In this assignment, students will pull together the capstone project change proposal components they have been working on throughout the course to create a proposal inclusive of sections for each content focus area in the course. For this project, the student will apply evidence-based research steps and processes required as the foundation to address a clinically oriented problem or issue in future practice.
Develop a 2,500-4,000 written project that includes the following information as it applies to the problem, issue, suggestion, initiative, or educational need profiled in the capstone change proposal:
Background
Clinical problem statement.
Purpose of the change proposal in relation to providing patient care in the changing health care system.
PICOT question.
Literature search strategy employed.
Evaluation of the literature.
Applicable change or nursing theory utilized.
Proposed implementation plan with outcome measures.
Discussion of how evidence-based practice was used in creating the intervention plan.
Plan for evaluating the proposed nursing intervention.
Identification of potential barriers to plan implementation, and a discussion of how these could be overcome.
Appendix section, for evaluation tools and educational materials, etc. are created.
Review the feedback from your instructor on the PICOT Question Paper, and Literature Review. Use this feedback to make appropriate revisions to these before submitting.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.
Benchmark Information
This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:
RN to BSN
1.4: Implement patient care decisions based on evidence-based practice.
2.2: Manage patient care within the changing environment of the health care system.
The most frequently used measures of central tendency for quantitative data are the mean and the median. The following table shows civil service examination scores from 24 applicants to law enforcement jobs:
83 74 85 79
82 67 78 70
18 93 64 27
93 98 82 78
68 82 83 99
96 62 93 58
Using Excel, find the mean, standard deviation, and 5-number summary of this sample.
Construct and paste a box plot depicting the 5-number summary.
Does the dataset have outliers? If so, which one(s)?
Would you prefer to use the mean or the medianas this dataset’s measure of central tendency? Why?
Critically evaluate Andrew et al.’s (2021) analysis of the Australian Government’s implementation of budgetary measures to manage the social and economic impacts of COVID-19. In your discussion explain the authors’ argument that Australia’s history of inequality has shaped these actions and the effect inequality may have on outcomes.
Notes: 400 words.
Accounting, inequality and COVID-19 in Australia Jane Andrew and Max Baker The University of Sydney Business School, Sydney, Australia, and James Guthrie Macquarie Business School, Macquarie University, North Ryde, Australia Abstract Purpose–The authors explore the Australian Government’s implementation of budgetary measures to manage the social and economic impacts of COVID-19, paying particular attention to how the country’s history of inequality has shaped these actions, and the effect inequality may have on outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach–In this qualitative case study of public budgeting, the authors draw on the latest research into inequality to consider the implications of policy responses to COVID-19 in Australia. In particular, we examine the short-term introduction of what we term“people-focused”budgetary measures.
These appeared contrary to the dominant neoliberalist approach to Australian welfare policymaking.
Findings–This paper foregrounds the relationship between budgeting, public policy and inequality and explores how decades of increasingly regressive tax systems and stagnating living wages have made both people, and the state, vulnerable to crises like COVID.
Social implications–There is still much to learn about the role of accounting in the shaping of growing economic inequality. In focusing on public budgeting within the context of COVID, the authors suggest ways accounting researchers can contribute to our understanding of economic inequality, both in terms of drivers and consequences. The authors hope to contribute to a growing body of accounting research that can influence social movements, political debates and policymaking, while also raising awareness of the consequences of wealth and income inequality.
Originality/value–The authors explore ways accounting scholars might help articulate a post-COVID future that avoids recreating the inequalities of the past and present.
KeywordsInequality, COVID-19, Public budgeting, Social accounting, Neoliberalism, Public policy, Piketty Paper typeResearch paper We do not always respond to shocks with regression. Sometimes, in the face of crisis, we grow up—fast (Klein, 2007). 1. Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed systemic challenges that need to be addressed by both society and scholarship. Implicated in those challenges is capitalism itself, as well as disciplines closely aligned to its ends like accounting.Guthrie and Parker (2017, p. 8) argue that accounting“has responsibilities that affect the living conditions of billions of people globally”, and they urge researchers“to rediscover contemporary relevance”for the field and to“enter into dialogue with potential audiences beyond themselves”(p. 11).
Along with climate change, economic inequality is one of the most pressing issues of our time. As accounting scholars, we have much to contribute to a collective understanding of the impact of inequality on society and the crafting of strategies to redress social and economic imbalances.Tweedie and Hazelton (2019)argued that the accounting and accountability research agenda should engage more actively with economic inequality, which aligns with AAAJ’s remit to reflect the severe issues associated with allocative, distributive, behavioural, social and ecological problems of the modern world.
Many countries have adopted neoliberal ideas and policies, imposing new public management (NPM) aligned with“quasi competition”and“business-like”management models in the public sector. NPM is a logic steeped in the management structures of the Accounting, inequality and COVID-19 1471 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
In studying inequality, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought public budgeting approaches into even sharper focus. Given the effects of COVID have intensified pre-existing racial, gender and class inequalities (Lehman, 2012;Lehmanet al., 2018), we explore whether the Australian Government’s response to COVID temporarily addresses several forms of inequality, via three specific questions.
(1) How has the pandemic challenged existing public sector budgetary rules and institutional design?
(2) What are the key political, economic and social factors influencing pandemic related policy responses and budgetary measures?
(3) Will there be permanent changes and unintended consequences to extant fiscal institutions as a result of the pandemic?
2. Background In November 2020, many economic indicators pointed to an emerging major global recession.
To insulate businesses and individuals from the financial consequences of COVID-19 public health interventions, governments across the globe have engaged in a wave of public spending. On the surface, the expenditure patterns appear to have deviated temporarily from neoliberal policy norms (Andrewet al., 2020), such as regressive taxation (Cooperet al., 2010), deregulation (Merinoet al., 2010), privatisation and the general dismantling of the welfare state and labour organisations (Andrew and Cahill, 2017;Uddin and Hopper 2003). We will argue that COVID-19, in particular, has highlighted our shared dependence on well-resourced governments in times of crisis and questioned the future of government spending and revenue-raising. Yet the unfolding crisis and the various government responses also have animated debates about economic and social inequalities (seeGrossiet al., 2020for a discussion of international reactions). In our paper, we focus on the Australian Government’s response to COVID-19. Still, we are speaking to a broader set of concerns that are of international interest, particularly as they relate to the effects of crises on public budgeting.
