Papers by Mercedes Mareque
Journal of international students, Mar 6, 2024
Los objetivos de este estudio se centran en investigar tres aspectos claves para comprender la ma... more Los objetivos de este estudio se centran en investigar tres aspectos claves para comprender la magnitud, importancia y las causas de la movilidad de los estudiantes adscritos al programa Erasmus+: la descripción de los flujos de estudiantes, la definición y el cálculo de los coeficientes de atracción y el análisis de los factores más importantes que determinan el movimiento de los estudiantes en el contexto español. Para la explicación de estos flujos se construye un modelo econométrico que contempla factores socioeconómicos, geográficos, educativos y demográficos. Los resultados confirman el importante impacto de factores como la distancia, insularidad y vecindad, los vínculos culturales, las infraestructuras, la calidad académica, el idioma y la población universitaria en origen y destino, contribuyendo a explicar el liderazgo español como destino Erasmus. Utilizar como referentes estos factores puede ayudar a planificar las estrategias adecuadas, mejorar los intercambios internacionales y verificar la equidad de las asignaciones económicas. Palabras clave: Erasmus+, análisis de flujos, coeficientes de atracción, determinantes movilidad internacional, España.
Revista de investigación en educación/Revista de investigación en educación, Feb 2, 2024
Este estudio 1 tiene como objetivo describir la percepción que tienen los estudiantes universitar... more Este estudio 1 tiene como objetivo describir la percepción que tienen los estudiantes universitarios sobre la formación que imparte su Universidad para concienciarles sobre Diversidad y Ciudadanía Global (DyCG) y su asociación con determinadas variables socio-demográficas y académicas, con la finalidad de poder introducir cambios en los programas de formación universitaria que respondan a las demandas actuales sobre esta temática. Se distribuyó un cuestionario entre el alumnado de cinco universidades europeas, el cual fue enviado a través de las plataformas de estas universidades. Se utilizaron estadísticas descriptivas para describir las características básicas de los datos y la prueba Chi-cuadrado de Pearson para determinar la asociación entre las variables. Los resultados permiten afirmar que un porcentaje elevado del alumnado percibe que su Universidad está creando conciencia sobre la DyCG, sobre todo en Rumania. El alumnado universitario que realiza con mayor frecuencia actividades de formación DyCG tiene entre 24 y 30 años y reside en España. Además, un alto porcentaje del alumnado considera importante o muy importante que las universidades realicen cursos DyCG. Los residentes en Rumania, Lituania y España prefieren que estos cursos tengan un formato híbrido; salvo los estudiantes finlandeses que prefieren un formato online y los alemanes que prefieren un formato presencial.
Education Sciences, Jan 18, 2024
Teamwork skills have been demonstrated to be excellent allies for the academic and professional s... more Teamwork skills have been demonstrated to be excellent allies for the academic and professional sphere, and they can improve students' psychological balance and self-esteem. For this reason, it is important to explore the relationship between teamwork skills and self-esteem. Considering the relevance of soft skills and self-esteem in university training, the main objective of this study is to determine whether there is a relationship between teamwork skills and the successful development of self-esteem, a fundamental emotional factor in education. Additionally, we will analyse how self-esteem is related to other socio-academic factors (age, sex, and GPA). A questionnaire was distributed to social science university students. The Rosenberg 10-item scale, which aims to measure feelings of personal worth and self-respect, has been used to determine self-esteem. To measure soft skills for teamwork, we chose the Teamwork Skills Questionnaire, which evaluates the skill level of an individual in order to participate effectively in teamwork. The regression model indicates that self-esteem predictors related to teamwork skills are decision making, leadership, and communication. The results suggest significant differences in some individual variables, such as sex and age, with lower self-esteem being observed in females and older students. The described enriching interactions suggest the need to integrate teamwork training and self-esteem fostering at university to offer students lifelong competencies for their future success.
