Over the years, citizens' trust and confidence in their governments has continued to decline and digital government is expected to reverse this trend. An enormous amount of money has been spent, worldwide, on electronic government initiatives that are focused on improving performance, reducing costs and enhancing citizens' trust and confidence in their governments. Yet, of the many initiatives that have been implemented, very few have achieved real transformation of government (i.e. fundamental changes to the way core functions of government are performed to achieve noticeable gains in performance and efficiency). As such, there is a need to understand how transformation of government as a construct affects citizens' trust and confidence in government in the presence of factors such as, government performance and citizen satisfaction. This research empirically investigates the influence of digital transformation of government on citizens' trust and confidence in the context of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Bahrain is a top ranking country in terms of use of ICT in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. A conceptual model was developed and validated using an online survey targeting randomly citizens of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Based on 313 responses, the findings of this research suggest that citizens' trust and confidence in their government is positively influenced by transformation of government, mediated by government performance and citizens' satisfaction. The study found that e-government and technology are not enough for achieving a real transformation of government, and therefore, in tackling the decline in citizens' trust and confidence in government. Other factors were found to be important in this equation, including transparency and accountability of government functions and activities in meeting citizens' expectations. The research offers multiple policy implications and theoretical contributions, in addition to helping understand how digital transformation of government can enhance citizens' trust and confidence in government, improve government-to-citizen relationship, and increase the adoption of digital services offered by governments. From a policy perspective, this research offers a validated conceptual model that can be used as a frame of reference when planning ICT-enabled transformation projects in government. From a theoretical context, this study is the first to investigate the relationship between transformation of government and citizens' trust and confidence in government.

A presente pesquisa teve como objetivo conhecer e avaliar a contribuição do profissional contábil nas organizações do Terceiro Setor, para transparência e accountability. Para verificar se a gestão da organização pertencente ao Terceiro Setor desempenha suas atividades de forma transparente e accountable, realizou-se uma pesquisa exploratóriodescritiva em uma organização pertencente a esse setor denominada Viva Rio, que encontra-se sediada na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, onde foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas. Os resultados da pesquisa apontam que a Contabilidade pode contribuir muito para essas organizações, principalmente pelo fato de essas entidades, diferentemente das demais organizações do primeiro e segundo setores, precisarem prestar contas aos mais diversos públicos. A organização pesquisada utiliza informações não financeiras e financeiras como ferramenta de auxílio à transparência e accountability, e ainda, os registros contábeis são contabilizados por projetos e por financiadores, o que gera acurácia e tempestividade na disponibilidade dessas informações aos seus interessados. / This research aimed to understand and evaluate the contribution of the accounting professional at the organizations in the Third Sector, for transparency and accountability. To verify that the management of the organization belonging to the Third Sector plays its activities in a transparent and accountable way, a descriptive exploratory research was conducted in an organization belonging to this sector called Viva Rio, which is based in Rio de Janeiro, which semi-structured interviews were conducted. The survey results show that accounting can contribute much to these organizations, mainly because of them, unlike the other organizations of the first and second sectors, need to be accountable to more diverse audiences. The organization studied uses non-financial and financial information as an aid tool for transparency and accountability, and yet, the accounting records are accounted for by donors and projects, which generates the accuracy and timing in the availability of informations to its stakeholders.

Orientador: Ricardo Monteagudo / Banca: Maria das Graças de Souza / Banca: Jacira de Freitas / Resumo: O propósito de se elaborar uma crítica ao luxo e às falsas relações instituídas na sociedade é mais que uma simples tentativa de afastamento. É antes a aproximação de uma realidade melhor que pode existir a partir de uma opção frugal e equilibrada. Rousseau afirma, sobretudo em A nova Heloísa, a possibilidade de se viver em paz e harmonia no estado de sociedade através de costumes simples. A adoção de um padrão de vida constituído por relações sinceras e isento de falsas necessidades garante à comunidade de Clarens o título de refúgio em que a transparência das relações pode encontrar seu lugar. Desta forma, é possível se constatar, no desenvolvimento do presente estudo, a insistência de Jean-Jacques em associar a realização do homem à sua opção consciente em viver em concordância com uma concepção de frugalidade como postura ideal. / Abstract: The purpose of elaborating a critic to the luxury and the false relationships instituted in the society it is more than a simple attempt of removal. It is before the approach of a better reality than it can exist starting from a frugal and balanced option. Rousseau affirms, mainly in A nova Heloísa, the possibility to live in peace and harmony in the society state through simple habits. The adoption of a standard of living constituted by relationships sincere and exempt of false needs it guarantees to the community of Clarens the refuge title in that the transparency of the relationships can find your place. Then, it is possible to verify, in the development of the present study, Jean-Jacques' insistence in associating the accomplishment of the man to your conscious option in living in agreement with a frugality conception as ideal posture. / Mestre

