Thesis (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Export Processing Zone (EPZ) regime is not new across the world. The first known form was established in the 13th century in modern day Spain. However, the growth of EPZs only became prominent after the First World War, as first world countries were trying to rebuild their economies through export-oriented manufacturing. By the turn of the century, more than two thirds of the countries in the world had embraced the EPZ regime with more than 3,000 zones established, employing more than 43 million people. China contributed a big number to this as it pushed through its Special Economic Zone (SEZ) regime to experiment with market-driven reforms. EPZs have made a significant contribution towards the growth of countries that have fully embraced the EPZ regime. The majority of these countries are in Asia, the Caribbean and South America. In Africa, Mauritius and Madagascar have benefited from the establishment of zones. On the other hand, other countries have failed to realize benefits from their zones such as Senegal. Zambia was slow to develop policy related to establishment of EPZ. The first attempt to establish EPZ legislature was only made in 2001. However, nothing happened on the ground until 2007, due mostly to concerns around revenue benefits from zones. Since then, two zones have been set up, construction of another is about to start and three more are planned. Despite this ambitious drive, there are still concerns around the realization of benefits from zones compared to the foregone tax, as well as costs associated with establishing infrastructure to support the zones. Other concerns related to the working conditions and wages of people employed by zone enterprises This study explores further such concerns. It is noted in this study that the policy framework for attracting investment in zones is adequate and addresses all concerns. However, the level of infrastructure development is not adequate to support the EPZ regime. The domestic business environment is not well developed to support and benefit from the EPZ regime. Considering its past economic performance, the country has no choice but to embrace the EPZ regime, as a means to develop growth in exports. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die vryhandelsgebiedkonsep is by verre nie nuut in die ekonomiese wêreld nie. Die eerste van hierdie tipe markstelsels dateer terug van sover as 13de eeuse Spanje. Dit is egter interessant dat die vryhandelsgebiedmodel eers na die beëindiging van die eerste wêreldoorlog pertinent posgevat het. Die konsep was in hierdie tyd veral vir eerste wêreld lande van groot waarde. Hulle kon toesien dat hul ekonomieë deur uitvoergedrewe vervaardiging in ere herstel word. Dit is ook verder werd om te weet dat teen die draai van die eeu, meer as twee derdes van die wêreld in meer as 3000 vryhandelsooreenkomste belang gehad het. Dit het direk of indirek daartoe bygedra dat meer as 43 miljoen mense op een of ander wyse by die arbeidsmark betrek is. China het 'n groot rol gespeel deur sy “Spesiale” vryhandelsgebiede waarmee hy markgedrewe hervorming kon toets. Vryhandelsgebiede het daadwerklik 'n groot invloed gehad op die groei van ekonomieë van lande wat volwaardig by die konsep ingekoop het. Die oorgrootte meerderheid van die lande is afkomstig uit Asië, die Karibiese Eilande en Suid Amerika. Uit Afrika was dit onder andere Mauritius en Madagaskar wat die meeste voordeel hieruit geput het. Andersyds het lande soos Senegal klaarblyklik geen voordeel uit sy vryhandelsgebiede gekry nie. Zambië was veral stadig om beleid neer te lê rondom die vestiging van 'n eie vryhandelsgebied(e). Sy eerste poging om amptelike wetgewing in die verband neer te lê was in 2001. Daar het egter niks konkreet hieruit voortgevloei voor 2007 nie. Die land was veral besorg oor inkomstevoordele tussen die voorgestelde gebiede. Sedertdien is twee gebiede reeds gevestig, 'n derde in wording en 'n verdere drie in die beplanningsfase. Ten spyte van die nuutgevonde dryfkrag is daar steeds twyfel oor die voordeel tussen die handelsgebiede, opgeweeg teen die uitgemaakte belasting en kostes wat met die daarstelling van die nodige infrastruktuur gepaard gaan. Daar is ook kommer oor die werksomstandighede en besoldiging van mense wat deur Vryhandelsondernemings in diens geneem word. Die doel van hierdie studie is om verdere kwelpunte te identifiseer en dan te analiseer. Daar word in die studie bevestig dat die beleidsraamwerk, wat daarop gemik is om belegging aantreklik te maak, voldoende is. Die infrastruktuur is egter nie huidiglik voldoende om die Vryhandelsgebiede te ondersteun nie. Die plaaslike besigheidsspeelveld is ook nie goed ontwikkel nie en kan derhalwe nie dié besigheidsmodel ondersteun en voordeel daaruit put nie. Gegewe sy ekonomiese prestasies van die verlede kan Zambië nie anders as om die Vryhandelsgebiedkonsep aan te hang, om sodoende daadwerklike groei in sy uitvoermark te bewerkstellig nie.

