Are you experienced?

Citation

Evans, S. (2009), "Are you experienced?", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 22 No. 8. https://doi.org/10.1108/aaaj.2009.05922haa.001

Are you experienced?

Article Type: Literature and insights From: Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Volume 22, Issue 8

In the final editorial for Literature and insights this year, I want to consider how the AAAJ communicates information and ideas. Specifically, what I have in mind is its openness. Oddly, raising this has something to do with both rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix and the former US poet laureate Billy Collins.

One of the pleasures of the AAAJ is that it acts as a forum to promote ideas. You submit a paper, it is refereed, and then (editorial gods willing), it is published, simultaneously in print and online. A large number of people then read your work. Although your finely honed argument may be praised or contested or extended by others, responses do not usually appear publicly until much later. The combination of the journal’s editorial process and a program of periodical publishing tends to lock the accepted papers and any follow-up responses into a series of drawn-out steps. Yes, there can be a debate, but it may seem to move at glacial speed.

Online publishing in itself is not the answer. It does not guarantee a faster process than the print medium, even though it can be used to accelerate dialogue. The publisher still decides on the frequency of publication and on any journal-based access between contributors and readers. That is always an issue of management policy, based on resources, among other things, since with a scholarly journal, people still need time to referee and recommend changes, for example. Anyway, e-mailing, texting and BlackBerrying have largely removed all the places we used to hide for a moment’s peace, so what is wrong with the gentle pace of the AAAJ? Some of us really do value the hiatus in which to meditate on an idea. For those who want more immediate communication for whatever reason, Facebook and Twitter are available, though with a less scholarly focus.

In an article on guitar albums of 1967, a seminal year for rock music, the top-listed album was Are You Experienced [no question mark] by Jimi Hendrix (Guitar Player, 2007, p. 80). What struck me as I read the piece was that an earlier borrower of the library magazine had annotated it with additional information, and corrected some points. They had been trying to add to the later readers’ knowledge and understanding in the belief that there was more, pertinent information to be considered. You have probably seen comments in the margins of texts, too, not all of it favourable – and maybe added your own. This put me in mind of Collins’ (2001, p. 94) poem on annotations, “Marginalia”, which begins:

Sometimes the notes are ferocious,skirmishes against the authorraging along the borders of every pagein tiny black script.

But who sees it? Adding marginalia is an act of faith, assuming a future but unknown reader.

I teach in an environment where the typical delivery mode is a series of topic-related presentations that generate further discussion. Most of this is undertaken face-to-face – a mode that I think still offers the best opportunity for learning. Supplementing it, though, are podcasts, audiofiles, chat rooms, hyperlinks, MySpace, and the provision of other downloadable files and printed matter. This happens relatively quickly and, taken as a whole, that communication environment can help (formally or informally) to work through issues of discussion while they are fresh in the minds of the greatest audience.

Although I believe print publication is a vital part of the AAAJ, opportunities exist for developing an accelerated process for the exchange of ideas, one that may be more open and seen to be open. What if the AAAJ could occasionally supplement its official issue, with a moderated online forum to promote debate, or settle questions, relating to its current papers? It would take effort to set up and to run, and the dialogue would not have the same status as the formal publication, but isn’t it worth a thought? This is done from time to time by the Australian Association of Writing Programs on a specific issue, for instance, and is a real success. The author of a paper in the AAAJ need not be bound to participate, to defend or argue every point, and we should not think less of them for that, but the possibility would be there for a contemporary debate among peers. It is easy for me to say this, isn’t it? What do you think?

Please feel free to e-mail me on this point, and to send your creative contributions to be featured in this section. Speaking of which, we have two sterling works to end the year. Lee Parker (you may have heard of him) appears with “Back from Fantasyland”, a poem on the experience of being at business and research conferences. Dianne Dean adds a seasonal twist with “Auditing Santa”, bringing the jolly fellow in the red suit into direct conflict with taxation legislation.

May your end of year be a time of peace, and 2010 a fruitful year for you and your families.

Steve EvansLiterary Editor