Australia is somewhat novel as a context as a conservative government have introduced these interventions in a temporary break from their preference for budget surpluses, austere social safety nets and business-focused stimulus measures.
The facts regarding economic inequality in Australia are bleak. Before the COVID-19 crisis, there were 3.24 million people (13.6% of the population) living below the poverty line, including 700,000 children under the age of 15 (ACOSS, 2019,2020). Women, particularly those who are single parents, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to be over-represented in measures of poverty (Commonwealth Government of Australia, 2009– 2014). There is little doubt the pandemic has increased both the number of people in poverty and the degree of their economic strain. For example, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS, 2020) estimates that at the peak of the employment crisis in June 2020, more than 1.6 million people were receiving unemployment benefits (known asJobSeeker) with 835,100 jobs lost since March. Even those people who have jobs are less secure: at the time of writing more AAAJ 34,6 1472 than 6 million people across 860,000 businesses were receiving wage supplements from the Government (known asJobKeeper) and in June 2020 over 50% of the Australian workforce was supported in part by the Government’sJobSeekerandJobKeeperpackages. Yet the pandemic has increased the wealth of the uber-rich, with the combined worth of Australia’s 200 wealthiest individuals rising by 25% in 2020 (Wade, 2020). While Australian policy responses to the pandemic have included a (temporary) focus on vulnerable people, as we will discuss, these same policies have generated wealth for businesses and their owners.
With this in mind, we agree withBerger (2017)that accounting academics can offer insights into the conditions of the present to help shape a more equitable and sustainable future (Bebbington and Unerman, 2018). Our paper discusses the relationship between accounting, public policy and inequality to articulate alternative pathways that might avoid recreating inequalities in a post-COVID future (Tweedie and Hazelton, 2015,2019).Section 3discusses the relationship between accounting, crises and inequality, andSection 4outlines our case study of pre-pandemic inequality in Australia.Section 5follows with an analysis of the shape of inequality in Australia after the pandemic where we discuss three specific“people-focused” budgetary measures enacted by the Australian Government during the crisis:JobKeeper, JobSeekerand theearly release superannuation scheme.InSection 6, we explore alternatives to the neoliberal approach to social welfare and inequality. We end with a consideration of the future beyond these temporary social welfare interventions, asking whether the crisis will provide the impetus to rethink neoliberal welfare policy solutions over the longer term.
3. Accounting, crises and inequality Accounting technologies have long been intertwined with capitalism (Andrew and Baker, 2020;Bryer, 2000a,b;Chiapello, 2007,2017;Cooper, 2015), withChiapello (2007, p. 268) referring to accounting as the“institution par excellence, whose progress is an indicator and sign…of the advance of capitalism”. Within capitalism, accounting has helped ensure the ideological and political potency of financial information masquerading (albeit imperfectly) as“truth”(Lapsley and Miller, 2019;Roberts and Wang, 2019;Tweedie and Hazelton, 2019).
With an emphasis on surplus accumulation and exploitation in the pursuit of profit, accounting practices have played a significant role in the production and maintenance of inequalities. The joint efforts of the accounting profession, standard setters and the Big Four global accounting firms have normalised the notion that the interests of capital and business are aligned with those of the public to such a degree that it has become almost impossible to imagine alternatives (Brooks, 2018).
Critically, this suggests that “inequality does not existas such”(Piketty, 2020, p. 7) but is instead, the outcome of neoliberal policy choices. According to Piketty, inequality ismade through the“legal, physical, educational, and political systems that people choose to adopt and the conceptual definitions they choose to work with”and that these are recruited to generate dominant narratives that can“bolster the existing inequality regime”(Piketty, 2020, p. 1). In Australia, neoliberal policy choices have led to unemployment, underemployment, suppressed wage growth and allowed forthe ballooning of household debt and intensification of inequality. In viewing the state as a business entity, neoliberals fear public debt and associated budget deficits (Andrewet al., 2020).
Accounting researchers have been concerned with the effects of neoliberalism on regulation, public budgeting and public service provision (Andrew, 2007;Merinoet al., 2010; Lapsley and Miller, 2019;Munzer, 2019;Peda and Vinnari, 2019). Many argue that by privileging capital, the legitimacy of surplus accumulation and the affirmation of cost minimisation on people and the planet, accounting has valorised exploitative practices that underpin the trajectory of rising economic inequality (Tweedie and Hazelton, 2015,2019).
However, crises like the current pandemic both expose already existing inequalities and (if left unchecked) intensify their effects (Spinney, 2020). Without both temporary and longer- Accounting, inequality and COVID-19 1473 term budgetary intervention, much of the burden of COVID-19 will fall on those already vulnerable, potentially exacerbating“deeply rooted social, racial, and economic health disparities”(Dornet al., 2020).
While the poor suffer disproportionally during crises under neoliberalism, the rich are well placed to get richer. In the past, crises have allowed for the rapid mobilisation and unquestioning adoption of neoliberal ideas within policymaking circles (e.g. the effectiveness of free markets and business, the benefits of privatisation and the inefficiency of public service delivery). They also present opportunities for significant transformation. Crises unsettle norms, rendering vulnerabilities, injustices and inequalities visible in ways that introduce the possibility of change. The pandemic provides an opportunity to rethink the relationship between governments, markets and citizens. Through strong advocacy and good policy alternatives, inequality can be addressed by a deepening of democratic ideals and the“rational pursuit of collectively defined and approved ends”(Bourdieu, 1998, p. 104, emphasis in original). But achieving transformation requires a radical rethinking of the role and purpose of accounting beyond that forged under neoliberalism, developing new approaches to public budgeting that address the intensifying inequalities produced by the pandemic (Andrewet al., 2020).
4. Pre-pandemic inequality in Australia While experiences across the world have varied, Australia provides a useful case study of pre-pandemic inequality. According to the OECD’s global economic outlook, Australia has done well compared to the rest of the developed world in handling the pandemic and emerging from the recession (Wright, 2020). Not only has the public health response been effective, attributed mainly to geography and closed borders, science-based policy response and community-oriented compliance culture (Wright, 2020), but the Government’s approach has been based on stimulus rather than austerity (theIMF Policy Tracker (2020)suggests that at 11.6% of GDP, Australia’s direct fiscal response is amongst the highest in the world).