<p> </p><p> </p><p>Innovation and regional development are two topics that were (separately) very much discussed by scholars, and in recent literature there have been attempts to combine and show how the former can contribute to the latter. At the same time, different types of regional agglomeration systems have been developed and discussed such as: clusters, hubs, innovation systems, technopolies, and knowledge cities. However, there is a significant gap in literature when it comes to innovation zones. As a result, there is a need to look into the role of innovation zones in regional development and examine the possible benefits (if any) that the innovation zones can provide to the region to which they are affiliated</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p> </p><p> </p> / MASTERS THESIS IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

In 1982 the USA and other major industrial states refused to sign the Convention on the Law of the Sea--the result of the Conference on the Law of the Sea--because of objections to its provisions on the seabed beyond state jurisdiction--the International Seabed Area. According to them the system set up by the Convention is favorable to the third world and inimical to the material and ideological interests of these industrial states. Concurrently, however, the US and its allies argue that the remaining provisions of the Convention are generally accepted and part of International Law. These provisions include, among other, transit passage through straits, the 12nm Territorial Sea, the 200nm Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf. In opposition to the Convention's seabed system the US has promoted efforts at a Reciprocating States' Agreement which, thus far, has resulted in a Provisional Understanding among eight western states. In this work I argue that the limits of state jurisdiction are not conclusively set and that both the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf are subject to political and legal challenges. Moreover, these challenges will grow stronger because of competition, primarily among the major industrial states, over the resources and the military and waste disposal uses of the seabed and because of the inconsistencies of major maritime states in their defense of narrow zones of coastal jurisdiction. With respect to the argument of the US and some of its allies that the deep seabed provisions of the Convention are beneficial to the third world and inimical to the major industrial states I suggest that this is not the case. In fact, the major industrial states are the primary beneficiaries of the Convention's seabed resource system, as they are the beneficiaries of the systems regulating the military and waste disposal uses of the High Seas and the international seabed. The core characteristic of the resource system, however, is the protection it offers to the less endowed among these industrial states and to the major industrializing states. Inasmuch as the Provisional Understanding does not protect these states--most of which are in a position to challenge a variety of the Convention's remaining provisions--the Reciprocating States' Agreement strategy is conflictual and destabilizing.

No description available.

No description available.

Two sites located near Ketama in the Morocco Rif have been selected, on the basis of limiting climatic factors, in order to study the relationship between tree rings and climate. After the trend associated with biological factors related to increasing age has been removed and all variables have been standardized, some statistical parameters have been computed and a variance analysis has been performed. After the persistence has been eliminated, an original technique of multiple regression on the principal components and of selection of the most significant variables has been built. Twenty -four climatic variables have been used. The principal aim of this paper is to describe this original statistical technique of data analysis and to illustrate its power with dendroclimatological data in Morocco. For the temperate site located in low altitude (1280 m), among the most important variables, we have retained total monthly precipitation for August, mean temperature of January, April, and May of the current year and mean temperature of October of the previous year. For the cold site (2100 m), total monthly precipitation for September and temperatures of January and May of the current year and precipitation for October of the previous year definitely influence the growth rate of cedars.

I present physical shear-box experiments investigating the relationship between geometrical properties of shear zones and mechanical properties of deformed rocks. Experimental methodology is also examined critically and new materials for analogue modelling of shear localization are presented. First, I tested experimentally whether meaningful rheological information can be deduced from finite geometrical shear zone data. The results predict characteristic geometrical responses for certain end-member materials. However, it will be difficult to constrain such responses in the field. In the second part physical controls on deformation in the shear box are analysed for Newtonian and power-law fluids and an elastoviscoplastic strain-softening material. Since models always represent simplifications of the natural problem, it is essential to understand fully the physics of a given simulation. I show that displacement boundary conditions, model geometry, and rheology control shear zone geometry. Practical applications of the shear box for modelling natural shear localization and limitations of isothermal physical models with displacement boundary conditions in general are discussed. In the third part, new data on the rheology of highly-filled silicone polymers are introduced. Since dynamic similarity must be satisfied in analogue models to permit scaled, quantitative simulations of deformation processes, the choice of suitable rock analogues is critical for physical experiments. In particular, we address the problem of designing power-law fluids to model rocks deforming by dislocation creep. We found that highly-filled polymers have complex rheologies. Hence, such materials must be used with care in analogue modelling and only for certain experimental stress-strain rate conditions. Finally, I investigated whether fault network geometry and topography of brittle strike-slip faults are influenced by the degree of compaction of the host rock. Analogue shear experiments with loose and dense sand imply that the degree of sediment compaction may be a governing factor in the evolution of fault network structure and topography along strike-slip faults in sedimentary basins. Therefore, models of strike-slip faults should consider potential volume changes of deformed rocks.

