Notion Of Public Interest Research Articles

The EU Services Directive: Gains from Further Liberalization

The EU Services Directive was adopted in 2006 to foster competition in services across Europe. However, progress in liberalizing services has fallen short of expectations due to the article 15 of the Directive, which allows countries to maintain pre-existing restrictions if judged necessary to protect the public interest. Through input output analysis, this paper finds important multiplier effects of greater efficiency services to the rest of the economy. A renewed impulse to the liberalization process could be given by enhancing the advocacy role of national competition authorities in interpreting the notion of public interest underpinning existing regulations.

The EU Services Directive: Gains from Further Liberalization

The EU Services Directive was adopted in 2006 to foster competition in services across Europe. However, progress in liberalizing services has fallen short of expectations due to the article 15 of the Directive, which allows countries to maintain pre-existing restrictions if judged necessary to protect the public interest. Through input output analysis, this paper finds important multiplier effects of greater efficiency services to the rest of the economy. A renewed impulse to the liberalization process could be given by enhancing the advocacy role of national competition authorities in interpreting the notion of public interest underpinning existing regulations.

Defining the Public Interest in Relation to the Accountancy Profession: Some Perspectives

Abstract Confidence in accounting is conditional to justifying the legitimacy of the accountancy profession. To reinforce this confidence, IFAC issued a framework whose applicability is proposed to be verified through three criteria: a cost benefit analysis, adherence to democratic principles and processes, as well as the respect of cultural and ethical diversity. Hereby we analyzed the comments issued and found out that the complexity of the public interest notion makes it difficult to define, given its international reach. However, such a framework constitutes a step further to reinforcing the public's confidence. We conducted a complex analysis and pointed out the relevant aspects regarding the axiom of public interest, arguing that the commitment to society is the highest responsibility of the profession. As a conclusion, since accountants have a responsibility to protect the public interest while striving to progress with the interests of the profession, a concession between the two is indispensable.

Interdisciplinarity and tax law: The case of legal autopoiesis

This paper critically evaluates interdisciplinary research in tax law. The strategy I follow runs at two levels of abstraction. First, I examine a concrete example of interdisciplinary research in taxation. More precisely, I examine Hikaka and Prebble's (2010) recent paper where, applying Luhmannian autopoietic theory to tax law, they make a series of claims about the productivity of their research strategy as well as the consistency and coherence of Luhmann's interdisciplinary framework. Whereas my analytical and conceptual critique of Hikaka and Prebble's paper stands on its own, it should also be read as revealing the obstacles that lurk behind interdisciplinary research in using such a complex and idiosyncratic theory as Luhmann's autopoietic account of law and society. Accordingly, my analysis shows how autopoietic theory can indeed prove useful for tax and accounting reform as well as to connect tax theory and notions of public interest. Second, I extrapolate from the analysis of Hikaka and Prebble's paper some general problems that current interdisciplinary tax research needs to give further consideration: (i) how to identify productive research questions and uses of interdisciplinary resources; (ii) the dubious added value of interdisciplinary research, given its tendency to adopt complex theoretical apparatuses in a cursory way with little comparison being made to existing research achievements; and (iii) the risk of using interdisciplinary research as an exercise of confirmatory investigation and/or an exercise of mere translation of one discipline's problems into another discipline's language.

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

Journalists are caretakers of the public interest. But when a community experiences a devastating trauma, lines of responsibility are less clear-cut. Are journalists responsible to the news consumer or the community experiencing the trauma? Which notion of public interest assumes precedence? How does journalistic responsibility translate into action when residents experience pain, but editors clamor for on-the-spot coverage? Creating spaces for reflective practice can assist journalists in considering principled ways of covering trauma. This paper examines the reactions and reflections of seven journalists who responded to research exploring the impact of media coverage on a rural community where a high-profile murder had occurred. These journalists, using reflective practice, pondered the challenges of covering trauma, the evolution of journalistic responsibility and the implications for journalism educators teaching students who will inevitably cover traumas when they are working in the field.

