The Silenced: An Artistic Analysis of Memory and Conflict

The ability to tell stories has always been one I considered most valuable. Histories have been passed down across generations, tales of war and independence, of crimes and justice. Storytelling is not unique to one particular culture or people, instead traversing divides both geographic and societal. This permeation of words, of voices that convey histories both real and imagined is the driving force behind my thesis. The culmination of my research, which is outlined in the following reflection, is an original short play. While based on the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the play speaks to the power behind every story and how that power shapes both collective and individual memory

Nd:YAG laser-assisted turning of difficult-to-machine silicon nitride

Hot machining has been applied to the turning of extremely hard metals. Ceramics materials have been traditionally formed to near net shape and fired. If finer tolerances are required, then the fired part is ground. The cost of the grinding operation is expensive, up to 90% of a parts total costs are grinding costs. Previous attempts to use lasers for hot machining of ceramics by carbon dioxide lasers have resulted in severe degradation of material properties. Carbon dioxide and Nd:YAG laser assisted machining of ceramics were evaluated based on the physics, materials, and mechanics of the process to determine the feasibility of the process. These factors were also evaluated to determine the limitations of carbon dioxide and Nd:YAG laser assisted machining and candidate materials. Nd:YAG laser assisted machining of silicon nitride experimentally produces a surface finish of 0.3 micrometers. The structure of hot isostatic pressed silicon nitride is grains of beta silicon nitride separated by intergranular silica SiO2, TiO2 and other rare earth oxides. These oxides are transparent to Nd:YAG laser wavelength of 1064 nanometer but the beta structure is highly absorbing. The beta structure is thermal shock resistant where the oxides are not thermal shock resistant. Consequently, Nd:YAG laser assistance of the turning results in softening of the tougher grain by irradiation with softening of the intergranular oxides only by conduction of heat from the grain. Carbon dioxide laser wavelength of 10600 nanometer is absorbed readily by the oxide glasses but not as readily as the beta Si3N4 and would result in the fracture of the intergranular oxides without softening of the grains

PCAOB inspections: An analysis of entity-level and application-level control audit deficiencies

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) inspection process identifies deficiencies related to how firms conduct audits. Our work extends prior research by examining the type of internal control audit deficiencies (entity-level or application-level). Internal control audit deficiencies of both types may increase the risk of material misstatement, so the PCAOB is concerned with whether audit firms are performing appropriate procedures to identify entity-level and application-level internal control audit deficiencies, including those involving information technology general controls (ITGCs). Using text analysis to examine audit deficiencies by internal control type and firm size, we find that PCAOB inspection reports identify significantly more application-level than entity-level control audit deficiencies. Application-level control deficiencies generally involve revenue, inventory, and accounts receivable accounts whereas entity-level deficiencies often involve lack of centralized controls or controls over period end financial reporting. The number of application-level deficiencies identified for both Big 4 and second-tier firms varied between inspection years 2010 and 2015. However, the number of entity-level deficiencies, including ITGCs for both Big 4 and second-tier firms, held nearly steady during the period. Our findings should be of interest to practicing accountants, regulators, and other users of PCAOB inspection reports

Social Technology: An Integrated Strategy and Risk Management Framework

Accounting firms, corporations, and nonprofits use social technology to attract and develop employees, manage business intelligence, innovate business processes, engage clients, customers, and members, and disseminate information to investors and regulators. Despite its benefits, social technology\u27s unique reach and speed create new risks for managers, accountants, and auditors. Based upon prior research and modifications to Kaplan and Norton\u27s (2004) balanced scorecard and the COSO (2017) Enterprise Risk Management framework, we develop an Integrated Social Technology Strategy and Risk Management Framework to model risk management during strategy selection and implementation. A field investigation involving three large accounting organizations supports the framework\u27s representativeness for the accounting profession. This research identifies significant benefits, risks, and effective risk management controls for social technology strategies, from governance to monitoring activities. These results suggest this framework\u27s potential usefulness to managers, auditors, consultants, and researchers examining how social technology can provide value to organizations

Pro Forma Accounting Reconciliation Disclosures: The Effect of Financial Reporting Knowledge and Information Viewing Behavior on Judgments of Nonprofessional Investors

This study extends prior research by examining the extent to which financial reporting knowledge and information viewing behavior affect the influence of reconciled non-GAAP, or “pro forma” earnings disclosures on nonprofessional investors’ judgments. We find that the effects of pro forma earnings information on participants’ judgments differ, depending on their level of financial reporting knowledge and the amount of time they spent viewing the earnings reconciliation relative to other earnings information. Our results suggest that the effectiveness of financial reporting regulation may be dependent on characteristics of the general investing public that vary across investors. Regulators and standard setters need to be aware of the possible differential effects of financial reporting knowledge and investor type as they consider non-GAAP earnings reporting requirements

Investor Attitudes, Investment Screen Use, and Socially Responsible Investment Behavior

There is an increasing demand for socially responsible investment (SRI), and SRI screens are an important source of information for investors. Yet, little is known about the relationship between investors’ attitudes, use of SRI screens, and actual SRI behavior. To examine this relationship, we gathered data on investors’ environmental attitudes, use of SRI screens, and SRI behavior. We find that four out of five components of the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale, a measure of basic environmental attitudes, are associated with specific attitudes towards environmentally responsible investment. These specific attitudes in turn are positively associated with SRI screen use, and SRI screen use is positively associated with the percentage of investors’ portfolio held in SRIs. There is also a significant direct relationship between specific environmentally responsible investment attitudes and SRI holdings. Our results suggest that there are complex, multi-dimensional relationships between investor attitudes, SRI screen use, and investment behavior

Information Technology in an Audit Context: Have the Big 4 Lost Their Advantage?

