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Does age similarity between audit committee chair and engagement partner affect audit quality?
No full textThe psychology literature suggests that individuals who are similar in age are likely to be mentally connected and similarly minded, leading to better communication and efficient information sharing. Given that the relationship between audit committee (AC) and engagement partner (EP) involves extensive interactions and information sharing with the aim to protect the integrity offinancial statements, this study seeks an answer as to whether age similarity between audit committee chair (ACC) and EP affects audit quality. Using the United Kingdom (UK) FTSE350 index between 2010 and 2018, we find that ACC–EP age similarity improves accruals quality and decreases the likelihood of restatements. Beyond its contribution to the literature, this study offersvaluable contribution for practitioners to consider age gap between these two persons
W(h)ither Calculus in Engineering Programmes?
No full textThis paper provides a commentary on the article of Faulkener, Gonzalez-Martin, Gueudet, Ralston & Hieb (2025) relating to calculus in engineering programmes. In particular, it addresses the questions of "What mathematics should be taught to engineering undergraduates?", "How should mathematics be taught to engineering undergraduates?", "Who should teach mathematics to engineering undergraduates?" and "Why is mathematics taught to engineering undergraduates?
Efficient Production of Ultrafine Poly-p-Phenylene Benzobisoxazole Nanofibres for High-Performance Polyurea Nanocomposites
No full textThe superb properties of poly-p-phenylene benzobisoxazole nanofibres (PNFs) have been realized in research institutes for advanced applications, such as military and aerospace industries. However, PNFs experiences major challenges in production and retaining their integrity after breaking into nanoscale. The current study succeeded to efficiently prepare reinforcing PNFs within considerably short time via ball-milling sol-gel disruption (BM-SGD) method. The BM-SGD method was able to produce ultrafine PNFs with diameters of 20 ±5 nm at a concentration of 1 wt% in only 24 min; the method is ready for rapid and scalable production of PNFs. The intense collisions and shear forces during ball milling improve contact between fibres and reactants, accelerating the dissolution of fibres into a PNF sol. A wall-breaking step is used to disrupt PNF network to be integrated into polyurea matrix. The ultra-high specific surface area and surface functional groups of PNFs facilitate strong physical and chemical cross-linking with polyurea (PUA), leading to significant enhancement in its mechanical properties; tensile strength and Young's modulus of polyurea increased by 111.75% and 106.10%, respectively upon adding only 0.25 wt% PNFs. Additionally, the PUA/PNF nanocomposite demonstrates excellent corrosion resistance, as evidenced by the Tafel polarization test. The PUA/PNFs demonstrated high recyclability achieving 85% recycling efficiency after the third cycle. This research pioneers a cost-effective strategy for the mass production of ultrafine PNFs, paving the way for advanced elastic and functional nanocomposites with broad industrial applications
Good Food and Good Lives - grow, cook, share:The role of food in resettlement, rehabilitation, and re-entry.
