The marked disintegration of the UK banking system in 2008 led to significant Government ownership in two major banks: The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) (National Audit Office, 2009). The banks are termed ‘quasi-nationalised’ due to the retention of stock exchange listings alongside Government ownership The thesis offers a documentary analysis on the public accountability of these banks. The research themes are: - The impact of Government intervention on the accountability of the quasi-nationalised banks - The banking crisis through the lens of financial reporting for RBS and LBG - Newspaper reporting of the banking crisis in RBS and LBG A multiple theory framework is utilised in the study. Property rights (Alchian, 1974; Alchian and Demsetz, 1973; Demsetz, 1967) and agency theory (Fama, 1980; Jensen and Meckling, 1976) explore the implications of Government Intervention. Impression Management and Stigma (Goffman, 1968; Goffman, 1956a) are used to critique financial reporting since the crisis. Critical Discourse Analysis assesses newspaper reporting of the banks’ finances (Fairclough, 2010; Fairclough, 1995). Summary findings for the three research themes are as follows. Quasi-nationalisation has been a positive response to the banking crisis. Banks acknowledge they must consider societal responsibilities as well as corporate profits. Yet the increased accountability mechanisms have been difficult to define and enforce. Property rights theory applauds the retention of private sector scrutiny. Agency theory, however, identifies the muted disciplinary effects of the markets in the circumstances. The banks’ financial reporting gives an alternative perspective on the banking crisis. Both banks acknowledge their role in the crisis but simultaneously distance themselves from it. RBS highlights the virtues of a ‘new’ bank different from the failed one. LBG explains poor results through ‘market dislocation’. The statutory accounts themselves are relegated in favour of managerially defined pro forma numbers and promotional materials. In this way, the statutory numbers can be seen as part of the ‘dirty work’ (Goffman, 1956b) of the crisis. Using critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 2010; Fairclough, 1995), findings are that newspaper reporting of the banks’ accounting results occurs across a broad spectrum of titles and articles. Headlines favour big numbers for impact. But constant focus on banking pay endures. The accounts provide an important counterpoint to the news context of the banks. Positively, accounting is portrayed as a neutral challenger to the public relations news process and fulfils democratic accountability. Critically, however, it is in the interests of papers to create and sustain media panics (Leach, 2006). The thesis responds to calls for literature on the financial crisis (British Accounting Review, 2012; Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 2011; Arnold, 2009), multi-theoretical research in the public sector (Jacobs, 2012; Kurunmäki et al., 2003), linguistic theory in accounting (Evans, 2010) and accounting in the tabloids (Jeacle, 2012) as well as interpretive research in financial reporting (London School of Economics, 2011; Brennan and Solomon, 2008; Parker, 2007).

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / The provision of quality services is important for the overall welfare of South Africans. However, the Apartheid legacy appears to have long lasting effects on the provision of quality services at local level, with a range of undesirable effects, especially for ordinary people at grassroots level. Nevertheless, this concern has been made possible the legacy of apartheid, which makes it practically impossible to address the immediate needs of ordinary South Africans. For over a decade, South African local government has been condemned for poor service delivery, which is as a result of inefficiency, unproductiveness and incompetency of the public servants. These factors have hindered the prospect of delivering quality services at the most efficient and effective level, hence the introduction of a long- term plan by the South African government to improve the productiveness of the local government, and this plan is known as Performance Management System (PMS). The introduction of performance management system is critical because it ensures that plans are being implemented, that they are having the desired development impact and that resources are being used efficiently.This thesis critically analyzes the implementation processes of Performance Management System at O.R. Tambo District Municipality. Its principal aims is to investigate the factors that hinder the effective implementation of performance management system at local government in South Africa, to assess the effectiveness of PMS at ORTDM, to identify and explore different theories on performance management system. This thesis also seeks to be a guide to effective public policy implementation and provide recommendation and clear analysis of the municipal activities which can help improve the current state of affairs at O.R Tambo District Municipality. This thesis therefore looks at the challenges that are faced by the Section 57 employees (i.e. Municipal manager, directors and assistant directors) in the implementation of Performance Management System within the O.R. Tambo District Municipality. It uses qualitative research methods to assess patterns of PMS in ORTDM. This enquiry produces descriptive data, based on the written and spoken words of the interviewees. This method allows the researcher to see the world from participant‟s point of view.This thesis begins by introducing the subject of Performance Management, giving the historical background of performance management, as well as the current state of O.R. Tambo District. The introduction of the topic is followed by a theoretical overview of the subject of performance management. This is followed by the research methodology used in this study. The findings are presented in the chapter following the research methodology chapter, giving a synopsis of what the interviewees disclosed during the interview process. The last chapter provides conclusions and recommendations on how do the municipality ensure that performance management is effectively implemented and it has desired outcomes.

