External Factors and the Pricing of Audit Services: A Systematic Review of the Archival Literature using a PESTLE Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brigitte Eierle ◽  
Sven Hartlieb ◽  
David C Hay ◽  
Lasse Niemi ◽  
Hannu Ojala
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
External Factors ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Archival Studies ◽  
Audit Pricing ◽  
Regulatory Changes ◽  
Novel Structure ◽  
Audit Fee ◽  
Political Economic

Client- and auditor-related attributes are well-documented determinants of audit pricing but the number of empirical archival studies investigating the effects of external factors on audit pricing has grown rapidly in recent years. We extend the traditional framework used to classify audit fee research by adding a novel structure that focuses on political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental/ecological factors (a PESTLE analysis). We provide a systematic review of the literature on external factors and audit pricing, and we suggest opportunities for future research. Our review reveals that audit researchers focus on legal factors in terms of regulatory changes, and we find increased attention to political, economic, and social factors. However, despite increased public scrutiny, technological and environmental/ecological factors remain under-researched. Overall, our review demonstrates the importance of considering external factors to gain a more complete understanding of the audit pricing framework, especially in terms of global and regional variations.

scholarly journals A Review of Small Farmer Land Use and Deforestation in Tropical Forest Frontiers: Implications for Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1113
Author(s):  
David López-Carr
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Forest Conversion ◽  
Ecological Change ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Local Livelihoods ◽  
Political Economic

Forest conversion for agriculture is the most expansive signature of human occupation on the Earth’s surface. This paper develops a conceptual model of factors underlying frontier agricultural expansion—the predominant driver of deforestation worldwide—from the perspective of small farm households—the majority of farmers globally. The framework consists of four causal rubrics: demographic, socioeconomic, political–economic, and ecological. Following this approach, the article explores the current state of knowledge on tropical deforestation in tropical agricultural frontiers with a focus on Latin America, the region of greatest deforestation worldwide during recent decades. Neo-Malthusian arguments notwithstanding, in many tropical nations, deforestation has proceeded unabated in recent years despite declining rural populations. However, evidence from the global-to-household scale suggests that population size and composition are also related to farm forest conversion. Existing particularist or behaviorialist theories sometimes fail to capture key geographical and temporal dimensions, yet studies support the notion that certain cultural, individual, and household characteristics are crucial determinants of forest clearing. Conversely, while institutional arguments sometimes fail to emphasize that the ultimate land use change agents are local resource users, their livelihood decisions are shaped and constrained by policies governing economic subsidies, and market and infrastructure development. Further, although ecological change is usually modeled as an outcome in the deforestation literature, increasingly acute climate change and natural farm endowments form a dynamic tabula rasa on which household land use decisions are enabled. To more fully comprehend frontier forest conversion and to enhance protection and conservation while promoting vital local livelihoods, future research may fruitfully investigate the interaction of demographic, social, political, economic, and ecological factors across spatial scales and academic disciplines.

Audit fee stickiness

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charl de Villiers ◽  
David Hay ◽  
Zhizi (Janice) Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Audit Fees ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Audit Pricing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Market ◽  
Audit Fee ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Difference ◽  
One Year

Purpose – This study aims to contribute to the understanding of audit pricing and the competitiveness of the audit fee market by examining audit fee stickiness. Design/methodology/approach – The authors explore the price behavior of audit fees in response to changes in the variables that are usually seen as their determinants, such as size, complexity, and risk in order to examine audit fee stickiness and the competitiveness of the market for audit services. Findings – The authors find that audit fees are sticky, i.e. audit fees do not immediately or fully adjust to changes in their determinants. Audit fees also respond to changes leading to an increase more quickly than they respond to changes leading to a decrease. The difference between positive and negative fee adjustments declines over periods longer than one year and is no longer significant when four-year periods are considered. Research limitations/implications – The study is limited to companies in the USA from 2000 to 2008. Future research should examine this issue in other settings and periods. Practical implications – The results suggest that the audit market is competitive, at least in the medium term. Originality/value – The study helps to explain why the audit fee model does not fully explain the level of audit fees; why audit fees are more likely to be too high than too low; and why auditor switches are commonly associated with larger changes in audit fees. The findings provide evidence that may be useful to managers and audit committees when managing their audit fees, auditors when considering the risks and opportunities associated with changes in the determinants of audit fees, and regulators concerned with the competitiveness of the audit market.

