Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / South Africa is currently experiencing the global phenomenon of water shortage. Current water requirements for domestic use, industries and agriculture far exceed local supplies in many parts of the country. It is for this reason that the South African government has to formulate a variety of policies that govern and regulate the use of water.

Student Number: 0514022R Masters of Arts, Department of Sociology FACULTY OF HUMANITIES SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES / This study seeks to investigate the sources and the content of sexual information available to Rwandase youths aged 15 to 20 in Impala district. The rationale of this study is that young people need to have information on sexual development, reproduction, contraception, physical changes and about sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS. By getting such information, young people are likely to avoid a number of sex-related problems, including diseases, unforeseen sexual behaviour (early sexual intercourse and unintended pregnancy). To gather data, this study used in –depth interviews with 20 youths of both sexes and 20 key informants from different groups involved in youth sexual education. The study found that there is a range of sources of sexual information in Impala district such as school, peers, church, community meetings, anti-AIDS clubs, parents and radio. The school and peers emerged as the key sources of sexual education for educated youth, while community meetings and church are pointed to be the primary sources of this information for uneducated youth. However, most youth reported having little or no sexual education from parents. Concerning the content of this information, adolescent’s reproductive health, sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS, gender roles, sexual experience and practice are the most discussed, and vary depending on the source involved. The information provided by those social agents has been well appreciated by most of the youth I interviewed. However, I argue that the interpretation is different in people depending on their beliefs, background, attitudes and so on. The study concludes with a number of recommendations both for policy implications and further research.

Salmon aquaculture can be a potential solution to bridge the gap between declining capture fisheries and increasing seafood demand. However, the environmental impacts it creates have generated criticism. The overall objectives of this dissertation are to examine the economic consequences of environmental issues associated with salmon aquaculture, and to explore policy implications and recommendations for reducing environmental impacts. These objectives are addressed in five main analyses. The growth of salmon aquaculture is analyzed based on farmed salmon production in the four leading producing countries and the sector as a whole. Analyses indicate that salmon aquaculture is unlikely to continue to grow at its current pace. A joint production function approach is used to estimate pollution abatement costs for the salmon aquaculture industry. Results reveal that pollution abatement costs vary among observations and models. On average, pollution abatement cost is estimated at 3.5% in terms of total farmed salmon production, and 6.5% in terms of total revenue of farmed salmon. The ecological and economic impacts of sea lice from salmon farms on wild salmon population and fisheries are also studied. Analyses suggest that these effects are minor when the sea lice induced mortality rate is below 20%, while they can be severe if the mortality is greater than 30%. Sea lice have greater ecological and economic impacts on pink salmon than on chum salmon. These effects are greater under a fixed exploitation rate than under a target escapement policy. The economic performance of open netcage and sea-bag production systems for salmon aquaculture is compared. Netcage systems appear to be more economically profitable than sea-bag systems when environmental costs are either not or only partially included. Sea-bag systems can be financially profitable only when the salmon they produce can achieve a price premium. Finally, policy implications are explored and recommendations are made for sustaining salmon aquaculture in a holistic manner based on the results from previous chapters. Technologies, economic-based instruments and more stringent environmental policies can be employed to reduce environmental impacts. However, there is no single solution to solve these environmental impacts, and a combination of policy options is needed.

Salmon aquaculture can be a potential solution to bridge the gap between declining capture fisheries and increasing seafood demand. However, the environmental impacts it creates have generated criticism. The overall objectives of this dissertation are to examine the economic consequences of environmental issues associated with salmon aquaculture, and to explore policy implications and recommendations for reducing environmental impacts. These objectives are addressed in five main analyses. The growth of salmon aquaculture is analyzed based on farmed salmon production in the four leading producing countries and the sector as a whole. Analyses indicate that salmon aquaculture is unlikely to continue to grow at its current pace. A joint production function approach is used to estimate pollution abatement costs for the salmon aquaculture industry. Results reveal that pollution abatement costs vary among observations and models. On average, pollution abatement cost is estimated at 3.5% in terms of total farmed salmon production, and 6.5% in terms of total revenue of farmed salmon. The ecological and economic impacts of sea lice from salmon farms on wild salmon population and fisheries are also studied. Analyses suggest that these effects are minor when the sea lice induced mortality rate is below 20%, while they can be severe if the mortality is greater than 30%. Sea lice have greater ecological and economic impacts on pink salmon than on chum salmon. These effects are greater under a fixed exploitation rate than under a target escapement policy. The economic performance of open netcage and sea-bag production systems for salmon aquaculture is compared. Netcage systems appear to be more economically profitable than sea-bag systems when environmental costs are either not or only partially included. Sea-bag systems can be financially profitable only when the salmon they produce can achieve a price premium. Finally, policy implications are explored and recommendations are made for sustaining salmon aquaculture in a holistic manner based on the results from previous chapters. Technologies, economic-based instruments and more stringent environmental policies can be employed to reduce environmental impacts. However, there is no single solution to solve these environmental impacts, and a combination of policy options is needed.

