936 research outputs found
Audit materiality and environmental matters
Purpose – This paper examines the issue of audit materiality in regard to the disclosure of environmental matters in financial reports. Its purpose is to reveal auditors’ views and practices when judging the materiality of environmental matters. It also highlights implications for how environmental matters are audited and for the reliability of financial reporting by firms whose activities may generate adverse environmental effects.
Design/methodology/approach – In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-seven senior public and private sector financial auditors in New Zealand.
Findings – The findings reveal that auditors’ interpretations of materiality criteria tend to preclude them from considering environmental matters in their audits. This contributes to a ‘type II audit expectation gap’ – i.e. a gap between the expectations of standards setters and the practices of auditors (Specht and Waldron, 1992) – which impedes the achievement of appropriate, independent assurance on environmental matters in financial reports.
Originality/value – This paper is the first to draw on interview evidence from auditors to examine how they deal with the issue of materiality in regard to this important, emerging aspect of audit practice.
Research limitations/implications – This study was conducted in a New Zealand context only. However, since auditors’ duties are similar the world over, the findings point to general avenues for promoting improved practice in regard to the audit of environmental matters
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Psychological distress after stroke and aphasia: the first six months
Objective: We explored the factors that predicted psychological distress in the first six months post stroke in a sample including people with aphasia.
Design: Prospective longitudinal observational study.
Setting and subjects: Participants with a first stroke from two acute stroke units were assessed while still in hospital (baseline) and at three and six months post stroke.
Main measures: Distress was assessed with the General Health Questionnaire-12. Other measures included: NIH Stroke Scale, Barthel Index, Frenchay Aphasia Screening Test, Frenchay Activities Index, MOS Social Support Scale and social network indicators. Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of distress at each stage post stroke; and to determine what baseline factors predicted distress at six months.
Results: Eighty-seven participants were able to self-report on measures used, of whom 32 (37%) had aphasia. 71 (82%) were seen at six months, including 11 (16%) with aphasia. Predictors of distress were: stroke severity at baseline; low social support at three months; and loneliness and low satisfaction with social network at six months. The baseline factors that predicted distress at six months were psychological distress, loneliness and low satisfaction with social network (Nagelkerke R2 = 0.49). Aphasia was not a predictor of distress at any time point. Yet, at three months post stroke 93% of those with aphasia experienced high distress, as opposed to 50% of those without aphasia (χ2 (1) = 8.61, P<0.01).
Conclusions: Factors contributing to distress after stroke vary across time. Loneliness and low satisfaction with one’s social network are particularly important and contribute to long-term psychological distress
The use of Performance Measurement as an Accountability Mechanism: a case study in the UK National Health Service
The UK Labour government has recently developed the NHS Plan, which specifies long-term objectives and strategies for the development of the National Health Service. Along with the NHS Plan has come the development of Service and Financial Frameworks (SaFFs). The aim of SaFFs is to overcome the potential agency problem that exists between government and NHS organizations (Heymann, 1988) by enhancing the accountability of local NHS organizations for delivering the outcomes required by the NHS Plan.
This study uses a case study to explore how the SaFF has been applied as a new NHS performance measurement tool and identifies issues affecting the usefulness of the SaFF as an accountability mechanism. The findings illustrate how the introduction of SaFFs has allowed the government to introduce additional non-financial/process performance indicators and tougher performance monitoring processes.
This study also identifies issues related to the choice, relevance and informational quality of performance indicators. The findings suggest that, given the shortcomings in the SaFF’s performance measurement contributions, a key early aim of this new accountability mechanism may be to serve central government’s need to deliver a political message to the public. If the SaFF is to develop into an effective accountability mechanism and support the key aims of the NHS Plan, careful selection of performance indicators and adequate information systems will be crucial
Developing site-specific guidelines for orchard soils based on bioaccessibility – Can it be done?
