Investigating factors that influence Malaysian auditors’ ethical sensitivity

This study assessed the ethical sensitivity of Professional accountants in Nigeria with particular reference to members of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN). Professional Commitment, Organizational Commitment, Idealistic and Relativist ethical orientations and their effects on ethical sensitivity of the professional accountants were examined. The descriptive research design was adopted while data were collected through the Accountants’ Ethical Sensitivity Scale Questionnaire (AESS) questionnaire administered to 250 professional accountants. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were used to analyse the collected data. The results revealed that there exists an insignificant negative relationship between professional commitment and professional accountants’ ethical sensitivity while idealistic ethical orientation has a significant negative relationship with professional accountants’ ethical sensitivity. However, relativist ethical orientations and organizational commitment have a significant positive effect on professional accountants’ ethical sensitivity.

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, healthcare workers increasingly encounter serious ethical issues that negatively affect their professionalism. The study aims to examine the ethical sensitivity levels of physicians and nurses working in surgical units during the Covid-19 pandemic and the associating factors. The sample of this cross-sectional online questionnaire-based study consists of 161 healthcare workers working at the surgical units in Turkish hospitals. The data were collected using the "Nurse Descriptive Information Form" developed by the researchers and the "Ethical Sensitivity Questionnaire." Approval was granted by the ethics committee. Verbal and written consent was received from the healthcare workers. Ethical sensitivity in the dimension of conflict was found to be higher in healthcare workers who had ethical issues during the Covid-19 pandemic, who were married, who were nurses, who worked more than 45 h, and who had a work experience of 7-10 years (p < 0.05). Healthcare workers with a family member diagnosed with Covid-19 had high ethical sensitivity in the dimension of conflict (p = 0.008), while those who reported being fully competent and ready (p = 0.038) about Covid-19 were found to have low ethical sensitivity. Besides, those who experienced inadequate supplies (p = 0.045), long working hours (p = 0.038), and problems in asepsis-sterilization (p = 0.046) during the Covid-19 pandemic were found to have low sensitivity in the holistic approach dimension. The study revealed that ethical issues during the Covid-19 pandemic, sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge-skills about Covid-19, and the problems encountered in the work environment during the pandemic affect the ethical sensitivity of healthcare workers in the dimensions of conflict and holistic approach. Therefore, it is recommended that governments and all healthcare workers, and stakeholders in the health system in our country and other countries take action to promote ethical sensitivity in response to the rapidly increasing epidemic by considering the factors that adversely affect ethical sensitivity.

PurposeAlthough existing studies demonstrate positive relationships between ethical cultures and innovativeness, their explanations of why an ethical culture leads to innovativeness are limited. This study explores the relationship between ethical organizational culture and knowledge workers' innovativenessDesign/methodology/approachBased on Kierkegaardian existential philosophy, this study proposes a research model that employs knowledge workers' existential affirmation as the link between ethical culture and innovativeness. The main hypothesis proposed in this study is that ethical organizational culture offers knowledge workers the opportunity to find their existential affirmation, which leads them to become more innovative. A structural equation modeling analysis is based on data collected from a survey of 348 knowledge workers from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in different hi-tech industries.FindingsThe findings suggest that among the four subdimensions of an ethical organizational culture, ethics training and awareness raising had the strongest relationships with knowledge workers' existential affirmation, which, in turn, had a significant relationship with their innovativeness.Originality/valueBased on this philosophical reflection, this study develops a research model that examines knowledge workers' existential affirmation as the factor that links ethical organizational culture and knowledge workers' innovativeness. The authors test ethical organizational culture as an environment that allows knowledge workers to validate their existential affirmation. Further, they test the link between knowledge workers' existential affirmation and their innovativeness.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of audit committee (AC) characteristics, such as AC size, AC independence and gender diversity on firm risk in the context of an emerging market.Design/methodology/approachThe sample data includes 102 nonfinancial Pakistan Stock Exchange listed firms from 2004 to 2018. Firm risk is measured through three proxies, namely, idiosyncratic risk, total risk and capital expenditure. Along with this, profitability, leverage, market-to-book ratio, firm age, net property plant and equipment (NPPE) and surplus cash are used as control variables. The Housman test is used to select the best model from the fixed-effect model and the random effect model to conclude the findings.FindingsAccording to the study's findings, AC characteristics have a negative and significant relationship with idiosyncratic risk. In addition, a gender-diverse AC has a significant negative relationship with capital expenditure. In connection with total risk, AC characteristics fail to shows any significant relationship. Among the control variables, the results show that profitability stand for return on asset (ROA) and NPPE have a significant negative relationship, whereas market-to-book value has a significant positive relationship with both idiosyncratic and total risk.Practical implicationsThe study's findings offer policymakers, managers and investors guidance. This study will provide new insights to the Pakistani Government, stock market, companies and accounting and auditing regulators in terms of understanding the determinants influencing risk management activities. Furthermore, this study will assist financial institutions in making credit decisions. In addition, this study provides policymakers, such as the stand for Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), with guidelines for developing policies that strengthen the board governance mechanism.Originality/valueThis study investigates the impact of AC characteristics on corporate risk, which is rarely discussed in emerging economies.