Magister Legum - LLM

orture is a serious violation of human rights and it is strictly prohibited by numerous human rights instruments. The prohibition of torture enshrines one of the most fundamental values of a democratic society. Its prohibition in a national constitution commits the country, and specifically its law enforcement officers, to performing their duties with due regard to the essential dignity of every human being. The irony is that the law enforcement officials and the security agents who are entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order in the society sometimes breach the law which they have sworn to uphold. Most of the perpetrators of acts of torture are usually those in positions of state power. In addition, other persons who wield other forms of authority or influence also perpetrate torture. It is contended that both civil and criminal responsibilities of the perpetrators should be explored by bringing them to justice in order to serve as deterrence to others. Despite being stringently outlawed, torture continues to be practised in many countries in the world. The underlying assumption is that, although the prohibition of torture has become part of customary international law, the practice of torture remains widespread. Torturers and those who order or encourage torturers to ply their trade or acquiesce in their doing so, enjoy virtual impunity from prosecution within their own jurisdictions. In many cases, the majority of the torturers go unpunished because they are, most often than not, agents or officials of the state. Nowadays, there are various international human rights instruments prohibiting torture. Violations of the provisions of these instruments by states or individuals will attract necessary and appropriate sanction. The erring state or individual will be held accountable and if found liable, sanctions as contained in the instruments banning torture will be invoked accordingly. It must be stressed that condemnation of torture is universal and its prohibition forms not only part of customary international law, but has joined that narrow category of crimes so egregious as to demand universal criminal jurisdiction. There is no save haven for perpetrators because the various mechanisms and adjudicating bodies of state parties and the United Nations have competent jurisdictions to right the wrong. Furthermore, it must be stressed that there can be no justification for torture because CAT and other important international human rights instruments assume increasing importance tools which have realistic prospects for eliminating torture.

The aim of this thesis is an analysis of the development and changes in the relationship of political and economic independence and accountability of central banks on the example of CNB and FED. I use the method of comparative analysis of the qualitative characteristics of central banks. The theoretical and methodological part is focused on the historical evolution of central banking, as well as on the relationship between central bank independence and its accountability, credibility and transparency. The next section is devoted to analyzing the benefits and the risks of an independent status. The largest chapter deals with the ways of measuring the legal and the actual independence of central banks, the calculation of legal independence from the selected indices are applied to the CNB. Finally I make an evaluation of degree of independence of the CNB and FED and I try to explain what degree of independence and accountability is optimal.

The purpose of this study was to develop a practical methodology of program evaluation from considerations of what the evaluative act required on logical grounds. The methodology developed was based on P.W. Taylor's (1961) analytical treatment of evaluation and M. Scriven's extensive writings on the subject. The study involved two broad phases. The first phase was a discussion of Taylor's and Scriven's thoughts on evaluation showing where they are compatible and overlap. The second phase showed how the ideas developed in the first phase were operationalized and adapted to the evaluation of a teacher training program at the University of British Columbia. A general conclusion of this study was that Taylor's analysis of the method and product of evaluation provided a suitable framework for the evaluation of an educational program. More specifically when Taylor's analysis was combined with Scriven's extensive work, a feasible model of evaluation resulted which readily produced a defensible, overall estimation of worth for an educational product. Although the methodology of evaluation developed in this study was only applied to a teacher training program, it could easily be extended to the evaluation of other educational programs or products. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

