The purpose of this essay is to examine the relation between reproductive rights and overpopulation. The main research question is whether the increase of the population size can affect the moral aspects of the reproductive rights. Relying on, and building upon arguments already developed by a number of philosophers, I show that although some restrictions might be justified, these restrictions cannot completely rule out the basic right to reproduction. Based on this, I then proceed with an overview of the possible solutions. In the subsequent discussion, a one-child-per-couple philosophy stands out as the best option. This would be morally justified according to the initial statements, as well as the most effective alternative when it comes to initiating a significant population decline. The one-child-per-couple philosophy is then contested by several problems that could theoretically arise, but none of these problems are, according to my discussion, strong enough to dispute the positive aspects of the theory. The conclusion of this essay is that we, as a species, have a moral obligation to limit our numbers and that we ought to start acting accordingly.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the patterns and magnitudes of per capita expenditures and revenue collections in selected metropolitan areas in an attempt to explain variations in expenditures between metropolitan areas.

On-Reserve housing might be the most contentious, complicated issue faced by First Nations people in Canada. First Nations have unique relationships with the Canadian Government and face historical and on-going challenges. One of these many challenges is the growing gap between adequate housing need and availability. First Nations people face higher rates of overcrowding, exposure to mould, and living in poorly constructed or maintained homes. Housing has been studied from many angles by government and academics alike, from policy and planning to homelessness and health, but very few studies clearly quantifies the quality of On-Reserve housing. Most of the numbers used in studies, in both the grey literature and open research, draw from statistical information or self-reporting surveys. This information is helpful in a broad analysis but it lacks details that could be used for setting concrete strategic priorities and policies for building new housing and/or renovating existing stock. The objective of this research is to identify the differences between First Nation homes and non-First Nation homes in British Columbia (BC) using housing information provided by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). This data is available from the submission of home energy assessment data. Non-invasive procedures and professional experience is used to estimate many of the parameters used in these assessments. A home's air changes per hour at a pressure of 50 kPa, ACH50, was chosen as the value for home quality through this research. ACH50 is the only consistently measured parameter during home energy assessments. The information from NRCan represents 693 homes owned by First Nations between climate zones 4 and 7A and 127,295 homes owned by non-First Nations between climate zones 4 and 7B. The results of this research show that most First Nation homes were situated in climate zone 5, while most non-First Nation homes were in climate zone 4. Assuming that all the First Nation housing data is on reserve, a methodology was created to allocate the home data to individual First Nation communities in BC. This allowed 515 homes to be isolated into 25 First Nation communities, where other factors were compared to the data. Examining the aggregate data, First Nation homes faired better than non-First Nation homes in terms of ACH50 and ceiling insulation levels, but the analysis is more nuanced than the data presents. The number of homes that were isolated by First Nation community as well as the history and current situation of On-Reserve housing must be considered in the analysis. Socioeconomic factors (i.e. unemployment rates, average total income, and annual band revenues) did not seem to significantly impact the quality of homes on reserve, but the remoteness of a community did have a negative impact on the quality of a home. This research is useful in identifying some key aspects of First Nation and non-First Nation housing in BC but the analysis recognizes a gap in the data which requires a more critical and holistic evaluation to identify how this information relates to the current housing situation First Nations people continue to face. / Graduate

Despite the growing literature on financial development-economic growth nexus, there exists a paucity of empirical studies that explore the impact of financialisation on economic growth while focusing on the competitiveness of the financial sector. This study examines the revealed comparative advantages of 34 developing African countries from the period 2008 to 2017 and goes further to determine the impact of the revealed comparative advantage indices on economic growth. Revealed comparative advantage is used as an alternative proxy to financialisation, while economic growth is measured in terms of GDP per capita. In order to determine the impact, a panel study approach was followed, using a multiple linear regression model. The study produces two findings. Firstly, we find that the majority of African countries do not reveal a comparative advantage in financial services. This finding confirms our expectation. Secondly, we find that there exists a negative and significant relationship between financialisation and economic growth. The findings suggest that as developing countries in Africa gain comparative advantages in financial services, those gains have a detrimental impact on their economic growth. Informed by the findings of this study, which have implications for financial market development in Africa, the main recommendations are firstly that regulators need to play their part in reducing the cost of business for financial services institutions—particularly compliance costs, so as to encourage competition and development in the financial services sector, without compromising their responsibility to protect consumers. Secondly, better insights regarding cross-border trading and its impact on economic growth, profitability and the accumulation of foreign currency reserves need to be gained, in order to come up with more conducive regulatory frameworks that do not result in penalties for local firms, rendering them uncompetitive relative to foreign firms. Additionally, management at financial institutions have the responsibility of ensuring that benefits derived from their cross-border business go beyond shareholder value, but that reinvestment into the real economy takes place either through increased lending or equity investments and should also ensure that sufficient investments are made into the infrastructure required to increase the institution's competitiveness. Finally, Government and regulators needs to pay attention to how cross-border financial transactions are taxed, especially considering the new era of FinTech's, cryptocurrencies, and deepening regional integration, while at the same time ensuring that there is greater depth, bread and liquidity of their local financial markets.

