The Policy Brief: Building Practical and Academic Skills in International Relations and Political Science

The policy brief is an innovative and underutilised form of teaching, learning and assessment which provides undergraduate students with practical skills that translate directly into the workplace. This alternative to standard essays also challenges students to expand their research, writing and presentation skills. Further pedagogical advantages include assisting students in building personal development portfolios, improving internship programmes and making it difficult to plagiarise. International relations and political science curricula in the UK would benefit from the wider use of this tool.     

The Implications of GASB Statement No. 34 for Public Budgeting

This paper discusses a variety of audit issues related to the implementation of GASB Statement No. 34. Ten specific audit issues are addressed. Each issue is defined and discussed, and the relevant professional literature is reviewed. The results of interviews of four experienced auditors of governments are presented with respect to these issues. These auditors identified several additional issues related to the implementation of Statement No. 34. The focus is on gaining insight from the concerns of auditor professionals to assist academics by identifying topics that warrant future research.