Lifelong learning as serious leisure: policy,practice and potential

This paper seeks to examine the extent to which post-compulsory education can be viewed as a serious leisure activity. Such links between the fields of leisure studies and adult education have yet to be fully explored, especially from a UK perspective. Although Stebbins (1998) has explored the concept of learning serious leisure through adult education, the concept of adult education as serious leisure has yet to be examined. Since 1995 successive UK Governments have engaged in high profile policy initiatives to encourage ‘lifelong learning’, a somewhat controversial concept which has attracted criticism as well as a significant bandwagon. The principal impetus behind the policy is the perceived need to skill the workforce so that industry can operate in an increasingly competitive global market. Emphasized to a much lesser extent, however, is the wish to create a ‘learning society’ in which continual learning, (including that for non-vocational purposes) becomes integral within society, with a subsequent enhancement of social capital. It is argued that it is through learning as ‘serious leisure’, rather than as vocationally oriented that will be most appropriate for such a policy. In this paper the authors have sought to concentrate on this non-vocational dimension of lifelong learning and to explore the links between the concept of serious leisure and lifelong learning. The paper then draws upon literature from the fields of leisure studies and education policy to examine the implications of ‘lifelong learning as leisure’ for the individual, the community and society as a whole.     

Wine market prices and investment under uncertainty: an econometric model for Bordeaux Crus Classés

This paper describes an econometric assessment of wine market prices for 21 of the Crus Classés châteaux in the Bordeaux region of France. The model developed in the analysis attempts to define the relationship between factors that influence wine quality and those that influence wine prices. Characteristics of the models are: (1) climate influences on grape composition (acid and sugar levels), (2) grape composition influences on market prices, (3) subjective quality evaluations (Parker‐points) on market prices, and (4) the effects of age of the wine on market prices. The results indicate that composition levels of Merlot‐dominated wines are more climate sensitive than those from Cabernet Sauvignon‐dominated wines. Overall, warm, dry summers result in high sugar and low acid levels at harvest which in turn lead to higher quality wines. Wine market price sensitivity to Parker‐point ratings indicates that properties with high Cabernet Sauvignon‐dominated wines are highly dependent on the external ratings while Merlot‐dominated wines have a decreased rating sensitivity. Smaller properties tend to gain over proportionally from high ratings indicating great jumps in price from year to year. Additionally, châteaux that have experienced high ratings for past vintages exhibit great sensitivity to point steps in ratings for current vintages. Aging has a positive effect on Bordeaux wine pricing. This is due to the increasing maturity as well as the increasing absolute scarcity. Absolute scarcity of product is expressed by the size of the property, with small properties producing less per vintage and therefore having less in the market. Additionally, Merlot‐dominated wines exhibit more maturing potential and profit more from aging than Cabernet Sauvignon‐dominated wines. Average per château real annual profit ranges from 1 to 10%. High levels of grape ripeness, absolute scarcity, and smaller properties that are dominated by Merlot in their blend lead to the highest profits. Forecasts for a vintage not yet on the market indicates that 1995 is better than 1994 for both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot‐dominated wines, but that 1996 and 1997 are not as good as 1995, especially for Merlot‐dominated wines.     

Predictive safety analytics: inferring aviation accident shaping factors and causation

This paper illustrates the development of an object-oriented Bayesian network (OOBN) to integrate the safety risks contributing to an in-flight loss-of-control aviation accident. With the creation of a probabilistic model, inferences about changes to the states of the accident shaping or causal factors can be drawn quantitatively. These predictive safety inferences derive from qualitative reasoning to conclusions based on data, assumptions, and/or premises, and enable an analyst to identify the most prominent causal factors leading to a risk factor prioritization. Such an approach facilitates a mitigation portfolio study and assessment. The model also facilitates the computation of sensitivity values based on perturbations to the estimates in the conditional probability tables. Such computations lead to identifying the most sensitive causal factors with respect to an accident probability. This approach may lead to vulnerability discovery of emerging causal factors for which mitigations do not yet exist that then informs possible future R&D efforts. To illustrate the benefits of an OOBN in a large and complex aviation accident model, the in-flight loss-of-control accident framework model is presented.     

Sources of power and infrastructural conditions in medieval governmental accounting

The role which accounting plays in power and governance is a key issue in accounting history. This study looks at a crucial development in accounting history, the emergence in the 12th century of Exchequer accounting. Exchequer accounting played a significant part in the rise of the European administrative state. This paper uses Mann’s Model of the sources of power to study the nature and role that accounting played in medieval governance. The ideological, economic, military and political sources of power are shown to be underpinned by key infrastructures such as accounting. The interrelationships between accounting, other medieval infrastructures (such as the feudal system, administrative and territorial organisation, logistics, coinage, and literacy and numerical technologies) and the sources of power are explored.     

UK Accountants' Perceptions of Research Journal Quality

The process of research quality assessment is now firmly established in UK universities. The quality of the journals in which academic papers are published is an important input to the assessment process. The relative quality of these journals is clearly difficult to establish in an objective manner. This paper contributes to the debate about relative quality by conducting a peer review. Eighty-eight UK accounting academics reported their degree of familiarity with, and perceptions of quality of, a total of 44 journals in the accounting and finance discipline. Accounting and Business Research and theBritish Accounting Review were the two most familiar academic journals. The most highly ranked journals were generally from the US.     

Do dividend initiations signal a reduction in risk? Evidence from the option market

We investigate whether dividends convey information about the risk of a company by examining the reaction of implied volatility in the option market to the announcement of a dividend initiation. Implied volatility decreases after the announcement and the magnitude of the decline in volatility is positively related to both the magnitude of cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) in the equity markets and the size of the dividend. Additionally, firms with weaker (stronger) corporate governance experience larger (smaller) declines in implied volatility. Cross sectional analysis shows that a one-standard deviation decline in measures of risk increases the 2-day CAR by 74–137 basis points. Our results suggest that dividend initiations signal declining firm risk.     

Examining the Usefulness of an Accounting Work‐readiness Program as Perceived by Employed Program Graduates

This study investigates the usefulness of an Australian accounting work‐readiness program as perceived by international accounting graduates. Using logistic regression, the study reports the results of a survey of 186 graduates who completed the program in the period 2010–2013 and are now employed in either accounting or non‐accounting roles. The results show that graduates who were employed in an accounting role perceived internships and critical thinking skills to be the most useful curriculum components of the work‐readiness program in obtaining their employment. The findings have implications for various stakeholders, in particular educators and professional bodies involved in the curriculum design of the work‐readiness program. The government also has an interest in the value of this program as they grant visas for international students to study in Australia and fill a skills shortage in the profession. The results also provide insights for other Western economies that attract large numbers of international graduates as skilled migrants.