No full textEvidence shows a range of positive outcomes arising from engaging men and women who have come to the attention of the criminal justice system with opportunities to work outside, be involved in food-growing and broader land-based activities. In this chapter we draw on three studies carried out in partnership with prisons, charities and men and women who have come to the attention of the criminal justice system. The first study was an evaluation of a gardening programme delivered by Garden Organic in a prison. The second study explored the work of four charities and the role of food and food growing in supporting resettlement. The third study was delivered by the Conservation Foundation at another prison with the aim of ‘greening’ the prison environment. Across the studies we remark upon the crucial role that food growing, cooking, tasting, and sharing plays in improving physical and mental health and well-being. Growing and learning about food can be an indirect way of addressing multiple and complex issues and of equipping those impacted by the criminal justice system with employment-related skills. Irrespective of the challenges encountered - particularly when working in secure settings - our work has identified that food growing, and wider land-based programmes can be a powerful tool for effecting change and influencing rehabilitation and recovery
KEYSTONE: Transforming the European Transport Ecosystem through Data-Driven Strategies, Operations, and Interoperability
No full textData-driven operations are critical for an efficient and compliant European transport ecosystem. Real-time analysis and visualisation of data about vehicles, drivers and goods being transported across Europe enable optimisation and com-pliance. However, progress is limited by legacy systems, fragmented data, capabil-ity gaps and barriers to data sharing. The project Knowledgeable comprehensive and fully integrated smart solution for resilient, sustainable, and optimised transport operations (KEYSTONE ) aims to contribute to a roadmap for the digital transformation of the European transport ecosystem by creating standardised, truly Plug and Play solutions that will bridge the gaps and pave the way towards this goal, regardless of the existing legacy systems. The project is a major step forward in current efforts to build data-driven operations capabilities by integrating exist-ing data-driven platforms, services, and skill development solutions across a range of European stakeholders. In addition to its technology and management compo-nents, the project will provide policy recommendations to address shortages in da-ta literacy and digital leadership, fostering collaboration between regulators, opera-tors, and service providers to capitalise on data for the purpose of compliance. This paper provides an overview of the initial findings in the efforts by the KEYSTONE consortium to unify transport data for compliant operations across Europe, with particular emphasis on the current state of the art, interoperability challenges and requirements as perceived by key European stakeholders
Comparisons Across Higher Education Contexts:Findings from Collaboratively Adapting an Interfaith Diversity Study
No full textUnderstanding campus climates for interfaith learning and development in higher education supports universities in achieving their missions of producing global leaders and ensuring equitable access to and experiences of campus life for students of diverse religious, spiritual, and nonreligious worldviews. The Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey (IDEALS) was a mixed-method study designed to explore these issues in the United States; recently, U.K. researchers collaborated with U.S. principal investigators to collaboratively adapt IDEALS to the U.K. higher education environment. First, using the interfaith learning and development framework as a guide, the authors outline what aspects of the national and institutional contexts the adaptation process considered and how it produced the context-specific data. Second, the relational contexts for interfaith learning were explored using a multiple case study approach, which resulted in cross-context assertions about how students in both countries perceived their campus climates, engaged across worldview difference, and encountered insensitivity about worldviews during their university experience
Outlook
No full textWomen have played a pivotal role in shaping both European jazz culture andthe genre as a whole. They have actively challenged societal norms, promotedinclusivity, and transformed the narrative of European music history. Theimprovisational and boundary‑defying essence of jazz serves as a powerfulmetaphor for the resilience and creativity shown by women within this genre.Furthermore, women in jazz have exemplified collaboration and innovation,successfully transcending national and cultural divides across Europe.As we reach the end of this book, it is crucial to contemplate the future. Wewish to emphasise the continuous efforts that are necessary and the actionswe consider vital for the persistence of our mission to elevate women’s voicesin jazz research and performance. This closing outlook primarily serves asa call to action, as we believe that specific and simple actions and behav‑iours can significantly impact the landscape of European jazz and the broadermusic ecosystem. Most transformations are predominantly required in twomain domains: research and the industry
Craniofacial Evolution and Alveolar Bone Loss:A Lesson from Hominins
