The assessment procedures utilised in first year Geography modules at the University of Natal Durban were critically reviewed. This revealed a rather narrow approach with an emphasis on summative assessment, limited feedback and a hidden assessment agenda with no student involvement. It was recognised that this traditional approach encouraged a surface approach to learning. In order to broaden the range of assessment procedures available to the students and to improve upon the assessment practice in general, peer and self-assessment exercises were incorporated into a first year module (Environmental Geography I) during this study. It was felt that by participating in peer and self-review exercises, students' self-reflective skills could be developed in order to equip them to become life-long learners. The main aim of the study was to integrate assessment with learning and to determine whether active involvement in the assessment process provided insight into the process and positively influenced students' motivation, attitude and approach to learning. The study, which was conducted over a two-year period using an action research approach, revolved mainly around an essay test students wrote a few weeks into the module. During tutorials prior to the test students were introduced to the skill of essay writing and the concept of criteria by which essays could be assessed. After the test, using a criteria sheet and model answer, students were expected to mark (Le. provide both written feedback as well as a grade) both an essay of an anonymous ' peer' as well as their own test essay. The lecturer subsequently marked the test as well as the actual assessment done by the students. Quantitative comparisons of student-awarded grades and lecturer-awarded grades, as well as a qualitative analysis of student and lecturer feedback during the process, and comments from the evaluations, revealed some general trends from both iterations: • Students showed increased insight into the process of self-assessment with practice. • Good students tended to under-estimate, poor students over-estimate grades. • Students were critical when marking an anonymous peer. • Students tended to be less critical when marking themselves. • Students battled with understanding/implementing certain criteria. • Students found it hard to separate out content from structure and style in an essay. • Students generally saw credit and value in the process of self-assessment. • Students were generally positive about the process of self-assessment • Students were rely-ctant to engage in the process of self-assessment on a more regular basis • Students felt the feedback comments from the lecturer on the self-assessment were the most valuable learning exercise. A large part of the success of the study was that, through integrating assessment in the learning process, students were able to be more critical of their own work. This in turn should pave the way for them being able to work in more self-reflective and independent ways in the future. Furthermore, the study served to open up dialogue with students with respect to our teaching and their learning. By participating in the peer and self-review process they became more aware of the "hidden" aspects of the curriculum. Students appear to have acquired an awareness of the value of criteria in assessment and were able to apply them to some degree in their own context. In general, students felt they had a beneficial experience in peer and self-assessment. The study highlighted a number of issues that need addressing. Firstly, there was a large gap between lecturer expectations in a written answer and what the students felt was acceptable. In particular, students had problems with being able to discriminate and internalise certain criteria such as relevance of information' and in general resorted to what has been tenned the 'shotgun ' approach when providing answers. It is recognised that interpretation of such gaps in understanding have social, cultural and political contexts. Secondly. the actual awarding of grades was an intimidating process for many students and should be done in a less threatening way in the future. Thirdly from a personal point of view, it is recognised that it requires not only a high level of critical reflection but also active engagement and discipline to make necessary changes in an action research process. A conceptual framework in which traditional and educational forms of assessment are represented as two extremes of a continuum of student-lecturer involvement, is presented. This helps to locate the present study and provides direction for future assessment studies in which student learning is the central focus. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal,Durban, 2001.