Journal of Education and Training, Jan 14, 2019
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the way leisure activities and soft ski... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the way leisure activities and soft skills relate to creativity in higher education. It determines which activities have a positive impact on the student body’s overall education. Previous research evidences the relationship between specific leisure activities and creativity performance in several scenarios. Our work applies a broad range of these leisure activities to find results within our own specific student population. Design/methodology/approach The methodology is based on a survey of 303 Spanish students in Business Administration and Tourism. The study uses two instruments to measure the creativity of students, the Runco Ideational Behavior Scale (RIBS) and a three-dimensional construct that measures divergent thinking (originality, fluency and flexibility). Findings The results reveal that the average for creativity is higher for those students participating in some of the activities proposed. A positive correlation was also observed between the number of leisure activities and the creativity measures analysed. This confirms that students participating in more leisure activities display higher levels of creativity. Finally, the results display that the vast majority of students are involved in some type of activity, but two of the interpersonal skills that companies appreciate the most (reading and writing) are performed by very few students. This is especially the case of writing. Originality/value This study contributes to the pedagogical strategies that can be used in universities to motivate practising leisure activities as a mean of fostering creativity. It is important to note that the involvement of students in leisure activities can benefit from their integration into the labour market.
Revista Latina de Comunicación Social
Introducción: El objetivo principal de este estudio es analizar la percepción de los empleadores ... more Introducción: El objetivo principal de este estudio es analizar la percepción de los empleadores y la autopercepción del alumnado para dos de las competencias clave desarrolladas en las prácticas externas: la creatividad y destrezas comunicativas. También se indaga en la existencia de diferencias para ambas competencias en función del sexo del alumnado y de la duración de las prácticas. Metodología: La población objeto de estudio está formada por los empleadores y alumnado participantes en las prácticas del Grado en Administración y Dirección de Empresas del Campus de Ourense (Universidade de Vigo). Se analizan 638 expedientes de prácticas, para lo cual se utiliza un enfoque observacional transversal mediante un diseño descriptivo correlacional. Resultados: Se observa la existencia de una correlación positiva y significativa entre las dos competencias, tanto en opinión de los empleadores como del alumnado. Además, cabe destacar la alta valoración de las destrezas comunicativas propo...
Journal of Business Research, 2023
This study presents novel evidence of gender differences in public sector audits. Auditors of pub... more This study presents novel evidence of gender differences in public sector audits. Auditors of public sector entities face lower litigation risks and lower market pressures than those of private entities. Thus, our analysis is more likely to capture gender differences in professional competence than in economic incentives. We test the study hypotheses regarding gender differences in 'qualifying' audit reports using a sample of Spanish public universities (2010-2020). We find that female and male auditors are equally likely to issue qualified opinions. However, their reasons for qualification differ, with women being more likely to qualify reports because of scope limitations. In joint audits, gender-diverse audit partners are more likely to increase scope limitations. These results suggest that women are more conservative than men are when assessing the impact of audit scope limitations, with no gender differences in responses to material misstatements.
Education + Training, 2020
PurposeThis study aims to determine whether university students are successfully acquiring or imp... more PurposeThis study aims to determine whether university students are successfully acquiring or improving skills related to teamwork through a variety of extra-curricular activities, such as sports, music, volunteering, international group work experiences and professional practices.Design/methodology/approachDescriptive statistics have been calculated to evaluate the normal behaviour of the variables. Accidental sampling was used via a cross-curricular study with a quasi-experimental design. An analysis of means was performed using the Student's t-test.FindingsThe results show the students to have highly developed interpersonal and communication skills, followed by adaptation and decision-making skills. The lowest scores corresponded to coordination and leadership skills. On the other hand, a significant correlation was established between extra-curricular activities and the acquisition of essential teamwork skills.Originality/valueThis study can confirm the important relation be...
International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 2021
Despite the close connection between creativity, multilingualism and multiculturalism, limited re... more Despite the close connection between creativity, multilingualism and multiculturalism, limited research has focused on their specific features in contexts where English is a foreign language. In order to fill this gap, this paper examines this relationship in two different bilingual situations: Spanish–Galician (same cultural context) and Spanish–English (different cultural context). For this purpose, a survey was devised to elicit students’ multilingualism, multicultural experiences and creativity. The results show that advanced English skills improve creative development. They also verify that living in a new cultural context benefits bilingualism/multilingualism (English) and creativity. Additionally, it was confirmed that being bilingual in Spanish–English fosters creativity. However, no significant differences were found when students were bilingual in the same cultural context (Galician–Spanish). Thus, bilingualism/multilingualism is confirmed to impact creativity only when it...
