Professionalization, sectional interests and politics in the digital era: the case of the Greek Accountancy Institute

Although the accounting professionalization project has been thoroughly examined, less effort has been directed towards understanding the role of technological advancements, such as websites, in the development of the institution of accountancy. Considering the popularity of the web and the rapidly expanding number of internet users across the globe, such an investigation may enrich current understandings. This paper seeks to provide insights into the purpose of the construction and use of the Greek accountancy Institute’s website in the 2000s. The Greek Institute is an interesting case for it appears to have set up a website in direct response to the early 2000s legitimacy challenges to its credibility. It is demonstrated that the website constituted a main tool through which the self-image of an adequately self-regulated, homogenous, ethical and trustworthy profession was projected. However, by bringing to the forefront the inherently fragmented nature of the accountancy membership and the inter-professional politics, it is argued that it was devised by the representatives of local accountants who sought to reproduce the status-quo and secure their sectional interests to the detriment of rival, mainly, multinational-groups. The story which unfolds in this paper may have important implications for academic researchers and practitioners as it sheds light upon the role of vocal and influential members who, by controlling essential professional mechanisms, attempt to maintain certain structures and power relations

Editorial: equality, diversity and inclusion in accounting

Editoria

Data Mining for Learning Analytics: does lack of engagement always mean what we think it does?

Context and Objectives Learning Analytics (LA) has the potential to utilise student data to further the advancement of a personalized, supportive system of HE (Johnson et al., 2013). A number of LA systems are now being developed but there have been few studies that have analysed the usage of Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) in order to identify which analytics techniques and sources of data accurately reflect student engagement and achievement. Methods The interactions of 66 students with a Level 4 programming module on a VLE have been analysed via the simple K-means clustering algorithm to identify classes of behaviour and their characteristics. Results Two prominent classes were found with students achieving higher marks attending the lectures and tutorials more regularly and accessing all types of material on the VLE more frequently than students in the lower achieving cluster. However, there were a number of exceptions that had low levels of engagement that gained high marks and vice versa. Discussion A student’s prior experience and characteristics of their degree programme need to be taken into account to avoid incorrectly interpreting high and low levels of engagement. Conclusions The number of times students view online module materials will be an important factor for inclusion in any predictive LA models but must be able to take into account the differences in student backgrounds, delivery styles and subject

Assessment of the Complex Refractive Indices of Xenopus Laevis Sciatic Nerve for the Optimisation of Optical (NIR) Neurostimulation

Despite an increasing interest in the use of light for neural stimulation there is little information on how it interacts with neural tissue. The choice of wavelength in most of the optical stimulation literature is based on already available light sources designed for other applications. This paper is the first one to report the complex refractive index of the Sciatic nerve of Xenopus laevis, which is a crucial parameter for identifying the optimal wavelength of optical stimuli. The Xenopus laevis neural tissue is the most widely used tissue type in peripheral neurostimulation studies. In this work, the Reflectance (R) and the Transmittance (T) of the Sciatic nerve were measured over a wavelength range of 860 nm to 2250 nm, and the corresponding real (n) and the imaginary (k) refractive indices were calculated using appropriate formulae in a novel way. The reported n values were between 1.3-1.44 and the k values are of the order of 10–5 over the full wavelength range. The absorption coefficient, α was found to be 100-500 cm–1. Several localised wavelength ranges were identified that can offer a maximised power coupling between potential optical stimuli and the neural tissue (1150- 1200 nm, 1500-1700 nm and 1900-2050 nm). The narrower regions of 1400-1600 nm and 1850-2150 nm were found to exhibit maximised absorbance. Separately, three regions were identified, where the penetration depths are the greatest (950-1000 nm, 1050-1350 nm and 1600-1900 nm). This paper provides, for the first time, the fundamental specifications for optimising the parameters of optical neurostimulation systems

Optical analysis of Lithium Carbonate: Towards the development of a Portable Lithium Blood Level analyzer for Bipolar Disorder Patients

