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This chapter describes the audit of local government in Italy. In Italy, as elsewhere, local audit has been affected by the implementation of new public management based reforms. There is an increasing trend towards collaboration and cooperation between the audited authority and the auditor. Audit has begun, as in other jurisdictions to widen its remit, so that it focusses on performance as much as financial and compliance issues. This change in role brings with it opportunities for the auditor to help public sector improvement but also challenges – as new skills are required for the new roles that the auditor takes on and audit independence is complicated by the cooperative nature of modern local government audit.

English local government audit has gone through fundamental change in the last decade and this period of instability looks certain to continue. Since 2014, councils have been audited by private sector auditors appointed theoretically by the councils themselves (though an overwhelming majority of councils have delegated this responsibility). The scope of audit after 2014 reduced to focus mainly on top-down financial management, rather than value for money or inspection. After growing concerns about the scope and quality of audit however, in 2020, the government commissioned Sir Tony Redmond to review local audit arrangements in England. The Redmond review identified several problems with the reformed structure and made recommendations for change. Currently, the sector is uncertain about what changes will be adopted to solve the issues discovered by Redmond.

In this chapter, we consider the interaction between local workers and migrants in the production process of a firm. Both local workers and migrants can invest effort in assimilation activities to increase the assimilation of the migrants into the firm and so increase their interaction and production activities. We consider the effect the relative size (in the firm) of each group and the cost of activities has on the assimilation process of the migrants.

Only a small number of studies have analysed the sustainability of the socio-cultural impacts of volunteer tourism (VT). Existing research tends to focus on volunteers, the host communities and organisations, while the interconnectedness between theories (of capitals) and concepts (i.e. empowerment and sustainability) have received minimal attention. Sustainability is considered both an effect of empowerment and a means for achieving it. Drawing on the perspectives and theoretical concepts related to multiple forms of capital, this paper aims to take an interpretive stance to examine socio-cultural impacts.

This research draws on 37 semi-structured interviews conducted with stakeholders on the perceived socio-cultural impacts of VT on two farm communities in Vietnam. A qualitative thematic coding analysis was used to identify themes that explain the perceptions of the stakeholders within the host communities.

The findings of this study were divided into the nine themes of educational effects, job opportunities, cultural exchanges, relationships, health, awareness of environmental conservation, physical changes, promoting local products and tourism and community resource development. The research provides additional insights into the interconnectedness between different types of capital, empowerment and sustainability of socio-cultural impacts.

VT organisations should provide more opportunities for local residents to become involved in decision-making regarding volunteer activities and to share their voices and concerns about how the VT programmes are set up. The government could provide support services or training and skills to locals after the volunteers leave, which would be significant in developing and maintaining the sustainability of impacts on host communities.

This research creates a model for connecting capital to sustainability and empowerment to study the socio-cultural impacts of VT.

只有少数研究分析了志愿旅游（VT）社会文化影响的可持续性。现有的研究往往集中在志工、所在社区和组织上, 而理论（资本）和概念（即赋权、永续性）之间的相互联系很少受到关注。永续发展既被认为是赋权的效益, 也是实现赋权的一种手段。研究借鉴与多种资本形式相关的观点和理论概念, 并采取说明式立场来检视社会文化影响。

本研究借鉴了与利害关系人进行的 37份半结构化访谈, 了解 VT 对越南两个农场社区的社会文化影响。使用定性主题编码分析来确定能够解释主办社区内利害关系人看法的主题.