Creativity. Theories – Research - Applications, 2020
Based on recent findings that highlight the strong links between creativity and interculturality,... more Based on recent findings that highlight the strong links between creativity and interculturality, we will attempt to establish a relationship between intercultural experiences and creativity within the context of international university exchanges in order to propose specific courses of action for improving these skills. The methodology used is based on a quasi-experimental design for a sample of 303 university students from a Spanish university. Data were obtained from a survey that measured creativity with two different instruments (RIBS-s and Divergent Thinking), English proficiency, and intercultural experiences abroad. Results show a strong relationship between creativity and intercultural experiences, suggesting that those students who lived abroad and in a higher number of foreign countries are more creative. Additionally, the most significant differences appear when we establish a comparison between those students who have not lived abroad and those who have done so in more ...
SAGE Open, 2019
The article poses a dual research question: What are the determining factors of the type of audit... more The article poses a dual research question: What are the determining factors of the type of audit opinion in a stressed economic environment and do these factors differ between family and nonfamily firms? Our results show that auditor tenure and return on assets (ROA) raise the probability of receiving a favorable opinion. On the contrary, losses during the previous year, high financial leverage, and hiring a "Big 4" firm increase the probability of receiving an unfavorable opinion. Although the sign and the statistical significance are similar, the size of such effects differs between family and nonfamily firms. Finally, the probability of receiving a report with a favorable opinion increases as the economic situation improves.
Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 2017
The current world financial crisis is causing real difficulties in the operation of firms and has... more The current world financial crisis is causing real difficulties in the operation of firms and has generated renewed interest in audit reports. This study aims to analyse the impact of the financial crisis on the audit reports issued by auditors. We focus especially on those reports that contain questions relating to going concern situations. The sample analysed is formed by 2935 audit reports of unlisted Spanish firms for the years 2007-2010. From the results obtained we can affirm that the crisis being suffered by Spanish firms has not gone unnoticed by audit professionals. Our research reveals that as the crisis in Spain has worsened, the proportion of reports that include references to going concern situations has increased in comparison with 2007, when the financial crisis had not become manifest in Spain. The sectors of the Spanish economy most affected by the crisis are real estate and construction. Taking into account whether the audit firm issuing the report is Big-4 or Non-Big-4, no significant differences can be appreciated in the percentage of reports issued with going concern qualifications before the start of the crisis (2007) and during the crisis (2008)(2009)(2010).
Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 2015
The objective of this paper is to analyse whether auditors comply with the standards currently in... more The objective of this paper is to analyse whether auditors comply with the standards currently in force when writing audit reports in Spain. We try to obtain evidence for the relationship of the errors contained in the report with the type of opinion figuring in it, and with the auditor issuing it. This study is based on a sample of 1236 reports selected by the stratified random sampling method, for the period 2004-2007. Once we had defined the dependent variable, the number of errors committed in the report, the independent variables, the type of auditor and type of opinion, we tested the hypotheses by means of a regression analysis with the aim of estimating the average number of errors that can be found in a report according to the variables described. The results obtained permit us to conclude that reports with a qualified opinion contain a greater number of errors, and that they are committed to a greater extent by individual auditors than by companies and by multinationals.
South African Journal of Accounting Research, 2024
The main objective of this study is to analyse the impact of auditor gender on audit fees, with a... more The main objective of this study is to analyse the impact of auditor gender on audit fees, with a view to establishing whether there are any differences in audit price depending on the gender of the auditor. Motivation: The existence of a gender gap in audit fees is a problem. In order to try to reduce this gap, it is necessary to understand the determinants of audit fees according to gender. Design/Methodology/Approach: The sample under analysis is made up of 3217 unlisted Spanish companies. In order to fulfil our aim, an audit fee model is put forward, applying a multiple linear regression analysis differentiated by auditor gender. Main findings: The results point to an absence of any statistically significant association between audit fees and auditor gender. In contrast to other countries within the same context, Spanish female audit partners do not generate higher audit fees than their male counterparts; there is no female audit fee premium as there seems to be in other countries such as Belgium, France, Finland, China or the USA. Practical implications: Differences were found among the factors which determine audit fees; there tend to be fewer factors considered in audits signed by female auditors, with indicators related to the economic and financial situation of the company under audit excluded from the fees model. These results could be justified by differences between male and female auditors with respect to audit planning and efficiency. Novelty/Contribution: This paper is a contribution to the literature on gender in auditing, and offers up evidence on the impact of auditor gender on audit fees within a specific context that has not been studied in any depth, namely the Spanish auditing market for unlisted companies.
