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Without the contribution of the higher education (HE) sector, none of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are achievable. Through research, teaching, and community engagement, universities globally make vital contributions towards Agenda 30. Through partnerships, their impact is enhanced – university networks are key to facilitating collaboration. The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) is a global university network encompassing more than 500 universities. ACU spans five continents with membership representative of the full diversity of the Commonwealth. University networks such as this demonstrate that bringing institutions together enhances their ability to tackle global challenges. University networks are vital vehicles for knowledge sharing and best practice. ACU members in low- to middle-income countries face systematic biases that need significant support for disparities to decrease. The ACU provides a platform for all its members, including in the global South, to have their voices heard and affect policy-makers at the most prominent forums, including the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), the Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM), and the Conference of the Parties (COP). The ACU implements initiatives that build capacity. Examples include Climate Impacts Research Capacity and Leadership Enhancement (CIRCLE), which supports researchers and institutions across Africa to produce internationally peer reviewed research into the climate change; and Partnership for Enhanced and Blended Learning (PEBL), which works with universities in Africa to enhance access to quality education through blended learning. These projects rank alongside similar initiatives that leverage networks to deliver outcomes that would not otherwise be possible. Without networks such as these, the great potential of universities to tackle the SDGs will likely not be realised.

Managing operational change using a whole‐systems approach will be the key to re‐engineering services, including intermediate care and rehabilitation for older people. This article outlines an approach used in Sheffield which is based on eight categories of need.

The purpose of this paper is to enhance our understanding of effects of International Clearing Unions on the exchange market pressure (EMP). Using Asian Clearing Union (ACU) as an example of a typical International Clearing Union, the authors infers that ACU has not been very successful in synchronizing the EMP in the region. Other countries that are not members of such clearing union but are interested in monetary cooperation with other countries should consider the behavior of their EMP indices before attempting any form of integration. The study also provides a generic methodology for using EMP as an indicator for predicting the feasibility of monetary cooperation across countries.

An EMP model using the median absolute deviation is derived to reflect the policy preferences of each country. The weights for change in foreign reserves and interest rate differential are derived using analytical models. The index is then applied to ACU as a case study using monthly data from 2006 to 2015 for Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Iran. The descriptive statistics are studied to find the possibility of short-run relationship between the exchange rates, foreign exchange reserves and interest rate differential. The longitudinal data set generated is checked for cointegration to evaluate the EMPs of the countries.

The study finds that the EMP of ACU members’ shows similarity only in short-term movement but have no cointegration of EMP indices indicating the absence of long-term relationship. The absence of long-term cointegration of EMP for ACU members also indicates that ICU membership may not necessarily lead to similarity in exchange rate policies that facilitate the formation of a currency union. Creation of an ICU is not a sufficient condition for the formation of a currency union. The study also finds that the sample countries have faced persistent depreciation pressures in the period. The preferred tool for the management of EMP is direct intervention by sale and purchase of foreign currency. Interest rate changes are found to have the most significant effect on EMP.

The EMP model limits itself only to the study of exchange rates, foreign reserves and interest rates. Exchange rate variation and policy responses there to are known to be driven by other factors such as speculation, political factors, autonomous capital flows and micro-level dynamics of exchange markets like order flows among others. The EMP model is a simplification of the market dynamics and does not look for associations on the account of these factors. The model is evaluated for only one ICU where member countries regulate exchange rates. The study of ICUs that comprises free float currencies and pegged currencies may yield different results.

Results indicate that the member of any ICU such as ACU cannot assume that its participation will serve as a foundation for creating higher forms of economic unions such as currency unions. In the absence of any long-term relationship between the EMP of countries, any attempt by these countries may cause the exchange rates to deviate further. This leads to the conclusion that the members of ACU should avoid any attempts to form currency unions or use a common currency for its settlement.

Various countries that are considering the formation of currency union or the use of a common currency peg may like to examine its feasibility using EMP as a tool. Using EMP, they may be able to derive short-term and long-term strategies for pursuing their objectives.

There are few other studies that use EMP as an index for measuring the feasibility of formation of a currency union among countries that are the member of an ICU. While earlier studies apply EMP to a group of countries, none attempt to modify the index to reflect the EMP that is likely to affect central bank policy action. Few studies have attempted to use EMP to study the feasibility of formation of a currency union in South Asia based on exchange rate markets itself.

Audit negotiations are impacted by many factors. This study aims to investigate how two such factors, communication of the National Office Accounting Consultation Unit (ACU) and the auditor’s approach, affect chief financial officers’ (CFOs’) willingness to adjust the financial statements and satisfaction with the auditor.

This study uses a 2 × 3 between-subjects experimental design. Participants are 169 highly experienced CFOs and financial officers. The experimental design crosses the two multi-dimensional auditor approaches found in the literature with two influence tactics used to communicate ACU involvement, as well as a control condition, with no communication of the ACU involvement.

Communicating the ACU’s involvement as a higher authority (similar to a boss) results in greater willingness to record an adjustment to the financial statements when auditors use a hands-off “compliance-officer” auditor approach, but lower willingness by CFOs to adjust the financial statements when auditors use an expert-advisor auditor approach as compared to when coalition tactics are used. Results also show that communicating the ACU as a higher authority negatively impacts a CFO’s satisfaction with the audit partner. Overall, these results highlight the importance of the auditor’s approach and communication of ACU involvement within the auditor–client relationship. The outcomes of this study are limited to situations where unexpected audit adjustments are found during the year-end process and thus cannot be discussed pre-emptively with clients.

This paper advances the understanding of how the multi-dimensional auditor’s approach can shape and limit the effectiveness of influence tactics. These factors are important, as auditors are tasked with maintaining not only quality audits but also client relationships. However, although rich in detail, factors other than auditor approach may have inadvertently been manipulated and are driving results.

