title: Accounting and culture: The case of Solomon Islands

authors: Hauriasi, Abraham

subjects: accounting

abstract: Purpose – This paper sets out to review research on the compatibility between values underlying western accounting systems and traditional Solomon Islands cultural values. The research takes a sociological view of accounting to better understand how imported accounting values and practices fit into, and interact with, local traditions.

Design/methodology/approach – An interpretive methodology uses in-depth interviews and participant observation. Both inductive and a priori approaches identify and describe major themes.

Findings – The areas of conflict found between accounting themes and traditional Solomon Island group values relate to: the objectivity and neutrality of accounting; profit and wealth maximisation as the bottom-line; the separateness of the economic entity; time-based accounting controls; and the underlying basis of competition for efficiency and effectiveness in western accounting systems.

Research limitations/implications – The challenge is to identify how to adapt accounting and management practices so they fit into existing local cultural values and practices. Solomon Islanders must also determine how some of their cultural values can be adapted to suit contemporary economic circumstances.

Practical implications – The paper recommends that consideration be given to recasting elements of accounting and management practice so that they better reflect the nature of the society/activities being represented – namely, the discharge of accountability; valuing intangible business outcomes; owner-entity separation; time management; and bounded competition.

Originality/value – The research is one of the few studies on the culture-accounting relationship in a developing and economically poor part of the Asia-Pacific region.

text: Accounting and culture: The case of Solomon Islands Purpose – This paper sets out to review research on the compatibility between values underlying western accounting systems and traditional Solomon Islands cultural values. The research takes a sociological view of accounting to better understand how imported accounting values and practices fit into, and interact with, local traditions.

Design/methodology/approach – An interpretive methodology uses in-depth interviews and participant observation. Both inductive and a priori approaches identify and describe major themes.

Findings – The areas of conflict found between accounting themes and traditional Solomon Island group values relate to: the objectivity and neutrality of accounting; profit and wealth maximisation as the bottom-line; the separateness of the economic entity; time-based accounting controls; and the underlying basis of competition for efficiency and effectiveness in western accounting systems.

Research limitations/implications – The challenge is to identify how to adapt accounting and management practices so they fit into existing local cultural values and practices. Solomon Islanders must also determine how some of their cultural values can be adapted to suit contemporary economic circumstances.

Practical implications – The paper recommends that consideration be given to recasting elements of accounting and management practice so that they better reflect the nature of the society/activities being represented – namely, the discharge of accountability; valuing intangible business outcomes; owner-entity separation; time management; and bounded competition.

Originality/value – The research is one of the few studies on the culture-accounting relationship in a developing and economically poor part of the Asia-Pacific region.

year: 2009

title: Analysing Reverse Engineering Techniques for Interactive Systems

authors: Lin, Feifei (Amy)

subjects: Reverse engineering techniques

abstract: Reverse engineering is the process of discovering a model of a software system by analyzing its structure and functions. Reverse engineering techniques applied to interactive software applications (e.g. applications with user interfaces (UIs)) are very important and significant, as they can help engineers to detect defects in the software and then improve or complete them. There are several approaches, and many different tools, which are able to reverse-engineer software applications into formal models. These can be classified into two main types: dynamic tools and static tools. Dynamic tools interact with the application to find out the run-time behaviours of the software, simulating the actions of a user to explore the system’s state space, whereas static tools focus on static structure and architecture by analysing the code and documents. Reverse engineering techniques are not common for interactive software systems, but nowadays more and more organizations recognize the importance of interactive systems, as the trend in software used in computers is for applications with graphical user interfaces. This has in turn led to a developing interest in reverse engineering tools for such systems. 

