The efficient market hypothesis in developing economies: an investigation of the Monday effect and January effect on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange post the multi-currency system (2009-2013): a Garch approach analysis

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF MANAGEMENT IN FINANCE AND INVESTMENTS Of WITS BUSINESS SCHOOL March 2015The paper investigates the presence of two calendar anomalies; the day of the week or Mon-day effect and the Month of the year or January effect by modelling volatility of the industrial index returns on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) pre and post the multi-currency sys-tem. The procedure is carried out by employing non-parametric models from the Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedastic (GARCH) family; GARCH, Exponential GARCH (EGARCH) and Threshold GARCH (TGARCH). The models are better suited in modelling daily and monthly seasonality as they can capture the time-varying volatility of the stock return data. The period of analysis is from the January 2004 to April 2008 (pre-dollarization period) and the second period of analysis is from the post-currency reform which runs from February 2009 to December 2013. The results obtained from the study are mixed. The day of the week test finds significantly negative returns on Monday, Wednesday and Friday pre the currency reform whilst a nega-tive Wednesday effect is found post the currency reform period. The TGARCH model is the only one that captures a negative monthly effects on all the months of the year with the ex-ception of January pre the currency reform period. No monthly effects are found on the ZSE post the currency reform period by all models employed. The absence of monthly seasonality effects and the reduced number of days of day of the week effects from all the GARCH mod-els employed can infer that the currency reform had a positive impact which translated to market efficiency

An investigation into the suspension, attrition and breakage of nickel crystals during the nickel reduction process

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-74).The aim of this study was to characterize the different impeller speeds required for suspension, attrition and breakage of nickel crystals in an autoclave

Kairos consciousness and the Zimbabwean ecclesiology’s response to crisis

The Christian church in Zimbabwe radically indicated the courage and consciousness to identify itself with the struggle for liberation of the marginalised, the oppressed and the impoverished, more specifically in the context of chimurenga or the armed struggle. Thus, the Kairos model of ecclesiology consistently and unequivocally supported masses who were the majority Zimbabweans during the protracted struggle of the 1970s against racial system, thereby assuming such designations as the church of struggle, the Church of chimurenga, the church in trenches and combat with the people; hence, the liberationist language signalled a symbol of Kairos consciousness for Zimbabwean ecclesiology. Kairos consciousness implies the liberationist methodological framework of ecclesiology when the church becomes the interlocutor and articulator identified and associated with non-persons. Furthermore, the non-persons, the impoverished and the marginalised occupy the epicentre of epistemological space in ecclesiological discourse. Precisely, the socio-economic and political landscape of Zimbabwe radically shifted from 2000 onwards, marking the genesis of a crisis. This article based on ecclesiology investigates prophetic role and the impact of the church in the context of Zimbabwean crisis.This research is part of the research project, ‘Social Cohesion’, directed by Prof Dr. Vuyani Vellem of the Department of Systematic and Historical Theology, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria.http://www.hts.org.zaam2020Dogmatics and Christian Ethic

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and energy services liberalisation in the Southern African Development Community (SADC): issues and prospects

Magister Philosophiae - MPhilIncreasing energy needs globally have recently led to an interest in effectively bringing energy services in the trading system. Energy services were part of the Uruguay Round of negotiations, whose main achievement was the General Agreement on Trade in Services(GATS). The objective of the GATS is to achieve progressive liberalisation and reduction or elimination of trade barriers of all services sectors, including energy services. The GATS has made commendable progress in liberalising many service sectors, however it has not made meaningful progress with energy services. Furthermore though the SADC region engages in energy services trade through bilateral and regional agreements, a variety of barriers inhibit major successes from being achieved. Effective energy services trade and liberalisation has therefore proved problematic both at the multilateral, regional and bilateral level. This study,seeks to investigate why energy services liberalisation and trade at the multilateral, regional and bilateral level is problematic, with a particular focus on the SADC region

Development of a neural network based model for predicting the occurrence of spread F within the Brazilian sector

Spread F is a phenomenon of the ionosphere in which the pulses returned from the ionosphere are of a much greater duration than the transmitted ones. The occurrence of spread F can be predicted using the technique of Neural Networks (NNs). This thesis presents the development and evaluation of NN based models (two single station models and a regional model) for predicting the occurrence of spread F over selected stations within the Brazilian sector. The input space for the NNs included the day number (seasonal variation), hour (diurnal variation), sunspot number (measure of the solar activity), magnetic index (measure of the magnetic activity) and magnetic position (latitude, magnetic declination and inclination). Twelve years of spread F data measured during 1978 to 1989 inclusively at the equatorial site Fortaleza and low latitude site Cachoeira Paulista are used in the development of an input space and NN architecture for the NN models. Spread F data that is believed to be related to plasma bubble developments (range spread F) were used in the development of the models while those associated with narrow spectrum irregularities that occur near the F layer (frequency spread F) were excluded. The results of the models show the dependency of the probability of spread F as a function of local time, season and latitude. The models also illustrate some characteristics of spread F such as the onset and peak occurrence of spread F as a function of distance from the equator. Results from these models are presented in this thesis and compared to measured data and to modelled data obtained with an empirical model developed for the same purpose

Pressures on land in sub-Saharan Africa: Social differentiation and societal response

This paper focuses on large-scale land acquisitions and the implications of these new trends for land tenure rights in sub-Saharan Africa. It highlights trends in legal and policy approaches; describes and analyses new pressures on land and related natural resources; provides an analysis of drivers of resource scarcity and competing uses; summarises what is known about better and worse practices in partnerships between local communities and external investors; and concludes with recommendations for development partnerships

Education District Inventory Management System

The purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges faced during communication and resource allocation in schools within Chilanga District. The study took place in 30 schools and the total number of teachers was 90. The teachers included Head teachers, Deputy Heads and Heads of Departments. The study used simple random sampling. The study used Descriptive survey design and questionnaires with structured and open-ended questions, which he administered to respondents. Qualitative and quantitative data was obtained and frequencies, charts and pie charts were used to interpret data in Microsoft excel and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 16.0). From the findings, the study revealed that some of the challenges faced in the district included the use of letters that was untimely and gave challenges in storage and retrieval after some time. It takes time for the district to update their database hence challenges during resource allocation as they could base on outdated information. The researcher developed a web-based system called Education District Inventory Management System to help the district with allocation of resources, storage and sending information, planning and budgeting. The significance of this study therefore provide ways of solving the challenges faced during the distribution of resources in schools, communication, provision of quality education through easier preparations and delivery of the curriculum in use.