Audit committees are an integral part of good corporate governance and their establishment strengthens the credibility of governments. As a foundation of good governance, audit committees are positioned to provide an objective assessment of whether or not public resources are responsibly and effectively managed. They also promote accountability and integrity, as well as improvement in the operations of governments and municipalities. The establishment of audit committees in the local sphere of government came with the advent of modernisation in terms of the budget and financial management, which was intended to strengthen accountability. The requirement for effective utilisation of resources by local government is critical for the support and empowerment of local communities and delivery of effective services. The audit committee framework for local government, which is provided by the Municipal Finance Management Act (56 of 2003), is underpinned by principles of good governance and accountability, which promote the effective functioning of audit committees. However, there are perceptions and arguments advanced in the literature regarding the effectiveness of audit committees as an accountability structure. This was brought about by the recurring reported incidences of the failure of businesses, which took place despite the existence of rules and laws regulating the function. As a result, trends of leading best practices were established, which enhanced audit committees' performance and were adopted as a proxy for the measurement of audit committees’ effectiveness. The focus of the study is on validating the perception by management that the audit committee of the Westonaria Local Municipality (WLM) is effective in the execution of its oversight role. A literature study on the functioning of audit committees have been undertaken, official municipal documents were analysed and a questionnaire has been developed and utilised as a means for gathering data, in order to prove the hypothesis to be either true or false. The areas investigated in this study demonstrate that the audit committee of WLM is generally effective in the execution of its oversight function. The findings of the study also identified certain areas in the audit function which require the attention of both management and the audit committee of the municipality. More specifically, the observations made in the study include the following: (i) that audit committee members are not provided with the agendas and reports in sufficient time for them to adequately prepare for meetings; (ii) that a productive relationship between the audit committee and the management of the local government has to be maintained; (iii) that there is a lack of informal meetings between the audit committee and the external and internal auditors; (iv) that no appropriate training of the audit committee on existing and potential audit risks in local government is in place; (v) that there is an absence of continuous learning programmes for the members of the audit committee; and (vi) that audit committee members do not evaluate themselves in terms of their level of knowledge regarding the functioning and activities of their audit committee. Attending to these aspects, as identified through this study, will further improve the audit committee’s activities in the WLM. These aspects are therefore not viewed in a negative light, but are rather regarded as a positive venture to be addressed by municipal management and the audit committee, in order to improve the functioning of the audit committee. These aspects should therefore be added to the many positives aspects that are identified concerning the WLM audit committee, as discussed in this study. / M Public Administration (Development and Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The existence of informal groups in organisations is a reality. People in organisations compete for scarce resources, positions and influence, and as a result, depend on each other or groups to achieve their objectives. The purpose of each study was to establish the perception organisational members have on informal groups and the influence these groups have on the management of organisations. The problem is whether management or leadership in organisations can effectively perform without being affected and influenced by these informal structures. the main objective s of the study was to investigate and establish whether informal groups or cabals had a particular influence on the performance of management and how that influence impacted on the managing or leadership of organisations. A case study of four organisations, namely Mafikeng and Naledi municipality, the Quality Assurance Directorate in the Department of Education and the ANC Vryburg branch was conducted. members of these organisations were randomly sampled in line with the purposive sampling strategy for the interview purpose. The empirical investigation revealed that informal groups exist in organisations and they serve their own interest. members of the informal groups are well known and influential people who have a tendency to disregard organisational processes and procedures. The study also showed that informal groups are described as destructive and detrimental to the welfare and operations of the organisation, in that they have the capacity to influence, intimidate and affect management and leadership in the performance of duties. The groups can also dominate and dictate terms to others and are a potential for conflict in the organisation. The researcher recommends that management or leadership in organisations should be proactive by pre-emptying and identifying possible informal groups and deal with them by formulating and creating structures and systems to regulate, manage, control, monitor and evaluate personnel, resources and activities. In addition, management should be transparent, involve all members fairly and channel the energies of informal groups in a positive direction, for continuous capacity building. Management should further on a continuous basis remind members on the latest developments regarding various procedures, code of conduct, the necessity and consequences of non-compliance to organisational policies, principles and procedures. / (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

