High Degree Of Accountability Research Articles

Determinants of Mandatory Disclosure for Local Government Financial Statements

This study sought to objectively investigate the impact of local government financial disclosure levels on the amount of income in the municipality, general allocation fund, number of local parliaments, and human development index (LKPD). All financial accounts from local governments in Indonesia make up the study's population. 455 district/city administrations across the island of Sumatra were used as the purposive selection sample for this study from 2017 to 2019. In this work, multiple linear regression analysis with STATA version 16 is used for hypothesis testing. The level of disclosure of LKPD is unaffected by the income level of the municipality or general allocation funds, according to the examination of the data. While having an impact on the level of disclosure of local government financial statements (LKPD) are the number of local parliaments and the human development index. This study offers data on variables that will impact the amount of disclosure in financial statements for local governments. A higher level of disclosure will signify that local governments are managing their finances with a high degree of accountability and openness.

A Civil Body Politick: Governance, Community, and Accountability in Early New England

In the early XVII century, when the New England colonies were established, the English Crown, preoccupied with domestic matters, interfered little with matters of colonial administration. The government system created by the colonists, was inspired to a certain degree by the religious ideas shared by many Puritan colonists but was shaped by political necessity and social conditions specific to the colonies. This created a system characterized by a much higher degree of accountability than in England, ensured by numerous checks on government power, both formal and informal. The same principles, initially applied to governance in individual settlements were later used for the colonies and the Confederation of New England, the first major inter-colonial political union. Early New England serves as an example of practical application of ideas in many ways similar to (and in many ways drastically different from) what we today call democracy as a foundation of ultimately successful government. By modern standards, the representative nature of the New England government was very limited, since it excluded women, Native Americans and other marginalized groups from the political process. It was also deeply rooted in a specific set of religious ideas. Nevertheless, the principles of elected representative government, present in some form in many Western polities, rarely served as a foundation of those political systems, still in most cases monarchies with limited government accountability. In New England these principles formed the core of the government system. This essay explores the formation of the early New England political system, its underlying ideas, both religious and secular, the way it faced some of the challenges encountered in the first decades of English settlement in the New World, and its eventual dissolution under external pressure.

Multiple Attribution of Conduct in EU Security Missions

Abstract The paper explores the question of multiple attribution of conduct in the framework of EU security missions. Considering the lack of special rules of the EU on attribution of conduct in the course of Common Security and Defence Policy missions, normative references can be found in the 2011 Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations, in particular Article 7 establishing the concept of effective control exercised by the organization over the conduct, as well as in the 2001 Articles on the Responsibility of States, with regard to participating states and conduct of their organs. Several circumstances can be assumed where multiple attribution of conduct applies in such a scenario. This in turn would guarantee a higher degree of accountability and legal certainty, but it is first necessary for jurisprudence to move more decisively in this direction.

An ‘Open Data’ Content Analysis to the Jargons and Metaphor in Pakistani News Bulletin

Any nation on the planet that wishes to achieve meaningful success must embark on developmental endeavors. They are responsible for maintaining a peaceful sociopolitical environment for their people. It does, however, differ significantly by region and place. Utilizing democratic jargon in news bulletins helps to criticize the stance and provide the public with literary satire. The aim of this research is to show the impact of 'Open Data' on the development of news bulletins. The OD analysis helps news marketers to ascertain the degree to which their bulletin captures the interest of audiences. Pakistan's economy is insufficient to provide the standard of security needed by its citizens. Numerous strategies have been emphasized to achieve this aim, enabling the government to prioritize its people' health. The open data scheme, which allows widespread access to databases, is one of these crucial advancements within Pakistan's architecture. There are online repositories that motivate their users to achieve greater success in existence. It improves their ability to read and comprehend and teaches them to think creatively. Additionally, it allows them to hone their ability to learn and make the requisite compromises to maximize the potential of their talents. Although there is some pressure to use private data sources, it is critical to remember that not all data is safe. As a consequence, individuals must capture and use this type of clear data. The thesis evaluates the benefits and drawbacks of using current data systems inside the newsroom in order to determine their effect on Pakistan's political communication. The use of open data in news analysis allows journalists to work more efficiently; it is important to have immediate access to each item of news. In other words, these structures allow national institutions to operate with a high degree of accountability. Thus, the possibility of encountering an element of inequality in a world capable of wreaking havoc is extremely remote. Open data models are important for innovation and creativity to accelerate. It has been shown that it was instrumental in establishing a trend of revolutionary development that was fuelled by the provision of these facilities. Five privately owned news organizations with the highest scores were selected to gather data. A critical conversation was held to ascertain the words they used to attract interest.

