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Increasing ICT availability and adoption is at the core of public policies to tackle rural depopulation. Taking as a reference the Digital Divide theory and the UTAUT model, the article shows how municipal size is associated with different technological profiles among rural citizens differing in terms of access and, above all, ICT quality, usage levels and perceived usefulness. On the other hand, the article analyses citizens’ perception of the management of rural policies based on the results of a survey of inhabitants of depopulated inland Spain. It uses cluster analysis around the variables of municipal size and opinion of citizens about ICT in recent years. The results reflect a generalized perception of non-compliance with the policies, although a certain conformism is detected in small municipalities. The central government is the one chosen to lead these policies followed by the regional governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using as a starting point the close relationship between the concepts of governance, control and public auditing, this article puts forward the idea of introducing a set of roles and measures in the exercise of external performance auditing, one which would raise the efficiency of audit control in the field of governance. Specifically, it posits a hypothesis regarding how these proposals make a contribution to two essential aspects of local public life: citizens' participation and the fight against fraud. The work takes Spain as the scene and analyzes its deficiencies and opportunities from a reformist viewpoint. The empirical analysis takes into account the opinions of the main interest groups in local government: internal and external auditors, local politicians, public managers and members of the public represented by local participatory committees. In this way the writers aim to make a contribution to the slim amount of empirical literature existing in this field and suggest ways to make improvements in the professional field of auditing and its national configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to verify how the management measures applied to the social services have contributed to "value for money" improvement in the UK. This term can be understood as a combination of variables such as quality, a rational use of resources and convenience in the provision of services. Nottinghamshire County Council is one of the local public entities that has implemented policies focused on generating "value for money" in the field of the social services. It is worth highlighting the design of prevention plans, the implementation of the personal budgets system, outsourcing arrangements, cooperation between the Social Services and the National Health Service and citizen participation in public decisions. To this end, the authors conducted a qualitative analysis of the results from a set of interviews with municipal management officers of that county, carried out in 2011. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the shortcomings affecting social services in Spain and highlights how the control function contributes to transparency and efficiency, with the consequent improvement of citizens’ confidence. The results from a survey are presented, reflecting the opinions of the statutory auditors in Spain as to these matters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Simple Summary: Spain is the fifth largest beef cattle producer in the European Union. Animal tuberculosis (TB) is one of the primary limitations of beef cattle farming in the affected countries. The closed herd policy is an effective tool against animal TB, being based on rearing the calves born on the farm for replacement. When the disease appears on a farm, a series of decisions must be taken that will cause substantial losses for three main reasons: First, the final balance generated by the slaughter of infected animals; second, the lower sales revenue derived from the replacement of the slaughtered cattle; and third, the costs incurred from immobilizing the rest of the animals in the herd. Quantifying the impact of TB is determined by the loss of profit, with the consequences being different in relative terms depending on each farm, where those with larger numbers of head of cattle are more resilient to a given number of positive cases. It also contributes to the debate about the optimal balance of cost sharing between the government and farmers. Pasture-based livestock farming generates income in regions with limited resources and is key to biodiversity conservation. However, costs derived from fighting disease can make the difference between profit and loss, eventually compromising farm survival. Animal TB (TB), a chronic infection of cattle and other domestic and wild hosts, is one of the primary limitations of beef cattle farming in some parts of Europe. When an animal tests positive for TB, a loss of profit is caused in the farm, which is due mainly to the animal's slaughter, replacement of the slaughtered animal and the need to immobilize the rest of the herd. We estimated the economic impact in terms of loss of profit as a result of incremental costs and forgone incomes. We show that farms with a larger number of heads are more capable of dealing with the loss of profit caused by the disease. The quantification of the loss of profit contributes to the ongoing debate on the co-sharing of TB costs between government and farmers. The compensation farmers receive from the public administration to mitigate the economic effects of the disease control interventions is only intended to balance the loss due to slaughter of the infected cattle, being the loss of profit a more global concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]