Search results

Using original transcripts of cases in which ‘sex games’ have ‘gone wrong’, this chapter examines how the practice of bondage and sado-masochism (BDSM) is figured in legal discourses and the implications this understanding of it has for debates about consent and sexual violence. The premise that consent to sexual violence might act as a defence or mitigating factor in cases which go to trial suggests that something understood as BDSM is recognized as a legitimate sexual practice by the courts. Recognizing the legitimacy of marginalized sexual practices can be understood as a progressive way to recognize individuals’ autonomy and freedom, within the contemporary neoliberal framework in which these cases play out. Campaigners against the judgement of the foundational Brown case make this clear (The Spanner Trust, n.d.). Yet, BDSM practice has also been mobilized to justify or diminish the significance of sexualized violence against women (Harman & Garnier, 2019, July 19).

This chapter navigates the line between these two priorities to interrogate the ways in which courts themselves interpret and understand BDSM. Gaining insight into how courts might be said to ‘operationalise’ BDSM, we can gain some insight into the role that consent plays in understanding sexual violence, including the work that consent has to do to turn an act of sexual violence into one of BDSM.

In order to do this work, I have acquired nine transcripts of crown court cases from 2010 to 2020 in which a ‘rough sex’ defence was used. Conducting a discourse analysis of how BDSM is imagined in these cases, in dialogue with previous I have conducted on consent and BDSM communities (Fanghanel, 2019, 2020), this chapter traces how knowledge about BDSM in created, and how this becomes used to affect justice outcomes.

Recently, the author facilitated a particularly difficult organization development (OD) intervention with a private non‐profit organization. It was an organization whose staff and governing board were deeply divided by interpersonal conflict. Although he tried to avoid it, the author found himself pulled into the politics of this organization. This intervention caused him to ask the question: Who is the client in an OD intervention? Is it the person who hired him? The entire organization? The organization's board? OD practitioners, as reflected in the academic literature, either provide conflicting views on this point or ignore the question altogether. Citing quotations from many prominent OD practitioners, including Golembiewski, Bennis, Burke, French and Bell, and Weisbord, the author searches for a definitive answer in the literature. In this paper, which is part literature review and part case study, he takes a critical look at the OD literature on this topic; ties OD to Jean Jacques Rousseau's concept of the general will; writes an in‐depth case study; and provides his reflections on this issue. The author concludes that within a highly politicized and contentious organization, it can be highly problematic for the OD practitioner to work for the organization as a whole, since he/she may, at times, be forced to take sides.

This article is based on a study that was commissioned by the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales. We report on the learning profiles and education needs of a cohort of young offenders who were recruited for the study. The research was a national cross‐sectional survey of 301 young offenders who were resident in custodial settings or attending youth offending teams in the community. The young people were assessed using the WASI and the WORD measures to obtain psychometric information (IQ scores and reading/reading comprehension ages). One in five (20%) young people met the ICD‐10 criteria for mental retardation (IQ<70), while problems with reading (52%) and reading comprehension (61%) were common. Verbal IQ scores were found to be significantly lower than performance IQ scores, particularly in male offenders. It is clear from these results that a large proportion of juvenile offenders have a learning disability, as characterised by an IQ<70 and significantly low reading and reading comprehension ages. The underlying aetiology of this association is less clear and may be a consequence of both an increased prevalence of neurocognitive deficits and the impact of poor schooling. There is some evidence that developmental pathways may be different for boys compared with girls.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive yet concise review of changes which have occurred in Vietnamese accounting regulations and practices since the mid‐1980s, and an analysis of prospective developments.

A combination of analytical review and synthesis of information available from diverse sources, and analysis of information obtained from interviews with 20 middle‐to‐senior practicing accountants.

Over the past two decades, as Vietnam implemented economic liberalization and developed closer links with Western economies, its accounting system has changed accordingly. The current system is a mixture of conceptual and formal elements taken from Western accounting and some basic features and practices retained from the old (Soviet‐style and French‐influenced) system. Further convergence toward international practices is likely to be slow, especially in the SME sector and in large enterprises that do not attract capital from foreign sources. Developments in management accounting and the accounting profession are also reviewed.

The paper contributes to the literature by providing structured and consistent information about a country which is reported only infrequently in the international literature, and considering both the pros and cons of harmonizing with IAS/IFRS in a developing‐country context.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate stakeholders’ salience on accounting and in particular to assess the magnitude of state influence in Romania, an emerging context.

This research integrates stakeholders’ theory and an empirical approach based on a survey administrated to professional accountants as preparers of accounts on the financial reporting market.