This work explores how colour and light can be used as the prime design materials. They are investigated in unison in relation to spatiality. Colour is a way for us to understand and identify what we see, it is primary for how we interpret our surroundings. The aim is to explore colour, light and reflections, by the means of printing and dyeing of translucent materials, as an attempt to challenge the visual perception of the spectator and the experience of how spatiality is perceived. The project investigates how the boundaries of a textile can be questioned, for example where does a pattern begin and end? Does it only belong to the textile or can it transcend to it’s surroundings? The investigational process is experimental and explores combinations of colour and light in translucent materials, coloured through the techniques of heat transfer printing and dyeing. Swatches made are analysed in relation to each other and to light, with a focus on their visual performance. The final design examples discusses the idea of how textile, light and colour can be used to create, define and illuminate spatiality.

The subject of my thesis is to compare the main current standards of transparent public budgets (IMF, OECD, OBI) in terms of overall view of fiscal transparency and in terms of content coverage through the analysis of relevant documents and the formulation of specific criteria. Another goal of this work is the analysis of transparency in the state budget revenues and evaluation whether disclosure of the income of the state budget itself meets the requirement of fiscal transparency by calculating the prediction accuracy of state budget revenues in the Czech Republic and comparing the standards of transparency. I found that approaches to transparency differ in their scope and structure. In terms of content all approaches correspond only in the middle of the criteria. Publication of data on the income of the state budget with respect to prediction accuracy achieved in the Czech Republic meets the basic requirement for transparency, but there is much room for its improvement, in an appropriate commentary published data.

Les terminaux mobiles (smartphones et tablettes) sont devenus les terminaux les plus populaires pour accéder à Internet. Cependant, l'écosystème incluant les terminaux mobiles est maintenu opaque à cause des intérêts financiers des différents acteurs : les concepteurs des systèmes d'exploitation et des applications, les opérateurs des "stores", et les FAI. Cette opacité est renforcée par le peu de contrôle qu'ont les utilisateurs sur les informations échangées par leur terminal. Pour résoudre ce problème d'opacité et de manque de contrôle, on a créé une plate-forme, Meddle, qui utilise la redirection de trafic des terminaux mobiles pour analyser et modifier ce trafic. Contrairement aux solutions qui nécessitent d'être implémentées sur le terminal, Meddle combine les techniques de VPN et de "middlebox" pour offrir une solution indépendante de l'OS, du FAI et de l'accès radio. On a utilisé Meddle pour des expérimentations contrôlées et pour une étude utilisateurs approvée par un IRB. On a observé que des applications populaires sous iOS et Android exposaient des informations personnelles dans le traffic réseau en clair et chiffré. On a ensuite exploité Meddle pour prévenir ces fuites d'informations privées. On a également utilisé Meddle pour étudier les caractéristiques réseaux du trafic vidéo sur Internet. On a trouvé que ce trafic dépend fortement du type de terminal, de l'application utilisée pour regarder la vidéo (application native ou navigateur Web) et du contenant (HTML5, Flash, Silverlight). Ce résultat montre qu'un changement dans le terminal, l'application ou le contenant peut avoir un impact important sur le réseau. / Mobile devices are increasingly becoming the primary device to access the Internet. Despite this thriving popularity, the current mobile ecosystem is largely opaque because of the vested monetary interests of its key players: mobile OS providers, creators of mobile applications, stores for mobile applications and media content, and ISPs. This problem of opaqueness is further aggravated by the limited control end-users have over the information exchanged by their mobile devices. To address this problem of opaqueness and lack of control, we create a user-centric platform, Meddle, that uses traffic indirection to diagnose mobile devices. Compared to an on-device solution, Meddle uses two well-known technologies, VPNs and middleboxes, and combines them to provide an OS, ISP, and access technology agnositic solution. We use Meddle for controlled experiments and an IRB approved study, and ob- served that popular iOS and Android applications leak personally identifiable information in the clear and also over SSL. We then use Meddle to prevent further leaks. We also use our platform to detail the network characteristics of video streaming services, the most popular Web-service in the current Internet. We observe that the network traffic characteristics vary vastly with the device (mobile or desktop), application (native applications and also between individual desktop browsers), and container (HTML5, Flash, and Silverlight). This observation is important because the increased adoption of one application or streaming service could have a significant impact on the network traffic, for example, an increase in the usage of mobile applications.

