Search results
1 – 10 of over 4000
This paper aims to stimulate discussion on how best to protect individuals from undue influence when gifting to religious institutions in England and Wales.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to stimulate discussion on how best to protect individuals from undue influence when gifting to religious institutions in England and Wales.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on the law relating to undue influence in England and Wales and draws from the literature regarding gifting to religious institutions and accountability of such institutions.
Findings
This paper identifies that more needs to be done to protect individuals, so as to ensure they are gifting to religious institutions using their own free will. It highlights that although the law attempts to define undue influence, there is little guidance on where the line between persuasion and coercion lies. The paper recognises that religious institutions need to do more to adopt safeguarding policies and that the Charity Commission ought to better support such policies by creating a single point of reference.
Practical implications
Steps need to be taken to prepare a cohesive set of principles that religious institutions of all denominations can follow to ensure they protect themselves from being accused of undue influence, as well as safeguarding individuals from abuse.
Originality/value
There are limited studies that consider the dichotomy between religious gifting and undue influence. This paper adds to the existing discussion and considers ways in which individuals can be protected. The author is not aware of such considerations being directly contemplated as resolutions to this issue.
Details
Keywords
In its most basic usage, “corruption” means a change from functional or good to dysfunctional or bad. This definition is far too broad to be of use to scholars or policymakers…
Abstract
In its most basic usage, “corruption” means a change from functional or good to dysfunctional or bad. This definition is far too broad to be of use to scholars or policymakers, who need a more precise, shared definition so that they can communicate meaningfully with one another. Scholars and policymakers have developed scores of definitions, which this chapter briefly explains. Within this galaxy of definitions, scholars and policymakers have tended to favor one definition, which this chapter calls the “general definition.” The general definition describes organizational corruption as: the abuse or misuse of power or trust for self-interested purposes rather than the purposes for which power or trust was given. This chapter discusses and illustrates the general definition. The chapter concludes by pointing out that the general definition is only one definition. In many places, the public is deeply concerned with phenomena such as undue influence, which should also be taken into consideration as a form of corruption even though it falls outside of the general definition.
Details
Keywords
This review of the decision‐making literature aims to challenge the rational model of decision‐making upon which the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 is premised.
Abstract
Purpose
This review of the decision‐making literature aims to challenge the rational model of decision‐making upon which the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 is premised.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper forms part of a larger study commissioned by the Office of the Public Guardian looking into complex cases.
Findings
The literature supported the study findings that decisions are not made in a linear way and identified the importance of history and memory, motivation and drive, mood and stability, and openness to influence when assessing the mental capacity of vulnerable people, especially in the context of self‐neglect.
Practical implications
This paper will inform workers in health and social care about the emotional factors that influence decision‐making and increase their ability to make nuanced assessments.
Social implications
Taken together, with other publications from this project, this paper alerts practitioners to situations where vulnerable people are out of their depth; when the role of depression and anxiety may be at least as salient as their understanding of possible consequences and when the past may exert more control over their actions than their understanding of future options.
Originality/value
The paper's added value is that it uses ideas that are current within academic psychology to make explicit some of the factors that lead to complexity when assessing mental capacity under the MCA, especially in the context of self‐neglect.
Details
Keywords
The Equal Pay Act 1970 (which came into operation on 29 December 1975) provides for an “equality clause” to be written into all contracts of employment. S.1(2) (a) of the 1970 Act…
Abstract
The Equal Pay Act 1970 (which came into operation on 29 December 1975) provides for an “equality clause” to be written into all contracts of employment. S.1(2) (a) of the 1970 Act (which has been amended by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975) provides:
Mark J. Nigrini and William Karstens
This paper develops a vector variation score that quantifies the change in an array of data points from period-to-period. The array could be the amounts reported on an income tax…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper develops a vector variation score that quantifies the change in an array of data points from period-to-period. The array could be the amounts reported on an income tax return, the closing stock prices for a set of listed companies, the monthly sales amounts for retail locations or the monthly balances in general ledger accounts.
Design/methodology/approach
The score is grounded in analytic geometry. The angle θ measures whether the changes were uniformly spread across the line items. The item(s) with the largest contribution(s) to the score can be identified. Line items can be weighted such that they contribute less than fully to the score.
Findings
The method can identify tax returns with large year-on-year changes. The method can identify the fact that the price movements during earnings season are less dependent than is usually the case. The method can identify anomalies in reported sales amounts. The method should be able to identify ledger accounts’ large abnormal changes.
Research limitations/implications
Auditors will need to be trained to interpret the results and to reduce the number of false positives.
Practical implications
The score could be used in both external and internal audit applications where auditors want to quantify and rank period-on-period changes in a search for outliers.
Originality/value
The change score is normalized to the [0, 1] range. The results can be plotted as a polar plot for display on an auditing dashboard. The contribution of a single line item can be calculated and line items can be weighted to prevent them from having an undue influence on the results.
Details
Keywords
Martina Kirsten Schmidt, Nicole Forbes Stowell, Carl Pacini and Gary Patterson
The purpose of this paper is to discuss financial fraud and exploitation against seniors relating to wills, trusts and guardianship. The paper describes how this fraud affects its…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss financial fraud and exploitation against seniors relating to wills, trusts and guardianship. The paper describes how this fraud affects its victims, points out red flags and makes recommendations that may help control this pervasive type of fraud.
