Magister Artium - MA / The year 2015 and 2016 marked a period of heightened turmoil for the universities in the Western Cape. The three leading institutions in the province were each affected by student-led protest during that year. The Rhodes Must Fall Campaign occurred at the University of Cape Town (UCT), followed by Luister at Stellenbosch University (SU) and later the Fees Must Fall Campaign happened at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). Of the three universities, UWC was the most affected by the student-led protest in the province. Aside from the financial costs incurred by the physical damages to the university, the effects of the movement also lead to the extended shutdown of UWC in 2015 and again in 2016. / 2021-11-25

The cattle industry is very competitive which is forcing cow-calf producers to strive for efficiency. Research has shown that as a cows mature weight increases, feed efficiency decreases, as well as reproductive efficiency and other production factors. The purpose of this paper is to (1) identify the economically optimum cow size when charging for grazing public lands on a true Animal Unit Equivalent (AUE) basis and (2) determine if the current practice of charging on a per head basis for grazing public lands has an effect on the optimal cow size. To simplify the complexity of this problem, three different resource bases common in the Intermountain West (resource base 1, time grazing = 100%; resource base 2, time grazing = 75%; and resource base 3 time grazing = 50%) were defined, as well as three different weights of cattle (small, medium and large). Grazing plans were created for each resource base and winter rations were balanced to ensure adequate nutrition and accurate budgeting. Linear programming was used to determine an optimal cow size for each resource base when charging on a per head basis and by a true AUE. When grazing on public land was charged on a true AUE basis, the small cows generated the highest net returns on all resources. Also, each resource base was able to maintain a larger number of the smaller cows than the medium or large cows under these conditions. When grazing on public lands was charge on a per head basis, as is typical, the large cow generated the greatest net returns on resource base 1 and 2. However, the small cow generated the greatest net return on resource base 3. These findings suggest that the current practice of charging for grazing public land on a per head basis does have an impact on cow size.

No description available.

The need for reliable financial information has led to the establishment of audits as a vital component of corporate governance. Audits serve to enhance the credibility of financial statements, mitigate agency conflicts, and instill trust among stakeholders. In an evolving business landscape, external factors such as covid, war, and climate change have emerged, potentially impacting the determinants of audit fees. Purpose: The main objective of this thesis is to investigate the influence of external risk factors such as the covid pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and climate change on audit fees. Theoretical perspectives: Theoretical concepts base on previous research and publications on determinants of audit fees, audit risk, the covid pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war, and climate change. Literature was used to derive the research gap and research questions. Methodology: A qualitative method base exploratory approach. A literature review was conducted to uncover areas of interest that require more research. The influence of external risk on the audit fees was identified as a potential area for research; a focus on the covid pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and climate change. The research is based on semi-structured interviews with auditors from big four audit firms in Sweden. Empirical foundation: Six auditors from various professional levels participated in the interview process to obtain empirical data. Conclusions: The findings of the study show that covid, Russia-Ukraine war, and climate change have significant implications on audit fees. These external factors contribute to increased complexity and risk in the audit process, necessitating additional resources and effort leading to increase in audit fees. Recognizing the influence of COVID-19, war, and climate change on audit fees is crucial for auditors, audit clients, policymakers, and regulators. This awareness can inform decision-making processes, financial planning, risk assessments, and the development of appropriate regulatory frameworks, ultimately promoting transparency and strengthening the overall integrity of the audit process. The findings contribute to the existing body of knowledge and serve as a foundation for further exploration and understanding of the complex relationship between these external factors and audit fees.

This dissertation focuses on three different aspects of physician pricing. The first is the use of the assumption in formal modeling that physicians have the same type of costs for different types of patients. The second aspect of physician pricing investigated here is physicians’ ability to change the name of a service in response to a fee cap without actually changing the price of the service. The third aspect investigated in this dissertation is the effect of posting physician prices on patient-initiated demand for physician services. All three of these aspects have potential implications for the discussion on health care reform. In Chapter One, I examine physician price response to fee ceilings set by third party payers. I use the realistic assumptions that physician’s have the same cost function for all their patients and physicians have increasing marginal cost. Using these assumptions, I find that, in theory, a third party payer that uses fixed fees benefits from including every physician in the community. In chapter two, I use the medical claims data from a Fortune 500 firm (Firm) to evaluate physician pricing response to the Firm’s institution of fee ceilings. I find that physicians who are constrained by the fee ceiling systematically record a more expensive office visit code than physicians who were not constrained by the fee ceiling. This result has implications for private insurers as well as government programs that fix physician fees. In chapter three I use a model of patient-initiated demand under uncertainty to examine the effect of posting physician prices on the demand for physician services. I find that requiring physicians with monopoly power to post all or some of their prices has no effect on the total patient cost associated with physician consultations, including the cost of untreated disease. If physicians compete in a Bertrand fashion, then requiring a physician to post the prices of all types of consultations results in lower total patient cost than posting only some prices. / Ph. D.

