COLLECTIVE ACTION AND INFORMAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF ROTATING AND SAVINGS CREDIT ASSOCIATIONS (ROSCAS) IN SENEGAL

This study analyzes how rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) in Senegal were able to overcome the collective action dilemma, maintain institutional performance, and remain sustainable over time. This study models cooperation among members as well as the performance and sustainability of associations using data collected from field research conducted in Dakar, Senegal in 2001. The results show that factors such as homogeneity of individuals within an association, how long the association has existed, how defaults are covered, and rules such residency requirements, individual contributions, and rotation order are to various degree critical to the performance and sustainability of ROSCAs and to the fostering of cooperation among members of these associations.Financial Economics,

The Political and Economic Determinants of Trade Disputes under the WTO

Replaced with revised version of paper 02/25/08.democratization, system of government, trade disputes, World Trade Organization (WTO), economic strata, International Relations/Trade, P16, F13,

The problem of death anxiety in relation to Christianity

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University.Two problems are dealt with in this dissertation. The first is that of understanding the meaning of death anxiety, discovering its causes, and determining the means whereby it can be relieved. The second problem is to discover the relationship of death anxiety to Christianity by exploring the Christian theory of death, and by seeking to discover whether Christianity can make a distinct contribution to dealing successfully with anxiety about death. The dissertation premises a belief in immortality and does not seek to prove or disprove it. Death anxiety is a universal concern which is repressed into the unconscious, being too threatening to be dealt with by the conscious mind. Its possible emergence into one's consciousness is deterred by a complicated system of customs and emotions shielding the individual from the menacing thoughts of his eventual fate. [Truncated

Rearrangements of quinolizinium-1-diazonium salts and related reactions

The methods of synthesis and known properties of aminoquinolizinium compounds are reviewed. A number of 1-aminoquinolizinium salts when treated with aqueous nitrous acid undergo rearrangement. Investigation by degradation and synthesis showed the initial products are cis-3-(v-triazolo[l,S-a]pyridyl)acraldehydes. These are rapidly isomerised to the trans-isomers. The mechanism of the rearrangement is discussed and the synthesis and properties of other v-triazolo[l,5-a]pyridines are reviewed. The thermal isomerisation and decomposition of 3-(v-triazolo[l,5-a]pyridyl)acraldehydes to 5-(2-pyridyl)­pyrazoles is reported and a mechanism for the rearrangement is suggested. In the last section the photochemistry of a,B-unsaturated carbonyl compounds is briefly reviewed. The photochemical con­version of some heterocyclic acraldehydes to derivatives of propionic acid is described. Some limitations of the reaction are reported and a mechanism proposed, support for which is provided by studies on suitably deuterium labelled compounds

Competencies in animal assisted therapy in counseling: a qualitative investigation of the knowledge, skills and attitudes required of competent animal assisted therapy practitioners

Existing authors (Reichert, 1998; Watson 2009) have described the unique positive impact of Animal Assisted Therapy in Counseling (AAT-C) on the client’s perception of the therapeutic alliance as well as the professional counselor’s ability to build positive alliances quickly. When implemented with appropriate education and training, AAT-C can positively impact the therapeutic experience of a diverse range of clients across a wide variety of settings (Chandler, 2012; Fine, 2004). AAT-C requires a specialized set of skills and competencies that allows professional counselors to incorporate specially trained animals into the counseling process to influence the therapeutic process in ways that are beyond the scope of traditional counselor-client helping relationships (Stewart & Chang, 2013). However, there is currently no definition of counseling-specific competencies to guide practitioners in this specialty area. To address this gap, the presenters conducted an investigation using the Grounded Theory Method (Charmaz, 2006; Guba & Lincoln, 1989) to address the following research question: What knowledge, skills, and attitudes are required of competent practitioners of AAT-C? Based on the themes and subthemes that emerged from the data, the authors constructed a theoretical framework which represents competencies in AAT-C. Using this theoretical framework, the authors uncovered a total of nine essential competency areas for professional counselors utilizing AAT-C. They are divided into three domains in accordance with the competency framework that includes Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes (Myers & Sweeny, 1990)

