AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Tsenolo Leche, for the Master of Science degree in Agribusiness Economics, presented on October 29, 2009, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: AGRICULTURAL TRADE: PROSPECTS FOR LIBERALIZATION AFTER URUGUAY AND DOHA ROUNDS MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Wanki Moon Chapter 1 outlines the goal of the project by evaluating the prospects for agricultural trade liberalization by analyzing the progress and setbacks of the Uruguay and Doha Rounds. The international trade framework is analyzed with consideration of standard trade theory, agricultural protectionism, agricultural trade liberalization efforts and assessment of the prospects for liberalizing agricultural trade in the future. Chapter 2 deals with two issues of standard trade theory: economic rationales for trade and efforts to liberalize trade in industrial goods after World War II. Evidence suggests free trade is a stimulus for growth and development. Empirical evidence suggests liberalization of trade increases economic growth, decreases poverty, increases productivity and increases technology transfer. Global efforts to liberalize trade in industrial goods after World War II are summarized. Efforts to liberalize trade in industrial goods started in 1947 with the formation of the General Agreement of Tariff and Trade (GATT), a multilateral body. Subsequently, the chapter briefly discusses the GATT's accomplishments through its various rounds of multilateral trade talks. It also looks into other channels that the international community pursued to liberalize trade such as regional trade liberalization, one-way trade to developing countries and unilateral trade liberalization. Chapter 3 examines the history of agricultural protectionism in general and in developed countries. Furthermore, it explains theories behind agricultural protectionism. It identifies instruments countries used to protect their agricultural sector before the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture (URAA) and in the post-Uruguay period. Chapter 4 examines efforts to liberalize agricultural trade beginning with the Uruguay Round, and including the GATT multilateral trade talks that brought agriculture under the discipline. It examines the commitments and limitations of the round in agriculture trade liberalization under three pillars of trade namely market access, export competition and domestic support. Subsequently, ongoing Doha Development Agenda Rounds are analyzed. Further, it examines the July 2004 framework and proposals from member countries for advancing agricultural trade liberalization. Chapter 5 measures the influence of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the U.S.'s Farm Bills on multilateral agricultural trade liberalization negotiations and their influence on the agricultural policies of both the European Union and the U.S. The impact of multifunctionality of agriculture on multilateral agricultural trade liberalization negotiations is discussed. Finally, the chapter focuses on the various perspectives by examining the roles of developing countries in the evolution of the Doha Development Agenda. Chapter 6 assesses the prospects for agricultural trade liberalization by examining agricultural trade following World War II, the WTO's Uruguay and Doha Rounds and the impact of four members of the WTO on international trade. Chapter 7 concludes that agricultural trade liberalization after the Uruguay and Doha Rounds is not likely to be as free as industrial trade liberalization because of some unique characteristics of agriculture. Based on both the Uruguay and Doha Rounds, the main goal seems to be reduction of trade-distorting domestic supports, improvement of market access and phasing out and eventual elimination of export subsidies.

No description available.

No abstract available. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / gm2014 / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

Tidigare forskning kring arbetslöshet har visat på en mängd negativa effekter för den arbetslösa individen. Det behövs fler kvalitativa studier på detta område, eftersom de flesta tidigare studier är utförda med kvantitativa ansatser. Våra syften med studien är att ”nå en förståelse för hur yngre långtidsarbetslösa upplever sina möjligheter att få ett arbete”. Samt ”nå en förståelse av den arbetslösas identitet”. Vi använder en socialkonstruktionistisk utgångspunkt i tolkningen av identitetsbegreppet. Vi har valt tre socialpsykologiska begrepp för att analysera våra resultat, dessa är: stigma, utanförskap samt makt. Materialet har insamlats genom intervjuer med långtidsarbetslösa som befinner sig på AMA arbetsmarknad, vilket gett oss en mängd upplevelser av arbetslöshet. Denna studie har baserats på en hermeneutisk metod. Några centrala resultat är att respondenterna känner sig ekonomiskt begränsade, samt upplever ett utanförskap och skam. De visar att arbetet fortfarande är en stor del av identiteten. Trots stora påfrestningar för den arbetslösa individen visar vår studie på att yngre arbetslösa kan uppvisa en optimism inför framtiden.

