Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Continuous Assurance'

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2005.
Thesis research directed by: Computer Science. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.

Frequently monitoring the identity of a person connected to a secure system is an important component in a cyber-security system. Identity Assurance (IA) mechanisms which continuously confirm and verify users’ identity after the initial authentication process ensure integrity and security. Such systems prevent unauthorized access and eliminate the need of an authorized user to present credentials repeatedly for verification. Very few cyber-security systems deploy such IA modules. These IA modules are typically based on computer vision and machine learning algorithms. These algorithms work effectively when trained with representative datasets. This thesis describes our effort at collecting a small dataset of multi-view videos of typical work session of several subjects to serve as a resource for other researchers of IA algorithms to evaluate and compare the performance of their algorithms with those of others. We also present a Proof of Concept (POC) face matching algorithm and experimental results with this POC implementation for a subset of collected dataset.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1994, and Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, 1994.
Includes biographical references (p. 129-131).
by Andra Sloane Weissberg.
M.S.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
This thesis analyzes the structure of a few of the Information Assurance (IA) processes currently being used in the United States Government. The general structure of these processes is uncovered and used to create a Continuous Monitoring Process that can be used to create a tool to incorporate any process of similar structure. A proof-of-concept application is drafted to demonstrate the main aspects of the proposed tool. The possibilities and implications of the proof-of-concept application are explored, including the future work required to develop a fully functional and automated version of the proposed Continuous Monitoring tool.

Drawing upon the theories of complexity and complex adaptive systems and the Singerian Inquiring System from C. West Churchman’s seminal work The Design of Inquiring Systems the dissertation herein develops a systems design theory for continuous auditing systems. The dissertation consists of discussion of the two foundational theories, development of the Theory of Complex Adaptive Inquiring Organizations (CAIO) and associated design principles for a continuous auditing system supporting a CAIO, and instantiation of the CAIO theory. The instantiation consists of an agent-based model depicting the marketplace for Frontier Airlines that generates an anticipated market share used as an integral component in a mock auditor going concern opinion for the airline. As a whole, the dissertation addresses the lack of an underlying system design theory and comprehensive view needed to build upon and advance the continuous assurance movement and addresses the question of how continuous auditing systems should be designed to produce knowledge--knowledge that benefits auditors, clients, and society as a whole.
Ph.D.
Department of Management Information Systems
Business Administration
Business Administration PhD

Class of 2014 Abstract
Specific Aims: On April 18, 2007, the Arizona legislature passed the Pharmacy Continuous Quality Assurance (CQA) law, with enforced compliance beginning January 1, 2014. With the lengthy lag time between passage of the law and required compliance with the law, a continuing pharmacy education (CPE) seminar was developed to educate Arizona pharmacy personnel about the new requirements. The CPE seminar was evaluated by assessing changes in participant self-reported knowledge, motivation, and awareness regarding the quality assurance legislation and the CQA process. Methods: The CPE seminar took place at the Arizona Pharmacy Association’s Community Pharmacy Academy Conference. Data were collected using a retrospective pre-assessment/post-assessment questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests with a Boniferroni correction. Demographic information were reported using descriptive statistics. Main Results: The response rate was 70%, with 28 of 40 participants completing the questionnaire. Each of the six self-assessment questionnaire statements showed a statistically significant change from pre to post assessment (p = 0.0005). Conclusion: The results show that the law CPE session positively impacted participant self-assessment of knowledge, awareness, and motivation of quality improvement initiatives and medication errors. Follow-up research is needed to determine what impact this CPE session will have in pharmacy practice.

Purpose – It is argued that traditional audit methods are becoming outdated in terms of delivering sufficient assurance on business objectives, whereby, a paradigm shift towards continuous auditing (CA) is proposed and perceived as necessary both by academia, standard-setting groups, and business society. However, the practical prevalence of CA is insignificant in relation to the expectations depicted. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine why this is the case by means of investigating what factors that motivate an adoption of CA amongst various internal audit functions (IAFs). Design/methodology/approach – The study draws on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), and data are obtained through semi-structured interviews capturing internal auditors’ attitude towards CA, and what factors that influence an adoption. Findings – There is a shattered view on CA amongst IAFs, where the proponents embrace it as a set of value-adding methodologies whilst the opponents argue that it falls outside their responsibility and threaten the independence of the function. Thus, why CA has not been leveraged to its full potential is, in contrast to previous research, not solely attributable to practical factors but also due to the IAFs’ vast differences in approach to CA as a concept. Practical implications – The study has brought attention to the distinguished disparity found in internal auditors’ attitude towards CA. Ultimately, doubts, whether CA should be leveraged by IAFs has come to light. These are hurdles that need to be considered, both by academia, standard-setting groups, and business society if the leap for CA ought to continue. Originality/value – The use of semi-structured interviews contributes to in-depth understandings and insights of the internal auditors’ attitudes towards CA. Moreover, such an approach is more likely to capture the stance towards CA in greater detail than that possible of previous large-scale surveys.

