Electronic government (e-government) diffusion and adoption is a global topic that concerns many developed and developing countries worldwide. However, global efforts to provide e-services to different stakeholders (citizens) differ from one country to another in terms of readiness, challenges, adoptions and diffusions. These differences are due to the variation of technological, political, cultural, economic and social differences. A number of studies on e-government have focused on the technological, economic and political aspects of implementation, while others have examined factors that influence citizens‘ adoption of e-government services, such as availability, accessibility, usability, awareness and trust. This study will focus on the influence of intermediary roles played by third parties in helping diffusion and adoption of e-government. This study will use a qualitative research approach to reflect the roles of intermediaries on e-government realms in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study will aim to address the research question, "What are the roles of an intermediary in adoption and diffusion of e-government services?" In addition, the study undertaken for this thesis will examine the most salient factors that determine adoption of e-government services in Saudi Arabia and validate the UTAUT model in the Saudi Arabian context, particularly focusing on intermediary organisations. This aspect of the study will use a quantitative approach using a survey to understand citizens‘ perspectives regarding intermediary and e-government adoption. The outcome of this study will create a conceptual model for studying e-government adoption in Saudi Arabia. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings will be discussed, offering recommendations for future research directions.

This thesis aims to contribute to the body of work that seeks to unpack development by asking: how does development work? Using a purposive case study of Uganda and taking a mixed methods approach, the thesis explores the reality behind the rhetoric of aid coordination in a developing health sector, questioning the premise that coordination is pursued exclusively to improve the efficacy of official development assistance (as inferred by partners‟ vocal commitments to the tenets of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness). The study focuses on the member groups currently empowered to join Uganda‟s most important multi-stakeholder forum for health - the Health Policy Advisory Committee - finding that all members are guilty of picking and choosing from a checklist of voluntary coordination commitments. This is found to be at once logical - for facilitating the semblance of partnership between a disparate grouping of stakeholders with differing modi operandi, agency objectives and tolerance for risk – and advantageous - for masking difference and allowing outwardly homogenous groupings like the Health Development Partners to speak with “one voice” when addressing the Ugandan government. Most importantly of all however, partial adherence to the aid coordination ethos is found to permit the framing that aid to Uganda is at once necessary and well targeted, as the Government of Uganda actively invites its partners to participate in the processes of government at the central level. Such tangible commitments to the tenets of partnership and transparency are integral to maintaining donor confidence in the aftermath of two financial scandals involving the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation in 2005. In sum, the thesis argues that while on the surface coordination appears important for its internal significance - as an organising principle to improve the effectiveness of aid - in fact, the value of coordination stems from its external significance. Coordination creates a façade of unity which permits the continuance of aid flows to Uganda, with coordination activities now playing a pivotal role in determining who gives and receives aid, and how it should be spent.

This thesis explores how I have taken steps to improve my practice of leadership as a Chief Executive within a Third Sector Drug and Alcohol Support Service and to build professional identities for volunteers in the service. I studied how volunteers’ identities changed from that of ‘Volunteer’ to ‘Advisor’ and what I learned about myself as a leader. I noted the value of studying my own reflections as a leader and how change became embedded throughout the organisation as a consequence. As a result of this process, I developed a mnemonic that I consider to encapsulate key aspects of leadership. This is entitled ‘CAVEAT’ and identifies competency, visibility, empowerment and a therapeutic orientation as important qualities of a leader in positions like my own. The study is informed by in-depth focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews, personal reflections, questionnaires and surveys. It provides recommendations for Chief Executives of Third Sector organisations involved in leadership and the professional identity-building of a volunteer workforce in an era of outcome-based commissioning.

Psicólogo (a) / Se realizó un estudio de caso en el unidad de hospitalizados del Hospital Clínico Metropolitano La Florida Dra. Eloísa Díaz Insulza, en donde se estudiaron aspectos que afectan el proceso de apropiación de tecnologías de la información, dentro del marco de la modernización de la gestión hospitalaria. Para lo cual se realizó un seguimiento a la implementación del software Plataforma Digital Clínica (PDC)1 desde una mirada cualitativa. Luego se analizaron los datos construidos desde la perspectiva teórica constructivista social. Se encontró que los principales aspectos tienen un carácter dinámico y están asociados al contexto del Hospital, creencias y percepciones de la herramienta por parte del usuario, estructura de la tecnología y condiciones materiales

Magíster en Gobierno y Gerencia Pública del Instituto de Asuntos Públicos / A inicios del año 2014, comienza el diseño de lo que sería posteriormente el Laboratorio de Gobierno, un nuevo organismo interministerial mandatado para desarrollar procesos de innovación al interior del sector público chileno. Como marco de referencia, tras el análisis de los diversos alcances al concepto de innovación pública, se establece que para efectos de la investigación, la innovación pública es la creación e implementación de forma colectiva de nuevas ideas acordes a cada contexto, que responden a necesidades, problemas y desafíos públicos concretos, y que generan un impacto significativo tanto en la sociedad como al interior de las instituciones públicas. En este contexto, el presente trabajo de investigación dedica una primera sección para el debate sobre la innovación en el sector público y los Laboratorios de innovación pública; un segundo momento para analizar la aplicación de los conceptos al caso chileno, con un énfasis particular en la experiencia del Laboratorio de Gobierno; para finalizar con el desarrollo de propuestas y conclusiones. Se analiza la experiencia abordando su desarrollo interno, el contexto e influyentes (obstaculizadores y facilitadores) a la innovación y la posición que ocupa en el sector público, todo lo cual conlleva a observar que los componentes necesarios para transformar la innovación en una herramienta sistemática y sostenible en el tiempo, implican la consideración de condicionantes generales a nivel de estructura, cultura y estrategia; además de lineamientos particulares en el desarrollo de iniciativas de innovación que son analizadas a nivel de diseño, forma y fondo. En base a este contexto, el Laboratorio de Gobierno se posicionaría como el primer gran paso para el logro de estos propósitos.

