The national interest in international relations theory

The concept of the 'national interest' is an ever-present feature of contemporary diplomatic discourse, and has been widely analysed by historians and political scientists. However, there has not been a systematic investigation of the term from the range of theoretical perspectives which comprise the discipline of International Relations. This book fills this gap by explaining how the term is variously understood by realist, Marxist, anarchist, liberal rationalist (English School) and constructivist theories of International Relations. It is argued that far from having a clear and unambiguous meaning, 'the national interest' is a problematic term which is largely devoid of substantive content. While realists traditionally, and constructivists more recently, claim that 'the national interest' is a key explanatory tool in the analysis and understanding of contemporary foreign policy.
Scott Burchill argues that beyond the narrow aspect of security policy, the national interest has little residual value as an insight into the motivations of state policy in the external realm.

Self-interest and ideology : bureaucratic corruption in Vietnam

Remedies for corruption in socialist-transforming East Asia (China and Vietnam) primarily apply ‘public choice’ theory, invoking Weberian imagery of socially detached bureaucratic decision-making. However, as the episodes of corruption accumulate, it is becoming clear that existing legalistic conceptions of corruption must give way to analytical methods that take into account broader social and institutional perspectives. This article evaluates public choice theory by examining ideological explanations for bureaucratic corruption in Vietnam.

Vested interest in the decision to resolve social dilemma conflicts

This exploratory study investigated the degree of correspondence between individual and group interests in the decision to adopt a sanctioning system to manage a shared resource with social dilemma properties. Fifty-two groups of four people accessed a "free-running" computer-simulated shared resource and had either equal or unequal resource access and experienced either an equitable or inequitable sanctioning system. Consistent with past research, a worse group outcome and greater voting for system change was found under the equitable than under the inequitable sanctioning system. However, at the individual level of analysis, the results suggested that the sanctioning systems did not have the same implications for all group members and that some of those differences predicted voting for system change. The study suggests the need to investigate the various decision frames and inequitable implications associated with structural/institutional change and calls for further investigation of dependencies between micro- and macro-level units of analysis.

Corporate donations, the best interest of the company and the proper purpose doctrine

Corporate philanthropy is illegitimate spending by powerful corporate elite of someone else’s money; an attempt to bypass democratic allocation of taxes; philanthropy by individuals is laudable, but not by corporations.

Just as I wouldn’t want you to implement your personal judgments by writing checks on my bank account for charities of your choice, I feel it inappropriate to write checks on your corporate ‘bank account’ for the charities of my choice.

Public interest, ethics, and the balanced scorecard: implications for the accounting profession

The accounting profession bos been grappling with the issue of public interest responsibility for a number of years. The aim of this paper is to examine how a balanced scorecard (BSC) model can be used by the accounting profession to more effectively incorporate a public interest responsibility in its strategic framework. By using a BSC model, the paper provides an integrated framework for translating strategic values into a comprehensive set of objectives, performance measures and improvement actions.

Mega-events and the "Showcase" effect: investigating the moderating influence of exposure to the 2004 Olympic games telecast and interest in the Olympic movement- an Australian perspective

Survey-based research explored the moderating effects of "exposure" to the Australian free-to-air telecast of Athens 2004 and "interest" in Olympic Games in developing behavioral intentions to visit Greece in the future. Differences were found between groups with low and high levels of exposure to the telecast, and also between groups with high levels of interest in the Olympic Games, but these were only marginal. When the combinatorial influences of these two variables were considered simultaneously, their effects were generally synergistic. The article calls for further research on this area of mega-events, as the results, while of significance, provide food to continue the broader debate on the role of mega-events in developing tourism to their host destinations after their staging.

Further evidence on the corporate use of derivatives in Australia : the case of foreign currency and interest rate instruments

In a recent issue of this journal Nguyen and Faff (2002) reported on an empirical exploration of the motives behind the aggregate use of financial derivatives by Australian companies. Employing the same sample of firms, the current paper extends their analysis to investigate similar issues, this time focussing separately on foreign currency and interest rate derivatives. At a specific level, our results reveal the following. A firm is more likely to use foreign currency derivatives if it is large and has more debt in its capital structure. Interest rate derivatives, on the other hand, are more likely to be used if a firm is larger, more levered, more liquid and pays higher dividends. These results are consistent with existing hedging theories. Market to book value (proxying growth opportunities), however, portrays an inconsistent relationship with the likelihood of interest rate derivative usage. When it comes to the extent of usage, a firm uses foreign currency derivatives more extensively if it is smaller, pays higher dividends and has more debt. Similarly, interest rate derivatives are used more extensively to address a high level of debt and a high dividend payout policy. At a general level, the current study confirms the core finding of Nguyen and Faff (2002), namely, that Australian companies use derivatives with a view to value maximisation.

