bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Social withdrawal as invisible youth disengagement
Authors: Wong Victor 
Published: July 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to critically discuss state inaction on and NGO responses to the hidden problem of youth disengagement in the form of social withdrawal.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on data drawn from six focus groups of social workers working with youths experiencing the problem of social withdrawal and another 30 individual interviews with service users having had this vulnerable background.FindingsSubstantiated with empirical findings, the paper argues that young people in social withdrawal characterized by their socially avoidant behavior and deprivation of an engagement status as a worker, student or trainee are largely invisible to the state because of the latter's insensitivity to the heterogeneity and diversity of disengaged youth and reproduction of the anti‐social notion of at‐risk youth. A flexible and tailor‐made strategy initiated by an NGO is argued to be more effective in meeting the needs of silently‐disengaged young people.Originality/valueThis paper critically examines state inaction on the problem of youth disengagement in the form of social withdrawal and argues the importance of adopting a flexible and tailor‐made strategy with regard to both outreaching and service provision efforts.
Activation and the Austrian social assistance: permanent entry
Authors: Leibetseder Bettina , Kranewitter Helga 
Published: July 2012

PurposeSocial policy tries to foster (re)integration into the labour market and social inclusion via specific programmes. The purpose of this article is to expand knowledge about the common experiences of people in such schemes.Design/methodology/approachA total of four group discussions were conducted in four different Austrian cities. The added collective dimension is at least as important to the understanding of the felt experience of labour activation recipients as their individualised views.FindingsCollectively, activation is not something that is experienced as promoting lasting inclusion; rather, participants express a common line of argument towards a situation of “permanent entry”. Activation programmes allow for a certain form of support but do that in a specific and restricted way.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors could only obtain an explorative analysis by contrasting four discussions which rely only on the opinion of participants and not of caseworkers.Practical implicationsOne has to define how to implement activation policies in reality so that they do not foster “permanent entry” which becomes a societal norm for specific groups.Social implicationsSocial policy needs to be discussed including the perspective of participants in reforms.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the debate on inclusion and exclusion. Instead of the dominant logic of achieving social inclusion via activation, it treats the issue of “permanent entry” to programmes.
Modern day slavery: sex trafficking in Albania
Authors: Bekteshi Venera , Gjermeni Eglantina , Van Hook Mary 
Published: July 2012

PurposeHuman trafficking for sexual purposes is a significant human rights violation, as well as a crime of international proportions. Albania has been identified as an important source of individuals who are trafficked as well as an entry point from Eastern Europe and Russia into Western Europe. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the nature of this problem and governmental and societal responses.Design/methodology/approachAn examination of data sources regarding sex trafficking in Albania seen through the lens of the Albanian context and feminist legal perspective helps provide an understanding of the complexity of the issue and the nature of appropriate approaches.FindingsRecommendations are given for a more effective anti‐sex trafficking campaign, incorporating socio‐economic factors that might be linked to sex trafficking.Research limitations/implicationsThe lack of available data from victims of sex‐trafficking and Albanian government limits the ability of researchers to evaluate the effectiveness of anti‐sex trafficking response by Albanian government.Originality/valueThis is the first theoretically based attempt at analyzing governmental and societal responses to sex trafficking in Albania.
The impact of fraud prevention on bank‐customer relationships
Authors: Hoffmann Arvid O.I. , Birnbrich Cornelia 
Published: July 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to establish a conceptual as well as an empirical link between retail banks’ activities to protect their customers from third‐party fraud, the quality of customer relationships, and customer loyalty.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual framework is developed linking customer familiarity with and knowledge about fraud prevention measures, relationship quality, and customer loyalty. To empirically test the conceptual framework, data were collected in collaboration with a large German retail bank.FindingsA positive association was found between customer familiarity with and knowledge about fraud prevention measures and the quality of customer relationships as measured by satisfaction, trust, and commitment. The quality of customer relationships, in turn, is positively associated with customer loyalty as measured by intentions to continue their relationship with and cross‐buy other products from their bank.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper focuses on the German retail banking market and uses data from only one bank. Future research may investigate the generalizability of the findings across other banks, as well as other countries. Moreover, future research could address how specific anti‐fraud instruments and their communication differentially affect customer satisfaction, trust, and commitment.Practical implicationsThe results stress the importance of fraud prevention for retail banks and show that besides the financial objective of reducing operating costs, fraud prevention and its effective communication is a meaningful way to improve customer relationship quality and, ultimately, customer loyalty.Originality/valueThis is the first academic study to empirically examine the relationship between a retail bank's (communication about) fraud prevention mechanisms and the quality of their customer relationships.
