Accounting Information Systems [1st Australasian edition]

At last – the Australasian edition of Romney and Steinbart's respected AIS text! Accounting Information Systems first Australasian edition offers the most comprehensive and student-friendly coverage of Accounting Information Systems in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Accounting Information Systems has been extensively revised and updated to incorporate local laws, standards and business practices. The text has a new and flexible structure developed especially for Australasian AIS courses, while also retaining the features that make the US edition easy to use. Important concepts such as systems cycles, controls, auditing, fraud and cybercrime, ethics and the REA data model are brought to life by a wide variety of Australasian case studies and examples. With a learning and teaching resource package second to none, this is the perfect resource for one-semester undergraduate and graduate courses in Accounting Information Systems

Managing uncertainty about food risks – Consumer use of food labelling

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/General consumer knowledge of and engagement with the production of food has declined resulting in increasing consumer uncertainty about, and sensitivity to, food risks. Emphasis is therefore placed on providing information for consumers to reduce information asymmetry regarding food risks, particularly through food labelling. This study examines the role of food labelling in influencing consumer perceptions of food risks. In-depth, 1-h interviews were conducted with 24 Australian consumers. Participants were recruited based on an a priori defined food safety risk scale, and to achieve a diversity of demographic characteristics. The methodological approach used, adaptive theory, was chosen to enable a constant interweaving of theoretical understandings and empirical data throughout the study. Participants discussed perceiving both traditional (food spoilage/microbial contamination) and modern (social issues, pesticide and ‘chemical’ contamination) risks as present in the food system. Food labelling was a symbol of the food system having managed traditional risks, and a tool for consumers to personally manage perceived modern risks. However, labelling also raised awareness of modern risks not previously considered. The consumer framing of risk presented demonstrates the need for more meaningful consumer engagement in policy decision making to ensure risk communication and management meet public expectations. This research innovatively identifies food labelling as both a symbol of, and a tool for, the management of perceived risks for consumers. Therefore it is imperative that food system actors ensure the authenticity and trustworthiness of all aspects of food labelling, not only those related to food safety

The process of making trust related judgements through interaction with food labelling

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/There is both empirical and theoretical research supporting the idea that consumers’ interaction with food labelling impacts on their trust in the food system and its actors. This paper explores the process by which consumers’ interpretation of, and interaction with, labelling results in the formation of trust related judgements. In-depth, semi-structured interviews with 24 Australian consumers were conducted. Theoretical sampling was used to gather a wide range of consumer perspectives. Real food packages were used as prompts for discussion in interviews, with one interview section requiring participants to examine particular products while thinking aloud. Process and thematic coding were used in transcript analysis. Labelling was seen by participants as a direct and active communication with ‘labellers’. The messages communicated by individual label elements were interpreted more broadly than their regulatory definitions and were integrated during the process of making sense of labelling. This enabled participants to form trust related judgements through interaction with labelling. Finally, product and consumer characteristics varied participants’ judgements about the same or similar label elements and products. Divergence in consumer and regulatory interpretations of labelling creates a situation where labelling may be both fully compliant with all relevant legislation and regulation, and still be perceived as misleading by consumers. This suggests that the rational frameworks that policy seeks to overlay on consumers when considering food labelling regulation may be hindering consumer belief in the trustworthiness of labellers. Policy must recognise the different, yet equally legitimate, ways of interpreting labelling if it is to foster, and not undermine, consumer trust in the food system generally

Consumer concerns relating to food labeling and trust - Australian governance actors respond

Copyright 2017 by The American Council on Consumer Interests. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving. This author accepted manuscript is made available following 24 month embargo from date of publication (Sept 2017) in accordance with the publisher’s archiving policyThis study aims to report and critically analyze the responses of governance actors to a set of consumers' concerns relating to food labeling, and by doing so describe how these actors construct both consumer perspectives and the food policy environment in which they work. Fifteen food‐labeling governance actors in Australia and New Zealand were asked to view an online presentation of the findings from a previous study exploring consumer perspectives on food labeling and trust before completing a one‐hour, in‐depth, semi‐structured interview. Colebatch's social constructionist perspective on policy was adopted in the analysis. Participants used their own constructions of Australian food policy, the role of labeling and consumer trust as a means to minimize the consumer concerns. Inadequate critical engagement with the moral dimension of consumer concerns is a core driver of the inertia demonstrated in the Australian government's approach to addressing consumer concerns regarding food matters

Consumer trust in the Australian food system – The everyday erosive impact of food labelling

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Consumer trust in food system actors is foundational for ensuring consumer confidence in food safety. As food labelling is a direct communication between consumers and food system actors, it may influence consumer perceptions of actor trustworthiness. This study explores the judgements formed about the trustworthiness of the food system and its actors through labelling, and the expectations these judgements are based on. In-depth, semi-structured interviews with 24 Australian consumers were conducted. Theoretical sampling focussed on shopping location, dietary requirements, rurality, gender, age and educational background. The methodological approach used (adaptive theory) enabled emerging data to be examined through the lens of a set of guiding theoretical concepts, and theory reconsidered in light of emerging data. Food labelling acted as a surrogate for personal interaction with industry and government for participants. Judgements about the trustworthiness of these actors and the broader food system were formed through interaction with food labelling and were based on expectations of both competence and goodwill. Interaction with labelling primarily reduced trust in actors within the food system, undermining trust in the system as a whole. Labelling has a role as an access point to the food system. Access points are points of vulnerability for systems, where trust can be developed, reinforced or broken down. For the participants in this study, in general labelling demonstrates food system actors lack goodwill and violate their fiduciary responsibility. This paper provides crucial insights for industry and policy actors to use this access point to build, rather than undermine, trust in food systems