Ethics and the Tax Profession: Restoring the Public Interest Focus

ABSTRACT: Tax practice is an integral component of the public accounting profession. Although accountancy as a profession embraces a strong public interest notion, there is an inevitable tension in tax practice between serving the client and maintaining the integrity of the tax system. Resolving this tension necessitates an ethics-infused judgment process. Ethical failures over the past decade have weakened the tax profession and called into question the extent to which practitioners in fact operate in a manner consistent with the public interest. In this paper, we explore the fundamental causes of the ethical problems that have plagued the tax profession and provide a roadmap for reform of the tax profession. Using Cressey’s (1953) fraud triangle as a framework, we first examine the normative ideal for the tax profession. We then examine the recent tax shelter abuses perpetrated by the major public accounting firms and find results consistent with our expectations under the fraud triangle analysis. In essence, ethical breakdowns resulted from the loss of a public interest emphasis, which in turn led to the explicit pursuit of commercial gain at the expense of the public interest. That the frauds were perpetrated within the context of a profession founded on a public interest notion is particularly concerning. In response to the problems observed, we identify key cultural reforms needed within the accounting academy, the accounting profession, and the tax system in order to restore trust and the public interest character of the tax profession to center stage and so guard against further adverse outcomes.

Territorial Cohesion of Tomorrow: A Path to Cooperation or Competition?

Explicit reference was made to “Territorial Cohesion” in the draft Constitution for Europe. The concept has recently been celebrated by many stakeholders of territorial development policies, including the European community of planners. Territorial Cohesion does not seem to have received any official definition, but it is clearly meant to aim at some sort of “spatial justice” while promoting integration between EU sector policies that have a territorial impact. Seemingly a consensual principle: who in Europe would object to a better coherence between various EU policies and the provision of reasonably equal standards of living to all EU citizens, regardless of their area of settlement? Yet a close examination of the current political debate suggests that very divergent views are being expressed as to what Territorial Cohesion exactly entails in practical terms. Two main different policy approaches seem to emerge in this debate. The first approach tends to equate Territorial Cohesion to a range of positive discrimination steps in favour of various penalised areas. Interest groups, in particular lobbies for specific regions, have proved influential in propagating this conception. In the area of regional policy, this approach embodies the neo-corporatist, depoliticised line of the contemporary political culture. It is primarily inspired by financial considerations and a competitive zero-sum game scenario: regions of a specific category should increase their share of the EU funding at the expense of the others. The opposite approach places much more emphasis on the need for integrated territorial planning strategies and the integration of EU policies. Its proponents are the heirs of the post-war urban and regional planning tradition. They strive to revive the politicised and rationalist ideology of the Enlightenment, based on the notion of public interest. They raise awareness about the steadily growing interdependence between regions and cities of Europe and advocate a cooperative approach focusing on issues of transnational relevance and win-win situations. This rather idealistic cooperative approach seems to be less influential than its rival, and currently confined to a relatively small group of planning professionals. The question remains: which of the two models—interregional competition or cooperation—will finally succeed in shaping the EU cohesion policy?

Convergence of telecommunications, media and information technology, and implications for regulation

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to review current policy debates on convergence in Korea and the UK. This study compares the two countries' cases of how they prepare for convergence, what are the regulatory frameworks, and what are the conflicting issues in the convergence.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducts a comparative case study between Korean and the UK. Data are collected through literature review, regulatory document and market research.FindingsThe regulation in the UK has been focused on how to change the notion of public interest in the convergence era, whereas the agenda in Korea seems to be how to apply a legacy of public interest to convergence services. The laws of public interest in Korea have been drawn from a legacy regime, which makes applying in a convergence era increasingly difficult. There is a compelling need for conceptual clarification in understanding the meaning of public interest in the convergence environment.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research may further investigate the effective regulatory framework in the emerging convergence era.Practical implicationsRegulation needs to be transparent, clear and proportional and distinguish between transport and content. This implies a more horizontal approach to regulation with a homogenous treatment of all transport network infrastructure and associated services, irrespective of the nature of the services carried.Originality/valueThis research identifies issues regarding convergences and suggests a way in which the two different principles of broadcasting and telecommunications can be integrated; how public interest laws can be reconciled with considerations of competition and economic efficiency is explained.

The Principle of diversity in journalism

This article discusses a journalistic value that has important consequences for political deliberation: diversity. After identifying the key dimensions of the principle of media diversity, the text presents a case study about Jornal Nacional’s coverage of the 2002 presidential election. The study suggests that, although the campaign coverage was balanced and fair, it did not include a diversity of voices in the controversies about the main theme of the electoral process: the economy. Such lack of diversity restrictedthe range of interpretations to which voters were exposed. In 2002, the process of political deliberation was characterized by a media environment with low levels of diversity in terms of access of voicesand interpretive frames. Based on the notion of public interest, the article concludes by proposing measures to promote media diversity, including the fi elds of content regulation, journalistic norms and the role of civil society.