Corporate governance and accounting enforcement actions in Italy
Authors: Romano Giulia , Guerrini Andrea 
Published: July 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine whether there is a relation between corporate governance and the publication of corporate accounts that fail to comply with legal and regulatory provisions governing their preparation.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyses all the Italian listed companies that from 2002 to 2010 were subject to accounting enforcement actions. From the literature review, 11 hypotheses were developed in relation to six issues: CEO Chairman duality, board size, board independence, the presence of an audit committee and its composition, the presence of nomination and remuneration committees and, finally, the presence of a big audit firm. Using non parametric tests, the paper compares the governance characteristics of fraudulent firms with those of a control sample of comparable firms.FindingsIt is found that board independence is the sole effective mechanism in detecting financial reporting fraud. The results show that firms committing accounting fraud have a lower percentage of independent directors on the board and fewer non‐executive and independent directors on the audit committee than the matched control sample.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limit of this research is the small number of companies observed, even if this limit reflects the size of the Italian Stock Exchange. Another caveat is the endogeneity problem that impacts much of the board literature.Originality/valueThis paper extends the accounting literature related to financial reporting fraud since it analyses the issue for the first time with reference to Italy, one of the most relevant European Union countries.
Past control risk and current audit fees
Authors: Calderon Thomas G. , Wang Li , Klenotic Thomas 
Published: July 2012

PurposeThe authors posit that audit fees are driven by historical risk factors and risk encountered in the current period. The purpose of this paper is to focus on historical risk by examining the incremental effect of material weakness in internal control (MW) identified in prior periods on current audit fees, after current risk factors are controlled for.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses multiple regression as the main research method, where the authors regress current audit fees on MW in prior periods, current MW, and a vector of other contemporaneous variables as proxies for current risk factors.FindingsThe authors find that past MW incrementally affects current audit fees beyond MW and other risk factors identified in the current period. The effect of past MW on audit fees generally last at least for three years. In addition, companies with persistent past MW incurred substantially higher audit fees. The paper also finds that past MW continues to be positively and significantly associated with current audit fees even after the MW is remediated and there are no subsequent reports of MW. Moreover, the number of MW dominates existence of MW in explaining audit fees in the current and the previous year.Research limitations/implicationsThis study does not attempt to distinguish between fee adjustments that are attributable to audit effort and adjustments that are attributable to risk premiums. Nonetheless, it is clear that organizations can expect to incur significant incremental costs over multiple years whenever they fail to maintain effective internal control systems.Originality/valueThe findings of this study contribute to the audit fees literature by explicitly incorporating risks from multiple prior periods into the audit fee model. The results suggest that it is important to consider historical risk factors in examining current period audit fees.
Gender differences in determinants of occupational choice in Russia
Authors: Klimova Anastasia 
Published: July 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse determinants of occupational allocation by gender, in Russia, between 1994 and 2001, using the only available nationally representative longitudinal survey (RLMS).Design/methodology/approachMultinomial logit was chosen as the estimation technique for this analysis.FindingsIt was found that gender significantly affects occupational distribution after controlling for human capital and other characteristics during all years. Educational attainment was significant for professionals and technicians/associate professionals, while work experience was significant for craft and plant workers. Marital status did not affect females' occupational allocation while married males were less likely to be unskilled and craft workers. It appears that women performed primarily non‐geographically dependent jobs and the significance of regional variation for females' employment diminished over time. A comparison of the actual and predicted females' occupation distribution revealed a large over‐representation of females in unskilled occupations.Originality/valueThe paper makes an original contribution to our understanding of occupational distribution by demonstrating that occupational segregation by gender is a large and economically significant factor in the Russian labour market, even after controlling for individuals' human capital and personal characteristics and for regional variations. The paper illustrates the extent of this segregation by comparing the actual occupational distribution of females to that which would occur if they faced the same structure of occupational determination as males, i.e. in the absence of discrimination and differences in tastes.