This paper extends the scope of Earnings per share ("EPS") studies by incorporating Bushman et al. (2004)'s conceptual framework of corporate transparency to illustrate how the disclosure requirement of an accounting rule governing EPS could have far-reaching effects on the information environment in US. Informed participants are having a keener edger over average investors in using EPS as a guide to investment value. EPS signals a summary measure of firm performance to market participants. The market reactions to EPS and change in per share earnings provide a distinct opportunity to gauge the informativeness of earnings. The information role will nevertheless derail whenever there is an equity change. The accounting rule stipulates the use of a theoretical construct, the weighted average number of shares, in the denominator for EPS, which the average investor is unable to interpret as the number of shares at the reporting date is the actual, not average number of shares. Relative to the actual-share EPS, the average-share EPS will either inflate or deflate the per share earnings. The informed investors, who can substitute actual number of shares for the theoretical construct, are hence bestowed by the accounting rule an information advantage over the average investors. Earnings response coefficient is significant with denominator of EPS substituted while the explanatory power of theoretical-denominator EPS abates when it is contemporary with the denominator substituted EPS. Financial analysts' expertise in the provision of idiosyncratic information to the market has been compromised by the average-share EPS, which is reflected heretofore in proforma earnings forecasts errors. Proforma earnings use a numerator different from accounting rules and to further temper the denominator with the actual number of shares will make pro-forma EPS forecast unintelligible to users. The unintended consequence of inflating or deflating the per share earnings misleads average investors in their decision-making process. Analysts should not issue proforma earnings forecast while researchers should abstain from using theoretical-denominator EPS for sample firms with equity change as their policy prescriptions may further aggravate the problem. A simple remedy to change the accounting rule, SFAS No. 128 is eminently anticipated, if not warranted.

Antalet naturkatastrofer som inträffar i världen ökar på grund av de klimatförändringar som råder. Den ökande trenden kan komma att fortsätta i framtiden om inga större ageranden för att minska klimatförändringarna sker. Forskningen kring hur en naturkatastrof påverkar ett lands ekonomi och tillväxt är begränsad där forskare kommit fram till olika resultat vilket gör det är svårt att studera vilka faktiska konsekvenser en naturkatastrof innebär för ett land. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka huruvida en naturkatastrof påverkar ett lands ekonomiska tillväxt på både kort- och lång sikt. Studien fokuserar på jordbävningen i Japan 2011 och tsunamikatastrofen i Indonesien 2004. Vidare är studien uppdelad i två delar, där ena delen jämför jordbävningen i Japan 2011 med tsunamikatastrofen i Indonesien 2004. Detta för att identifiera eventuella skillnader mellan ett rikt och ett fattigt land samt för att studera hur respektive katastrof påverkade ländernas finans- och real marknader. Resultatet visar att incidenten inte fick någon betydlig påverkan på ländernas långsiktiga ekonomiska tillväxt samt att Indonesien mottog ett betydligt större stöd från omvärlden än Japan vilket underlättade landets återhämtningsprocess. Den andra delen i studien jämför Japans reala BNP per capita-tillväxt med en syntetisk kontrollgrupp. Detta är för att studera hur Japans eventuella BNP-tillväxt hade sett ut om katastrofen inte inträffat. Kontrollgruppen är skapad utifrån de 36 OECD-länderna. Resultatet liknar det tidigare studier kommit fram till, att naturkatastrofer inte har en särskild stor påverkan på ett lands långsiktiga ekonomiska tillväxt. Resultaten visar att Japan, trots naturkatastrofen, har en stigande BNP per capita efter 2011 men som dock inte stiger lika kraftigt som den syntetiska kontrollgruppen.

