The government of Cameroon like that of many Sub-S aharan African countries is faced with dwindling revenues and cannot provide the required fmances for the education sector. Since many other developing countries are facing similar fmancial constraints, policy options have been proposed for the recovery of costs as a way of revitalizing and improving the quality of education in these countries. The introduction of user charges is one of the more prominent options that applies to all levels of education. In light of the educational financing situation in Cameroon, this study sets out to assess the possibility of implementing this option. It therefore seeks to analyze how secondary schools are fmanced and to measure private direct costs of secondary education so as to determine parental willingness to spend on schooling. A household and a school survey were conducted in Mezam Division of the North West Province of Cameroon. 335 households in urban and rural areas were involved in the household survey, while 16 principals and 750 students, selected from 16 secondary schools, took part in the school survey. Results from these surveys indicate that in government secondary schools, although tuition is provided free, parents are obliged to meet the costs of books and uniforms. Moreover, because government funding is inadequate, by default, parents are obliged to contribute further towards the provision of additional facilities in these schools through the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). Thus parents incur substantial costs for their children's education, in relation to household income and Gross National per Capita Income. The study also reveals that in the private educational sector, fees and other parental contributions, including PTA levies, form an important source of finance for secondary schools. Parents of government school students value the education of their children highly, and therefore indicated willingness to pay more, even though they already incur substantial costs. The findings further indicate that willingness to pay will be increased if the quality of education is improved. However, ability to pay is related to family income and number of children, which have important implications for equity which are discussed in the thesis. Finally the study reveals that the highly centralized financing policy and practice in government secondary schools does not take into account the fmancial capacity of communities and private individuals sufficiently. The thesis argues that, in order to improve access, quality and efficiency of educational provision, an appropriate cost-sharing strategy needs to be developed to finance government secondary schools, with provision of scholarships or other selective assistance to the most needy. The thesis suggests further that, efforts be made to explore parental willingness and the inherent self help tradition of the people, by encouraging local management and fmancing of schools. Hence support from individual users and contributions from local communities through Parent-Teacher-Associations should be actively solicited. It also suggests that the decentralization of educational management of schools will go a long way towards enhancing educational quality and efficiency. This will require some adjustments to the existing financing structures, and changes in the regulation and management of the education system. The successful implementation of these recommendations require immense political will on the part of the policy makers.

This study examines the relationship between government funding and faith-based nonprofit organizational development and professionalization. By conducting an online survey of 1,632 executive directors at Habitat for Humanity affiliates in the United States, followed by telephone and email interviews with selected leaders from the organization, this mixed-method case study examined the organizational tensions, opportunities, bureaucratization, and professionalization of a religiously-based nonprofit as it transitioned from primarily private funding to broad acceptance of public monies. Habitat for Humanity provided an excellent prospect for this research, as the organization announced one year before the study began that its 27-year tradition of not seeking or accepting government funding (with the exception of grants for infrastructure) would change in July 2006. The study utilized Barry Dym and Harry Hutson's stages of organizational development, particularly their concept of professionalization, as an analytical framework for the study, with particular emphasis on the potential effects government funding may have on Habitat's organizational structure. The study suggested a close relationship between increasing professionalization at the organization's national office and the decision of national leadership to allow local affiliates to pursue government funding for construction. In addition, survey and interview data indicated that this change has been accompanied by a corresponding decrease in emphasis on religious mission, or at least a less conservative (and in some cases more pluralistic) approach to religious aims, than was evident in a 1995 International Partner training session in which the researcher participated. / Ph. D.