Horticultural land within the periurban fringe of NZ towns and cities increasingly is being developed for residential subdivision. Recent surveys have shown that concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and ΣDDT (sum of DDT and its degradation products DDE and DDD) in such soils can exceed criteria protective of human health.¹ Soil ingestion is a key exposure pathway for non-volatile contaminants in soil. Currently in NZ, site-specific risk assessments and the derivation of soil guidelines protective of human health assume that all of the contaminant present in the soil is available for uptake and absorption by the human gastrointestinal tract. This assumption can overestimate health risks and has implications for the remediation of contaminated sites.² In comparison, the bioavailability of contaminants is considered when estimating exposure via dermal absorption and by ingestion of home-grown produce.³ Dermal absorption factors and plant uptake factors are included in the calculations for estimating exposures via these routes
Managing the accountability-autonomy tensions in university research commercialisation
This article investigates organisational responses to emerging concerns about how accountability–autonomy tensions can be managed within the context of university research commercialisation. The findings suggest that changed expectations of university research practices, which result from the introduction of a commercialisation logic, can be managed via the homogenisation of research goals and strategies. The successful management of accountability–autonomy tensions also depends on utilising the various structures and cultural contexts that can be facilitated by decoupling and bridging strategies. Further, while adopting symbolic systems may enhance legitimacy, failure to implement material practices and provide the appropriate cultural context to manage conflicting relationships may put university commercialisation ambitions at risk
The Peak Brightness and Spatial Distribution of AGB Stars Near the Nucleus of M32
The bright stellar content near the center of the Local Group elliptical
galaxy M32 is investigated with 0.12 arcsec FWHM H and K images obtained with
the Gemini Mauna Kea telescope. Stars with K = 15.5, which are likely evolving
near the tip of the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), are resolved to within 2
arcsec of the nucleus, and it is concluded that the peak stellar brightness
near the center of M32 is similar to that in the outer regions of the galaxy.
Moreover, the projected density of bright AGB stars follows the visible light
profile to within 2 arcsec of the nucleus, indicating that the brightest stars
are well mixed throughout the galaxy. Thus, there is no evidence for an age
gradient, and the radial variations in spectroscopic indices and ultraviolet
colors that have been detected previously must be due to metallicity and/or
some other parameter. We suggest that either the bright AGB stars formed as
part of a highly uniform and coherent galaxy-wide episode of star formation, or
they originated in a separate system that merged with M32.Comment: 9 pages of text, 3 figures. ApJ (Letters) in pres
Deterministically Computing Reduction Numbers of Polynomial Ideals
We discuss the problem of determining reduction number of a polynomial ideal
I in n variables. We present two algorithms based on parametric computations.
The first one determines the absolute reduction number of I and requires
computation in a polynomial ring with (n-dim(I))dim(I) parameters and n-dim(I)
variables. The second one computes via a Grobner system the set of all
reduction numbers of the ideal I and thus in particular also its big reduction
number. However,it requires computations in a ring with n.dim(I) parameters and
n variables.Comment: This new version replaces the earlier version arXiv:1404.1721 and it
has been accepted for publication in the proceedings of CASC 2014, Warsaw,
Polna
Rapid, reliable, and reproducible molecular sub-grouping of clinical medulloblastoma samples
The diagnosis of medulloblastoma likely encompasses several distinct entities, with recent evidence for the existence of at least four unique molecular subgroups that exhibit distinct genetic, transcriptional, demographic, and clinical features. Assignment of molecular subgroup through routine profiling of high-quality RNA on expression microarrays is likely impractical in the clinical setting. The planning and execution of medulloblastoma clinical trials that stratify by subgroup, or which are targeted to a specific subgroup requires technologies that can be economically, rapidly, reliably, and reproducibly applied to formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) specimens. In the current study, we have developed an assay that accurately measures the expression level of 22 medulloblastoma subgroup-specific signature genes (CodeSet) using nanoString nCounter Technology. Comparison of the nanoString assay with Affymetrix expression array data on a training series of 101 medulloblastomas of known subgroup demonstrated a high concordance (Pearson correlation r = 0.86). The assay was validated on a second set of 130 non-overlapping medulloblastomas of known subgroup, correctly assigning 98% (127/130) of tumors to the appropriate subgroup. Reproducibility was demonstrated by repeating the assay in three independent laboratories in Canada, the United States, and Switzerland. Finally, the nanoString assay could confidently predict subgroup in 88% of recent FFPE cases, of which 100% had accurate subgroup assignment. We present an assay based on nanoString technology that is capable of rapidly, reliably, and reproducibly assigning clinical FFPE medulloblastoma samples to their molecular subgroup, and which is highly suited for future medulloblastoma clinical trials
East Midlands Research into Ageing Network (EMRAN) Discussion Paper Series
Academic geriatric medicine in Leicester
.