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, both income and wealth inequality had been rising in Australia. In 2015–2016, an individual in the highest 1% of income earners took home more in a fortnight than the yearly salary of someone in the lowest 5% of income earners (ACOSS, 2018). According to data obtained from the Inequality Lab[1]income inequality in Australia has increased consistently since the 1980s.Figure 1demonstrates the increasing share of national pre-tax income earned by the highest income earners[2]. The top 10% income earners increased their proportion of the country’s total income from 23% to 33%. However, the real change was that the top 1% of earners now take home 13% of total national income, more than double what it was in the 1980s (5%). Figure 1.
Percentage share of pre-tax national income amongst high income earners AAAJ 34,6 1474 An Australian Bureau of Statistics report released mid-2019 shows that the wealthiest 200 people in Australia increased their net worth by an estimated 20% in 2018 (Long and Janda, 2019). Conversely, changes to the labour market, household debt and the size of the average mortgage mean that 10% of working households in Australia have less than $90 of savings in the bank (Power, 2020). The World Inequality Report neatly sums up the root cause:“economic inequality is largely driven by the unequal ownership of capital” (Alvaredoet al., 2018, p. 10). In Australia, inequality in capital stems from marked differences in homeownership and superannuation (private retirement savings) (Coates and Chivers, 2019).
Inequality is a global issue, with The World Inequality Report (Alvaredoet al., 2018,p.5) revealing that inequality levels differ widely between countries with similar levels of development. This highlights the critical role that national policies and public budgeting play in the shaping of inequality. Given this, it seems clear that Australia can address not only pre-existing inequalities through budgetary measures, but, if these are attuned to the needs of vulnerable people, some of the adverse social and economic effects of COVID can also be mitigated.
5.“People-focused”budget responses to COVID in Australia In response to the pandemic, the Australian Government mobilised a raft of stimulus measures for both businesses and individuals. A recent OECD report said that Australia’s economic improvement has been due to an avalanche of government financial support, such as theJobKeeperwage subsidy, and the Reserve Bank’s support in cutting interest rates and buying government bonds (OECD, 2020). We consider three of what we refer to as“people- focused”budgetary responses enacted by the Government. On the face of it, these appear to deviate significantly from the discourse on welfare and the market-based solutions that have dominated Australian public budgeting for decades (Andrewet al., 2020). Yet on closer inspection, these temporary relief measures also implicitly or explicitly reinforce neoliberal ideology.
5.1 JobSeeker Since 1945 the Australian Government has provided an unemployment payment to citizens who find themselves without work, but in the early 1980s social welfare provisions started to change as unemployment began to be conceptualised less as a collective problem for governments and more as an individual responsibility. This shift is a consequence of the embrace of the neoliberal philosophy of personal responsibility for social well-being accompanied by the withdrawal or reduction of state support (cost-saving). Over time, payments to the unemployed have reduced in size (relatively), and access has become more prohibitive.
At the beginning of 2020, the Government’s low unemployment payments came under scrutiny, and a parliamentary committee issued a report warning that people were being forced into poverty, food insecurity, homelessness and compromised mental health because of lack of income support. With the onset of the pandemic and widescale job losses, on 24 March 2020, the Government announced temporary changes to theJobSeekerpayment that included a supplement to the unemployment benefit of $550 a fortnight, along with a lifting of wait times, changes to the assets and income test, removal of the“mutual obligation” requirements and a streamlining of the application process. The changes initially projected to cost $14 billion over six months, were designed to“supercharge the safety net”and“support the most vulnerable”(Henriques-Gomes, 2020 ). The program has since been extended at a lower rate of supplementation (to $250 in September and then to $100 in December 2020) Accounting, inequality and COVID-19 1475 and with tighter eligibility requirements until March 2021. In October 2020, when the Government released its budget (six months late) it became clear that the phased reduction in people-focused support would be replaced by a growing emphasis on a business-driven recovery.
This shift in focus symbolically signals that people receivingJobSeekerbefore the pandemic was“responsible”for their unemployment, unlike those who found themselves unemployed through no“fault”of their own as a result of the public health interventions (e.g.
shutdowns). Drawing such a distinction is a by-product of neoliberal restructuring that has eroded previous welfare provisions to create a“flexible”labour market (i.e. casualisation), leaving the majority of Australian workers with few protections and vulnerable to unemployment (ABC News, 2018).
According to the ABS, the unemployment rate rose from 5.2% in early 2020 to 7.1% by September (ABS, 2020). The October data shows 747,600 Australians worked between one and nine hours per week, which is 5.8% of all workers with jobs. If all of these workers were classified as unemployed–which many effectively are, given they would work only a handful of hours a week–the unemployment rate increases from 7.00% to 12.44%. None of these workers would qualify forJobSeekerpayments (Austin, 2020).
Approximately 1.7 million people receivedJobSeekerpayments in September (Henriques- Gomes and Karp, 2020). There is little doubt that this scheme provided critical relief from the immediate consequences of public health-related unemployment. Also considered that JobSeekerpayments to the unemployed have ensured those people have resources to pay for essentials such as housing, food and clothing. Despite this, the Government is winding back its welfare provisions to pre-COVID levels. The OECD has warned the Government against withdrawing support too quickly, and it also should consider increasing payments to the unemployed on a long-term basis (Wright, 2020).
5.2 JobKeeper The potential value of a universal basic income has been widely debated (see, e.g.Lawhon and McCreary, 2020), in terms of both social and environmental benefits. However, most governments have resisted undertaking policy experiments to assess the viability of a universal wage[3]. Despite government wage subsidies being inconsistent with neoliberal principles, on 30 March 2020, the Australian Prime Minister announced a $130 billion package focused on sustaining employment during the economic downturn caused by the pandemic through a wage subsidy package to employers. With similar features to a universal basic income, theJobKeeper package provided initial temporary payments of $1500 a fortnight to eligible businesses to subsidise the wages of employees who might otherwise have been made redundant. It has since been revised downwards to $1200 from September to $1000 in January 2021 and will end in March 2021. The program has sought to maintain the employer-employee relationship through a wage subsidy, thereby helping to support employment and ensure money continues to flow within the economy. However, the failure ofJobKeeperto include certain groups of employees has been controversial. In particular, the 2.17 million people on temporary visas in Australia (such as students, working holidaymakers, temporary skilled workers) and citizens and permanent residents not in their role for at least 12 months are not included[4].