Bakgrund: Kommuninvest är en medlemsorganisation som finansierar en stor andel av den svenska kommunsektorns upplåning. Detta möjliggörs genom att Kommuninvest emitterar obligationer på finansiella marknader för att sedan låna ut kapital till kommunerna. Finansiella institut som Kommuninvest hanterar en rad olika risker i sin verksamhet och eftersom det saknas tidigare forskning angående Kommuninvests exponering mot och hantering av marknadsrisk är detta intressant att studera för att fylla kunskapsluckan. Det är också intressant eftersom kommunerna är en viktig aktör i det svenska samhället och Kommuninvest spelar en stor roll i den kommunala upplåningen. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att analysera Kommuninvests marknadsriskexponering när de lånar upp pengar på den finansiella marknaden för att låna ut dessa till medlemskommunerna, samt att analysera företagets marknadsriskhantering. Syftet är också att analysera hur marknadsriskexponeringen och marknadsriskhanteringen påverkar medlemskommunerna. Genomförande: Studien är designad som en fallstudie. Fallet har definierats som Kommuninvests marknadsriskexponering och -hantering. Det empiriska materialet utgörs av nio semistrukturerade intervjuer och en dokumentstudie. Det empiriska materialet har använts för att kunna dra slutsatser om Kommuninvests marknadsriskexponering och -hantering samt dessas potentiella påverkan på medlemskommunerna. Slutsats: Flera slutsatser kan dras från denna studie. Kommuninvest hedgar främst sin marknadsrisk med derivat och naturlig matchning. Den monetära effekten på låneportföljen konstateras vara relativt liten. Räntemarginalen är så pass låg att de små kommunerna väljer att alltid låna av Kommuninvest och de stora väljer att göra det ibland. Kommunerna i studien har över lag högt förtroende för Kommuninvest och majoritet upplever att de inte påverkas så mycket av bolagets riskexponering eller riskhantering. Denna studie bidrar med ny kunskap om Kommuninvests marknadsriskexponering och -hantering till det företagsekonomiska forskningsfältet såväl som till de svenska kommunerna. / Background: Kommuninvest is a member organisation that finances a large part of the borrowing of Swedish local governments. This is made possible by emitting bonds on the financial markets and then lending capital to the local governments. Financial institutions like Kommuninvest deal with several different risks and since no previous research has been conducted on the subject of the market risk exposure and the market risk management of Kommuninvest, this is a pertinent case to study in order to fill the gap. It is also a pertinent case since the local governments of Sweden are a very important part of the society and since Kommuninvest plays a great role in the borrowing of these local governments. Aim: The aim of this study is to analyse the market risk exposure of Kommuninvest when the company borrows capital on the financial markets to lend to their members, Swedish local governments, as well as to analyse the market risk management of the company. A secondary aim is to analyse how the market risk exposure and the market risk management affect the local governments that are members of Kommuninvest. Completion: The study is designed as a case study. The case has been defined as The market risk exposure and market risk management of Kommuninvest. The empirical data consists of nine semi-structured interviews and one document study. The empirical data is used to draw conclusions about the market risk exposure and the market risk management of Kommuninvest, as well as their potential effects on the Swedish local governments that are members of Kommuninvest. Conclusion: Several conclusions can be drawn from this study. Kommuninvest primarily hedges its market risk with derivates and natural hedges. The monetary effect on the loan portfolio is found to be relatively small. The interest margin is low enough so that the small local governments choose to always borrow from Kommuninvest, and the big local governments choose to sometimes do so. The local governments that participated in the study generally have high confidence in Kommuninvest and most of them experience that they are not very affected by the company’s risk exposure or risk management. This study contributes with new knowledge about the market risk exposure and market risk management of Kommuninvest to the research field as well as to the Swedish local governments.

Using a qualitative multiple case study methodology, this study explores the relationship between government funding and INGO autonomy in three INGOs through resource dependence and tool choice frameworks. Adapting Verhoest, Peters et al.'s (2004) conceptualization of organizational autonomy as the extent of an organization's decision making capacity in matters concerning agency operations and human resource and financial management; this research regards the authors second definition of financial, structural, legal, and interventional constraints not as types of autonomy per se, but as the mechanisms through which INGOs' actual use of their decision making competencies is constrained. The findings in this research suggest that relative to other funding sources, government funding disproportionately impacts INGOs' operational and managerial autonomy. This is largely accomplished through various ex ante and ex post constraints such as, rules and regulations on inputs allocation and use, performance controls and evaluation requirements attached to government funding. This research also finds that the tool of choice used by government to finance INGO activities also steer, direct and influence INGO grantees' decisions thus positioning INGOs to incorporate government policy interests, preferences and priorities. However, INGOs can exercise their autonomy through various strategies ranging from program design, contract negotiation, and participation in advisory groups.

