Australia’s Colombo plans, old and new: international students as foreign relations

This article draws on recent research and policy developments to make a case for considering international students as an important component of Australian foreign relations. It links historical and contemporary Australian experiences of international students, especially in the Colombo Plan and New Colombo Plan, to the field of public diplomacy, and sets an agenda for further research in this direction. It highlights the need to recover student voices and to be sensitive to the emergence of everyday or ‘vernacular’ internationalism, as a phenomenon of international students visiting, traveling and otherwise encountering different groups of Australians. It suggests a need to take up anew this form of inquiry for both earlier postwar student experiences and the post-1980s period, in which international students’ voices are frequently silenced by debates over commodification, funding needs, and neo-liberal economics.

An investigation into the potential adoption of international financial reporting standards in the United States: implications and implementation

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) have been adopted by most of the G20 countries. Given the broad worldwide acceptance of IFRS and significance of attaining comparability to facilitate free flow of capital, the US standard setter, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) made a commitment to jointly work with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to explore the possibilities of convergence of US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) with IFRS. In 2007, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) eliminated the requirement that foreign companies listed on the US stock exchanges reconcile their IFRS-based financial statements with the US GAAP. In the same year the US SEC issued a concept release to the public requesting comments on a proposal to allow US issuers to prepare financial statements in accordance with IFRS. Following these initiatives by the FASB and SEC, the aim of the present study is to investigate the implications of a potential full adoption of IFRS by the US. The present study details the challenges and benefits of adoption and outlines the steps required for a successful outcome of this process.

Value chain supply procurement strategies in international construction: cases of foreign constructors in China

Purpose – Firms compete using a variety of strategies. Typically they aim to provide something different, to be better, or simply cheaper. In the construction industry, the performance characteristics, quality and cost of the final delivered project will be the outcome of the interplay of capabilities of all the firms involved in the project. Consequently, in order to improve competitiveness, firms must pay attention to not only their own competitive advantage but to those of the firms, both up-stream and down-stream, on whom they depend in delivering their projects. For foreign constructors in China, those competitive considerations will be informed by circumstances different from home. How then do foreign constructors adapt themselves to the problem of sourcing competitively when located within a China-based supply chain? The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach – In this study 60 foreign enterprises operating within the Chinese construction sector were investigated by using a comparative case study approach.

Findings – Four generic procurement strategies were identified. First, firms adapt themselves in the search for optimal supply sources by replicating home-based suppliers, controlling local suppliers, or by remaining agile and non-aligned. Second, firms develop niche supply monopolies through market dominance, uniquely differentiated offerings, or by integration with down-stream providers. Third, firms find opportunities to bring in off-shore technology intensive procurements, where that technology is either protected, improved upon, or sold. Finally, firms also seek to transit to China as a procurement base in order to reduce local supply cost, service world-wide operations, or as part of a total strategy of China relocation.

Originality/value – The identification of this rich range of procurement approaches will be of interest to internationalization strategists, as well as to industry practitioners looking to find appropriate business models for off-shore operations.

International development : issues and challenges

This comprehensive and broad-ranging introductory text examines the key aspects of contemporary international development from both a practical and theoretical perspective. It addresses the fundamental question of what 'development' actually is and examines social, economic and environmental development across the globe.Written by experts with extensive field experience across a range of development settings, the book addresses key issues in the development debate. These issues include definitions of development, global influences on development, measurements of development, the contribution of international aid, the relationship between global development and gender equality, the idea of development as 'modernization', theories of underdevelopment, and regional variation.The third edition has been revised and updated to include discussion of recent events and challenges in the field, as well as coverage of the rise of new economic powers, the impact of new security challenges, and the increasing importance of sustainable development goals.

Empirical essays on international trade.

The thesis comprises four essays on the effects of free trade agreements and regional economic cooperation on trade flows in Africa, comparison of the effects of migration on trade in Africa and Asia, and the causal effects of service trade on service income at the cross-country level.