Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2006. Graduate Programme in Social and Political Thought. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 310-358). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:NR19767

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Western Michigan University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 164-178).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Northwestern University, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-139).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Canterbury, 2004. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 191-222). Also available via the World Wide Web

The purpose of this thesis is to carry out an empirical investigation into whether membership of monetary union matter in the determination of bank net interest margin. Bank net interest margin is the difference in bank borrowing and lending rates relative to the total interest-earning assets. We operationalise this study by comparing panels of commercial banks within and outside economic and monetary unions in Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. For our European analysis we use bank-level data from nine Euro Area countries and seven non-Euro Area economies, in a dynamic empirical model, employing Arellano and Bover (1995)/Blundell and Bond (1998) system GMM estimation method. We find that stronger competition and efficiency, as well as greater macroeconomic stability in the Euro Area reduce bank net interest margins more than in the non-Euro Area. We attribute this to the well-developed single market with a strong socio-economic cohesion underpinning rather than the economic and monetary union. We extend the same level of analysis to the Sub-Saharan Africa, where we contrast our findings in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) with those of twenty non-monetary union Sub-Saharan African economies. Our findings in the Sub-Saharan African context reveal a rather different scenario. While the WAEMU enjoys relatively lower net interest margins than its non-monetary union counterparts, this is attributable to the union’s ability to pursue vigorously its primary objective of maintaining price stability by maintaining lower interest rates. Unlike in the Euro Area we do not observe a reducing impact of bank competition and efficiency on bank net interest margin in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) as we do in the non-monetary union Sub-Saharan Africa. We find these results for the Sub-Saharan African analysis puzzling, and attribute it to the absence of a well-developed single/common market which is supposed to drive competition and efficiency with the effect of reducing net interest margins, as it obtains in the Euro Area. Our conclusion is that it is rather the presence of a well-developed single market that engenders competition and efficiency effects to reduce bank net interest margins rather than membership of a monetary union per se.

'The soils resource in the Tofino area of Vancouver Island is considered for land-use planning and management purposes. This was done by completing a series of four studies. The first study describes the study area by looking at those components which were considered to have a major impact on the function of the soils in the landscape. This included geology (bedrock and surficial), soil morphology, depth to water table, vegetation, climate and water quality. The soils exhibit a range of soil development from very little to strongly expressed genetic characteristics including cemented horizons. The presence of many lithologic discontinuities confirms a complex mode of material deposition in the area. The second study is concerned with the physical, chemical and mineralogical properties of the soils. Soil genesis is also discussed. The analyses show a wide range of textures in the soils and varifies the presence of lithologic discontinuities. Pedo-genic processes have changed the structure in some soils by aggregating the Fe and Al oxides into larger sized particles. The soils are low in natural fertility with nutrient cycling occurring primarily in the organic horizons or above restricting layers in the mineral horizons if these are near the surface. Vermiculite is the dominant clay mineral in the surface mineral horizons indicating a weathering environment of moderate intensity. The third study discusses the characteristics and genesis of some placic horizons (thin pans) which have developed in some soils in sand deposits. These horizons exhibit considerable variation in morphology and chemical composition. The primary cementing materials are organic matter (mainly fulvic acid), and Pe which is present as either inorganic amorphous or organically complexed Fe. The morphological characteristics and stability of the placic horizons are dependent upon the amount of OM present and the form in which the Fe occurs. The genesis of these pans is initiated at lithologic discontinuities under differential redox conditions. Diffusion is active in material transport with the pan acting as a template upon which the material is precipitated. The fourth study is an assessment of-the soils for land-use planning and management purposes. Emphasis is given to the identification of processes which control the function of the soils both internally and externally. The soils are grouped into three categories characteristic of the dominant control. The categories are; landscape components, inherent characteristics and genetic features. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

