Auditing in the Athenian state of the golden age (500-300 B.C.)

Accountability and control of state revenues and expenditures in the Athenian state of the Golden Age was achieved through the verification process by three board of state accountants, based on the accounting records of execution and related budgetary and other documents. More specifically, the purpose of this process was to (a) strengthen the integrity of the accounting system by providing additional controls in the management or state resources, (b) establish accountability against any public officials in charge of public funds, and (c) provide dependable reports to the people on the management of these funds. The three boards were the Council Accountants, the Administration Accountants and the Examiners. Although the main purpose of the attest function was the discovery of fraud, internal controls were also evaluated by comparing the formalized budgets with the accounting records of execution. This conclusion is somwhat contrary to the assumption that internal controls were not recognized in ancient times

Development of an accounting system in ancient Athens in response to socieo-economic changes

The development of accounting principles and the evolution of accounting systems are highly dependent on the socio-economic environment. Although the socio-economic environment of the Golden Age of Greece (5th to 4th Century B.C.), known as the classical period, has received the attention of many scholars, very little has been written about early Greek accounting. The purpose of the present study is to demonstrate that the socio-economic activity which took place in the environment of the Golden Age of Greece (largely centered around Athens) created needs that required the development of an improved accounting system and other financial controls

Massive rotator cuff tears: functional outcome after debridement or arthroscopic partial repair

Background The surgical treatment of massive rotator cuff tears (RCT) is still controversial and can be based on a variety of different surgical repair methods. This study investigated the effectiveness of arthroscopic debridement or arthroscopic partial repair in patients with massive RCT. Materials and methods This prospective, randomized study involved forty-two patients with massive RCT (fatty infiltration stage 3 or 4) treated with either arthroscopic partial repair or arthroscopic debridement were selected to detect possible differences in functional outcome. Both groups were matched according to age and gender. Patients were examined before, and 16 ± 3 and 24 ± 2 months after surgery. The status of the rotator cuff repair was determined using ultrasonographic evaluation. Results Regardless of the treatment group, postoperative results demonstrated highly significant improvements compared with preoperative values in most parameters. The overall Constant score in the partial repair group was superior to the outcome in the debridement group (P \ 0.01, F = 8.561), according to better results in abductio

The Roles of Standardization, Certification and Assurance Services in Global Commerce

In this article we examine the rapid emergence and expansion of standardized product and process frameworks and a private-sector compliance and enforcement infrastructure that we believe may increasingly be providing a substitute for public and legal regulatory infrastructure in global commerce. This infrastructure is provided by a proliferation of performance codes and standards, many of which define acceptable social and environmental behavior, and a rapidly-growing number of privately-trained and authorized inspectors and certifiers that we call the third-party assurance industry. We offer reasons for this development, evidence of its scope and scale, and then describe the phenomenon in more detail by examining supply chain arrangements in two industries, food products and apparel, where the use of third-party standards and assurance services has expanded especially rapidly. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for the make or buy decision at the core of the theory of the firm. We argue that as quasi-regulatory standards are developed within various industries, and as performance to these standards can be systematically evaluated using third-party inspectors and certifiers, the costs of moving production outside of vertical firm hierarchies drop. We believe this may be an important factor in accelerating the shift to outsourcing that has been observed over the last two decades

The role of the peripheral and central nervous systems in rotator cuff disease

Rotator cuff (RC) disease is an extremely common condition associated with shoulder pain, reduced functional capacities and impaired quality of life. It primarily involves alterations in tendon health and mechanical properties that can ultimately lead to tendon failure. RC tendon tears induce progressive muscular changes that negatively impact surgical reparability of the RC tendons and clinical outcomes. At the same time, a significant base of clinical data suggests a relatively weak relationship between RC integrity and clinical presentation, emphasizing the multifactorial aspects of RC disease. This review aims to summarize the potential contribution of peripheral, spinal and supraspinal neural factors that may: (i) exacerbate structural and functional muscle changes induced by tendon tear, (ii) compromise the reversal of these changes during surgery and rehabilitation, (iii) contribute to pain generation and persistence of pain, iv) impair shoulder function through reduced proprioception, kinematics and muscle recruitment, and iv) help to explain interindividual differences and response to treatment. Given the current clinical and scientific interest in peripheral nerve injury in the context of RC disease and surgery, we carefully reviewed this body of literature with a particular emphasis for suprascapular neuropathy that has generated a large number of studies in the past decade. Within this process, we highlight the gaps in current knowledge and suggest research avenues for scientists and clinicians

Jigsaw learning versus traditional lectures: Impact on student grades and learning experience

Despite significant research supporting active learning, many professors continue to use traditional lectures as their primary teaching method, particularly in introductory level courses. This article explores whether jigsaw cooperative learning had a positive impact on student grades and enhanced their learning experience, as compared to the traditional lecture method. The question was answered by collecting data from an insurance and risk management introductory course in the business school. To answer the question on learning experience, students completed a validated survey on each pedagogy, consisting of 15 statements that they rated on a Likert scale of 1 to 5, strongly disagreeing or agreeing with the statements. The course content was taught using lectures for four learning modules and the jigsaw learning method for four learning modules. After each module, a quiz was written by each student, and these grades were compared to establish the impact of each teaching method on student grades. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and two-way ANOVA testing to determine significant differences. Data was collected from two student groups. One group was a traditional university group of diverse students and the other group consisted of international students from India. I compared the results of the two student groups to identify any differences. This research adds to the studies on active learning in insurance education, specifically jigsaw cooperative learning. It also contributes to literature on effective teaching strategies for international student groups