Panchayati Raj and Rural Health Care Delivery System in Karnataka

It is commonly opined that decentralisation through Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) can help in creating greater accountability in the Indian healthcare system. Health decentralisation is specially meant for peoples’ participation, increased transparency and a higher degree of accountability to provide comprehensive and quality health services at the grassroots level. The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) visualises the provision of decentralised healthcare at the grassroots level. However, this scheme has some lacunas in reaching the needy, especially in the rural parts of India because of an ineffective and non-participatory role of PRIs in decision making. This has been ascribed to a malfunction in creating healthcare awareness and making the procedures complicated and chaotic for the local Panchayats. The article is based on the Indian Council of Medical Research-funded study in the state of Karnataka. It seeks to find out how PRIs are managing the public healthcare system and its success and failure through a qualitative study. The study has shown that some amount of caution is needed in devolving requisite powers to the PRIs within the NRHM. The coordination between Public Health Institute officials and those of PRIs is completely absent and most of the PRI members do not even know about various health schemes.

Balancing Democracy with Service Delivery: Power Relations, Politics and Accountability in Cooperatives Supporting Emergent Livestock Farmers in South Africa

In South Africa, cooperatives are the primary institutions through which delivery of governmental agricultural support programmes for rural communities is realised. Although these cooperatives are governed by clear national guidelines that encourage transparency and accountability to their membership, in reality their ability to realise this may be compromised by an imperative to achieve service delivery in an environment of limited governmental support. Drawing on empirical research undertaken at five agricultural cooperatives in the Elliot area of Eastern Cape Province, we examine the extent to which they are able to balance democratic function with effective programme delivery. We show that the limited capacity of local government to reach out to rural areas promotes heavy competition between cooperatives for government programmes, resulting in a highly skewed distribution of benefits determined primarily by how effectively each can ‘reach up’ to local service providers to secure them. This encourages cooperatives to elect powerful actors to represent them because they are perceived to have the greater political ‘connectedness’ required to access these benefits. However, these powerful actors are often less accountable to membership and therefore more likely to disburse benefits to suit their own vested interests. We suggest that, under current conditions, the process of creating effective and legitimate cooperatives must balance strong leadership with a high degree of accountability and transparency to ensure that benefits are disbursed as widely and appropriately as possible to members. Separating executive, judicial and legislative power structures associated with the securing and disbursement of resources to ensure processes are transparent, might be the most practical way of achieving this. Ultimately, if the capacity of the state is strengthened to enable them to ‘reach down’ to cooperatives more effectively, the need to vest leadership in powerful actors and risk compromising accountability and egalitarian service delivery, might be reduced.

Determinants of Budgetary Slack Creation: A Study in Malaysian Local Authorities

Local authorities are responsible in allocating the resources provided by Federal Government through budget allocation process. The effectiveness and efficiency of local authorities in utilising the resources is determined by the way they manage the public funds. It is important for the local authorities to have a high degree of accountability in order to gain public trust. Managerial behavioural issues such as budgetary slack could affect the effectiveness of the budgeting process. This study aims to examine the influence of budgetary practices, specifically budget participation, budget emphasis and budget control, on the budgetary slack creation in Malaysian Local Authorities. 200 questionnaires survey were randomly distributed in January 2017 to employees that involved in budget preparation from 99 local authorities located in Peninsular Malaysia, and 109 were responded (54.5%). Hypotheses for this study were analysed using simple linear regression. Results show that budget participation, budget emphasis and budget control influence budgetary slack creation among the Malaysian local authorities. This indicates that the propensity of the subordinates to create budgetary slack increases when subordinates have influenced and involved in the budget setting as well as the use of budget in evaluating performance. High involvement and control in budgeting process, provides opportunity to manipulate the budget. The findings in this study contribute to the public sector management accounting literature in the area of budget in Malaysian local authorities. This study could assist the local authorities to enhance their budgeting system and practices.

Determinants of Budgetary Slack Creation: A Study in Malaysian Local Authorities.

