This study investigates whether a relationship exists between fraudulent financial reporting and a variety of corporate governance attributes. Numerous high profile accounting scandals perpetuated over recent years have brought prominence to the corporate governance structure employed by US public companies. Many of these scandals involved manipulation of the financial reporting process by high level managers. It is therefore thought that a lack of effective oversight provided by the governing bodies engaged to monitor the actions of management may be at the heart of the problem. A review of prior research is used to identify the attributes of corporate governance relevant for inclusion in this study and to provide support for the posing of twenty directional hypotheses. The selected corporate governance attributes are classified into four broad categories depicting Audit Committee Functionality, Board of Director Composition, Ownership Structure, and External Auditor Factors. A matched pair research design is utilised to determine whether significant differences exist between the corporate governance attributes employed by fraud and non-fraud companies. A sample of 76 fraud companies, identified through an examination of Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases issued by the Securities Exchange Commission and drawn from a total of 223 companies examined, are tested along with an industry-size matched sample of non-fraud companies. The results of univariate paired t-tests and a conditional logistic regression equation find that statistically significant relationships do exist between a number of corporate governance attributes and fraudulent financial reporting. Specifically, the study finds that the percentage of independent directors on a company's board, the existence of a nominating committee, and the engaging of a Big6 auditor are negatively related to the incidence of fraud. Whereas, the average number of directorships held by audit committee members, the duality of the CEO and Chairman of the Board positions, and the percentage of company ownership held by outside blockholders are positively related to the incidence of fraudulent financial reporting.