Following up on the educational reform initiatives of the 1990s and early 2000s, which are centered on the notion of accountability, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's Race to the Top initiative strives to bring such accountability down to the level of the individual teacher through the use of advanced statistical parsing of student achievement data. Through the calculation of "teacher value-added," a given teacher's "effectiveness" can be measured and ranked, hence assigned a value. Duncan's rhetoric around the issue, and the assumptions visible in the studies of teacher quality and effectiveness that he and other reformers cite, suggest that at long last we as a society will be able to know and to communicate just who our best and our worst teachers are. Such an ability will allow us as a polity, on this view, to direct public funding much more efficiently than has heretofore been possible: armed with this new knowledge, we can reward the best teachers to ensure that they do not abandon the profession for higher-paying employment, and cull the worst teachers so that they may be replaced with more effective personnel. The newfound ability to distinguish between good and bad teachers also has transformative implications for teacher training programs. By analyzing the practice of the highest-quality teachers, one might discover "what works" in classrooms, the specific behaviors, skills, or mental states involved in highly effective teaching. Once discovered, these behaviors, skills, or mental states might then be given to pre-service teachers, which would dispense with what Duncan considers to be the overly theoretical and largely abstract curricula of current teacher education programs. The problem outlined above is obviously philosophical in nature. The method of investigation involves a conceptual analysis of Race to the Top's teacher-quality and achievement-data initiatives, comparing the policies to the Secretary of Education's public rhetoric employed to market the policies to the public. Taking the public rhetoric as an expressing the various needs to which the policies will be responsive, this thesis tests the coherence of the underlying assumptions about teaching and learning, and assesses the conceptual fit between the needs visible in the rhetoric and the outcomes sought and measured according to the proposed policies. The thesis finds that Duncan's public rhetoric expresses largely unproblematic needs, fears, or disquietudes around questions of teacher quality, but that the policies intended to answer those needs are wholly insufficient to the task. At issue is a misconception of teaching as a skillful endeavor, a mistaken idea about what teaching is. This thesis concludes that the needs and desires expressed in Duncan's rhetoric do necessitate a response, but that any adequate response will require a different view of teaching and learning entirely. The thesis offers the fundamental requirements of a different notion of teaching and learning, one better suited to the needs of the public, as the Secretary of Education expresses them.

When a police officer exercises their statutory authority to use force against a member of society, and that force results in death, the public must have confidence that the police acted legitimately. The inquiry this thesis facilitates examines current police oversight law that purports to hold police accountable in circumstances of police-involved death in British Columbia. The research is motivated by two assertions: 1. The government’s response to reform the investigatory and legal processes for the determination of allegations of police-involved death is inadequate; the resulting police oversight regime is too complex, and fails to act in the public interest. 2. Oversight and law enforcement agencies limit access to the information required for families and the public to understand the circumstances of, and to fairly assess, alleged police-involved death. While this research does not anticipate a singular resolution to the complex and longstanding questions of police accountability in BC, it draws attention to an unresolved history of police un-accountability as a matter of public interest. Due to the complex nature of the legal framework, this research does not identify an exhaustive list of issues within policing law. / Graduate

The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) is a subset of the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), and for some reasons NEITI has been regarded by many actors and observers as the global EITI flagship programme or one of the foremost national chapters of EITI , along with Azerbaijan. When one considers the guiding principles and beliefs of EITI that wealth from a country?s natural resources should benefit it citizens, and this requires high standard of transparency and accountability. When one further consider that EITI growing status as a platform for progress, that is bringing greater transparency and accountability to all aspects of natural resources management including tax transparency, commodity trading and licensing, one would expect ground breaking disclosure which is required on beneficial ownership to ensure that the identity of proprietors of oil, gas and mining companies operating in EITI countries are made public. As such to a greater extent the measurement of the success of (NEITI) will be subjected to evaluation against the principles of EITI. / Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Public Law / LLM / Unrestricted

The Public Service Act 30 of 2007 provides for national and provincial departments. In terms of this act each province has its own basic education department. Provincial Departments of Basic Education are sub-divided into district offices that play an important role in the communication between the provincial head office and the educational institutions under its authority. The task of the district office is to collaborate with school principals and educators to promote instruction and learning and to render management and professional support to achieve excellence in instruction and learning. According to the National Development Plan of the National Planning Commission (2011) education district offices are regarded as sub-structures of the Provincial Department of Basic Education. The district office represents the Provincial Education Department in the day-to-day administrative and professional functions of schools. Since the South African Schools Act does not make any provision for district offices, one may conclude that the brief of district offices is only to assist the head of the Provincial Department of Basic Education in the performance of his / her duties. According to the National Planning Commission National Development Plan for 2030 the district office has to provide support to schools to improve educational practices in schools and to ensure that communication and the sharing of information with schools and authorities occur. This qualitative study was conducted from an interpretative paradigm with the purpose of investigating the education law perspectives on the role of education district office officials with regard to the finances of public schools. The research contributes to the understanding of the role and responsibility of the education district office officials regarding the finances of public schools and makes recommendations for practice advancement and further research. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Education Management and Policy Studies / PhD / Unrestricted