Lithium medication is the gold standard of treatment in Bipolar Disorder patients, preventing and reducing mood swings and suicidality. However, despite its effectiveness, it is a potentially hazardous drug requiring regular monitoring of blood levels to ensure toxic levels are not reached. This paper describes the first steps towards developing a new portable device that can be used by Bipolar Disorder patients to facilitate the analysis of lithium blood levels at home. Solutions of lithium carbonate have been optically fingerprinted using a high-end spectrophotometer. Preliminary measurements indicate that while the visible to near infrared region of the absorption spectra fall heavily within the water band, measurements in the Ultraviolet region show a strong distinction between different lithium concentrations. The optical spectra of Lithium in the 220 nm to 230 nm region demonstrated the ability to differentiate between concentrations representing those found in patients

Methodology for rapid assessment of blood lithium levels in ultramicro volumes of blood plasma for applications in personal monitoring of patients with bipolar mood disorder

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a common mental health condition, characterized by extreme changes in mood, energy, and behavior. BD is often managed through mood-stabilizing medications, of which lithium formulations remain the most reliable and effective at reducing the risk of suicide. To achieve adequate and consistent efficacy, lithium concentrations need to be maintained within a narrow therapeutic range (0.4 to 1.2  mmol  /  L). Because of its narrow therapeutic index, long-term lithium therapy is associated with serious side effects and risks of toxicity. It is believed that the availability of a personal blood lithium analyzer would benefit patients who are on lithium treatment. We detail the results of a spectrophotometric method performed on ultramicro volumes to determine blood plasma lithium concentrations as compared with reference measurements of flame photometry, and validated in samples of unknown lithium content. Applying multiple linear regression, lithium concentrations could be determined in a rapid manner using full-range spectra or triwavelength data. Both techniques highly correlated with reference standards and could predict lithium levels accurately (R2  =  0.794214 and RMSEP  =  0.209584, and R2  =  0.863921 and RMSEP  =  0.167524, respectively). Therefore, this method can be a useful for rapid assessment of blood lithium in nonlaboratory settings i.e., general practices, hospital clinics, and community health centers by healthcare professionals and/or by patients. Future work will now focus on completion of a miniaturized and integrated system that will deliver a portable and personal lithium-monitoring device

Crystal Structure Studies of Human Dental Apatite as a Function of Age

Studies of the average crystal structure properties of human dental apatite as a function of the tooth-age in the range of 5-87 years are reported. The crystallinity of the dental hydroxyapatite decreases with the tooth-age. The a-lattice constant that is associated with the carbonate content in carbonate apatite decreases with the tooth-age in a systematic way, whereas the c-lattice constant does not change significantly. Thermogravimetric measurements demonstrate an increase of the carbonate content with the tooth-age. FTIR spectroscopy reveals both, B and A-type carbonate substitutions with the B-type greater than the A-type substitution by a factor up to ~5. An increase of the carbonate content as a function of the tooth-age can be deduced from the ratio of the v2 CO3 to the v1 PO4 IR modes.Comment: 17 page

Is diapause an ancient adaptation in Drosophila?

D. melanogaster enters a state of reproductive arrest when exposed to low temperatures (12 °C) and shorter photoperiods. A number of studies have suggested that diapause has recently evolved in European D. melanogaster populations, that it is not present in the sibling species D. simulans, that it is non-photoperiodic in American D. melanogaster populations, and that it spontaneously terminates after 6–8 weeks. We have studied the overwintering phenotype under different conditions and observe that American, European and, surprisingly, African D. melanogaster populations can show photoperiodic diapause, as can European, but not African D. simulans. Surprisingly other Drosophila species from pan-tropical regions can also show significant levels of photoperiodic diapause. We observe that spontaneous termination of diapause after a few weeks can be largely avoided with a more realistic winter simulation for D. melanogaster, but not D. simulans. Examining metabolite accumulation during diapause reveals that the shallow diapause of D. melanogaster has similar features to that of other more robustly-diapausing species. Our results suggest that diapause may be an ancient character that emerged in the tropics to resist unfavourable seasonal conditions and which has been enhanced during D. melanogaster’s colonisation of temperate regions. Our results also highlight how different methodologies to quantify diapause can lead to apparently conflicting results that we believe can now largely be resolved