Both the extension ofJobSeekerand the introduction ofJobKeepersaw the Government mobilise budgetary measures that put money directly into the hands of individuals whose livelihoods were compromised as a result of the lockdown restrictions imposed in response to COVID-19. Given the schemes will be funded by taxpaying Australians, to a large extent, the welfare responsibility of the crisis has been collectivised. This is a significant, albeit temporary, shift from the neoliberal norms of previous government administrations that AAAJ 34,6 1476 rejected direct welfare payments for the social safety net, preferring instead to stimulate business as a means to keep jobs. The temporary nature of these programs does not present a wholesale change in thinking, but it does signal the importance of the state as the insurer of last resort during a crisis[5].
Unfortunately, for many, theJobKeepersubsidy only delays their eventual unemployment and the need forJobSeekerwhen the program ends in March 2021. Given this, the Reserve Bank has been urging the Government to consider a more robust counter-cyclical employment creation scheme that focuses on public infrastructure projects (Associated Australian Press, 2019). In effect, this would shift resources from a wage subsidy into new forms of government employment that targets the construction of new public assets, securing the nation’s longer-term collective wealth. Instead, the Federal Budget 2020 has sent strong signals that the Government is keen to revert to budgetary measures that stimulate (and subsidise) the private sector, capital and a business-led recovery (Commonwealth of Australia, 2020).
5.3 Early release superannuation scheme In a further attempt to get cash into the hands of the Australian people, the Government initiated anearly release superannuation scheme[6].From 20 April 2020, eligible individuals were permitted to access up to $20,000 of their retirement savings without being subject to tax or a means tests for other forms of welfare support. By November 2020, over 50,000 people have withdrawn over $33 billion. In effect, the scheme made it possible for individuals to act as their own welfare provider. Still, the decision to withdraw from superannuation comes with a significant impact on retirement savings in the future.
The funds have been used to pay down debt, pay rent and buy food in the present. At the same time, these same Australians will see their future fiscally constrained in new ways, as they pay for the current stimulus spending through a combination of increased personal taxes, goods and services taxes and additional austerity measures. Indeed, unlikeJobKeeper andJobSeeker, over time the scheme is likely to increase inequality and require additional budgetary spending later when these citizens approach retirement (in the form of pensions and other social infrastructure related to housing and health care). The scheme is in keeping with the logic of neoliberalism wherein“responsible individuals are required to provide for themselves in the context of powers and contingencies radically limiting their ability to do so” (Brown, 2015, p. 134).
6. Budgeting, accountability and tackling inequality Andrewet al.(2020, p. 766) argue that within the straitjacket of neoliberalism, Australia’s national budgets have created: consistent winners and losers, where the winners are large corporations and owners of capital and the losers are the self-employed, contract and casual workers, minorities and society as a whole because there is less money for essential services and infrastructures such as hospitals, schools, welfare payments, science and innovation and public transport. While it seems the ideological frame within which public budgeting takes place has become somewhat impenetrable, the current crisis has shone a light on the realities of neoliberal budgeting.
Given that the health and financial consequences of this pandemic will continue to be unevenly distributed without a fundamentally different approach to public budgeting, including changes to the“education system, health system, tax and industrial relations framework”, Australia will continue to produce“virulent inequality”(Charlton, 2020). Public budgeting within the context of neoliberalism, even when faced with a crisis of the scale we are currently experiencing, has failed to engage with the structural drivers of inequality. Accounting, inequality and COVID-19 1477 Indeed, despite the temporary“people-focused”budgetary interventions outlined above, the sustained bias towards business-led recoveries are set to reproduce remedies that“fail to grasp the root cause of the problem”(Olsonet al., 2001, p. 506).
Indeed, it is increasingly apparent that the Australian Government will not reconceive our essential public services beyond the logics of new public management. Instead of pursuing employment through public infrastructure projects, its focus is on providing subsidies to business to keep employees“on the books”and working. While Australian policy responses to the pandemic have included a (temporary) focus on vulnerable people, these same policies have also been recruited to generate cash for businesses and capital to intensify the worth of the wealthy. When finishing this article in February 2021, the government announced an increase in normal unemployment benefits of $3.57 a day extra. This places Australian at the bottom of the OECD concerning social security payments for the unemployed[7]. The government JobKeeper $100 billion scheme, mainly paid to big corporations, has resulted in Australian billionaires becoming richer and the corporate sector announcing profits and dividends. For instance, Crown Resorts took $255 million in JobKeeper payments in 2020, allowing it to pay $203 million in dividends. Crown made a $120 million loss for the six months to December[8].
Yet alternatives to neoliberalism exist. Piketty’sCapital and Ideology(2020) outlines concrete possibilities for a more equitable future, emphasising public welfare and living wages to flatten the inequality curve–in essence, budgetary measures likeJobKeeperand JobSeekerthat have been mobilised permanently in response to inequality. Alongside these, Piketty (2020, p. 981) makes a case for a“universal capital endowment”funded by a “progressive tax triptych”that focuses on poverty, inheritance and income tax reform to help “diffuse wealth at the base while limiting concentration at the summit”. This proposal tackles inequality by supporting vulnerable workers who are reliant on selling their labour-power in an increasingly unregulated market that puts“constant downward pressure”on wages or has been left without work entirely (and therefore have no real means to build capital) (Andrew and Baker, 2020, p. 647).
It is evident that alternatives to neoliberal forms of revenue-raising and expenditure within the routines of public budgeting (seeMarriott and Sim, 2019;Sikka, 2015;Veldman, 2019) have proven essential during the initial phases of this crisis and can no longer be dismissed as unrealistic. In the space of months, the government have changed their approach to public policy and public budgeting to enable the suspension of rents and mortgages, the outlawing of evictions, the provision of a living wage, free childcare, the freeing of prisoners and the channelling of funds into public goods and services like healthcare and cleaning. Policies that seemed previouslyimpossiblehave proven temporarily possible (if not essential) in the face of the pandemic. That said, the suite of“people-focused” budgetary measures will produce uneven outcomes as the responsibility for some welfare payments to vulnerable Australians has been collectivised (JobSeekerandJobKeeper) while others remain individualised. In encouraging vulnerable people to draw down their retirement savings (with obvious long-term implications for their retirement savings), the early superannuation access schemeis a profoundly inequitable approach to social welfare, relying both on neoliberal ideas about personal responsibility as well as underlying belief structures about individualism and retirement funding.