Ett centralt ämne i dagens debatt är hur klimatkrisen ska hanteras och målet om en 1,5 graders temperaturökning i världen ska uppnås. I denna uppsats undersöks om det finns ett negativt samband mellan humankapital och utsläpp av CO2 per capita i övre medelinkomstländer. Metoden består av en "two stage least squares”-regression som genomförs med hjälp av paneldata från 23 länder under perioden 1990-2015. Humankapital mäts i genomsnittligt antal utbildningsår och i syfte att isolera dess effekt på CO2-utsläpp implementeras en instrumentvariabel i regressionsanalysen. Resultatet tyder på att ett extra år av utbildning leder till en minskning med cirka 17 % i utsläpp av CO2 per capita, vilket ger en indikation om att det kan finnas ett negativt kausalt samband. Det anses vara av ekonomisk signifikans för både klimatet och samhället, vilket betonar nyttan som kan erhållas av att investera i humankapital.

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As researchers explore the benefits of using pedometers to assess physical activity they are discovering that intensity of physical activity may be estimated from steps per minute (SPM). The purpose of this study was to determine the SPM and kilocalories (kcals) expended associated with moderate physical activity in middle school students (12 - 14 years old). Methods: Ninety-three (49 boys, 44 girls) middle school youth between the ages of 12 and 14, walked on a treadmill at four different speeds (4.0, 4.8, 5.64, and 6.4 km/h) for three minutes at each speed. Each participant wore a pedometer in order to obtain their steps per minute and a heart rate monitor to record their heart rate level during each test speed. Results: Moderate physical activity was reached, on average, by girls and boys at 122 SPM (5.64 km/h) and 115 SPM (4.8 km/h), respectively. At this SPM rate boys and girls expended 232.55 kcals and 176.66 kcals per hour. This study augments previous studies that explored ways to assess activity levels using SPM calculations.

Jag har i detta arbete försökt belysa några uppfattningar ledning, personal och elever på en skola har rörande en reform där en gymnasieskola går från ett begränsat antal datorer till en dator per elev. Skolan i fråga befann sig vid undersökningens genomförande i reformens första skede, vilket innebar att det endast var en tredjedel av eleverna som dittills fått sina datorer. Undersökningen har utförts genom intervjustudier med 12 informanter. Dessa studier analyserades sedan genom kvalitativ intervjuanalys, vilken går ut på att lyfta ut de uppfattningar som framgår i intervjuerna formulerade i olika kategorier. Uppfattningarna har sedan jämförts med varandra samt med annan forskning på området.Resultatet undersökningen visar på många likheter mellan den undersökta skolan och andra skolor med en dator per elev. Något som framgår är att mottagandet av reformen till största del är positivt och att man genom att göra det till en pedagogisk satsning, i stället för en teknisk sådan, kunnat erbjuda personalen ett stort utbud av fortbildningar. Detta har lett till att samtliga intervjuade lärare börjat förändra sitt sätt att undervisa för att bättre använda sig av de nya verktygen. Brister som framgår i reformarbetet är att lärarna inte alltid ges tillräckligt med utrymme för att tillgodogöra sig fortbildningen och att elever och lärare uppfattar en oförmåga att begränsa elevernas användande av sociala medier och annan underhållning på lektionstid som ett stort problem. Detta visar sig vara ett orosmoment på många skolor med en dator per elev (Unos uno, 2013a). Man framhåller i forskning och från informanterna att det krävs satsningar från skolan i form av datoretikett eller annan reglering för att överkomma problemet.Något som också kan behöva utvecklas på skolan är det kollegiala samarbetet vilket av skolutvecklingsforskning framhålls som ytterst viktigt för att reformer ska bli lyckade. Som det ser ut för tillfället sker majoriteten av samarbete lärare emellan på det sätt som av Blossing (2003) benämner särbokultur och Hargreaves (1998) kallar för en balkaniserad skola.Slutligen ska det tilläggas att reformarbetet fortfarande är i ett tidigt skede och att det går att förklara många av de brister som framkommer i mitt resultat med just detta. Detta gör dock inte att bristerna försvinner, utan detta är någonting man kommer att ha möjlighet att ta itu med så snart man har resurser att göra så.