La directive Solvabilité II, soumise par la Commission Européenne en 2009, est rentrée en application en janvier 2016. Elle se base sur trois piliers. Le premier pilier traite des obligations quantitatives liées au calcul du capital de solvabilité requis. Le second pilier traite de la gouvernance des risques. Le troisième pilier concerne les documents et informations requis, la discipline de marché. Pour l’assurance vie, les obligations quantitatives (pilier I et une partie du pilier II) introduisent un haut niveau de complexité. En effet, pour créer un dispositif adapté aux spécificités des entreprises, la directive a introduit un cadre de valorisation du bilan des assureurs très délicat à comprendre et utiliser, la valorisation économique. Du fait de cette complexité, la plupart des assureurs vie européens ont, durant leurs premières années passées à implémenter la directive, choisi de se focaliser sur le pilier I en sachant que le calcul de l’exigence en capital serait une part essentielle du dispositif. Dans cette thèse, j’ai choisi de concentrer mon travail sur le second pilier de la directive et plus précisément sur le processus Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA). Cet outil réglementaire est en fait la seconde source de complexité majeure de Solvabilité II. C’est un processus de gestion des risques totalement intégré à l’entreprise dont l’objectif est de mener les assureurs à une meilleure compréhension de leurs risques. Au cours de mon travail, j’ai cherché à conceptualiser et à proposer des mises en œuvre opérationnelles pour répondre aux problématiques induites par l’ORSA (calcul du Besoin Global de Solvabilité et Conformité Permanente). Enfin, au travers d’un travail commun avec N. El Karoui, S. Loisel et J.-L. Prigent, nous avons analysé et exemplifié certains des dangers majeurs induits par la valorisation économique
The Solvency II directive issued in 2009 by the European Commission has been put into action in January 2016. It is based on three pillars. The first pillar addresses the quantitative requirements to assess the Solvency capital needs. The second pillar, more qualitative, addresses the risks governance. The third pillar addresses the required disclosures. For life insurance, the quantitative requirements (pillar I and a part of pillar II) have introduced a high level of complexity. Indeed, to create an entity-adapted scheme, the directive has developed a very specific process to evaluate the insurance balance sheets, namely the economic valuation. Considering this complexity, most European life insurances have chosen to focus on pillar I, at the beginning of the implementation of the directive, the regulatory capital assessment being an essential part of the solvency scheme. In this thesis I focus my work on the second pillar of the directive and more precisely on the Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) process. This regulatory tool is the second major source of complexity when implementing the directive. It is a completely undertaking-embedded risk management process which aims to deepen the insurance knowledge of its risks. In my work I have tried to conceptualize and propose operational implementations to answer the ORSA issues (Overall Solvency Needs assessment and continuous compliance). Finally, through a joint work with N. El Karoui, S. Loisel and J.-L. Prigent, we have underlined, analyzed and exemplified some of the major hazard sources induced by the economic valuation

S vývojem informací, komunikací a technologií se moderní průmyslové řídicí systémy (ICS) potýkají čím dál více s otázkami automatického testováni pro zabezpečení stability a bezpečnosti systému. Z tohoto důvodu se testování stalo jednou z nejdůležitějších částí životního cyklu všech softwarů. V této diplomové práci budu zvažovat možnost využití stávajících zkušebních metod a nástrojů pro získání dostatečné jakosti a bezpečnosti softwaru v kontinuálních integračních systémech.

