Referendum Campaigns in Hybrid Media Systems: Insights From the New Zealand Cannabis Legalisation Referendum

During New Zealand’s 2020 cannabis legalisation referendum, advocacy groups on both sides widely debated the issue, utilising "older" and "newer" media channels to strategically influence voters, including through appearances in traditional media and paid advertising campaigns on Facebook. Comparatively little is known about the campaign strategies used by each camp and how they leveraged the hybrid media environment to advocate for their positions. We analyse the cannabis legalisation referendum campaigns using primary data from our digital ethnographic study on Facebook, a systematic quantitative content analysis of legacy media websites, and a review of published reports from other authors. We show how positive sentiment towards cannabis law reform in the traditional media was amplified via referendum campaigners’ activity on Facebook. While campaign expenses on both sides were similar, money was spent in different ways and via different mediums. The pro-legalisation campaign focused more on new digital media channels, while the anti-legalisation campaign diversified across a range of mediums, with greater attention paid to traditional political advertising strategies, such as leaflets and billboards. The New Zealand case study illustrates how greater engagement with the "newer" media logics may not necessarily secure a favourable outcome during a national referendum campaign. We discuss how the broader media and political environment may have influenced campaigners' choices to engage (or not) with the different media channels

Evidence on the Audit Risk Model: Do Auditors Increase Audit Fees in the Presence of Internal Control Deficiencies?

The article discusses the study of determining whether audit risk model is descriptive of what occurs in the auditing practice or if the relationship between fees and internal control deficiencies (ICDs) suggest that audit enterprises exert more effort in auditing firms that impart ICDs. The study examines the internal controls over financial reporting (ICOFR), generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), audit risk model, audit fees and sections of Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The study found out that audit fees are significantly higher for firms disclosing material weakness

View from the Sky: Mapping corn nitrogen status at the watershed level

To make informed decisions of how to better manage nitrogen (N) fertilizer, farmers and agronomists need the best and most reliable data about performance of fertilization systems. Regardless of the method used to determine N fertilizer requirements, users need to know whether past fertilization decisions were cost effective (too little or too much N) through feedback assessments

Integrated working and intergenerational projects: a study of the use of sporting memories

The purpose of this paper is to promote discussion about, and the development of the evidence-base underpinning integrated working for intergenerational working. It discusses perspectives on intergenerational work in general and specifically draws on case experiences of the use of intergenerational reminiscence based on sporting memories to highlight issues pertaining to integrated working

Sporting memories & the social inclusion of older people experiencing mental health problems

Purpose Social exclusion and isolation of older people and their mental health are likely to be more significant, interlinked issues for society as we experience a changing demographic profile. We urgently need to identify effective ways of addressing these challenges that can be easily mobilised to meet diverse needs in different settings. This paper explores the impact of sporting memories (SM) work as one approach to help meet this need. This SM work entails the use of sports-based reminiscence to engage with older people experiencing mental health problems. To date this has especially focused on people living with dementia in institutional and in community settings. Design/methodology/approach The article sets out the sporting memories idea and discusses lessons learnt from case studies of its application to meet the inclusion and mental health needs of different older people in institutional and community settings. Findings The evidence from the application of sporting memories work to date is that it is an effective and flexible means of engaging people to improve their social inclusion and mental wellbeing. It can be readily deployed in various care and community settings. Research limitations/implications The evidence to date is of case studies of the use of sporting memories work, and, although these are now extensive case studies, further research is needed on the costs and impacts of sporting memories work. Practical implications Sporting memories work is a flexible and readily adoptable intervention to engage older people and help improve their social inclusion and mental wellbeing. Originality/value This is the first paper to set out the sporting memories work

Internal Control Disclosures, Monitoring, and the Cost of Debt

We test the relationship between the change in a firm\u27s cost of debt and the disclosure of a material weakness in an initial Section 404 report. We find that, on average, a firm\u27s credit spread on its publicly traded debt marginally increases if it discloses a material weakness. We also examine the impact of monitoring by credit rating agencies and/or banks on this result and find that the result is more pronounced for firms that are not monitored. Additional analysis indicates that the effect of bank monitoring appears to be the primary driver of these monitoring results. This finding is consistent with the argument that banks are effective delegated monitors for the debt market. The results of this study suggest the need for future research, particularly to test the differential effects of monitoring on the cost of debt compared to the cost of equity

Japanese multinationals in the post-bubble era:new challenges and evolving capabilities

Since the bursting of Japan's bubble economy, from 1990 onwards, Japanese multinational companies (MNCs) have faced new competitive challenges and questions about the management practices on which they had built their initial success in global markets. Japanese engagement in the international economy has undergone a number of phases. In the period before the Second World War, Japanese companies learnt from foreign MNCs in trading, shipping, and manufacturing, frequently through strategic alliances, and leveraged their capabilities to succeed in overseas and largely Asian markets. In the immediate post-war decades, during the Japanese ‘economic miracle’, there were notable examples of MNC investment in raw materials and labour intensive production, but both inward and outward foreign direct investment were not significant. Japanese companies achieved leadership in management and technology, in order to support a strategy of export-orientated industrialization. Changes in government policies in the developed economies of the US and Western Europe forced leading Japanese manufacturers to convert themselves into MNCs and to transfer their home-grown capabilities to overseas subsidiaries. The period after 1990 marked declining Japanese competitiveness and it asked questions about the ability of Japanese MNCs to be more responsive and global in their strategies, organization and capabilities.No Full Tex