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Thesis (PhD) -- AUT University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print (x, 296 leaves : col. ill. ; 30 cm.) in the Archive at the City Campus (T 572.330285 JAI)

Concern with bank failures and crises due to the increased volume and complexity of banking risks has emphasised banking regulatory policy that is aimed towards helping to ensure bank safety. In response to the changing banking environment, prudential supervision has increased in importance. This study is an empirical evaluation of the impact of the present and evolving supervisory system in Zimbabwe. The ultimate aim is to identify the most appropriate system that can best meet supervisory objectives. It is found that capital adequacy supervision is a central requirement for effective supervision. Three research methods were applied to the problem: field survey, theory and related statistical analysis, and simulation. The field survey established the pressures leading to supervision, and the objectives, instruments and likely effects of supervision in Zimbabwe. Theory and practical policy considerations were then used to draw out the potential empirical effects of supervision. For statistical testing purposes, supervision was proxied as the imposition of capital adequacy constraints. The general methodological approach used was to analyse trends in performance and condition of banks before and after the implementation of supervision. Since the Zimbabwean supervisory system is new, a comparative study of other developing countries' supervision was undertaken. Non-statistical, financial simulation experiments were then carried out to illustrate more clearly the important policy implications of the results. xviii The results confirmed the importance of capital adequacy analysis. It was concluded that capital ratios should be strengthened as volume of operations increased and the operating environment became risky. Whilst gearing ratios were useful in relating the volume of operations to capital strength, the results indicated the comparative suitability of adopting the risk assets ratios which facilitates more detailed risk appraisal. However, it was concluded that capital ratios, used alone, are not adequate indicators of overall prudential soundness. Close and adequate monitoring of all bank operations are also essential.

Les sites de fixation des facteurs de transcription ou éléments régulateurs sont impliqués dans la régulation de l'expression des gènes. Une meilleure connaissance de l'architecture des promoteurs est aujourd'hui accessible via l’annotation des génomes et les données transcriptomiques. Certains éléments régulateurs sont conservés à une position préférentielle dans les promoteurs. Chez A. thaliana, nous avons mis au point une approche pour caractériser de tels motifs. Ce travail a permis de proposer une cartographie des promoteurs en identifiant 5105 motifs caractérisés par une sur-représentation locale dans les promoteurs proximaux. L’étude du promoteur central où est observée la boîte TATA, élément régulateur conservé entre eucaryotes, a été approfondie. Une liste de 15 variants fonctionnels de la boîte TATA a été identifiée, ainsi qu’une nouvelle classe d’éléments régulateurs qui sont caractérisés par des mêmes contraintes topologiques que la boîte TATA : les motifs-TC. Ils sont conservés chez A. thaliana et O. sativa, mais absents chez les mammifères. Les 18% de gènes d’A. thaliana contenant un motif-TC ont tendance à être exprimés dans des conditions expérimentales spécifiques. Ces éléments pourraient participer à la régulation de l’expression des gènes. L’étude de l’élément initiateur YR chez A. thaliana a mis en évidence une extension de ces 4 dinucléotides dans l’UTR 5’. Des associations entre ces éléments régulateurs peuvent montrer une collaboration fonctionnelle. La recherche de caractéristiques fonctionnelles communes aux gènes possédant une même organisation d'éléments régulateurs pourra permettre de contribuer à l’annotation fonctionnelle de ces éléments. / Transcription factor binding sites are regulatory elements involved in gene expression regulation. The knowledge of promoter architecture is now possible due to genome annotation and transcriptomic data. Some regulatory elements are conserved at a precise location in promoters. We developed an approach to characterize such motifs in A. thaliana. This work led to the promoter cartography by the identification of 5105 over-represented motifs in proximal promoters. The TATA-box is a regulatory element conserved within eukaryotes. The core-promoter where this element is expected has been thoroughly analysed. We identified a list of 15 functional variants of the TATA-box and a new class of regulatory elements that shares the TATA-box topological constraints: the TC-motifs. They are conserved in both A. thaliana and O. sativa and have not been observed in mammalian genomes. The A. thaliana genes containing a TC-motif are 18%. They are mainly expressed in specific experimental conditions. The TC-motifs might be involved in gene expression regulation. We observed that the 4 dinucleotides of the initiator element YR in A. thaliana are extended in 5’ UTR. Associations between these regulatory elements may highlight a functional collaboration. The study of the functional characteristics of genes with a same regulatory elements organization might help in these elements functional annotation.