Audit firms use information technology (IT) to improve audit quality, effectiveness, and efficiency. While audit IT has evolved over the past decade, limited guidance is available to assist practitioners in determining how IT can be used. Our research objectives are fourfold. First, we examine to what extent auditors use and assess the perceived importance of IT in their audits. Second, we look at different-sized firms to determine whether IT adoption and implementation decisions differ by firm size. Third, we investigate changes in auditors\u27 use and perceived importance of IT over the past decade. Fourth, we examine whether IT has impacted the communication modes used by auditors when reviewing workpapers and fraud brainstorming. Overall, Big 4 auditors were not significantly more likely to use IT than non-Big 4 auditors, suggesting that the dominance of the Big 4 firms\u27 use of IT has lessened. In fact, there are a few applications where non-Big 4 auditors appear to have taken the lead. In addition, our findings indicate that auditors have increased the use of all the IT applications we examined ten years ago. However, we find evidence that auditors may prefer to use even more IT in their audits than they are currently using

It\u27s just a game, or is it? Real money, real income, and real taxes in virtual worlds

Virtual worlds like Second Life offer players opportunities to earn real-world income through their activities in the game. It will not be long before governments begin to establish policies and regulations regarding the income generated by players of these game environments. This paper examines the issue of taxes in virtual world games. Two alternative places for recognizing income could be established by regulators: 1) at the point when in-game transactions take place; or 2) when players convert game assets into real-world currency. We argue for realization of income, and therefore taxation, at the exchange. We expect that burdensome policies such as requiring game operators to monitor and report taxable activities to the authorities will dissuade game play and likely result in the collapse of these vibrant economies. Therefore, our recommendation is that the IRS should establish specific rules that inform players about how they should calculate income and work with game operators to inform participants of both the rules and consequences for non-compliance

Measuring & Mapping Mortality in the Elm City: Identifying and Addressing Health Inequities in New Haven with Years of Potential Life Lost (YPLL) and Other Health Determinants

Population health in the City of New Haven, including health care access, health outcomes, and mortality, is influenced by socioeconomic disparities. These disparities exist on both the individual and neighborhood scale, and across demographics such as age, sex, race, and ethnicity. Continued analyses to understand these disparities is imperative to elucidate public health concerns and to design and to implement appropriate initiatives and interventions. The objectives of this study were as follows: To measure the leading causes of death, average life expectancy, and premature death in New Haven using mortality data and stratifying by key variables including age, sex, race, and ethnicity, and to characterize the relationships between mortality, geographic location, and other demographic variables.https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/ysph_pbchrr/1019/thumbnail.jp

Do environmental responsibility views influence investors’ use of environmental performance and assurance information?

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate whether investor views regarding the benefits of corporate environmental responsibility moderate the influence of environmental performance and assurance information on their judgments. Specifically, the authors examine the effects of two broad views: environmental responsibility is more important than financial performance, regardless of investment returns (i.e. environmental responsibility importance) and positive environmental performance will increase investment returns (i.e. environmental performance return). Design/methodology/approach – Nonprofessional investors completed an online study where environmental performance (high or low) and assurance on environmental performance information (present or absent) were varied. Participants’ corporate environmental responsibility views were assessed using a series of questions adapted from Cheah et al.’s (2011) study. Findings – Environmental performance and assurance information had a greater influence on the investment judgments of investors with strong environmental responsibility views. In contrast, participants’ environmental performance return views did not moderate the influence of environmental performance and assurance information on their judgments. Supplemental analysis indicates that these contrasting results are due to the fact that the two investor views have differing influences on the relative importance that investors place on financial vs environmental performance information. Research limitations/implications – This study presented participants with summarized financial and environmental performance information to maintain scale compatibility between financial and environmental measures. However, the information was presented in a format similar to those used by online brokerages. Practical implications – This study suggests that financial statement preparers should consider investors’ views regarding the importance and value of environmental performance information when making decisions to disclose and obtain assurance on this information. Social implications – Standard setters should consider individual differences among investors when developing guidance regarding the disclosure and assurance of environmental performance information. Originality/value – There is limited prior research which examines how investors’ views of the importance of environmental performance information may influence investment judgments. This research indicates that the strength of investors’ environmental responsibility importance moderates the previously reported influence of environmental performance and assurance information on investment judgments