The aim of this research was to determine the differences in student responses of two forms of assessment, automated and manual in terms of measuring student capability in the computer literacy programme, The International Computer Drivers Licence. Computer Literacy studies are an integral part of many academic programmes and have become a basic requirement for securing certain employment. Many academic programmes utilise recognised computer literacy qualifications rather than developing their own. In this case study, assessment within one of the most prestigious programmes, the International Computer Drivers Licence (ICDL), is the focus of attention. This qualification has become a benchmark for such computer literacy certification. Formal assessments are conducted to complete the certification. The certifying body, The ICDL Foundation, that controls this qualification, allows institutions to select from two modes of assessments. The modes of assessment are paper- based ‘manual’ (traditional) assessments or approved automated assessment software that is commercially available through different software suppliers. Manual assessments are available from the ICDL Foundation and conducted by external examiners, whilst the automated assessments are designed by software companies and approved by the ICDL Foundation. This case study looks at a comparison between students’ responses of the automated assessments that uses simulation of major software packages such as Microsoft Word and Excel and a manual assessment. The focus of this study was to gain some insight into students’ experience when taking the automated assessment and how it compares to a manual assessment. A case study was conducted in which a group of volunteer students were requested to take two assessments on a particular section of computer literacy. The first assessment was the automated assessment followed by a manual assessment which assessed the same outcomes as the automated assessment. During these assessments certain phenomena were observed and recorded. These observations were then qualitatively analysed and organised into themes. Scores of these two assessments were also compared to establish if the students showed marked differences between the two assessments. However the small sample size means that no conclusions could be made based on statistical differences. Immediately after the two different forms of assessment, six of the students were interviewed. These interviews were conducted using semi-structured questions. The questions revolved around the students’ perceptions of their responses to the automated and manual assessments and in particular how the students perceived both assessments. The transcriptions of these interviews were then qualitatively analysed and common themes were extrapolated. The results of the study show that students’ abilities were not always being assessed accurately in the automated assessment. The data in this study also shows that the automated assessment, whilst highly reliable and objective, does not present an authentic assessment environment. This resulted in high scores being awarded where students were not able to perform the same tasks successfully in the manual assessment. This calls into question the validity of the automated assessment and its ability to assess students’ practical skills accurately. The interview data also suggests that the use of multiple choice questions and discrete tasks in the automated assessment further resulted in students adopting a surface approach to learning in their preparation for this summative assessment.ses / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

Generally the evaluation of employees in organisations is one of the most demanding and controversial of all management functions. Therefore, it is incumbent on management to develop a system of evaluation that will at least be acceptable to most of its employees. This study has shown that it is extremely important to include the employees themselves in drawing up the evaluation instrument. Since there is not any one evaluation procedure that has universal application, it is necessary for organisations in general, and more specifically education departments, to review and improve existing procedures to meet prevailing conditions. If management does not follow these basic considerations, then the organisation could face strong negative reaction from employees. The primary objectives of this study therefore were: (1) to make a detailed study of the evaluation procedure used in Indian Schools; (2) to analyse the House of Delegates' evaluation procedure critically and in so doing make a study of evaluation procedures of other education departments; and (3) to consider the views expressed by teachers, principals and superintendents of education on the House of Delegates' evaluation procedure. The major findings that emerged from the study were that: (1) the present evaluation procedure of the House of Delegates was not well received by teachers and principals; (2) any evaluation procedure adopted should be based on an 'open' system, where there is no need for secrecy; and (3) there should be separate evaluation procedures for the purposes of professional development, merit awards and promotion. The main recommendation made in concluding this study was that the House of Delegates, in either developing a new evaluation procedure or amending its present one should, in the future, give consideration to the opinions of all participants in the evaluation process. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, 1991.

This paper introduces a model framework for dynamic credit rating processes. Our framework aggregates ordinal rating information stemming from a variety of rating sources. The dynamic of the consensus rating captures systematic as well as idiosyncratic changes. In addition, our framework allows to validate the different rating sources by analyzing the mean/variance structure of the rating errors. In an empirical study for the iTraxx Europe companies rated by the big three external rating agencies we use Bayesian techniques to estimate the consensus ratings for these companies. The advantages are illustrated by comparing our dynamic rating model to a benchmark model. (author´s abstract) / Series: Research Report Series / Department of Statistics and Mathematics

Universiẗat, Diss.--Freiburg (Breisgau), 2005.

Zugl.: Frankfurt (Main), Universiẗat, Diss., 2007.