All companies are subject to some degree of regulatory oversight of their operations. Economics, finance, and government research demonstrate that operational regulatory oversight (for example, provided by the EPA or FDA) imposes financial and operating burdens on regulated firms. My study examines how auditors respond to their clients’ operational regulatory oversight with additional audit costs, as reflected in audit fees. I focus on operational regulatory oversight from six federal regulatory agencies with authority to regulate companies in any industry. I find that operational regulatory oversight intensity, measured by number of regulators, occurrences of regulator-specific disclosures, and regulatory fragmentation, is positively associated with audit fees. Cross-sectional tests show that operational oversight from “continuous” regulators (i.e., regulators that maintain routine oversight) significantly weakens the positive association between operational regulatory oversight and audit fees. Further analyses provide no evidence that the higher audit fees are accompanied by changes in auditor effort. Lastly, my results are robust to an audit fee change model and an alternative measure of regulatory fragmentation. / Business Administration/Accounting

No description available.

Thesis states there are 128 pages. However, only 126 pages provided. (chronological from 1-126) / The purpose of this thesis is to examine foreign firms' spatial economic impacts on Canada with particular emphasis on the industrial linkage and spatial employment effects. The thesis focuses on the recent characteristics and strategies of foreign firms, which include rationalization and restructuring, in Canada. FDI in Canada is decreasing in a relative sense, while the share of foreign control and ownership in Canadian industry have remained almost constant for last twenty years: about sixty per cent and fifty per cent in the manufacturing sector, respectively. Furthermore, foreign firms recently increases acquisitions of Canadian firms, disinvestment from Canada, and remittance to the home countries in the form of royalties and license fees. Foreign firms seem to have contributed to the deficit of international balance of payments in Canada. Also foreign control over the Canadian economy is increasing without a corresponding increase in new capacity, income and employment. The linkage analysis and Spearman's rank correlation analysis reveal that foreign investments in Canada prefer to concentrate in industries with lower backward linkages and higher forward linkages. Foreign firms in Canada heavily depend upon foreign sources of material inputs and are directed to Canadian market for their outputs. This indicates that foreign firms' role in Canadian international balance could be negative. Along with decreasing rate of growth of FDI in Canada the employment of foreign firms has decreased rapidly, while their spatial concentration has increased. In addition, the rapid decrease in foreign employment in Canada's lagging regions since 1970 also contributed to regional disparity. For the locational change over the last two decades, domestic firms have been more dispersed out of Ontario and Quebec than foreign firms. Foreign firms were more stable then domestic firms implying that they specialized themselves in the plant level to cope with the changes in economic climates while domestic firms might have adjusted themselves possibly by relocation and plant closures and new set ups. Foreign firms have positively influenced some parts of Canada's competitiveness through rapid specialization and productivity growth and have negatively influenced some parts of Canada's competitiveness, including the tendency toward importing, weak development in high-technology industries, less R & D activity and employment. The rapid specialization and productivity growth of foreign firms can contribute to enhance Canada's competitiveness at the expense of employment loss and regional disparity. In addition, considering Canada's poor performance in high-technologysectors and R&D activity in spite of the fact that foreign firms show rapid specialization, productivity growth, and growth in high-technology sectors, the spillover effects of foreign firms are not so satisfactory as expected in Canada. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

User fees for federal Wilderness have been suggested as a way to reduce deficit spending on Wilderness recreation and supplement decreasing management budgets. This study examines the users of Linville Gorge Wilderness, a federal free area, and Grandfather Mountain Backcountry, a nearby private fee area, to determine if fees would exclude any socioeconomic or other user group who presently uses wilderness and determine if fees are acceptable to users. The study compares users' socioeconomic characteristics and travel cost demand functions and analyzes attitudes towards fees to determine the extent to which fees are likely to change use behavior. No difference is found in the socioeconomic characteristics of the users of the fee and the free area, suggesting fees excluding any for federal Wilderness are equitable, not excluding any socioeconomic group currently using Wilderness. The trip demand functions of the travel cost models for the two areas are statistically the same, suggesting users are making the same economic decision when visiting each area. Fees are found to be acceptable to users if Wilderness will deteriorate without fees and fee revenues are spent on Wilderness management. Users suggest about $25 for an annual Wilderness permit and about two dollars for a daily fee as reasonable amounts. Most users say the fee at Grandfather Mountain does not influence their decision to visit, suggesting fees will not greatly affect demand at federal Wilderness. The site demand function for Linville Gorge predicts a large decrease in demand, but this is common to most travel cost models and does not usually prove true. Further research of the travel cost model and the administrative feasibility of suggested fee levels is recommended. / M.S.

During the last fifteen years, the professional architecture literature has encouraged practicing architects to increase their involvement in real estate development. Such participation may take several forms ranging from early conceptual development to financial investment. A typical scenario involves a developer asking the architect to forgo all or part of his professional fee in return for an investment interest in the project. However, the literature has done little to equip these novice architects/investors with the practical tools necessary to make informed investment decisions. If an architect is considering such an investment, he must do so with an understanding of what he is giving up and what he can expect in terms of future benefits. / M. Arch.