A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, 2013 / Deforestation is a growing environmental concern in tropical areas of the world where it is believed that the increase in human population and associated land use practices are the key drivers of this land cover change transition. This research tests these hypotheses in the Ho Municipality of Ghana and aims to predict future land cover change by assessing remote sensing images and considering the complex interrelationships and synergies of multiple driving forces. The study specifically examines how multiple driving forces of land cover change transition have contributed to the accelerating pace of deforestation in the last 25 years based on observed trends in land use and remotely sensed land cover change data. The study looks at the future prospects for Ghana’s forests. The field study was carried out in four settlements of the Ho Municipality namely Wumenu, Agbokofe, Abutia Kloe and Takla. The data collection was done using structured questionnaires administered to 376 households to investigate their opinions regarding the driving forces of deforestation in the area. The analysis of questionnaire data involved the use of descriptive statistics and factor analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software. Satellite images comprising, Landsat MSS 1975, Landsat TM 1991 and Landsat ETM+ 2001 were classified using the maximum likelihood algorithm supervised classification to determine the extent and nature of vegetation cover change and to assess the potential of using a Markov model to predict the future state of forest cover. The research concludes that the municipality lost forest cover from 1975 to 2001 based on satellite and questionnaire data analysis which suggests that the following are the key underlying drivers of deforestation: demographic pressure, poverty, institutional factors, policies, technology and attitudes. Proximate drivers of deforestation are agricultural expansion, illegal logging and wood energy exploitation. The Markov models showed that in the next 25 years various probabilities of change are possible, such as no change in forest cover, forest cover loss and some probabilities of increase in forest cover. These predictions illustrate the need to study the complex driving forces of change to interpret models that are solely based on past land use change transition. Based on the results of the household surveys, current drivers are unlikely to change. Land use planners should thus be aware that deforestation in Ghana is most likely going to continue. On the basis of these findings the following recommendations have been made. There is a need to intensify tree planting activities in the municipality to increase forest cover. Planting of fast maturing trees for woodlots will reduce pressure on the forest for wood energy. Public education on the advantages of family planning should be undertaken by the Municipal Assembly and NGOs working in the area to reduce population pressure on forests. Poverty reduction strategies should focus on alternative livelihood opportunities to divert attention from forest goods while also increasing the protection of remaining forests. Lastly, community participative approaches to forest management could mitigate both underlying and proximate causes of deforestation.

<p>I fokus för denna uppsats står samverkansorganet och kommunalförbundet Region Halland</p><p>eller mer exakt den form av indirekt demokrati som organisationen styrs genom. Studiens</p><p>syfte är att ur ett demokrati och legitimitetsteoretiskt perspektiv undersöka Region Halland</p><p>med fokus på just den indirekta demokratin. Studiens frågeställning är tvådelad och</p><p>undersöker dels hur förankringen av politik inom Region Hallands ram förankras i</p><p>kommunerna och hos medborgarna. Dessutom undersöks vilka demokratipolitiska ambitioner</p><p>som Region Halland har. I uppsatsen används en form av kvalitativ metod nämligen</p><p>samtalsintervjun och intervjuerna genomförs med politiker verksamma i kommunerna och</p><p>Region Halland samt med tjänstemän på Region Halland. Studiens resultat visar att debatten i</p><p>kommunens politiska organ om Region Halland är begränsad och att medborgarna inte heller</p><p>är särdeles involverade i politiska frågor som drivs av Region Halland. Det framkommer även</p><p>att Region Halland inte på egen hand driver demokratipolitiska projekt i någon större</p><p>utsträckning.</p>

I fokus för denna uppsats står samverkansorganet och kommunalförbundet Region Halland eller mer exakt den form av indirekt demokrati som organisationen styrs genom. Studiens syfte är att ur ett demokrati och legitimitetsteoretiskt perspektiv undersöka Region Halland med fokus på just den indirekta demokratin. Studiens frågeställning är tvådelad och undersöker dels hur förankringen av politik inom Region Hallands ram förankras i kommunerna och hos medborgarna. Dessutom undersöks vilka demokratipolitiska ambitioner som Region Halland har. I uppsatsen används en form av kvalitativ metod nämligen samtalsintervjun och intervjuerna genomförs med politiker verksamma i kommunerna och Region Halland samt med tjänstemän på Region Halland. Studiens resultat visar att debatten i kommunens politiska organ om Region Halland är begränsad och att medborgarna inte heller är särdeles involverade i politiska frågor som drivs av Region Halland. Det framkommer även att Region Halland inte på egen hand driver demokratipolitiska projekt i någon större utsträckning.