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: While the current trend among a number of organisations is to integrate performance appraisal with performance management systems or even 'replace' it with performance management systems, it is still an extremely highly utilised process. The probable reason for this, is that the major use of performance appraisal is as a management tool whereby the quality of personnel decisions can be enhanced when an effective system is in place. Ideally the use of a formal process, focused on objective, job orientated criteria, will empower management to make meaningful decisions which will not only be to the benefit of individual workers but will contribute to the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation. Apart from the fact that it is used as a management tool, other major objectives of performance appraisal are to determine the administrative and developmental needs of individuals in the interests of their own progress and development as well as that of the organisation. There are therefore, two fundamental parties involved in appraisal, being the appraisee and the appraiser and it is inevitable that the approach to, or the perception of the subject should be different in some, or many ways. Aspects such as utility, fairness, ethics, motivation, accuracy, validity, rating errors, effectiveness and feedback, should therefore be examined in more detail in order to determine where specific problem areas may lie. Serious perceptual differences concerning the process will surely create obstacles and eventually lead to an inefficient system. The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which differing perceptions playa role in the acceptance or rejection of the appraisal system in general terms and specifically in terms of the aspects mentioned above, from the point of view of subordinates and supervisors. The diagnostic instrument used in this study was adapted from those of Mount (1983) (named the Leadership Analysis Questionnaire) and Ie Roux (1989) to include aspects which are more in line with features of the performance appraisal system unique to the participating organisation. Two different forms of questionnaires were used in this study. One was designed for completion by subordinates and the other by supervisors. These two groups were further subdivided into two groups referred to as achievers and nonachievers. The overall response to the questionnaires was very satisfactory in that 431 of the 600 questionnaires were returned (almost 72%) of which 44 were not usable. Of the 186 supervisors' responses which could be used for statistical analysis, 80 were categorised as achievers and of the 201 subordinates' responses which could be used for statistical analysis, 38 were categorised as achievers. The research revealed statistically significant differences in perception between different computations of all groups in respect of fairness, ethics, accuracy, rater error and administrative aspects. It is recommended that future research should be directed at the underlying reasons for perceptual differences between supervisors and subordinates, regarding the factors mentioned above, with the aim of improving communication and relationships. Another area would be to investigate the feasibility of organisations incorporating performance appraisal into a more integrated performance management system. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hoewel talle organisasies tans daartoe neig om prestasie-beoordeling by prestasiebestuur in te skakel of om dit selfs daardeur te vervang, is dit steeds 'n hoogs aangeskrewe proses. Die waarskynlikste rede hiervoor is dat prestasie-beoordeling hoofsaaklik dien as bestuurshulp ten opsigte van die verbetering van personeelbesluite waar 'n doeltreffende stelsel reeds bestaan. Die ideaal is dat die gebruik van 'n formele proses met objektiewe, werkgeoriënteerde kriteria as uitgangspunt, bestuur bemagtig om sinvolle besluite te neem wat nie net tot voordeel van die werker as individu strek nie, maar ook tot die algehele doeltreffendheid van die organisasie. Benewens prestasie-beoordeling se bestuurshulpfunksie, is 'n ander belangrike mikpunt daarvan om die administratiewe en ontwikkelingsbehoeftes van individue te help bepaal - nie net in die belang van hul eie vordering en ontwikkeling nie, maar ook in die belang van die organisasie s'n. Daarom is daar basies twee partye betrokke by prestasie-beoordeling, naamlik die beoordelaar en diegene wat beoordeel word. Dit is dus onvermydelik dat die benadering tot of waarneming van die onderwerp in 'n paar en dikwels selfs in talle opsigte sal verskil. Dit is dus belangrik dat aspekte soos bruikbaarheid, regverdigheid, etiek, motivering, akkuraatheid, geldigheid, beoordelingsfoute, doeltreffendheid en terugvoering in groter besonderhede ondersoek word om vas te stel waar probleemareas moontlik mag voorkom. Ernstige perseptuele verskille wat die proses betref, kan stuikelblokke veroorsaak en aanleiding gee tot 'n ondoeltreffende stelsel. Die doel van hierdie studie was om vas te stel in watter mate verskillende persepsies kan bydra tot die aanvaarding of verwerping van die beoordelingstelseloor die algemeen en in die besonder ten opsigte van bogenoemde aspekte soos beskou vanuit beide die toesighouer en die ondergeskikte se oogpunt. Die diagnostiese meetinstrument wat gebruik is, is 'n aanpassing van Mount (1983) se "Leadership Analysis Questionnaire" en dié van Le Roux (1989) en sluit aspekte in wat in 'n groter mate tred hou met die eienskappe van die beoordelingstelsel eie aan die deelnemende organisasie s'n. Twee verskillende vraelyste is gebruik vir toesighouers en onder-geskiktes. 'n Bykomende verdeling is gemaak tussen presteerders en niepresteerders. Die reaksie op die vraelyste was, op die keper beskou, baie bevredigend, aangesien 431 van die 600 vraelyste terugontvang is - bykans 72%. Hiervan was 44 onbruikbaar. Van die 186 toesighouersvraelyste wat gebruik kon word vir statistiese ontleding, is 80 as dié van presteerdes geklassifiseer, en van die 2010ndergeskiktes se vraelyste 38. Die ondersoek het in sy berekeninge statistiese beduidende verskille uitgewys ten opsigte van die verskillende groepe se persepsies van regverdigheid, etiek, akkuraatheid, beoordelingsfoute en administratiewe aspekte. Daar word aanbeveel dat toekomstige navorsing gerig word op die onderliggende,redes vir die perseptuele verskille tussen toesighouers en ondergeskiktes, met inagneming van bogenoemde faktore en met die mikpunt die verbetering van kommunikasie en verhoudinge. Nog navorsing sou ook gedoen kon word om te bepaal hoe uitvoerbaar dit vir 'n organisasie sou wees om prestasie-beoordeling in te skakel by 'n stelsel wat prestasiebestuurgerig is.

