The Progress and Challenges of the e-Government Initiatives and Implementation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

The Electronic Government (e-Government) means delivering the services and information to the citizens and businesses through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in order to enable them to interact more effectively with the government, and to increase the quality of the services. As many other governments in the developed and developing countries, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has embarked on the e-Government initiatives. This study revealed that there are various challenges which affect the e-Government in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), but also a lot of e-Government progress has happened. In addition, based on the United Nations’ e-Government maturity level benchmarking, the e-Government in the KRI is at the interactive stage. In this study the services that the citizens want from the government in order to implement an appropriate e-Government were also identified.

“THE PATIENT SURVIVED DESPITE THE TREATMENT”. A study of Finnish health policy and New Public Management. Case: The Government Resolution on the Health 2015 public health programme.

Internationally, Finland has been among the most respected countries during several decades in terms of public health. WHO has had the most significant influence on Finnish health policy and the relationship has traditionally been warm. However, the situation has slightly changed in the last 10-20 years. The objectives of Finnish national health policy have been to secure the best possible health for the population and to minimize disparities in health between different population groups. Nevertheless, although the state of public health and welfare has steadily improved, the socioeconomic disparities in health have increased. This qualitative case study will demonstrate why health is political and why health matters. It will also present some recommendations for research topics and administrative reforms. It will be argued that lack of political interest in health policy leads to absence of health policy visions and political commitment, which can be disastrous for public health. This study will investigate how Finnish health policy is defined and organised, and it will also shed light on Finnish health policy formation processes and actors. Health policy is understood as a broader societal construct covering the domains of different ministries, not just Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (MSAH). The influences of economic recession of the 1990s, state subsidy reform in 1993, globalisation and the European Union will be addressed, as well. There is not much earlier Finnish research done on health policy from political science viewpoint. Therefore, this study is interdisciplinary and combines political science with administrative science, contemporary history and health policy research with a hint of epidemiology. As a method, literature review, semi-structured interviews and policy analysi will be utilised. Institutionalism, policy transfer, and corporatism are understood as the theoretical framework. According to the study, there are two health policies in Finland: the official health policy and health policy generated by industry, media and various interest organisations. The complex relationships between the Government and municipalities, and on the other hand, the MSAH and National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) seemed significant in terms of Finnish health policy coordination. The study also showed that the Investigated case, Health 2015, does not fulfil all necessary criteria for a successful public health programme. There were also several features both in Health 2015 and Finnish health policy, which can be interpreted in NPM framework and seen having NPM influences.

Accountability and corruption : a study into political institutions as referees between principals and agents

Representativ demokrati innebär att medborgare istället för att själv göra beslut i frågor som angår dem, ofta delegerar dylikt beslutsfattande till representanter. Det här betyder att viktiga beslut görs av personer som medborgarna i allmänhet inte känner speciellt väl, och i vars ageranden medborgarna endast har lite insyn. Vanliga medborgare och deras representanter har därtill ofta mycket olika intressen, d.v.s. har olika syn på vad som är viktigt. Representanterna har följaktligen både möjligheter och incitament att missbruka den makt som anförtrotts dem, bl.a. genom korrupt verksamhet. Denna avhandling analyserar mekanismer genom vilka korruption bland representanter kan förebyggas, och (då korrupta handlingar redan ägt rum) upptäckas. Avhandlingen granskar mekanismer som a) ger medborgare och andra ansvarsutkrävare mer information om representanternas målsättningar och ageranden, b) som tvingar representanterna att rättfärdiga sina ageranden gentemot medborgare och andra ansvarsutkrävare, och c) som gör det möjligt för medborgare och andra ansvarsutkrävare att straffa representanter som agerat korrupt. Avhandlingen hävdar att tillämpandet av dylika mekanismer minskar lockelsen för och möjligheterna att engagera sig i korrupta handlingar. Avhandlingen studerar de mekanismer för ansvarsutkrävande som skapas genom politiskt institutionsbyggande. Bl.a. analyseras i vilken grad olika valsystem och typer av maktfördelning gör det möjligt att hålla representanter till svars, och därmed förhindra och upptäcka korruption. Sambandet mellan institutionsbyggande, möjligheter till ansvarsutkrävande och förekomst av korruption studeras på såväl makro- som mikronivå. Studien på makronivå inkluderar ett flertal länder och analyserar sambandet med hjälp av statistisk analys. Studien på mikronivå däremot består av två fallstudier (Österrike och Botswana) och utgör en djupdykning i dessa länders politiska institutioner, möjligheter till ansvarsutkrävande inom ramen för institutionerna, och följder i form av korruption.

Accounting for competition, governance and accountability during institutional change in not-for-profit and public sector organisations

