Includes bibliographical references (leaves 246-280) and index. Deals with the domestication of the goat and the history of the cashmere industry; investigates fibre physiology and production in general; and gives a detailed account of skin histology and fibre production of goats with particular reference to the cashmere-bearing animal; followed by research related to cashmere fibre production

Concern about environmental injustice has been driving the recent effort to characterize risks from exposures to air toxics at very fine spatial resolutions. However, few studies seek to understand the potential policy implications of regulating risks at increasingly finer spatial resolutions and the impact of resulting policies on distribution of risks. To address this gap, the broad question for this research is how could the choice of spatial resolution for regulation of risks from toxic air pollutants affect emission controls and the consequences thereof? This research develops a formal model of a hypothetical decision maker choosing emission controls within a risk-based regulatory framework. The model suggests that optimal controls on air toxics emissions vary depending on the spatial resolution chosen to regulate risks; net social costs are non-decreasing as one regulates at finer and finer spatial resolutions. An empirical application of the model using air toxic emission data for Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties in Florida demonstrates the sensitivity of optimal emissions to spatial resolution chosen for regulation. The research then investigates the equity implications of regulating at different spatial resolutions with regard to the spatial distribution of cancer risks. The empirical results indicate that regulation at finer spatial resolutions could involve a tradeoff between costs and equitable distribution of risks. For example, at a threshold cancer risk of 100 in a million, regulating at census block level resolution could be twice as costly as regulating at census tract resolution while reducing the maximum individual risk by almost half. Further, regulation at finer spatial resolutions might not address environmental injustice by itself unless such concerns are more explicitly incorporated into emission control decisions. Finally, this research shows that spatial resolution at which air toxics risks are regulated could matter in predictable ways even after taking into account the uncertainties that the decision maker faces.

Local governments have spent an estimated $15 to 18 billion in public subsidies to professional sport teams over the last two decades. Once a team has selected its home and a financing package is approved, cities rarely implement tactics necessary to realize these benefits, and teams aren’t made to deliver on their promises. At the same time, other benefits may be ignored by city leaders and residents. This research project is comprised of two related studies that address the following issues related to the public subsidization of professional sport teams: (1) how do a community’s expectations about hosting a team compare with the actual outcomes it experiences; and (2) what factors enable and inhibit the use of a professional sport team to accomplish community development goals. The first study is a qualitative examination of community expectations related to hosting the Corpus Christi Hooks, the double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. Using media and public document analysis, participant observation, and stakeholder interviews, the following categories of benefits were identified: economic development, community self-esteem/image, entertainment/leisure, and social welfare. The community successfully leveraged the baseball referendum to pass broader economic development and affordable housing measures. The city also has developed a successful event attraction strategy around its professional sport facilities and has experienced improved community self-esteem. However, the city has done little to leverage the team, and expected benefits have failed to materialize. The second study explores the process of sport team leverage. Using an action research approach, the efforts of a community health coalition to partner with the Hooks to address obesity prevention through a cause-marketing program was examined. Professional teams have a range of unique assets to contribute to a cause-marketing program. In this case, the team was reluctant to contribute its assets to the program. Consequently, the partnership resulted in a limited community relations program that failed to fully deliver benefits to the health coalition and the team. The following factors were identified as affecting the team’s involvement: the issue’s importance and salience, competition among local nonprofit organizations, the coalition’s leadership and brand equity, and the team’s stability and resources. / text

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

Not available / text

Not available / text

No description available.

M. Tech. Comparative Local Development. Department of Economics. / Local systems of innovation are defined as spatial concentrations of market and non-market agencies that combine to create new products and/or services in specific lines of economic activity. If successful, local systems of innovation bring about local economic development, building up the economic capacity of a local area in order to improve its economic future and the quality of life for its population. The aim of this research project is to study the local economy of the Amathole District Municipality using the local systems of innovation approach.

published_or_final_version / Applied Statistics / Master / Master of Social Sciences