Telepractice for Adult Speech-Language Pathology Services: A Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 326-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Weidner ◽  
Joneen Lowman
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Primary Progressive Aphasia ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Service Delivery Model ◽  
Speech Language Pathology ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
Assessment And Treatment ◽  
Language Pathology ◽  
Screening Assessment

Purpose We conducted a systematic review of the literature regarding adult telepractice services (screening, assessment, and treatment) from approximately 2014 to 2019. Method Thirty-one relevant studies were identified from a literature search, assessed for quality, and reported. Results Included studies illustrated feasibility, efficacy, diagnostic accuracy, and noninferiority of various speech-language pathology services across adult populations, including chronic aphasia, Parkinson's disease, dysphagia, and primary progressive aphasia. Technical aspects of the equipment and software used to deliver services were discussed. Some general themes were noted as areas for future research. Conclusion Overall, results of the review continue to support the use of telepractice as an appropriate service delivery model in speech-language pathology for adults. Strong research designs, including experimental control, across multiple well-described settings are still needed to definitively determine effectiveness of telepractice services.

Chasing the Anchor: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Perceptual Anchoring Deficits in Developmental Dyslexia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt D Shulver ◽  
Nicholas A Badcock
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
English Language ◽  
Prediction Interval ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Visual Assessment ◽  
Individual Performance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Significant Heterogeneity ◽  
Eligibility Criteria

We report the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the relationship between perceptual anchoring and dyslexia. Our goal was to assess the direction and degree of effect between perceptual anchoring and reading ability in typical and atypical (dyslexic) readers. We performed a literature search of experiments explicitly assessing perceptual anchoring and reading ability using PsycInfo (Ovid, 1860 to 2020), MEDLINE (Ovid, 1860 to 2019), EMBASE (Ovid, 1883 to 2019), and PubMed for all available years up to June (2020). Our eligibility criteria consisted of English-language articles and, at minimum, one experimental group identified as dyslexic - either by reading assessment at the time, or by previous diagnosis. We assessed for risk of bias using an adapted version of the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Six studies were included in this review, but only five (n = 280 participants) were included in the meta-analysis (we were unable to access the necessary data for one study).The overall effect was negative, large and statistically significant; g = -0.87, 95% CI [-1.47, 0.27]: a negative effect size indicating less perceptual anchoring in dyslexic versus non-dyslexic groups. Visual assessment of funnel plot and Egger’s test suggest minimal bias but with significant heterogeneity; Q (4) = 9.70, PI (prediction interval) [-2.32, -0.58]. The primary limitation of the current review is the small number of included studies. We discuss methodological limitations, such as limited power, and how future research may redress these concerns. The variability of effect sizes appears consistent with the inherent variability within subtypes of dyslexia. This level of dispersion seems indicative of the how we define cut-off thresholds between typical reading and dyslexia populations, but also the methodological tools we use to investigate individual performance.

Impact of surgery timing for craniosynostosis on neurodevelopmental outcomes: a systematic review

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 442-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Mandela ◽  
Maggie Bellew ◽  
Paul Chumas ◽  
Hannah Nash
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Beneficial Effect ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Outcomes ◽  
Age At Surgery ◽  
Data Extraction Form ◽  
Surgery Timing ◽  
Anesthetic Exposure