Sustainability, 2021
Audit report lag is considered to be an indicator of audit punctuality and efficiency, while the ... more Audit report lag is considered to be an indicator of audit punctuality and efficiency, while the existence of factors that may determine this lag has been signalled in previous studies. The objective of this study is to identify the determinants of audit report lag in Spanish SMEs, and to analyse the potential singularities of these factors with regards to non-SMEs. With this aim in mind, a set of factors has been analysed; in the previous literature, a relationship has been observed between these factors and the characteristics of the audited company, the auditor and the audit exercise. Additionally, the possible influence of financial crisis and recovery periods is analysed. The sample analysed is made up of 3217 unlisted Spanish firms for the years 2008–2015. Multiple linear regression analysis is used, modelling the audit report lag based on the independent variables related to the characteristics of the audited company, the auditor and the audit exercise. Based on the results o...
International Journal of Financial Studies, 2018
This paper analyzes whether the Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations set by Union of European Fo... more This paper analyzes whether the Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations set by Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) have influenced the auditing fees charged to football clubs. In addition, it explores the determinants of audit fees. We used a two-sample t-test with equal variances to determine whether differences are present. After this, we carried out a panel data regression with the clubs fix effect to estimate the determinants of audit fees in football clubs. Our findings revealed an increase of audit fees after the implementation of FFP regulations. On top of that, audit fees were explained by the presence of foreign investors if the audit firm was one of the Big 4 and if the auditor was a woman. The regulation change has had an impact on the audit fees charged by auditors for their services. However, this increase may be compensated over future years given the improving financial situation of clubs; therefore, the auditors’ risk diminishes and subsequent audit fees may...
Gender in Management: An International Journal, 2022
Purpose This study aims to delve deep into the differences observed in leadership acquisition and... more Purpose This study aims to delve deep into the differences observed in leadership acquisition and development between men and women and analyse the impact of certain extra-curricular activities demonstrated to influence leadership acquisition. With this evidence, this study intends to detect areas that require deeper analysis and suggest actions to redress the balance and promote a more egalitarian leadership in education in both teaching and management positions. Design/methodology/approach Accidental, as opposed to random, sampling was used via a cross-curricular study with a quasi-experimental design. The participants in this study were 335 teacher training students in Spanish universities. The Teamwork Skills Questionnaire was used to evaluate leadership and a self-assessment questionnaire to measure extracurricular activities. Findings Female students score lower in leadership skills and are engaged in fewer activities associated with successful leadership skills development. V...
Creativity Studies, 2019
There is a clear link between creativity levels, entrepreneurship and employability that implies ... more There is a clear link between creativity levels, entrepreneurship and employability that implies the need for higher education students to acquire creative skills and abilities. For this reason, this study aims to analyse creativity levels among university students and verify whether certain sociodemographic factors have an impact on creativity. Two approaches were applied to measure creativity; on one hand, divergent thinking measured through three tasks, originality, fluency and flexibility, and creative potential (ideation – Runco Ideational Behavior Scale) on the other. A survey was administered to 303 Business and Tourism Management degree students during the academic year 2016–2017. The results reveal that our students’ creative potential (Runco Ideational Behavior Scale) is relatively high, while the divergent thinking measurements (originality, fluency and flexibility) obtained lower scores. There are gender-based differences in the three divergent thinking constructs, with ...