Mestrado em Ciências Empresariais
A relevância da formação profissional justificou a implementação de um modelo de certificação de entidades formadoras, tutelado pela Direção-Geral do Emprego e das Relações de Trabalho (DGERT). A avaliação do desempenho dessas entidades está prevista nesse modelo, através de um processo de autoavaliação, com base em indicadores. Neste contexto, o presente estudo versa sobre a temática da qualidade, com um enfoque no domínio da atividade formativa, de modo a contribuir para a definição de um painel de Indicadores de Acompanhamento e Avaliação de Desempenho (IAAD). Constituíram objetivos específicos deste trabalho: a avaliação da relevância de um conjunto de indicadores, destinados a aferir a qualidade formativa; a análise da respetiva aplicabilidade ao Sistema de Formação Nacional e a verificação dos grupos de indicadores mais associados. Os resultados obtidos demonstram que os indicadores mais relevantes situam-se, quase exclusivamente, ao nível dos resultados da atividade formativa. Contudo, tendo em conta que um sistema de indicadores deve estar alinhado com o modelo de funcionamento da formação, foi possível assinalar outros indicadores, ao nível dos recursos e do processo formativo, ainda com um grau de relevância significativo. Concomitantemente, os resultados demonstram que os indicadores considerados mais relevantes são aplicáveis à realidade nacional, porquanto os dez considerados mais pertinentes são exatamente os mesmos que são julgados como os mais aplicáveis.
The relevance of training justified the implementation of a model of training providers certification, tutored by the Directorate-General of Employment and Labour Relations (DGERT). Performance evaluation of these entities is foreseen according to that model, through a process of self-assessment, based on indicators. In this context, the present study deals with quality concept, with a focus in training activity, in order to contribute to the definition of a Monitoring and Performance Evaluation Indicators Panel. The specific objectives of this study were: the evaluation of the relevance of a set of indicators, designed to assess the training quality; the analysis of the respective applicability to the National Training System and the check of the associated indicator groups. The results show that the most relevant indicators take place, almost exclusively, in terms of the results of training activity. However, given that an indicator system should be aligned with the model of training operation, it was possible to point out other indicators, at the level of resources and training process as well, although with a significant degree of relevance. At the same time, the results show that those indicators considered the most relevant are applicable to the national reality, because the ten ones indicated as the most pertinent are exactly the same that are considered to be the most applicable.
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This assignment is based on the tolerance problems that occur with the radial dimensions or RR-dimensions for the windings. The purpose is to identify the various parameters that affect said RR-dimensions and where these parameters originate from to be able to assure quality of the winding process. The RR-dimension has a tolerance of + 2,2 and - 1,1 mm, but it is only the positive tolerance that cause problems. The case study is based on a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative data collections of dimensions for leaders and how the RR-measurement are affected by them, analysis of tolerances and how well they are adapted for their purpose. Qualitative observations, experiments and semi-structured interviews have also been conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the problem. The results show that tolerance problems originate from several different factors. The first factor is the debatable tolerance setting on some conductors, mainly the thin CTC conductors that do not have a high radial dimension. These conductors have tolerances that do not fill a purpose because it does not ensure the quality for the winding. The conductors need a tighter tolerance spectrum for the positive direction to be fully functional. The air gap that can occur between the conductors is also a cause of error. This stems from the fact that it is not possible to achieve a sufficiently high force when tensioning the disc. This can also occur from the uneven surface of the CTC-conductor that can create gaps. Another cause of error that affects the dimension is the number of turns for a disc. When a disc is wound with a high number of turns it will lead tothat the influencing factors have a higher amount of turns to effect on. This means that a small increase of the conductor's nominal dimension or small air gaps has a large impact on the overall RR-dimension.
För att kvalitetssäkra transformator- och reaktorlindningarna hos företaget Hitachi ABB skade utsatta toleranserna för varje lindning uppfyllas för att kunna fortsätta vidare i produktionslinan. Arbetet är grundat utifrån de förekommande variationerna hos lindningarnas mått i radiell riktning (RR-mått. Arbetets syfte är att undersöka Hitachi ABB:s lindningsproduktion för att finna de faktorer som ger upphov till måttvariationer hos RRmåttet. De identifierade faktorerna ska användas för att kvalitetssäkra företagets lindningsprocess. Färdigställt arbete ska användas som grund för företagets fortsatta arbetekring kvalitetssäkring. RR-måttet har en tolerans på + 2,2 och – 1,1 mm, däremot är detendast de variationer i positivt led där problem uppstår. Vid ett för högt mått genomförs enutredning för att se över om lindningen kan brukas ändå eller utifall de för höga måttet i radiell riktning påverkar prestandan samt montering. Arbetet är en fallstudie utfört med en blandning av kvantitativa och kvalitativa metoder. Denkvantitativa datainsamlingens syfte är att undersöka ledares mått i lindningar för att se hur RR-måttet påverkas måttsättning och varvantal. Den kvantitativa datainsamlingen genomför också analyser av toleranser och hur väl anpassade de är för sitt syfte. Kvalitativa observationer, experiment och halvstrukturerade interjuver har genomförts för att skapa en djupare förståelse kring problemet.Resultatet visar att de variationer som uppstår hos RR-måttet påverkas av flera olika faktorer.Variationer hos RR-måttet uppstår främst för lindningar där en CTC-ledare används. En påverkande faktor är toleransvidden för ledarna, främst för de tunna CTC-ledarna. Ledarna lindas runt varandra där ledarens mått staplas på varandra för att bilda ett RR-mått. För de tunna CTC-ledarna bör en mindre toleransvidd användas, mer specifikt en lägre positiv tolerans likt de platta ledarna för att kunna kvalitetssäkra lindningen. En annan påverkandefaktor är de luftspalter som uppstår mellan ledarna. Luftspalter härstammar ifrån att det integår att uppnå tillräckligt hög kraft vid spänning av en skiva alternativt från CTC-ledarens knöliga yta. Utöver dessa två faktorer har antalet lindade varv för en skiva en påverkan förtoleransstapling. Fler varv resulterar i att små måttavvikelser för ledare påverkar det totala måttet, vilket innebär att de luftspalter som kan uppstå blir fler när antalet varv ökar.