Creating an anti-bias children\u27s book

The author researched how children learn racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of prejudice from their parents and other adult mentors. What can be done to change the prejudice that predominates in the United States? The author discusses how to raise children who develop anti-bias personas and who become allies to people of color, gays and lesbians, recent immigrants, and the poor. The final project of this thesis was the creation of a children\u27s book to be read by parents and their children together. The book centers around the experiences of a young white boy who moves to a diverse neighborhood and learns about his own prejudices and the prejudices of the adults in his life. The boy learns how to overcome his prejudices and judge people based on their insides not on their appearances

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS SYMPTOMS IN EMERGENCY SERVICE AMBULANCE PERSONNEL

A diversity of research has demonstrated that, although all people will present with a reaction after a traumatic incident, only a minority will develop posttraumatic stress disorder PTSD (Allan, La Grange, Niehaus, Scheurkogel & Stein, 1998). A complex interaction of multiple pre- and post-trauma factors determines the response. Numerous studies have attempted to assess variables that make an individual more susceptible to developing PTSD. A number of factors were investigated including genetic (Eisen, Goldberg, Heath, Lyons, Nowak & Rise, 1993), family history (Breslau, Davis, Andreski & Peterson, 1991), individual personality (Schurr, Friedman & Rosenberg, 1993), past history of trauma (Zaidi & Foy, 1994) and life events (McFarlane, 1989). A number of studies have identified posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as an important issue in various South African groups (Kaminer, Seedat, Lockhat & Stein 2000; Marais, De Villiers, Möller & Stein, 1999)

Fast Algorithms at Low Temperatures via Markov Chains

For spin systems, such as the hard-core model on independent sets weighted by fugacity lambda>0, efficient algorithms for the associated approximate counting/sampling problems typically apply in the high-temperature region, corresponding to low fugacity. Recent work of Jenssen, Keevash and Perkins (2019) yields an FPTAS for approximating the partition function (and an efficient sampling algorithm) on bounded-degree (bipartite) expander graphs for the hard-core model at sufficiently high fugacity, and also the ferromagnetic Potts model at sufficiently low temperatures. Their method is based on using the cluster expansion to obtain a complex zero-free region for the partition function of a polymer model, and then approximating this partition function using the polynomial interpolation method of Barvinok. We present a simple discrete-time Markov chain for abstract polymer models, and present an elementary proof of rapid mixing of this new chain under sufficient decay of the polymer weights. Applying these general polymer results to the hard-core and ferromagnetic Potts models on bounded-degree (bipartite) expander graphs yields fast algorithms with running time O(n log n) for the Potts model and O(n^2 log n) for the hard-core model, in contrast to typical running times of n^{O(log Delta)} for algorithms based on Barvinok\u27s polynomial interpolation method on graphs of maximum degree Delta. In addition, our approach via our polymer model Markov chain is conceptually simpler as it circumvents the zero-free analysis and the generalization to complex parameters. Finally, we combine our results for the hard-core and ferromagnetic Potts models with standard Markov chain comparison tools to obtain polynomial mixing time for the usual spin system Glauber dynamics restricted to even and odd or "red" dominant portions of the respective state spaces

Botanical Survey of Fuel Reduction Areas on the Pine Ridge Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forest

Between May and September 2006, surveys of selected areas on the Pine Ridge Unit of the Pine Ridge Ranger District in the Nebraska National Forest were carried out to document the presence of vascular plant species of known or potential conservation concern. The surveys were done in response to a request for botanical information to include in hazardous fuel projects in the East Ash and West Ash drainages. These 2006 surveys concentrated primarily on these drainages, though small forested areas were also examined in the Deadhorse Creek and Indian Creek drainages. (Data from these sites are included in the following tables as part of the East Ash drainage.) No federally listed threatened or endangered species are known from the Nebraska Pine Ridge region, and a single species listed as sensitive, yellow lady’s-slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum), is known from an 1889 collection from the Belmont area. No federal-, state-, or agency-listed plant species were encountered during the survey, and none has been recorded as occurring in the Pine Ridge Unit. Two species listed by the Heritage Network as globally imperiled or vulnerable (G1-G3) have been recorded as occurring in or very near the Nebraska Pine Ridge region. Northern narrow-leaf goosefoot (Chenopodium subglabrum [G3G4]) was recently found on the north slope of Pine Butte on the Oglala National Grassland, and a large population of dog-parsley (Lomatium nuttallii [G3]) was discovered on a chalky-shale outcrop just north of the Pine Ridge in Sheridan County in 2005