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Several stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry have emphasized the need for petroleum sector reforms in Nigeria. Canada is reputed to have one of the best oil and gas tax regimes in the world. This thesis argues that certain tax measures in Canada’s oil and gas industry have considerable potential for addressing certain industry inefficiencies in Nigeria’s petroleum sector. In developing this argument, this thesis gives an overview of oil and gas taxation in both jurisdictions and examines the possibility of transferring laws between Nigeria and Canada by exploring legal and tax comparative law theories. The thesis also examines the major challenges in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry and identifies viable areas in Canada’s oil and gas tax system which have the potential to address these challenges. Given the peculiarities of oil and gas taxation in each jurisdiction, this thesis suggests that the selected Canadian fiscal and administrative measures may require certain modifications in order to make these measures more suitable for Nigeria’s legal and tax system.

It was perceived that an imbalance exists between resource allocations for health care within the Ekurhuleni Health District (EHD). This study consequently used a retrospective, quantitative methodology to investigate health equity in the EHD and to collect information on clinic buildings, staffing and budget allocations. Although clinics were oversupplied in terms of the norms set by the National Department of Health, they were found not to be in keeping with population growth in the Ekurhuleni district. The study highlighted an inequitable spread of nursing staff, which would require that nursing personnel be re-deployed. The per capita spending in the different service delivery regions was also found to be inequitable. It was subsequently recommended that spending on clinics be revised (especially in the populous Southern SDR), that staff be reallocated and that budget allocations be reviewed to achieve equity in Ekurhuleni. / Health Studies / Thesis (M.A. (Public Health))

“Contested legalities in colonial Mexico : Francisco Xavier Gamboa and the defense of Derecho Indiano” explores the legal culture of late colonial Mexico through the lens of Francisco Xavier Gamboa, the most celebrated Mexican jurist of his era. Born in Guadalajara in 1717, Gamboa practiced in the courtrooms of Mexico City, represented the merchants guild of Mexico in Madrid from 1755 to 1764, analyzed mining legislation in the 1761 Comentarios a las Ordenanzas de Minas, and served three decades as an Audiencia judge until 1794. His long career encompassed the most salient features of the legal culture of his time. The central argument of this dissertation is that the legality Gamboa embodied and defended, known to historians as Derecho Indiano, came under attack in the period of the so-called Bourbon Reforms during the reign of Charles III. Led by José de Gálvez, the visitor-general of New Spain in the 1760s and later the secretary of state for the Indies from 1776 to 1787, the crown sought to streamline the legal order in order to root out corruption, restrict local autonomy, and strengthen royal authority. Gamboa and many other experienced officials opposed this effort. They argued that the old legal order, which recognized local customs and guaranteed judicial autonomy, provided the flexibility needed to maintain the Spanish empire in America. This contest in legalities marked the emergence of a centralized state in Spanish America and the moment when the Spanish legal order began to lose its legitimacy in America. / text

本文研究主旨，在於透過一位變法思想家馬建忠的研究，了解中國近代知識分子在中 國近代化運動中的表現和其在中國近代史上的地位。 本論文所採取的文獻資料，就一手資料而言，除了馬建忠本身的文集『適可齋記言記 行』外，還包括清代檔案、奏摺、各家文集以及日記等。在二手資料方面，則利用與 本文有關的中、日、韓以及英文等各種資料。研究方法，則以史學方法來收集、考證 資料，經歸納、分析和綜合後，再組合敘述馬建忠整個維新主張的內容。 本文共計十萬餘字，分為五章。 第一章緒論，說明研究動機與目的，概述馬建忠所處的時代背景，介紹前人對馬建忠 的研究成果。 第二章敘述馬建忠的生平和經歷，以了解他的維新主張的形成背景和其實踐。 第三章根據馬建忠的著作分析馬建忠對於外交、教育文化方面的改革意見。 第四章對以「富民說」為主的經濟方面和以海軍建設為主的軍事方面等相關改革主張 ，加以探討。 第五章結論，探討馬建忠維新主張的特色，並評價其在中國近代史上的地位。 透過本研究，有助於了解在國家危亂中的知識分子的角色，進一步了解清末整個近代 化運動。

本論文旨在探討1990年後期興起的中國大陸鄉鎮選舉改革。四川省遂寧市市中區步雲鄉1998年的鄉長直選係全中國大陸首例。因此以步雲鄉鄉長直選為案例，探討其起源、歷程、困境及意義為何？特別是著重探究推動基層選舉改革的動因為何？本論文使用「次級資料分析法」與「案例分析法」為研究方法，進而分析中國大陸基層選舉制度的相關海內外文獻，另採用理性選擇制度變遷、自主性制度變遷及強制性制度變遷等理論，以及國家與公民社會研究途徑，以探析影響中國大陸基層選舉改革的因素。 / The theme of this thesis lies in probing into the reforms of China’s local election at Xiang/township level that was beginning to rise in late 1990's. The election of Buyun Xiang chief directly in the Shizhong District of Suining in Sichuan Province set a precedent for the first time at the end of 1998. So in order to regard Buyun Xiang as the case, probe into the origin, course, dilemma and meaning of the Xiang chief election directly? Especially understand emphatically what promote the incentive of the election reform at the basic level? The thesis uses “secondary materials analysis” and “case study analysis” as the research method, as to analysing about the relevant documents which study the Mainland China electoral system at the basic level both at home and abroad, and choose Rational Choice Institutionalism, Motivational and Compulsory of Institutional Transitions, complement it with research approach of State and Civil Society, do case analysis to the factor influencing electoral reform at the basic level.