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Salmon aquaculture can be a potential solution to bridge the gap between declining capture fisheries and increasing seafood demand. However, the environmental impacts it creates have generated criticism. The overall objectives of this dissertation are to examine the economic consequences of environmental issues associated with salmon aquaculture, and to explore policy implications and recommendations for reducing environmental impacts. These objectives are addressed in five main analyses. The growth of salmon aquaculture is analyzed based on farmed salmon production in the four leading producing countries and the sector as a whole. Analyses indicate that salmon aquaculture is unlikely to continue to grow at its current pace. A joint production function approach is used to estimate pollution abatement costs for the salmon aquaculture industry. Results reveal that pollution abatement costs vary among observations and models. On average, pollution abatement cost is estimated at 3.5% in terms of total farmed salmon production, and 6.5% in terms of total revenue of farmed salmon. The ecological and economic impacts of sea lice from salmon farms on wild salmon population and fisheries are also studied. Analyses suggest that these effects are minor when the sea lice induced mortality rate is below 20%, while they can be severe if the mortality is greater than 30%. Sea lice have greater ecological and economic impacts on pink salmon than on chum salmon. These effects are greater under a fixed exploitation rate than under a target escapement policy. The economic performance of open netcage and sea-bag production systems for salmon aquaculture is compared. Netcage systems appear to be more economically profitable than sea-bag systems when environmental costs are either not or only partially included. Sea-bag systems can be financially profitable only when the salmon they produce can achieve a price premium. Finally, policy implications are explored and recommendations are made for sustaining salmon aquaculture in a holistic manner based on the results from previous chapters. Technologies, economic-based instruments and more stringent environmental policies can be employed to reduce environmental impacts. However, there is no single solution to solve these environmental impacts, and a combination of policy options is needed. / Science, Faculty of / Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for / Graduate

By using the cross-sectional data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey, this dissertation selects a sample of over 3000 firms from 16 Central and Eastern European countries during the 2008 financial crisis, to assess (1) How effective priori classifications are to identify financially constrained and unconstrained firms in times of economic recession (2) What the main robust determinants are at the firm and country-level that affect SMEs' degree of financing obstacles (3) What experiences and lessons we can learn from 2008 crisis to combat with 2020 and future emerging recession. Our evidence indicates that during the economic crisis happened in 2008, size, industry, ownership and EU dummy are useful priori classifications while distinguishing firms' different degree to financing troubles, although some of other priori classifications appeared on other literature are ineffective. Smaller firms, foreign-owned and firms in manufacturing are more likely to report the financing trouble and have less access to formal sources of finance. However, government-owned firms and firms with adequate educated workers are less likely to be financially constraint. The result confirms that economic freedom, financial market and trade integration all have a significant relationship with SMEs' access to finance. For...

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The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) garnered global news media attention in Summer 2014 when it seized a significant section of land in Iraq and Syria. The group then mishandled and executed its captives. There is a lack of consensus among the international community, led by Russia and the United States, on how best to address the threat posed by ISIS. An understanding of the function of Russian and U.S. news media coverage of the ISIS threat is an appropriate research topic. The purpose of this qualitative content analysis study was to explore how the U.S, Russian, and Qatari news media represented ISIS between May 1, 2014, and May 1, 2015. The theoretical framework for this study was the agenda-setting theory. The research questions centered on how 3 news media outlets from the 3 countries represented ISIS within this time frame. The study design was a qualitative deductive content analysis with purposeful sampling. Data were coded in a binary manner and analyzed using the data software program Dedoose. Themes identified in the analysis were mitigation, insecurity, foreign fighters, responsibility, and propaganda. The results of this study suggest that there are similarities and differences in Russian, Qatari, and U.S. media outlets' depiction of ISIS between May 1, 2014, and May 1, 2015, which can be explained by agenda-setting theory. The significance of this study is twofold. First, the information arising from the study may influence social change by assisting counterterrorism officials and policy makers in making informed decisions about how to mitigate the ISIS threat. Second, this study contributes to the existing literature on ISIS and its global media representation for future researchers.