Many reverse engineering tools generate very big models which make analysis slow and resource intensive. The reason for this is the large amount of information that is generated by the existing reverse engineering techniques. Slicing is one possible technique which helps with reducing un-necessary information for building models of software systems. This project focuses on static analysis and slicing, and considers how they can aid reverse engineering techniques for interactive systems, particularly with respect to the generation of a particular set of models, Presentation Models (PModels) and Presentation Interaction Models (PIMs).

text: Analysing Reverse Engineering Techniques for Interactive Systems Reverse engineering is the process of discovering a model of a software system by analyzing its structure and functions. Reverse engineering techniques applied to interactive software applications (e.g. applications with user interfaces (UIs)) are very important and significant, as they can help engineers to detect defects in the software and then improve or complete them. There are several approaches, and many different tools, which are able to reverse-engineer software applications into formal models. These can be classified into two main types: dynamic tools and static tools. Dynamic tools interact with the application to find out the run-time behaviours of the software, simulating the actions of a user to explore the system’s state space, whereas static tools focus on static structure and architecture by analysing the code and documents. Reverse engineering techniques are not common for interactive software systems, but nowadays more and more organizations recognize the importance of interactive systems, as the trend in software used in computers is for applications with graphical user interfaces. This has in turn led to a developing interest in reverse engineering tools for such systems. 

Many reverse engineering tools generate very big models which make analysis slow and resource intensive. The reason for this is the large amount of information that is generated by the existing reverse engineering techniques. Slicing is one possible technique which helps with reducing un-necessary information for building models of software systems. This project focuses on static analysis and slicing, and considers how they can aid reverse engineering techniques for interactive systems, particularly with respect to the generation of a particular set of models, Presentation Models (PModels) and Presentation Interaction Models (PIMs).

year: 2012

title: ‘Hospitality’, boundary crossing and thresholds applied in education: Embodying manaakitanga and whanaungatanga

authors: Wright, Noeline

abstract: In everyday understanding, ‘hospitality’ refers to paid work contexts; commodities and transactional tasks. Hospitality can, however, have much broader significance. It can be understood in cultural and social terms within and beyond transactional contexts. In Māori cultural knowledge and practices for example, hospitality has reciprocal, relational nuances. Perhaps both views imply that ‘hospitality’ is an act of ‘crossing boundaries […] or thresholds’ as Still (2013: 4) suggested. Relational, reciprocal, boundary-crossing practices may also infer ritual understandings of respect, kindness, generosity and harmony. Crossing thresholds is a central concept in Māori knowledge and practices and is central to this article exploring concepts and practices of hospitality in a new primary school focused on building its practices on relational and reciprocal values. In Aotearoa New Zealand educational contexts, hospitality is a cultural, social reciprocal and relational practice. Thus, through examining ‘hospitality’, ‘borders’ and ‘thresholds’ across the boundaries of education and commerce, we hope to illuminate both connections and differences. We do so through reviewing both literature about ‘hospitality’, ‘borders’ and ‘thresholds’ and interview data from a new school intentionally valuing whanaungatanga.

text: ‘Hospitality’, boundary crossing and thresholds applied in education: Embodying manaakitanga and whanaungatanga In everyday understanding, ‘hospitality’ refers to paid work contexts; commodities and transactional tasks. Hospitality can, however, have much broader significance. It can be understood in cultural and social terms within and beyond transactional contexts. In Māori cultural knowledge and practices for example, hospitality has reciprocal, relational nuances. Perhaps both views imply that ‘hospitality’ is an act of ‘crossing boundaries […] or thresholds’ as Still (2013: 4) suggested. Relational, reciprocal, boundary-crossing practices may also infer ritual understandings of respect, kindness, generosity and harmony. Crossing thresholds is a central concept in Māori knowledge and practices and is central to this article exploring concepts and practices of hospitality in a new primary school focused on building its practices on relational and reciprocal values. In Aotearoa New Zealand educational contexts, hospitality is a cultural, social reciprocal and relational practice. Thus, through examining ‘hospitality’, ‘borders’ and ‘thresholds’ across the boundaries of education and commerce, we hope to illuminate both connections and differences. We do so through reviewing both literature about ‘hospitality’, ‘borders’ and ‘thresholds’ and interview data from a new school intentionally valuing whanaungatanga.

year: 2021-03-01