The Theory Of Planned Behavior: An Examination Of Governmental Financial Managers Intentions To Modify Internal Controls For E-Services

This study uses Ajzens (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior as a theoretical framework to examine state and local government (SLG) financial managers intentions to modify internal controls when implementing e-services. The primary objective of this study is to determine whether SLG financial managers decision (intention) to support modification of internal controls is a function of his/her beliefs toward proper accounting internal controls. Results indicate significant support for a decision process based on attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control for modifying internal controls after adopting e-services. A priori, one would expect changes in business processes to lead to appropriate changes in internal controls; however, the mean response for intention in this study indicates only a mild propensity to make such changes. The data in this study suggest that financial managers of state and local governments are aware of their responsibilities for maintaining appropriate internal controls but express only slight interest in, willingness to, or belief they are able to modify internal controls to address the changes in accounting systems as a result of the adoption of e-services. Implications of electing to forego internal control modifications after business process changes are provided, along with suggestions for future research

Working Relationships Of IS Professionals And End Users: Testing Discrepancy Theory

Information systems (IS) services frequently fail to meet expectations of management and end users, in terms of budget, schedule, or requirements.  Such failures may be attributed to the unique viewpoint and expectations of each set of stakeholders. A multidimensional measure of IS performance is used to examine the differences in expectations and perceptions of outcomes of IS professionals and two groups of end users – accountant end users and non-accountant end users.  Results show that accountant end users have greater expectations than non-accountant end users, but similar expectations to IS professionals.  Results show that performance was rated higher by IS professionals than either accountant-users or non-accountant users. Finally, discrepancy theory was tested with an ANOVA model to confirm that positive discrepancy (where outcomes exceed expectations) is associated with greater satisfaction for both stakeholder groups.

Recurrent Neural Networks and Matrix Methods for Cognitive Radio Spectrum Prediction and Security

In this work, machine learning tools, including recurrent neural networks (RNNs), matrix completion, and non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), are used for cognitive radio problems. Specifically addressed are a missing data problem and a blind signal separation problem. A specialized RNN called Cellular Simultaneous Recurrent Network (CSRN), typically used in image processing applications, has been modified. The CRSN performs well for spatial spectrum prediction of radio signals with missing data. An algorithm called soft-impute for matrix completion used together with an RNN performs well for missing data problems in the radio spectrum time-frequency domain. Estimating missing spectrum data can improve cognitive radio efficiency. An NMF method called tuning pruning is used for blind source separation of radio signals in simulation. An NMF optimization technique using a geometric constraint is proposed to limit the solution space of blind signal separation. Both NMF methods are promising in addressing a security problem known as spectrum sensing data falsification attack

Educational Context: Preparing Accounting Students To Identify Ethical Dilemmas

We examine the effect of different contexts in an educational process on measures of ethical sensitivity and levels of moral reasoning of accounting majors in the first Intermediate Accounting course. The educational process compared a context that centers on ethical issues with one that focuses on technical accounting issues. At the end of the semester, we measured students’ ethical sensitivity and levels of moral reasoning in an environment that does not provide obvious ethical implications. Results from a sample of 193 undergraduate students indicate that those exposed to the ethical context demonstrated higher levels of ethical sensitivity and moral reasoning than students exposed to the technical accounting context. In contrast to prior studies in which participants were asked to respond to an obvious ethical issue, our research instrument contains only subtle clues about a developing ethical dilemma

Expectation-performance gap: Professional liability associated with certain auditor behaviors

The purpose of this dissertation is threefold: (i) to establish hypotheses relating financial liability to certain auditor behaviors discussed in the independence literature, (ii) to empirically validate that the presence of these behaviors will increase auditor financial liability over the normal audit situation, and (iii) attempt to explain the differences in subjects\u27 perceptions for each of the behavioral scenarios studied. A survey instrument was developed and administered to three groups of subjects: an impaneled jury, bankers, and CPAs. The instrument contained a vignette describing an annual audit situation where the company filed for bankruptcy subsequent to the issuance of the audited financial statements. The subjects were asked to respond to seven independent situations. The first was a normal audit in which only annual audit services were provided. The other scenarios involved behaviors that are perceived to impair auditor independence. Using a single-factor repeated measures design the results indicated that for each subject group there were statistically significant differences in the expected direction between the normal audit and some of the behavioral scenarios. At least one group identified each behavioral scenario as increasing the auditor\u27s financial liability as a result of that auditor-auditee relationship. A multiple regression analysis was performed for each of the audit situations to explain the differences in financial liability perceptions as a result of subject group membership and demographic and socioeconomic variables. It was found that in the normal audit and five of the six behavioral scenarios, bankers attributed greater auditor financial liability than did jurors and CPAs. The banker parameter estimate was positive and statistically significant. Only in the audit fees scenario did both bankers and jurors attribute greater auditor financial liability than did CPAs. Additional variables such as ethnic background, educational level, and the number of auditing and accounting courses completed were also found to be significant in some of the scenarios. In contrast to prior research, the results of this study indicate that jurors and CPAs have similar perceptions with respect to the financial liability of auditors. The expectation-performance gap appears to be between bankers and others, including the general public and financial statement preparers

The correlation between refractive error and pupil size

The existence of a relationship between pupil size and refractive error among school-aged children was investigated in the present study. Pupil size was recorded photographically, and refractive error was determined by retinoscopy. In general, the subjects represented two age groups: ages 6-7 and ages 14- 15. The results found that both age groups showed negative correlations between pupil size and refractive error; however, not all correlations were statistically significant. More correlations were statistically significant in the female age 6-7 group than in the male age 6-7 group, while more correlations were statistically significant in the male age 14-15 group than in the female age 14-15 group. When all subjects, male and female ages 6-15, were analyzed, a significant (

Sales and Firm Entry: The Case of Wal-Mart

Temporary price reductions or “sales” have become increasingly important in the evolution of the price level. We present a model of repeated price competition to illustrate how entry causes incumbents to alternate between high and low prices. Using a six year panel of weekly observations from a grocery chain, we find that individual stores employ more sales as the distance to Wal-Mart falls. Moreover, the increase in the frequency of sales was concentrated on the most popular products, suggesting the use of a loss-leader strategy