This descriptive study discusses cognitive mapping as a technique for analyzing ethical sensitivity, examines whether the method allows comparisons between people, compares the ethical sensitivity levels of participants from three organizations, examines which indicators of ethical sensitivity are most salient to members of specific organizations, and examines whether education level or organizational membership is the best predictor of an individual’s ethical sensitivity level. Subjects from three organizations read background information, listened to two audiotaped scenarios containing multiple ethical issues related to organizational communication, responded to focused interview questions, and completed questionnaires. The interviews were taped, transcribed, and analyzed using cognitive mapping techniques. Significant differences in levels of ethical sensitivity were found between the members of the three organizations. However, a hierarchical regression model demonstrated that the difference was likely due to the differences in level of education in each organization. Organizational membership seemed to affect the particular aspects of the scenarios that participants noticed.

Assessment of moral Reasoning Ability of the Nurses in dealing with moral dilemmas

The Russian stock market is one of the leaders in terms of dividend yield among developed and developing countries. Against this background, it is appropriate to study the determinants that affect the decisions on the implementation of payments and their amount. The literature on this topic in emerging markets in general and specifically in Russia has anumber of gaps and contradictions that determine the scientific novelty of the work – the analysis in regard to the impact on the probability of payments and on dividend yield is carried out simultaneously; contradictory determinants are examined. In emerging markets, the relationship between dividends and the age of members of the Board of Directors and the personal income tax rate on dividends is taken into account, and specifically in Russia – their relationship to the number of members of the Board of Directors, the ownership stake of the CEO and institutional shareholders, the company’s life cycle stage (LC), the dual role of the chairman of the Board of Directors and executive director. The study is conducted on the 2012–2019 data for a sample of 40 companies listed on the Moscow Exchange. The method incorporates two regression models – a linear one with random effects and a probit model. As a result of the analysis, the manifestation of the agencyeffect in the Russian market was confirmed by a significant positive dependence of the probability of payments on the dual role of the chairman of the Board of Directors and the executive director, the portion of shares held by the CEO, a significant negative relationship with the number of members of the Board of Directors and liquidity. The agency and behavioral effects are confirmed by a significant positive relationship between the probability of payments and the age of the members of the Board of Directors and a significant negative relationship with profitability. The influence of client effects is confirmed by a significant positive relationship between profitability and the personal income tax rate on dividends, as well as between the probability of payments and the share of institutions in ownership. It is also confirmed that companies that are mature in terms of the life cycle stage are more likely to pay dividends and do it more often. In general, there is a more significant influence of non-financial variables on the probability of payments and of financial variables on profitability. The results of the study can be used by private investors, banks, investment funds and brokerage companies to form expectations for companies’ dividend yield and the probability of payments with regard to the specifics of the Russian market.

The Effect of Corporate Governance Components on Return on Assets and Stock Return of Companies Listed in Tehran Stock Exchange

Relationship between Analyst Forecast Properties and Equity Bid-Ask Spreads and Depths around Quarterly Earnings Announcements

This study aimed to empirically evaluate the educational effectiveness and future challenges of a newly established course, “Paramedical Ethics”, for undergraduate students in the paramedic training curriculum, in response to the contemporary issues of the increasing sophistication and broadening scope of paramedics’ responsibilities. This course was structured to emphasize gradual, participatory learning, including the study of the fundamental principles of medical ethics, case studies of ethical issues specific to emergency and disaster medicine, group discussions, and role-playing. The results of a student survey conducted after the course completion showed a high level of self-evaluation across all achievement goals, particularly for decision-making support regarding ethical issues. Furthermore, the results of a dependent samples analysis of variance indicated no statistically significant difference in the level of achievement across the ten target items, suggesting that the course structure was homogeneous and effective for all learning content. Qualitative free-response comments confirmed both a frank recognition of ethical conflict and difficulty, such as, “It was very difficult to think about ethics, which has no single correct answer,” and a positive professional learning motivation, such as, “I thought this subject would be very useful in my future career”. It is considered that this recognition of “difficulty” is the result of students’ Ethical Sensitivity being awakened, and their experiencing the challenge of applying theory to practice, which involves complex interpersonal communication, rather than merely acquiring knowledge. These results allow for the evaluation that “Paramedical Ethics” was highly effective in improving students’ ethical literacy. Moving forward, the challenge will be to strengthen simulation education using complex dilemma cases that include time constraints and interprofessional collaboration, in order to overcome the “difficulty” felt by the students and elevate theory into practical ethical judgment. Establishing instructional methods that enhance self-efficacy in ethical practice as professionals, commensurate with the responsibilities of paramedics, is essential for the qualitative deepening of future ethics education.