Design/methodology/approach
Information from a range of different sources, such as journal publications, law textbooks, law enforcement websites and estate planning cases are used as a basis to provide information about how fraudsters are committing this type of fraud, which red flags to watch out for and how to prevent this fraud from occurring.
Findings
Fraud relating to wills, trusts and guardianship is oftentimes difficult to detect and continues to be a grave threat to its victims. While this fraud will likely never be eradicated, specific efforts have been put into place to track financial exploitation. Further steps presented in this paper can be deployed to help rein in these fraud schemes.
Practical implications
The paper provides useful information about frauds related to wills, trusts and guardianship for stakeholders. This includes, but is not limited to, anyone whose work is related to seniors, such as accountants, lawyers, regulators, bankers, financial planners, law enforcement personnel, academics, medical professionals, caregivers, family members and ethicists. These stakeholders can use this information to help combat this fraud and prevent not only financial losses of seniors but physical harm as well.
Social implications
Decreasing financial exploitation of seniors will not only improve their financial position and may reduce their reliance on Medicaid but will also improve their mental and physical well-being and save lives.
Originality/value
Research in the area of maltreatment and exploitation of older adults is still in its early stages, as knowledge of effective prevention, intervention and remediation practices are limited. This paper adds to the research in this arena by drawing on a unique set of resources that shed light on financial fraud commonly committed against seniors. This study also makes much needed recommendations that are aimed to prevent this threat related to wills, trusts and guardianship.
Details
Keywords
This legal column includes discussion of a recently decided Court of Appeal case relevant to vulnerable adults and a review of Fair Access to Care Services, the guidance on…
Abstract
This legal column includes discussion of a recently decided Court of Appeal case relevant to vulnerable adults and a review of Fair Access to Care Services, the guidance on eligibility criteria for adult social care.
The paper aims to explore how the undue state control leads to the weak stock market in China. It analyzes how the undue state control is exerted in some key areas in the Chinese…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to explore how the undue state control leads to the weak stock market in China. It analyzes how the undue state control is exerted in some key areas in the Chinese stock market. This paper intends to expand the existing literature in the relationships among law, politics, and economy.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper mainly adopts the exploratory method to analyze the undue state influences. Under some circumstances, comparative study and historical explanation are also adopted.
Findings
The paper suggests that to create a strong stock market and facilitate the development of the listed companies and the whole economy, the state should first release its control on the stock market.
Research limitations/implications
Various fields are contained in a stock market, in most of which the undue state control can be observed. In this paper, only some key ones are explored. Further research on other fields and if possible more first‐hand data are necessary.
Practical implications
This paper not only offers an answer to concerns on the various misconducts in the inefficient Chinese stock market and helps to realize the possible ways out of such dilemma, but also it offers implications for other emerging economies.
Originality/value
The on‐going debate on the role of common‐law versus civil‐law system in the capital market may have ignored the state involvement. This paper indicates that it is the undue state control rather than the legal system that leads to the weak stock market in China.
Details
Keywords
By using Latour’s notion of “action at a distance” (Latour, 1987), the purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which the government acts at a distance to achieve corporate…
Abstract
Purpose
By using Latour’s notion of “action at a distance” (Latour, 1987), the purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which the government acts at a distance to achieve corporate governance of public sector banks, and the extent to which accounting enables such actions of the government.
Design/methodology/approach
This study follows the qualitative research approach and adopts the case study research method. A major public sector bank in Sri Lanka was selected as the case organization for this study. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with organizational participants and document study.
Findings
The study provides evidence to suggest that inscriptions produced through four areas of accounting, namely external reporting, external auditing, management accounting and internal auditing, have the capacity to develop strong explanations enabling action at a distance and good corporate governance in the case organization. The study also provides evidence to show how the role of accounting in long-distance control and corporate governance in the case organization is influenced by various contextual factors. In particular, the study finds that undue government interference over the case organization to gain the long-distance control have resulted in deteriorating the level of corporate governance.
Research limitations/implications
The findings support the literature that examines the accounting in its social context.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that actors should be allowed to operate independently, particularly without political expedience and undue influences from pressure groups, which ensure effective utilization of accounting inscriptions by the actors in long-distance control as well as good corporate governance of public sector banks.
Originality/value
Although research into accounting in public sector organizations has gained considerable importance in recent times, those studies examining public sector banks are still lacking. The paper aims to fill this gap.
Details
Keywords
Geraint Howells, Hans‐W. Micklitz and Thomas Wilhelmsson
The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of unfair commercial practices in advertising and marketing law.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of unfair commercial practices in advertising and marketing law.
Design/methodology/approach
The differences addressed in the paper relate to the role or tasks of consumer law in regulating the marketplace.
Findings
A comparison of the UK, German and Nordic approaches reveal interesting differences at least in nuances in the approach to omission of information as an unfair commercial practice.
Originality/value
The paper provides useful analysis of the deeper understandings behind unfair commercial practices law.
Details