Social development in market society by intrinsic value account: a case of China
Authors: Wang Bing 
Published: July 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to reargue the great controversies surrounding marketization, by the concept of intrinsic value and to give a panorama of China's marketization and social development during last 30 years.Design/methodology/approachThe concept of intrinsic value is elaborated, and marketization and closely linked concepts such as price, wealth, happiness, freedom, etc. are reargued. An intrinsic value account (IVA) is constructed and the enhancement and weakening of some intrinsic values could be clearly shown. A panorama of China's marketization and social development is exhibited by IVA.FindingsThe basic point of this paper is that social development is a concept with strong but implicit ethical assumption and should be explicitly based upon intrinsic value. Without concrete definition and consensus on intrinsic value, it will face great disputes on judging human history as social development or social degradation. Market is not only an objective value‐neural system, but a subjective moral entity. China's maketization has enhanced economic value greatly, but suffered great loss by other intrinsic values.Practical implicationsIVA could be a practical instrument to evaluate social development and clarify the possible academic controversies on market. The arguments of China's marketization experience could be of benefit to other developing countries.Social implicationsThis paper could encourage people, particularly policy makers, to consider their value assumptions, value priority, some basic concepts in market, and what human kind is really pursuing.Originality/valueThe paper shows that IVA could be a new instrument to better evaluate social development, similar to the National Income Account or National Happiness Account.
Culture‐based development: empirical evidence for Germany
Authors: Tubadji Annie 
Published: July 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive concept for the role of culture in economic growth.Design/methodology/approachThe paper overviews the culture based development (CBD) concept and its precise definition of culture as an encompassing socio‐economic factor. The outlined CBD mechanism of impact is expressed in a testable empirical model. Alternative approaches for operationalizing the CBD definition of cultural capital are suggested and a real data application on intra‐regional level (for GermanKreise) is presented.FindingsThe findings illustrate the ability of the CBD model to capture the statistical significance of culture.Originality/valueThe paper demonstrates the two innovative elements of the CBD approach to culture: first, measuring culture with a factor variable as a better alternative to the mono‐dimensional variables inferred by the state of the art; and second, thus capturing the overall economic meaning of the cultural factor (not just one aspect of it) for local socio‐economic development.
On the dynamics of tracking indices by exchange traded funds in the presence of high volatility
Authors: Qadan Mahmod , Yagil Joseph 
Published: July 2012

PurposeThe purpose is of this paper is to investigate whether the tracking ability of exchange traded funds (ETFs) is lower in highly volatile periods, and to shed more light on the factors behind the tracking error.Design/methodology/approachThe authors apply the Error Correction Model that incorporates a short‐run adjustment mechanism on domestic US ETFs that follow industrial indices.FindingsIt was found that tracking errors attained pronounced levels during 2008 compared to 2006 and 2007, mainly in ETFs from the real estate and banking and finance sectors. In addition, tracking error is positively correlated with the daily volatility of the ETF, while trading volume has a limited effect on reducing tracking errors.Practical implicationsThe paper sheds more light on the relationship between securities and their fundamentals, and contributes to the literature on the information transmission mechanism for dually‐listed securities.Originality/valueThe paper uses the co‐integration tests and the error correction model (ECM) to test the long‐run relationship between returns on domestic exchange trade funds (ETFs) and the returns on the underlying indices. In particular, the ECM is used for ETFs for the first time.