Notre travail de recherche porte sur le pilotage et les dispositifs d’évaluation des systèmes de management dans les centres universitaires de français langue étrangère en France, membres de l’ADCUEFE. Plus précisément, il s’agit d’un travail comparatif sur la démarche qualité éducative, selon qu’elle s’exerce on non dans les exigences d’une labellisation. A ce titre, la comparaison a lieu entre ces centres de langue qui sont certifiés en France par le label « Qualité Français Langue Etrangère » et ceux qui ne sont pas inscrits dans ce processus de labellisation, mais affichent leurs pratiques professionnelles dans une culture qualité. La problématique centrale de notre thèse repose sur un questionnement multiple : la maîtrise de la qualité, de sa planification à son amélioration, doit-elle nécessairement passer par l’étape ultime de la labellisation ? Cette dernière est une vérification de l'efficacité du cadre normatif et institutionnel opérée par un audit externe, un type de mesure de la qualité s’appuyant sur un référentiel. L’institution universitaire a-t-elle besoin de baser sa démarche qualité sur un référentiel imposé et qu’elle doit s’approprier ? Et si ce dernier fait partie intégrante de l’approche qualité de l’organisme, est-il adapté aux attentes des clients, qu’ils soient internes ou externes ? Quel autre type de preuve de la qualité apporte de fait un organisme qui n’inscrirait pas son système de management dans une perspective de labellisation ? Au final, la démarche qualité peut-elle se passer d’une culture qualité ? Par le biais d’une étude hypothético-déductive, des questionnaires et des entretiens semi-directifs sont réalisés auprès de directeurs des institutions universitaires à l'étude, dont les protocoles et les guides portent non seulement sur la perception et la gestion de l'assurance qualité, mais aussi sur l’appréciation du label Qualité FLE et du référentiel. La recherche empirique permet de prendre conscience des enjeux de la reconnaissance officielle de la labellisation et des difficultés auxquelles la direction est confrontée dans ses actions entreprises pour réussir l’instauration d’une amélioration continue de la qualité et de la garantir dans le respect, ou pas, de normes standardisées
Our research work focuses on the management and evaluation systems of management systems in french universities centers, specialised in French as a Foreign Language, members of ADCUEFE. More precisely, this is a comparative work on the educational quality approach, depending on whether it is practiced or not within the requirements of labeling. As such, the comparison is made between the language centers that are certified in France by the "Quality French Foreign language" label and those that are not registered in this labeling process, but display their professional practices in a quality culture. The central issue of our thesis is based on a multiple questioning: must the control of quality, from its planning to its improvement, necessarily go through the final stage of labeling? The latter is an audit of the effectiveness of the normative and institutional framework carried out by an external audit, a type of quality measurement based on a repository. Does the university institution need to base its quality approach on an imposed benchmark that it must appropriate? And if the latter is an integral part of the organization's quality approach, is it adapted to the expectations of customers, whether internal or external? What other type of proof of quality does an organization provide that does not include its management system in a labeling perspective? In the end, can the quality approach do without a quality culture? Through a hypothetico-deductive study, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews are conducted with directors of the university institutions under study, whose protocols and guides relate not only to the perception and management of quality assurance, but also on the assessment of the FFL Quality label and of the benchmark. Empirical research makes it possible to become aware of the challenges of official recognition of the labeling and of the difficulties that management is confronted with in the actions taken to successfully establish continuous quality improvement and guarantee it in compliance, or not, with standardized standards

Rapporten är en sammanställning av gruppens samlade erfarenheter och lärdomar av ett projekt vars syfte var att utveckla ett verktyg som ska visualisera svarstider mellan mobila klienter och datacenter. Genom att använda kontinuerlig prototypning har gruppen kunnat arbeta på ett användarna sätt för att uppfylla kundens verkliga behov. För att uppnå detta användes utvecklingsmetodiken Kanban. Under projektets gång anpassades metodiken för att bättra passa in i arbetet. Projektets användartester har lett till sammanfattande erfarenheter om visualisering av data. Visualiseringar som projektgruppen ansetts tydliga uppfattades inte alltid på samma sätt av användarna. Att visualisera flera parametrar på en världskarta anses vara problematiskt då kartan i sig endast består av länder. För visualisering av flera parametrar måste då även externa användas, exempelvis cirklar eller andra former.