There has never been a better time to consider joining us. We have recently appointed a
Professor in Geriatric Medicine, alongside Tom Robinson in stroke and Victoria Haunton,
who has just joined as a Senior Lecturer in Geriatric Medicine. We have fantastic
opportunities to support students in their academic pursuits through a well-established
intercalated BSc programme, and routes on through such as ACF posts, and a successful
track-record in delivering higher degrees leading to ACL post. We collaborate strongly
with Health Sciences, including academic primary care. See below for more detail on our
existing academic set-up.
Leicester Academy for the Study of Ageing
We are also collaborating on a grander scale, through a joint academic venture focusing
on ageing, the ‘Leicester Academy for the Study of Ageing’ (LASA), which involves the
local health service providers (acute and community), De Montfort University; University
of Leicester; Leicester City Council; Leicestershire County Council and Leicester Age UK.
Professors Jayne Brown and Simon Conroy jointly Chair LASA and have recently been
joined by two further Chairs, Professors Kay de Vries and Bertha Ochieng. Karen
Harrison Dening has also recently been appointed an Honorary Chair.
LASA aims to improve outcomes for older people and those that care for them that takes
a person-centred, whole system perspective. Our research will take a global perspective,
but will seek to maximise benefits for the people of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland,
including building capacity. We are undertaking applied, translational, interdisciplinary
research, focused on older people, which will deliver research outcomes that address
domains from: physical/medical; functional ability, cognitive/psychological; social or
environmental factors. LASA also seeks to support commissioners and providers alike for
advice on how to improve care for older people, whether by research, education or
service delivery. Examples of recent research projects include: ‘Local History Café’
project specifically undertaking an evaluation on loneliness and social isolation; ‘Better
Visits’ project focused on improving visiting for family members of people with dementia
resident in care homes; and a study on health issues for older LGBT people in Leicester.
Clinical Geriatric Medicine in Leicester
We have developed a service which recognises the complexity of managing frail older
people at the interface (acute care, emergency care and links with community services).
There are presently 17 consultant geriatricians supported by existing multidisciplinary
teams, including the largest complement of Advance Nurse Practitioners in the country.
Together we deliver Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment to frail older people with
urgent care needs in acute and community settings.
The acute and emergency frailty units – Leicester Royal Infirmary
This development aims at delivering Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment to frail older
people in the acute setting. Patients are screened for frailty in the Emergency
Department and then undergo a multidisciplinary assessment including a consultant
geriatrician, before being triaged to the most appropriate setting. This might include
admission to in-patient care in the acute or community setting, intermediate care
(residential or home based), or occasionally other specialist care (e.g. cardiorespiratory).
Our new emergency department is the county’s first frail friendly build and includes
fantastic facilities aimed at promoting early recovering and reducing the risk of hospital
associated harms.
There is also a daily liaison service jointly run with the psychogeriatricians (FOPAL); we
have been examining geriatric outreach to oncology and surgery as part of an NIHR
funded study.
We are home to the Acute Frailty Network, and those interested in service developments
at the national scale would be welcome to get involved.
Orthogeriatrics
There are now dedicated hip fracture wards and joint care with anaesthetists,
orthopaedic surgeons and geriatricians. There are also consultants in metabolic bone
disease that run clinics.
Community work
Community work will consist of reviewing patients in clinic who have been triaged to
return to the community setting following an acute assessment described above.
Additionally, primary care colleagues refer to outpatients for sub-acute reviews. You will
work closely with local GPs with support from consultants to deliver post-acute, subacute,
intermediate and rehabilitation care services.
Stroke Medicine
24/7 thrombolysis and TIA services. The latter is considered one of the best in the UK
and along with the high standard of vascular surgery locally means one of the best
performances regarding carotid intervention
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