Covariation Assessments with Costly Information Collection in Audit Planning: An Experimental Study

2009 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ananda R. Ganguly ◽  
Jacqueline S. Hammersley
Keyword(s):  
Sample Size ◽  
Contingency Table ◽  
Decision Aids ◽  
Information Collection ◽  
Insufficient Information ◽  
Audit Planning ◽  
Effectiveness And Efficiency ◽  
Countervailing Incentives ◽  
Degree Of Association ◽  
Do So

SUMMARY: In this paper we report the results of two experiments that investigate auditing covariation-estimate revisions when there are countervailing incentives for effectiveness and efficiency. Covariation estimates assess the degree of association between a “Clue” that auditors might observe, and its potentially associated “Condition.” We find that when participants choose which information to obtain from a contingency table (i.e., Cell Choice), they obtain too few cells of information in predictable patterns. Second, we find that when covariation estimation biases occur, they do so more due to this insufficient information collection rather than improper processing of collected information. Third, when participants collect information randomly and cannot choose particular cells (i.e., Sample-Size Choice), covariation estimation biases are significantly reduced. Finally, when participants are sensitized to the importance of all four cells of information, they collect more cells in subsequent Cell Choice, resulting in covariation estimate revisions that are more normative than those of non-sensitized participants. Overall, this evidence implies that when auditors estimate the association between an unfamiliar Clue-Condition pair, their estimates are more biased when they choose specific cells of information than when they choose sample size. Sensitization can reduce this bias and, therefore, could be important to auditor training and the design of decision aids.

The Effects of Decision Aid Orientation on Risk Factor Identification and Audit Test Planning

2002 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean C. Bedard ◽  
Lynford E. Graham
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Decision Aid ◽  
Decision Aids ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Risk Identification ◽  
Matched Pair ◽  
Audit Planning ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Risk Management Strategies

In auditing, risk management involves identifying client facts or issues that may affect engagement risk, and planning evidence-gathering strategies accordingly. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether auditors' identification of risk factors and planning of audit tests is affected by decision aid orientation, i.e., a “negative” focus wherein client risk and its consequences are emphasized, or a “positive” focus where such factors are not emphasized. Specifically, we expect that auditors will identify more risk factors using a negatively oriented risk identification decision aid, but only when engagement risk is relatively high. We address this issue in the context of auditors' knowledge of actual clients, manipulating decision aid orientation as negative or positive in a matched-pair design. Results show that auditors using the negative decision aid orientation identify more risk factors than do those using a positive orientation, for their higher-risk clients. We also find that decisions to apply substantive tests are more directly linked to specific risk factors identified than to direct risk assessments. Further, our results show that auditors with repeat engagement experience with the client identify more risk factors. The findings of this study imply that audit firms may improve their risk management strategies through simple changes in the design of decision aids used to support audit planning.

Detection of Hostile Intent by Spatial Movements

2021 ◽  
pp. 001872082110150
Author(s):  
Colleen E. Patton ◽  
Christopher D. Wickens ◽  
C. A. P. Smith ◽  
Benjamin A. Clegg
Keyword(s):  
Early Identification ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Decision Aids ◽  
Movement Direction ◽  
Time Variability ◽  
Discrete Movement ◽  
Hostile Intent ◽  
Movement Characteristics ◽  
Computer Controlled ◽  
Do So

Objective The ability of people to infer intentions from movement of other vessels was investigated. Across three levels of variability in movements in the path of computer-controlled ships, participants attempted to determine which entity was hostile. Background Detection of hostile intentions through spatial movements of vessels is important in an array of real-world scenarios. This experiment sought to determine baseline abilities of humans to do so. Methods Participants selected a discrete movement direction of their ship. Six other ships’ locations then updated. A single entity displayed one of two hostile behaviors: shadowing, which involved mirroring the participant’s vessel’s movements; and hunting, which involved closing in on the participant’s vessel. Trials allowed up to 35 moves before identifying the hostile ship and its behavior. Uncertainty was introduced through adding variability to ships’ movements such that their path was 0%, 25%, or 50% random. Results Even with no variability in the ships’ movements, accurate detection was low, identifying the hostile entity about 60% of the time. Variability in the paths decreased detection. Detection of hunting was strongly degraded by distance between ownship and the hostile ship, but shadowing was not. Strategies employing different directions of movement across the trial, but also featuring some runs of consecutive movements, facilitated detection. Conclusions Early identification of threats based on movement characteristics alone is likely to be difficult, but particularly so when adversaries employ some level of uncertainty to mask their intentions. These findings highlight the need to develop decision aids to support human performance.