结果分为教育效果、就业机会、文化交流、人际关系、健康、环境保护意识、身体变化、推广当地产品和旅游业以及社区资源开发九个主题。该研究为不同类型的资本、赋权和社会文化影响的可持续性之间的相互联系提供了更多见解。

旅游志工组织应为当地居民提供更多机会参与志工活动的决策, 并分享他们对VT计画如何设立的意见与担忧。政府可以在志工离开后向当地人提供支持服务或培训和技能, 这对于发展和维持对东道社区影响的可持续性具有重要意义。

这项研究创建了一个将首都与永续发展和赋权联系起来的模型, 以研究 VT 的社会文化影响。

Sólo un pequeño número de estudios han analizado la sostenibilidad de los impactos socioculturales del turismo de voluntariado (VT). Las investigaciones existentes tienden a centrarse en los voluntarios, las comunidades de acogida y las organizaciones, mientras que la interconexión entre las teorías (de los capitales) y los conceptos (es decir, empoderamiento, sostenibilidad) han recibido una atención mínima. La sostenibilidad se considera tanto un efecto del empoderamiento como un medio para lograrlo. Basándose en las perspectivas y conceptos teóricos relacionados con múltiples formas de capital, la investigación adopta una postura interpretativa para examinar los impactos socioculturales.

Esta investigación se basa en 37 entrevistas semiestructuradas realizadas con partes interesadas sobre los impactos socioculturales percibidos de VT en dos comunidades agrícolas en Vietnam. Se utilizó un análisis de codificación temática cualitativa para identificar temas que explican las percepciones de las partes interesadas dentro de las comunidades anfitrionas.

Los hallazgos de este estudio se dividieron en nueve temas de efectos educativos, oportunidades laborales, intercambios culturales, relaciones, salud, conciencia de la conservación ambiental, cambios físicos, promoción de productos locales y turismo, y desarrollo de recursos comunitarios. La investigación proporciona información adicional sobre la interconexión entre diferentes tipos de capital, el empoderamiento y la sostenibilidad de los impactos socioculturales.

Las organizaciones de turismo de voluntariado deberían brindar más oportunidades para que los residentes locales se involucren en la toma de decisiones relativas a las actividades de voluntariado y compartan sus voces e inquietudes sobre cómo se establecen los programas de VT. El gobierno podría brindar servicios de apoyo o capacitación y habilidades a los locales después de que los voluntarios se vayan, lo que sería importante para desarrollar y mantener la sostenibilidad de los impactos en las comunidades anfitrionas.

Esta investigación crea un modelo para conectar las capitales con la sostenibilidad y el empoderamiento con el fin de estudiar los impactos socioculturales de VT.

The purpose of the study is to determine the local antecedents of subsidiary participation in global services and, subsequently, the impact on local performance.

The study is based on a survey with the local subsidiaries of 14 manufacturers engaged in global services as part of their servitisation strategy.

Findings show support for considering the local ability for global services as an antecedent for local subsidiary participation in global services and the local service performance as an outcome. In addition, the results reject our hypotheses related to the specific roles of local opportunity and motivation for global services.

This study provides novel insights on the global service operations of manufacturers by highlighting the perspective of subsidiaries engaged in the local service delivery and development of global services. This perspective sets the conditions of the global-local collaboration in the context of global service strategy with local service delivery.

The paper explores how local authorities, particularly under the Open Government Partnership (OGP), respond to e-governance challenges in Georgia.

A weighted scoring system is adopted to assess e-governance in six OGP local authorities (Akhaltsikhe, Khoni, Kutaisi, Ozurgeti, Rustavi, and Tbilisi) in four areas, including access to information, digital service delivery, data management, and citizen engagement. Moreover, website analysis with a focus on transparency and citizen engagement supplements the evaluation.

The findings illustrate that the six local authorities have made certain accomplishments in e-governance and taken steps towards open government; however, these efforts lack coordination and systematic planning. Tbilisi embraces open governance principles with comprehensive action plans, strong transparency commitment, and engaging digital platforms. Kutaisi demonstrates notable progress with user-friendly digital platforms and a streamlined open data portal, emphasizing transparency. Rustavi shows significant development in digital service delivery and citizen engagement and a reputation as a transparent local government. Akhaltsikhe faces challenges in electronic service delivery and citizen engagement. Ozurgeti also encounters obstacles in information disclosure and electronic service delivery, while Khoni lags in information accessibility and citizen engagement.

This research is novel in studying the level of e-government among OGP local members in Georgia by a scoring system. The analysis will empower the government to proactively modify and adjust the situation on a regional scale, aligning with the challenges inherent in the country’s unique experiences.