populations as body of self-governing individuals. The self-regulating, self-governing individual is obliged to choose as a condition of citizenship.

This analysis highlights the need for a more sophisticated approach to understanding “choice” in the context of public health and food policy in order to improve diet outcomes in the UK and perhaps elsewhere.

This is the first comprehensive analysis of the discourse of choice in UK food policy.

Despite the fact that women are increasingly reaching the highest levels of management in business organisations, negative stereotypes persist concerning their ability to handle the discourse of leadership. Drawing on a large database of recorded material collected from women in a variety of New Zealand workplaces by the Victoria University of Wellington Language in the Workplace Project, this paper illustrates the value of both qualitative and quantitative analysis in challenging such stereotypes. The analysis indicates that effective women managers adapt their style with sensitivity and skill to the specific setting and refutes misconceptions about the ability of women chairs to handle workplace humour, making them sociolinguistically very proficient communicators in the workplace.