A Longitudinal Field Investigation of Auditor Risk Assessments and Sample Size Decisions

2003 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 983-1002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randal J. Elder ◽  
Robert D. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Sample Size ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
Risk Assessments ◽  
Sample Sizes ◽  
Accounting Firms ◽  
Inherent Risk ◽  
Changes In Risk ◽  
Larger Sample ◽  
Average Sample ◽  
Do So

This study examines changes in auditor risk assessments and sample size decisions based on information gathered from three large accounting firms for audits during 1994 and 1999. The five-year interval between data collection periods allows us to measure changes in risk assessments and sample sizes between the two periods. Auditors relied on controls and assessed inherent risk below the maximum on most audits, and were more likely to do so in the later period, consistent with a trend of lower risk assessment levels. Average sample sizes declined between 1994 and 1999 for the firms that had larger sample sizes in the earlier period. Overall, we find a significant relationship between inherent risk assessments and sample sizes, but this relationship is stronger in the earlier period and is not significant for all firms, especially in the later period. We find limited evidence of a relationship between control risk and sample sizes.

scholarly journals Methods of International Services Trade Statistical Recording

Ekonomika ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petras Vytautas Vengrauskas ◽  
Neringa Langvinienė
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Sample Size ◽  
Statistical Information ◽  
Information Collection ◽  
Services Trade ◽  
Special Groups ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Trade Of Services ◽  
International Services

There are presented suggestions of article authors for development of Lithuanian international trade of services statistical recording. And essential criteria for sample size selection for statistical information collection, criteria for data collection according to special groups and variables for statistical information estimation there are, too. Besides that opportunity to develop a statistical registration in Lithuania at the end of article you will find, too.

scholarly journals E-learning Delivery Platforms for Improving Teaching/Learning During COVID-19 Lockdown in Private Universities, South-South Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 160-163
Author(s):  
Effiong Edet Asuquo ◽  
Rosemary Young Godwin
Keyword(s):  
Sample Size ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Private Universities ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Cluster Sampling ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Do So

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which e-learning delivery platforms were utilized to improve teaching/learning during Covid-19 lockdown in Private Universities in South-South Nigeria. To achieve this, three specific objectives and three research questions were asked to guide the study. An expost facto survey design was adopted for the study. The study was conducted in South-South Nigeria. The population consisted of 4305 students of five private universities in South-South Nigeria. A sample size of 366 was selected using the Taro Yamane formula and a cluster sampling technique was used for the study. An instrument titled “Utilization of E-learning Platform for teaching/Learning during the Covid-19 Lockdown Questionnaire” (UEPTLDCOVID19LQ) was used for the study. The finding of the study shows that Private Universities utilized e-learning facilities during the Covid-19 lockdown because they had the facilities to do so.

Potential survivability of prehospital injury deaths in New Zealand: a cross-sectional study

2020 ◽  
pp. injuryprev-2019-043408
Author(s):  
Bridget Kool ◽  
Rebbecca Lilley ◽  
Gabrielle Davie ◽  
Brandon de Graaf ◽  
Pararangi Reid ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Hospital Care ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Insufficient Information ◽  
Injury Death ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Physical Injuries ◽  
Level Hospital ◽  
Do So

IntroductionAcknowledging a notable gap in available evidence, this study aimed to assess the survivability of prehospital injury deaths in New Zealand.MethodsA cross-sectional review of prehospital injury death postmortems (PM) undertaken during 2009–2012. Deaths without physical injuries (eg, drownings, suffocations, poisonings), where there was an incomplete body, or insufficient information in the PM, were excluded. Documented injuries were scored using the AIS and an ISS derived. Cases were classified as survivable (ISS <25), potentially survivable (ISS 25–49) and non-survivable (ISS >49).ResultsOf the 1796 cases able to be ISS scored, 11% (n=193) had injuries classified as survivable, 28% (n=501) potentially survivable and 61% (n=1102) non-survivable. There were significant differences in survivability by age (p=0.017) and intent (p<0.0001). No difference in survivability was observed by sex, ethnicity, day of week, seasonality or distance to advanced-level hospital care. ‘Non-survivable’ injuries occurred more commonly among those with multiple injuries, transport-related injuries and aged 15–29 year. The majority of ‘survivable’ cases were deceased when found. Among those alive when found, around half had received either emergency medical services (EMS) or bystander care. One in five survivable cases were classified as having delays in receiving care.DiscussionIn New Zealand, the majority of injured people who die before reaching hospital do so from non-survivable injuries. More than one third have either survivable or potentially survivable injuries, suggesting an increased need for appropriate bystander first aid, timeliness of EMS care and access to advanced-level hospital care.