Die vorliegende Arbeit gliedert sich in zwei Teile. Der erste Teil widmet sich der Fragestellung inwiefern formelle Gruppeneigentumsrechte Herkunftsgemeinschaften vor unautorisierten Verwendungen ihrer traditionellen kulturellen Ausdrucksweisen (TKAs) schützen können. Kapitel 2 und 3 führen hierzu einen ökonomischen Vergleich fünf so genannter sui generis Rechte zum Schutz jener TKAs durch und leiten Politikempfehlungen ab. Zum einen bilden die Beiträge eine Rangfolge der Transaktionskosten, die bei Verhandlung über Verwendungen der TKAs entstehen können. Zum anderen vergleichen die Kapitel, ob die Schutzpräferenzen der Ursprungsgemeinschaft durch die Modelgesetze geschützt wären. Hierbei zeigt sich, dass ein Prinzipal-Agenten-Problem auftritt sollten staatliche Behörden über zu viel Verhandlungsmacht verfügen. In diesem Fall werden Bürokraten eher ihre eigenen Interessen als die der Eigentümer der TKAs durchsetzen. Letztendlich existiert zwischen beiden Effekten ein klarer Trade-Off: Je mehr ein Gesetz die Schutzinteressen der Ursprungsgemeinschaften schützt desto höher sind seine Transaktions- und somit sozialen Kosten. Der zweite Teil dieser Arbeit behandelt – auf Basis ökonomischer Laborexperimente – den Fragenkomplex wie Gruppenmitglieder öffentliche Güter im Kontext kulturellen Eigentums – so wie TKAs – bereitstellen. Der Fokus liegt hierbei auf dem Einfluss sozialer Identität auf das Ausmaß an positiver sowie negativer Reziprozität der Individuen als Determinanten der sozialen Wohlfahrt. Die bedingte Kooperation der Gruppenmitglieder sowie das gegenseitige Bestrafungsverhalten untereinander bilden hierfür Maße für positive und negative Reziprozität. Kapitel 4 zeigt, dass Individuen unter dem Einfluss sozialer Identität grundsätzlich divergierende Kooperationspräferenzen abhängig davon mit wem sie interagieren aufzeigen. Auf Basis eines Within-Subject-Designs und mehreren ein-Perioden Spielen in Strategiemethode, zeigt der Beitrag, dass Individuen in identitäts-homogenen Gruppen (In-Group) die Präferenz für eine höhere bedingte Kooperation und weniger Eigennutzorientierung als in einer heterogenen Gruppe (Out-Group) zeigen. Zusätzlich neigen Individuen in heterogenen Gruppen eher zu einem vollständigen Trittbrettfahrerverhalten. Somit könnten Politikinstitutionen, die den Zusammenhalt einer Gruppe betonen, die soziale Wohlfahrt steigern. Auf der Basis eines zehn-Perioden-Spiels zeigt Kapitel 5, dass hauptsächlich vergleichsweise höhere Erwartungen an die Kooperation der Mitglieder in einer In-Group als an die in einer Out-Group Wohlfahrtsgewinne in homogenen Gruppen im Zuge mehrperiodischer Interaktionen auslösen. Die bedingte Kooperation – hier die Erwiderung der eigenen Erwartungen an die Kooperation der Gruppenmitglieder durch eigene Beiträge – ist hingegen in In- und Out- Groups ähnlich. Insgesamt belegt dieser Beitrag somit, dass Erwartungen der Individuen der entscheidende Faktor für das Beitragsverhalten der Gruppenmitglieder unter sozialer Identität ist. Kapitel 6 analysiert inwiefern die Möglichkeit einer gegenseitigen Bestrafung die Kooperationsbereitschaft unter dem Einfluss sozialer Identität ändert. Hierzu verwendet der Beitrag ein-Perioden-Spiele in Strategiemethode sowohl mit als auch ohne Bestrafung. Es zeigt sich, dass die Antizipation einer Bestrafung in heterogenen Gruppen zur größten Anhebung der Kooperationsbereitschaft führt, was am deutlichsten durch das Verhalten der Free-Rider ausgelöst wird. Darüber hinaus hebt die Bestrafungsinstitution unterschiede in der Kooperationsbereitschaft zwischen homo- und heterogenen Gruppen auf, die sich typischer Weise zugunsten homogener Gruppen verlagert. Letztlich deuten die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass im Vergleich zu einer Situation in der ausschließlich eine Bestrafungsinstitution vorliegt, eine zusätzliche Identitätszuschreibung die Wohlfahrt zusätzlich erhöht. Mit Fokus auf negativer Reziprozität untersucht Kapitel 7 die Frage inwiefern soziale Identität das Bestrafungsverhalten gegenüber Gruppenmitgliedern beeinflusst, die weniger zum öffentlichen Gut beitragen als der Bestrafende. Hier zeigt sich, dass Mitglieder identitäts-homogener Gruppen seltener und in geringerer Höhe bestrafen, als es in heterogenen Gruppen der Fall ist. Darüber hinaus ist das Bestrafungsverhalten in heterogenen Gruppen signifikant stärker durch Ärger-ähnliche Emotionen motiviert als in homogenen Gruppen. Insgesamt zeigt der zweite Teil dieser Dissertation, dass Identitätszuschreibungen sowohl positive als auch negative Reziprozität beeinflussen und somit die soziale Wohlfahrt bei der Bereitstellung öffentlicher Güter – auch im Kontext kulturellen Eigentums – beeinflussen. Diese Ergebnisse sind demzufolge für Verhaltensabschätzungen im Rahmen von Politikempfehlungen relevant, die sich auf Situation mit dem Charakter öffentlicher Güter beziehen.