The purpose of this study is to examine and understand why parastatals in Nigeria are on the face of it performing so poorly. Parastatals are critised for being ostensibly immersed with ethnicism, corruption, nepotism, patronage, clientelism, low accountability and transparency. These issues were explored in the context of Ajaokuta Steel; an enterprise that was substantially complete two decades ago but subsequently progressed no further. Ajaokuta Steel is an industrial giant meant to take the lead of industrialising, developing, and taking Nigeria and Africa from poverty and unemployment. To pursue this study the researcher employed mixed methods of research with interpretivism combined with a critical ambition and a case study as the main research strategy. The researcher used questionnaires, observations, interviews to gather data. Theoretical framework based on neopatrimonialism was used to guide the researcher in the empirical work and in the study. The interviews from the case site and stakeholders were analysed from the voice recorder and those from the questionnaires were analysed using descriptive statistics. The use of several data collecting methods was to achieve triangulation and because of the seriousness of the problem which needed an in-depth investigation to unveil the mystery behind the non-completion of the giant moribund industry. The results of the interviews, case study and questionnaires indicated that the problems of governance and accountability of parastatals in Nigeria are that governing board members and chairmen who formulate policies are appointed to boards based on political patronage, ethnic balancing and religious considerations, thereby loading boards with unqualified people who may ultimately compromise an organisation such as Ajaokuta Steel. Interviewees and respondents also identified a lack of political will on the part of the government, suggestions of an international conspiracy, corruption, military incursions in politics, the geographical location of Ajaokuta Steel and the culture of neglecting projects, as further contributory factors. Interviewees and respondents mentioned also lack of accountability and transparency in the affairs of parastatals. These factors have greatly affected all parastatals in Nigeria. It was recommended that parastatals should appoint board members, the CEO and staff based on track records of good antecedents; publish their accounts in the national newspapers; or be privatised by Public Private Partnership (PPP) so that government will be able to concentrate on its primary duties of providing security, health services and education for its citizens.

This thesis analyzes the problem of corruption in the Mexican government procurement system, aiming to provide a mix of legal and policy solutions to combat and prevent it. Comparing the policies and laws that make up the regulatory framework of public procurement in Canada and Mexico, this study seeks to extract the best practices that can improve the Mexican system. This text illuminates how the weaknesses within Mexico’s procurement system has provoked the current exploitation of alternative procurement methods (known as “adjudicación directa” and “invitación a cuando menos tres personas”) to embezzle public resources through fictitious contract awards. Although we have seen a tendency towards including requirements for “transparency” and “accountability” into Mexican procurement law, this on its own is insufficient to combat corruption. Consequently, I argue that procurement units have to enhance these transparency policies by disclosing the rationale behind every procurement and contract award prior to the disbursement of the resources; having competition as the maximum principle to fulfill while doing so. This will allow auditing bodies (and Mexican citizens) to scrutinize the rationale behind these disbursements. The Public Function Secretary could oversee this process to validate the legality and the social benefit justifications claimed by the procurement units prior to utilizing alternative procurement methods.

Perception of fairness is a key construct affecting job performance, and perceptions of promotional processes are related to employees' sense of justice in private organizations. In police departments, negative perceptions of procedures can be detrimental to departmental effectiveness. The purpose of this quantitative quasiexperimental study was to compare Louisiana officers' perceptions of fairness of a seniority-based promotion system in relation to Louisiana deputies' perceptions of fairness of a merit-based promotion system. Organizational justice theory, including procedural justice, was the theoretical foundation. The research questions were designed to examine whether seniority, transparency, knowledge of the promotion systems, gender, and race predicted levels of perceived fairness. Data were analyzed using an independent samples t test, a MANOVA, and a multiple linear regression. Participants in the seniority-based system perceived it as being fairer than participants in the merit-based system viewed their merit-based system. There were significant differences in knowledge of promotion systems and perceived fairness for rank and system type, but not race and gender. Collectively, predictor variables correlated with perceived fairness. Type of promotion system was not significant when examined with other variables suggesting confounding of predictor variables. Human resources should make employees aware of promotion procedures. Hybrid systems might help address both employee fairness and the promotion of qualified individuals. Officers viewing promotion as fair could lead to positive social change by motivating officers and positively influencing how they serve the public.

Sustainability within the spheres of environmental and social awareness have become increasing salient issues in the world today. This is addressed within the corporate world through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure and reporting. However, the reporting and disclosure surrounding such issues remains at a disadvantage in comparison to that of financial reporting. These issues not only govern sustainability and awareness itself but increasing investor and stakeholder decisions concerning firms connected to these issues. This thesis aims to explore the issues encountered today in CSR reporting. It reviews current literature on regional differences, current methods of CSR disclosure, and the drawbacks of current reporting standards. To address these topics, there is a review of the definition of a stakeholder, its development over time and how stakeholders are prioritized and affected by the actions of firms. With the definition of a stakeholder established, the thesis reviews the relationship between different stakeholders and CSR disclosure and how this can be applied in order to increase the quality and consistency of CSR reporting. Finally, trends in CSR and differences within sectors and regions are considered and it is determined that there has to be a development of standardization through a current reporting standard, in order to ensure congruency of information across nations and sectors, allowing investors and stakeholders to make better informed decisions through the provided sustainability information.