In what seems like further evidence of the sustained appeal of neoliberal forms of governance, when the Australian budget was finally released in October 2020 (six months later than expected), it included $1.4 billion in cuts to the funding of eleven critical bodies created to improve government transparency and public accountability. These included the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), the Office of Information Commissioner, and the Australian Human Rights Commission. Starving a watchdog meant to investigate government misconduct undermines the independence of that organisation. It can only be AAAJ 34,6 1478 viewed cynically, given that the ANAO has uncovered some of the biggest government corruption scandals in 2020, including the possible use of community funding to secure votes in marginal electorates and an allegedly corrupt property deal that has been referred to the police for investigation (Wilkins, 2020). Under the spectre of crisis, it appears the 2020 Budget has eroded the very bodies that ensure Australia’s democratic institutions can meet the challenges posed by this pandemic[9].
7. Conclusions If inequality is created and maintained through discourse and ideology (Piketty, 2020), then accounting has an essential role to play in the production of more equitable futures. Across the spectrum of work undertaken by accountants–from tax and audit accounting to management accounting and financial reporting–all could be more attuned to inequality if underpinned by appropriate regulation, public policy and budgetary measures (Merinoet al., 2010;Sikka, 2009,2015). The pandemic has also prompted a discussion about our rights to basic needs such as food, housing, healthcare, education and secure work, which has implications for the field of accounting practice that prioritises shareholder value and capital markets.
Given that we know there is a relationship between accounting and inequality, there is a pressing need for accounting researchers to contribute to public debates about greater equality and the well-being of people in society. These discussions should include analysis of the living wage debate with empirically rich insights from individuals who have received these kinds of benefits during the pandemic (Skilling and Tregidga, 2019), and a critique of the implications of shareholder value on the real economy and its impact on wealth distribution (Clarkeet al., 2019;Veldman, 2019). Also, there is an urgent need for research that maps the way accounting normalises those business structures and internal management practices that reproduce structural and discursive forms of economic inequality (Tweedie and Hazelton, 2015,2019). We call for accounting researchers to play their part in shaping a post-COVID future that avoids recreating the inequalities of the present.
Notes 1. The World Inequality Lab is associated with the Inequality Report ofAlvaredoet al.(2018), see https://wid.world/world-inequality-lab 2. While the Gini index is often used as a measures of inequality,Alvaredoet al.(2018, p. 27) advises the use of the“share of national income captured by each group”as they argue this is a more meaningful and accurate measure.
3. Finland is a notable exception, but there are other small-scale experiments, some funded by the private sector, taking place in Canada, Scotland, Spain, India, Kenya and the US.
4. Controversially,JobKeeperhas been paid to some large, listed companies, triggering concerns that the program may have artificially inflated profits, dividend payments and executive bonuses.
5. Governments around the world played a similar role in response to the global financial crisis of 2008–2009.
6. Superannuation in Australia is a type of employment-funded pension, partly compulsory and further encouraged by tax benefits.
8.https://www.crikey.com.au/2021/02/25/jobkeeper-2021-wage-supplement / 9. The 2020–21 Budget includes $98 billion in response and recovery support, including $25 billion under the COVID-19 Response Package and $74 billion under the JobMaker Plan. The underlying Accounting, inequality and COVID-19 1479 cash deficit in 2020–21 is expected to be $213.7 billion (11.0 per cent of GDP) (Commonwealth of Australia, 2020).
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Corresponding author Max Baker can be contacted at:max.baker@sydney.edu.au For instructions on how to order reprints of this article, please visit our website:
www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/licensing/reprints.htm Or contact us for further details:permissions@emeraldinsight.com Accounting, inequality and COVID-19 1483
Problems need to include all required steps and answer(s) for full credit. All answers need to be reduced to lowest terms where possible. If the answer is in %, show two decimal places.
Answer the following problems showing your work and explaining (or analyzing) your results. Submit your work in a typed Microsoft Word document.
Below are excel functions, which you can use to solve for measures of central tendency and variability. You can use the formulas too; but, they will be time consuming.
EXCEL FUNCTIONS
Measures of Central Tendency
Suppose data are in cells A1 to A10
Mean =AVERAGE(A1:A10)
Median =MEDIAN(A1:A10)
Mode =MODE(A1:A10)
Measures of Variability
Suppose data are in cells A1 to A10
Range =MAX(A1:A10)-MIN(A1:A10)
IQR =QUARTILE.EXC(Array,3)-QUARTILE.EXC(Array,1)
Population Variance σ2 =VAR.P(A1:A10)
Sample Variance s2 =VAR(A1:A10) or VAR.S(A1:A10)
Population Standard Deviation σ =STDEV.P(A1:A10)
Sample Standard Deviation s =STDEV(A1:A10) or STDEV.S(A1:A10
You have to use R studio to make this assignment. Look the questions to answer are in the SDM applied project and excel dataset can be found in the excel file attached. A screenshot and r studio needs to be attached to the relevant question.
