#MeToo: a journey towards a harassment-free workplace

On 15 October 2017, an American actress, Alyssa Milano, tweeted: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet”. Everyone knows what happened next. The Twitter message went viral and triggered one of the largest contemporary movements against abuse of power, assault and harassment. This social movement is continuous and ongoing, digital and global, uniting and encouraging thousands of women and men to speak out and act against sexual harassment and assault. The problem of sexual harassment and misconduct in the workplace is complex and needs to be tackled from many different directions. This guide is an output of the research project “#MeToo: how the social movement holds organisations and individuals accountable for the abuse of power in the workplace” and a part of an ESRC Festival of Social Sciences event on 8 November 2019. The guide aims to discuss various perspectives to halting the abuse of power, sexual assault and harassment, improve accountability for breaches, and empower people with new knowledge, ideas, ways to seek help and support, join campaigns and calls to action

Essays on financial accountability of human rights organizations

Establishing a bridge between research on accountability and user-need research in nonprofit accounting, this dissertation explores the phenomenon of financial accountability of human rights organizations (HROs). It does this by examining how financial reporting mechanisms are being employed to satisfy growing accountability demands and by studying how the distinct pressures from stakeholders and financial reporting regulation interact to shape the accountability practices of HROs. Relying on a socio-constructivist perspective on accounting, this dissertation applies several empirical and methodological approaches, including netnography, analysis of Internet-based discussions, and the use of real-life constructs that are embedded in interview sessions. The dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay explores the main accountability concerns of HRO professionals within the nonprofit community. It argues that HROs face the highest level of financial accountability demands among non-profit organizations (NPOs) due to the attention they must pay to the propriety of their donors and their own concerns for public expectations and scrutiny. The essay shows a linkage between the complexities in performance measurement and accounting and the difficulties for organizations to demonstrate legitimacy and accountability. The essay advances a significant argument for the development of a special accounting framework for NPOs. The second essay reveals the accounting information needs of institutional donors and examines their reasoning and their motives for high financial accountability demands. It demonstrates that as they supplement accounting standard setters, powerful stakeholders might create alternative reporting systems using their own patterns of governance. Exercising a great deal of influence over the settings in which HROs operate and by demanding not only financial accounting, but also management accounting information, donors interfere significantly with the operationalization of HROs. This challenges the independence of the missions of HROs and affects the practical aspects of their working agendas. The third essay explores the role of financial reporting and accounting regulation in the foreign funding restrictions of HROs in selective settings. The study contributes to critical accounting literature by examining the spectrum of governing purposes for which accounting mechanisms could be applied, and by considering the interplay between accounting and various notions of justification, politics and power

The role of accountability in workplace democracy

Roberto Frega argues for the advancement of workplace democracy theorisation by synergising the conceptual pathways of various disciplines. He places a particular emphasis on the practice of employee involvement, which, according to him, constitutes one of the three pillars of workplace democracy, the other two being voice and representation. The present commentary broadens the interdisciplinary horizons of this debate by reflecting on the central role of accountability in workplace democracy and the workings of the three pillars identified by Frega. The commentary explores the potential of accountability and the insights drawn from critical accounting research to translate democratic ideals into meaningful and sustainable organisational practices and so strengthen workplace democracy

The UK COVID-19 app: the failed co-production of a digital public service

The COVID-19 pandemic put governments under pressure to make radical and urgent decisions, and to implement new digital solutions to steer society and deliver public services. Our study analyzes social media discourse to understand the co-production of a digital public service in an emergency situation. Empirically, we mobilize Twitter netnography and discourse analysis to examine citizens’ perceptions of the contact tracing app (CTA) introduced by the UK government to tackle the pandemic and save lives. Our study contributes to research on public sector accountability for digital transformations by advancing scholarly understanding of how societal concerns and public perceptions impact the co-production of digital services. Our findings reveal a high level of public skepticism toward the app and a general distrust of the UK government among the main social challenges of the CTA's implementation. Furthermore, we evidence widespread public distress over the potential violation of democratic freedoms and misuse of the data collected by the app. Finally, we reflect on the linkages between the lack of governmental accountability and the difficulties in mitigating the expressed societal concerns, causing a corresponding resistance on the part of the public to engage in and support co-production

Finding of the Low Molecular Weight Inhibitors of Resuscitation Promoting Factor Enzymatic and Resuscitation Activity