Local authorities are responsible in allocating the resources provided by Federal Government through budget allocation process. The effectiveness and efficiency of local authorities in utilising the resources is determined by the way they manage the public funds. It is important for the local authorities to have a high degree of accountability in order to gain public trust. Managerial behavioural issues such as budgetary slack could affect the effectiveness of the budgeting process. This study aims to examine the influence of budgetary practices, specifically budget participation, budget emphasis and budget control, on the budgetary slack creation in Malaysian Local Authorities. 200 questionnaires survey were randomly distributed in January 2017 to employees that involved in budget preparation from 99 local authorities located in Peninsular Malaysia, and 109 were responded (54.5%). Hypotheses for this study were analysed using simple linear regression. Results show that budget participation, budget emphasis and budget control influence budgetary slack creation among the Malaysian local authorities. This indicates that the propensity of the subordinates to create budgetary slack increases when subordinates have influenced and involved in the budget setting as well as the use of budget in evaluating performance. High involvement and control in budgeting process, provides opportunity to manipulate the budget. The findings in this study contribute to the public sector management accounting literature in the area of budget in Malaysian local authorities. This study could assist the local authorities to enhance their budgeting system and practices.

If Transparency in Performance Measurement Becomes Mandatory: Towards Better Accountability?

In most industrialized countries (including Italy), the increasing financial pressure on public organizations and the need for accountability have led to renewed attention on measuring public performance. In Italy, in 2009, the Legislative Decree 150 mandated all public organizations to introduce a ‘performance management cycle’ and publish a performance plan (a multi-year programming tool), a performance report (regarding the results obtained), and a document formalizing the model, the phases, and the timing of the adopted performance measurement system. This paper aims to understand whether transparency obligations in performance measurement correspond to a higher degree of accountability for stakeholders or whether they create greater bureaucracy. This study focuses on Italian public healthcare organizations since they need to be much more accountable towards their stakeholders on the results obtained in comparison to other public organizations. The empirical analysis conducted shows that the legal obligations for transparency in performance measurement are still important in a country with civil law like Italy—but they are not sufficient for improving accountability for stakeholders.

Model for prioritization of Graduate Medical Education funding at a university setting – Engagement of GME committee with the Clinical Enterprise

BackgroundFunding for graduate medical education (GME) is becoming scarce and is likely to worsen. There is a higher degree of accountability and return on investment demanded from public funds dedicated to GME. Academic centers (AC) partnered with clinical enterprises (CE) are finding it increasingly difficult to retain sustainable funding streams for GME activities. MethodsTo develop and implement a novel algorithmic funding model at one AC in symbiotic partnership with the CE for all 50 GME programs with nearly 500 residents. ResultsA new GME Finance and Workforce Committee was convened which was tasked with developing the novel algorithmic financial model to prioritize GME funding. Early outcomes measures that were monitored consisted of: satisfaction of all stakeholders and financial savings. ConclusionsThe model was presented to all the stakeholders and was well received and approved. Early signs, demonstrated AC and CE satisfaction with the model, financial savings and increased efficiency. This GME funding model may serve as a template for other academic centers with tailored modifications to suit their local needs, demands and constraints.

Modelling Central Bank Independence and Inflation: Deus Ex Machina?

Abstract Central bank independence represents the core element of assessing the complex relationship between government and central bank, having at background the fundamental issue of a free monetary policy decision-making process from the hands of the political circle. However, central bank independence is a multilevel concept within some social, economic and behavioral implications both for the central banks and for the society at whole. Central bank independence is needed in order to establish an autonomous central bank with a high degree of freedom in choosing its’ instruments, objectives, techniques and tactics. Moreover, a high degree of transparency for the public disclosure and monitoring of central bank operation and transaction is needed for the social barometer of the central bank. Consequently the central bank must have a high degree of accountability and responsibility vis - á - vis of the most democratic institution, i.e. Parliament. In this article it is presented a comprehensive study regarding the complex relationship between central bank independence and inflation by modeling these two monetary policy panacea, in order to make a fine tuning regarding the causal relationship established in a heterodox manner.

Explicit inflation targets and central bank independence: friends or foes?