Purpose The aim of this thesis1 is to analyse theoretically how institutionalisation of competitive tendering2, governance and budgetary policies cannot be taken for granted to lead to accountability among institutional actors3. The nature of an institutionalised management accounting policy, its relevance as a source of power in organisational decision making, and in negotiating inter-organisational relationships, are also analysed. Practical motivation The practical motivation of the thesis is to show how practitioners and policy makers can institutionalise changes which improve the power of management accounting and control systems4 as a mechanism of accountability among institutional actors and in negotiating relationships with other organisations. Theoretical motivation and conceptual approach The theoretical motivation of the thesis is to extend the institutional framework of management accounting change proposed by Burns and Scapens (2000) by using the theories of critical realism, communicative action, negotiated order and the framework of circuits of power. The Burns and Scapens framework needs further theorisation to analyse the relationship between the institutionalisation of management accounting and accountability; and the relevance of management accounting information in negotiating in inter-organisational relationships. Methodology and field studies Field research took place in public and not-for-profit health care organisations and a municipality in Finland from 2008 to 2013. Data were gathered by document analysis, interviews, participation in meetings and observations. Findings The findings are explained in four different essays that show that institutionalisation of competitive tendering, governance and budgetary policies cannot be taken for granted to lead to accountability among institutional actors. The ways by which institutional actors think and act can be influenced by other institutional mechanisms, such as inter-organisational circuits of power and intraorganisational governance policies, independent of the institutional change process. The relevance of institutionalised management accounting policies in negotiating relationships between two or more organisations depends on processes and contexts through which institutional actors use management accounting information as a tool of communication, mutual understanding and power. Research limitations / implications The theoretical framework used can be applied validly in other studies. The empirical findings cannot be generalised directly to other organisations than the organisations analysed. Practical implications Competitive tendering and budgetary policies can be institutionalised to shape actions of institutional actors within an organisation. To lead to accountability, practitioners and policy makers should implement governance policies that increase the use of management accounting information in institutional actors’ thinking, actions and responsibility for their actions. To reach a negotiated order between organisations, institutionalised management accounting policies should be used as one of the tools of communication aiming to reach mutual agreement among institutional actors.

Interdependence of International Stock Markets, European Government Bond Market and Gold Market

This thesis examines the interdependence of international stock markets (the USA, Europe, Japan, emerging markets, and frontier markets), European government bond market, and gold market during the 21st century. Special focus is on the dynamics of the correlations between the markets, as well as on, spillovers in mean returns and volatility. The mean return spillovers are examined on the basis of the bivariate VAR(1) model, whereas the bivariate BEKK-GARCH(1, 1) model is employed for the analysis of the volatility spillovers. In order to analyze the spillover effects in different market conditions, the full sample period from 2000 to 2013 is divided into the pre-crisis period (2000–2006) and the crisis period (2007–2013). The results indicate an increasing interdependence especially within international stock markets during the periods of financial turbulence, and are thus consistent with the existing literature. Hence, bond and gold markets provide the best diversification benefits for equity investors, particularly during the periods of market turmoil.

India : west coast : Gulf of Cutch to Viziadrig from surveys by the officers of the East India government 1828-1856

Kartta kuuluu A. E. Nordenskiöldin kokoelmaan

India : west coast : Viziadrug to Cochin with the Lacadivh archipelago from surveys by the officers of the East India government 1828-1856

Kartta kuuluu A. E. Nordenskiöldin kokoelmaan

The very worst government that any country ever had. Kirkkovaltio ja paavin asema Britannian parlamenttikeskusteluissa Italian yhdistymisprosessin aikana 1858–1861

Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan Britannian parlamentissa käytyä keskustelua Kirkkovaltiosta ja paavin maallisesta vallasta vuosina 1858–1861. Aihetta tarkastellaan kolmen teeman kautta. Nämä teemat ovat Kirkkovaltion ajassa ja paikassa tapahtunut kontekstualisointi, paavin ja katolilaisten Britannialle aiheuttamasta sisäisestä ja ulkoisesta uhasta käyty keskustelu, sekä Kirkkovaltion liittäminen kansainvälisiin suhteisiin. Britannian ja Kirkkovaltion suhdetta 1800-luvun puolivälissä on käsitelty aikaisemmassa tutkimuksessa vain vähän. Suhtautumisen perusasenteena sekä konservatiiveilla että liberaaleilla on pidetty katolilaisvastaisuutta ja Kirkkovaltion lakkauttamisen ajamista. Tutkielmassa pyritään osoittamaan, että Britannian parlamentin jäsenten suhtautuminen oli kuitenkin moniulotteisempaa ja moniäänisempää, kuin pelkkä tiukka katolilaisvastaisuus. Parlamentin jäsenet pyrkivät kontekstualisoimaan Kirkkovaltiota käyttämällä vertauksia sekä Britanniaan ja Sardinian kuningaskuntaan, että erilaisiin historiallisiin tilanteisiin. Keskusteluun osallistuneilla parlamentin jäsenillä oli myös hyvin laaja skaala erilaisia kontakteja Italiaan ja Roomaan, ja he olivat hyvin perillä paavin maallisesta vallasta käydystä yleiseurooppalaisesta kirjallisesta debatista. Osa parlamentin jäsenistä näki paavin ja katolilaiset sekä sisäisenä että ulkoisena uhkana Britannialle, mikä liittyy vahvasti 1800-luvun puolivälin uhkakuvia täynnä olleeseen näkemykseen. Näkemys uhasta tiivistyi keskusteluun uskollisuudenvalan uudistamisesta vuonna 1858. Tässä keskustelussa esiin nousivat erityisesti ääriprotestanttiset, katolilaisvastaiset parlamentin jäsenet. Osa parlamentin jäsenistä näki paavin itsenäisyyden toisaalta myös hyvänä asiana, ja paavin maallisen vallan lakkauttamista uhkana Britannialle. Viimeisessä käsittelyluvussa tutkitaan suhtautumista Kirkkovaltioon kansainvälisten suhteiden tasolla. Britannialla ei ollut virallisia diplomaattisuhteita Kirkkovaltioon, mutta maan epävirallisista suhteista ja niiden kehittämisestä käytiin parlamentissa keskustelua. Parlamentissa keskusteltiin myös Ranskan ja Itävallan merkityksestä Kirkkovaltiolle, sekä Kirkkovaltion mahdollisista aluemenetyksistä tai jopa valtion lakkauttamisesta. Keskustelua käytiin myös brittien värväämisestä paavin armeijaan ja paavia vastustaneen Garibaldin joukkoihin.