The auditing profession and the key audit matter reporting requirement

Purpose This study aims to examine the setting of International Standards on Auditing (ISA) 701 on disclosing key audit matters (KAMs) to explore the role of standard setting in maintaining or reconstituting the relationship of the auditing profession with preparers and users of financial reports. Design/methodology/approach This study draws on concepts from the sociology of the professions literature and the regulatory space metaphor. Data comprises comment letters and other documents pertaining to the setting of ISA 701. Findings The study shows that the KAM reporting requirement is part of the ongoing re-calibration of the regulatory arrangements governing auditing, which started in the early 2000s. This study interprets standard setting as a site for negotiating the relationships between linked ecologies in the audit regulatory space, namely, the auditing profession, preparers of financial statements and users of audited reports. This study identifies three processes involved in setting ISA 701, namely, reconstitution of the rules governing auditors’ reports as a link between the three ecologies, preserving boundaries between the auditing profession and preparers and negotiation aimed at balancing competing interests of the interrelated ecologies. Originality/value The study offers insights into the role of regulatory rule setting as a central medium through which the adaptive relationship of the profession with its environment is negotiated.

Algorithmic Toolmaking: Parameter Thinking in Landscape Architecture

<p>This thesis interrogates the contentious integration of digital technologies into the field of landscape architecture. Identifying that an application of computational technique is largely unknown, the research delves into the scripting of geometry relationships with the use of the tool ‘Grasshopper’ in the context of landscape architecture. The discourse surrounding the appropriation of digital technology in assistance to landscape architecture is seemingly controversial with an apparent resistance in favour of traditional methodologies of site design. It is commonly stated that, digital software tends to be ‘too architectural’ and therefore less tailored to the open systems that landscape architects contend with. The tendency of contemporary software is to mimic the analogue process and while useful in representation and drawing production - these programs are scale-less and detached from reality. It is affirmed by academics such as Bradley Cantrell and Caroline Westort that landscape architecture needs more algorithmic attention. Stressing the construction of relationships between design-move and site condition. Parameter thinking infers a method of rule setting and dedication to the settling of boundaries in which the potentials of site intervention has room to shift. Geometries, points, curves and planes provide such palette. Abstraction is a primary conceptual driver of any drawing convention yet Grasshopper offers a more dynamic and animated process of conceptual development. The abstraction of site into such geometries grants a dynamic, shifting and generative paradigm to design and toolmaking. This thesis is to unfold the paradigm of operating within such a toolset adopting the use of Grasshopper almost exclusively as a way of engaging with conceptual development. Such an interface allows this thesis to note the performance of an algorithmic toolset and adopt an algorithmic mind set.</p>

Algorithmic Toolmaking: Parameter Thinking in Landscape Architecture

<p>This thesis interrogates the contentious integration of digital technologies into the field of landscape architecture. Identifying that an application of computational technique is largely unknown, the research delves into the scripting of geometry relationships with the use of the tool ‘Grasshopper’ in the context of landscape architecture. The discourse surrounding the appropriation of digital technology in assistance to landscape architecture is seemingly controversial with an apparent resistance in favour of traditional methodologies of site design. It is commonly stated that, digital software tends to be ‘too architectural’ and therefore less tailored to the open systems that landscape architects contend with. The tendency of contemporary software is to mimic the analogue process and while useful in representation and drawing production - these programs are scale-less and detached from reality. It is affirmed by academics such as Bradley Cantrell and Caroline Westort that landscape architecture needs more algorithmic attention. Stressing the construction of relationships between design-move and site condition. Parameter thinking infers a method of rule setting and dedication to the settling of boundaries in which the potentials of site intervention has room to shift. Geometries, points, curves and planes provide such palette. Abstraction is a primary conceptual driver of any drawing convention yet Grasshopper offers a more dynamic and animated process of conceptual development. The abstraction of site into such geometries grants a dynamic, shifting and generative paradigm to design and toolmaking. This thesis is to unfold the paradigm of operating within such a toolset adopting the use of Grasshopper almost exclusively as a way of engaging with conceptual development. Such an interface allows this thesis to note the performance of an algorithmic toolset and adopt an algorithmic mind set.</p>