Using a qualitative multiple case study methodology, this study explores the relationship between government funding and INGO autonomy in three INGOs through resource dependence and tool choice frameworks. Adapting Verhoest, Peters et al.'s (2004) conceptualization of organizational autonomy as the extent of an organization's decision making capacity in matters concerning agency operations and human resource and financial management; this research regards the authors second definition of financial, structural, legal, and interventional constraints not as types of autonomy per se, but as the mechanisms through which INGOs' actual use of their decision making competencies is constrained. The findings in this research suggest that relative to other funding sources, government funding disproportionately impacts INGOs' operational and managerial autonomy. This is largely accomplished through various ex ante and ex post constraints such as, rules and regulations on inputs allocation and use, performance controls and evaluation requirements attached to government funding. This research also finds that the tool of choice used by government to finance INGO activities also steer, direct and influence INGO grantees' decisions thus positioning INGOs to incorporate government policy interests, preferences and priorities. However, INGOs can exercise their autonomy through various strategies ranging from program design, contract negotiation, and participation in advisory groups.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / Literature suggests that novice supervisors are not adequately trained or equipped with the skills required in research supervision or to become productive researchers, and recommend that intervention strategies aimed specifically at enhancing supervision capacity, be prioritized. Primary texts report positive effects on student output and timely completion in a range of intervention strategies aimed at enhancing supervision capacity including supervisor training. However, it is difficult to compare these individual reports without a systematic attempt at filtration in which studies are evaluated for methodological rigour. The aim of this study was to consolidate the body of literature reporting on strategies aimed at enhancing supervision capacity which satisfies a threshold of methodological quality. The present study was a systematic review evaluating published literature from 2003 to 2013 that report on strategies aimed at enhancing supervision capacity. Only full-text, English articles within the UWC library databases were considered for inclusion provided that they report on the specified target group and focus of the study. Identified articles were evaluated on three levels: titles, abstract, and full text. Four instruments were used to facilitate data extraction and quality assessment including a Title summary sheet, abstract summary sheet, critical appraisal tool, and data extraction sheet. Meta-synthesis of included texts was conducted. Ethics: Permission to conduct the study was obtained from the appropriate committees at the University of the Western Cape (Registration number: 14/5/18). The information sources used in this study were all previously published and are in the public domain; therefore no additional permission for access was required. The study formed part of a larger NRF funded parent study. Thus the distinction between collaboration and plagiarism was carefully monitored given the collaboration between the present study and the larger parent study.

The South African higher education sector is currently facing many challenges. Factors such as a decrease in government funding, mergers and student unrest compel higher education institutions to apply effective strategies for funding and recruitment of quality students. Higher education institutions are forced to focus on restructuring and repositioning themselves, build a strong brand, communicate their image and to sustain their position in order to ensure a competitive advantage. In order to be locally relevant and globally competitive, higher education institutions need to become more marketing-oriented. In a restricted financial environment, higher education institutions will have to assess and reassess marketing strategies aimed at attracting quality first year students. A proper assessment of the importance of the choice factors students consider when selecting a higher education institution as well as the usefulness of the information sources they consider, will enable institutions to allocate funds, time and resources more efficiently and effectively. A quantitative study with a self-administrated questionnaire was used to allow students to complete the questionnaire during class lectures. Non-probability convenience sampling was used and a sample of 1241 students responded from six higher education institutions: the University of Pretoria, Tshwane University of Technology, University of Johannesburg, University of the Free State, University of Kwa–Zulu Natal and the North-West University. The sample consisted of 64 percent females and 36 percent male students. The ethnic orientation distribution was as follows: 46 percent Caucasian, 41 percent Black African, 9 percent Indian, 3 percent Coloured and 1 percent students of other ethnic groups. The main goal of this study was to investigate the relevant importance of the choice factors, as well as the usefulness of the information sources, that first year Economic and Management Sciences students at selected higher education institutions in South Africa considered when they decided to enrol at a specific higher education institution. The findings indicated that some choice factors were more important to students than others, as well as the fact that students from different gender groups, ethnic groups, language groups and institutions differed in the importance they attached to the choice factors. The top ten choice factors respondents regarded as important in the selection of a higher education institution are: quality of teaching, employment prospects (possible job opportunities), campus safety and security, academic facilities (libraries and laboratories), international links (study and job opportunities), language policy, image of higher education institution, flexible study mode (evening classes and use of computers), academic reputation (prestige), and a wide choice of subjects/courses. The findings also revealed that information sources directly from a higher education institution, such as open days and campus visits, university publications and websites are the most useful to students, while information from mass media such as radio, television, magazines and newspaper advertisements are not as useful. The findings give marketing educators an indication of the importance of choice factors considered by prospective students in selecting a higher education institution, and enable higher education institutions to use their limited funds more efficiently to attract quality students, create a unique position and gain a competitive advantage. Based on the usefulness of information sources and the importance of choice factors considered, student focused marketing communication can be developed. This should aid students to make more informed decisions about the higher education institution they wish to attend. The study also add to existing theory in the fields of services marketing, higher education marketing and consumer behaviour, especially the field of outlet selection, as the institution can be viewed as the outlet for buying education. Information obtained from this study also contributes to the available research and literature on this topic and could be used by other researchers as a basis for future research. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Marketing Management / PhD / Unrestricted

