The Effectiveness of PowerPoint presentations in the Accounting Classroom

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness (or not) of using PowerPoint in an accounting classroom. The study focuses on the relationship between students' preferences regarding PowerPoint and their academic performance in the accounting classroom. The study was conducted using the survey method, in which the data was collected from a questionnaire administered to 189 undergraduate students in a medium-size Japanese university. The results of this study show a significant relationship between students' preferences regarding PowerPoint media and their academic performance as shown in their examination scores. Consequently, it was suggested that incorporating multimedia into the accounting classroom does not necessarily provide a simple solution to improving the effectiveness of students' learning outcomes.     

“Community” economic development in Knowsley, Merseyside. Rhetoric versus reality

The European Union's long-term goal for regional policy is economic and social cohesion. In Merseyside the Union has been engaged in a range of policies, through Objective 1 status, to stimulate regional economic development. In view of the current government's concern to promote capacity building and community economic development, an interesting aspect of Objective 1 is Pathways to Integration, a policy that seeks to tackle the problems of high unemployment and social exclusion across Merseyside through community economic development and capacity building. This paper contrasts the rhetoric of the Pathways literature with the reality of its local delivery in the Knowsley Borough of Merseyside. It argues that the reality of Pathways, particularly in relation to community involvement, does not match the rhetoric and the local delivery has been problematic, and that this experience has important lessons for local economic development strategies that include a large element of capacity building.