Liberation and limitation: Emancipatory politics, socio-ecological transformation and the grammar of the autocratic-authoritarian turn

Despite decades of emancipatory mobilization, there is no realistic prospect for any profound socio-ecological transformation of contemporary consumer societies. Instead, social inequality and ecological destruction are on the rise and an autocratic-authoritarian turn is reshaping even the most established liberal democracies. In explaining these phenomena, the struggle for autonomy and emancipation is an important parameter that has not received sufficient attention so far. This article investigates these phenomena through the lens of the dialectic of emancipation – a concept that I have suggested elsewhere and that I here further elaborate, placing particular emphasis on the relationship between the rule-transgressing and the rule-setting capacities of the emancipatory project. The article specifies constitutive dimensions of the emancipatory project, explores their ongoing reinterpretation and reconfiguration and thus explains how the emancipatory logic itself has come to obstruct the socio-ecological transformation and to nurture new forms of authoritarian governance.

Problematic internet use, depression, stress and anxiety amongadolescents in an urban area in South India: a cross sectional study

Background: Internet usage is ubiquitous, especially among young population in urban India. The present study aims to assess the burden of problematic internet use and to determine its association with depression, anxiety and stress among adolescents in urban South India. We have also assessed the role of parental/care giver factors in internet usage among the adolescents.Methods: This was a school based cross sectional study among two high schools in urban field practice area. The students were administered validated questionnaire on sociodemographic details, parental/care giver factors, pattern of internet usage, problematic and risky internet use screening scale as well as depression, anxiety and stress scale-21.The descriptive data was analysed as proportions and associations were determined using Chi square tests.Results: 24% of students had PIU and this was significantly associated with stress, depression and anxiety. 33% had stress and class of studying was found to be the only significant determinant. Almost half (48%) had depression and class of studying, type of family as well as mother’s occupation were the significant determinants. Half (50%) had anxiety with the significant determinants being age, class of studying, type of family, type of school, religion and father’s education. The only common factor found to significantly affect internet usage was parental rule setting and supervision.Conclusions: Depression, stress and anxiety were associated with PIU. Setting and enforcing reasonable rules while maintaining trust and emotional support is essential to protect adolescents from the harmful effects of problematic internet usage.

The role of tobacco smoking and illicit drug use in adolescent acute alcohol intoxication

Background This study aims to determine the prevalence of tobacco smoking and illicit drug use among Dutch adolescents admitted to hospital for acute alcohol intoxication treatment. Furthermore, socio-demographic predictors for smoking and illicit drug use in the sample population will be studied. The relationship between illicit drug use and specific characteristics of intoxication, such as blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and duration of reduced consciousness is also investigated. Methods The national Dutch Paediatric Surveillance Unit was used to prospectively register cases of acute alcohol intoxication from 2007 through 2017. Cases were included if they met the following inclusion criteria: BAC > 0.0 g/L, aged between 10 to 18 years old and requiring hospital treatment due to reduced consciousness. Questionnaires were sent to paediatricians to obtain clinical information. Results During the period 2007–2017, 5322 cases that met the inclusion criteria were reported. In this patient group, the prevalence of tobacco smoking was 22.2% (CI 21.0–23.5%), while the prevalence of illicit drug use was 11.8% (CI 10.9–12.7%). The predictors for smoking were the absence of alcohol-specific parental rule-setting, lower educational level, non-traditional family structure and positive drug screening. The predictors for illicit drug use were the absence of alcohol-specific parental rule-setting and smoking. Illicit drug use was also associated with a lower BAC at the time of admission. Conclusions Assessing smoking and illicit drug use among adolescents admitted for acute alcohol intoxication is important in acute cases of intoxication, for outpatient follow-up and for the purposes of prevention. The relationship between simultaneous illicit drug use and a lower BAC is of relevance for paediatricians’ attempts to diagnose acute intoxication. With respect to outpatient follow-up and preventive measures, it is important to be aware that adolescents’ alcohol consumption, tobacco and illicit drug use are related and, ultimately, increase the odds of using other substances.

