Thesis (M.S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Family and Child Studies, 2003. / Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains ii, 43 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 33-35).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Dr. Gary M. Fournier, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences, Dept. of Economics. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Mar. 1, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2001. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-164).

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references.

The aim of the thesis is to investigate the perception of investors in a rural bank as regards the uses of financial statements. Rural banks are the main source of financial service in rural sub-Saharan Africa and their services are mostly patronized by rural folks. Illiteracy rates in developing countries are very high as compared to developed countries and most of these people are living in rural areas. Sixty percent (60%) of Ghana’s population are rural dwellers and illiteracy levels are high in these areas. Financial information from relevant literature is used purposely for the comprehension of various financial positions of a company. Financial information from studies is most understood by expects with knowledge of account and finance. Investors who don’t have knowledge of account or finance rely on expects advice when making financial decisions. The study is therefore examining what extent of knowledge the rural dwellers who are mostly illiterates, and hence might not be able to understand financial statements, have of financial performance of the bank in which they are investing. The data was collected from a sample of one hundred and eighty respondents using questionnaires and face to face interviews conducted with management staff of the bank and used for analysis. Analyses were presented in a statistical format using mean score, vein diagrams and ratio calculation. Majority of investors in the bank were found to have tertiary level education making them literate, and they could understand and interpret financial statements. They preferred to have more access to financial statements and perceived service delivery a priority. Managers of the bank use profitability and liquidity ratios calculated from the various financial statements of the bank to determine their performance. The research was conducted on just one of the many rural banks in Ghana and as such could lead to results which might be not representative of what patens in rest of the many rural banks scattered across the country. The present study adds to the existing literature by examine the issue of user perception of financial statements in sub-Saharan Africa i.e. a developing economy and the issue of illiterates knowledge of financial performance. This seeks to determine their understanding of the bank’s performance measures. / P.O. Box AF 1251 Adenta-Accra Ghana 00233244707814

published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

In China, in the midst of rapid urban expansion, research has been focused on the urban sector. The rural sector is by no means less significant, yet it is left largely unexplored. Losing the land rights for urban expansion, the rural communities suffered from the deterioration of socio-economic conditions. The central government announced a rural resettlement policy in 2005 to pursue an urban-rural balanced urbanization mode. After experimenting with this plan on a large scale for one decade, its effectiveness has not been explored comprehensively. Current studies on urbanization and rural land development in China focused on the central and provincial governments, seldom paying attention to the lower level. This research analyzed and compared the outcomes and equity implications of the rural resettlement policy under different governing modes in Tianjin, where the policy has been conducted on a large scale over a ten-year period. Case studies of seven rural resettlement projects in Tianjin were conducted, mainly using qualitative methods. Different governance modes in the implementation process were explored and categorized according to the network governance concept. Based on the data from a questionnaire survey, interviews and field observation, the outcomes and equity implications of this policy were assessed and evaluated. Working definitions of governance and urban-rural equity were also developed. This study revealed that the underlying objective of the rural resettlement policy was to transfer the rural land ownership from collective-owned to state-owned, though the overt objective is to improve the livelihood of the rural people. Furthermore, the rural communities were differentiated in accordance with their economic conditions. The district and town governments were given autonomy to deal with such complex situations. The competency and the expectations of the stakeholders in the process of project implementation were found to be essential in the formation of the three governance modes. In terms of policy performance, the effectiveness of the re-drawing of land rights was greatly influenced by local economic conditions; the fact that distribution of the compensation was more determined by the governance modes; and that, without considering the characteristics of the rural people, the development of the living environment could not be recognized as efficient. Furthermore, the objective of reshaping the rural people’s economic activities was frustrated by insufficient professional training for the resettled rural laborers. In terms of the policy implications on urban-rural equity, the wellbeing of resettled households, though improved in the aspect of public facility provision, social welfare provision for them was still considered deficient. Furthermore, the rural people’s perceptions of improvement in their lives were found closely related to their general satisfaction with the policy. Therefore, the implementation of the rural resettlement policy in Tianjin has contributed to the clarification of the rural land rights system and improvement of the living standards of rural residents to some extent. However, its efforts were impaired when it failed to consider fully the local conditions and the requirements of the rural communities. Thus, further clarification of the policy objectives and the implementation process open to public consultation are considered essential factors for further improvement. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Aims To investigate the impact of organisational change on the delivery of health services in remote and rural Scotland using, as an example, changes in the organisation of out of hours primary care, and to identify the attributes of successful innovation in remote and rural health provision. Methods The thesis comprised a thematic literature review; in depth interviews with key stakeholders, and case studies based in remote communities. Results The literature review identified recurring attributes of successful innovation. Interviews with remote and rural GPs showed that working out of hours had been, or still was, an integral part of life as a GP. Most agreed there had been an impact on family life. Advantages and challenges of remote and rural working were identified; many GPs could not envisage a better way of delivering services. This was contested by managers. There were divergent views of the 2004 GMS contract. The GPs who opted out of 24 hour responsibility experienced a transformational change in working life. All in all, there was a lack of understanding, and trust, between organisations. NHS 24 and Scottish Ambulance Service were criticised. There had been little change in out of hours service delivery since 2005, and the present configuration was seen as expensive and unsustainable. Despite these acknowledged difficulties, the view was that difficult decisions had been avoided, and a long-term solution that fits the area was required. The case studies added detail and contextual understanding of delivery of services. This could vary even within a practice area. Service delivery on islands was different, with a stronger tie between community and practice, governed by transport logistics, and difficult to understand from an outside perspective. Conclusions. The delivery of out of hours services in remote and rural Scotland has been a difficult and contested issue. Context can have different impacts, even within a very small area. Failure to innovate was associated with lack of collaboration, lack of strategy, lack of understanding of local context, and avoidance of difficult decisions. The organisational change literature demonstrated that receptive contexts for change were not present.

In studies of community in the past there is a general absence of conscious, structured theory, invariably resulting in a lack of coherence and comparability. This thesis is, then, an application of the concept using an explicit theory of community. It is conducted through a case-study of two, contrasting regions of rural Staffordshire - the 'Lowlands' and the 'Moorlands' - with a focus on one parish within each region, between the mid-eighteenth-century and the later nineteenth century. It tests the hypothesis that the growth of capitalism in the local economies of these two regions led to changes in social relationships and structures within the two principal communities studied, and that these changes were in the direction from 'integrated' communities towards 'class-based' communities. The first part of the thesis shows how the basis for an integrated community in the eighteenth century was undermined by the personal forces of capital's advance, (that is by the actions of the landlords and farmers), though- to differing degrees in the two regions, with the Moorlands being altered rather less. The second part focuses on the nineteenth century, and reveals that the community in the Lowlands had moved some way, though not completely, towards becoming a class-based community; the community in the Moorlands, however, had moved even less in this direction, and in many ways remained more in the mode of an integrated (eighteenth century-like) community.

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