The paper studies the relationship between two institutional innovations in monetary policy of the past few decades: central bank independence (CBI) and explicit inflation targeting (EIT). The aim is to make inferences about the optimal institutional design of monetary policy, and the right sequencing of policy reform. Our reduced-form model unifies several approaches in the literature, and offers three novel institutional findings (that we square with existing empirical evidence). First, instrument-CBI is a complement to EIT, whereas goal-CBI acts as a strategic substitute for EIT in ensuring low inflation and policy credibility. Second, out of these two ‘commitment technologies,’ EIT is shown to be socially superior to goal-CBI. Third and controversially, countries that first implement goal-CBI are then less likely to adopt the desirable EIT regime. This is because independent central bankers may have less need to do so (their independence partly substitutes for EIT), as well as less willingness to do so (due to a higher degree of accountability associated with a transparently legislated target). Our analysis therefore implies that developing and emerging market countries should go down the New Zealand route—legislate EIT together with instrument-CBI, but stay clear of goal-CBI. Unfortunately, many transition countries have followed the opposite Fed/Bundesbank route, which we show may have adverse welfare consequences through several channels.

An Evaluation of Client's Expectation from Their Ad-Agencies and Ad-Agencies Expectation from Their Client's

As competition increases, companies are demanding more services from their ad-agencies. Hence, ad-agency-client relationship is more prone to stress and strain than ever before. There is no single factor which cements a strong bond between the agencies and the clients. It's a multitude of them, which makes it difficult to pinpoint a particular aspect which could be responsible for making or breaking an agency-client relationship. A client does not approach an agency only because it produces creative stuff or it has media strength. The good relationship between ad-agency and clients mainly depends on the appropriate selection of an agency by the clients and correspondingly, on a high degree of accountability by the agency to the clients. Once such sustainability has been established through the selection process, initial adjustment, mutual respect and responsiveness the relationship will go on for many years without any disturbance. But, present scenario of relationship between these two not upto the expectation because different advertisers (clients) have different needs, but one factor that unites today's clients is that they all demand accountability for the money spent on advertisement by the ad-agency on creation and delivery of advertisement. This means a quantum change in the industry affecting the traditional agency-client relationship. Loyalty and tradition no longer derive choice of an agency. Instead, return on investment makes up the bottom line. Clients are constantly evaluating the work of their agency and its rival. This article critically examines the relationship binding and breaking factors between the ad-agency and their clients by taking into consideration of the following two parameters, viz. the clients' expectation from the agency and the level of satisfaction and the ad-agency's expectation from the clients.

Decentralization in Kerala: Panchayat government discretion and accountability

AbstractKerala is regarded as one of the most decentralized states in India. Through a ‘big bang’ approach, Kerala implemented a significant fiscal decentralization program and then built the capacity of its local governments. We employ a diagnostic framework to analyze its local government discretion and accountability in political, administrative and fiscal domains. We find that Kerala's local governments have a very high degree of discretionary power accompanied by a high degree of accountability towards citizens. But the areas of administrative accountability and financial management need to be strengthened. Also there may have been excessive focus and investment on social accountability mechanisms at the cost of local government discretion and formal public sector accountability mechanisms. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The political economy of exchange rate regime determination: Theory and evidence

This paper studies exchange rate regime choice from a positive perspective by modeling the interplay of monetary and fiscal policy, credibility and financial market microstructure as factors influencing the decision on de facto regime. The model shows how a small open economy reliant on foreign sources of financing is likely to opt for a stable regime. Furthermore, a stable political environment with a high degree of accountability is conducive to choosing a flexible regime. The findings suggest that flexible rather than fixed exchange rate regimes provide more fiscal discipline.