M.A. (Politics) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Comm. / The Financial Sector Charter is a transformation charter in terms of the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act (Act 53 of 2003). The Charter is a voluntary initiative by the financial sector to address racially based income and social inequalities in South Africa. It aims to encourage black economic participation through its six pillars. The Charter came into effect in January 2004 as a result of the Financial Sector Summit hosted by the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC), the multilateral social dialogue forum on social, economic and labour policy. The Nedlac partners – government, business, labour and community constituencies – negotiated the Financial Sector Summit Agreements on transforming the financial sector and signed the Summit declaration on 20 August 2002. The Charter commits its participants to 'actively promoting a transformed, vibrant, and globally competitive financial sector that reflects the demographics of South Africa, and contributes to the establishment of an equitable society by effectively providing accessible financial services to black people and by directing investment into targeted sectors of the economy. Financial institutions affected by the Charter include banks, long-term insurers, shortterm insurers, re-insurers, collective investment schemes, investment managers, retirement funds, and licensed exchanges. Any other institution in the financial sector may opt to participate in the Charter. The objectives of the Charter are to: • constitute a framework and establish the principles upon which BEE will be implemented in the financial sector; • provide the basis for the sector’s engagement with other stakeholders; • establish targets and unquantified responsibilities in respect of each principle; • outline processes for implementing the charter and mechanisms to monitor and report on progress. Progress on the Financial Sector Charter Scorecard in the South African Banking Sector In pursuit of these objectives, the Charter commits financial institutions in the sector to transforming in the areas of: • Human resource development; • Procurement of goods and services; • Access to financial services; • Empowerment financing; • Ownership and control; • Corporate social investment. The study provides an overview on the above objectives of the Charter and seeks to measure and assesses in detail the progress of the banking sector regarding the six key areas of the FSC as outlined in the FSC Scorecard against the set targets of 2008. The scorecards analysed would be those that have been submitted to the Council as at the 31 December 2006. • Amalgamated Banks of South Africa (Absa Group); • FirstRand Group (including First National Bank); • Nedbank Group; • Standard Bank Group. The study will assess the performance of each bank, highlighting the positives and providing recommendations where there are shortfalls. The results will be consolidated to give an overall performance overview of the banking sector in South Africa in meeting transformational challenges faced by the country. According to the South African Reserve Bank (2008:106) the financial services sector including insurance, real estate and business services added 22% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2007 making it the biggest contributor. It is therefore imperative for this study to be undertaken to assess and ensure that the sector commits to the process of transformation in addressing the past imbalances with regard to inclusive participation by all in the South African economy.

M.Com. (Economics) / The inability of the formal sector in South Africa to create a sufficient number of employment opportunities for the country's growing economically active population, causes an increase in the size of the informal sector. It is in the informal sector where the unemployed look for earning opportunities in an effort to ensure survival. Three main reasons given for this inability of the formal sector to create a sufficient number of employment opportunities include: high levels of growth in the annual number of new entrants to the labour market; a decrease in the economy's production elasticity of employment; and the high elasticity of substitution between capital and labour ...

La presente investigación abarca el Sector Inmobiliario, y es de importancia económica y social no sólo para la región Arequipa, sino también para el país, por ser uno de los sectores más dinámicos en el PBI del país. El inicio de este fenómeno económico se basa en problemas estructurales no resueltos y en el mal funcionamiento de las instituciones, debido en gran medida a la marginación y el centralismo. Es pragmática y transgresora y se caracteriza por que cada uno quiere imponer sus reglas, nadie acepta las establecidas por la autoridad. Todos quieren soluciones a su medida.Se agrava la informalidad con la necesidad de vivienda de los migrantes a la ciudad de Arequipa desde las ciudades cercanas como Puno, Tacna, Cusco, debido a que es una de las ciudades que más está desarrollando en el país. La informalidad es una manera sui generis de salir adelante, una forma de sobrevivir que ha ido extendiéndose aunado a la necesidad de encontrar una vivienda a precios bajos.

El presente artículo ofrece una breve exposición de la metodología desarrollada en el marco de los trabajos técnicos realizados conjuntamente con los especialistas de la Dirección Nacional de Presupuesto Público del Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas, en el marco de la implementación del enfoque de presupuesto por resultados. Si bien ha habido retrasos en la implementación de este nuevo enfoque, esto ha permitido afinar detalles que enriquezcan la metodología, la cual se sustenta en cinco principios relativos a la gestión delas instituciones públicas: i) Asignación de recursos financieros en función al logro de objetivos estratégicos, ii) Traducción de la concepción estratégica a términos operacionales iii) Rediseño de las estructuras organizacionales a la luz de las correspondientes concepciones estratégicas. iv) Introducción de coherencia entre la evaluación de gestión y al planeamiento estratégico, utilizando a los indicadores de desempeño como vínculo clave entre ambos procesos v) Participación de los involucrados en los procesos de planeamiento estratégico y evaluación o auditoria de gestión. Por último es necesario mencionar que la aplicación de dicho enfoque permitirá la sabia aplicación de recursos públicos a las diversas intervenciones del Estado. La metodología propuesta, en esencia, lo que busca es orientar a los ejecutivos de las entidades públicas en el proceso de asignación de recursos públicos en función de resultados mensurables.