Contesting Claims on Measuring Performance in the Public Sector Using Performance Audits: Evidence from the Literature

Based on desk study, this article adduces theoretical and empirical evidence to analyze the claims of advocates and critics of performance audit (PA). The paper establishes that the application of PA in some developed countries has led to improvement in aspects of public sector performance albeit sometimes short of the often highlighted effects of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. The article further provides evidence to support the claim that despite its touted contribution to performance, PA could rather lead to anti-innovation, nit-picking, expectations gap, lapdog, headline hunting, unnecessary systems and hollow ritual. The paper questions the quality of reported PA systems in the literature and advocates a PA regime that strikes a delicate balance between compliance and performance.     

A Genuine Rank‐Dependent Generalization of the Von Neumann‐Morgenstern Expected Utility Theorem

This paper uses “revealed probability trade‐offs” to provide a natural foundation for probability weighting in the famous von Neumann and Morgenstern axiomatic set‐up for expected utility. In particular, it shows that a rank‐dependent preference functional is obtained in this set‐up when the independence axiom is weakened to stochastic dominance and a probability trade‐off consistency condition. In contrast with the existing axiomatizations of rank‐dependent utility, the resulting axioms allow for complete flexibility regarding the outcome space. Consequently, a parameter‐free test/elicitation of rank‐dependent utility becomes possible. The probability‐oriented approach of this paper also provides theoretical foundations for probabilistic attitudes towards risk. It is shown that the preference conditions that characterize the shape of the probability weighting function can be derived from simple probability trade‐off conditions.     

Does Dividing the Range by Four Provide an Accurate Estimate of a Standard Deviation in Family Science Research? A Teaching Editorial

Occasionally, scientific reports have omitted information on standard deviations, making estimates of effect sizes very difficult to impossible. In such situations, several scholars have recommended obtaining an estimate of the standard deviation of distributions by dividing the range of the distribution (highest value minus lowest value) by four. However, there appears to be little evidence to confirm the validity of this approach. Articles from 2012 to 2015 in the journal Marriage & Family Review were surveyed to find instances where demographic variables (age, education, duration of relationship, number of children) were reported with both standard deviations and ranges. Ratios between range and standard deviations were calculated by several rules of thumb or more complex formulas and compared with the actual ratios obtained. Results indicated that dividing by five in general provided a more accurate estimate of actual standard deviations but accuracy in predicting the true ratio between range and standard deviation was substantially related to the position of the mean score within the range of scores with larger divisors needed as the mean approached either the minimum or the maximum values of the demographic variable (skew). Other recent formulae for estimating the standard deviation were also evaluated, but the skew-based approach appeared to be more accurate than the others. However, further investigation in other samples is needed because the skew-based approach was derived from observation of the data here, which might not replicate in different sets of data.     

The Integration of Tradition and Modernity: A Search for an Urban and Architectural Identity in Arriyadh, The Capital of Saudi Arabia

About 40 years ago, traditional villages, towns and cities of the Arabian Peninsula started to lose their regional characteristics and embody modern forms and shapes. Since then, these characteristics have been subject to dilution due to social and cultural changes as well as institutionalized changes imposed by planning and architectural practices. This process creates debates and clashes between tradition and modernity. Projects carried out since 1975 are the least representative of the regional characteristics but do attempt to have urban and architectural identity. This paper argues that all the actors in “design formulation” (clients, architects, urban designers and planners) are trying to use historic elements in the creation of architectural identities. In fact they are making efforts to create urban and architectural identity to substitute regional characters. These attitudes flourished as a result of dynamic cultural, economic, political and ritualistic influences. This paper highlights the importance of urban and architectural identity in architectural and urban projects in Arriyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia because such projects create precedents for other Saudi villages, towns and cities. The study identifies the forces behind the initiation, transformation and evolution of the urban and architectural identity and attempts to supplement scholarship in the fields of architecture, urban design, and planning with regard to the role of identity as a tool for improving the spatial quality of the built environment. Architectural identity participates in setting up meaningful schemata which influences human behavior as a cultural process. The paper supports the concern for search for historic symbols which may influence the architectural identity and the quality of perceived environment during the design process of new or transformed physical environments. The paper views the traditional part of the city as an amalgamation of history and economic interests and its symbolic importance seems to be a perfect place for the emergence of different forms of engagement between tradition and modernity. The importance of the traditional part is unique while the importance of continuity of tradition is very likely complementary.     

The Impact of Government Interference to Religion on Religious Giving: Evidence from European Countries

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - While the impact of government interference to the religious domain has long been discussed in previous literature,...     

