<i>“Fumifugium: Or the inconvenience of the Aer and Smoake of London Dissipated”</i>: emancipatory social accounting in 17th century London

Atkins, Jill; McBride, Karen

doi:10.1108/aaaj-01-2021-5108

Cited by 14 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…This paper uses a people-oriented approach to study boundary crossing and accountability, via a microhistory (Atkins and McBride, 2022). This historical method considers small groups and individuals, aiming to discover actions, ideas, practices, beliefs and impacts that would remain undiscovered with larger more general approaches to history (Carnegie and McBride, 2022).…”

Section: Research Methods Of the Study Based On Pepys’s Diarymentioning

confidence: 99%

It's a gift – Samuel Pepys and Sir William Warren, an account of gifts, bribes and kickbacks

McBride

2022

AAAJ

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Purpose This study aims to investigate an individual’s boundary crossing with regard to bribery, gifts and favouritism in rewarding contracts. Samuel Pepys’s diary was written in the 17th century and through detailed accounts gives insight into his inherent professionalism and his negative opinions around bribery but also his acceptance of “gifts” and awarding of contracts to “friends”.Design/methodology/approach The research uses a narrative approach to study a detailed and reflective personal diary identifying the diarist’s self-exploration and attitudes around the receipt of gifts and the awarding of contracts. This microhistory is presented with a narrative account of a case study of the relationship between the diarist, Pepys and a supplier, Sir W. Warren.Findings The diary illustrates how Pepys crosses these boundaries and how the lack of accountability within his role enables him to do this. This detailed study enables answers to questions that with time, legislation and lack of acceptability, have become more difficult to ask and to answer, about the crossing of boundaries and ethical decisions around the acceptance of bribes and kickbacks.Originality/value A contribution of this paper is the use of a diary, at least a diary as self-reflective as Pepys’s written up as a narrative account. The use of a detailed diary in an accounting microhistory of this nature gives insight and assists in answering difficult to ask questions around personal motivations for bribery and corruption and contributes in this area. The research contributes in developing research around boundaries and the corruption equation using the insight gleaned from this narrative account.

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Section: Research Methods Of the Study Based On Pepys’s Diarymentioning

confidence: 99%

It's a gift – Samuel Pepys and Sir William Warren, an account of gifts, bribes and kickbacks

McBride

2022

AAAJ

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“…Accordingly, our focus is on how Humboldtian science might potentially inform, guide and enhance the emancipatory potential of SEA in the twenty-first century. Historical approaches to SEA research are not new, as evidenced by Parker (2015Parker ( , 2019) and by Atkins and McBride's (2021) problematization of SEA intentionality based on John Evelyn's seventeenth-century accounts of London's "Fumifugium." This paper follows an established tradition (e.g., Larrinaga and Bebbington, 2021) of revisiting the early 1990s and discussing the influence of "epistemic communities," or networks of scientists and experts, who engage with organizations and regulators to generate new ideas about social and environmental responsibility and reporting (see also Bebbington et al, 2021).…”

Section: Social and Environmental Accountingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interconnectedness and the web of accountabilities: Humboldtian approaches to social and environmental accounting

Lehner

Kyriacou²

2023

AAAJ

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PurposeCurrent accounting practice tends to split environmental complexities into quantifiable, codified elements, producing codified simplifications of the “complex” in pursuit of environmental externalities. This has led to standardization, but has done little to motivate organizations to engage in more environmentally-aware behavior that transcends the coercive dimensions of codification. The work of Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) can bring new insights and perspectives to social and environmental accounting (SEA). In discussing Humboldt's philosophy of understanding the interconnectedness between people, their contexts (cultures) and their environment, the authors contribute to the emerging SEA literature on notions of interconnectedness and the web of accountabilities. The authors also explore how a Humboldtian approach may help break through the current epistemological boundaries of SEA by combining accurate measurement with imagery to make the “complex” manageable whilst embracing interconnectedness and hermeneutics.Design/methodology/approachIn this conceptual paper, the authors humbly draw on Humboldt's legacy and explore the underlying philosophical assumptions of Humboldtian science. The authors then contrast these with current SEA approaches in the literature and derive new insights into their intentionality and practical use.FindingsRe-examining Humboldt's pioneering work enables us to pinpoint what might be missing from current SEA approaches and debates. Humboldt upheld an “ethics of precision,” which included both measurement accuracy and qualitative relevance, and combined hands-on scientific fieldwork with the aesthetic ideals and interconnectedness of the age of Romanticism. Drawing on Humboldtian science, the authors propose focusing on the interconnectedness of nature and humanity, embracing the qualitative and hermeneutical and including aesthetics and emotion in environmental visualizations.Originality/valueThe paper elucidates why and how Humboldtian science might inform, guide and enhance the emancipatory potential of SEA in the 21st century. Specifically, the authors discuss Humboldt's approach of linking accurate measurement with imagery to convey a sense of interconnectedness.