The Residential Aged Care (RAC) industry is the fastest growing sector of the health care industry in Australia, particularly with the needs of people aging eighty five years and over consuming most health care services (Productivity Commission, 2006). This thesis examines the staffing efficiency challenge that is facing the RAC industry in Australia, from the facility managers' perspectives. Staffing efficiency is a crucial component in the success of this industry that is labour intensive, delivering complex services twenty-four hours per day and seven days per week. By achieving staffing efficiencies, facility managers would minimise labour cost expenditures; thus, ensuring sustainability and growth of their organisation in the long run. The literature reviewed revealed limited number of scholarly reviews about staffing efficiencies conducted in Australia. Nevertheless, it highlighted a number of available staffing approaches available overseas which could be of promising results if they were adopted to suit the Australian industry and its operational systems. This thesis explores the prospects of RAC facility managers adopting 'alternative' or 'new' staffing methods in their facilities as one solution for this staffing challenge. In this study, the researcher refers to alternative or new staffing methods as staffing methods that are not currently utilised in the staffing of RAC facilities in Australia. Using an Interpretivist research paradigm, 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participating RAC managers in their work environment. During the interviews, a sample alternative staffing tool, developed prior to the study, was displayed. The data generated were analysed in the context of the RAC industry's environment, operational challenges, and through the theoretical implication of neo-liberalism. This theory provided a vehicle for the analysis of the data generated on staffing within the context of Australia's current economic policies. The generated data revealed little chance of such adoption reflected in a number of findings including: 1) Participants' lack of interest in adopting alternative staffing methods despite their comments on the unsuitability of current tools. 2) Overdependence of the industry on cost cutting measures and monetary performance indicators. 3) Lack of incentives for the adoption of change and 4) Lack of preparedness of RAC facility managers for such change. Thorough analysis of the findings revealed misinterpretation of free-market principles in the currently utilised staffing tools, which links demand of service to the number of individuals requiring care on one hand, and the supply of services available to the number of staff rostered to provide the care, on the other hand. The application of such a principle on the RAC industry is questionable, particularly with the inconsistency in the elderly residents' care needs and the staffing skill mix. A new staffing approach that uses the care required by the elderly individuals and the staffing skills available in the facilities as the basis for the demand and supply principles will provide a plausible solution for facing the staffing challenge. A joint venture between the Australian government and the RAC industry to encourage the adoption of such alternative staffing approach is the recommended way forward for improving staffing efficiencies.

BACKGROUND: Powerful public-private partnerships (PPPs) can only be established if the partners are able to deal with complexity. Such partnerships may serve to stimulate local community and economic development. Thus, it may maximise the effectiveness of local groups and resources in meeting the needs for rebuilding a community through a partnership representative of the public and private sectors. A problem that exists in South Africa, is the uneven distribution of population ratios dependent on public and private sector health care service delivery, in relation to the proportion of pharmaceutical service providers in the different sectors. OBJECTIVE: The main objectives of this qualitative research investigation were to examine the prospects for PPP development in the pharmaceutical sector of South Africa as well as to explore the possibilities of a proposition for a proposed generic public-private partnership model to be managed and used in the pharmaceutical sector of South Africa. METHOD: The study comprises of the exploration of the research questions by means of a qualitative research design. The study design implicated a balance between the in-depth literature study and a qualitative research process. The researcher employed a grounded theory approach to collect and analyse the data. Data collection represented the identifiable role players and opinion formulators in the South African health care sector. By following a combination of the various qualitative sampling methods and techniques, a total of 38 (n=38) interviews were conducted. The data collected from the interviewees and from the literature study were integrated and analysed by making use of computer assisted data analysis. SETTING: The researcher selected interviewees from the South African health care sector. The interviews included role players in the pharmaceutical sector in both the public and private sectors. The interviewees further represented eight different spheres of the pharmaceutical setting in South Africa. KEY FINDINGS: The investigation identified a range of prospects for PPP development in South Africa and these were reported in terms of views, expectations and scope for success. The management elements for developing and sustaining joint ventures between the public and private sectors were identified and a proposition was formulated in theory to serve as a proposed generic PPP model (PGM) in the pharmaceutical sector for the South African health care milieu. CONCLUSION The exploratory qualitative investigation surfaced the various facets of the complexity of PPPs. The investigation concluded that several barriers, such as competition and market entry disparities between the macro and micro level pharmaceutical entities, which impede PPP development, affected the prospects for PPP development in South Africa. The South African legislation, South African Treasury guidelines, regulations and the views of the SA Competition Commission need transformation to accommodate both the micro and macro level pharmaceutical service providers in the formation of PPPs. Capacity building within the sphere of pharmaceutical service delivery to the bigger population of South Africa may become sustainable on removal of these barriers. A series of recommendations were presented and several critical issues in need of supplementary research, have been identified. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Pharmacy Practice))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Denna studie undersöker förhållandet mellan unga brottslingars ålder vid den första lagföringenoch deras livsutfall. Genom att använda oss av unika data från The Stockholm Birth Cohort Study(SBC) kan vi följa individerna upp till 27 års ålder i administrativa register. Detta gör det möjligtför oss att observera kriminellt beteende både för individer över och understraffmyndighetsåldern. Vi finner att personer som begår brott i tidig ålder har en signifikanthögre risk att återfalla i brott jämfört med personer där brottsdebuten sker relativt sent; såledeskan åldern vid brottsdebuten påverka individers framtidsutsikter både direkt och indirekt. / This study examines the correlation between the age of individuals’ first appearance in policerecords and their outcomes in life. By using unique data from The Stockholm Birth Cohort Study(SBC) we are able to follow individuals up to the age of 27 in administrative registers. Thisenables us to observe criminal behavior for individuals both above and below the age of criminalresponsibility. We find that people engaging in crime in early ages have a significantly higherrisk of relapsing into crime compared to people with a relatively late criminal debut, thus the ageof a criminal debut directly and indirectly may affect the prospects of individuals.