Posing Problems: Two Classroom Examples

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-117
Author(s):  
Shukkwan S. Leung ◽  
Rui-Xiang Wu
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Training ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Problem Posing ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
Insufficient Information ◽  
Teacher Training College ◽  
Mathematics Test ◽  
Geometry Problem ◽  
Proportion Problem ◽  
Do So

IN ONE NCTM YEARBOOK TITLED PROBLEM Solving in School Mathematics, Butts (1980) reminded teachers of the importance of posing problems properly. What happens if we fail to do so and pose a problem that cannot be solved? This embarrassing moment can be made profitable if we ask students to help fix the problem. Here we share two lessons in which students help teachers pose problems. In the first lesson, fifth graders found a mistake in a proportion problem, and the teacher asked students to help her pose it properly. In the second, a geometry problem with insufficient information taken from an eighth-grade mathematics test was posed intentionally to future teachers in a teacher-training college as a problem-posing challenge. We first describe the two lessons and then close with suggestions on having learners help teachers pose problems properly.

scholarly journals An Intuitive Formulation and Solution of the Exact Cell-Bounding Problem for Contingency Tables of Conditional Frequencies

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen E. Wright ◽  
Byran J. Smucker
Keyword(s):  
Integer Programming ◽  
Knapsack Problem ◽  
Contingency Table ◽  
Mathematical Structure ◽  
Programming Approach ◽  
Conditional Probabilities ◽  
Cell Counts ◽  
Statistical Disclosure Limitation ◽  
Statistical Disclosure ◽  
Do So

Recent research has raised questions about the structure and calculation of bounds on the underlying cell counts for a contingency table released in the form of conditional probabilities. This problem has implications for statistical disclosure limitation. We elucidate the mathematical structure of the problem in fairly elementary terms, under the assumption that the unrounded conditionals and sample size are known. To do so, we reformulate a standard integer programming approach as a knapsack problem, show that this provides many insights into the problem, and provide illustrations in the context of several datasets. In particular, we demonstrate that the tightest bounds are much easier to calculate than previously believed, and we also identify circumstances in which disclosure is either guaranteed or unlikely to occur.

scholarly journals Finding More Needles in More Haystacks: Rigorous Literature Searching for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses in Management and Organization Studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina Lock ◽  
Stefano Giani
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Decision Aids ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Literature Searching ◽  
Organization Studies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Internal And External Validity ◽  
Do So

With increasing numbers of publications, synthesizing research in management and organization studies (MOS) and the social sciences in general has become necessary to summarize knowledge, discover research gaps, and gather interdisciplinary insights. To do so, reviews of the literature depend on a rigorous method for searching specifically for MOS that is to date largely lacking. This article demonstrates a six-step protocol for setting up a rigorous search. Instead of sampling from a limited set of journals, it focuses on databases and uses information in thesauri, key articles, and automated text analysis to construct a search string. It details decision aids on database inclusions and syntax adaptations and discusses additional search techniques, with best practice examples. The six-step process provides practical considerations for authors and develops assessment criteria for journal editors and reviewers to judge the rigor of the search in terms of construct, internal, and external validity and reliability. Thus, the article facilitates more rigorous syntheses in the social sciences by focusing on the heart of any such endeavor, the search.

scholarly journals Transparency, Documentation, and Open Science

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 199-200
Author(s):  
Derek Isaacowitz
Keyword(s):  
Sample Size ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Science Practices ◽  
Sample Size Justification ◽  
Open Materials ◽  
Do So

Abstract Some GSA journals are especially interested in promoting transparency and open science practices, reflecting how some subdisciplines in aging are moving toward open science practices faster than others. In this talk, I will consider the transparency and open science practices that seem most relevant to aging researchers, such as preregistration, open data, open materials and code, sample size justification and analytic tools for considering null effects. I will also discuss potential challenges to implementing these practices as well as reasons why it is important to do so despite these challenges. The focus will be on pragmatic suggestions for researchers planning and conducting studies now that they hope to publish later.

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