The findings confirm the hypothesis of Mitchell et al. (1997) that the importance of stakeholders is high if attributes like power, legitimacy and claims urgency are perceived as current. In the Romanian emergent context, for the period 1991-2010, a relatively strong tax-accounting linkage is still identified according to Lamb et al.’s (1998) hierarchy. However, as compared to the absolute dominance observed for the early post-communist stage, the state holds the second position in terms of values of stakeholder attributes, after the shareholders.

An increased influence of the accounting bodies, academics and business representatives, who should communicate effectively and constructively with the public structures with respect to enforcement of accounting regulations and the type of organizations involved. The higher focus on IFRS in the EU and in Romania and the evolution of Romanian economic and legal structures lead to the reassessment of the usefulness of IFRS, at least in the case of certain types of organizations. This is also due to the fact that the new IASB framework takes into consideration other types of stakeholders than (actual) shareholders along with the providers of finance from the entity and stewardship perspective.

This paper argues that one of the factors of state influence in accounting is the tax-accounting linkage who is still occurs in this context in present. Also, refers to another factor that caused the watering down of the state’ position, namely, the growing impact of IFRS on Romanian financial reporting.

This study investigates determinant factors (influence of the third party (ITP), credit policy (CP) and follow-up process (FP)) of micro, small and medium enterprises' (MSMEs) accounting processes (APs) and strategic debtors' management.

The study employed a sequential mixed-method approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods for comprehensive data analysis. Phase I involved purposively selecting and interviewing 10 MSME owners or accountants to gain insights into debtors' management. In Phase II, a quantitative approach was used for collecting survey data from 72 MSME owners or accountants. Structural equation modeling-partial least squares (SEM-PLS) are the statistical tools that validated the study's proposed hypotheses.

The findings indicate that determinant factors (ITP, CP and FP) positively affect MSMEs' AP, significantly influencing strategic debtors' management. As a result, sole proprietors can use this study's findings to create value through systematic management of their debtors, guaranteeing sustainable firm growth and profitability.

The sample has restricted to MSMEs in Oman, where the findings may not be generalized to other companies. Overall, the findings suggest that it requires considering the proposed determinant factor of MSMEs' AP to manage their debtors or accounts receivable (AR) to be more profitable.

MSMEs play an essential role in the growth of any country's economy. However, the dearth of comprehensive research on influential factors of MSMEs' debtors’ management studies justifies the significance of the current study.

Accounting practices vary not only across firms, but also across countries, reflecting the respective legal and cultural background. Attempts at harmonization therefore continue to be rebuffed. The purpose of this paper is to argue that different wordings in national laws, and different interpretations of similar wordings in national laws, can be explained by taking recourse to the philosophy of language, referring particularly to Searle and Wittgenstein.

The example of the substance over form principle, investigated in seven countries, is particularly suitable for this analysis. It is known in all accounting jurisdictions, but still has very different roots in different European countries, with European and international influences conflicting, which is reflected in the different wording of the principle from one country to the next, and the different socially constructed realities associated with those wordings.

This paper shows that, beyond accounting practices, the legal and cultural background of a country affects the wording of national law itself. The broad conclusion is that different socially constructed realities might tend to resist any attempt at harmonized socially constructed words.

The paper contributes to the debate surrounding the possible homogenization of accounting regulations, illustrating the theory of the social construction of both “reality” and “language” on the specific application of one common principle to various Member State environments.

AT intervals the rules and regulations of libraries should be scrutinized. They are not in themselves sacrosanct as is the constitution of the Realm, but many exist which no longer have serviceable qualities. Nevertheless, so long as a rule remains in force it should be operative and its application be general and impartial amongst readers; otherwise, favouritism and other ills will be charged against the library that makes variations. This being so, it is imperative that now and then revision should take place. There is to‐day a great dislike of discipline, which leads to attacks on all rules, but a few rules are necessary in order that books may be made to give the fullest service, be preserved as far as that is compatible with real use, and that equality of opportunity shall be given to all readers. What is wanted is not “no rules at all,” but good ones so constructed that they adapt themselves to the needs of readers. Anachronisms such as: the rule that in lending libraries forbids the exchange of a book on the day it is borrowed; the illegal charge for vouchers; insistence that readers shall return books for renewal; the rigid limiting of the number of readers' tickets; or a procrustean period of loan for books irrespective of their character—here are some which have gone in many places and should go in all. Our point, however, is that rules should be altered by the authority, not that the application of rules should be altered by staffs. The latter is sometimes done, and trouble usually ensues.

Looks at ways of surveying small urban spaces and deals with how garden and enclosures can be investigated prior to restoration.