Week 4  –      Information Gathering:

Research and information literacy

Journal Article 1

Risk-averse individuals are more likely to limit their portfolios to relatively safe assets, such as saving accounts and government bonds, whereas individuals with less aversion to risk will also include risky assets in their portfolios, such as shares.  (West & Worthington 2006)

Keywords used: 

Risk and return, portfolio analysis

Reference details:

West, T & Worthington, AC 2006, 'Macroeconomic risk factors in Australian commercial real estate, listed  property sector stock returns: a comparative analysis using GARCH-M', Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction, 11(2), pp. 21-31

Journal Article 2

Siriwardane and Durden (2014, pp. 132-133) note that ‘practicing accountants appear to rate the importance of informal communication skills higher than formal communication skills’, whereas educators tend to rank formal communication skills above informal communication skills.

Keywords used:

            Communication skills, professional accountants

Reference details:

Siriwardane, HP & Durden, CH 2014, 'The communication skills of accountants: what we know and the gaps in our knowledge', Accounting Education: An International Journal, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 119–134. 

Journal Article 3

According to Jones (2011, p. 264) employers consider basic writing mechanics to be important and rate the combination of correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word usage somewhere between very important and extremely important, with documentation and effective writing following close behind.

Keywords used:

            Accounting, effective communication

Reference details:

Jones, CG 2011, 'Written and computer-mediated accounting communication skills: an employer perspective'.  Business Communication Quarterly, vol. 74 issue 3, pp. 247-271

Is taking notes a waste of time?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the section on note taking in the text book, particularly when the question was proposed: 'is taking notes old fashioned and a waste of time?' (Eunson 2012, p.89) This had my interest from the get-go as I have always taken notes, from noting down part of a conversation I may be having over the telephone to notes from a lecture through to taking notes whilst reading a text book.  In fact, I am always finding pieces of paper lying around at home with notes written on them.  

What I found so interesting is Eunson (2012, p.58) states that it is not a waste of time and by taking notes it puts your brain to work, suggesting you are actively involved with analysing and comparing ideas and arguments.  This can only be of great help for my career given that in accounting, key competencies include critical thinking along with analytical skills.

Chandler (cited in Eunson 2012, p.56) however suggests that when you take down notes by hand you are engaging in 'tactile thinking', which means you actively stimulate cognitive processes through physical movement.  On further research I have learnt that 'tactile thinking' is a type of kinesthetic learning whereby learning takes place by carrying out a physical activity as opposed to listening to someone giving a lecture or watching a demonstration.

As Faye Weldon (cited in Eunson 2012, p.58) states: 'I choose to believe that there is some kind of mystic connection between the brain and the actual act of writing in longhand.'  I dare say that I do agree.

References
Eunson, B 2012,  Communicating in the 21st century, 3rd edn, John Wiley & Sons Australia, Milton

Jones, CG 2011, 'Written and computer-mediated accounting communication skills: an employer perspective'.  Business Communication Quarterly, vol. 74 issue 3, pp. 247-271

Siriwardane, HP & Durden, CH 2014, 'The communication skills of accountants: what we know and the gaps in our knowledge', Accounting Education: An International Journal, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 119–134.

West, T & Worthington, AC 2006, 'Macroeconomic risk factors in Australian commercial real estate, listed  property sector stock returns: a comparative analysis using GARCH-M', Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction, 11(2), pp. 21-31