OBJECTIVEThere are currently no guidelines for the optimum age for surgical treatment of craniosynostosis. This systematic review summarizes and assesses evidence on whether there is an optimal age for surgery in terms of neurodevelopmental outcomes.METHODSThe databases MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Embase + Embase Classic, and Web of Science were searched between October and November 2016 and searches were repeated in July 2017. According to PICO (participants, intervention, comparison, outcome) criteria, studies were included that focused on: children diagnosed with nonsyndromic craniosynostosis, aged ≤ 5 years at time of surgery; corrective surgery for nonsyndromic craniosynostosis; comparison of age-at-surgery groups; and tests of cognitive and neurodevelopmental postoperative outcomes. Studies that did not compare age-at-surgery groups (e.g., those employing a correlational design alone) were excluded. Data were double-extracted by 2 authors using a modified version of the Cochrane data extraction form.RESULTSTen studies met the specified criteria; 5 found a beneficial effect of earlier surgery, and 5 did not. No study found a beneficial effect of later surgery. No study collected data on length of anesthetic exposure and only 1 study collected data on sociodemographic factors.CONCLUSIONSIt was difficult to draw firm conclusions from the results due to multiple confounding factors. There is some inconclusive evidence that earlier surgery is beneficial for patients with sagittal synostosis. The picture is even more mixed for other subtypes. There is no evidence that later surgery is beneficial. The authors recommend that future research use agreed-upon parameters for: age-at-surgery cut-offs, follow-up times, and outcome measures.

African Sustainability Advocacy Against Extractivism

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Bond
Keyword(s):  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Social Activism ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Energy Economics ◽  
Extractive Industries ◽  
The One ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Critical Challenge

<p class="p1"><span class="s2"><strong>Abstract </strong></span>| The challenge of interdisciplinary intellectual and strategic work in the extractive industries is particularly acute at the interface of research and social activism. Numerous social movements which are dedicated to sustainability fail to ‘connect the dots’ between their campaigns and broader political-economic and political-ecological visions<span class="s3"><strong>. </strong></span>This is becoming a critical challenge in Africa, where the extreme damage done by mining and fossil fuels has generated impressive resistance<span class="s3"><strong>.</strong></span>However, the one obvious place to link these critiques from African activists was the Alternative Mining Indaba in Cape Town in February 2015, and a survey of narratives at that event leads to pessimism about interdisciplinary politics. The potential for much greater impact and deeper critiques of unsustainable extractivism lies in greater attention to combining social reproduction and production (as do eco-feminists), and to tackling social, economic, political and ecological factors with a more explicit structuralist critique and practical toolkit<span class="s3"><strong>. </strong></span>Areas such as energy, economics and climate are ripe for linkages<span class="s3"><strong>. </strong></span>One reason for optimism is a climate justice declaration made by leading civil society activists in Maputo in April 2015.<strong></strong></p>

Global Sport

2018 ◽  
pp. 596-612
Author(s):  
Richard Giulianotti
Keyword(s):  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Olympic Games ◽  
Future Research ◽  
World Cup ◽  
Economic Issues ◽  
Mega Events ◽  
Sport For Development ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Sociocultural Issues ◽  
The Olympic Games

World sport often appears as one of the most powerful illustrations of globalization in action. This chapter provides a critical analysis of global sport. Four major areas of research and debate on global sport are examined: political–economic issues, centering particularly on the commercial growth of sport and inequalities between different regions; global sport mega-events such as the Olympic Games or World Cup finals in football; the emergence and institutionalization of the global sport for development and peace; and sociocultural issues, notably the importance of global sport to diverse and shifting forms of identity and belonging. Concluding recommendations are provided on areas for future research into global sport.

scholarly journals Protocol for a systematic review on the experience of informal caregivers for people with a moderate to advanced dementia within a domestic home setting

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles James ◽  
Catherine Walshe ◽  
Katherine Froggatt
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Informal Caregivers ◽  
Informal Caregiving ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Advanced Dementia ◽  
Home Setting ◽  
Search Terms