Em resultado da crescente exigência na credibilidade da informação financeira fornecida, a auditoria interna tem vindo a desempenhar um papel cada vez mais importante nas organizações. Atualmente existe a necessidade de garantir a conformidade das transações organizacionais em tempo real de forma a aumentar a confiabilidade na informação e diminuir os riscos. Neste contexto, o conceito de Continuous Assurance tem vindo a ganhar relevo, permitindo reduzir potenciais erros e riscos e obter informações úteis em tempo real suportando mais eficazmente a tomada de decisão. Como objetivo central desta dissertação, procurou-se compreender qual a importância e a utilização de serviços de Continuous Assurance na ótica do auditor interno. A metodologia utilizada é do tipo exploratório-descritiva, de natureza qualitativa e recorreu a inquérito por questionário. Os principais resultados demonstram, entre outros aspetos, que os serviços de Continuous Assurance são considerados pelos auditores internos como muito importantes. Apesar disso, a sua implementação nas organizações não acompanha a importância que lhe é atribuída, estando ainda longe de estar completamente concretizada. O número de auditores que compõe o departamento de auditoria é um fator influenciador no que diz respeito à utilização de alguns serviços de Continuous Asssurance.
As a result of the increasing demand on the credibility of the financial information disclosure, internal auditing has been playing an increasingly important role in organizations. Currently, there is a need to ensure the compliance of organizational transactions in real time in order to increase the reliability of the information and to reduce risks. In this context, the concept of Continuous Assurance has emerged, allowing to reduce potential errors and risks and obtain useful information in real time, supporting more effectively the decision making. As a central objective of this dissertation, we sought to understand the importance and the use of Continuous Assurance services from the perspective of the internal auditor. The methodology used is exploratory-descriptive, of a qualitative nature and used a questionnaire survey. The main results demonstrate, among other findings, that the Continuous Assurance services are considered by the internal auditors as very important. Despite this, its implementation in the organizations does not follow the importance assigned to it, and is still far from being fully deployed. The dimension of the audit department is an influential factor in the use of some Continuous Assurance services.
Mestrado em Contabilidade

碩士
南台科技大學
會計資訊系
96
Well-organized IT systems have played more important roles in business operation in that relevant operating information must be quickly responded and implemented. In recent years, the concept of continuous auditing has been introduced by academic researchers, from which CEOs can pay more attention by building up the real-time operation information system to respond the problems and solve them quickly. Presently most studies have focused on the research for the implementation of continuous auditing from CPA firms. The analyses of relationships between enterprise business assurance and continuous auditing have received little attention. In this study, the questionnaires are used to reveal the viewpoints of the employees working as financial accounting and internal control in the electronic, manufacturing, and service industries in Taiwan, trying to find out the relationships between the key factors of implementing continuous auditing and enterprise assurance. The empirical results reveal that there exists higher cognition of continuous auditing for the electronic industry than for the manufacturing and service industries based on key factors of implementing continuous auditing such as implementation cost of continuous auditing, divisions communication, and the completeness of enterprise resource planning system. According to the recognition of CEOs in electronic industry, the implementation of continuous auditing has positive effects on enterprise operation, enhancing the values of the corporation. As a result, the authorities should put effort in overcoming any difficulties, encouraging listed companies and over-the-counter companies to carry out implementation of continuous auditing.

by Tse Kai Fat, Tsui Ping Tim.
Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1997.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-56).
ABSTRACT --- p.ii
TABLE OF CONTENT --- p.vi
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS --- p.viii
LIST OF TABLES --- p.ix
CHAPTER
Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION
The Hong Kong Hospital Authority --- p.1
What is Quality of Health Care Service?
Four Dimensional Approach --- p.3
Quality -- Standard Medical Practice(A) --- p.4
Quality -- Good Medical Outcome(B) --- p.5
Quality -- Customer Satisfaction(C&D) --- p.6
Quality and Cost Containment
Trade-off between Quality and Cost --- p.9
Quality Management Reduces Healthcare Cost --- p.10
Methodology --- p.11
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award(MBNQA) --- p.12
Chapter II. --- CORPORATE QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN THE HOSPITAL AUTHORITY
Corporate and Hospital Missions --- p.14
Strategic Quality Management --- p.15
Continuous Quality Management --- p.17
Specific Corporate Quality Improvement Programs --- p.20
Core Value Success Scheme --- p.21
Dilemma Faced by the Hospital Authority --- p.23
Chapter III. --- QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN PRINCESS MARGARET HOSPITAL
Hospital Background --- p.24
Organisational Structure --- p.24
Quality Management System --- p.25
Leadership --- p.26
Information and Analysis --- p.27
Strategic Planning --- p.29
Human Resource Development and Management --- p.31
Process Management --- p.32
Organisation Performance Results --- p.34
Patient Satisfaction --- p.35
Chapter IV --- QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN SHATIN HOSPITAL
Hospital Background --- p.36
Quality Management System --- p.36
Leadership --- p.39
Information and Analysis --- p.39
Strategic Planning --- p.40
Human Resource Development and Management --- p.40
Process Management --- p.41
Organisation Performance Results --- p.42
Patient Satisfaction --- p.43
Chapter V. --- CRITIQUE AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Princess Margaret Hospital versus Shatin Hospital --- p.44
The Hong Kong Hospital Authority --- p.46
Corporate Strategy --- p.46
Measurement of Quality --- p.47
Staff Motivation --- p.48
Total Quality Management and Cost Containment --- p.49
APPENDIX --- p.50
BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.55

