The role of accounting discourse in the learning and skills council and further education colleges: a multi-perspective approach

This working paper argues for a multi-perspective approach to case study analysis as a way of generating fresh insights into critical accounting theory and the role of accounting in organisations and society. It illustrates the multi-perspective approach by applying Brunsson's legitimacy theory (1989), Neimark and Tinker's political theory (1986) and Weick's theory of sensemaking (1995) to a case study of the Learning and Skills Council and Further Education Colleges in England. Sensemaking through accounting was found to be more ambiguous than implied by current functionalist or critical accounting theories suggesting possibilities for a future re-theorisation of aspects of critical accounting theory

Music in advertising and consumer identity: The search for Heideggerian authenticity

This study discusses netnographic findings involving 472 YouTube postings categorized to identify themes regarding consumers’ experience of music in advertisements. Key themes relate to musical taste, musical indexicality, musical repetition and musical authenticity. Postings reveal how music conveys individual taste and is linked to personal memories and Heidegger’s coincidental time where moments of authenticity may be triggered in a melee of emotions, memories and projections. Identity protection is enabled as consumers frequently resist advertisers’ attempts to use musical repetition to impose normative identity. Critiques of repetition in the music produce Heideggerian anxiety leading to critically reflective resistance. Similarly, where advertising devalues the authenticity of iconic pieces of music, consumers often resist such authenticity transgressions as a threat to their own identity. The Heideggerian search for meaning in life emphasizes the significance of philosophically driven ideological authenticity in consumers’ responses to music in advertisements

Accounting colonisation and austerity in arts organisations

This Habermasian qualitative study considers the nature and extent of accounting and austerity colonisation in the context of widening arts engagement in England in a period of financial austerity. It also explores some of the key impacts of austerity and accounting monitoring and how arts organisations coped with them. The findings suggest that the discourses of accounting and austerity were associated with a variety of forms of colonisation and limited resistance along a continuum. The discourse of austerity was portrayed as much more problematic and colonising than the extensive accounting monitoring which was taken for granted. The discourses and practices of austerity were implicated in morally ambiguous and role-conflicted organisational behaviour suggesting sublimated legitimation crisis tendencies but there was no evidence of widespread Habermasian motivation crisis in relation to austerity or accounting monitoring. Some organisational members responded actively to accounting colonisation, and as a reorientation or reversal of colonisation, created transformations of accounting through a range of narrative and visual reporting methods. Their evaluation of such qualitative data revealed an expression of autonomy in the face of pathological accounting colonisation, whilst paradoxically creating self-challenging monitoring procedures

Effect of assessment media on student performance in histology identification tasks

BACKGROUND Traditionally, Histology is taught and assessed using a microscope and glass slides in practical classes. However a cross-disciplinary approach to teaching with integration of anatomy and pathology, whilst pedagogically sound, in practice means that the Histology content forms just part of an assessment. For efficiency, assessment then relies on printed images (colour or black and white) rather than a microscope. As identification tasks rely heavily on the quality on images it is important to determine what effect the different media used in teaching versus assessment has on student performance. AIMS The aims of the study were to compare student’s performance in assessment identification tasks using different media for images. Student perception of these images was also surveyed. DESIGN AND METHODS A single cohort of second year Medical Science students (240) enrolled in five (5) Units of Studies over two semesters was surveyed. The content covered in each unit examined the histology and anatomy of different body systems. Histology images in each assessment were provided in the following sequence: black and white printed-colour projected-colour printed-black and white printed At the end of the fifth assessment, students were surveyed on their attitudes to the different media used in the assessment. Mean marks for identification tasks were compared using paired t-tests. RESULTS STUDENT PERFORMANCE Students performed significantly better in identification tasks using colour printed images compared with black and white or projected images. STUDENT PERCEPTION 68% of students were satisfied with the method of testing and agreed that the exam format adequately assessed the learning outcomes. The majority of students did not want to be examined using a microscope, however they would appreciate images of varying magnification of the one tissue. Students felt it would be easier to pass an exam if slides were printed (52%) rather than projected (26%) or glass (22%). CONCLUSIONS Our students were not concerned when there was a mismatch between the method of teaching (glass slides) and the method of examination (printed or projected images). Overwhelmingly, their stated preference was for assessment using printed images, with a preference for colour. Very few students preferred to be examined with projected images or glass slides. This preference is reflected in the students’ examination results. Students performed best when colour printed images were used and poorest with colour projected images. Performance improved between semesters in both black and white and colour printed tests suggesting improvement with experience. A clear confounder in this study is the difference in content between units of study. This is being explored further by repeating the process in a different sequence with a new cohort

Recommending swimming to people with low back pain: A scoping review

Background: It is common practice for health professionals to recommend swimming to people with low back pain (LBP) despite limited evidence. The aim of this review was to gain an understanding of the current evidence base supporting the recommendation of swimming to people with LBP. Methods: A scoping review was conducted searching five electronic databases, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PEDro, PubMed, and SPORTdiscus using the keywords back pain AND swim*. The studies were grouped by study design and the following uncertainties were considered; the impact of swimming on the spine and LBP, evidence of swimming increasing or reducing the risk of LBP and the use of swimming in LBP rehabilitation programmes. Results: 25 studies met the eligibility criteria; including sixteen observational studies exploring the relationship between swimming and LBP, three biomechanical studies investigating the impact of swimming on the spine, and five interventional studies of which four integrated swimming into a rehabilitation programme and one used swimming to modify lumbar lordosis. Conclusion: The review confirmed there is limited research and only low-level evidence to support the recommendation of swimming to people with LBP. Observational studies make up the greater proportion of research undertaken in the field; the data indicates that swimming is a low-risk form of exercise but not without risk. The findings from biomechanical research suggest that lumbar lordosis does not increase excessively when swimming breaststroke, but certain swimming techniques could negatively impact LBP and interventional trials illustrate that there are various ways to integrate swimming into a rehabilitation programme