The credit rating industry is characterised by the high concentration of a small number of firms and, allegedly, this concentration stems from certain anticompetitive behaviours made manifest by the dominant firms in the industry. Therefore, as has yet to be done in empirical research, the purpose of this study is to carry out an exploration of the antitrust behaviours supposedly perpetuated by agents in the credit rating process for debt finance. The aim is to determine what influences, if any, the interactions and relationships in the rating process have on the sustenance of the oligopoly in the rating industry and on impeding new rating agencies trying to enter the market. Through the application of thematic analysis, this study aims to gather evidence on the behavioural motivations of rating analysts and underwriters in the rating process. Furthermore, the theoretical framework suggests notching and tying to be the anticompetitive behaviours that strengthen the oligopoly. Hence, the study finds that the drivers of anticompetitive notching in the rating process are the taking of haircuts and mapping, the guise of protecting investors’ interests, punitive ratings and a quid pro quo rating norm. Similarly, it finds that the enablers of anticompetitive tying are continuous dealing in the rating process, covert negotiation, repeat rating requests, ancillary services and the regulatory overdependence on credit ratings. In addition, this thesis explores the impediments of new rating agencies trying to enter the credit rating industry and finds that new rating agencies face peculiar market, regulatory and organisational barriers. Firstly, the market barriers comprise arbitrage, economic rents, investor preference and the issuer-pay model. Secondly, the regulatory barriers are discretionary regulation, new regulations and the designation of nationally recognised statistical rating organisation status. Lastly, the organisational barriers include down-trading, inadequate funding, the lack of geographic spread, low added intellectual value and a narrow product and service scope. Finally, this research recommends for regulatory authorities to agree to a harmonised convention on the recognition of credit rating agencies that may lead to the emergence of new robust agencies. It also proposes the standardisation of mapping practices in the notching process to reduce rating variance among credit rating agencies. Lastly, the research offers evidence of notching for competition and tying through informal services that may substantiate antitrust liability for possible antitrust intervention.

O presente estudo objetiva investigar a materialidade do rating de crédito sobre as decisões de estrutura de capital, uma vez que diferentes níveis de rating podem representar melhores ou piores condições para a captação dos recursos externos necessários ao financiamento empresarial. A hipótese rating de crédito-estrutura de capital sugere que, após um rebaixamento no rating, as empresas adotem um perfil mais conservador nas decisões de estrutura de capital visando restabelecer as condições que possibilitem a recuperação do rating anterior. Essa relação foi estudada por meio da análise do impacto das reclassificações do rating sobre o balanceamento da estrutura de capital ao nível-alvo de endividamento de empresas latino americanas não-financeiras com algum rating designado no período 2000- 2014. Os resultados evidenciam que muitos dos preceitos da hipótese teórica também prevalecem para as empresas latinas, principalmente quando avaliados sob a perspectiva das características institucionais da região. / This study investigates credit rating relevance on firm\'s capital structure decision-making once different rating levels may imply better or worse funding conditions. The credit ratingcapital structure hypothesis suggests that firms adopt conservative capital structure decisions after rating downgrades aiming to retrieve necessary conditions to restore a better rating. This relationship was studied by analyzing the impact of credit rating changes on target leverage balance of the capital structure of non-financial Latin American firms with a credit rating designated during the period of 2000-2014. Results show that many of the theoretical assumptions prevail for Latin American firms, especially if evaluated from a perspective of the region institutional characteristics.