<p>This research report examined the key policies of globalisation namely, privatisation and deregulation of services and also their implication on the Tri-partite alliance. Because they have impacted negatively on major economic sectors, particularly to those that help the needy. Therefore, the study explores these initiatives, which has been debatable in South Africa under the dominant understanding of &lsquo / progress&rsquo / or &lsquo / development&rsquo / .</p> <p><br /> The Objective of the study is to lay the basis for the examination and evaluation of policy option with regard to privatisation and deregulation of services in South Africa and to engage South Africa effectively in global policy debates and adjust in global trends and negotiations within the region (SADC) and other international countries. It examines global challenges and opportunities / threats for South Africa as a developing country in the emerging global order.</p> <p><br /> This study also attempts to provide answers to several questions concerning privatisation and deregulation of public services in South Africa. To the poor, is deregulation and privatisation of state assets threatening to become the new apartheid, which is an instrument of exclusion, not just from a better life but even from the very basic services? How are workers and including the poorest of the poor affected by the status of deregulation and privatisation? Do the timing and specifics of these processes matter? Who should attempt to regulate the auction, as some of government officials seems to be corrupt? And which prior restructuring policies are worth implementing?</p>

The Malmberget apatite iron ore deposit is one of the most important iron producers within Europe located within an area of world-renowned mines and mining companies. It is becoming increasingly accepted that in order to increase our resources it is essential to gain a better understanding of the formation and evolution of our known mineral deposits. This thesis is part of an ongoing multi-scale 4-dimensional geological modeling project as part of a collaboration between Vinnova, LKAB, Boliden &amp; LTU. The aim of the which is to piece together the series of geological events that are responsible for the entire Gällivare mining district as seen today. This project looks at three smaller old open pits on the outer limbs of the synform fold structure that forms the Malmberget deposit. This thesis aims to gain a better understanding of the structures that have defined this current shape, and relating them to the regional-scale structural evolution. The results show two distinct deformation events, D1and D2, with each event leaving their own signature on the region. D1 deformation resulted in the formation of high strain zones and a gneissic cleavage within the volcanic rocks. D2 deformation subsequently folded the S1 gneissic cleavage and high strain zones but without developing its own fabric. / Multi-scale 4-dimensional geological modeling of the Gällivare area

Cancer of the prostate (CaP) is the most common malignancy diagnosed in men in the Western society. During the last years, prostate specific antigen (PSA) has been used as a biomarker for CaP, although a high PSA value is not specific for CaP. Thus, there is an urgent need for new and improved diagnostic markers for CaP. In this thesis, the aim was to find a miRNA signature for diagnosis of CaP and to elucidate if differences in behavior between transition zone and peripheral zone tumors are reflected in miRNA expression. One of the major findings is anexpression signature based on nine miRNAs that with high accuracy (85%) could classify normal and malignant tissues from the transition zone of the prostate. The results furthermore show that the major differences in miRNA expression are found between normal and malignant tissues, rather than between the different zones. In addition, tumors arising in the peripheral zone have fewer changes in miRNA expression compared to tumors in the transition zone, indicating that the peripheral zone is more prone to tumor development compared to the transition zone of the prostate. A crucial step in pre-processing of expression data, in order to differentiate true biological changes, is the normalization step. Therefore, an additional aim of this thesis was to compare different normalization methods for qPCR array data in miRNA expression experiments. The results show that data-driven methods based on quantile normalization performs the best. The results also show that in smaller miRNA expression studies, only investigating a few miRNAs, RNU24 is the most suitable endogenous control gene for normalization. Taken together, the results in this thesis show the importance of miRNAs and the possibility of their future use as biomarkers in the field of prostate cancer.