M.A. (Development Studies) / With the ever-increasing rate of urbanisation, developing countries are faced with a new problem - that is, the decline in the urban environment and living conditions. This scenario is likely to further deteriorate due to unprecedented levels of population growth and rural-urban and international migration. The employment-carrying capacity of urban areas is eroded by these trends, resulting in an influx of labour, which cannot be absorbed by the formal sector. As a way of circumventing poverty, the urban unemployed population resort to informal activities for survival, regardless of the legal consequences. The literature on the informal sector is very controversial. This is partly because the nature of the sector itself is contradictory and defies precise definition. More importantly, various analysts and policy-makers approach the informal sector with different expectations. These different expectations of the informal sector are, in turn, related to the preconceived points of view of the analysts as to what constitutes the proper dynamics of the informal sector and what the role of the sector is in alleviating urban poverty. Central to the views on the role of the informal sector in urban poverty alleviation have been the concerns of governments of developing countries on whether to support it or control its activities. The realisation by governments of the need for expansion of the informal sector has resulted in their intervention in this sector by means of regulations, programmes and frameworks to define how the business activities should be carried out. Interventions in the informal sector have resulted in a distortion of the production structure in favour of the formal sector. On the other hand, the very nature of informality and its inherent characteristics stimulate profitability for the hawkers (peddlers) or the small business entrepreneurs. The formalisation of the informal sector eradicates the economic dynamics, which necessitate the viability of the activities being undertaken. The consequences have been the further impoverishment of the small-scale entrepreneurs...

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2014. / Developing countries are faced with a number of health-care challenges: long waiting hours of patients in long queues is just one of such challenges. The key cause of this has been identi ed to be a lack, or uneven distribution human resources among health facilities. This sets the stage for poor and ine cient delivery of quality primary health care, especially to the rural dweller as they usually have a fewer medical professionals in their area. The impact of this a ects not only the state of health of the population, but also the economy, and population growth of the a ected community. To try and address this, the introduction of Information Technology (IT) into health-care has been suggested by many health governing bodies like theWorld Health Organization (WHO) and other authorities in health care. The ability of IT to go beyond physical boarders and extend professional care has been the key characteristic that supports its integration into health-care. This has eventually lead to the development of Health Information Systems (HIS) that support remote consultation. Despite all these innovations, there is still evidence of poor and ine cient delivery of services at health facilities in many developing countries. We propose a completely di erent approach of addressing the problem of poor and ine cient delivery of health-care services. The key challenge we address is that of lengthy queues and long waiting hours of patients in health facilities. To cut down on the use of nancial resources (whose lack or shortage is a major challenge in developing economies), we propose an approach that focuses on the routing of patients within and between health facilities. The hypothesis for this study is based on a suggestion that alterations to the routing of patients would have an e ect on the identi ed challenges we seek to address in this study. To support this claim, a simulator of the health system was built using the OMNET++ simulation package. Analysis of test-runs for di erent scenarios were then tested and the simulation results were compared against controls to validate the functioning of the simulator. Upon validation of the simulator, it was then used to test the hypothesis. With data from the di erent health-care facilities used as input parameters to the simulator, various simulation runs were executed to mimic di erent routing scenarios. Results from the di erent simulation runs were then analyzed. The results from the simulator and analysis of these results revealed that: In a case where patients where not given the liberty to consult with a doctor of their choice but rather to consult with the next available doctor/specialist, the average time spent by patients dropped by 26%. The analysis also revealed that moving a receptionist from the rst stage upon patient entry into the health facility reduced the average patient life time by 85%. This was found to be a consequence of a drop in queue length (a 28% drop in queue length). On the other hand, the analysis also revealed that the total removal of a general receptionist increased patient life-time in a facility by 30.19%. This study also revealed that if specialists were deployed to certain health facilities rather than having referred patients come to them in the urban health facilities, patient population in the urban health centers will drop by 32%. This also saw a drop in patient waiting time in the rural health centers as more doctors were available (a reduced patient-to-doctor ratio in rural health facilities). The results from the analysis support our hypothesis and revealed that indeed, alterations to the way patients are routed does have an e ect on the queue lengths and total waiting time of patients in the health system.

by Ip Ka Tsun Anthony and Tang Ying Wa. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-46). / ABSTRACT --- p.i / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / LIST OF TABLES --- p.iv / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS --- p.v / Chapter / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter II . --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.4 / Selection Criteria of the Neglected Markets --- p.4 / Market Review --- p.4 / Day-of-the-Week Effect --- p.9 / Month- of - the - Year Effect --- p.11 / Spill´ؤOver Effect Across National Stock Markets --- p.11 / Granger Causality Between Aggregate Stock Price and Trading Volume --- p.13 / Chapter III. --- DATA and METHODOLOGY --- p.16 / Day-of-the-Week Effect and Month-of-the-Year Effect --- p.16 / Spill-Over Effect Across National Stock Markets and Granger Causality Between Aggregate Stock Price and Trading Volume --- p.18 / Chapter IV. --- EMPIRICAL RESULTS --- p.24 / Day-of-the-Week Effect --- p.24 / Month-of-the-Year Effect --- p.26 / Spill-Over Effect Across National Stock Markets --- p.28 / Granger Causality Between Aggregate Stock Price and Trading Volume --- p.31 / Chapter V. --- CONCLUSION --- p.36 / Direction of Further Studies --- p.38 / APPENDIX --- p.40 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.42

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: leaves 147-152. / by Felton L. Lamb, Jr. / M.S.

Thesis. 1979. M.C.P.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: leaves 127-130. / M.C.P.

Thesis. 1977. M.Arch.A.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Includes bibliographical references. / M.Arch.A.S.

Over the past decade '"Sustainable Development" (SD) has emerged as the latest development catchphrase. A wide range of nongovernmental as well as governmental organizations have embraced it as the new paradigm of development. A review of the literature that has sprung up around the concept of SD indicates, however, a lack of consistency in its interpretation. More important, while the all-encompassing nature of the concept gives it political strength, its current formulation by the mainstream of SD thinking contains significant weaknesses. These include an incomplete perception of the problems of poverty and environmental degradation, and confusion about the role of economic growth and about the concept of sustainability. The purpose of this study was to identify common elements in a political economy of the environment, relating environmental change to the dynamics of ideology and policy, and at different levels of political complexity. The intention was to provide a structural analysis of the environment in which the development process illuminates environmental change at both a philosophical and material level. The problem in achieving SD was related to the overriding structures of the international economic system, which have arisen out of the exploitation of environmental resources, and which frequently operate as constraints on the achievement of long-term sustainable practices. Insufficient accounting of ecological aspects of economic growth and development has resulted from intellectual traditions, where solutions are formulated, point in different directions. Conclusions are drawn that SD involves trade-offs between biological, economic and social systems and is found in the interactive zone between these systems. There are a number of international factors that may be necessary, but insufficient, conditions for SD on a national level, including peace, debt reduction, and more propitious terms of trade. There was seen dilemmas relating to SD, including the role of growth as the unquestioned objective of economic policy.

This study was designed to discover how beneficiary participation in decision making can be encouraged and enhanced in rural development assistance projects in developing countries. The study sought to increase the understanding about how beneficiary participation occurs through the identification of patterns, processes or techniques in development assistance projects that enhance the ability of local people to gain control of the benefits and decision making processes in projects affecting their lives. The data for this study were obtained from telephone interviews with seven individuals who are or have been rural development assistance project managers. A constant comparative method of qualitative data analysis was employed. The findings indicated that community participation is encouraged and enhanced in projects that involve a few salient activities, relatively less complex inputs and consequently less money than larger, more complex projects. These projects should be based on a felt need in the community and be designed to fit community capabilities. As such, they enhance the power of participation to produce a recognizable benefit and to provide a sense of progress toward community established goals. In addition, community participation is encouraged when some investment is required from the community. Investment creates ownership and tests the value and appropriateness of the activity to the community. The case studies suggested that participation is a process that requires support at the community level, from intermediary organizations and from donor agencies and national governments. At the community level, the most practical and effective vehicle through which to implement participatory projects is existing community organizations. These organizations generally possess the necessary skills to be, and by definition, should be involved in all phases of the project from design to evaluation. Locally identified leaders, while a two-edged sword, are necessary for the effectiveness of local organizations and for the endorsement of project activities. Intermediary organizations emerge in this study as key actors in the participatory development process. These organizations act as catalysts and linkages by informing and sharing information with communities; by helping communities gather data about themselves in identifying the most critical problems; by mediating in conflict resolution; and in obtaining funds and other forms of assistance from outside the community. Their role is characterized by an approach to rural communities that is both understanding and interactive. Donor organizations and national governments are seen in the role of development coordinators. The coordinator role is responsive to community desires and strives for equality among diverse groups and communities. They emphasize a "process" approach to development administration. As a result of effective participation, rural poor communities are able to meet their basic needs, solve their problems, and achieve the power to control their lives. In terms of mechanisms encouraging beneficiary participation, this study recommends the following: 1) Participatory development should be viewed as a process of trial and error learning whose goal is community empowerment. Empowerment signifies the degree to which people have gained the capacity to obtain results which they intend to obtain from their involvement in decision making in the development process. 2) Intermediary organizations must assume a key role in the participatory development process. These organizations are composed of sensitive and understanding people who are dedicated to community participation. The function of these organizations is twofold. First, they act as links between donor agencies or national governments and local communities. Second, they function as catalysts in participatory development. The goal of these organizations is to facilitate the building of community capacity in terms of skills and knowledge to the point that the community no longer needs their assistance. 3) The appropriate roles of donor agencies and national governments in participatory development is as coordinators of development assistance projects. This role requires them to provide funds specifically for participatory development; to strive for equity in funding different groups and communities; and to adopt a "process" style of project administration that is seen as most conducive to participatory development. 4) Projects aiming at encouraging beneficiary participation should start small, with a few relatively simple activities that respond to local needs. These activities are most effectively implemented through existing local organizations that are characterized as having control of financial resources, legal authority, involvement in all project activities from design to evaluation and are led by community appointed leaders. 5) It is more important to emphasize "how" projects are implemented rather than "what" is accomplished. This "how" necessarily involves beneficiary participation which is defined as the participation of beneficiaries in their own development by controlling resources, defining needs and making decisions about how these needs can best be met. / Graduation date: 1992

This paper uses general equilibrium static and dynamic models to examine the economic and environmental effect of capital liberalization policy based on the general equilibrium static and dynamic models. The first topic develops a static general equilibrium model of a small open economy in the presence of unemployment with three sectors: a nontradeable sector, a tradeable sector, and an environmental sector. In the second section, I use a dynamic general equilibrium model of a small open economy in the presence of unemployment with three sectors: an importable sector, an exportable sector, and an environmental sector. In the last section I analyze the environmental effect of a developing country's capital liberalization policy when the consumer values the environment. The dynamic model, based on intertemporal optimization, focuses on the role of how land development is affected by foreign capital investment. The time-varying dynamic policies, such as planned permanent and planned gradual capital liberalization, are investigated to analyze the dynamic path of land and foreign capital stock in the short-run. The major findings of this paper are described as follows. In the long-run dynamic analysis, the production of the environmental good in a developing country is reduced when the developing country has a positive net income effect due to further capital liberalization, if there is an initial shortage of capital investment. The reduction of the environmental good might have a significant welfare impacts on the welfare of a country if the consumer places high value on the environment. This result indicates that countries with less environmental awareness are likely to improve the welfare of their countries whereas countries with strong environmental awareness are likely to reduce the welfare of their countries with capital liberalization. The other important result is that inclusion of the environment in the consumer's utility function slows down the pace of land development in the short-run dynamic model if the developing country lowers its capital investment tax rate. / Graduation date: 1996

Beginning at least as early as 1977, the international community formally recognized that drinking water and sanitation were not a reality for large percentage of the world and that it was necessary to take action to change this. Over the following three decades more actions and agreements were made, each with a progressively acute awareness of the requirements to achieve this goal and the failures of previous attempts. Poor information sharing and underestimation of cost were identified as two of the greatest recurring impediments. The Millennium Declaration made in 2000 is the newest campaign to move towards this goal, among others, and provides a metric against which progress and success can be measured. At this point, great success has been made overall towards the Millennium Development Goals. Millions of people have gained access to improved sources of drinking water and several regions have surpassed their goals. Unfortunately this progress is not homogenous and the definitions of success are misleading. Sub-Saharan Africa is lagging significantly behind due to water scarcity, large population growth, urban versus rural disparities, and slow growth of piped infrastructure. Limitations to the sector as a whole have been identified as logistics, funding limitations, inadequate cost recovery, and inadequate operations and maintenance. Additionally, the metric of access to an "improved" source does not equate to safe drinking water and is not attached to sanitation improvements or overall health improvements. In further examining the financial aspects of achieving the goals, it is clear that there is a great deal of inconsistency. Many donors, whether public or private, international or local, are giving money to the development goals. But the money given is often not equivalent to the original commitment, not given to the countries with the greatest need, not given to the water and sanitation sector specifically, given in the form of loans which must be repaid, given to new large scale systems which are not always appropriate, or not sufficient to achieve the desired target. This makes it very difficult to achieve and sustain progress in the areas which have been difficult to reach thus far, including Sub-Saharan Africa. The need for progress toward safe water is clear from the perspective of health. Water is needed for hygienic practices, as well as consumption, and it is counterproductive to use water that is not clean. One of the leading causes of both death and disability worldwide is diarrheal disease which can largely be attributed to unsafe water. Studies have shown that there is a positive correlation between drinking water interventions and improved health outcomes, especially with increased proximity of the source, and for this reason there is an even greater need to tie the definition of success in improved water to overall health outcomes. It is also important that public health practitioners, engineers, and professionals from other related sectors work together to improve knowledge sharing and ultimately efficiency in achieving the goal of safe water for all. Point-of-use interventions are among the best approaches to delivering means of water treatment to unreached communities because they can be deployed much more quickly and easily than a traditional piped system, require less expertise, and reduce recontamination that may occur during transport and storage. Such technologies utilize a variety of mechanisms to address a range of contaminants and concerns. In order for any technology to be successful though, it must be accompanied by a method of safe storage as well as education, training, and continued external support. This information is synthesized in a technology selection guide, which attempts provide assistance in technology selection by addressing the immediate issue of water quality for the sake of health benefits, while also considering the context of the installation, the user preferences, the level of expertise of the implementers, the cost, operations and maintenance requirements, and common areas of failure. Simultaneously it allows for technologies to be compared so that the most appropriate technology may be chosen. The guide is marketed towards a non-technical audience with the intention of promoting knowledge sharing and serving as a translation between the developers of the treatment technology and those who implement it in developing countries.