The research question addressed in this research concerned the extent to which internally developed quality assurance processes are effective in the promotion and enhancement of quality in education and training programmes in business with special reference to adult literacy. The aim of the research was to explore the presence of and the need for a possible implementation of effective quality assurance processes in education and training in business. It also aimed at seeking for answers to the following questions: -- Do education and training programmes in business have effective quality assurance processes in place for the promotion and enhancement of quality? -- Do education and training programmes in business embrace best practice principles for continuous quality improvement? A literature review, interviews and questionnaires were the instruments employed for the collection of data. Through these research instruments, better insight into the concepts of ‘quality’ and ‘quality assurance’ was obtained. From the literature review, it emerged that the implementation of best practice principles borrowed from industry in education and training programmes can play a crucial role in continuous improvement. In contrast, it emerged from the empirical investigation results that no effective quality assurance processes are applied in education and training in business in South Africa. Business appeared not to be taking a holistic approach to quality assurance and management was found to be ignoring important aspects, such as human resources development, partnership and/or similar issues that need attention if quality is to be holistically promoted and enhanced. In conclusion, a few recommendations that could contribute to quality promotion and enhancement in education and training were made. These were the implementation of a market-related remuneration strategy or competency-based pay, a retention strategy, a quality assurance training programme, Total Quality Management, a Balanced Scorecard, recognition and incentive scheme, a performance appraisal system and the involvement of line managers and union representatives in the management of education and training programmes in business.
Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2007.
Education Management and Policy Studies
unrestricted

碩士
國立宜蘭大學
多媒體網路通訊數位學習碩士在職專班
102
How to ensure business continuity is an important issue for each organization's core information system. Once the core information system suffered a serious disaster, it leads to difficulties in the business operations of the organization. In an attempt to ensure that the organization's core information systems would continue operating in the face of disaster, organizations are always required to enhance software and hardware to build a high-availability system which is considered effective to prevent the loss of critical data caused by single point of failure. However, the corresponding software and hardware investment to create a high-availability system is considerable. Cloud Computing is the most popular issue in the technology industry and has been widely researched and applied in recent years due to its characteristics including high computing ability, high fault tolerance, high load and high scalability. Through these characteristics of cloud computing, limited hardware resources can be fully utilized thereby creating high-availability information system. In this paper, it aims to establish waste electric appliance recycling information system which is based on Apache open-source Hadoop and HBase cluster distributed cloud computing architecture technology, combined with Apache open-source Tomcat web server. In this study, it is conducted to examine whether the operation of the system remains persistent by installing the virtual machine software and simulating a single point of failure occurred in our Hadoop distributed computing clusters environment. The data processing performance tests confirm that up to 100,000 records can be processed before a single point of failure occurs. The experimental study of this thesis proves that organizations can take advantage of low-cost equipment to run the cluster system that ensures the system would still continue providing services when a single point of failure occurs.

In a rapidly changing and competitive world organisations need to develop and improve their performance continuously to ensure a competitive advantage. Organisations need to determine their current status of performance constantly and identify organisational strengths and areas where improvements can be made. Periodic organisational self-assessments are therefore required to measure current management and operations policies, practices and procedures, in order to enhance overall business performance rather than solely concentrating on the quality of products or services. Traditionally, external inspections were more commonly used by educational and training institutions for the evaluation of institution and learner performance. These institutions are today taking part in a growing drive for internal self-evaluation, arising from the desire of institutions and Education, Training and Development (ETD) practitioners to assess their own performances. Self-assessment as part of an endeavour to sustain continuous improvement is therefore also appropriate for ETD providers in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). A new defence dispensation and a changing ETD environment in South Africa have created new demands on ETD providers in the SANDF. Although training units within the SANDF may function in a unique military context, national legislation relevant to ETD and the latest approach of openness and transparency into matters of the Department imply that military as well as non-military ETD in the SANDF is to be closely aligned with national training and development initiatives. As legislation does not make a distinction between military and private ETD providers in South Africa, most traditionally assumed differences are no longer relevant. A case study explored the appropriateness of conducting organisational self-assessment as component of a Continuous Performance Improvement Strategy and Quality Assurance within the SANDF. The study also investigated the usefulness of a Total Quality Management approach to quality assurance in the ETD environment and the impact of the frameworks used, available assessment instruments and the selected assessment methods on the significance of organisational self-assessment by ETD providers. This study's investigation of the appropriateness and significance of regular organisational self-assessments by training units in the SANDF thus has broader implications, as recommendations are also applicable to other ETD providers.
Educational Studies
D. Ed. (Education Management)