Ce mémoire analyse trois réformes majeures de politique sociale en Turquie, en deux domaines: emploi et sécurité social. En utilisant l'approche "Usage de l'Europe", ce mémoire developpe une analyse empirique et apporte une explication théorique de ces changements qui ont été introduits au cours du processus d'adhésion de la Turquie à l'Union européenne. "Les usages de l'Europe" est une approche d'européanisation qui se concentre sur le rôle des acteurs domestiques, au sein des États membres et candidats, ainsi que de leur utilisation des ressources de l'Union européenne. Les études de cas utilisées dans cette thèse démontrent l'introduction de changements au niveau de l'État-providence; ainsi, l'approche originelle est suppléée par des concepts provenant de la littérature sur la politique partisane, les institutions formelles et l'héritage des politiques. Cette recherche utilise la méthode de l'analyse de processus pour suivre la réforme des règlements du travail par la voie de reconstitution des droits individuels des travailleurs et de l'Agence d'emploi en Turquie jusqu'en 2003, ainsi que la transformation du système de sécurité sociale en 2008. Ces trois réformes représentent des changements majeurs tant sur le plan institutionnel que politique en Turquie depuis 2001. Afin de comprendre "les usages de l'Europe" dans ces réformes politiques, l'analyse empirique questionne, si, quand et comment les acteurs turcs ont utilisé les ressources, les références et les développements politiques de l'Union européenne lors de ce processus dynamique de réforme. Les réformes du système de sécurité sociale, des règlements du travail, en plus de la reconstitution de l'Agence d'emploi étaient à l'ordre du jour en Turquie depuis les années 1990. La réforme des règlements du travail ont entraîné l'introduction des accommodements flexibles au travail et une révision de la Loi du travail permettant l'établissement d'une législation de la sécurité d'emploi. La reconstitution de l'Agence d'emploi visait à remplacer la vieille institution défunte par une institution moderne afin d'introduire des politiques d'activation. La réforme de sécurité sociale comprend les pensions de retraite, le système de santé ainsi que l'administration des institutions de sécurité sociale. Les principaux résultats révèlent que la provision des ressources de l'Union européenne en Turquie a augmenté à partir de la reconnaissance de sa candidature en 1999 et ce, jusqu'au lancement des négociations pour son adhésion en 2005; ce qui fut une occasion favorable pour les acteurs domestiques impliqués dans les processus de réformes. Cependant, à l'encontre de certaines attentes originelles de l'approche de "les usages de l'Europe", les résultats de cette recherche démontrent que le temps et le sort de "les usages de l'Europe" dépendent des intérêts des acteurs domestiques, ainsi de leurs stratégies tout au long de ce processus de réforme, plutôt que des phases du processus ou la quantité des ressources fournies par l'Union européenne. / This dissertation analyses three major social policy reforms in Turkey in two policy domains: employment and social security. By adopting the Uses of Europe theoretical approach, it aims to analyze empirically and to explain theoretically the uses of Europe in two domains of social policy during the EU membership process in Turkey. Uses of Europe is an actor-centered approach to Europeanization that focuses on the role of national actors, in member and candidate states, and their use of EU resources. The case studies in this thesis involve welfare state changes. Thus the original approach is complemented by concepts from the welfare state literature on formal institutions, partisan politics and policy legacies. This research uses a process-tracing methodology to follow the reform of labor regulations via the restructuring of individual labor rights, restructuring of the Turkish employment agency up through 2003 and the transformation of the social security system by 2008. Both represent major institutional and policy changes in the post-2001 period in Turkey. In order to understand the uses Europe in these policy reforms, the empirical analysis asks whether, where, and how Turkish actors were using EU resources, references and policy developments within the dynamic processes of reform. The reforms