Conflicts of interest and china's A-Share underpricing

The extremely high A- share underpricing in China's primary market provides us with a very interesting area of empirical research. Previous studies on China's IPO underpricing have been suggestive, but in-conclusive. We investigate the A- share underpricing by employing the most recent data available. A significant decline in A- share underpricing is found in 2003 relative to previous years (and much less than that recorded in the literature to date). We examine the validity of previous A- share underpricing models, reported in the literature, and find a statistically significant structural break in the data during 2003 when these models are specified. We further explore conflicts of interest in the Chinese IPO market and specify an alternative class of models to further examine this change in observed market behaviour. Our results suggest that a contract with high underwriter's fee leads to less A- share underpricing. Our results also suggest that the asymmetric information hypothesis does not apply in the Chinese !PO market in 2003. Overpricing by the secondary market and the trading activity on the first trading day are the main functions of the A- share underpricing. This study has important implications such as guiding the Chinese government policy regarding the regulations of Initial Public Offering.

Wrestling with `conflict of interest` in sport management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the relationship between sport and business has increased the complexity of ethical issues affecting contemporary sport management. Specifically, this paper seeks to define conflict of interest and how it is manifested in both business and sport.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides a conceptual discussion of the issue of conflict of interest as it relates to the management and governance of sports organizations. Relationships between business ethics, governance and sport management are examined in the quest to understand conflict of interest and its prevalence in and relevance to sport management.
Findings – Conflicts of interest within the sport industry may have the same structural elements as those occurring in mainstream business, such as benefits, obligations and issues of trust, but it is the higher societal expectations and values placed on sport and sporting organizations that provide the key points of difference.
Practical implications – Through collaboration with sport management practitioners, via inductive in-depth research, a clearer definition of conflict of interest and the range of situations in which it may occur can be developed. It is through a continued research effort in this area that sport managers will be better able to both identify and manage conflicts of interest as they occur.
Originality/value – It is the lack of definitive examples or guidelines for recognition of an actual or a potential conflict of interest that appears to cause the greatest confusion within sport management. By drawing together the key concepts found within the extant literature, a clearer understanding of what constitutes a conflict of interest is provided by this paper.

Soluble manganese(IV) as a chemiluminescence reagent for the determination of opiate alkaloids, indoles and analytes of forensic Interest

We present the results of our investigations into the use of soluble manganese(IV) as a chemiluminescence reagent, which include a significantly faster method of preparation and a study on the effect of formaldehyde and orthophosphoric acid concentration on signal intensity. Chemiluminescence detection was applied to the determination of 16 analytes, including opiate alkaloids, indoles and analytes of forensic interest, using flow injection analysis methodology. The soluble manganese(IV) reagent was less selective than either acidic potassium permanganate or tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(III) and therefore provided a more universal chemiluminescence detection system for HPLC. A broad spectral distribution with a maximum at 730 ± 5 nm was observed for the reaction between the soluble manganese(IV) and a range of analytes, as well as the background emission from the reaction with the formaldehyde enhancer. This spectral distribution matches that reported for chemiluminescence reactions with acidic potassium permanganate, where a manganese(II) emitting species was elucidated. This provides further evidence that the emission evoked in reactions with soluble manganese(IV) also emanates from a manganese(II) species, and not bimolecular singlet oxygen as suggested by previous authors.

Sense of community in science fiction random, part 1: Understanding sense of community in an international community of interest

Within the discipline of community psychology there is debate as to the dimensions underlying the construct psychological sense of community (PSOC). One of the few theoretical discussions is that of McMillan and Chavis (1986), who hypothesized four dimensions: Belonging; Fulfillment of Needs; Influence; and Shared Connections. Discussion has also emerged in the literature regarding the role of identification within PSOC. It has been suggested that differences in PSOC may be understood in terms of the degree to which members identify with their community (Fisher & Sonn, 1999). However, few studies have explored the place of identification in PSOC. In addition, while PSOC has been applied to both communities of interest and geographical communities, little research has looked in depth at PSOC within communities of interest. The current study therefore explored PSOC in science fiction fandom, a community of interest with membership from all over the world, by means of a questionnaire distributed at an international science fiction convention (N = 359). In an endeavor to clarify the underlying dimensions of PSOC, the questionnaire included several measures of PSOC, and measures of identification with the community. Results showed that science fiction fandom reported high levels of PSOC. Support emerged for McMillan and Chavis' (1986) four dimensions of PSOC, with the addition of a fifth dimension, that of Conscious Identification. These results, and implications for PSOC research, are discussed.

Sense of community in science fiction fandom, part 2: comparing neighborhood and interest group sense of community

There is much debate in community psychology literature as to the dimensions underlying the construct psychological sense of community (PSOC). One of the few theoretical discussions is that of McMillan and Chavis (1986), who hypothesized four dimensions: Belonging; Fulfillment of Needs; Influence; and Shared Emotional Connection. Debate has also emerged regarding the role of identification within PSOC. However, few studies have explored the place of identification in PSOC. In addition, while PSOC has been applied to both communities of interest and geographical communities, to date little research has compared a single group’s PSOC with a community of interest to their PSOC with their geographical communities. The current study explored PSOC with participants’ interest and geographical communities in a sample (N = 359) of members of science fiction fandom, a community of interest with membership from all over the world. Support emerged for McMillan and Chavis' (1986) four dimensions of PSOC, both within participants’ PSOC with their geographical communities and with their community of interest, with the addition of a fifth dimension, that of Conscious Identification. All dimensions emerged as significant predictors of overall sense of community in both community types. Participants reported higher levels of global PSOC with fandom than with their geographical communities, a pattern that also emerged across all factors separately. These results, and implications for PSOC research, are discussed.