Programa doutoral em Informática
The current highly regulated business environment has imposed organisations to increase their effort to monitor and manage their control mechanisms. This awareness has been propelled by the increasing emergence of new regulatory requirements on continuous monitoring and continuous auditing of organisational transactions. Furthermore, the successive well-known scandals in organisations, which have resulted in a very negative impact on their operational performance and also on their corporate image, have shown that the traditional audit process is not sufficient to meet the organisations’ needs. Thus, organisations have been looking for solutions to improve and strengthen their risk control structures so as to provide greater security in the effectiveness of risk management of their activities, namely on controlling, monitoring and auditing of organisational transactions. Then, the concept of Continuous Assurance has emerged because it is the set of services which, making use of technology, uses the information immediately from organisational transactions and produces audit results simultaneously or within a short period of time after the occurrence of relevant events. Hence, this thesis focuses on the implementation of continuous assurance services in information systems in order to determine the degree of reliability with which transactions are carried out, mitigating the organisational risk. Therefore, this thesis aims to contribute to a new vision of organisational auditing focused on assurance services in transactions executed and supported exclusively in a digital format according to an ontological model of organisational transactions. The motivation and objective of this thesis led to some research challenges: Validate a set of characteristics that any information system with continuous assurance services must provide. The literature on this topic is not very explicit upon the metrics which should be taken into consideration during the evaluation of this type of information systems. Thus, the Delphi method was used to validate a set of essential and very important characteristics for information systems with continuous assurance. In addition, this work contributes with a model comprising dimensions and metrics, which allows it to be used as a tool or as a set of guidelines to evaluate information systems with embedded control. Ensure the feasibility of development and the effective use of an information system with full continuous assurance services, having as support an ontological model, and which is considerably flexible and adaptable in order to be applicable to any organisational transactions. Following the Design Science methodology, a proposal of a solution is presented. This proposal includes requirements, a modular architecture and the development of a prototype. All these steps were supported by an ontological model of organisational transactions so that they could be represented in a very detailed, objective and comprehensive way. Furthermore, the solution was implemented in a simulated organisational environment and its results allow to conclude that the presented architecture is an effective solution since it provides continuous assurance to any organisational transactions, having as support an ontological model. Moreover, this work demonstrates that a repository which allows the instantiation of execution patters (risk profiles) for each organisational transaction is an important element in information systems with continuous assurance services, as a source of references to support continuous monitoring, auditing and controlling of the risk associated with the execution of organisational transactions.
O atual contexto organizacional e de negócios está altamente regulado e tem imposto às organizações o aumento dos seus esforços para monitorizar e gerir os seus mecanismos de controlo. A consciência sobre esta realidade tem sido impulsionada pelo crescente aparecimento de novas exigências regulamentares sobre a monitorização e auditoria contínua das transações organizacionais. Além disso, os sucessivos escândalos de algumas organizações, que tão bem são conhecidos, e que resultaram num impacto muito negativo sobre seu desempenho operacional e, também, na sua imagem corporativa, têm demonstrado que o processo de auditoria tradicional não é suficiente para atender às atuais necessidades das organizações. Assim, as organizações têm procurado soluções para melhorar e reforçar as suas estruturas de controlo de risco, de modo a proporcionar maior segurança na eficácia da gestão de risco das suas atividades, ou seja, no controlo, monitorização e auditoria das transações organizacionais. Então, o conceito de Continuous Assurance tem vindo a emergir porque refere-se ao conjunto de serviços que, fazendo uso da tecnologia, utiliza imediatamente a informação proveniente de transações organizacionais e produz resultados da auditoria, simultaneamente, ou, dentro de um curto período de tempo após a ocorrência de eventos relevantes. Deste modo, esta tese centra-se na implementação de serviços de Continuous Assurace em sistemas de informação, a fim de determinar o grau de confiabilidade com que as transações são executadas, mitigando, assim, o risco organizacional. Portanto, esta tese pretende contribuir para uma nova visão de auditoria organizacional focada em serviços de Continuous Assurance em transações realizadas exclusivamente em formato digital, e em concordância com um modelo ontológico de transações organizacionais. A motivação e objetivo desta tese levantou alguns desafios de investigação: A validação de um conjunto de caraterísticas que qualquer sistema de informação com serviços de Continuous Assurance deve fornecer. A literatura sobre o tema não é muito explícita sobre as métricas que devem ser consideradas na avaliação deste tipo de sistemas de informação. Assim, o método Delphi foi utilizado para validar um conjunto de caraterísticas essenciais, e muito importantes, para sistemas de informação com serviços de Continuous Assurance. Além disso, este trabalho contribui com um modelo que inclui dimensões, requisitos e métricas, o que lhe permite ser utilizado como uma ferramenta ou como um conjunto de linhas de orientação para avaliar sistemas de informação com controlo embebido. A verificação da viabilidade de desenvolvimento e uso eficaz de um sistema de informação com serviços completos de Continuous Assurance, tendo como suporte um modelo ontológico, pretendendo ser um sistema bastante flexível e adaptável, a fim de ser aplicável a quaisquer transações organizacionais. Para tal, é apresentada uma proposta de solução seguindo a metodologia Design Science. Esta proposta inclui a apresentação de requisitos, de uma arquitetura modular, e do desenvolvimento de um protótipo. Todos estes passos foram apoiados por um modelo ontológico de transações organizacionais, para que estas possam ser representadas de forma detalhada, objetiva e abrangente. Além disso, a solução foi implementada num ambiente organizacional simulado e os seus resultados permitem concluir que a arquitetura apresentada é uma solução eficaz , uma vez que fornece serviços de Continuous Assurance às transações organizacionais. Além disso, este trabalho demonstra que um repositório que permita a instanciação de padrões de execução (perfis de risco) para cada transação organizacional, é um elemento importante em sistemas de informação com serviços de Continuous Assurance e visto como uma fonte de referências para apoiar a monitorização e auditoria contínua, e o controlo do risco associado à execução das transações organizacionais.