No / Since the development of the first cytotoxic agents, synthetic organic chemistry has advanced enormously. The synthetic and medicinal chemists of today are at the centre of drug development and are involved in most, if not all, processes of drug discovery. Recent decreases in government funding and reformed educational policies could, however, seriously impact on drug discovery initiatives worldwide. Not only could these changes result in fewer scientific breakthroughs, but they could also negatively affect the training of our next generation of medicinal chemists.

The research for this thesis started just before the TVNZ Charter was released in 2001. It followed the discussion regarding the new direction for the broadcaster to follow a more public service role. The data gathering was conducted through to post Charter implementation and captured the uncertainty surrounding the shift in policy. Although the aim of the TVNZ Charter was to raise the standards of public service broadcasting the introduction of this new policy was marked by confusion as to how this would be achieved, funded and monitored.The TVNZ Charter was introduced with the prescription that TVNZ find a balance in achieving public service needs in television as well as maintaining the revenue from advertising. This was because the government was not willing to provide sufficient funding for a non-commercial service and hence the result was always to be a hybrid model. It was frequently emphasized that Charter programmes should rate well and there was strong stress on the importance of retaining and attracting audiences.The core changes leading to the introduction of the TVNZ Charter owe their origins to the major policy turning point of 1989/1990, when broadcasting was deregulated in New Zealand. The free market provided programmes with a focus on entertainment and the previous dictum that they should also educate and inform was no longer spelled out in the Broadcasting Act. As only one of the traditional principles of television was being satisfied, there was a measurable decline in programmed diversity and it is argued, quality. The freedom of deregulation allowed TVNZ to pursue the goal of earning as much advertising revenue as possible. Therefore, the TVNZ Charter was hailed as a significant change of direction to ensure that public service needs were met.Even though it can be argued that many positive changes have resulted since the TVNZ Charter was mooted, it is argued that the drive to reposition TVNZ as a public service broadcaster seems to have resulted in a very diluted form of public service broadcasting. A major shift in direction has been compromised by a fear that significant changes in programming would result in a dramatic loss of vital advertising revenue.

The research for this thesis started just before the TVNZ Charter was released in 2001. It followed the discussion regarding the new direction for the broadcaster to follow a more public service role. The data gathering was conducted through to post Charter implementation and captured the uncertainty surrounding the shift in policy. Although the aim of the TVNZ Charter was to raise the standards of public service broadcasting the introduction of this new policy was marked by confusion as to how this would be achieved, funded and monitored.The TVNZ Charter was introduced with the prescription that TVNZ find a balance in achieving public service needs in television as well as maintaining the revenue from advertising. This was because the government was not willing to provide sufficient funding for a non-commercial service and hence the result was always to be a hybrid model. It was frequently emphasized that Charter programmes should rate well and there was strong stress on the importance of retaining and attracting audiences.The core changes leading to the introduction of the TVNZ Charter owe their origins to the major policy turning point of 1989/1990, when broadcasting was deregulated in New Zealand. The free market provided programmes with a focus on entertainment and the previous dictum that they should also educate and inform was no longer spelled out in the Broadcasting Act. As only one of the traditional principles of television was being satisfied, there was a measurable decline in programmed diversity and it is argued, quality. The freedom of deregulation allowed TVNZ to pursue the goal of earning as much advertising revenue as possible. Therefore, the TVNZ Charter was hailed as a significant change of direction to ensure that public service needs were met.Even though it can be argued that many positive changes have resulted since the TVNZ Charter was mooted, it is argued that the drive to reposition TVNZ as a public service broadcaster seems to have resulted in a very diluted form of public service broadcasting. A major shift in direction has been compromised by a fear that significant changes in programming would result in a dramatic loss of vital advertising revenue.