Target firms in Australian takeovers are required to obtain an independent assessment of the offer price in situations where the Corporations Law considers the bidder has a superior bargaining position. The intention of this requirement is to protect target shareholders from being offered a lower takeover premium. The only empirical study of expert reports, Eddey (1993), is consistent with expert reports achieving their purpose, as the results indicate no difference in target firm premiums in offers with and without an expert report. Eddey also reports that a revision in offer price is more likely where an expert indicates the bid is �not fair and reasonable.� Using all takeovers from 1990 to 2000, this thesis aims to re-examine and substantially extend the findings in Eddey. As the sample includes all bids, irrespective of the form of payment consideration, the thesis will assess whether the results in Eddey can be extrapolated from cash-based bids to all takeover bids. In addition, the analysis will extend Eddey�s results by investigating whether expert reports result in a higher probability of a revision in offer price relative to takeovers without an expert report. This study also investigates the impact of the expert report on bidder announcement abnormal returns and examines the returns to both bidders and targets when the expert report is released. This will add to the limited current knowledge on the impact of expert reports on the capital market. This thesis also tests the validity of public criticisms of expert independence. Firstly, experts have been publicly criticised on the basis that they are not independent from the target firm. It has been suggested that such experts will be more likely to provide an opinion that agrees with the recommendation of target directors. Secondly, it has been alleged that experts who are also the target auditor provide their reports at a lower fee by cross-subsidising the reports� preparation from other fees received from the client. The concern with this practice is that these reports may be of lower quality. This criticism is tested by developing an expert fee model. This fee model is then used to assess whether, similar to evidence in the auditing field, �quality� experts earn a fee premium. The results indicate that the need for an expert report does not affect bidder abnormal returns at either the announcement of the takeover or release of the expert report. On the other hand, target shareholders earn significantly lower abnormal returns at the announcement of a bid where an expert report is required. This result is inconsistent with Eddey (1993) and raises doubt over whether experts prevent bidders from using their superior bargaining position to offer target shareholders a lower premium. Consistent with Eddey, the probability of an alteration in offer price is greater where an adverse expert opinion is given. The results also show that the presence of an expert increases the likelihood of a bid revision relative to takeovers in general. Target abnormal returns on the release of an expert report are positive and significant, irrespective of the type of expert opinion. This result however, is sensitive to any association between the author of the report and the target. In the case that an expert discloses any prior or current business dealings with the target, abnormal returns are insignificant. The conclusion from this finding is that the market perceives expert reports prepared by an associate of the target as lacking credibility. In light of this lack of information content it is recommended corporate regulators review those experts permitted to prepare reports. Contrary to the published criticisms, experts who have business dealings with the target are just as likely as other experts to provide an opinion that agrees with the recommendation of directors. The tests of a fee reduction by experts associated to the target indicate significant lower fees where the expert is the target auditor. Further analysis shows this result is only significant where the auditor is also a non-Big 6/5 firm. These auditors are also found to provide reports that are significantly shorter than other experts, suggesting the cut in fee is achieved by reducing the amount of effort. The results also find that the top two experts, Grant Samuels and Associates and Price Waterhouse Coopers, earn a fee premium over other experts. The finding of a fee premium for a large accounting firm indicates that such firms may receive a premium for both auditing and non-audit services.

Let {Tsub(p) : q1 ≤ p ≤ q2} be a family of consistent Csub(0) semigroups on Lφ(Ω) with q1, q2 ∈ [1, ∞)and Ω ⊆ IRn open. We show that certain commutator conditions on Tφ and on the resolvent of its generator Aφ ensure the φ independence of the spectrum of Aφ for φ ∈ [q1, q2]. Applications include the case of Petrovskij correct systems with Hölder continuous coeffcients, Schrödinger operators, and certain elliptic operators in divergence form with real, but not necessarily symmetric, or complex coeffcients.

<p>It is now forty years after the start of African Socialism, or Ujamaa, in Tanzania. This study examines to what extent Tanzanians still tell their national history in ways which feature the important themes of social change that were introduced by President Julius Nyerere and his political party after independence: increasing equality, popular participation, egalitarian values and self-reliant economic development. The intention of the study is to see to what extent these ideas are still important in the ways that Tanzanians today tell their national history. The study is based on oral history interviews, with Tanzanian expatriates living in Cape Town, and is supplemented by secondary sources on the post-independence and Ujamaa periods. It argues that memory can be affected by current events.</p>

