Visual portraits of the business elite are widely disseminated, and form significant sites for communicating messages regarding leadership and associated intellectual, symbolic and social intangibles, yet have been neglected in accounting research. At the same time, accounting for intangibles is recognised to be inadequate. This inter-disciplinary article constructs a framework from art theory to interpret portraits of the business elite and their associated [in]visible [in]tangibles. Four sets of rhetorical codes in portraiture are identified: physical, dress, spatial and interpersonal. Illustrative portraits from annual reports and the media are analysed to indicate how [in]visible [in]tangibles are portrayed through visual rhetoric.

[In]visible [in]tangibles: Visual portraits of the business élite

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to formulate an analytical model for interpreting photographs in accountability statements from Barthes' celebrated theoretical work on photography, La chambre claire; to offer a study of the communication of accountability by an NGO through the first detailed analysis, within accountability literature, of one photograph.Design/methodology/approach – The study establishes a conceptual framework for examining photography based on La chambre claire's contrast of rational codes (Studium) with intuitive elements (Punctum). An application of the framework is provided in considering the heterogeneity and accountability of NGOs through an examination of the Oxfam Annual Review 2003/2004 front cover photograph.Findings – The framework is enlightening: the photograph's Studium reflects the complexity of Oxfam's dual engagement in the corporate and charitable sectors, and the developed and developing worlds; its Punctum arouses sentiment and compassion.Research limitations/imp...

Photographs and accountability: cracking the codes of an NGO

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to add to theoretical and empirical work on the rhetoric of narratives and pictures in annual reporting by using the lens of repetition to examine the Annual Reviews of British Telecommunications (BT) plc.Design/methodology/approach – The study constructs a conceptual framework of repetition in signifiants (from rhetoric) and signifies (from philosophy, notably Barthes, Deleuze, Eliade and Jankelevitch). Signifiants are established by reference to rhetorical figures based in repetition: anadiplosis, anaphora, alliteration/rhyme and lists. Signifies are indicated as conscious rhetorical emphasis, and unconscious reflections of sameness and difference; networks and links; and, of particular interest during the “dot.com” years, exuberance and compulsion; differentiation, ritual and reassurance. The framework is used to analyse BT plc's Annual Reviews from 1996‐2001.Findings – The application of the framework is enlightening: repetition is shown to be prevalent in BT plc...

Rhetoric, repetition, reporting and the “dot.com” era: words, pictures, intangibles

Visual images abound in accounting-related media and are powerful tools for communicating messages regarding all aspects of organizations. This is particularly important in the case of intellectual capital, where a deficient accounting framework for intangibles leads stakeholders to seek enlightenment beyond the financial statements. The central contribution of the work presented here is the development of theory to guide the interpretation of visual rhetoric in pictures and photographs. Within an over-arching framework of Barthesian visual semiotics, a model of visual rhetoric and repetition is developed by reference to the work of Durand and others. Different types of visual repetition are identified. In the light of this model, illustrative visual images from annual reports are analysed to indicate how visual rhetoric contributes to the communication of intellectual capital.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID2288617_code2083684.pdf?abstractid=2288617&mirid=1

Visual Rhetoric and the Case of Intellectual Capital

We shed new light on the authenticity of the writings of Julius Caesar.Hirtius, one of Caesar's generals, must have contributed to Caesar's writings.We benchmark two authorship verification systems on publicly available data sets.We test on both modern data sets, and Latin texts from Antiquity.We show how computational methods inform traditional authentication studies. In this paper, we shed new light on the authenticity of the Corpus Caesarianum, a group of five commentaries describing the campaigns of Julius Caesar (100-44 BC), the founder of the Roman empire. While Caesar himself has authored at least part of these commentaries, the authorship of the rest of the texts remains a puzzle that has persisted for nineteen centuries. In particular, the role of Caesar's general Aulus Hirtius, who has claimed a role in shaping the corpus, has remained in contention. Determining the authorship of documents is an increasingly important authentication problem in information and computer science, with valuable applications, ranging from the domain of art history to counter-terrorism research. We describe two state-of-the-art authorship verification systems and benchmark them on 6 present-day evaluation corpora, as well as a Latin benchmark dataset. Regarding Caesar's writings, our analyses allow us to establish that Hirtius's claims to part of the corpus must be considered legitimate. We thus demonstrate how computational methods constitute a valuable methodological complement to traditional, expert-based approaches to document authentication.

https://pure.knaw.nl/ws/files/2895651/caesar_author.pdf

R. Barthes

Papers

La mort de l'auteur