Where would we be without them? Knowledge, space and power in indigenous politics

This paper considers the relationship between knowledge and power as it pertains to the political mobilization of indigenous identity. To illustrate this relationship, the paper reviews concepts used to map indigenous territories for the purposes of claiming land. Mapping requires any number of decisions about what to map and how to map in order to create certain political effects. Indigenous maps have been used as a means for advancing a variety of anti-colonial politics. However, mapping, like indigenous knowledge more broadly, is rapidly being assimilated into development policy by institutions like the World Bank. This paper considers how the very concepts used to identify certain kinds of knowledge as indigenous remain steeped in colonial power relations. That perspective informs my reconsideration of concepts of indigeneity, resistance, and territory in this paper. Without disavowing the tactical importance of mapping in advancing indigenous land rights, this paper concludes by raising a number of points aimed at advancing debates to develop a more critically informed cartographic practice.     

Who should teach what? Australian perceptions of the roles of universities and practice in the education of professional accountants

This paper addresses the respective roles and responsibilities of universities and practitioners in educating professional accountants. The issues are explored by a review of the literature in accounting and other professions regarding the respective roles of universities and employers in the development of both technical and non-technical knowledge and skills of professionals, particularly accounting practitioners. The literature review suggests that critics of university-based education fail to recognise (a) the changes that have occurred in the roles and responsibilities of accounting practitioners, and (b) the opportunity costs necessarily associated with providing generalist accounting degrees. Universities and employers have comparative advantages for the development of different types of professional skills and knowledge. These insights are extended by way of a series of interviews with Australian accounting practitioners, representatives from professional accounting bodies, recent accounting graduates, and accounting students about their perceptions of the respective responsibilities and roles of universities and employers. Although some interviewees recognised that universities cannot be ‘all things to all people’, there was a tendency to expect universities to have the major responsibility for the development in accounting graduates of both technical and non-technical knowledge and skills. Such perceptions tended to understate the responsibilities and comparative advantage of employers and result in unrealistic expectations about the outcomes of a university education. Employers need to be made more aware of the resource and other limitations associated with university programs and should develop meaningful opportunities for learning and reflection within workplace contexts.     

Some Implications of IFRS Adoption for Accounting Education

This paper addresses challenges accounting educators face in their teaching following the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). We use Australia as an example of a developed nation and 2005 adopter of IFRS, the United States as a potential adopter, and Romania as an emerging economy with a history of harmonisation and adoption initiatives. Accounting educators globally need to strengthen their engagement with the principles‐based approach to teaching IFRS. Teaching resources, educational research and Continuing Professional Development activities related to a principles‐based approach to teaching IFRS are necessary for educators to enrich the learning experience of students given the move from a rules‐based to a principles‐based set of accounting standards.     

Bargaining with the gringos: An exploratory study of negotiations between Mexican and U.S. firms

This study examines the nature of negotiations between Mexican and U.S. business people. It was learned that U.S. negotiators tend to be more structured, less flexible, more direct, more focused on the specific terms of the agreement, and possibly more assertive than their Mexican counterparts. Factor analysis revealed five factors related to the success of negotiations between Mexican and U.S. business people: attributes of communication, knowledge, good faith in arranging countertrades, delivery requirements, and personal relationships. Communication problems appear to have a more important impact on successful negotiations than do the technical or financial aspects of the negotiation. Contexting and reciprocity are related themes that need to be given more attention if negotiations between Mexican and US. business people are to improve. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.