Le plan de cette thèse est le suivant : une première partie fait le point des connaissances actuelles concernant la géologie de Belledonne, afin de situer, en second lieu , et avec la plus grande précision possible, les anciennes mines dans leur contexte géologique La troisième partie développera l'inventaire des prospects anciens et actuels et sera surtout une description des gisements et des minéralisations qu'ils renferment. Pour terminer, ce sera l'objet de la quatrième partie, il sera tenté un essai de détermination des processus génétiques responsables de la mise en place des gisements qui permettra de leur assigner une place dans la classification métallogènique

This thesis will examine highly rated Minor League baseball players and how they subsequently perform in their Major League careers. Specifically, this study has collected data on over 800 players ranked on the prospect lists of Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, and John Sickels. Using regression analysis, I have examined the correlation between ranking and future performance, as well as studying other factors like position and age to determine if there are common characteristics to successful prospects.

Bakalauro baigiamajame darbe analizuojamos elektroninės bankininkystės paslaugos Lietuvoje, lyginant jas su Europos Sąjungos valstybėmis, JAV, PAR, Rusija, Kinija, Brazilija, Australija. Pirmoje darbo dalyje pateikiami teoriniai elektroninės bankininkystės aspektai: rūšys, priemonės, privalumai ir trūkumai. Antroje darbo dalyje atlikta Lietuvos ir pasirinktų pasaulio valstybių elektroninės bankininkystės paslaugų palyginamoji analizė. Remiantis negrynųjų pinigų atsiskaitymus, mokėjimo korteles, bankomatus apibūdinančiais rodikliais nustatyta, jog Lietuva gali pasigirti panašia elektroninės bankininkystės priemonių kiekio struktūra, tačiau pagal vertines atliekamų operacijų elektroninėje erdvėje išraiškas Lietuva atsiduria žemiausiose pozicijose analizuojamų valstybių kontekste. Koreliacinės-regresinės analizės metu nustatyta, jog negrynųjų pinigų atsiskaitymus Lietuvoje lemia vidutinis mėnesinis darbo užmokestis, bedarbių skaičius, mokėjimo kortelių skaičius šalyje, infliacija, grynųjų pinigų išėmimo operacijų bankomatuose vertė. Atlikus elektroninės bankininkystės perspektyvų vertinimą nustatyta, kad elektroninė bankininkystė Lietuvoje ir toliau plėsis: daugės elektroninės bankininkystės vartotojų, modernės vartotojų aptarnavimo ir apsaugos platformos elektroninėje erdvėje. / Bachelor final work examines e-banking services of the commercial banks operating in Lithuania and compared with EU countries, USA, South Africa, Russia, China, Brazil and Australia. The first part represent the theoretical aspects of electronic banking: sorts, devices, advantages and disadvantages. The second part of the work represent the carried out analysis of electronic banking service in Lithuania and other selected countries. Based on cashless payments, payment cards, ATMs describing indicators, Lithuania is very similar with other countries in e-banking devices using but in cashless payments operations values Lithuania is at the lowest positions in the context of the analysed countries. The correlation-regression analyse showed that there are five factors which determine the cashless payments in Lithuania: the average monthly average, the number of unemployed, the number of payment card in country, inflation, cash withdrawals from ATMs value. The qualitative analyse of prospects for e-banking showed that e-banking in Lithuania will grow: the number of e-banking consumers continues to grow, consumers’ service platforms will become more modern and safer.