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“…Letters written by the artist, writer and social activist William Morris concerning woodland conservation have been interpreted as an early form of environmental audit (Atkins and Thomson, 2014) and were identified as an isolated exploration of early accounts from a sustainability perspective (Carnegie and Napier, 2017a, b). Short emancipatory reports from 17th century writers and accounts of nature and wildlife encapsulated in 18th century travel writings and naturalists' journals have been cited as illustrations of early forms of accounting for biodiversity, wildlife and landscape (Atkins and Atkins, 2019) and pamphlets as illustrations of emancipatory pollution accounting (Atkins and McBride, 2022). Indeed, Carnegie and Napier (1996) suggest that using diaries and other sources represents an extension of traditional accounting and accountability research.…”

Section: Environmental and Ecological Accounting Research: Towards A ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the historical roots of environmental and ecological accounting from the dawn of human consciousness

Atkins,

Doni,

McBride

et al. 2023

AAAJ

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PurposeThis paper seeks to broaden the agenda for environmental and ecological accounting research across several dimensions, extending the form of accounting in this field by encouraging research into its historical roots and developing a definition of accounting that can address the severe environmental and ecological challenges of the 21st century.Design/methodology/approachThe authors explored environmental and ecological accounts from the dawn of human consciousness across a wide variety of media and in a broad range of forms. This theoretical approach reacts to the cold capitalist commodification of nature inherent in much environmental accounting practice, which documents, values and records usage of natural capital with little attempt to address depletion and loss.FindingsBy analysing the earliest ecological and environmental “accounts” recorded by humans at the dawn of human consciousness, and considering a wide array of subsequent accounts, the authors demonstrate that rather than being a secondary, relatively recent development emerging from financial accounting and reporting, environmental and ecological accounting predated financial accounting by tens of thousands of years. This research also provides a wealth of perspectives on diversity, not only in forms of account but also in the diversity of accountants, as well as the broadness of the stakeholders to whom and to which the accounts are rendered.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper can be placed at the intersection of accounting history, the alternative, interdisciplinary and critical accounts literature, and environmental and ecological accounting research.Practical implicationsPractically, the authors can draw ideas and inspiration from the historical forms and content of ecological and environmental account that can inform new forms of and approaches to accounting.Social implicationsThere are social implications including the diversity of accounts and accountants derived from studying historical ecological and environmental accounts from the dawn of human consciousness especially in the broadening out of the authors' understanding of the origins and cultural roots of accounting.Originality/valueThis study concludes with a new definition of accounting, fit for purpose in the 21st century, that integrates ecological, environmental concerns and is emancipatory, aiming to restore nature, revive biodiversity, conserve species and enhance ecosystems.

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“Fumifugium: Or the inconvenience of the Aer and Smoake of London Dissipated”: emancipatory social accounting in 17th century London

Cited by 14 publications

References 78 publications

It's a gift – Samuel Pepys and Sir William Warren, an account of gifts, bribes and kickbacks

It's a gift – Samuel Pepys and Sir William Warren, an account of gifts, bribes and kickbacks

Interconnectedness and the web of accountabilities: Humboldtian approaches to social and environmental accounting

Exploring the historical roots of environmental and ecological accounting from the dawn of human consciousness

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