The approach taken by the auditor with a client throughout the audit sets the stage during the auditor–client negotiations. Therefore, audit partners must consider their own approach with the client before communicating the ACU’s involvement as the auditor approach shapes and limits the tactics available for use. Using ill-suited tactics may undermine the client’s willingness to record an adjustment to the financial statements and cause undue harm to the auditor–client relationship.

This paper uses highly experienced CFOs and financial officers to examine how two common elements in the audit negotiation context can significantly affect the outcome to the financial statements and the relationship between the client and audit partner.

The Thai–Burma refugee program of Australian Catholic University (ACU) brings young Burmese refugees from camps in Thailand to an internet-equipped teaching center to study for a Diploma in Liberal Studies. Some of the learning is carried out online and some in face-to-face mode provided by ACU or partner universities.

The authors detail the methodologies followed, combining sound pedagogy with an integral human development approach. This changed the students’ mode of learning from rote to critical thinking which, in turn, improved their self-confidence, gave them a good ethical and culturally acceptable grounding and provided them with fluency in oral and written academic English. In addition, the authors recount the many challenges faced by bringing together students from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds with all the baggage brought from a conflict ridden and divided country emerging out of decades of dictatorship.

The program’s results have been remarkable. Many students have found high-quality employment after graduating, especially with non-governmental organizations on the border or in Burma or in some other job serving the needs of their own people. Others have used the Diploma to go on to full degree courses in a number of countries in Asia, North America, and Europe.

A recent President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology report predicts a shortfall of 1 million college graduates in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields in the United States over the next several years (2012). Recommendations to address this include diversifying the STEM workforce, which is plagued by a lack of gender diversity (Hill, Corbett, & St. Rose, 2010). University–School partnerships are crucial in developing a pipeline that moves interested primary and secondary students (aged 5-18) into majoring and eventually working in STEM fields. The lower involvement of women in STEM fields is multi-factorial and affects all communities, including Abilene, Texas. Abilene Independent School District’s STEM high school, the Academy for Technology, Engineering, and Science (ATEMS) consistently has a female student population at or below 35%. A local university, Abilene Christian University (ACU), has struggled to increase female undergraduate students in STEM fields. Creating a University–School partnership between ACU and ATEMS aided in building a STEM pipeline for girls in the Abilene community. In this chapter, we describe this collaboration between ACU and ATEMS and highlight the key features that led to success of the collaboration.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical analysis and survey of Cambodia’s recent efforts to combat corruption. It explores the policy context, perceived extent of corruption, causes of corruption, anti-corruption measures, evaluates those anti-corruption measures, and provides policy recommendations.

This paper reviews the literature on corruption and anti-corruption efforts in Cambodia. It relies on available data from the World Bank and Transparency International, and compares these data over time.

The paper shows that corruption in Cambodia is pervasive and that anti-corruption efforts are limited because of a lack of political will. Existing anti-corruption measures designed with loopholes must be amended, but implementation remains the primary challenge.

This paper contributes to the limited literature on combating corruption in Cambodia.

Beginning with a brief overview of education in Australia from both an Aboriginal perspective and that which developed after the arrival of European settlers, this chapter asserts the significance of faith communities in shaping school and teacher education in ways which express their worldviews and moral purpose. Reflecting a Catholic understanding and focusing upon the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, teacher education programs at Australian Catholic University incorporate a holistic approach through their course structures, core curriculum and community engagement experiences. These come together as a pedagogy of promise within community engagement based teacher education. The rationale, examples and model discussed here are presented in ways which show the transformative power of this person- and value-centered pedagogy.

The purpose of this paper is to examine SWAT operator deployment experience, personality, cognitive-emotion regulation, and decision making to see if there were correlations with successful SWAT callout resolution. These findings would then be compared with the results of a national survey of hostage (crisis) negotiators in the hopes of finding information that might be helpful with team dynamics, officer selection for these teams, and with operational dynamics and successful resolution of SWAT callouts.

Active SWAT officers (n=277) from various law enforcement entities in 21 states participated in this survey research. They completed a demographic questionnaire, questions about their callout experiences and experiences on their SWAT team, the Big 5 Personality Inventory, the Cognitive-Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and the General Decision-Making Style questionnaire. These results were then compared with the same results obtained from a national survey of hostage (crisis) negotiators (n=514) and patrol officers (n=72).

Common personality and decision-making styles emerged from the SWAT survey, and correlations between these variables and the successful resolution of SWAT callouts are discussed. These results were then compared with negotiators and patrol officers via an ANOVA. Distinct differences between these groups emerged.

Recruiting research participants from law enforcement, much less from a closed group such as SWAT operators, is difficult. The response rate for this study was low, and was due in part to the agency themselves declining to participate. The current study relied on honest self-report, which is always a limitation of this type of survey research. Another limitation was that lack of statistically significant findings for the multivariate and the binomial logistic regression analysis. No extrapolation of the relationship between personality, cognitive-emotion regulation, and decision-making styles and the outcome and resolution of callouts is possible based on these findings.

This research could have direct effect on the training and selection of SWAT team officers and hostage negotiators. There is also information provided that may impact the operation and coordination of these groups as they work together during callouts in the community.

The current social climate in the USA seems to be calling for police departments to do everything possible to resolve high risk and dangerous situations with as much care and as little force as possible. In order to achieve successful and peaceful resolution of these SWAT callout situations, departments must deploy officers with the necessary skills, personality, and decision-making abilities.

There is very little general research on SWAT teams, and almost nothing on SWAT operator experience, personality, or decision making. These findings have value and application in SWAT operator selection and training, along with SWAT and negotiator dynamics and decision making when trying to successfully and peacefully resolve a SWAT callout operation.