A Method for Rapid, Reliable, and Low-Volume Measurement of Lithium in Blood for Use in Bipolar Disorder Treatment Management

GOAL: Lithium preparations are considered the most reliable mood stabilizers for patients with Bipolar Disorder (BD), and are the most effective at reducing the risk of suicide. However, maintaining blood lithium concentration within the narrow therapeutic range of 0.4-1.2 mEq is crucial but extremely difficult. The aim of this work is to develop a personal lithium blood level analyzer using a novel method of combined optical and electrical impedance spectroscopy to test micro volumes of spiked samples of human blood. RESULTS: Impedance measurements alone showed a limit of detection of less than 0.1 mEq within the therapeutic range, whereas optical measurements could verify the presence of lithium and provide a degree of lithium content. Optical specificity to lithium was further verified in qualitative assessment of lithium spiked blood samples with varying concentrations of sodium. Moreover, analysis of multiple linear regression yielded a prediction model of R2 = 0.322716 and RMSEP =0.223602 for optical measurements only using feature wavelengths, which were found to appear at minima 560 and 605 nm. Combined with impedance measurements, prediction of lithium concentration in samples with unknown lithium content was significantly increased to R2 = 0.876438, and RMSEP = 0.513554. CONCLUSION: The combination of optical and impedance modalities for determinations of blood lithium resulted in significant improvement to the sensitivity and accuracy of measurement. SIGNIFICANCE: Results are complementary of the proposed opto-impedance method, and future work will now focus on the technical development of an integrated and miniaturized system for measurement of lithium levels in blood with a high level of accuracy and sensitivity

Disrupted Glutamate Signaling in Drosophila Generates Locomotor Rhythms in Constant Light

We have used the Cambridge Protein Trap resource (CPTI) to screen for flies whose locomotor rhythms are rhythmic in constant light (LL) as a means of identifying circadian photoreception genes. From the screen of ∼150 CPTI lines, we obtained seven hits, two of which targeted the glutamate pathway, Got1 (Glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase 1) and Gs2 (Glutamine synthetase 2). We focused on these by employing available mutants and observed that variants of these genes also showed high levels of LL rhythmicity compared with controls. It was also clear that the genetic background was important with a strong interaction observed with the common and naturally occurring timeless (tim) polymorphisms, ls-tim and s-tim. The less circadian photosensitive ls-tim allele generated high levels of LL rhythmicity in combination with Got1 or Gs2, even though ls-tim and s-tim alleles do not, by themselves, generate the LL phenotype. The use of dsRNAi for both genes as well as for Gad (Glutamic acid decarboxylase) and the metabotropic glutamate receptor DmGluRA driven by clock gene promoters also revealed high levels of LL rhythmicity compared to controls. It is clear that the glutamate pathway is heavily implicated in circadian photoreception. TIM levels in Got1 and Gs2 mutants cycled and were more abundant than in controls under LL. Got1 but not Gs2 mutants showed diminished phase shifts to 10 min light pulses. Neurogenetic dissection of the LL rhythmic phenotype using the gal4/gal80 UAS bipartite system suggested that the more dorsal CRY-negative clock neurons, DNs and LNds were responsible for the LL phenotype. Immunocytochemistry using the CPTI YFP tagged insertions for the two genes revealed that the DN1s but not the DN2 and DN3s expressed Got1 and Gs2, but expression was also observed in the lateral neurons, the LNds and s-LNvs. Expression of both genes was also found in neuroglia. However, downregulation of glial Gs2 and Got1 using repo-gal4 did not generate high levels of LL rhythmicity, so it is unlikely that this phenotype is mediated by glial expression. Our results suggest a model whereby the DN1s and possibly CRY-negative LNds use glutamate signaling to supress the pacemaker s-LNvs in LL