Thesis advisor: André Brouillette / Thesis advisor: Catherine M. Mooney / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

This thesis comprises three empirical studies. These studies can be read as though they are independent. However, all three of them revolve around investigating whether and how characteristics of directors can affect firm-level outcomes. The first study – “Does gender diversity affect firm equity risk?” – systematically investigates whether gender diversity in the boardroom influences firm equity risk. To identify the causal effect of gender on risk, I employ a dynamic model which allows for the possibilities that risk can influence the gender of appointed directors and that both director gender and risk can be influenced by other unobserved firm-level factors. The overall results in this study do not support the view that female boardroom representation influences equity risk. I also show that findings of a negative relationship between the two variables are spurious and driven by unobserved between-firm heterogeneous factors. The second study – “Spillover effects of women on boards” – introduces an alternative way of looking at boardroom gender diversity. The definition of boardroom gender diversity is broadened to include female directors who do not sit on the board but are connected to the board through male directors or “external” female influence. This is in addition to the “internal” influence of female directors inside the board. I find that when both external and internal influences of female directors are considered, there is evidence supporting a link between gender diversity and firm risk and that a plausible channel by which gender affects risk is through more effective monitoring. Male directors are less likely to exhibit absenteeism when they are exposed to both external and internal female influence. CEO turnover sensitivity increases with the proportion of male directors who are externally connected to women, when there is at least one female director inside the board. Risk also increases with the proportion of these connected men when they work on a board with at least one woman. The findings suggests that female directors can exert influence on firm-level outcomes despite their minority status in the boardroom. The third study – “Independent director reputation incentives and stock price informativeness” – examines whether the reputation incentives of independent directors increase the incorporation of firm-specific information into stock prices. I find that the proportion of directors who deem their directorships to be more important based on firm market capitalization is associated with higher firm-specific information content in stock prices. This is consistent with the argument that boards that are incentivized to protect their reputation can deter managers from withholding information. I find this relation to be stronger when other external monitoring mechanisms are weak and when there is uncertainty regarding the future prospects of the firm. I also find evidence that a channel by which directors can influence stock price informativeness is through voluntary disclosure. Additionally, the presence of directors with high reputation incentives is negatively associated with stock price crash.

Due to the globalisation trend, notable changes have pushed a distinctive interest in addressing corporate governance problems; either in emergent economies of Asia and Latin America Countries or in the transitional economies that spread over Eastern Europe. Further, a series of corporate scandals, in the US and Europe, has undermined confidence in both public company executives and the auditors. Formulating effective corporate governance measures is a complex task for legislators.The purpose of this study is to determine whether governance is seen from a broad stakeholder perspective in the Latin American Andean region (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela) and also to provide an in depth analysis and comparison of the reasons organisations in the region want to implement corporate governance principles, whether it is because their want to be accountable to their stakeholders or because they want to show their legitimacy. The non-binding OECD 2004 principles of corporate governance conjunction with the CAF (Andean Development Corporation) will be utilised in the study as an benchmark. The study has generated significant information about the corporate governance challenges facing listed companies trading in the Latin America’s Andean region. It is hoped that the research results will serve as an aid to better focusing the future policy dialogue in the region. It is anticipated in this sense they will facilitate upcoming analysis and debate.

Through an ethnographic study of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) - an organisation renowned for its persistent fight against corruption in India - this thesis explores the aspirations and tensions of anti-corruption activists. In their commitment to improving governance structures by means of campaigning for transparency and accountability laws and policies, these activists ultimately aspire to strengthen democratic practice and to improve statecraft. By studying in detail the forms of actions, dynamics, politics and relationships among anti-corruption activists, the thesis explores how ideas of the state and democracy come to be internalised and addressed by civil society actors. The context is the nation-wide anti-corruption agitation that swept the country through most of 2011. This agitation gave rise to friction between civil society actors otherwise working for similar ends, leading to tension and competition on what constitutes democratic process and procedure. Based on extensive fieldwork, the thesis examines the ways in which MKSS responded to the shifting political landscape of anti-corruption activism. Drawing on the notion of relationality, I argue that political positions and identities are shaped and consolidated circumstantially through an oppositional stance and through processes of 'othering'. In considering the diverging understandings of democracy among civil society actors, this thesis seeks to expand ethnographically the theoretical concept of 'agonistic pluralism' (Mouffe 1999), that postulates that political conflict and disagreement is not only integral, but, moreover, crucial to democratic debate. Based on this conceptualisation, the conflict over the meaning of democracy among the anti-corruption activists is considered here as creating space for the expansion and enrichment of democratic debate. The very essence of democracy in India, as will be concluded, is constituted by such a productive tension.