The College APPLIED PROJECT – TERM 3 2021 STUDENT NAME STUDENT ID SIGNATURE
UNIT NAME: Statistical Decision Making UNIT NUMBER: MATH1029 NUMBER OF QUESTIONS: 4 VALUE OF QUESTIONS: Applied project questions are worth 30 marks in total. ANSWERING QUESTIONS: This applied project is to be completed using RStudio. All handwritten answers are to be written on the space provided in this project. 8 pages INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS • The file containing the data sets for the following questions can be downloaded from the e-learning site vUWS. • You should use RStudio to carry out all calculations and statistical analysis which must be shown in the file to be submitted on vUWS. You will be required to submit the R-Script used to perform all the calculations for all the questions. This R-Script should run without errors. • All answers in this booklet must match your calculations done and submitted in the R-Script. • To complete this project, you must provide the RStudio outputs for each of the questions. • Individual projects submitted after the due date will attract a late penalty in accordance with the late penalty policy stated on the Western Sydney University – The College Website. To upload your R-Script file follow these instructions: a. Login to “vUWS”. b. Select the Statistical Decision Making folder. c. Under the Assessment tab (from the left hand side of the screen), select “Assessment 4:Applied Project (10%)” and select your group. d. Use “Add attachment” to select the file to be submitted. e. Double-check to make sure you have the correct file. f. “Submit” your file. g. A written hard copy of your applied project containing the solutions to each question must be handed in by the due date of this project. Description of the assignment and data The assignment centres around a study of drinking habits of young adults. The data stored in the Microsoft Excel file named SDM AppliedProject 2021.3.xlsx is to be used for the assignment. It can be downloaded from vUWS. You are to use the data set assigned to you by your teacher to answer all the questions in this assignment. The data in this file were gathered from young adults aged between 18-30. The participants were surveyed about their drinking behaviour on the previous weeks, while drinking alone, and while drinking with a romantic partner. The data set comprises of the following variables: Gender Gender of the participants: 1=Female 2=Male Age Age of the participants, in years Alcohol (Drink Alone) Amount of alcohol consumed (per week) by the participants when drinking alone, in standard drinks Alcohol (Drink with Partner) Amount of alcohol consumed (per week) by the participants when drinking with a romantic partner, in standard drinks (a standard drink is any drink containing 10 grams of alcohol) NOTE: The data was randomly created for the sole purpose of this assignment.
Question 1 (6 marks) Marks In this question you are to investigate the distribution of the amount of alcohol consumption when drinking alone by using descriptive statistics, and a visual depiction of your results.
a) Using RStudio, obtain the following descriptive measures for alcohol consumption when drinking alone. * [2] i) Mean ii) Median iii) Standard deviation iv) Range b) Using RStudio, construct a histogram with 5 classes* [2] You must clearly label the axes and title the graph. [2] c) Using RStudio, construct a 90% confidence interval for the population mean alcohol consumption when drinking alone*. [2] * Evidence of work in RStudio is required
Question 2 (8 marks) It is believed that to reduce the risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury, healthy men and women should drink no more than 6 standard drinks a week. In this question you are to investigate if the average alcohol consumption when drinking alone is within the healthy limit, by carrying out a hypothesis test.
a) Using RStudio, obtain an output for a hypothesis test at a 5% level of significance to determine if the alcohol consumption when drinking alone is less than 6 standard drinks. (Assume that the amount of alcohol consumption when drinking alone are normally distributed). * [2]
b) Using the information in the output, conduct a hypothesis test at a 5% level of significance to determine if the alcohol consumption when drinking alone is less than 6 standard drinks: i) State the null and alternative hypothesis [1] ii) State the test statistic including the degrees of freedom [1] iii) State the decision rule [1] iv) State the p-value [1] v) State the decision by giving reasons [1] vi) Write down the conclusion [1] * Evidence of work in RStudio is required
Question 3 (8 marks) In this question you are to investigate if there is a significant difference between the alcohol consumption when drinking alone and when drinking with a partner, by carrying out a hypothesis test for the paired difference. Marks a) Using RStudio, obtain an output for a hypothesis test at a 10% level of significance. Assume that the paired differences are normally distributed. * [2]
b) Using the information in the output, conduct a hypothesis test at a 10% level of significance to determine if the alcohol consumption differs significantly when drinking alone and when drinking with a partner: i) State the null and alternative hypothesis [1] ii) State the test statistic including the degrees of freedom [1] iii) State the decision rule [1] iv) State the p-value [1] v) State the decision by giving reasons [1] vi) Write down the conclusion [1]
* Evidence of work in RStudio is required
Question 4 (8 marks) Marks In this question you are to investigate if there is a correlation between the age and the alcohol consumption (when drinking alone), by performing a regression analysis. a) Using RStudio, obtain a linear regression output. You must include both the graphical display and statistical analysis summary. * [2] b) By examining the scatter plot discuss if there is a correlation between the age and the alcohol consumption (when drinking alone). [2] c) State the coefficient of determination. [1] d) Obtain the correlation coefficient. [1] e) Discuss the correlation between the age and the alcohol consumption (when drinking alone) by referring to the numerical values obtained in part c) and part d). [2] * Evidence of work in RStudio is required
How would you prepare for the following situation? (provide realistic examples and details for safety and survival)
(Scenario) At this moment, you are sitting at home working on your WCU class. Suddenly, the National Weather Bureau sends an alert across your cell phone—a tornado is headed your way. You have 15 minutes before touchdown in your neighborhood. What is your plan? This is a ‘shelter in place’ scenario, you cannot outrun the tornado. Identify a safe place in your home to take shelter.
You must include research. Cite and reference two sources and explain the recommended safety measures in a tornado emergency and how you would apply them to your specific living arrangements.
b. How prepared are you in the event of a disaster? Describe your level of disaster preparedness using specific examples and references to your “go-bag” and preparedness checklist assignments.
Example:“I am more prepared for a water-related disaster than a fire-related disaster even though I live in a highly secluded, forested area. I have a boat as transportation in the event of flooding, but I do not have rain barrels or fire barrier supplies on hand.”
Example: “There were many missing items on my preparedness checklist. I realized that I do not own a flashlight. If I had to use my phone as a light it would drain the battery very quickly.
c. Reflect on how prepared you were before this class and compare it with how prepared you are now.
Have you acquired any new emergency items?
Do you plan to take any additional trainings or certification courses?
Have you shared your knowledge with friends and family?
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Organizations must stay up-to-date on their vulnerabilities and protection measures. Once vulnerabilities have been evaluated, the organization uses this information to develop a risk assessment plan. This plan should consider the perspectives of owners, shareholders, employees, policy makers, suppliers, and customers.
In this project, “Risk Assessment,” use the previous findings from Project 1, “Vulnerability and Threat Assessment Report,” to recommend an action plan for the risk assessment assigned in this project. The final assignment is a five- to seven-page review or summary of the risk assessment. Note that this is not a complete risk management report, but a “what if” report outlining potentials in both attacks and possible responses.