Ever since the laborious consultation process to set the National Greenhouse Response Strategy (1991-1992), stakeholder 'consultation' has been something Australian governments do. Or attempt to do. A recent trend in NSW in particular has been to expand the concept and practice of consultation to multi-party, collaborative decision-making, also referred to as participatory democracy. One such initiative officially begun in August 1997 is the River Management Committee (RMC) exercise. For this tremendous outlay of financial and human resources, the government is taking a punt that the committee will deliver better decisions, and more timely actions, on river flows and water quality in each of the major regulated river valleys in the state. The set up and first year of operation of the RMC exercise is the subject of this thesis. Specifically it examines the design of the process and its appropriateness to the task at hand; the reality of consensus decision-making amongst people with opposing views; the democratic ideal of participants learning to be 'other directed' in terms of putting aside their own positions to work for the common good; and affordability of such exercises from both the government and non-government participants' points of view. The themes emerging from this thesis have become the focus for further research. / Master of Science (Hons)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to reform the corporate governance mechanisms in order to improve the quality of financial reporting and thus, enhance the confidence of investors in the stock market and in the accounting profession. Despite the efforts of the SEC, financial reporting scandals continue with record numbers of financial restatements documented by the General Accounting Office. A financial restatement is a correction of a previously misstated financial statement. There is a small volume of literature examining the effects of corporate governance mechanisms on financial restatements. The results of these studies however, are mixed and possibly explained by their narrow focus and omitted variables that could influence the effectiveness of audit committees. Consequently, this study examines the effects of independent audit committee member characteristics and auditor independence on financial restatements. Specifically, this study investigates the relationship between the likelihood of financial restatements and: (1) the expertise of the independent audit committee members, (2) the expertise and diligence of the independent audit committee members, (3) the reputation of the independent audit committee members, (4) the interaction effect of expertise, diligence and reputation, (5) the tenure of the independent audit committee members, and (6) the cash compensation paid to independent audit committee members. Prior studies have not investigated some of these variables or the interaction effects of independent audit committee member characteristics on financial restatements. This study also investigates the association between auditor independence and financial restatements. The SEC alleges that an increasing number of audit failures are due to the lack of auditor independence. One of the major sources of the lack of auditor independence is the auditor’s economic dependency on the client. The provision of non-audit services increases the financial reliance of the auditor on the client. As a result, the auditor may become reluctant to raise issues with the preparation of the financial statements at the risk of foregoing the lucrative non-audit services fees. The SEC believes that longer audit firm tenure can also impair auditor independence and Section 203 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act suggests periodic audit firm rotation. Therefore, auditor independence was measured as: (1) fees paid to the auditor, and (2) audit firm tenure. Finally, this study extends the prior literature by studying the interaction effects of independent audit committee member characteristics and auditor independence on financial restatements. This interaction effect is important because the external auditor and the audit committee are regarded vital governance mechanisms that interact and exchange dialogue in the performance of their respective oversight of the financial reporting process. Prior research has not investigated this important interaction effect. The sample of the study comprises 69 U.S. publicly listed companies that announced their restatement from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2002. These companies were matched with 69 non-restatement companies based on industry and size. The data for the study is derived from SEC filings such as Form 10-K and DEF 14A, and Compustat. The univariate results show that compared to restatement firms, non-restatement firms generally have effective audit committee characteristics. The audit committees of non-restatement firms have members who are experts, diligent, reputable and appropriately compensated. They also pay lower non-audit services and total fees, and have audit firms with longer tenure. The multivariate results show that after controlling for other governance structures and firm specific non-governance variables, the likelihood of financial restatements is related to independent audit committee member characteristics and auditor independence. Specifically, the likelihood of financial restatements decreases when independent audit committee members are: (1) experts, (2) experts and diligent, (3) reputable, (4) experts, diligent and reputable, and (5) appropriately compensated. The audit committee member tenure variable is insignificant. In relation to the auditor independence variables, the multivariate results show that the likelihood of financial restatements increases when the non-audit services and total fees generated by the client are higher. On the other hand, the likelihood of financial restatements decreases when audit firm tenure is longer. The empirical results of this study suggest that independent audit committees are more effective overseers of the corporate financial reporting and auditing processes when: they comprise majority experts, they meet regularly, their members are reputable, and audit committee members are appropriately compensated. On the other hand, external auditors are not deemed to be effective overseers of the corporate financial reporting process when the non-audit services and total fees generated by the client are higher but are effective when audit firm tenure is long. The results support the SEC’s concerns regarding the provision of non-audit services impairing auditor independence. The results also support the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 which under Section 201 prohibits external auditors from providing certain non-audit services to its audit client. Overall, these results support the regulatory efforts to increase the quality of financial reporting by enhancing the corporate governance process related to audit committees and auditor independence. However, the results do not support calls to limit the tenure of the auditor. The results of the multivariate interaction effects suggest that, after controlling for other governance structures and firm specific non-governance variables, when the non-audit services and total fees generated by the client are higher, the likelihood of financial restatements increases under conditions when the audit committee is not effective (a non expert audit committee, an audit committee that does not meet regularly, an audit committee whose members are not reputable or an audit committee that is not appropriately compensated). The implication of this result is that it provides evidence of conditions under which restatements take place. Knowledge of such conditions could aid regulators further improve the financial reporting process and corporate governance. This knowledge will support regulators in revising policies that ensure audit committee members are not only independent but also comprise other critical qualities. These improvements to the audit committee coupled with the existing regulations on the provision of non-audit services suggest a company’s governance will be more effective. Overall, the results extend current knowledge in the sparse but growing literature related to financial restatements and corporate governance, and extend our understanding of the effectiveness and interaction of governance mechanisms in reducing financial restatements.

The Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Crystal Movement is the largest humanitarian movement in the world with 97 million volunteer workers around the globe. The organisation relies on seven fundamental principles, the Neutrality Principle being one of them. The questions of this essay are: *Is it yet possible to provide neutral humanitarian aid in the 21st century? *Have the humanitarian crisis’s changed between the 20th century and the 21st century?

The Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies developed rapidly in Canada after the birth of world’s first “test tube baby,” Louise Brown, in 1978. Canadian feminists, propelled by the women’s health movement, perceived these technologies as a threat to women’s control over their bodies, the gains made to redefine the identity “woman” against the biological tradition of “mother,” and against the safety and freedom of women based on race, disability and class. In response to the lobby efforts of the women’s movement under the Canadian Coalition for a Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies, the Mulroney government established a commission in 1989 to study the medical, legal, and social implications these technologies would have on Canadian society. Through a qualitative analysis of manuscript and printed sources, this thesis explores the debate surrounding new reproductive technologies (NRTs) before and after the mandate of the Royal Commission (1989 to 1993). It discusses the views and positions of some of the key stakeholders such as the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, the Canadian Medical Association, the DisAbled Women’s Network, as well as adds the voice of infertile women through the Infertility Awareness Association of Canada. This thesis also examines the controversy and discontent created by the Commission’s dismissal of several members, by the management’s style of its Chair, and by the final report’s narrow scope. In the end, the reaction to the report was one of considerable disappointment amongst all major stakeholders, starting with NAC, which claimed that its voice had not been heard. At the same time, the debate over NRTs illustrates NAC’s ongoing internal problems as it faced the challenge of “identity politics.”

The Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies developed rapidly in Canada after the birth of world’s first “test tube baby,” Louise Brown, in 1978. Canadian feminists, propelled by the women’s health movement, perceived these technologies as a threat to women’s control over their bodies, the gains made to redefine the identity “woman” against the biological tradition of “mother,” and against the safety and freedom of women based on race, disability and class. In response to the lobby efforts of the women’s movement under the Canadian Coalition for a Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies, the Mulroney government established a commission in 1989 to study the medical, legal, and social implications these technologies would have on Canadian society. Through a qualitative analysis of manuscript and printed sources, this thesis explores the debate surrounding new reproductive technologies (NRTs) before and after the mandate of the Royal Commission (1989 to 1993). It discusses the views and positions of some of the key stakeholders such as the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, the Canadian Medical Association, the DisAbled Women’s Network, as well as adds the voice of infertile women through the Infertility Awareness Association of Canada. This thesis also examines the controversy and discontent created by the Commission’s dismissal of several members, by the management’s style of its Chair, and by the final report’s narrow scope. In the end, the reaction to the report was one of considerable disappointment amongst all major stakeholders, starting with NAC, which claimed that its voice had not been heard. At the same time, the debate over NRTs illustrates NAC’s ongoing internal problems as it faced the challenge of “identity politics.”

At the close of 1946, a year marked by domestic white-on-black violence, Harry S. Truman, in a dramatic move, established the President’s Committee on Civil Rights (PCCR). Five years before, his predecessor Franklin D. Roosevelt had formed the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC), under pressure from civil rights groups mobilized against racial discrimination in the defense industry. The FEPC was the first major federal civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. However, when race riots later erupted in cities across the country in 1943, Roosevelt ignored his staff's recommendation to appoint a national race relations committee. Instead, he agreed to a “maypole” committee, which was, in actuality, a decentralized network of individuals, including Philleo Nash, whose purpose was to anticipate and diffuse urban racial tensions in order to avert further race riots. Superficially, Truman's PCCR seemed to resemble Roosevelt's rather conservative race relations strategy of appointing a committee rather than taking direct action under the authority of the federal government. But, as this project will argue, Truman's PCCR represented a major, historical change in the approach to civil rights that would have a profound effect on activists, such as Dorothy Tilly and Frank Porter Graham, and the movement itself. Where FDR's committees were created to avoid further racial confrontations, Truman’s committee invited and ignited controversy. Its groundbreaking report, To Secure These Rights (TSTR), unequivocally declared the federal government as the guardian of all Americans’ civil rights. In essence, Truman’s PCCR elevated the civil rights dialogue to a national level by recasting the civil rights issue as an American problem rather than just a black-American problem. Moreover, TSTR attacked segregation directly, and challenged the federal government to take the lead by immediately desegregating the armed services. These radical recommendations came only six years after a reluctant FDR formed the FEPC and six and one-half years before the Unites States’ Supreme Court’s landmark ruling, Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas and the ensuing backlash. Thus, Truman’s PCCR and TSTR, in 1947, forged a new “civil rights frontier.”