High Reliability Organizations: Implications for Nursing Knowledge Development

One of the most challenging goals health care organizations face today is how to create practice environments that ensure the consistent delivery of high-quality safe care to all patients. A number of major reports over the past 10 years have documented safety issues in health care. A landmark report of this type is the Institute of Medicine report Keeping Patients Safe (Page, 2004), which focused on the important role nurses play in maintaining safe work environments. While ample evidence exists to document the problems of safety, it is difficult to find strategies or techniques that consistently prevent the occurrence of unsafe care or create environments that promote safety. Other industries face challenges in preventing errors of great consequence from occurring, and research about their experiences has provided insights for health care organizations. For example, on aircraft carriers and in nuclear power plants, errors or failures in critical processes, even if infrequent, can have terrible consequences. Examining these industries and how they try to prevent or reduce failures has resulted in the concept of high reliability. Just as we examine reliability in a research sense, looking for consistency and dependability of performance, organizations that create working environments and processes that reduce system failures are referred to as high reliability organizations (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001). These types of organizations operate under trying conditions in a nearly error-free manner; they have developed a working culture and processes that reduce system failures and ensure effective response systems when errors occur. The concept of high reliability applies in a number of high stakes industries that face potentially catastrophic errors. Characteristics of organizations that pursue high reliability have been identified through research (LaPorte & Consolini, 1991; Schulman, 1993). These include * Hypercomplexity: environments that depend on multiteam systems working together for safety; * Extreme hierarchical differentiation: clearly defined and differentiated roles that require intense coordination to keep members of the team working together; * Multiple decision makers working in a complex communication network: many individuals working together who make important, interconnected decisions; * Tight coupling: work produced by teams in which the members are dependent on tasks performed across the team, requiring coordination and trust; * High degree of accountability: when errors occur, there are severe consequences; and * Work performed under compressed time constraints: significant time constraints present major challenges, especially from the perspective of training and resources. These characteristics apply to health care organizations as well. However, health care organizations face two additional challenges: care of patients rather than machines and higher workforce mobility (Hines, Luna, & Lofthus, 2008). …

High Reliability Organizations: Implications for Nursing Knowledge Development

One of the most challenging goals health care organizations face today is how to create practice environments that ensure the consistent delivery of high-quality safe care to all patients. A number of major reports over the past 10 years have documented safety issues in health care. A landmark report of this type is the Institute of Medicine report Keeping Patients Safe (Page, 2004), which focused on the important role nurses play in maintaining safe work environments. While ample evidence exists to document the problems of safety, it is difficult to find strategies or techniques that consistently prevent the occurrence of unsafe care or create environments that promote safety. Other industries face challenges in preventing errors of great consequence from occurring, and research about their experiences has provided insights for health care organizations. For example, on aircraft carriers and in nuclear power plants, errors or failures in critical processes, even if infrequent, can have terrible consequences. Examining these industries and how they try to prevent or reduce failures has resulted in the concept of high reliability. Just as we examine reliability in a research sense, looking for consistency and dependability of performance, organizations that create working environments and processes that reduce system failures are referred to as high reliability organizations (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001). These types of organizations operate under trying conditions in a nearly error-free manner; they have developed a working culture and processes that reduce system failures and ensure effective response systems when errors occur. The concept of high reliability applies in a number of high stakes industries that face potentially catastrophic errors. Characteristics of organizations that pursue high reliability have been identified through research (LaPorte & Consolini, 1991; Schulman, 1993). These include * Hypercomplexity: environments that depend on multiteam systems working together for safety; * Extreme hierarchical differentiation: clearly defined and differentiated roles that require intense coordination to keep members of the team working together; * Multiple decision makers working in a complex communication network: many individuals working together who make important, interconnected decisions; * Tight coupling: work produced by teams in which the members are dependent on tasks performed across the team, requiring coordination and trust; * High degree of accountability: when errors occur, there are severe consequences; and * Work performed under compressed time constraints: significant time constraints present major challenges, especially from the perspective of training and resources. These characteristics apply to health care organizations as well. However, health care organizations face two additional challenges: care of patients rather than machines and higher workforce mobility (Hines, Luna, & Lofthus, 2008). …

Understanding water delivery performance in a large-scale irrigation system in Peru

During a two-year field study the performance of the water delivery was evaluated in a large-scale irrigation system on the north coast of Peru. Flow measurements were carried out along the main canals, along two secondary canals, and in two tertiary blocks in the Chancay-Lambayeque irrigation system. The most important finding was the unexpectedly high accomplishment rate of the actual delivery at field level compared with the on-request schedule. Delivery performance ratios (DPRs) were very close to unity. Three main factors were identified contributing to this good performance: the high degree of accountability of the Water Users' Association towards the water users, the skills and experience of the operators to deal with the - difficult to operate - undershot sliding gates, and the high degree of mutual social control among the water users and their high labour input. It is concluded that the institutional design and skills of operators made a good delivery performance possible, overcoming the difficulties caused by the irregular water supply, infrastructure and on-request schedule