No abstract / Mini Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Taxation / MCom (Taxation) / Unrestricted

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / This study is an exploration of best social audit practices in public service delivery from selected countries: Lessons for the South African local government. The study is vital in that the end of apartheid ushered in new sets of challenges in the country and one of these was the need for transformation which saw the birth of the 1996 Constitution which introduced Local government in South Africa which consists of the municipalities. Local government then emerged as the sphere of government closest to the people providing basic services. This is consistent with Part B of Schedule 4 of the 1996 Constitution, which mandates municipalities the responsibility for basic services. This is also supported by the White Paper on Local Government of 1998, the Municipal Structures Act, of 1998 and the Systems Act of 2000 which all explain on the need for the municipality to deliver services, yet many residents are not being served leading to service delivery protest to ensure that service are delivered and others turning to social accountability mechanism such as social audits to improve governance and accountability. This study aims to discover knowledge of best social audit practices from selected countries, aims to describe the best social audit practices and methods of selected countries practicing social audits such as Canada, India and Kenya; outline the challenges of social audits from selected countries and discusses the significance of social audit and methods of selected countries. To achieve this goal the study employed a qualitative research approach and collected data from websites, journals, articles and information on local government in South Africa. The study is both descriptive and exploratory and does not intend to provide conclusive evidence but helps us to have a better understanding of the social audit concept. The study found that the social audit concept yielded considerable and positive results in the selected countries and led to an increase in accountability, participation and transparency, led to an improved service delivery and were effective in detecting corruption and irregularities. It also found that there were challenges relating to social audits like the lack of access to reliable information, the intensive nature of the audit process, the threatening of social auditors and the lack of cooperation within the social audit process. This study suggests that the South African local government sector, explores the social audit concept and process, learn from the challenges relating to social audits, amend its legislation to align with international standards and further strengthen legislation in order to ensure that enabling legislation exists for social audits to operate within. This research provides insights into the social audit concept and its application in selected countries as lessons for the South African local government sector.

In urban conditions architecture often loses a connection with the surrounding context and viewers through inappropriate scale, design orientation and the misuse of light during the day and night. In areas of density, perception is everything. This exploration seeks to express architecture as a language of light and transparency by emphasizing a long linear connection with the ground plane and surrounding city. This creates horizontal bands of space that emit and receive various forms of light. The goal of this thesis is to portray itself as a glowing beacon of attraction while simultaneously displaying its inner workings. / Master of Architecture

The unrevealing scandals in the Swedish dairy industry demonstrate severe deficits in terms of animal keeping. Given the advanced code of conduct and sustainability standards presented by Swedish dairy corporations, confusion has arisen, and the demand for transparency within the supply chain has increased. Here is where the concept of transparency becomes relevant and vital. This thesis aims to examine the linkage between transparency and sustainability within dairy supply chains. Further, the aim is to investigate transparency within the supply chain and if and how it influences sustainability within the Swedish dairy industry. This study follows an interpretive research paradigm based on multiple case studies. The approach follows a deductive approach and qualitative method, conducted by semi-structured interviews with different actors along the Swedish dairy supply chain. The main findings of this study show that transparency and sustainability appear to be interrelated. However, as transparency seems to be time and money-consuming, it might emerge in added barriers and complexity in the implementation. Despite this, transparency occurs to prevent any disclosure of information that displays a relation between visibility and trustworthiness.

The aim of this thesis attempts to analyse two concepts connected with public procurement overpricing, competition effect and non-transparent effect. Dataset consists of 326 public procurement contracts. Existence of competition effect is proved, thus increase of competitors in selection procedure causes that final price decreases. Open types of selection procedures are also cheaper for public authorities. Analysis of non-transparent effect lies in possibility to find beneficial owner of each winner of selection procedure from public sources. Results show that companies with clear and visible owners realize public contracts cheaper than their non-transparent competitors. Findings are also discussed in public policy approach.

No description available.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第20198号 / 理博第4283号 / 新制||理||1615(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院理学研究科化学専攻 / (主査)准教授 中西 和樹, 教授 北川 宏, 教授 島川 祐一 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

No description available.