Background: Resuscitation promoting factors (RPF) are secreted proteins involved in reactivation of dormant actinobacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis. They have been considered as prospective targets for the development of new antituberculosis drugs preventing reactivation of dormant tubercle bacilli, generally associated with latent tuberculosis. However, no inhibitors of Rpf activity have been reported so far. The goal of this study was to find low molecular weight compounds inhibiting the enzymatic and biological activities of Rpfs. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we describe a novel class of 2-nitrophenylthiocyanates (NPT) compounds that inhibit muralytic activity of Rpfs with IC50 1–7 mg/ml. Fluorescence studies revealed interaction of active NPTs with the internal regions of the Rpf molecule. Candidate inhibitors of Rpf enzymatic activity showed a bacteriostatic effect on growth of Micrococcus luteus (in which Rpf is essential for growth protein) at concentrations close to IC50. The candidate compounds suppressed resuscitation of dormant (‘‘non-culturable’’) cells of M. smegmatis at 1 mg/ml or delayed resuscitation of dormant M. tuberculosis obtained in laboratory conditions at 10 mg/ml. However, they did not inhibit growth of active mycobacteria under these concentrations. Conclusions/Significance: NPT are the first example of low molecular weight compounds that inhibit the enzymatic an

Microsatellite-based genetic diversity and population structure of domestic sheep in northern Eurasia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Identification of global livestock diversity hotspots and their importance in diversity maintenance is essential for making global conservation efforts. We screened 52 sheep breeds from the Eurasian subcontinent with 20 microsatellite markers. By estimating and weighting differently within- and between-breed genetic variation our aims were to identify genetic diversity hotspots and prioritize the importance of each breed for conservation, respectively. In addition we estimated how important within-species diversity hotspots are in livestock conservation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Bayesian clustering analysis revealed three genetic clusters, termed Nordic, Composite and Fat-tailed. Southern breeds from close to the region of sheep domestication were more variable, but less genetically differentiated compared with more northern populations. Decreasing weight for within-breed diversity component led to very high representation of genetic clusters or regions containing more diverged breeds, but did not increase phenotypic diversity among the high ranked breeds. Sampling populations throughout 14 regional groups was suggested for maximized total genetic diversity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>During initial steps of establishing a livestock conservation program populations from the diversity hot-spot area are the most important ones, but for the full design our results suggested that approximately equal population presentation across environments should be considered. Even in this case, higher per population emphasis in areas of high diversity is appropriate. The analysis was based on neutral data, but we have no reason to think the general trend is limited to this type of data. However, a comprehensive valuation of populations should balance production systems, phenotypic traits and available genetic information, and include consideration of probability of success.</p

The accountability of advocacy NGOs: insights from the online community of practice

Advocacy non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play an important role in society by keeping in check the power of corporations and governments and uncovering rights violations. They differ from other NGOs in terms of their agenda, funding structure and the stakeholders they serve, and operate in a context characterised by increasing demands for transparency, accountability and responsible advocacy. This study examines how the accountability agenda of advocacy NGOs is shaped by the need to maintain independence, preserve values and keep reputation unsullied when faced with financial and legitimacy pressures. A netnography method is employed to analyse the discussions taking place in the NGOs’ online community of practice to understand the implications of the accountability challenges faced by advocacy NGOs through the perceptions of NGO professionals. The study reveals that the accountability agenda of advocacy NGOs is determined by the interrelated threats of financial vulnerability, potential loss of independence, legitimacy challenges and the high level of public scrutiny. The findings highlight that imperfect accountability mechanisms (e.g. financial reporting and performance management systems) hinder the ability of advocacy NGOs to demonstrate their accountability

Fund accounting : theoretical and empirical study

The public sector operates in the context of increasing demand for transparency and accountability and better control of financial resources spending. Governmental organizations differ from business enterprises in their missions, ways of revenue acquisition and performance evaluation. At the same time, international discussion about how to develop and improve governmental accounting uses commercial accounting as the only accounting framework and do not provide an attention to other available accounting models, such as fund accounting and cameral accounting. The thesis aims to introduce fund accounting into this international debate. The study acquires knowledge about fund accounting as an accounting platform, which is used when carrying out an empirical study, analyzing the financial statements of the City of Wolverhampton, UK. The study discusses if fund accounting, or some of its elements, could be of interest to use as a part of the accounting framework in the public sector. The study finds that even though, municipal accounting uses some elements based on the original fund approach, the fundamental fund accounting concepts changed their meanings affected by the current accounting trends of business accounting standards adoption in the public sector. The study takes into consideration the advantages of fund accounting, such as focus on budgetary control and fiduciary stewardship and suggests its improvement and simplification in order to serve the public sector better, but not the replacement by the commercial (accrual) accounting

Human rights organizations: financial accountability and accounting challenges

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Surviving accounting change: human rights organisations in Russia - a case study

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