This dissertation explores the role of cognition—the elements, structures and processes of individual and collective thought—in finding effective, cooperative solutions to climate change. It makes three contributions—theoretical, empirical, and methodological—to international relations scholarship. First, it explores cognition as a significant variable in international political life, developing an analytical framework that not only links a cognitive framework of analysis to major IR theories but bridges current theoretical divides between rationalism and constructivism. Second, by identifying and visualizing current belief systems of participants in global climate negotiations, the thesis offers insights regarding cognitive obstacles to multilateral cooperation. The most important obstacle is a clash of substantively and emotionally different belief systems. Depending on the specific constellation of a person’s beliefs about collective identity, perceptions of climate-change threat, and associated emotions, some belief systems contain normative beliefs about justice (i.e., a dominant logic of appropriateness), while others do not. The latter belief systems reflect the national-interest logic of consequences. Focusing in particular on the “wicked” characteristics of climate change, the analysis further reveals a neglect of scientific knowledge (in particular knowledge of the possibility of climate tipping points), a serious under-valuation of the distant future, and perceptions of a number of constraints on agency, some of which cannot be resolved within the negotiations. The study also identifies six distinct belief systems among climate negotiators, which I label The International Community, A Minilateral Club, The Market, Individuals, The Developed World, and The Irresponsible West. The key element distinguishing these belief systems is actor type, which affects problem definitions, proposed solutions, political strategies, and more generally an actor’s role in global climate governance. Third, this dissertation expands the methodological toolbox available to IR scholars by demonstrating the value and synergistic power of cognitive-affective mapping and Q Method. These are powerful tools to reveal individual and collective belief systems respectively.

Kenya's Maasai Mara ecosystem is a particularly contested landscape when it concerns conservation and development interests. In recent years, private conservancies have emerged, redefining the relationships between conservation, tourism and local Maasai pastoralists. The partnership forged between ecotourism operators and Maasai landowners is celebrated as community conservation, bringing together a win for wildlife, and a win for livelihoods. Despite the rhetoric, inherent trade-offs are being made, particularly by pastoralists who now have to navigate an extended network of conservation boundaries with their livestock. Through a qualitative methods approach, this research gauges various stakeholder positions in relation to the emerging conservation partnership. Initial findings suggest the conservancies have made progress in alleviating some of the historical failures inherent in East Africa’s well-preserved ‘fortress conservation’ story. Yet the future of the conservancies remains unclear, in large part due to community concerns for livestock, resource access, and rights to self-determination. The conservancy format in Maasailand needs to consider greater efforts in fashioning a true partnership before it can consider itself a win-win enterprise.

This thesis examines the Europeanization process with a focus on the structure of influence and the role of agency in influencing the domestic change of the EU candidate states. In order to understand these qualities of the Europeanization process I discuss the current literature on Europeanization and critically evaluate contemporary conceptualization of the structure of influence. An assessment of the five mechanisms of Europeanization first advanced by Heather Grabbe—models, financial and technical aid, benchmarking and monitoring, advice and twinning, and gate-keeping—is then conducted in order to show that Europeanization can be discussed both conceptually and empirically. The categories reveal the important role that the structure of influence and windows of opportunity play in influencing the outcome of Europeanization. Throughout this thesis I argue that the Europeanization process is governed by a multi-leveled structure of influence that is affected by the actors’ ability to capitalize on windows of opportunity. Moreover, I conclude that the outcomes of the Europeanization process are shaped by the structure of influence and windows of opportunity available to each level of actors. / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to investigate if there were predictors for student participation in university governance; voting rates in particular. The variables examined were citizenship status, gender, age, basis of admission, program level, and program delivery model. The location of the study, Royal Roads University, offers the majority of its programs through a blended delivery model: an online format combined with short residencies. A regression analysis was performed on voter participation rates in elections for student representatives on the Royal Roads University Student Association, Academic Council, and the Board of Governors. Results indicate low voting rates overall with the highest frequency of voting amongst those in blended delivery programs; correlations exist between age and citizenship status, and between program delivery model and program level, but statistically significant predictors of voting behaviour were peculiar to each election dataset. / Graduate