Consumers respond to a model for (re)building consumer trust in the food system

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This author accepted manuscript is made available following 12 month embargo from date of publication (February 2019) in accordance with the publisher’s archiving policyResearchers and food system actors have developed a best practice model to assist with (re)building or maintaining consumer trust in the food system in the event of a food incident. The aim of the present study was to determine how well the model aligns with consumer views of the strategies required to maintain consumer trust during and following a food incident. This qualitative public deliberation study employed experimental, developmental vignettes during 2 full-day sessions in May 2018. Following general discussion of the food incident scenario presented in the vignettes, 15 South Australian adults (in two groups) developed a collated and ranked list of key strategies to be used by food system actors during a food incident to assist in maintaining consumer trust. Participants were then introduced to the existing model, and engaged in discussions about if and how their strategies aligned with those in the existing model. Findings demonstrate broad consistency between the two groups and the model in the strategies identified as key for (re)building and maintaining consumer trust during a food incident. For example, timely transparency was reported by consumers as the key strategy for maintaining consumer trust during and after a food incident. However, participants expressed pessimism regarding actors’ ability to implement strategies. Although minimal, differences were noted in strategy descriptions between the groups and the Model. This study suggests that overall the model is highly consistent with consumer views. If actors are to demonstrably apply the Model in the event of a food incident, our data suggest that the identified strategies will successfully assist them in (re)building and/or maintaining consumer trust in the food supply

Pre-existing Toxoplasma gondii infection increases susceptibility to pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures independent of traumatic brain injury in mice

IntroductionPost-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) is a debilitating chronic outcome of traumatic brain injury (TBI), and neuroinflammation is implicated in increased seizure susceptibility and epileptogenesis. However, how common clinical factors, such as infection, may modify neuroinflammation and PTE development has been understudied. The neurotropic parasite, Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) incurably infects one-third of the world’s population. Thus, many TBI patients have a pre-existing T. gondii infection at the time of injury. T. gondii infection results in chronic low-grade inflammation and altered signaling pathways within the brain, and preliminary clinical evidence suggest that it may be a risk factor for epilepsy. Despite this, no studies have considered how a pre-existing T. gondii infection may alter the development of PTE.MethodsThis study aimed to provide insight into this knowledge gap by assessing how a pre-existing T. gondii infection alters susceptibility to, and severity of, pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizures (i.e., a surrogate marker of epileptogenesis/PTE) at a chronic stage of TBI recovery. We hypothesized that T. gondii will increase the likelihood and severity of seizures following PTZ administration, and that this would occur in the presence of intensified neuroinflammation. To test this, 6-week old male and female C57BL/6 Jax mice were intraperitoneally injected with 50,000 T. gondii tachyzoites or with the PBS vehicle only. At 12-weeks old, mice either received a severe TBI via controlled cortical impact or sham injury. At 18-weeks post-injury, mice were administered 40 mg/kg PTZ and video-recorded for evaluation of seizure susceptibility. Fresh cortical tissue was then collected for gene expression analyses.ResultsAlthough no synergistic effects were evident between infection and TBI, chronic T. gondii infection alone had robust effects on the PTZ-seizure response and gene expression of markers related to inflammatory, oxidative stress, and glutamatergic pathways. In addition to this, females were more susceptible to PTZ-induced seizures than males. While TBI did not impact PTZ responses, injury effects were evident at the molecular level.DiscussionOur data suggests that a pre-existing T. gondii infection is an important modifier of seizure susceptibility independent of brain injury, and considerable attention should be directed toward delineating the mechanisms underlying this pro-epileptogenic factor

Priorities for synthesis research in ecology and environmental science

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank the National Science Foundation grant #1940692 for financial support for this workshop, and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and its staff for logistical support.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Priorities for synthesis research in ecology and environmental science

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank the National Science Foundation grant #1940692 for financial support for this workshop, and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and its staff for logistical support.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Evaluating the Effects of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Mutation D614G on Transmissibility and Pathogenicity.

Global dispersal and increasing frequency of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variant D614G are suggestive of a selective advantage but may also be due to a random founder effect. We investigate the hypothesis for positive selection of spike D614G in the United Kingdom using more than 25,000 whole genome SARS-CoV-2 sequences. Despite the availability of a large dataset, well represented by both spike 614 variants, not all approaches showed a conclusive signal of positive selection. Population genetic analysis indicates that 614G increases in frequency relative to 614D in a manner consistent with a selective advantage. We do not find any indication that patients infected with the spike 614G variant have higher COVID-19 mortality or clinical severity, but 614G is associated with higher viral load and younger age of patients. Significant differences in growth and size of 614G phylogenetic clusters indicate a need for continued study of this variant