Gas-expanded liquids (GXLs) are a new and benign class of pressure-tunable liquid solvents which show tremendous promise as the next sustainable processing medium. In order to realize the potential of GXLs fully, it is necessary to elucidate their cybotactic region and gain an understanding of where properties are different in the bulk and micro-scales and how local structure and order affect both reactions and separations. This work explores the cybotactic region of GXLs and probes the existence and implications of those differences. This study is started by exploring the cybotactic region of ambient liquid mixtures. Thermodynamic models based on intermolecular forces are used to predict the solubility of multi-functional solids in a variety of solvent mixtures. While this part does not lend any insight into GXLs directly, it acts as a stepping stone in both understanding the intermolecular forces that govern the cybotactic region and by opening the gateway to studying solid solubility in GXLs. The rest of the study focuses on the differences between bulk and local properties of GXLs. Different probes of polarity in the cybotactic region are compared and the solute dependence of the local structure is explored. Bulk transport properties are measured with different probes in an effort to see if molecular interactions play a role in governing diffusion processes in GXLs.

Abstract ¡§Western areas¡¨is a very Vague concept to indicate a relative position in a particular sector. Since the 1950s'¡Mthis expression has often been shrouded in uncertainty. The earliest division mainly indicated the coastal areas of the country¡Mthe interior and remote areas. Economically speaking¡Monly two major areas¡Mare being referred to¡Mcoastal and interior. Later¡Munder the guiding thought of preparation against war¡Mfirst¡Msecond and third lines were delimited¡]including the big third line and the small third line¡^. For the last few years¡Mthe division into eastern¡Mcentral and werstern areas has also been in usage .Though at different times the aim of division ¡Mall recognized that the level of economic development was completely out of balance. Objectively ¡Mthree economic areas exist¡Geast ¡Mcenter and west. The western areas of the People's Republic of China are vast. Their total area is 5,280,000 square kilometer or 55% of the whole country's territory. The population numbers more than 230 million¡Vabout 23% of the country total population. In economic exploitation the western areas are in comparison with the central or eastern areas¡Mrelatively backward. The western areas¡Malthough their topography is complicated and difficult of acess have with their three¡Vdimensional limate and the perpendicular distribution of flora and fauna which are comparatively concentrated a wide variety of resources. With the rapid development of the economy of our country¡Mdevelopment is bound to start from the eastern seaboard and gradually develop toward the center and the western areas . The exploitation of the latter will strategically become more and more important in China' economy. In the scope of thire contracts and regulations¡Mjoint ventures have the right to conduct reforms of the technology of production ¡Mand increase the variety of designs and colors of the needs of domestic and foreign markets. Inventures may invite foreign businessmen to come to China and send their own personnel abroad business.

In this thesis, a CMOS tunable second-order log-domain filter using pseudo-exponential approximation is proposed. MOSFETs in the circuit are working in the saturation region. This filter has higher frequency response than that of weak inversion CMOS filter. The circuit has been fabricated with 0.35um CMOS technology. It operates with a supply voltage 3V, internal capacitance C is 1pF, the biasing current varies from 2uA~10uA. The cutoff frequency can be turned from 2MHz~37.5MHz. The harmonic distortion is 0.93% and the power consumption is 772uW.

Univ., Diss.--Leiden, 2006. / Zsfassung in niederländ. Sprache.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 1997. Graduate Programme in Geography. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 182-185). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL:http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ27340.

published_or_final_version / Surgery / Master / Master of Philosophy

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