Sustainability, 2021
Creative tourism is a novel segment of the tourism market that may turn into a great opportunity ... more Creative tourism is a novel segment of the tourism market that may turn into a great opportunity for small cities to attract visitors. Thus, it can be a possible economic and social driver for local development. Despite its potentiality, not much empirical research has been conducted to explore the specific strengths and weaknesses of developing creative tourism in small cities, probably due to the lack of reliable data. Our study aims to fill this gap by using the C3 Index, a composite indicator developed by the Joint Research Center-European Commission, as the data source, and the bootstrap method as a statistical tool to detect significant differences between small and large cities. Our findings reveal that the smallest cities show positive features to foster creative tourism (e.g., they have at least as good cultural infrastructures and cultural participation as the largest cities). However, in some other aspects, small cities still have room to improve (e.g., improvements in lo...
Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica
Teamwork skills are considered essential for personal, academic and professional achievement, so ... more Teamwork skills are considered essential for personal, academic and professional achievement, so universities are increasingly integrating them into their syllabuses. However, little is known about how some specific features of students and their educational development can affect their acquisition. Accordingly, this study aims to fill this gap and describe higher education students’ mastery of teamwork skills and its relation to certain socio-academic variables (gender, academic year and grade point average—GPA). With the aim of determining the level of teamwork skills among university students, an observational, transversal descriptive study was designed with an intentional sample of Spanish university students. The sample is made up of 615 social science degree students. The results suggest significant gender differences, highlighting that female students outdid their male counterparts in most teamwork skills, except leadership. Likewise, students’ skills improved as they progres...
El objetivo principal de este trabajo es estudiar cuales son las incorrecciones que cometen los a... more El objetivo principal de este trabajo es estudiar cuales son las incorrecciones que cometen los auditores a la hora de redactar sus informes de auditoria de cuentas anuales segun lo contenido en la Norma Tecnica de Auditoria sobre informes, para lo cual se llevo a cabo un estudio empirico sobre los informes de auditoria de cuentas anuales de una muestra de empresas de la Comunidad Autonoma de Galicia durante cuatro anos consecutivos, del 2004 al 2007. Tras una breve introduccion, el trabajo queda estructurado en seis capitulos. El capitulo I expone, despues de una referencia a los origenes de la auditoria, cual ha sido la evolucion historica de la auditoria en Espana, desde sus inicios hasta la actualidad, haciendo especial referencia a esta ultima etapa. En el capitulo II, incluye los principales cambios que se estan dando en nuestra normativa relacionada con la emision de los informes de auditoria de cuentas anuales para su armonizacion internacional, pues con el fin de adaptar la legislacion interna espanola a la Directiva 2006/43/CE en lo que no se ajustaba a ella, en el mes de junio de 2010 se aprobaba la Nueva Ley de Auditoria de Cuentas por la que se modifica la Ley 19/1988, de Auditoria de Cuentas, para su adaptacion a la citada normativa comunitaria. Por otro lado, se exponen las principales novedades que incluye el Borrador de la Norma Tecnica de Auditoria sobre emision de informes. El capitulo III, incluye la metodologia aplicada para la realizacion del estudio empirico. En el capitulo IV, lleva a cabo una recopilacion de las incorrecciones detectadas en los informes de auditoria de cuentas anuales de la muestra, las cuales son analizadas para cada uno de los elementos del informe y expuestas segun su clasificacion: deficiencias poco significativas, errores significativos o errores muy significativos. El capitulo V, contiene el estudio empirico a traves del analisis de los informes de auditoria de la muestra. El capitulo VI, ante el cambio que va a sufrir el tratamiento de las incertidumbres en los informes de auditoria fruto de la adopcion de las Normas Internacionales de Auditoria, llevamos a cabo un analisis de las mismas, comparando por un lado, la actual normativa espanola con la internacional, y por otro lado, se ha realizado un estudio empirico de los informes de auditoria con opinion calificada que contienen incertidumbres, haciendo una especial referencia al principio de empresa en funcionamiento. Para finalizar, cerramos la tesis con la exposicion de las principales conclusiones alcanzadas, detallamos las referencias bibliograficas que han sido utilizadas y adjuntamos un anexo con informacion complementaria, en donde se incluyen los auditores firmantes de los informes analizados y las sociedades de la muestra.
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Papers by Mercedes Mareque