Property valuation of commercial real estates is often seen as complicated. The actors think that their valuation method is the best and the results of the valuation depend on whom you ask. There are many attributes that have to be given a value and information about these attributes is often difficult to get. A possible explanation for these problems is the decline of the transparency in the Swedish real estate market over the last years. Essential information about commercial real estates is lost because they are traded as companies. This makes it problematic to make optimal valuations. The co-operative apartment market is very different from the commercial real estate market. The transparency is high and the transactions are many. The prices in the co-operative apartment market continue to rise and they are much easier to valuate. The purpose of this thesis is to see if there is a connection between market values in the condominium market and market values for office buildings. If a connection is found it may be helpful in the valuation process of office buildings. The first objective is to look at the ratio square meter co-operative apartment prices divided with square meter office building prices. The first part of the thesis is based on analogy and digital literature. Next part will consist of valuations with yield methods of office buildings and observed transactions. The result of this thesis shows no given connection between office and co-operative apartment prices, but the highest residence prices are found in the same areas with highest office prices. The ratio that is mentioned above was not useful for the purpose. The results have shown the difficulties of finding information and valuating real estate. / Värderingar av kontorsfastigheter anses ofta komplicerade. Olika aktörer anser sin värderingsmetod som bäst och resultatet av bedömda värden beror på vem du frågar. Det är många parametrar som kan bedömas och ges ett värde, samtidigt som informationen ofta är svår att få tag i. En anledning till problemet skulle kunna vara den minskning av transparens som skett på svenska fastighetsmarknaden under senare år, troligtvis till följd av att allt fler fastigheter ingår i bolagsförvärv. För att kunna göra en optimal värdering av en kontorsfastighet krävs lättillgänglig information om liknande transaktioner. Därför krävs en öppenhet på kontorsmarknaden som i dag försvårats av tidigare nämnda bolagsförvärv. Tittar man istället på bostadsrättsmarknaden är läget annorlunda. Informationen är lättillgänglig och transaktionerna många. Trots att priserna Stockholmsområdet fortsätter att stiga kan man med relativt hög säkerhet värdera en bostadsrätt. Syftet med denna rapport är att undersöka om det finns någon koppling mellan marknadsvärden på bostadsrättsmarknaden och marknadsvärden kontorsmarknaden. Om denna koppling finns, kan den vara till hjälp vid värdering av kontorsfastigheter. Målet är först och främst att se om kvoten, bostadrättspris dividerat med kontorspris, är användbar. Rapportens första del bygger på analog och digital litteratur. Den andra delen består av värderingar med direktavkastningsmetoden och jämförelser som gjorts med hjälp av aktuella transaktioner och riktvärden. Resultatet visar inget självklart samband mellan priser på bostadsrätter och kontor, men de högsta kontorspriserna återfinns i områden med högst bostadspriser. Det har inte gått att styrka användningen av ovan nämnda kvot. Rapporten har framförallt resulterat i en bekräftelse av de svårigheter informationssökning och värdering av kontor innebär.

Background: Due to unforeseen world events such as the Covid-19 pandemic or war inUkraine, the discussion of risk management in supply chains is increasing. Supply chains areinherently subject to risk as they are completely susceptible to outside entities’ behaviour thatare largely out of their control. Supply chains that have less risk in them, are clearly desirableas they will be more resilient in times of crisis. Companies are searching for ways to increaseresiliency in their supply chains through various methods, which include internal and externaltransparency. However, SC partners can experience barriers to releasing SC information. Therefore, improvements in incentivization strategies will be the goal moving forward. Purpose: This study aims to contribute to supply chain risk management theory by developinga comprehensive and practicable framework of incentivization to increase supply chain transparency. The proposed framework will provide businesses with a clear overview of barriers,benefits, and drawbacks of internal and external transparency, as well as explain how and whento employ specific incentivization methods. Method: This study will be accomplished by analysing supply chain management literatureand carrying out a qualitative interview study with industry professionals. Seven interviews areconducted with various supply chain professionals to gather a broad scope of transparency benefits, incentivization methods, and barriers to transparency. This deductive approach will allowfor comparing and combining of theory and practice, resulting in a more accurate and holisticmodel. Conclusion: The findings of this study reveal the existence of numerous incentivization methods, barriers, and benefits associated with transparency. In addition, this study highlights somedisparity between literature and actual practices. Moreover, this study identifies additional barriers to transparency that were not previously addressed in examined literature. In light of thesefindings, a comprehensive incentivization framework has been developed to provide guidancefor businesses in addressing relevant barriers by selecting appropriate incentivization methods.