of the social security system, labor regulation and the restructuring of the employment agency have been on the agenda in Turkey since the mid-1990’s. The reform of labor regulations involved the introduction of flexible work arrangements and job security legislation into a revised Labor Act. The restructuring of the employment agency aimed to replace the old institution that had become defunct with a modern institution oriented towards active labor market policies. The social security reform comprising pension, healthcare and administrative components aimed to ensure financial sustainability and increase the coverage of the system. The main findings were that the supply of EU resources in Turkey increased from the recognition of its candidate status in 1999 to the launch of accession negotiations in 2005. This supply offered opportunities for national actors involved in the reform processes, via legitimizing uses of Europe, obfuscation and credit claiming, among other practices. However in contrast to some of the expectations of the original Uses of Europe approach, the findings of this research demonstrate that the type and timing of uses of Europe depend on the national actors’ interests and coalition-building strategies in the reform process rather than on the stage of the reform process or amount of resources supplied by the European Union.

<p>Istorijsko razdoblje u Jugoslaviji, u drugoj polovini &scaron;ezdesetih godina 20. veka, nakon otpoĉinjanja privredne reforme i Brionskog plenuma, poznato je po svojim reformskim karakteristikama. Temeljna reforma ekonomskog sistema, ubrzo je pro&scaron;irena i na ostale segmente dru&scaron;tva i uticala je na promenu samog karaktera federalistiĉkog ustrojstva, kao i na decentralizaciju vladajuće partije. U Srbiji su modernizacijske i reformistiĉke tendencije, koje su odnele prevagu u dru&scaron;tvu, najcelovitije bile izraţene u vreme rukovodstva Saveza komunista ove republike, na ĉijem ĉelu se nalazio Marko Nikezić (1968&ndash;1972). U radu su istraţeni spoljnopolitiĉki segmenti jugoslovenskog reformskog usmerenja, analizom kauzalnih odnosa sa istoĉnim i zapadnim hladnoratovskim blokom. Polazeći od strukturne krize u prvoj polovini &scaron;ezdesetih, istraţena je ekonomska i idejna osnova privredne reforme, odgovor na nju sa stanovi&scaron;ta levo radikalne studentske pobune 1968., kao i politiĉki dometi Brionskog plenuma. U radu se istraţuju i reforma i reogranizacija SKJ, su&scaron;tinska decentralizacija jugoslovenskog federalizma, kao i odnosi reformskog rukovodstva Srbije sa drugim jugoslovenskim republikama i jugoslovenskim predsednikom Titom.<br />Posebna paţnja u radu je posvećena partijskom rukovodstvu Marka Nikezića i njegovim temeljnim programskim usmerenjima, promovisanim pod idejom &bdquo;Moderne Srbije&ldquo;. Ideje socijalistiĉke demokratizacije, sa povećanom ulogom autonomnih segmenata dru&scaron;tva, po&scaron;tovanje institucionalnog okvira i insistiranje na kompetentnosti, znaĉajno su umanjili realan pritisak politiĉkih struktura na dru&scaron;tvo, jaĉajući ga na raĉun drţave. TakoĊe, svojim razumevanjem Jugoslavije kao sloţene drţave, odbacivanjem uloge Srbije kao ĉuvara Jugoslavije, odbacivanjem patronata nad Srbima u drugim republikama, povećanim samoupravnim pravima pokrajina &ndash; temeljno i su&scaron;tinski je napravljen diskontinuitet sa svim centralistiĉkim i nacionalistiĉkim pojavama u Srbiji. Ovakva politika odve&scaron;će partijsko rukovodstvo republike u sukob sa predstavnicima nacionalistiĉke kritiĉke inteligencije. U radu su analizirane i<br />ekonomske postavke, kao i spoljnopolitiĉka orijentacija rukovodstva SK Srbije, kao i njihova kulturna politika, koja je imala intenciju da ponudi alternativu postojećim obrascima u ovoj oblasti dru&scaron;tva. Naposletku, istraţen je sukob koncepcija unutar rukovodstva Srbije, njihove meĊusobne razlike, kao i Titova arbitraţa u korist jedne strane, koja će kljuĉne reformske protagoniste modernizacije ukloniti sa politiĉke i javne scene Srbije i Jugoslavije.