This research sought to investigate how appropriate the Continuous Assessment (CASS) and Common Task for Assessment (CTA) are as assessment models for the General Education and Training Certificate (GETC) with specialization in Economic and Management Science. It examined the appropriateness of quality assurance mechanisms that were used in CASS and CTA at Grade 9 level, with specific reference to Economic and Management Science. The research question further examined how valid the CASS tasks are and how reliable the CASS and CTA marks are at Grade 9 level, with reference to EMS? The qualitative research approach was used within a case study research design. Thus purposeful sampling was used to select the five participants of this study, namely; two EMS educators, two EMS departmental heads and the District facilitator for EMS. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, document analysis and observations, and triangulated to support the conclusions and to make the findings more reliable. The results indicated that teachers lacked the skills to construct tasks of high quality, assessment plans, and assessment tools. As a result, they resorted the use of tests as a dominant form of assessment. The study further revealed that moderation of Grade 9 School-Based Assessment occurred at various levels of the education system, namely at school, cluster and provincial level. The study showed that there was a corroboration of concepts used in the conceptual framework based on the open system theory, as teachers’ qualifications contributed to the effective development and implementation of the learning programmes in Economic and Management Science. However, the procedures used in conducting moderation were not regarded in a favourable light. The difficulty of CTA was attributed to the non-coverage of all assessment standards during the implementation of CASS. Copyright
Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010.
Curriculum Studies
unrestricted

Abstract in English, Afrikaans and Sesotho
This work explores the continuous professional teacher development point system policy and the implications it has on the professional development of teachers. A qualitative study was undertaken in two secondary schools on the West Rand in Gauteng. Data was collected through document analysis, observations and semi-structured interviews. Results indicated that there is a mismatch between what is outlined in the policy and what the teachers are practising. It became evident that the majority of teachers in this study had limited knowledge of the policy although implementation of the policy began in 2014. It was concluded that the point system policy is not contributing effectively to the professional development of teachers in Gauteng.
Hierdie werk ondersoek die deurlopende professionele onderwyser-ontwikkelingspuntstelselbeleid en die implikasies daarvan op die professionele ontwikkeling van onderwysers. 'n Kwalitatiewe studie is onderneem in twee sekondêre skole aan die Wes-Rand in Gauteng. Data is ingesamel deur middel van dokument analise, waarnemings en semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude. Resultate het aangedui dat daar 'n wanverhouding bestaan tussen wat in die beleid uiteengesit word en wat die onderwysers praktiseer. Dit het duidelik geword dat die meerderheid onderwysers in hierdie studie beperkte kennis van die beleid gehad het, hoewel die implementering van die beleid in 2014 begin het. Daar is bevind dat die puntestelselbeleid nie effektief bydra tot die professionele ontwikkeling van onderwysers in Gauteng nie.
Mosebetsi ona o hlahloba ts'ebetso ea litsebi tsa ntswetsopele ea litsebi le liphehello tsa eona ho ntlafatso ea litsebi tsa matichere. Thuto e ntle e ile ea etsoa likolong tse peli tsa sekondari ho West Rand Gauteng. Lintlha li ile tsa bokelloa ka ho hlahloba litokomane, litlhaloso le lipuisano tse sa tšoaneng. Lipatlisiso li bontšitse hore ho na le phapang pakeng tsa se boletsoeng polelong le seo matichere a se etsang. Ho ile ha totobala hore matichere a mangata thutong ena a na le tsebo e fokolang ea leano le hoja ts'ebetsong ea pholisi e qalile ka 2014. Ho ile ha fihleloa qeto ea hore leano la tsamaiso ea motheo ha le tlatse ka katleho ho ntlafatso ea litsebi tsa matichere Gauteng.
Educational Management and Leadership
M. Ed. (Educational Leadership and Management)