Antecedents and organisational performance implications of internal audit effectiveness: Some propositions and research agenda

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to synthesize relevant theoretical and empirical literature to develop propositions and suggest a research agenda on the antecedents and organisational performance implications of internal audit effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs institutional theory and Karl Marx's theory of the “circuit of industrial capital” to synthesize relevant internal audit literature to develop theoretically justifiable propositions and highlight an operational research agenda.

Findings – Propositions and a research agenda are provided on potential antecedents of internal audit effectiveness and its possible association with company performance measured as rate of return on capital employed. Also, key variables are identified and operationalisation issues discussed.

Originality/value – As the extant literature does not provide a canon of internal audit effectiveness, the paper's originality is its argument that a positive association between compliance with standards for the professional practice of internal auditors and organisational goal achievement could serve as an approach to assess internal audit effectiveness. Furthermore, the use of the two theories in combination provides additional insights into identifying the antecedents of internal audit effectiveness and its measurement.

Neighborhood environmental attributes and adults' sedentary behaviors: review and research agenda

OBJECTIVE: Physical activity recommendations are beginning to address sedentary behaviors - time spent sitting. Environmental and policy initiatives for physical activity might assist in addressing sedentary behaviors, but sedentary-specific innovations may be required. This review synthesizes current evidence on associations of neighborhood environmental attributes with adults' sedentary behaviors. METHODS: A search was conducted using three electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Transport Research Information Services). Relevant articles were assessed for their eligibility for inclusion (English-language articles with a quantitative examination of associations of neighborhood environmental attributes with adults' sedentary behaviors). RESULTS: Within 17 studies meeting inclusion criteria, associations of environmental attributes with sedentary behaviors were examined in 89 instances. Significant associations were found in 28% (n=25) of them; however, non-significant associations were found in 56% (n=50) of these instances. The most consistent association was for lower levels of sedentary behavior among residents of urban compared to regional areas. CONCLUSIONS: There is a modest but mixed initial evidence in associations of neighborhood environmental attributes with adults' sedentary behaviors. A research agenda required for this emerging field should include the development of more relevant conceptual models, measuring domain-specific sedentary behavior objectively, examining environments in close vicinity of and a larger area around home, and the use of prospective designs.

Integration of design for reverse logistics and harvesting of information: a research agenda

The literature is replete with treatises advocating the immense benefits of reverse logistics (RL) systems for organisations in terms of alleviating environmental concerns and enhancing the level of productivity. Nevertheless, implementing RL in organisations is fraught with complications with its success largely riding on fulfilling the requirements prescribed by the critical success factors (CSFs) of RL. Despite the voluminous body of knowledge on RL in the extant literature, operational aspects of RL have overshadowed some central strategic prerequisites for the success of RL systems. Drawing upon an integrative literature review, this paper provides an insight into different aspects of the implementation of RL practices. The central role of the integration of design for reverse logistics (DfRL) and harvesting of information (HoI) in the effective implementation of RL systems is then established and clarified through developing a conceptual framework. The paper concludes by putting forward an agenda for research.

Developing a research agenda for promoting physical activity in Brazil through environmental and policy change

Objective. To identify the highest priorities for research on environmental and policy changes for promoting physical activity (PA) in Brazil; to uncover any gaps between researchers' and practitioners' priorities; and to consider which tools, methods, collaborative strategies, and actions could be useful to moving a research agenda forward.Methods. This was a mixed-methods study (qualitative and quantitative) conducted by Project GUIA (Guide for Useful Interventions for Activity in Brazil and Latin America) in February 2010-January 2011. A total of 240 individuals in the PA field (186 practitioners and 54 researchers) were asked to generate research ideas; 82 participants provided 266 original statements from which 52 topics emerged. Participants rated topics by "importance" and "feasibility;" a separate convenience sample of 21 individuals categorized them. Cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling were used to create concept maps and pattern matches.Results. Five distinct clusters emerged from the concept mapping, of which " effectiveness and innovation in PA interventions" was rated most important by both practitioners and researchers. Pattern matching showed a divergence between the groups, especially regarding feasibility, where there was no consensus.Conclusions. The study results provided the basis for a research agenda to advance the understanding of environmental and policy influences on PA promotion in Brazil and Latin America. These results should stimulate future research and, ultimately, contribute to the evidence-base of successful PA strategies in Latin America.

Report of the AD HOC Expert Group meeting on social exclusion, poverty, inequality, crime and violence: Towardsa research agenda for informed public policy for Caribbean SIDS

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean convened an expert group meeting on Social Exclusion, Poverty, Inequality – Crime and Violence: Towards a Research Agenda for informed Public Policy for Caribbean SIDS on Friday 4 April 2008, at its conference room in Port of Spain. The meeting was attended by 14 experts drawn from, the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago; and Mona Campus, Jamaica; the St. Georges University, Grenada; the Trinidad and Tobago Crime Commission and the Ministry of Social Development, Government of Trinidad and Tobago and representative of Civil Society from Guyana. Experts from the United Nations System included representatives from the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM), Barbados; the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Port of Spain and UNDP Barbados/SRO and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The list of participants appears as an annex to this report. The purpose of the meeting was to provide a forum in which differing theories and methodologies useful to addressing the issues of social exclusion, poverty, inequality, crime and violence could be explored. It was expected that at the end of the meeting there would be consensus on areas of research which could be pursued over a two to four-year period by the ECLAC Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean and its partners, which would lead to informed public policy in support of the reduction of the growing violence in Caribbean society.

Service Innovation: the state of the art and a proposal of a research agenda

The service sector has acquired a growing importance in every country economy, which has stimulated research in the field of service innovation, a new field in management studies. This text aimed to state a research agenda upon service innovation, based on an articulated discussion of the results of several articles that compose the state of the art of this concept. 73 empirical articles were analyzed, 33% of them exploring the innovation strategies and technology; 18% of the articles describe research on economic performance and enterprise productivity; 16% are related to antecedents and determinants of innovation; another 16% about network capacity development, alliances and collaboration among organizations; 9% of the articles explore service quality, innovation taxonomy, flexible systems and regional systems of innovation; and another 8% are related to themes such as intensive knowledge, research and development. The researches were concentrated in the Engineering & Technology and Hospitality Industries, which accounted for 31% and 24% of the texts, respectively. The remaining 45% of the articles referred to sectors such as Telecommunications, Health, Retail, Financial & Insurance and Public Services. The main gaps identified in these texts refer to the difficulties on measuring service innovation, besides the small number of researches on the public sector. At the end, a research agenda in the subject is presented, including the development of a scale for orientating the innovation and identifying the determining factors of the innovation in the public environment.

Tooth wear and erosion: methodological issues in epidemiological and public health research and the future research agenda

This paper addresses methodological issues in the field of tooth wear and erosion research including the epidemiological indices, and identifies future work that is needed to improve knowledge about tooth wear and erosion.

A research agenda for malaria eradication: basic science and enabling technologies

Today's malaria control efforts are limited by our incomplete understanding of the biology of Plasmodium and of the complex relationships between human populations and the multiple species of mosquito and parasite. Research priorities include the development of in vitro culture systems for the complete life cycle of P. falciparum and P. vivax and the development of an appropriate liver culture system to study hepatic stages. In addition, genetic technologies for the manipulation of Plasmodium need to be improved, the entire parasite metabolome needs to be characterized to identify new druggable targets, and improved information systems for monitoring the changes in epidemiology, pathology, and host-parasite-vector interactions as a result of intensified control need to be established to bridge the gap between bench, preclinical, clinical, and population-based sciences.