Earnings smoothing and the underpricing of seasoned equity offerings
Authors: Duc Ngo Anh , Varela Oscar 
Published: July 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of earnings smoothing on the underpricing of seasoned equity offerings (SEOs). It aims to investigate whether earnings smoothing can add value to firms by reducing the degree of SEO underpricing.Design/methodology/approachThe sample of US common stock seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) by non‐regulated firms during 1989‐2009 was used to conduct various cross‐section, univariate, and multivariate tests, using several proxies for earnings smoothing, in order to confirm the impact of earnings smoothing on the degree of SEO underpricing. Three‐stage least square estimation was used to address the possible endogeneity of pricing and earnings smoothing.FindingsSmooth earnings performance resulting from discretionary accruals is negatively related to SEO underpricing and improves earnings informativeness. Consistent with risk management and signaling theories, managers' efforts to produce smooth earning reports may add value to their firms. Based on the mean values for SEOs, such smoothing reduces underpricing by $0.33 per share offered and increases the value of the average offering by $1.65 million. Smoothed earnings also conveys information about the firms' future performance, as firms with a long historical pattern of smooth earnings prior to SEOs significantly outperform, for at least three years after the SEO, those with more volatile earnings, with respect to stock returns and operating performance.Originality/valueThe paper contributes specifically to the current literature on earnings smoothing by demonstrating that high quality firms that expect larger quantity of cash flows in the near future are more likely to actively smooth earnings via discretionary accruals before SEOs to reduce underpricing. The paper contributes generally by showing that firms can signal their quality to outside investors by showing smooth earnings over a long period of time and such firms are more likely to experience a lower degree of underpricing through SEO episodes.
Integrating the top‐down approach in a simulated trading program
Authors: Huffman Stephen P. , Beyer Scott B. , Schellenger Michael H. 
Published: July 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illustrate the effectiveness of integrating a portfolio simulation‐based trading program with the top‐down approach to fundamental analysis in a security analysis course. The simulation allows for the application of class material using a combination of group and individual projects.Design/methodology/approachStudents enrolled in the class completed a survey about the integrated approach and the required simulated trading.FindingsOver 87 per cent of students agreed that the economic analysis provided more educational value as a group project than as an individual project, while over two‐thirds of the students disagreed that the trading simulation had more education value as a group project.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the authors focus on the top‐down approach, the concepts of technical analysis, hedging, and income generation could be more formally incorporated into the trading simulation.Practical implicationsThe outline of how to integrate a trading simulation into the top‐down approach, using a combination of group projects and a cumulating project completed by each student, can be used as a guide for how to make the top‐down approach a more meaningful task.Social implicationsThe integration of the portfolio simulated trading program with the top‐down approach makes the course more applied and more enjoyable for both the students and the faculty.Originality/valueThe paper outlines how to integrate a trading simulation and the top‐down approach and reports the finding that students preferred the group approach to economic analysis and individual projects for the simulation and the company analysis.
Contracting out municipal accounting: the role of institutional entrepreneurship
Authors: Hyvönen Timo , Järvinen Janne , Oulasvirta Lasse , Pellinen Jukka 
Published: July 2012

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the emergence of accounting shared service centers (SSCs) in the municipal sector.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical framework of this interpretative study draws on institutional entrepreneurship that highlights the importance of actors and agency for institutions and institutional change.FindingsThe paper finds that institutional entrepreneurs operate on many institutional levels simultaneously. On the organizational field level they must find groups of actors with whom they share interests. At the organizational level the institutional entrepreneurs must find and recognize critical audiences that are receptive to their agenda.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors' data comprise interviews and archival data; they were not present to observe the institutional entrepreneurs in action.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the accounting literature by investigating institutional entrepreneurship at the organizational field level, which has not been much empirically researched.
Can triple bottom line reporting become a cycle for “double loop” learning and radical change?
Authors: Mitchell Michael , Curtis Allan , Davidson Penny 
Published: July 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate critically the outcomes of a research project involving collaboration with an irrigation company seeking to improve outcomes from its triple bottom line (TBL) reporting process. Given the imminent basin‐wide crisis within which the organisation operates due to unsustainable over‐allocation of water for irrigation, the paper aims to offer insights from this context as a microcosm of the global sustainability crisis.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on action research with a case study organisation. Organisational learning theory is used to assess the quality and depth of learning that occurred in terms of the prospects for the radical changes needed to retreat from ongoing unsustainable water resource management practices.FindingsThe organisation's failure to link past learnings with future strategising undermined the potential for TBL reporting to develop into an iterative learning cycle that can effect change. While “small wins” were achieved, these need to be seen as part of a broader paradigmatic change movement if they are to result in enhanced sustainability.Originality/valueThe paper is based on a case study that builds from the authors' review of the literature that identifies ways to improve the process of reporting rather than focusing on report content alone. The case study benefited from substantial access and interaction with the organisation's internal stakeholders and offers new insights about how to improve the process of TBL reporting that builds on theoretical and experiential perspectives of other critical researchers undertaking field‐based engagement research.