Many North Americans have been moving to exurbia --low density, rural housing within the commuting range of urban areas. It has been assumed that employment is a major link. of exurban households with urban areas. It has been assumed that employment is a major link. of exurban households with urban areas. This analysis of exurban commuting patterns is based on a mail survey of 1408 households who bought homes in 1987 near Portland, Oregon. The bid-rent model of urban form predicts that exurbanites will trade-off long commutes for lower housing prices. But previous research suggests that exurban living may not require long commutes because of decentralized employment. The study finds that exurban commuters travel farther than suburban commuters and pay less for housing. Exurban home buyers do not, however, have longer commutes the farther out they live. Instead those with urban jobs generally locate closer to the city center than those with decentralized jobs. The commuting times of exurban principal wage earners are also influenced by occupation, flextime use, and by the presence and employment status of other adults in the household. The commuting times of exurban secondary wage earners are influenced by the number of hours they work, their mode of travel, and the number of children they have. Although most exurban home buyers moved to obtain a bigger lot and a more rural environment, there were many differences among households. Four types of exurban households were identified with cluster analysis. Only the Child-Raising households take full advantage of decentralized jobs to live in rural areas without longer commutes than suburbanites. In contrast, Long-Distance Commuters travel nearly twice the average time because they usually hold urban jobs and want large, but inexpensive, lots. Affluents also hold many urban jobs but can afford larger lots closer-in than others. The Economy-Minded commute average distances to obtain cheaper housing on smaller lots. This study improves understanding of the exurban development process. The study also finds that the bid-rent model of urban form is a useful theory for understanding exurban development despite the decentralization of employment and the predominance of two wage earner households.

This study analyzes the participation of foreign donors in long-term education reform in the small countries of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Central to this reform is the development of suitable and sustainable policy and decision-making structures, a relatively new activity for the sub-region's planners and educators. This research seeks to investigate how Canada's input into strengthening and supporting these key policy and decision-making structures of the education reform project may affect the sub-region's expectations for a more indigenous and relevant education system. / The background for these issues arose out of my familiarity with the challenges facing OECS Ministries of Education in reconciling their own needs in education with the interests of the donor community. In addition, in colonial times, Britain had considerable influence on every aspect of education in the Caribbean, and, in the post-colonial period, Canada had long-term involvement in human-resource development in the sub-region. This raises questions of the viability of reform of the OECS education system to reflect its own development priority needs, culture and values, when a foreign force is significantly involved in funding the development of the key policy and decision-making structures. How dependent are the OECS countries on Canadian assistance to implement their education reform agenda? The dynamics between aid and sovereignty are also of critical importance, given the Eastern Caribbean's history of colonialism and dependency. These issues have frequently been debated in the context of international assistance in the OECS but, to date, there has not been much in-depth qualitative research on such topics, from the academic community. / Drawing on dependency theory, and on qualitative research techniques, this thesis critically examines the historical, social, and international development factors of significance in such an inquiry. The study also makes recommendations for future relationships between the donor community and the OECS in the education sector.

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a predictive understanding of the vegetation dynamics of the Lowveld of South Africa (30°35'E to 30°40'E and 24°00'S to 25°00'S). The study covered about 5000 km2 in Adjacent Private Protected Areas (APPA) adjoining the Kruger National Park (KNP). Data gathering (800 sites; 23 properties) commenced in 1989 and those recorded up to 2004 are reported here. The value, both ecological and economic, of the wildlife and tourism industry dependent on this savanna region is discussed in both historical and current perspectives. A range of land-use objectives and anthropogenic interventions were exposed. The properties ranged in size from 30 to 800 km2 and formed an effective and extensive manipulative experiment for investigating interaction of bush density, animal stocking, use of fire and landscape-scale processes. The first descriptive classification (at 1:250 000) of the area was developed using Inverse Distance Weighted interpolations. This confirms similar landscape/vegetation patterns in the KNP and Mocambique. The current mode of determining stocking density or carrying capacity was interrogated and indices suitable for complex multi-species systems developed. This was done in the context of equilibrial/disequilibrial paradigms. Application of the original indices resulted in drought-related declines in animal biomass of 4000 kg km2 over 20 years due to overestimation of carrying capacity. The model proposed here uses rainfall, animal type, biomass and vegetation parameters to determine stocking density for both coarse (regional) and ranch-specific scales. Principal driving determinants (rainfall, geology, soil type, tree density canopy cover, animal numbers, feeding classes and fire) of vegetation structure and their influence on the herbaceous layer were investigated. Groupings on ecological potential showed 'high' potential areas are less sensitive to animal impact than those classified as 'low' potential. Sustainability, embedded in a forward-looking component viz. Strategic Adaptive Management (SAM) with well-articulated endpoints viz. Thresholds of Potential Concern (TPCs) was used to study fluctuations in animal populations with Connochaetes taurinus (Blue wildebeest) as the case study. The TPC approach provides strong pointers for proactive management aimed at maintaining the system within bands defined by TPCs supporting operationally practical and periodically reviewed objectives. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

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