Insights on poverty

Many development agencies seek to work on behalf of the 'poor' and the 'poorest of the poor', often creating external definitions of poverty and of people living in poverty that are based on a complex list of things that the poor do not have. There are others who have spearheaded efforts to define poverty based on criteria derived from members of (largely) rural communities, many of whom would be considered poor. All such definitions ultimately result in some type of grouping of people into different categories of 'poor people'. By creating a list of characteristics of poverty, agencies believe that they are better able to target 'the poor' as beneficiaries of interventions to eradicate poverty. This article is intended to challenge development organisations (governmental and non-governmental) to look beyond simple definitions of poverty that are based on static characteristics. It is intended to provoke readers to re-evaluate some of their ideas about definitions of poverty, and to critically examine their agency's role in the business of poverty.     

Can Reinforcement Induce Children to Falsely Incriminate Themselves?

This study examined whether reinforcement can induce children to falsely incriminate themselves. Ninety-nine children in kindergarten through third grade were questioned regarding the staged theft of a toy. Half received reinforcement for self-incriminating responses. Within 4 min reinforced children made 52% false admissions of guilty knowledge concerning the theft, and 30% false admissions of having witnessed it. Corresponding figures for controls were 36 and 10%. Twelve percent of children admitted to participating in the theft, but the effect of reinforcement was only marginally significant. The findings indicate that reinforcement can induce children to falsely implicate themselves in wrongdoing.     

FRAMING THE VICTIM

This paper analyses the (re-)presentation of rape complainant testimony on three Australian television programs which investigate the issue of football and sexual assault. The ways in which the testimony is framed—the use of others’ narrations, ‘expert’ testimony, and conventional film techniques such as music and editing—are critical in determining whether the woman's words are likely to be believed. Although the framing process is fraught, and complainants are frequently objectified and the authority of their words undermined, there is nevertheless great potential for the framing of a complainant's narrative to lend it truth-value and present it as believable.     

Sustainability reporting: How consistency and interdependence in financial and managerial accounting enhance eco-controls

Sustainability reporting requires consistency and interdependency of financial accounting and managerial accounting. Accounting is closely entangled with the eco control (EC) in organisations. The quality of (sustainability) reporting and the disclosures is only as good as the quality and consistency of accounting data captured. Therefore, accounting choices and practises have an important role to play in sustainability reporting. This study explores the mechanism through which accounting informs EC. Through the independent and serial use of two levers, first ‘interdependency’ between financial accounting and management accounting and second, though the use of ‘digitalized information’ as a moderating variable, it is probed as to how EC are shaped. An empirical investigation is undertaken by carefully curating primary data, analysed through partial least squares structural equation modelling technique to inform broader debates in the ‘sustainability reporting’ literature concerning the mechanisms through which EC, are influenced by accounting mechanics, choices and disclosures. Sound EC contributes to sustainability accounting and governance to meet needs of the firms direct and indirect stakeholders without comprising the firm's ability to meet the needs of future stakeholders. The study established that the interdependency between the financial accountants and the management accountants output, mediates the effect of a consistent financial language on EC practises and this effect is independent of the firm size or the industry category. This article brings to the fore, the interplay of FA and MA in informing the environmental controls. The under researched perspective addressed by this study is that EC are highly interdependent with the consistency and comprehensiveness of accounting that informs it which in turn is effected by the cooperation and coordination (interdependency) between FA and MA information providers.     

HUNTER‐GATHERER COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE

This article describes the development of a practice group based on a hunter‐gatherer model, with the mission of providing high quality collaborative divorce services, with an emphasis on protecting children and divorcing partners, and expanding access to middle‐ and lower‐income families. The practice group professional disciplines include law, mental health divorce coaching, co‐parent coaching, financial analysis, and case administration. These professionals have collectively associated their individual practices to address challenges facing their collaborative practices. With common purpose, the practice group builds skills, generates client base, nurtures trust, and lays a common knowledge base. Collaborative divorce teams formed from its members serve divorcing families with efficient, cost‐conscious, interest‐based negotiation processes that protect children and help parties productively move on with their lives.