The 8-inch wafer Fab. landing China or not evoked highly concerned in the worldwide, and even evoked the misdoubt if Taiwan clash with Wassenar Agreements . On New Year¡¦s Day, President Chen Shei-Ben reiterated the Policy of Economy and Trade across the Taiwan Straits, ¡§Proactive liberalization with effective management¡¨, which also evoked controversy in the worldwide. While UMC (United Microelectronic Corporation) ¡¥s He-Jan investment was been debating hotly, we considered if it also had great effect of production race between Taiwan and China, besides business benefits. Moreover, we considered if it resulted in the technology illegal landing, and conflicted with Wassenar Agreements, by avoiding to threaten the national security. If Taiwan was a launching pad of America high tech to China, it would cause other high techs importing forbiddance from America. Because of that, Taiwan gets more a loss than gains. Suppose ¡§Economic globalization¡¨ is the lifeblood of Taiwan; The semiconductor industry is not only holding on the advantages of past , but also trying to approach to the market. Furthermore, it should create production competitiveness. The government should follow the market rules, develop the reciprocal relationship with business and reach the goal of looking after both sides, economic developing and national security. In this study, it expects to discuss the influence of The Sensitive Scientific Technology Draft Bill legislation of funding, technology, equipment, brain-import abridged in semiconductor production in Taiwan to the competitive advantage of production; (1) Understanding the status and meaning of The Sensitive Scientific Technology Draft Bill in Taiwan. (2) Does tech-import controlling of The Sensitive Scientific Technology Draft Bill in Taiwan has connecting to international relative laws? (3) Analyzing the impact of the protect mechanism of The Sensitive Scientific Technology Draft Bill to competitive advantage of semiconductor industry. The first study step is to comparing analyze the aims, effects, targets of international relative laws by documents study, especially according to the international relative laws of high-tech import controlling, for example, the administration rules and complement actions of COCOM and Wassenar Agreements, for understanding the reasonable and objective of The Scientific Technology Draft Bill (The Sensitive Scientific Technology Draft Bill). Moreover, base on profound interview with business to processing the situational analysis of business, production, people, society, government and the national security. This study conclusion and the suggestions from business experience can offer the reference resources for lawmaking and revising.

This thesis aims at presenting the historical panorama of the early Kurdish cultural activities in Anatolia which began to rise as a political subject after the First World War but could begin to express its nationalist demands after the foundation of the Republican government. It is claimed in the thesis that Kurdish nationalist identity as a collective body could begun to be formed in the last period of the Ottoman Empire when the Empire was in an inevitable dissolution. This progress in question took its start during the reign of Abdulhamid II, and accelerated during the Committee of Union and Progress period. Especially after the 1908 Constitution, Kurdish intellectuals have begun to create &ldquo / Kurdish&rdquo / publications and cultural institutions seeking to improve the conditions in the regions that the Kurds inhabited. These facts lead us to some questions to begin with and this thesis seeks answers for the following important questions: &ldquo / By considering the awakening of Kurdish nationalist identity, how did the policies centered on the provinces after 1908, influence the Kurdish regions?&rdquo / , &ldquo / What is the response of the Kurdish regions to the new state policies of the period?&rdquo / , &ldquo / Considering the social associations formed by Kurds during the CUP period what were the effects of them on the formation of a new Kurdish identity?&rdquo

Am 30. November 2007 endete die 3. Amtsperiode (1.12.2003 – 30.11.2007) des Kuratoriums. Unter dem Vorsitz von Herrn Prof. Liebig standen in diesen Jahren neben vielen Informationen zur Arbeit der SLUB vor allem folgende Themen auf der Tagesordnung: