ement among economists as to why interest should be paid, it was almost unanimously held by most if not all economists that interest is necessary for banking and consequently necessary for financial and economic development and that any religion, like Islam, that prohibits interest, is an obstacle to economic growth and development. This view was not exclusively held by Western economists who may not know much about Islam, but even by some Muslim thinkers who, repeating the controversial arguments justifying interest, claimed that there is no other way to develop except to leave the religion of Islam aside or at least its economic and political aspects because it stands in the way of progress and development. However, there were some other Muslim scholars who were not so convinced of the Western and pro-Western idea that interest is a necessary component of any financial and economic development and were convinced that if Allah has forbidden interest then there must be something wrong with it and when He allowed trade and PLS (Profit and Loss Sharing) system of finance as alternatives, then these must, perhaps, lead to the achievement of greater financial and economic development 'without tears' (Kahf 1978). They sought in the Koran and Sunnah a way of doing banking and encouraging development that is not only complying with Shariah but that may lead to a more just and more beneficial way of development. They dug into the historical practices of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), his companions and the early followers and found that the alternatives, to interest, that were acceptable to, maintained and encouraged by, Islam, are trade (profit) and the PLS system which were practiced long before the rise of Islam, so they just applied the principles to today's banking practices and called it 'Islamic Banking'. This study aims to show that interest is not a necessary component of banking, as was widely held before, and that Islam, by prohibiting interest and permitting profit and Profit sharing as alternatives, is not an obstacle to, but a promoter of, economic growth and development with social justice. This study also attempts to distill and refine the theoretical bases of Islamic Banking. It critically surveys and discusses the different theories that have been advanced to justify interest and profits and compares the functions and institutions of the Islamic Financial and Banking Systems with their Interest-Based counterparts. It also discusses the likely impact of the Profit and Loss Sharing (PLS) system, and empirically analyses the performance of some of the oldest Islamic Banks vis-a-vis the performance of the Interest-Based Banks of the same countries. The empirical analyses undertaken showed that Islamic banking is more appropriate and more relevant to the economic growth and development of the Muslim World. Despite the fact that they are operating in hostile and non Islamic environments, the existing Islamic Banks have managed to mobilise substantial amounts of deposits and contributed greatly to the finance of many economic sectors and projects of the countries they are working in.

The purpose of this study was to identify how knowledgeable the students of Mississippi are of severe weather. The state of Mississippi is ranked second in the nation with the total number of deaths per state per year. The state also ranks among the top 10 of all states with number of tornadoes per state and cost of damage per state. Considering the facts mentioned above, a study was designed to discover if the students were taught severe weather awareness while they progressed through their twelve years of elementary and secondary schooling. A survey was created through the research of the Mississippi Department of Education, and Jim Belles, National Weather Service Memphis Office Warning Coordination Meteorologist. The results of the survey were then put to statistical tests to find out the significance of the survey questions.

Counties and cities in Virginia exhibit distinct regional patterns of growth. While some regions are amongst the fastest growing of any in the nation, other regions have experienced slow or even negative rates of growth in recent decades. To better understand growth in Virginia in recent decades, this thesis presents and estimates an empirical model that will help determine which factors have had the greatest influence on the various components of growth. These components include migration, natural increase (births minus deaths) and employment growth. The results suggest that overall growth was most positively associated with areas of diffuse but high population, as found in many peri-urban localities. Results also indicate that high property taxes have had a strong negative influence upon growth in recent decades. For policy makers and planners in rapidly growing regions, these results indicate that development ordinances that restrict growth to more densely populated areas could effectively slow rates of rapid growth. For slow growth regions, these results indicate that maintenance of low living costs to attract migrants and a diversified employment base may be an effective means to stimulate growth. / Master of Science

No description available.

The New West, located in the interior West of the United States and includes the states of Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, is experiencing a large and growing population of internal migrants. This dissertation utilized data from the United States Bureau of the Census‘ County and City Data Book: 2007 and other sources to analyze migration patterns at the structural-contextual level and the individual-level in the New West. At the structural-contextual level, ordinary least squares regression equations were estimated to predict a series of relationships between ecological factors and net migration rates for nonmetropolitan counties. Focus was placed on variables pertaining to amenity-based characteristics and sustenance organization in order to predict net migration rates. Findings suggest that areas with flourishing sustenance producing activities and more amenity-based characteristics are experiencing higher levels of in-migration. At the individual-level, multinomial logit equations were estimated for a sample of residents living in the state of Nevada based on age, educational background, sex, marital status, and racial/ethnic identification to predict the likelihood of an individual having engaged in an interstate migration into the state of Nevada. Individuals having recently migrated to Nevada were found to be older, having obtained higher levels of education, and of Hispanic or Asian descent. These findings confirm that both structural-contextual level and individual-level predictors are essential in the understanding the patterns of migration occurring in the New West.