The Adaptation of German Accounting Rules to IFRS: A Legislative Balancing Act

ABSTRACT The accounting strategy of the EU Commission for the last ten years, which reached one of its goals with the Regulation on IAS, is challenging all EU Member States. This article gives an analytical insight into the way the German legislator has confronted this challenge. It explains the statutory changes introduced to adapt the accounting regime in Germany, against the background of arguments for reform and proposals which have been put forward in the German accounting literature and by influential interest groups. The major characteristics of the government's accounting strategy are analysed: an increasing focus on the macroeconomic benefits of adequate accounting regulations, a perception of accounting as a material part of the corporate governance regime, greater weight given to the notion of public interest and the information function of accounting, a focus on consolidated accounts for the revision of existing rules, and, at the same time, considerable reluctance to change any recognition and measurement rules for individual entity accounts. In general the accounting reform strategy of the German government can be characterized as being slow, conservative and reactive, following a marginal step-by-step approach.

Addams's Radical Democracy: Moving Beyond Rights

One of the challenges of exploring Addams's social philosophy is that she, like her contemporary, John Dewey, does not fit neatly into established categories of political thought. Addams promotes social morality not at the exclusion of indi vidual morality, but as its natural progression and complement. I will suggest that Addams, while not disdaining rights-based ethics, finds the approach insuf ficient to the morality needed for a dynamic democracy. As Addams describes it, like any other of the living faiths of men, is so essentially mysti cal that it continually demands new formulation (Addams 1909, 146). Part of that reformulation is the discursive move beyond static notions of isolated indi viduals who are endowed with rights to considerations of citizens' responsibili ties for others as part of an active and rich notion of public interest. In developing Addams's radical notion of democracy, I will first explore how she delineates old style classical liberal democracy from her preferred concept of social de mocracy. Then I will address how rights as they are traditionally understood are inadequate for Addams's social project of communal morality. To accomplish this we will look at some of the rhetorical positions taken by Addams to push forward her political agenda, such as the elective franchise for women and the amelioration of women's exploitation as prostitutes. As we explore Addams's concept of rights, perhaps we will discover that her approach is more radical than that which is typically attributed to her.

Beyond the Brilovian Critique: Traditional vs. Organic Intellectuals in Critical Accounting Research

If critical accounting's mandate is to interrogate activities that fall into that deep chasm between private and public interests, then the advent of an American Accounting Association journal, Accounting and the Public Interest, is long overdue. In meeting this mandate, critical researchers must guard against becoming wedded to ossified and out-moded notions of public interest; they must be vigilantly self-critical. In this spirit, this paper visits the work of a pre-eminent public interest advocate, Abraham Briloff. Briloff's critique reigns supreme as the foremost challenge to the Accounting Establishment. Typically, his investigations focus on “The Profession,” and the audit and reporting practices of large accounting firms (the Big 8/6/5). So dominant has been the Brilovian critique that, in the U.S. today, it dwarfs all other forms of critical accounting inquiry. This paper argues that the Brilovian focus on “The Profession,” as an initial starting point, may have been adequate for its time; however, it is increasingly limited as a basis for critical research—in the U.S. and elsewhere. “The Profession” focus excludes a growing amount of accounting activity—as to what accounting produces, and how accounting is reproduced—that requires analysis and intervention. This paper reviews the perspective of “The Profession” and then explores an array of starting points that share the common trait of being expressions of the commodity form.

Le pluralisme. Une analyse conceptuelle et comparative

Pluralism. a conceptual and comparative analysis Luigi Graziano Pluralism is a polymorphous concept still in need of clarification, especially as its underlying philosophy is being exported to a number of post-communist regimes. There are various brands of pluralism and one task for research is to determine some of thé reasons for the success of the American variant. The essay reviews the history of this tradition of thought in a comparative perspective. It deals with its meaning in the European context (Part I) and in the United States (Part II). A brief reference will be mode in Part III to thé distinction between pluralism and neo-corporatism. Part IV will discuss more recent developments, including some critical reactions to « group theory » and the reemergence of the notion of public interest.