Accounting colonization: Three case studies in further education

The colonizing power of accounting in the public domain was linked to coercive institutional processes [Broadbent J, Laughlin R. Developing empirical research: an example informed by a Habermasian approach. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 1997;10(5):622–48]. To further explore processes of accounting change in the public domain, three linked case studies were undertaken, from a Habermasian standpoint, at a local Learning and Skills Council and two Further Education Colleges in England. Adopting a critical constructionist methodology, three interpretations of the data were developed suggesting that aspects of accounting were colonizing, implicated in legitimation and rationality crises and implicated in ambivalent managerial roles. A double hermeneutic, based in phenomenology, was then undertaken to critique the theory which underpinned these interpretations, leading to the development of an extended theory of colonization to include coercive (mock obedience; real obedience), instrumental (devious compliance; dialogic compliance) and discursive processes (discursively pathological; discursively benign). The way accounting colonization is theorised has implications for the critical theme of how desired accounting changes might be identified and initiated.     

The Impact of Adjustment Programme On Manufacturing Industries In Nigeria, 1986–1991: A Sample Study

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of adjustment programme on manufacturing industries in Nigeria. A survey of 370 manufacturing industries randomly selected was undertaken in several parts of the country. It is found that the adjustment policies had different effects on profits, capacity utilization, sales, exports, employment and production costs in different industries. Overall, the results show that industrial sub-groups such as food and beverages, textiles and clothings, and other consumer products, most of which Nigeria has comparative advantage benefitted positively from the reforms. Capital industries in the chemical, pharmaceutical, electronics, electrical and metals were severely affected in terms of profits, capacity utilization and local sourcing of raw materials. Résumé: Ce document examine l'impact du programme d'adjustement sur les industries manufacturières au Nigeria. Une étude portant sur un échantillonnagc aléatoire de 370 unités industriellcs a été menée en différentes régions du pays. Cette étude a démontré que sclon l'industrie en cause, la politique d'adjustcment a des incidences différentes sur les bénéfices, l'utilisation des capacités, les ventes, les exportations, 1'emploi et les autres produits de consommation pour lcsqucls le Nigéria bénéficie d'une avantage comparatif, les réformes ont cu des retombées favorablcs. En revanche, les industries à forte intensité de capital, telles que l'industrie chimiquc et pharmaceutique, l'électroniquc, l'électricité et la métallurgie, se sont fortement rcsscntics des conséquences des réformes en termes de profits, d'utilisation des capacités et d'approvisionnement local en matières premières.     

Interweaving thematic threads and learning pathways: Noonautics and Wizdomes

The paper challenges the assumptions regarding the adequacy of the organization of information in support of communication and dialogue. Beyond the over simplification of bullet points, and recognition of nested menu items and discussion threads, the question is what further structuring can be envisaged and how can its many possible levels be fruitfully distinguished to enable the emergence of more integrative and mature modes of discourse. The argument is presented as important to the support of higher orders of collective intelligence. Use is made of the weaving metaphor to contrast with the cognitively alienating conventional representation of system diagrams and concept maps.     

Has Australia's floating exchange rate regime been optimal?

This paper develops a straightforward theoretical framework for evaluating exchange rate regime choice for small economies. It proposes that a floating exchange rate minimises national income and employment variation when real macroeconomic shocks predominate, whereas a pegged exchange rate achieves this goal should monetary shocks predominate. It then shows econometrically that, in the case of Australia, a floating exchange rate best suited the economy for the period 1985 to 2010, because real shocks were more significant than monetary shocks. Moreover, consistent with the theory, further results showing that a stronger (weaker) exchange rate correlated with positive (negative) deviations from trend GDP affirm that a floating exchange rate regime was optimal for Australia over this time.