For this particular project, grades are based on the ability to clearly and accurately assess policies, processes, and technologies to identify and assess risk and articulate effective mitigation strategies to achieve the appropriate security needed for the enterprise.
This is the second of four sequential projects. There are 12 steps in this project. Begin below to review the project scenario.
Transcript
Competencies
Your work will be evaluated using the competencies listed below.
2.1: Identify and clearly explain the issue, question, or problem under critical consideration.
2.5: Develop well-reasoned ideas, conclusions or decisions, checking them against relevant criteria and benchmarks.
9.3: Risk Assessment: Assess policies, processes, and technologies that are used to create a balanced approach to identifying and assessing risks and to manage mitigation strategies that achieve the security needed.
· Project 2: Risk Assessment
Step 1: Review the Risk Management Framework
· As the first step in preparing the risk assessment, review the risk management implementation framework and the risk management technologies that you might use in your assessment.
· In the subsequent sections of this project, you will write a risk assessment summary report that can be used in addressing cybersecurity threats through risk management.
· When this first step is complete, move to the next step, where you will create a list of vulnerable assets
· Step 2: Document Vulnerable Assets
· In the opening step, you considered the risk management implementation framework and the risk management technologies you might use. Now, it’s time to list the organization’s vulnerable assets.
· In order to conduct effective information risk management, the vulnerabilities of the system must be understood and documented prior to starting the assessment, regardless of which of the risk assessment approaches is used.
· Begin by conducting a thorough review of the recently completed Vulnerability and Threat Assessment report. During the review, pay particular attention to which security risks to information systems that might be relevant and consider varying types of risk assessment and analysis.
· Using the Vulnerable Assets Template, identify and create a list of assets considered vulnerable. This is a simple list, not prioritized, not valued, simply identified, but complete. Pay particular attention to application software in both the acquisition and implementation phases. This list of vulnerable assets will also be used during the next step.
· Submit the completed list of vulnerable assets for feedback.
· Submission for Project 2: Vulnerable Asset List · Previous submissions
· 0
· Drop files here, or click below.
· Add Files
· In the next step, you will take the vulnerable assets and use them to identify specific internal and external threats.
· Step 3: Review the Vulnerable Assets List
· In the previous step, a list of vulnerable assets was compiled from the Vulnerability and Threat Report in the previous project. Now, incorporate any feedback from the previous step and identify specific cybersecurity threats, including network access risk by devices to those assets.
· Again, the Vulnerability and Threat Assessment final report is the starting point to fulfill this step in the Risk Assessment. Compiling a complete list of threats and vulnerabilities will act as a comprehensive review of your vulnerability assessment as well as potentially expand the list, now that you have greater input and a second look at your previous results.
· Step 4: Document Internal and External Threats
· You’ve reviewed the list of vulnerable assets, and in this step, you will document threats. Recall that a threat is any event, action, or factor that has the potential to cause damage to the enterprise. Threats can come from a variety of sources, including people (a hacker stealing employee passwords) and natural events (a power blackout causing data loss).
· Use the Internal and External Threats Template to add all threats and vulnerabilities—internal and external to the enterprise—and tie them to the itemized assets that will be affected. Note that external threats will include a comprehensive review by device type at network access, both direct and indirect, a view of the social media landscape as a threat.
· Submit the itemized list of threats for feedback.
· Submission for Project 2: Internal and External Threats List · Previous submissions
· 0
· Drop files here, or click below.
· Add Files
· In the next step, you will conduct research and report on inputs for threats and vulnerabilities.
· Step 5: Research Relevant Environmental Factors
· This step continues to build on the internal and external threats as itemized in the previous step by researching relevant external inputs.
· Since cybersecurity is a complex and multifaceted endeavor, an effective analysis of threats includes consideration of the threat landscape inherent within the context in which the enterprise operates.
· Researching how the external context and environment contribute to threats and vulnerabilities is critical because no company or industry is an island, particularly as it pertains to cybersecurity. The very nature of cybersecurity is hyperconnectivity—across companies within the same industry and across industries with similar information demands.
· Be sure to seek external input into the particular situation, specific threats and vulnerabilities, best practices, regulatory factors, government policy issues, previous industry issues, etc. Conduct thorough research in the industry and related industries about previous actions and activities that could affect your company.
· When the research is complete, you will use it in the next step to create a list of external threats and vulnerabilities.
· Step 6: Describe External/Environmental Inputs to Threats and Vulnerabilities
· Using your research from the previous step, create a list of external industry sources and best practices that might apply. Include one or two sentences for each input, commenting on why you think it would add value to your Risk Assessment.
· Submit your list of external inputs of threats and vulnerabilities for feedback.
· Submission for Project 2: External Inputs of Threats and Vulnerabilities · Previous submissions
· 0
· Drop files here, or click below.
· Add Files
· Next, you will identify potential and actual business impacts.
· Step 7: Identify Business Impacts and Probabilities
· Remember, cyber risk management and compliance is not just about the technology. It is also about the impact people, policies, and processes can have on the financial results of the company. After the previous step, in which you created a list of threats and vulnerabilities, now it’s important to consider the effects on business as part of risk assessment.
· Each enterprise must identify and address its own unique threat issues because the most obvious threats are not always the most dangerous ones. Many common threats, such as fire, are already mitigated to a high degree through local building codes and modern infrastructure redundancies. These might not require any further action. However, obscure threats, such as disruptive actions taken by a malicious insider, may be completely unmitigated.
· Any risk assessment should include a view of the business impact should an identified threat become a reality. Also consider the likelihood of occurrence for each threat so the list can be prioritized and appropriately managed.
· For this step, use the external inputs of threats and vulnerabilities compiled in the previous step to consider the business (monetary) impact of any realized threats and the prioritization of these threats by potential impact to the enterprise. In the next step, you will create a list of the business impacts.
· Step 8: List Business Impacts and Probabilities
· You identified the potential financial impacts should identified threats become realities in the last step. Here, use your findings to complete the Business Impacts and Probabilities Matrix, listing each identified threat and the risk, the probability, and a potential mitigation to include all policies, processes, and technologies to be used in formulation of financially and logistically sound mitigation strategy.
· After you’ve completed this step, you will document and prioritize risk responses. Submit your Business Impacts and Probabilities Matrix for feedback.