Recent financial crises and accounting scandals resulting from perceived audit failures have given rise to increase criticism in the manner which accountants and auditors respect their professional code of ethics. As a consequence, the SEC rules in 2000 limits the services auditors are allowed to provide to their clients and also set limits on fees for internal audit services. In addition to this, they called upon all firms to disclose all fees paid to auditors for both audit and non-audit services. This thesis investigates whether the provision of Non-Audit Services is associated with auditor’s independence evidence from the earnings management perspective proxy by discretionary accruals. I began this study by examining the relevant textbooks and related articles of accounting and auditing. Furthermore, the hypotheses and research model are proposed based upon related accounting and auditing theories. The data for this thesis were manually collected from the NASDAQ OMX website from the annual financial reports of 107 Swedish public listed firms in the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The selection of these companies was based on their capitalization i.e., Large, Medium and Small size firms. In this study, quantitative research method has been used to explore the relationship between provision of NAS and auditor’s independence with the help of statistical soft wares (SPSS and Excel) for data analysis. My research outcome provides evidence that the amount of non-audit services rendered by a firm’s external auditors is not associated with earnings management; therefore, the auditor’s independence is not compromised for providing NAS to their clients. This no association is an indication that, the auditor’s independence is strengthened during the provision of non-audit services a result consistent with that of prior researches (e.g., DeFond et al. (2002); Crabtree et al. (2004); Chung &amp; Kallapur (2003)). I also found out that, the provision of audit services is not associated with earnings management, an indication of no management discretionary accruals. Therefore, the auditor’s independence is not compromised when providing a joint audit and non-audit services. These results provide an insight concerning the perceptions of auditor independence and also afford empirical evidence regarding the role that non-audit and audit services fees plays in establishing confidence among the users of firms’ annual financial report.

Canadian citizens’ inability to access courts has been a subject of controversy for decades. Despite widespread evidence that Canada’s legal aid system is faltering, governments continue to be unwilling to commit the resources necessary to remedy the problem. In this thesis, the author argues that people’s inability to access courts and obtain legal representation not only has implications for their rights and interests, but may also undermine judicial independence. Judicial independence, the author claims, is best understood as a variable bundle of rights, guarantees and powers conferred on courts and judges that preserves and enhances their abilities to adjudicate impartially, maintain a constitutional distribution of powers and uphold the rule of law. Since people’s inability to access courts can impair the judiciary’s ability to preserve these values, judicial independence is undermined. The author claims that it is possible to correct problems of inaccessibility by appointing state-funded counsel in appropriate circumstances.

Canadian citizens’ inability to access courts has been a subject of controversy for decades. Despite widespread evidence that Canada’s legal aid system is faltering, governments continue to be unwilling to commit the resources necessary to remedy the problem. In this thesis, the author argues that people’s inability to access courts and obtain legal representation not only has implications for their rights and interests, but may also undermine judicial independence. Judicial independence, the author claims, is best understood as a variable bundle of rights, guarantees and powers conferred on courts and judges that preserves and enhances their abilities to adjudicate impartially, maintain a constitutional distribution of powers and uphold the rule of law. Since people’s inability to access courts can impair the judiciary’s ability to preserve these values, judicial independence is undermined. The author claims that it is possible to correct problems of inaccessibility by appointing state-funded counsel in appropriate circumstances.

Background: The rehabilitation of older persons is often complicated by increased frailty and medical complexity – these in turn present challenges for the development of health information systems. Objective investigation and comparison of the effectiveness of geriatric rehabilitation services requires information systems that are comprehensive, reliable, valid, and sensitive to clinically relevant changes in older persons. The Functional Independence Measure is widely used in rehabilitation settings – in Canada this is used as the central component of the National Rehabilitation Reporting System of the Canadian Institute of Health Information. An alternative system has been developed by the interRAI consortium. We conducted a literature review to compare the development and measurement properties of these two systems and performed a direct empirical comparison of the operating characteristics and validity of the FIM motor and the ADL items on the PAC in a sample of older adults receiving rehabilitation. Methods: For the first objective english language literature published between 1983 (initial development of the FIM) and 2008 was searched using Medline and CINAHL databases, and the reference lists of retrieved articles. Additionally, attention was paid to the ability of the two systems to address issues particularly relevant to older rehabilitation clients, such as medical complexity, comorbidity, and responsiveness to small but clinically meaningful improvements. For the second objective we used Rasch analysis and responsiveness statistics to investigate and compare the instruments dimensionality, item difficulty, item fit, differential item function, number of response options and ability to detect clinically relevant change. Results: The majority of FIM articles studied inpatient rehabilitation settings; while the majority of interRAI/MDS articles focused on nursing home settings. There is evidence supporting the reliability of both instruments. There were few articles that investigated the construct validity of the interRAI/MDS. The analysis showed that the FIM may be slightly more responsive than the PAC, especially in the MSK patients. However, both scales had similar limitations with regards the large ceiling effect and many unnecessary response options. Conclusions: Additional psychometric research is needed on both the FIM and MDS, especially with regard to their use in different settings and ability to discriminate between subjects with functional higher ability.

