Literature and insights

Citation

Evans, S. (2005), "Literature and insights", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 18 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/aaaj.2005.05918aae.001

Literature and insights

Few of us would not have heard Bob Dylan's 1960s' anthem, “The Times They Are a – Changin”. It could well be the theme of this issue's Literature and Insights section. Technology catches up with us, wherever we are, and it makes new and greater demands.

You would have noticed in this section last month that each creative work was prefaced with key words and a statement of theme. There is more to come. In 2005, each article or creative work will be preceded by a structured abstract. These are not the kind of things you would have on your mind when you originally take that quiet moment to commit your inspiration to paper or to a computer file, but they are a sign of the times. Why would anyone want to classify and dissect a poem or story in this way, let alone present the results to you to be read before the creative work itself? It seems the very antithesis of creativity. After all, as a listener, could you imagine having to submit to a mini-analysis or critique of each Bob Dylan song before it could be played, especially when that might take longer than the song?

Well, there is a reason for the change. It has the benefit of allowing all of the work published here to be located via web searches now that the creative pieces are to be available online. Authors' work will be more readily found – and when someone searches on a particular key word (say “ethics”), they may get a pleasant surprise when they discover that there is another kind of commentary on the same issue besides academic papers.

That is not to say that Literature and Insights is an island of different thinking; there is no such sharp line of differentiation, of course. Indeed, I know there are some fascinating papers on literary and cultural matters in the accounting realm that are waiting to be published at this very moment – ones that could be located equally well in either Literature and Insights or elsewhere in the journal.

So, we can live with structured abstracts. Just give them a little nod of acknowledgement, and skip right over them on your way to the creative work that follows. That way you can appreciate the authors' pieces as they were intended to be read.

Now, returning to the particular matter of technology and this issue – do you lodge your taxation return via the web? Then you may find something darkly funny in Dianne Dean's story, “On-line”, a subtle comment not only on the increasing complexity of modern taxation law but also the growing pressures on its practitioners. Also in this issue is Simon Lenthen's poem, “The Memory of the Future”, which takes a more critical and even darker look at the world that we may come to inhabit. I think you will find both of them provocative and enjoyable.

Your own contributions to Literature and Insights are very welcome!

Steve EvansLiterary Editor