This study examines the effect of changes in the industrial composition of employment, a change in the “industrial mix”, on the prevalence of poverty across Canadian counties. Regression analysis suggests shifts in the proportion of employment to high-wage industries reduce poverty rates. This finding contradicts some previous literature, which argued that job growth in high-wage industries would not reduce poverty rates because these jobs are not available to low-skilled workers. / Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA)

Apparent increases in sales and price of rural land, recent changes in land taxing procedure and proposed land-use legislation have brought forth a number of land questions among legislators, public officials and the general citizenry of Utah. This study is directed at questions pertaining to land purchases and land buyers in rural Utah counties. A random sample was taken of the land transfer cards on file at the Utah State Tax Commission. Land buyers whose names appeared on the transfer cards and the returned questionnaires were used in the analysis and are the sole basis of the conclusions of the study. General conclusions from the study were: Land-use at the time of the transaction was most frequently agricultural or vacant or idle for acreages and was most frequently nonagricultural for lots. Following the transaction there was a tendency on the part of buyers to change agricultural and vacant or idle land to a different land use. Buyer characteristics such as annual income, buyer age and residence varied among the regions of the state and were important factors in land transfers. About 50 percent of the total dollars spent for land parcels included in the sample went for residential land. Land located near city limits, improved or unimproved, averaged the highest price per acre or lot. The study's conclusions apply only to recorded land transfers on file at the Utah State Tax Commission for the years 1969 through 1971.

The purpose of this paper is to test the hypothesis that economies of scale exist in the provision of government services in nonmetropolitan Utah counties. Financial data from the counties was analyzed using statistical methods. Total expenditures, general government, public safety, public works, libraries, health and welfare, parks and recreation, and toads are examined.

INTRODUCTION: Since 2006, the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recommended routine vaccination of adolescent girls at ages 11 or 12 years with 3 doses of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. Cervical cancer disparities exist for several populations in the United States. The topic is scantly documented in scholarly literature with modest knowledge of the uptake of the HPV vaccine in the Delta region. AIM: To examine the HPV vaccination coverage estimates in the counties and parishes that comprise the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) and compare with other non-DRA counties or parishes and the rest of US. This will provide vaccination coverage estimates for adolescent females in the DRA designated Delta region that will provide public health professionals with data for policy and programmatic decision-making. METHODS: We combined data from multiple survey years (2008-2012) from the National Immunization Survey-Teen (NIS-Teen). We conducted bivariate analyses to describe the distribution across selected socio-demographic characteristics and multivariable logistic regression models to produce adjusted prevalence ratios. RESULTS: Teens in the DRA had lower HPV vaccine initiation and completion rates compared to Non- DRA counties or parishes and the Rest of the US. The 3-dose HPV vaccination series completion rate among those who had initiated HPV vaccination and had 24 weeks between their first dose and the NIS interview date was 60.9% (95% CI: 55.8 – 65.8) among adolescent females in the DRA compared to 66.9 (95% CI: 63.7-70.0) of adolescent females in the Non-DRA counties and 67.6% (95% CI: 66.2-69.0) in the rest of the US. CONCLUSION: The low HPV vaccination coverage among adolescents in the DRA showed that it is important to implement additional strategies to increase HPV vaccination coverage that will prevent cancers associated with HPV in the DELTA Region. Stronger provider recommendations and awareness are important for increasing HPV vaccine uptake.

Orientador: Valeriano Mendes Ferreira Costa / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciencias Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T09:48:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MotaJunior_VidalDiasda_D.pdf: 1767791 bytes, checksum: 0ffcaa41a10df91197218efb8ec624de (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: Esta tese analisa o processo de criação de municípios no Estado de São Paulo, em dois períodos da democracia brasileira (1946-1964 e 1988-1996). Para isso foi realizada uma análise comparativa de um conjunto de emancipações ocorridas na Região Administrativa de Sorocaba. Investigaram-se os atores, as estratégias e as motivações políticas que influenciaram a expansão do número de municípios na região. E ao se comparar os dois momentos verificou-se uma série de semelhanças na criação de municípios, como a predominância dos distritos com pequena população e a forte atuação do legislativo estadual. Percebeu-se que, nesses casos, a criação de municípios é decorrente de no mínimo dois fatores: 1) ela é fruto de um processo específico de atuação das lideranças locais e dos deputados cujo discurso pautava-se na melhoria dos serviços públicos e desenvolvimento; 2) é resultado do interesse de lideranças locais, políticas ou econômicas, que visavam garantir que o valor arrecadado pelo distrito não fosse compartilhado diretamente com outras localidades, e sim pudesse ser utilizado em benefício próprio / Abstract: This thesis analyzes the process of municipalities¿ creation in São Paulo State, in two periods of the Brazilian democracy (1946-1964 and 1988-1996). For this a comparative analysis of a set of emancipations that occurred in the Administrative Region of Sorocaba was carried through. The actors, strategies and motivations were investigated and also the political interests that influenced the expansion of the number of cities of the region. To compare these two moments, a series of similarities in the creation of cities was verified, as the predominance of the districts with small population and the strong legislative performance of the state. It was perceived that, in these cases, the municipalities creation was caused by two factors: 1) it is fruit of a specific process of performance of the local leaderships and members of the house of representatives based in the improvement of the public services and general development; 2) it is result of the interest of local political or economic leaderships, who aim at guaranteeing that the local tax collection is shared directly with other localities, and it can be used in proper advantage / Doutorado / Estado, Politicas Publicas e Processos Politicos / Doutor em Ciências Sociais