Diese Dissertation untersucht die institutionellen Zusammenhänge des öffentlichen Personennahverkehrs in Europa mit Hilfe einer Weiterentwicklung des Governance Approach (Schmitter et al.). Die Studie enthält drei Fallstudien von typischen nationalen Governance Regimes: Manchester (GB) als typisch wettbewerbliches Regime, Lyon (F) als typisch etatistisches Regime und Wien (A) als typisch korporatistisches System. Folgende Schlüsse können gezogen werden: 1) Es zeigen sich europaweit sehr heterogene und nicht natürlicherweise konvergierende Regimes. 2) Alle Regimes plagen sich mit einem Set gemeinsamer Schwierigkeiten, die sektoral determiniert sein dürften. 3) Jedes der beobachteten Governance Regimes hat seine spezifischen Vor- und Nachteile: Das wettbewerbliche Governance Regime ist kurz- und mittelfristig günstiger, zerstört aber über eine Allmendedrama-Situation seine eigene Lebensgrundlage. Das etatistische Governance Regime ist zwar in seiner Entscheidungshierarchie konsistent, aber zu stark ideologisch-politisch dominiert für den ÖPNV und sehr konfliktuös. Das korporatistische Governance Regime berücksichtigt den Großteil der vertretenen Interessen optimal, ist jedoch intransparent und inflexibel. 4) Vor allem Wien hat nicht einmal ansatzweise die Strukturen, um die wahrscheinlich kommenden EU-Verordnungen zu administrieren. Es droht eine Paralyse des Systems. 5) Der Governance Approach ist nicht geeignet bzw. muss weiter entwickelt werden, um größere, dahinter liegende Entwicklungen zu erfassen und abzubilden: Die Prozesse der Kommodifizierung und "Unternehmerisierung" weiter Teile der öffentlichen Güter dürften Langfrist-Effekte haben, die derzeit nur sehr schlecht wahrnehmbar sind. Eine Weiterentwicklung der Theorie in diese Richtung ist viel versprechend. Mehr Informationen: http://www.clausfaber.net/wissenschaft (Autorenref.)

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Over the past twenty years the arts and culture have become a popular vehicle through which local economic development can be pursued. Whilst this relatively new local economic development tool has generated much interest amongst academics, many have been content to simply provide descriptive accounts of its development. Where theoretical frameworks for analysis have been applied, they have failed to adequately examine and assess those local factors which have contributed to the development of these strategies. Interestingly, the evolution of arts policy as a vehicle through which to pursue economic development, has been mirrored by proliferation In coalitions as preferred vehicles through which governing decisions, at the local level are effected. Current debates surrounding the New Urban Politics have focused on the degree to which current modes of governance reflect: widened representation; increased community empowerment; and increased local autonomy. By employing regime theory as a framework for analysis, this thesis will examine how those local political factors in two cities have influenced the development of cultural strategy. Such an exercise will enable a comment to be made on the degree to which cultural strategies reflect more co - operative forms of decision making, increased access to new forms of expertise and community empowerment.

Nonprofit-Organisationen (NPOs) sehen sich zunehmend der Aufgabe gegenüber, die Effizienz der Ressourcenallokation stärker zu beachten. Die in der Literatur auffindbaren ökonomischen Governance-Modelle fördern zwar die Effizienzorientierung, tendieren aber dazu, die Komplexität der Überschussverteilung in NPOs zu vernachlässigen. Ausgehend von einem neoinstitutionenökonomischen Bezugsrahmen wird in dieser Arbeit ein Modell der NPO-Governance, das Governance-Netzwerk, entwickelt, das sowohl Effizienz- als auch Verteilungsaspekte berücksichtigt. Als Kernaufgabe der Governance wird die Analyse und Regulierung der Machtverteilung innerhalb von NPOs identifiziert, da die Machtverteilung sowohl den Anteil bei den ex-post-Verhandlungen über den Organisationsüberschuss determiniert als auch die Effizienz der Ressourcenallokation beeinflusst. Anhand einer idealtypischen Analyse wird gezeigt, dass die Stakeholder-Gruppen der "Spender" und der "ehrenamtlichen Mitarbeiter" besonders schutzbedürftig sind, da ihre Ansprüche überwiegend implizit formuliert und nicht durch besondere Machtpositionen abgesichert sind. Zur Aufwertung der Machtposition dieser beiden Gruppen werden Governance-Instrumente entwickelt, die den Schutz der Ansprüche gewährleisten können und damit sowohl einen Beitrag zur Effizienzsteigerung leisten als auch neue Einblicke in die organisationalen Wirkungszusammenhänge der NPO-Governance ermöglichen. (Autorenref.)