Class length and student performance: An extended study

Many accounting educators believe that the student learning of accounting is better facilitated over a longer period of time, rather than a shorter period of time. This study examined the results of student performance in two introductory accounting courses, comparing student performance results of four-week summer classes with the results of traditional 16-week courses. In this research, the same professor taught the spring and summer ACC 201 courses, and two other professors taught both the spring and summer ACC 211 courses. Also held constant were the lecture material, course assignment, and test content. The results of the study indicate that in general, students taking introductory accounting over four weeks fare about as well as students who take introductory accounting over a traditional 16-week period. These results have potential importance beyond accounting education and provide support to universities offering more block courses to better serve individual student needs.     

Book Reviews

Yujiro Hayami and Toshihiko Kawagoe, The Agrarian Origins of Commerce and Industry: A Study of Peasant Marketing in Indonesia (with a foreword by Peter Timmer), St Martins Press, New York, 1993, pp. 208.

J. Thomas Lindblad, Between Dayak and Dutch: The Economic History of Southeast Kalimantan 1880–1942, Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde No. 134, Foris Publications, Dordrecht, 1988, pp. x + 282. Dfl. 30.-.

Mark Cleary and Peter Eaton, Borneo: Change and Development, Oxford University Press, Singapore, 1992, pp. ix + 271. A$44.95

James Spillane, Komoditi Kopi: Peranannya dalam Perekonomian Indonesia [Coffee: Its Role in the Indonesian Economy], Kanisius, Jakarta, 1990, pp. 259.

United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Indonesia: Growth and Diversification, Industrial Development Review Series, Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), London, 1993, pp. xxiii + 255. £95.     

Pinning and Promotion: How Local Television Stations Are Using Pinterest for Branding and Audience Connectivity

Over the past decade, social media have become an increasingly important component in the ways broadcasters communicate with their audiences. A relative newcomer to that mix is the social network Pinterest, which enables followers to post photos and other types of visuals based on topics of interest. A content analysis examined how 85 local television stations are using that social network for promotion and branding. Results showed that, rather than promotion, use of Pinterest primarily revolves around lifestyle content, including postings by stations and interactivity by followers.     

Value and risk in business-to-business e-banking

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of risk in the formation of perceptions of value in the b2b domain, specifically within e-banking. The functional relationships between three types of risk (performance, financial and psychological) and the benefits and sacrifices components of value are tested within a broader nomological network that includes e-service quality (as an antecedent of value) and satisfaction, word-of-mouth and intention to switch (as outcomes of value). The hypothesised relationships are tested, using Partial Least Squares, on data collected through a postal survey from 167 UK-based SME organisations. The results confirm the significant but differential impact of the three types of risk on the two value components. Specifically performance risk and financial risk are found to be significant determinants of benefits, while psychological risk impacts on perceptions of sacrifices. We also provide evidence of the differential impact of the benefits and sacrifices components of value on satisfaction, and the existence of both direct and indirect (through satisfaction) impact of these components on word-of-mouth and intention to switch. This is the first documented empirical investigation of the impact of perceptions of risk in the study of perceptions of value within the domain of b2b marketing and consequently offers new insights into the subject matter. The theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed and the manner in which the identified relationships can aid future research are explicated.     

Facing Adversity: Authentic Stories of Living and Working with Panic Attacks

This paper presents stories of adversity, as voiced by those that live and work with panic attacks. Respondents of this exploratory, phenomenological study, conducted in Sydney, Australia, shared their experiences of living and working with panic attacks. Two themes (and five sub-themes) of their reported lived experiences are presented here, including: A Changed Life (including sub-themes of: a seismic shift; a creeping change, and not knowing); and, Being Alone (with sub-themes of: withdrawing from the world; and professional non-support). Amidst their experiences of panic-related adversity, the 18 respondents reported trying to maintain—often without success—their working lives and selves. The often profound implications for employees working with panic are discussed, including the urgent need for further research.     

Progress Made on China-U.S.Trade Relationship at the 22nd JCCT Session

China and the United States concluded the 22nd session of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) on November 21 in Chengdu, China. Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan cochaired the two-day meeting with U.S. Secretary of Commerce John Bryson and U.S