Not all flavor expertise is equal : The language of wine and coffee experts

People in Western cultures are poor at naming smells and flavors. However, for wine and coffee experts, describing smells and flavors is part of their daily routine. So are experts better than lay people at conveying smells and flavors in language? If smells and flavors are more easily linguistically expressed by experts, or more "codable", then experts should be better than novices at describing smells and flavors. If experts are indeed better, we can also ask how general this advantage is: do experts show higher codability only for smells and flavors they are expert in (i.e., wine experts for wine and coffee experts for coffee) or is their linguistic dexterity more general? To address these questions, wine experts, coffee experts, and novices were asked to describe the smell and flavor of wines, coffees, everyday odors, and basic tastes. The resulting descriptions were compared on a number of measures. We found expertise endows a modest advantage in smell and flavor naming. Wine experts showed more consistency in how they described wine smells and flavors than coffee experts, and novices; but coffee experts were not more consistent for coffee descriptions. Neither expert group was any more accurate at identifying everyday smells or tastes. Interestingly, both wine and coffee experts tended to use more source-based terms (e.g., vanilla) in descriptions of their own area of expertise whereas novices tended to use more evaluative terms (e.g., nice). However, the overall linguistic strategies for both groups were en par. To conclude, experts only have a limited, domain-specific advantage when communicating about smells and flavors. The ability to communicate about smells and flavors is a matter not only of perceptual training, but specific linguistic training too

A critical evaluation of competency development in a professional accounting programme

This paper reports on a study of the efficacy of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand’s (ICANZ) Professional Accounting School (PAS) programme in developing a set of competencies in candidates. The study surveyed ICANZ candidates’ perceptions of their competence levels for 16 specified skills at the commencement and conclusion of the 1999 PAS programme. The findings indicate that candidates perceived their levels of competence – for both cognitive and behavioural skills – to have been significantly improved by the PAS programme. Tests of two secondary hypotheses in the study indicate certain gender- and firm-based differences in the perceived level of competence of candidates. The results of the study provide the ICANZ with feedback on the PAS programme and facilitate the further development of the programme. Other professional accounting bodies may consider replicating this study using data collected on similar programmes. The results of such studies may then be compared to enhance the existing knowledge of competency development in professional accounting education

Honours' students perception of the usefulness of case studies for learning

Recent accounting and finance education literature indicates a trend towards increasing use of case studies. The literature in this field is primarily descriptive, with no empirical evidence on the use or effectiveness of the method. This study examines students’ perceptions of the use of case studies in a finance course and the potential influences of gender and prior academic performance on such perceptions. The study focuses, in particular, on students’ perceptions about whether case studies develop particular skills suggested in the literature. The questionnaire based study was conducted in a post graduate (Honours) class at a South African university. Analyses of the results reveal significant differences in students' perceptions of the benefits of the use of cases. Gender and prior academic performance based differences in perception were also found. The study is useful for educators who use, or intend to use, case studies in delivering a course, as it highlights issues, such as the learning objectives of the course, which need to be addressed prior to curriculum design

Constructing an intermodal learning culture: How accounting students deploy language resources to learn across classroom and online environments

The advantages and disadvantages of using asynchronous and synchronous online forums have been documented in prior literature. However, limited research has explored their practical implementation and the impact they each have had on student learning. This paper addresses this gap, describing course changes that led to the implementation of a blended learning approach incorporating asynchronous and synchronous online chats into a second year university management accounting course. Furthermore, the paper explores, in detail, the learning experiences of students who participated in the synchronous online chat at a New Zealand university by examining one of the sessions in detail. Specifically, the paper explores, using discourse analysis, how the students deployed a sequence of casual and formal language resources to build the solidarity and trust required for a blend of face-to-face and online learning environments. This inter-modal community culture then provided for the acquisition of accounting skills. The analysis shows that the synchronous online chat instantiates and reveals a culture of learning across face-to-face and online modes. Students regarded the chat room as a place in which risks could be taken in their relationships with their teacher(s) and classmates and subsequently with their understanding of accounting concepts. This highlights the benefits synchronous online interactions can have in a blended learning environment

Industry perspective workshop program : an instructional case used to enhance student engagement and integrate group processing skills in the introductory accounting curriculum

The professional environment in which accountants operate has, in recent years, become increasingly complex, leading to significant changes within the profession. Employers are calling for the increased development of 'non-technical' skills, such as critical thinking and the ability to communicate and engage with clients, within current graduates in order to meet the needs of the evolving and dynamic profession (Kavanagh and Drennan, 2008; Hancock et al., 2010). In order for this to occur, real integration of non-technical skills' development into the accounting curriculum needs to take place. This instructional case tries to achieve this, providing students with an opportunity to apply theoretical accounting concepts to the creation of their own business, whilst actively developing their group processing skills. The primary objective of the case is to provide students with an opportunity to acquire technical accounting skills concurrently with group processing skills and other non-technical skills. A secondary objective of the case is to encourage students to engage with the technical learning material in the introductory accounting curriculum. This paper describes the design of an Industry Perspective Workshop Program that incorporates the comprehensive integration of group processing skills and accounting-related content within an introductory accounting decision-making course.30 page(s

The dual group of a dense subgroup

summary:Throughout this abstract, $G$ is a topological Abelian group and $\widehat{G}$ is the space of continuous homomorphisms from $G$ into the circle group $\mathbb{T}$ in the compact-open topology. A dense subgroup $D$ of $G$ is said to determine $G$ if the (necessarily continuous) surjective isomorphism $\widehat{G}\twoheadrightarrow \widehat{D}$ given by $h\mapsto h\big |D$ is a homeomorphism, and $G$ is determined if each dense subgroup of $G$ determines $G$. The principal result in this area, obtained independently by L. Außenhofer and M. J. Chasco, is the following: Every metrizable group is determined. The authors offer several related results, including these. 1. There are (many) nonmetrizable, noncompact, determined groups. 2. If the dense subgroup $D_i$ determines $G_i$ with $G_i$ compact, then $\oplus _iD_i$ determines $\Pi _i G_i$. In particular, if each $G_i$ is compact then $\oplus _i G_i$ determines $\Pi _i G_i$. 3. Let $G$ be a locally bounded group and let $G^+$ denote $G$ with its Bohr topology. Then $G$ is determined if and only if ${G^+}$ is determined. 4. Let $\mathop {\mathrm non}({\mathcal N})$ be the least cardinal $\kappa$ such that some $X \subseteq {\mathbb{T}}$ of cardinality $\kappa$ has positive outer measure. No compact $G$ with $w(G)\ge \mathop {\mathrm non}({\mathcal N})$ is determined; thus if $\mathop {\mathrm non}({\mathcal N})=\aleph _1$ (in particular if CH holds), an infinite compact group $G$ is determined if and only if $w(G)=\omega$. Question. Is there in ZFC a cardinal $\kappa$ such that a compact group $G$ is determined if and only if $w(G)<\kappa$? Is $\kappa =\mathop {\mathrm non}({\mathcal N})$? $\kappa =\aleph _1$