Deweyan tools for inquiry and the epistemological context of critical pedagogy

This article develops the notion of resistance as articulated in the literature of critical pedagogy as being both culturally sponsored and cognitively manifested. To do so, the authors draw upon John Dewey\u27s conception of tools for inquiry. Dewey provides a way to conceptualize student resistance not as a form of willful disputation, but instead as a function of socialization into cultural models of thought that actively truncate inquiry. In other words, resistance can be construed as the cognitive and emotive dimensions of the ongoing failure of institutions to provide ideas that help individuals both recognize social problems and imagine possible solutions. Focusing on Dewey\u27s epistemological framework, specifically tools for inquiry, provides a way to grasp this problem. It also affords some innovative solutions; for instance, it helps conceive of possible links between the regular curriculum and the study of specific social justice issues, a relationship that is often under-examined. The aims of critical pedagogy depend upon students developing dexterity with the conceptual tools they use to make meaning of the evidence they confront; these are background skills that the regular curriculum can be made to serve even outside social justice-focused curricula. Furthermore, the article concludes that because such inquiry involves the exploration and potential revision of students\u27 world-ordering beliefs, developing flexibility in how one thinks may be better achieved within academic subjects and topics that are not so intimately connected to students\u27 current social lives, especially where students may be directly implicated

Broad targeting of resistance to apoptosis in cancer

Apoptosis or programmed cell death is natural way of removing aged cells from the body. Most of the anti-cancer therapies trigger apoptosis induction and related cell death networks to eliminate malignant cells. However, in cancer, de-regulated apoptotic signaling, particularly the activation of an anti-apoptotic systems, allows cancer cells to escape this program leading to uncontrolled proliferation resulting in tumor survival, therapeutic resistance and recurrence of cancer. This resistance is a complicated phenomenon that emanates from the interactions of various molecules and signaling pathways. In this comprehensive review we discuss the various factors contributing to apoptosis resistance in cancers. The key resistance targets that are discussed include (1) Bcl-2 and Mcl-1 proteins; (2) autophagy processes; (3) necrosis and necroptosis; (4) heat shock protein signaling; (5) the proteasome pathway; (6) epigenetic mechanisms; and (7) aberrant nuclear export signaling. The shortcomings of current therapeutic modalities are highlighted and a broad spectrum strategy using approaches including (a) gossypol; (b) epigallocatechin-3-gallate; (c) UMI-77 (d) triptolide and (e) selinexor that can be used to overcome cell death resistance is presented. This review provides a roadmap for the design of successful anti-cancer strategies that overcome resistance to apoptosis for better therapeutic outcome in patients with cancer

Mortality Among Adults With Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy or Immunotherapy and Infected With COVID-19

Importance: Large cohorts of patients with active cancers and COVID-19 infection are needed to provide evidence of the association of recent cancer treatment and cancer type with COVID-19 mortality. // Objective: To evaluate whether systemic anticancer treatments (SACTs), tumor subtypes, patient demographic characteristics (age and sex), and comorbidities are associated with COVID-19 mortality. // Design, Setting, and Participants: The UK Coronavirus Cancer Monitoring Project (UKCCMP) is a prospective cohort study conducted at 69 UK cancer hospitals among adult patients (≥18 years) with an active cancer and a clinical diagnosis of COVID-19. Patients registered from March 18 to August 1, 2020, were included in this analysis. // Exposures: SACT, tumor subtype, patient demographic characteristics (eg, age, sex, body mass index, race and ethnicity, smoking history), and comorbidities were investigated. // Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was all-cause mortality within the primary hospitalization. // Results: Overall, 2515 of 2786 patients registered during the study period were included; 1464 (58%) were men; and the median (IQR) age was 72 (62-80) years. The mortality rate was 38% (966 patients). The data suggest an association between higher mortality in patients with hematological malignant neoplasms irrespective of recent SACT, particularly in those with acute leukemias or myelodysplastic syndrome (OR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.30-3.60) and myeloma or plasmacytoma (OR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.04-2.26). Lung cancer was also significantly associated with higher COVID-19–related mortality (OR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.11-2.25). No association between higher mortality and receiving chemotherapy in the 4 weeks before COVID-19 diagnosis was observed after correcting for the crucial confounders of age, sex, and comorbidities. An association between lower mortality and receiving immunotherapy in the 4 weeks before COVID-19 diagnosis was observed (immunotherapy vs no cancer therapy: OR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.31-0.86). // Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this study of patients with active cancer suggest that recent SACT is not associated with inferior outcomes from COVID-19 infection. This has relevance for the care of patients with cancer requiring treatment, particularly in countries experiencing an increase in COVID-19 case numbers. Important differences in outcomes among patients with hematological and lung cancers were observed