The results of a pot experimant to study the effect of organically complexed iron on different nutrient ratios in sorghum crop revealed that there were significant negative relationships between Ca/Fe ratios as well as P/Fe ratio and drymatter yield of 30 and 60 day old plants, grain and straw. There were significant positive relation- ships between Fe/Mn. Fe/Zn and Fe/Cu and dry matter yields of 30 and 60 day old plants, grain and straw. There was no significant relationship between K/Ca ratio and drymatter yield of 30 and 60 day old plants, grain and straw.

In plastic surgery, 2 predominant practice environments exist, namely, the academic setting and private practice. These 2 groups cater their practice toward the needs and demands of 2 very different patient populations. The goal of this paper is to examine well-established economic indicators and delineate their relationship, if any, with the volume of different plastic surgical procedures performed in the United States. Information from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons' annual reports on plastic surgery statistics was collected from the year 2000 through 2010 and compared to readily available and established economic indicators. There was a significant positive relationship with total cosmetic procedures and gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, personal income, consumer price index (CPI) (all), and CPI (medical). There was a significant positive relationship between cosmetic surgical procedures and the issuance of new home permits and the average prime rate charged by banks. There was a significant positive relationship with cosmetic minimally invasive procedures and GDP, GDP per capita, personal income, CPI (all), and CPI (medical). There was a significant negative relationship between reconstructive procedures and GDP, GDP per capita, personal income, CPI (all), and CPI (medical). Cosmetic minimally invasive procedures seem to be decided on relatively quickly during good economic times. Cosmetic surgical procedures seem to be more planned and less related to the economic environment. The plastic surgeon may use this relationship to tailor the focus of his or her practice to be best situated for economic fluctuations.

Layoffs during the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in family stress because there was no income to meet needs so families needed coping strategies in order to maintain their families. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship and influence of family characteristics, stress symptoms, and coping strategies on family strengths in families affected by layoffs during the Covid-19 pandemic. The research design used a cross-sectional study. The sampling technique used voluntary sampling with a total of 50 samples. This study uses primary data by distributing online questionnaires using Google Forms. The data obtained were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) for windows version 22. Data analysis in this study was descriptive analysis, Spearman correlation, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression. The results showed that there was a significant positive relationship between wife's education and emotional-focused coping. Stress symptoms have a significant positive relationship with problem-focused coping and a significant negative relationship with family strength. Emotional-focused coping has a significant positive relationship with family strength. Regression analysis shows that emotional-focused coping has a significant positive effect on family strength. Symptoms of stress have a significant negative effect on family strength. Families affected by layoffs during the Covid-19 pandemic should be able to minimize symptoms of physical stress by doing breathing relaxation. The related government is also expected to provide family empowerment through increasing entrepreneurial knowledge and skills.

Plasma concentrations of inhibin pro-alphaC, inhibin A and inhibin B were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at 6 h intervals throughout the 4-day oestrous cycle of the golden hamster. Plasma concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and oestradiol-17beta were also measured by radioimmunoassay during the oestrous cycle. Plasma concentrations of inhibin A increased from the early morning of day 1 (day 1=day of ovulation) and reached plateau levels at 0500 h on day 2. An abrupt increase in plasma concentrations of inhibin A was found at 1700 h on day 4, when the preovulatory FSH surge was observed. An increase in plasma concentrations of inhibin B occurred on day 1 and reached plateau levels at 1700 h on day 1. The levels remained elevated until 0500 h on day 4 and declined gradually by 2300 h on day 4. Plasma concentrations of inhibin pro-alphaC gradually increased with some fluctuation from day 1 to 1700 h on day 4 and then declined. Significant negative relationships were noted between plasma FSH and both dimeric forms of inhibin from day 1 to day 3. Significant positive relationships were found between plasma oestradiol-17beta and inhibin A or inhibin pro-alphaC throughout the oestrous cycle. In contrast, no significant relationship was found between plasma oestradiol-17beta and inhibin B. These findings suggest that both dimeric forms of inhibin play a role in the regulation of FSH secretion during follicular development. These findings also suggest that inhibin pro-alphaC could be secreted primarily by large follicles, and early atretic follicles could also be responsible for inhibin pro-alphaC secretion. On the other hand, the secretory pattern of dimeric inhibins might shift from inhibin B to inhibin A with follicular development.

The present study analyzes the long-run and short-run relationship of foreign portfolio investments (FPI) with other explanatory variables. The study uses monthly data from January 2002 to July 2020. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique is used to find the long run co-integration relationship of the model variables. The result obtained from error correction model shows that the model is stable and there by explains the integration of the long-run relationship of FPI with other variables. The results confirm to the fact that in the long run, IIP has a significant positive relationship with FPI inflows while the stock market capitalization has significant negative relationship. However, in the short-run we find that all variables have a significant relationship with FPI. Thus our study can be a guide to investors and the policy makers to predict the pattern of the foreign portfolio investment in India.