A tese investiga três dimensões dos efeitos da adoção mandatória do IFRS para os mercados de crédito no Brasil: 1) para a relevância da informação contábil na perspectiva dos credores; 2) para os termos contratuais de crédito bancário e títulos de dívida; e 3) para a propensão das empresas locais captarem recursos nos mercados de crédito internacionais. As análises contemplam amostras de aproximadamente 6.500 ratings atribuídos por instituições financeiras e agências de risco (Fitch, Standard & Poors e Moody\'s) e 137.000 contratos de crédito bancário e títulos de dívida (debêntures) detidos por 122 grupos econômicos durante o período de 2005 a 2014. A abordagem empírica é construída a partir de um modelo de interação, comparando-se os períodos pré e pós-IFRS e confrontando grupos de adotantes mandatórios e voluntários. Utilizando-se controles relacionados às características do contrato (loan-specific), da empresa (firm-specific) e da instituição financeira concedente do crédito (lender-specific) e a partir de estimações por MQO, MQ2E e regressão logística, os resultados sugerem que os impactos da adoção do IFRS para a relação contratual de crédito exibem considerável heterogeneidade entre as empresas, dependem do tipo de mercado avaliado (crédito bancário x títulos de dívida) e são condicionais aos incentivos das empresas promoverem efetiva melhora na qualidade da informação contábil. Especificamente, a tese encontra que a adoção mandatória do IFRS contribuiu para: (i) aumentar a habilidade dos números contábeis explicarem o rating de crédito das empresas; (ii) reduzir a dispersão das notas de crédito atribuídas por diferentes instituições financeiras; (iii) reduzir o custo do crédito, alongar os prazos de vencimento, aumentar os montantes concedidos e reduzir a probabilidade de exigência de garantia; e (iv) aumentar a propensão das empresas locais captarem recursos nos mercados internacionais. Entretanto, as evidências sugerem que tais efeitos são exclusivos para entidades que possuem incentivos para prover informação contábil de qualidade, suportando que a existência de benefícios econômicos não depende meramente da publicação dos demonstrativos no padrão global, mas sim está condicionada à maneira como as empresas efetivamente adotam os pronunciamentos. Análises adicionais indicam que as consequências econômicas para o mercado de crédito tendem a ser maiores para os títulos de dívida em relação ao crédito bancário e para empresas com piores notas de crédito e maiores reconciliações iniciais entre o GAAP doméstico e o IFRS. Testes de robustez relacionados a variações na especificação da amostra e reduções nas janelas de evento reforçam a validade dos modelos e ajudam a suprimir potenciais preocupações de que os resultados tenham sido provocados por efeitos concorrentes. O estudo reforça a importância do papel informacional das demonstrações financeiras para os contratos de crédito e contrapõe evidências na literatura de que consequências positivas associadas ao IFRS são exclusivas para países que apresentam determinadas características institucionais / The thesis investigates three dimensions of the effects of mandatory IFRS adoption for credit markets in Brazil: 1) to the credit relevance of accounting information; 2) to the contractual terms of bank loans and debt securities; and 3) to the propensity of local firms to raise funds in international credit markets. The analyzes include samples of approximately 6,500 ratings assigned by financial institutions and rating agencies (Fitch, Standard & Poor\'s and Moody\'s) and 137,000 bank loans and debt securities (debentures) contracts held by 122 conglomerates during the 2005-2014 period. The empirical approach is built on an interaction model, comparing the pre- and post-IFRS adopters and confronting mandatory and voluntary groups. After controlling for loan-, firm- and lender-specific determinants of loan terms and using OLS, 2SLS and logistic regression estimates, the results suggest the impact of IFRS adoption for credit markets exhibit considerable heterogeneity between companies, depend on the assessed market (bank loans x debt securities) and are conditional to the companies incentives to effectively improve accounting quality. Specifically, the study finds that the mandatory IFRS adoption has contributed to: (i) increase the ability of accounting numbers to explain credit ratings; (ii) reduce the dispersion of credit scores attributed by different financial institutions; (iii) reduce the cost of credit, lengthen maturities, increase the amounts raised and reduce the likelihood of collateral requirement; and (iv) increase the propensity of local firms to raise funds in international credit markets. However, evidence suggests that these effects are unique to firms that have incentives to increase the quality of accounting information, supporting the existence of economic benefits does not merely depend on the publication of financial statements in the global accounting standard, but is conditional on how companies effectively adopt the pronouncements. Further analyzes indicate that the economic consequences for the credit market tend to be higher for debt securities relative to bank loans and for companies with poorer credit ratings and larger fist-time IFRS reconciliations. Robustness tests related to variations in the specification of the sample and reductions in the event of windows reinforce the validity of the models and help mitigate potential concerns that the results were caused by competing effects. The study reinforces the importance of the informational role of financial statements for lending agreements and contrasts evidence in the literature that positive consequences associated with IFRS are unique to countries with certain institutional features.