No full textBackground: In hominins, the reduction of prognathism during craniofacial evolution was a significant derived trait differentiating Homo from earlier hominins and other apes and might have contributed significantly to calvarial expansion and encephalization. Gnathic remains of Australopithecus africanus, A. robustus, Homo habilis, and H. erectus from the Plio-Pleistocene boundary 5.3 – 2.6 MYA were studied for evidence of alveolar bone (AB) loss indicative of periodontal disease(s). AB loss may provide critical insights into craniofacial evolution and the divergence of Homo from the Australopithecines. AB loss in Plio-Pleistocene gnathic remains provides the fossilized hard evidence of the antiquity of periodontal diseases, the first recognized diseases in hominins’ evolution.Methods : 71 gnathic remains of Australopithecines and Homo species from Ditsong Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, and the School of Anatomy of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and macrophotography. Specimens were scanned at the micro-focus X-ray tomography laboratory (MIXRAD) at Necsa, Pretoria, optimizing on highest spatial resolution and image contrast. Linear distances from the enamel-dentine junction (EDJ) to the remaining AB crest were also measured.Results: Morphometric analyses showed that there is progressive AB loss as hominins speciated from Australopithecines to Homo. Homo remains showed statistically significant variation when analysing the linear distance between the EDJ and the remaining AB when compared to both Australopithecine taxa. AB loss was confirmed by micro-focus X-ray tomography and, in Homo species only, showed a vertical pattern of bone loss with crateriform lesions and furcation defects. SEM and micro-focus X-ray tomography, macrophotography, linear measurements from the EDJ to the remaining alveolar bone showed that Homo had greater alveolar bone loss with intrabony defects and craters when compared to Australopithecines’ taxa. There were no significant differences between the two Australopithecine species examined.Conclusions: The presented data show that Homo species developed significant AB loss. The data propose that random mutations of genes controlling odontometric values selected for a reduction of the size of the crowns during hominins’ evolution.Smaller crowns ultimately resulted in weaker masticatory forces yet allowingmasticatory function and thus survival in the presence of AB loss. Together with the speciation of smaller crowns, with reduction of masticatory muscle mass and thus masticatory forces, there was reduction of prognathism leading to calvarial expansion with subsequent encephalization, speciating the Homo clade and later, the emergence of Homo sapiens
Introduction
No full textThis book explores the dual nature of entrepreneurship, revealing how it can either drive economic advancement or perpetuate harm, largely influenced by institutional contexts. Leveraging Baumol’s (1990) framework that differentiates between productive, unproductive, and destructive entrepreneurship, we focus our analysis on emerging markets that struggle with institutional voids—characterized by weak regulations, pervasive corruption, and substantial informal sectors—that encourage rent-seeking behaviors. In contrast to advanced economies, where insti-tutional mechanisms can mitigate short-term harms, weaker institutions in emerging markets exacerbate the prevalence of destructive entrepreneurship. This perpetuates a cycle of unproductive resource allocation, heightening inequality, market distortions, and systemic inefficiencies. Employing qualitative and econometric methodologies, the chapters unpack various drivers of harmful entrepreneurship, including survival-driven informality, gaps in education, hierarchical networks, and governance failures. By addressing a critical gap in the existing literature, this volume highlights how institutional deficiencies shape entrepreneurial outcomes in emerging economies, revealing diverse factors and their implications across different contexts. Further-more, by illuminating the complex interplay between institutional environments and entrepreneurial behavior, the book offers actionable insights for policymakers and scholars. These insights can help realign incentives towards productive ventures, ultimately fostering equitable and sustainable development in resource-constrained settings.</p
‘Attributes of Oppression’:The Quantitative Construction of Black Female Footballers in FIFA22
No full textThis article focuses on the quantitative construction of Black female footballers via ‘player attributes’ in Electronic Arts’ hugely popular FIFA (now EA SPORTS FC) football video game franchise. Especially indebted to Safiya Noble’s Algorithms of Oppression, and her insights into the digital reproduction of racist discourses and outcomes, the article explores the ways in which this fundamental game-play system reproduces the tropes of misogynoir that Black women have long been subject to in sports and wider societal discourses. Paying particular attention to the opaque process through which the game’s developers generate this quantified system of making sense of athletic bodies, the article’s findings add to Noble’s vital arguments around how computational systems are ultimately products of human and social processes that inevitably inherit the world views of their authors. The implications of what is presented here go well beyond sport and media, or gaming and digital cultures, and into the wider history of how racial bodies have long been scientistically constructed. Indeed, in a subtle call back to forms of scientific racism that flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, the attributes system employed by developers not only reproduces intersectional tropes around the relative value and meaning of Black and white female athletic capabilities; it also reifies these tropes