</p> / <p>History of Yugoslavian in the second half of the 1960s, after the initiation of economic reforms and Brioni Plenary Session, is characterized by the reform attempts. Fundamental reform of the economic system was soon expanded on other parts of society, affected the federalist character of the state and led towards the decentralization of the ruling party. In Serbia, modernizing and reformist tendencies that have prevailed in the society, were in the most comprehensive way expressed at the time of the leadership of the League of Communists of Serbia by Marko Nikezić (1968-1972). In the beginning dissertation deals with foreign policy aspects of Yugoslav reform orientation by analyzing interrelatedness with Cold War policy of Great Powers. Starting from the structural crisis in the first half of the 1960s, economic and ideological basis of economy reform was researched, as well as the response from the radical left with the Students rebellion in 1968 and political achievements of the Brioni Plenary Session. Dissertation also explores reform and reorganization of the LSY, fundamental decentralization of Yugoslav federal system, as well as relations of leaders of Serbian reformist movement with other Yugoslav republics and president Tito.<br />Particular attention is paid to the leaders of Serbian party and to its basic program guidelines, promoted under the idea of &quot;Modern Serbia&quot;. Ideas of socialist democratization, with the increasing role of autonomous parts of society, respect of institutional framework and insisting on competence, have eroded existing pressure of political structure on the society, strengthening it at the expense of the state. Also, their understanding of Yugoslavia as a composite state, rejecting of the role of Serbia as a guardian of Yugoslavia, declining patronage of Serbs in other republics, increased self-&nbsp;government of the provinces &ndash; made fundamental and essential discontinuity with all the centralist and nationalist developments in Serbia. This policy led the Serbian party leadership in conflict with the representatives of the nationalist intellectuals. Dissertation analyzes economic attitudes, foreign policy orientation, as well as cultural policy of the Serbian party leadership, which had the intention to offer an alternative to existing patterns of society development. Finally, we studied the conflict of different concepts within the leadership of Serbia, their differences, and Tito arbitration in favor of one side, with decisive consequences that led towards the removal of key figures of modernization attempt from the political and public scene of Serbia and Yugoslavia.</p>

The quality of governance and institutions is increasingly seen as a fundamental factor in shaping the development prospects of poor countries. As a consequence, donor agencies have increasingly allocated resources to providing technical assistance for improving governance standards in such countries, with mixed results. This thesis investigates the domestic and external factors affecting the outcomes of reforms aimed at improving the quality of government budget institutions across a sample of 16 aid-dependent countries. It provides a new definition of the quality of budget institutions, and develops an analytical framework that identifies the key factors at play in the political economy of budget reforms. The analysis starts with a medium-N ‘pattern finding’ approach, based on a new dataset tracking changes in the quality of budget institutions over the period 2001 to 2007. This is followed by a small-N ‘process tracing’ approach, with in-depth case studies of Mozambique and Burkina Faso (with additional evidence from Tanzania), looking at both overall reform trajectories and four specific budget reform areas. The results show that among domestic factors, economic and political stability are preconditions for successful budget reforms. A minimum degree of government leadership and commitment to reforms is also a very important factor shaping budget reform outcomes, alongside the centralisation of budget institutions. Surprisingly, among external factors, the level of technical assistance and the use of so-called programme aid modalities were less important than the overall fragmentation of aid flows and the ways in which technical assistance is delivered in influencing budget reform outcomes. Donors’ hopes of ‘buying’ better budget governance, therefore, are more likely to be enhanced not by additional resources, but by better behaviour. Moreover, such strategy is likely to work only in countries with enough capacity and interest in reforms.

Ce mémoire analyse trois réformes majeures de politique sociale en Turquie, en deux domaines: emploi et sécurité social. En utilisant l'approche "Usage de l'Europe", ce mémoire developpe une analyse empirique et apporte une explication théorique de ces changements qui ont été introduits au cours du processus d'adhésion de la Turquie à l'Union européenne. "Les usages de l'Europe" est une approche d'européanisation qui se concentre sur le rôle des acteurs domestiques, au sein des États membres et candidats, ainsi que de leur utilisation des ressources de l'Union européenne. Les études de cas utilisées dans cette thèse démontrent l'introduction de changements au niveau de l'État-providence; ainsi, l'approche originelle est suppléée par des concepts provenant de la littérature sur la politique partisane, les institutions formelles et l'héritage des politiques. Cette recherche utilise la méthode de l'analyse de processus pour suivre la réforme des règlements du travail par la voie de reconstitution des droits individuels des travailleurs et de l'Agence d'emploi en Turquie jusqu'en 2003, ainsi que la transformation du système de sécurité sociale en 2008. Ces trois réformes représentent des changements majeurs tant sur le plan institutionnel que politique en Turquie depuis 2001. Afin de comprendre "les usages de l'Europe" dans ces réformes politiques, l'analyse empirique questionne, si, quand et comment les acteurs turcs ont utilisé les ressources, les références et les développements politiques de l'Union européenne lors de ce processus dynamique de réforme. Les réformes du système de sécurité sociale, des règlements du travail, en plus de la reconstitution de l'Agence d'emploi étaient à l'ordre du jour en Turquie depuis les années 1990. La réforme des règlements du travail ont entraîné l'introduction des accommodements flexibles au travail et une révision de la Loi du travail permettant l'établissement d'une législation de la sécurité d'emploi. La reconstitution de l'Agence d'emploi visait à remplacer la vieille institution défunte par une institution moderne afin d'introduire des politiques d'activation. La réforme de sécurité sociale comprend les pensions de retraite, le système de santé ainsi que l'administration des institutions de sécurité sociale. Les principaux résultats révèlent que la provision des ressources de l'Union européenne en Turquie a augmenté à partir de la reconnaissance de sa candidature en 1999 et ce, jusqu'au lancement des négociations pour son adhésion en 2005; ce qui fut une occasion favorable pour les acteurs domestiques impliqués dans les processus de réformes. Cependant, à l'encontre de certaines attentes originelles de l'approche de "les usages de l'Europe", les résultats de cette recherche démontrent que le temps et le sort de "les usages de l'Europe" dépendent des intérêts des acteurs domestiques, ainsi de leurs stratégies tout au long de ce processus de réforme, plutôt que des phases du processus ou la quantité des ressources fournies par l'Union européenne. / This dissertation analyses three major social policy reforms in Turkey in two policy domains: employment and social security. By adopting the Uses of Europe theoretical approach, it aims to analyze empirically and to explain theoretically the uses of Europe in two domains of social policy during the EU membership process in Turkey. Uses of Europe is an actor-centered approach to Europeanization that focuses on the role of national actors, in member and candidate states, and their use of EU resources. The case studies in this thesis involve welfare state changes. Thus the original approach is complemented by concepts from the welfare state literature on formal institutions, partisan politics and policy legacies. This research uses a process-tracing methodology to follow the reform of labor regulations via the restructuring of individual labor rights, restructuring of the Turkish employment agency up through 2003 and the transformation of the social security system by 2008. Both represent major institutional and policy changes in the post-2001 period in Turkey. In order to understand the uses Europe in these policy reforms, the empirical analysis asks whether, where, and how Turkish actors were using EU resources, references and policy developments within the dynamic processes of reform. The reforms of the social security system, labor regulation and the restructuring of the employment agency have been on the agenda in Turkey since the mid-1990’s. The reform of labor regulations involved the introduction of flexible work arrangements and job security legislation into a revised Labor Act. The restructuring of the employment agency aimed to replace the old institution that had become defunct with a modern institution oriented towards active labor market policies. The social security reform comprising pension, healthcare and administrative components aimed to ensure financial sustainability and increase the coverage of the system. The main findings were that the supply of EU resources in Turkey increased from the recognition of its candidate status in 1999 to the launch of accession negotiations in 2005. This supply offered opportunities for national actors involved in the reform processes, via legitimizing uses of Europe, obfuscation and credit claiming, among other practices. However in contrast to some of the expectations of the original Uses of Europe approach, the findings of this research demonstrate that the type and timing of uses of Europe depend on the national actors’ interests and coalition-building strategies in the reform process rather than on the stage of the reform process or amount of resources supplied by the European Union.