Abstract Background The knowledge about the experience of informal caregivers who provide care to people with moderate to advanced dementia in a domestic home setting is limited. A consequence of long hours of caregiving in addition to dealing with normal challenges of daily living is their experience of a poor quality of life. Some of their experiences may be described in terms of a feeling of powerlessness to make changes during care provision. This feeling may also suggest an experience of moral distress. The aim of this systematic review is to synthesise qualitative evidence relating to these experiences. Methods This review adopts a narrative synthesis approach. A search will be conducted for studies written in the English language in the bibliographic databases MEDLINE Complete, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Academic Search Complete covering periods from 1984 to present. Included studies will be qualitative or mixed-methods designs. The search terms will be related to dementia and caregivers, and the process will be focused on dementia at the moderate to the advanced stages within the domestic home setting. Reference lists of included papers will also be searched for additional relevant citations. Search terms and strategies will be checked by two independent reviewers. The identification of abstracts and full texts of studies will be done by the author, while the quality and the risk of bias will also be checked by the two independent reviewers. Discussion Psychological distress is cited as an experience reported within informal caregiving. For the caregiver, it is associated with a negative impact on general health. To date, no synthesis exists on the specific experience of informal caregiving for people with moderate to advanced dementia within the domestic home setting. This review considers that variation of accounts contributes to how the informal caregivers’ general experience is explored in future research. This may enable gaps in current knowledge to be highlighted within the wider context of caregiving in the domestic home setting. Systematic review registration This review is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020183649).

scholarly journals Recommendation Systems for Education: Systematic Review

Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (14) ◽  
pp. 1611
Author(s):  
María Cora Urdaneta-Ponte ◽  
Amaia Mendez-Zorrilla ◽  
Ibon Oleagordia-Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Recommendation Systems ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Collaborative Approach ◽  
Developmental Approach

Recommendation systems have emerged as a response to overload in terms of increased amounts of information online, which has become a problem for users regarding the time spent on their search and the amount of information retrieved by it. In the field of recommendation systems in education, the relevance of recommended educational resources will improve the student’s learning process, and hence the importance of being able to suitably and reliably ensure relevant, useful information. The purpose of this systematic review is to analyze the work undertaken on recommendation systems that support educational practices with a view to acquiring information related to the type of education and areas dealt with, the developmental approach used, and the elements recommended, as well as being able to detect any gaps in this area for future research work. A systematic review was carried out that included 98 articles from a total of 2937 found in main databases (IEEE, ACM, Scopus and WoS), about which it was able to be established that most are geared towards recommending educational resources for users of formal education, in which the main approaches used in recommendation systems are the collaborative approach, the content-based approach, and the hybrid approach, with a tendency to use machine learning in the last two years. Finally, possible future areas of research and development in this field are presented.

scholarly journals Cybersickness in current-generation virtual reality head-mounted displays: systematic review and outlook

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Polona Caserman ◽  
Augusto Garcia-Agundez ◽  
Alvar Gámez Zerban ◽  
Stefan Göbel
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Subjective Evaluation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Current Generation ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Head Mounted Displays ◽  
Skin Response ◽  
Golden Standard

AbstractCybersickness (CS) is a term used to refer to symptoms, such as nausea, headache, and dizziness that users experience during or after virtual reality immersion. Initially discovered in flight simulators, commercial virtual reality (VR) head-mounted displays (HMD) of the current generation also seem to cause CS, albeit in a different manner and severity. The goal of this work is to summarize recent literature on CS with modern HMDs, to determine the specificities and profile of immersive VR-caused CS, and to provide an outlook for future research areas. A systematic review was performed on the databases IEEE Xplore, PubMed, ACM, and Scopus from 2013 to 2019 and 49 publications were selected. A summarized text states how different VR HMDs impact CS, how the nature of movement in VR HMDs contributes to CS, and how we can use biosensors to detect CS. The results of the meta-analysis show that although current-generation VR HMDs cause significantly less CS ($$p<0.001$$ p < 0.001 ), some symptoms remain as intense. Further results show that the nature of movement and, in particular, sensory mismatch as well as perceived motion have been the leading cause of CS. We suggest an outlook on future research, including the use of galvanic skin response to evaluate CS in combination with the golden standard (Simulator Sickness Questionnaire, SSQ) as well as an update on the subjective evaluation scores of the SSQ.

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