· Submission for Project 2: Business Impacts and Probabilities Matrix · Previous submissions
· 0
· Drop files here, or click below.
· Step 9: Consider Risk Response Strategies
· Now that you have developed a comprehensive list of potential risks with probabilities and potential business impact, it is time to consider possible risk response strategies for these risks. In the next step, you will document and prioritize risk responses.
Step 10: Document and Prioritize Risk Responses
In this step, you will prioritize your selected risk responses from the last step based on several factors:
The economic impact to the organization should the assessed risk occur.
The likelihood (probability) of an event that would activate the risk.
The arrangement of assets ranked by priority based on the highest value of the following formula: (economic impact) X (probability) = risk
SHAPE \* MERGEFORMAT
Risk Formula
Use the Prioritized Risks and Response Matrix template to submit your findings for feedback.
Submission for Project 2: Prioritized Risks and Response Matrix Previous submissions
0
Drop files here, or click below.
Add Files
After this process, you will be ready for the final step, the risk assessment summary report.
Step 11: Compile Your Work Up to This Point
You’ve prioritized your list of risk responses. It’s time to take a look at everything compiled so far for the Risk Assessment Summary Report. Keep in mind that a full risk management report is an intensive team endeavor that takes considerable time and resources to create. Remember that Maria has not tasked you with generating a full risk management report; rather, she has asked you to write a brief “what if” report outlining potentials in both attacks and possible responses.
In this step, take some time to review, make any updates, and compile your risk findings up to this point in preparation for creating the final report in the next step.
Step 12: Write the Risk Assessment Summary Report
Throughout this project, the necessary information has been assembled to provide your boss Maria with a risk assessment so that she may begin developing a long-term risk management strategy. This final step is compiling that information into a cogent “summary report” for presentation to company executives. This report will summarize the Vulnerability and Threat Assessment with the addition of the Risk Assessment just completed.
It is critical to provide recommendations to help the organization implement effective information risk management practices. Use findings in the previous steps to recommend risk management strategies such as least privilege, separation of duties, mandatory vacation, risk management technologies, and others you have found appropriate.
Remember, the recommendations included in the report should address all aspects of the research—business, economic, and technical reasoning for the conclusions.
Follow these Final Risk Assessment Summary Report requirements while writing the final risk assessment summary.
Check Your Evaluation Criteria
Before you submit your assignment, review the competencies below, which your instructor will use to evaluate your work. A good practice would be to use each competency as a self-check to confirm you have incorporated all of them. To view the complete grading rubric, click My Tools, select Assignments from the drop-down menu, and then click the project title.
2.1: Identify and clearly explain the issue, question, or problem under critical consideration.
2.5: Develop well-reasoned ideas, conclusions or decisions, checking them against relevant criteria and benchmarks.
9.3: Risk Assessment: Assess policies, processes, and technologies that are used to create a balanced approach to identifying and assessing risks and to manage mitigation strategies that achieve the security needed.
Submission for Project 2: Risk Assessment Summary Report
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The purpose of this assignment is to review the components of the comprehensive geriatric assessment
Activity Learning Outcomes
Through this discussion, the student will demonstrate the ability to:
1. Discuss components of a comprehensive geriatric assessment (WO 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4) (CO1, 5, 7)
2. Evaluate screening tools used as part of the comprehensive geriatric assessment (WO 1.4) (CO 1, 7)
Requirements:
Step 1:
Review the assigned topics which are listed below:
Your assessment domainYour peer response domain Physical health Socio environmental health & quality of life measures
Step 2:
For your assigned assessment domain:
1. Provide a brief 3-5 sentence summary of the components of the domain assessment
2. Choose a screening tool “Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA)” which is appropriate for your domain. Explain the screening tool purpose, components and scoring technique
3. Provide 2 references in APA format beneath the table which support your work. The second reference must be a scholarly source.
Your table should look like the following:
Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment DomainDimensions of assessmentScreening tool related to the domain(s) References:
Step 4:
Respond to a peer’s post. Your assigned response to a peer requirement is listed within the assignment table. (about one page)
Peer response will include:
· Compares peer domain to student’s assigned assessment domain, noting similarities and differences
· Peer review: discuss how your assigned peer’s screening tool (Lubben Social Network Scale) can be applicable in your own future practice
DISCUSSION CONTENTCategoryPoints%DescriptionAssessment of Knowledge:Assessment Domain1830 1. Provides a brief 3-5 sentence summary of the assigned domain components. 2. Domain summary includes description of each component. 3. Selects a domain appropriate screening tool. 4. Explains the purpose, components and scoring technique of the screening tool. Support from Evidence Based practice 1830 1. Discussion post is supported with a minimum of one appropriate, scholarly source in addition to the textbook AND 2. Sources are published within the last 5 years AND 3. A reference list is provided with in-text citations that match the discussion content AND 4. Peer response is supported with a minimum of one appropriate, scholarly source in addition to the textbook Peer response 1220 1. Compares peer domain to student’s assigned assessment domain 2. Comparison includes similarities and differences to student’s assigned domain 3. Comparison includes differences to student’s assigned domain 4. Discusses how the peer’s screening tool can be applicable in the student’s own future practice (4 critical elements) 4880%Total CONTENT Points= 48 ptsDISCUSSION FORMATCategoryPoints%DescriptionOrganization610 Assignment table pasted within the discussion board post. Student presents the assigned domain. Peer response clearly states the name of the screening tool being reviewed and is presented in a logical format. Grammar, Syntax, Spelling & Punctuation610 Student presents information in an organized manner, using clear and concise language. There are no APA, grammar, spelling, syntax or punctuation errors 1220%Total FORMAT Points= 12ptsDISCUSSION TOTAL= 60 points
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Download and review the Community General Hospital Case Study.
Research quality and safety measures using the links provided in the Case Study document and in the Learning Activities.
Consider the priority areas for measurement for Community General Hospital. Based on the case study, select 6–8 measures for inclusion in a dashboard for the Community General Hospital Board.
Determine how you will display the measures in your dashboard.
Click each of the items below for more information on this Assessment.
Using Excel or PowerPoint, create a quality dashboard based on the Community General Hospital Case Study. Your dashboard must include 6–8 measures. Use mock data to represent the measures you have chosen.