Internalizing and externalizing problems and parenting: Results from a Saudi Arabian sample

Relatively few studies have attempted to identify factors that contribute to variation in parental behavior. The literature has revealed associations between both internal and external factors in the variation in parenting behaviors. In addition, the vast majority of the existing literature has focused almost exclusively on Western cultures (e.g., the USA). The current study addresses these limitations by examining direct and indirect pathways involving both internal and external sources of influence on parenting behaviors in a sample of adults from Saudi Arabia (N = 196). The employed statistical models revealed robust and consistent direct associations between the examined internalizing sources of influence (self-control and psychopathy) and parenting behaviors. Subsequent models revealed some evidence of mediation stemming from external sources of influence (namely, aggression). However, the resulting indirect effects were inconsistent, indicating that other, unmeasured mechanisms ultimately connect the examined internalizing problems and parenting behaviors.     

Do financial professionals behave according to prospect theory? An experimental study

Prospect theory is increasingly used to explain deviations from the traditional paradigm of rational agents. Empirical support for prospect theory comes mainly from laboratory experiments using student samples. It is obviously important to know whether and to what extent this support generalizes to more naturally occurring circumstances. This article explores this question and measures prospect theory for a sample of private bankers and fund managers. We obtained clear support for prospect theory. Our financial professionals behaved according to prospect theory and violated expected utility maximization. They were risk averse for gains and risk seeking for losses and their utility was concave for gains and (slightly) convex for losses. They were also averse to losses, but less so than commonly observed in laboratory studies and assumed in behavioral finance. A substantial minority focused on gains and largely ignored losses, behavior reminiscent of what caused the current financial crisis.     

The architectural form and landscape as a harmonic entity in the vernacular settlements of Southwestern Saudi Arabia

The paper aims to describe the architectural form and landscape as a harmonic entity in vernacular settlements of southwestern Saudi Arabia. The qualities of vernacular settlements and their integration and responsiveness to the physical, social, economic and cultural environment are demonstrated in this study. The socio-economic activities and customs in southwestern Saudi Arabia are presented as part of the historical process. The paper looks at the major elements of the vernacular villages and landscape as cultural-specific images. While appreciating this, the author laments the way this harmony has been disrupted not least aesthetically as a consequence of modernism which had an impetus on changing life style and social expectation. The cultural-specific images involve direct relationships between the architectural and urban forms as systems and events that are taking place in or around that form. One thesis is that each element of the vernacular village and landscape is linked to an image that shapes and influences human behavior and appreciation, thereby helping to shape larger environmental patterns. Beyond the meaning that specific elements inherit, they have functional and economic values. As a result, their visual qualities are believed to be effective in enhancing behavior through their visual attributes. One of the most important conclusions is that, there are many features of modern village extensions and landscape elements that enhance the interaction with the physical environment that ordinary citizens value, and there are elements of the vernacular villages and landscape that people regret to lose, such as ‘qasabahs', weekly markets, cultivation of terraces, etc. This is inspite of today's, modern planning and design techniques that are being sought to produce new architectural forms and landscape elements. Any attempt to substitute vernacular forms without taking into account the values that the older forms held is considered a failure of adopted modernist attitudes.     

The Effect of Microcredit on Women Empowerment in Welfare and Decisions Making in Malaysia

Microcredit is perceived as an effective tool to empower women, especially those who are deprived of accessing financial services. However, the literature has arrived with contradictory evidence and demonstrates that the effect of microcredit may partially or not empower women. This study intends to examine whether the access to Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) affects several aspects of empowerment in urban Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was distributed to 474 old and new clients to examine the effect of microcredit on women empowerment in decision-making process and resource controlling. Based on the propensity score matching, our result shows that the access to AIM microcredit affects positively women’s monthly income. In addition, microcredit empowers women borrowers in a set of household decisions making including mobility, daily expenditure, children school, health expenditure and loan order decision.     

Poverty Lines Based on Fuzzy Sets Theory and its Application to Malaysian Data

Defining the poverty line has been acknowledged as being highly variable by the majority of published literature. Despite long discussions and successes, poverty line has a number of problems due to its arbitrary nature. This paper proposes three measurements of poverty lines using membership functions based on fuzzy set theory. The three membership functions, namely exponential, trapezoidal and quadratic sigmoid together with their calculation steps are discussed. Average monthly household incomes of Malaysians are used to illustrate the proposed poverty line. Three new sets of poverty lines were derived for 3 years as numerical application to the proposed membership functions. The numerical results show the flexibility of poverty lines resulted from the composition of the proposed functions. It suggests that the official poverty line for Malaysians is too low thus creating an underestimation of the extent of poverty in Malaysia.