Includes bibliographical references / Controversy surrounds the upstream petroleum industry. Although the benefit of petroleum resources is beyond dispute, the exploitation of petroleum resources comes at a price, as history has shown time and again. Not only does petroleum exploitation have detrimental effects on the environment, but host countries often are worse off than countries with little or no petroleum resources. This "resource curse" is partially the result of flawed regulatory frameworks for petroleum resource extraction in host countries. This thesis identifies three elements that must be present in a country's regulatory framework for petroleum extraction if the resource curse phenomenon is to be avoided and benefit s from petroleum are to be maximised. These elements are: transparency, accountability and a balance of interests between the petroleum companies and the host nation. Namibia and South Africa are not yet major players in the international upstream petroleum industry. There is accordingly not much academic engagement with petroleum law in these two jurisdictions. The courts have also not yet had the opportunity to scrutinise the legislation regulating the upstream petroleum industries of South Africa and Namibia. There are, however, indications that both countries may possess viable quantities of petroleum resources. In anticipation of the possibility of finding commercially viable quantities of petroleum, South Africa and Namibia have enacted legislation to regulate the upstream petroleum industry, but the efficiency of the legislation, specifically how it reflects the elements of transparency, accountability and balance of interest, have not yet been considered. The research for this thesis is driven by the question of how the regulatory framework for petroleum exploitation in South Africa and Namibia embraces the elements of transparency, accountability and balance of interest. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the regulatory frameworks for upstream petroleum resources in South Africa and Namibia in anticipation of the demands that will be placed on law as the sectors grow. In doing so, this thesis scrutinises the legislation in South Africa and Namibia to determine the extent to which the three crucial elements of transparency, accountability and balance of interest between the petroleum company and the host nation are reflected in the regulatory frameworks for petroleum resources.

Includes bibliographical references / In the last three decades, there has been a phenomenon, akin to a revolution sweeping through the world, leaving in its wake major consequences of economic, political, legal and constitutional dimensions. The role of the state as we know it has been reconstructed beyond recognition. From an all-encompassing monolith that owns, manages, and provides various infrastructures, goods and services directly to the public and also serves as a regulator, it has now been reduced to a mere bystander or an enabler. Its footprints in the sands of economic and political times have diminished. In its place has arisen the regulatory state, characterised by a thinning out of the state; and the emergence of an institutional innovation: the Independent Regulatory Agency. Its rise, growth and diffusion across jurisdictions and sectors, and most recently in developing countries including Nigeria have been unprecedented. This thesis centres on the question whether the Independent Regulatory Agency can function in Nigeria in a manner analogous to its counterparts in the developed economies and be able to ensure the provision of safe, affordable and efficient infrastructures and services. The thesis finds institutional fragility, limited capacity, information asymmetry, corruption and insecurity within critical political, economic and supporting institutions that ideally gives life and legitimacy to the IRA; while essential democratic concepts are adhered to more in the breach. These challenges present a difficult climate in which the Independent Regulatory Agency can thrive. As an alternative, the thesis advocates the adoption of two transitory regulatory models: regulatory contracts and contracting out or outsourcing of functions. Their utilisation would achieve the desired regulatory outcomes until maturity is attained in the political economy of Nigeria, while simultaneously mitigating its contextual limitations.

Research indicates that planning helps consumers in their goal pursuit, but little is known about how and when such beneficial effects change with regulatory fit – fit between consumers’ regulatory orientation and goal pursuit means. Results of three studies show that 1) the benefits of forming implementation intentions, or planning details such as when, where, how, and how long to perform goal-directed actions and attain consumer goals are stronger in regulatory nonfit situations (study 1), and 2) implementation intentions can be viewed as goal pursuit means and be part of the regulatory fit formulation to show the “value from fit” effect on instrumental behavior and goal attainment (studies 2 and 3). Specifically, study 1 showed that consumers in regulatory nonfit situations are more likely to perform instrumental behavior and have higher goal attainment by forming implementation intentions than consumers in regulatory fit situations. This research also provides empirical evidence of the notion of “value from fit” to the regulatory fit literature, that is, the mediating role of motivation intensity in the regulatory fit-instrumental behavior and regulatory fit-goal attainment linkages in studies 2 and 3.

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