TEACHERS’ OPINIONS REGARDING THE EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIORS IN A CLASSROOM: A QUALITATIVE STUDY / SINIFTA İSTENMEYEN ÖĞRENCİ DAVRANIŞLARINI YÖNETMEDE ÖĞRETMENLERİN ETKİLİ OLDUĞUNU DÜŞÜNDÜKLERİ STRATEJİLER: BİR NİTEL ÇALIŞMA

The aim of this study is to determine the effective strategies for managing disruptive behaviors in a classroom-based on the opinions of teachers. In the present study, the qualitative case study methodology was used. The study was conducted with the participation of 19 female, 16 male teachers working at 7 different types of high schools (Anatolian High School, Science High School, Religious High School, etc.) located in Şanlıurfa province, Karaköprü district. The participants were selected through the maximum variation sampling technique. The data of the study was collected from a total of 35 volunteer teachers; 5 from each high school, with different seniority (3-22 years) and different subjects (vocational and academic subjects). The data for this study was collected using a semi-structured interview and analyzed by content analysis. According to the opinions of the participants; two main themes were formed as a. preventive strategies (rule-setting, building a good student-teacher relationship, instructional interactions) and b. behavior control strategies (direct or indirect intervention, punishment, after the class talk, referral). Bu çalışmanın amacı öğretmen görüşlerine göre sınıf içinde istenmeyen öğrenci davranışlarını yönetmede etkili olduğu düşünülen sınıf yönetim stratejilerini belirlemektir. Araştırma nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden durum çalışması desenine göre tasarlanmıştır. Çalışma 2018-2019 eğitim öğretim yılında Şanlıurfa ili Karaköprü ilçesindeki 7 farklı türlerdeki (Anadolu lisesi, Fen lisesi, İmam Hatip lisesi vb.) devlet liselerinde görev yapan 19 kadın, 16 erkek toplam 35 öğretmenin katılımı ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Örneklem maksimum çeşitlilik örnekle yöntemiyle belirlenmiş, her bir lise türünden meslek veya kültür dersine giren, mesleki kıdemleri 3-22 yıl arasında değişen 5 er öğretmenin gönüllü katılımı ile çalışmanın verileri toplanmıştır. Araştırmanın verileri araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen ve açık uçlu iki sorudan oluşan yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu ile toplanmıştır. Veriler, içerik analiziyle çözümlenmiştir. Görüşmelerden elde edilen verilerin analizine bağlı olarak, öğretmenlerin sınıf içi istenmeyen öğrenci davranışını yönetmek için önleyici (kural koyma, iyi ilişki kurmak, yönlendirici/eğitici iletişim) ve davranış kontrol stratejilerine (dolaylı ve doğrudan müdahale, cezalandırma, ders sonrası öğrenci ile konuşma ve diğer profesyonellere yönlendirme) başvurdukları belirlenmiştir. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0723/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

A New Multilateralism? A Case Study of the Belt and Road Initiative

The first five years (the first stage) of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have drawn international attention and provoked scepticism and debate. This article explores questions about the nature of the BRI and its impact on multilateralism, which is increasingly fragile and under attack. After summarizing past practices employed in BRI investments, it analyses the characteristics of the BRI and assesses the results and implications. This article studies in depth one of the two primary BRI economic activities—special economic zones. The article introduces and compares the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Chinese domestic banks in their respective financing practices and compares state-owned enterprises and privately owned enterprises in BRI practices. The article observes three characteristics from past BRI practices and analyzes their respective implications on the transformation of international trade governance. The first characteristic is the unconventional ‘infrastructure development first, institution next’ approach. The second is the plurilateral- and multilateral-focused method in international rule-setting processes. The third characteristic is innovation in the dispute settlement mechanism. Through a cautious examination, the article argues that experiences gained from BRI inform China’s international rule-making efforts and further its domestic trade liberalization reform agenda, which will likely contribute to the convergence of rule-making in international trade.