Independence and objectivity are the cornerstones of the auditing profession. Even though internal auditing is generally not mandatory for companies to set up, its importance these days has increased phenomenally due to the fact that it assists companies to systematically evaluate and improve their risk management, internal controls and governance processes. Internal auditors are therefore expected to be independent and objective in order to provide unbiased and reliable reports, and to win the trust and confidence of people though admittedly, independence and objectivity are not easy to achieve in reality since the internal auditors are employees of the company they audit and report on.  The purpose of this study was thus, to critically investigate if independence and objectivity can truly be achieved in practice by employing a case study of the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM). Accordingly, empirical data was gathered from the above-mentioned bank via the administration of questionnaire to seven internal auditors.  The study revealed through a qualitative content analysis of the data collected that, the internal auditors of RBM are indeed independent and objective in their profession because the bank has instituted the right organizational structures and the Internal Audit Department has made tremendous effort in complying with best practices in the internal audit profession. This has created a proper work environment as well as developed an appropriate attitude within staff that has allowed a high level of independence and objectivity to be achieved. Based on the evidence of RBM, we can therefore say that the independence and objectivity of an internal auditor can truly be achieved in practice.

Background: The rehabilitation of older persons is often complicated by increased frailty and medical complexity – these in turn present challenges for the development of health information systems. Objective investigation and comparison of the effectiveness of geriatric rehabilitation services requires information systems that are comprehensive, reliable, valid, and sensitive to clinically relevant changes in older persons. The Functional Independence Measure is widely used in rehabilitation settings – in Canada this is used as the central component of the National Rehabilitation Reporting System of the Canadian Institute of Health Information. An alternative system has been developed by the interRAI consortium. We conducted a literature review to compare the development and measurement properties of these two systems and performed a direct empirical comparison of the operating characteristics and validity of the FIM motor and the ADL items on the PAC in a sample of older adults receiving rehabilitation. Methods: For the first objective english language literature published between 1983 (initial development of the FIM) and 2008 was searched using Medline and CINAHL databases, and the reference lists of retrieved articles. Additionally, attention was paid to the ability of the two systems to address issues particularly relevant to older rehabilitation clients, such as medical complexity, comorbidity, and responsiveness to small but clinically meaningful improvements. For the second objective we used Rasch analysis and responsiveness statistics to investigate and compare the instruments dimensionality, item difficulty, item fit, differential item function, number of response options and ability to detect clinically relevant change. Results: The majority of FIM articles studied inpatient rehabilitation settings; while the majority of interRAI/MDS articles focused on nursing home settings. There is evidence supporting the reliability of both instruments. There were few articles that investigated the construct validity of the interRAI/MDS. The analysis showed that the FIM may be slightly more responsive than the PAC, especially in the MSK patients. However, both scales had similar limitations with regards the large ceiling effect and many unnecessary response options. Conclusions: Additional psychometric research is needed on both the FIM and MDS, especially with regard to their use in different settings and ability to discriminate between subjects with functional higher ability.

Because of recent corporate scandals, auditor independence and turnover have become the focus of much debate. For strengthening auditor independence , American government compulsorily stipulate that the firm has to replace its auditor every five years in Sarbanes-Oxley Act that was passed in 2002 to ensure that the increasing tenure can¡¦t lead to an bad audit quality. However, not every scholar all supports the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In order to analyze these issues, we try to find out the relation between the length of auditor tenure and behavior of corporate income tax evasion and auditor independence by using game theory and bargaining model. Our main results are as follows. In our model, we suppose the auditor bargaining ability is positively related to tenure. Manager will gain lower benefits of tax evasion with increasing auditor bargaining ability, implying that increasing tenure reduces managerial collusion incentives. Finally, manager decides to report higher income. In contrast, auditor will gain higher benefits of tax evasion with increasing auditor bargaining ability. But for the auditor, the precondition of making company to be willing to collude with auditor is to possess the evidence of corporate income tax evasion. Because of that, auditor will increase the level of auditing efforts and choose to help company to make an incorrect attestation. So increasing tenure will influence auditor independence and audit quality.