Student Number : 9812559F - MA dissertation - School of Social Sciences - Faculty of Humanities / This research explores the various strategies being proposed to address the perceived governance crisis on the African continent. It identifies the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) as the most recent African transnational initiative with a stated continental governance strategy. It is argued that in many respects NEPAD represents the best possible alternative for African rejuvenation, providing a valuable blueprint for continental reform and development conceived and developed within the continent itself. The potential of NEPAD to meet this objective is evaluated through an analysis of its response to the Zimbabwean crisis of governance. The research suggests that firstly, NEPAD has failed to meet the expectations of those African who were hoping that NEPAD would represent something radically different to earlier transnational initiatives. Secondly, NEPAD has failed to respond to the demands of democratic activists in Zimbabwe. The dissertation argues that these findings stem from the lack of political will among African leaders to fully implement NEPAD; their reluctance to fundamentally alter their understanding of sovereignty away from individual towards increased collective responsibility and finally the failure of NEPAD itself to make provision for the active involvement of civil society in all areas of the governance process.

Shared governance is a model in which staff collaborate through a decentralized decision-making structure, sharing ownership and accountability and partnering to make decisions about clinical practice, professional development, patient experience, quality improvement, and research. The hospital shared governance project team aligned its shared governance model with the American Nurses Credentialing Center Pathway to Excellence standards. The purposes of this project were to do a process evaluation of shared governance implementation at one 64-bed community hospital in central Florida and make recommendations for continuous quality improvement. The project followed the plan-do-study-act methodology developed by Deming. Through the collection of meeting minutes and other shared governance documents, semi structured interviews with nurse leaders, and the results of an anonymous survey through SurveyMonkey, the process of shared governance implementation was evaluated. The major themes included the hospitals need to establish an effective communication system to ensure all 185 RNs are aware of its shared governance, restructure of the Nurse Practice Council, and a reinitiating of shared governance. Limitations of the project included the immaturity of the hospital at the time of implementation, nursing lack of knowledge about shared governance, lack of dedicated resources and competing priorities, and nursing leadership and unit turnover, which were barriers to shared governance implementation. Supporting shared governance contributes to social change by creating a nursing culture that promotes quality, nursing excellence, professional decision making, and a healthy work environment, ultimately improving outcomes for all stakeholders.

Non-government schools in Queensland must be accredited by the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board established by the Queensland Government under the Education(Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2001 in order to operate the school.In 2005, there were 457 non-government schools registered in Queensland with the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board (Non-State Schools Accreditation Board 2005). The enrolment of 207,859 students constituted approximately 30 per cent of student enrolments in the State. Government funding to non-government schools is substantial (general recurrent funding of $303 million was provided by the Queensland government in 2002) (Non-State Schools Accreditation Board 2005).The accreditation criteria set out in the Act are: the school’s administration and governance arrangements; the school’s financial viability; the school’s educational program and student welfare processes; the school’s resources; and the school’s improvement processes. The Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Regulation 2001 provides further details on the requirements of the accreditation for all criteria, except for governance and administration criterion. This is the major gap addressed by this research.The methodology for doing so was:• a theoretical framework for effective corporate governance developed from the relevant literature• case studies of six non-government schools with a range of ownership/governance models to identify their current governance policies and practices and to compare them with the theoretical framework to assess their effectiveness• a suite of policies and procedures based on the theoretical framework and “standout” practice from the six case study schools that would provide an effective corporate governance practice for non-government schools.The potential clients of this research are:• The Office of Non-State Education• Independent Schools Queensland (“ISQ”)• Auspicing denomination or other ownership group of schools, their governing bodies and the auditors of non-government schools; including, but not only, the case study schools• Newly accredited schools wishing to start well. Of particular interest to the researcher is Warwick Christian College Limited, a newly accredited school of which the researcher is a Board member. The Board of the school has agreed to embark on a policy development process which is consistent with the findings of this research.A suite of recommended policies and procedures that non-government schools could adopt in order to comply with the administration and governance criteria of the Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2001 was developed from the theoretical framework and the “standout” practices, policies and procedures from the case study schools.

Since the late nineteen nineties, corporate governance has been recognised by the Chinese leadership as being an integral and vital part of economic reform. At the macro level the reform is to transition to a market economy and at the micro level, business enterprises are adopting sound standards of corporate governance. This thesis analyses the various models: the shareholder value, the stakeholder, the stewardship and the convergence models of corporate governance. It looks at the Chinese scenario - what model of governance has China adopted and is it appropriate? What problems of corporate governance are special to China and how are these problems being resolved? Many of the problems are due to the fact that China has adopted the shareholder value model ??? a model based on the UK / USA. However, unlike them, China does not posses the requisite institutions necessary to underpin the efficient functioning of the model. The Chinese capital markets are nascent and not well regulated, the rule of law is tentative and the regulatory bodies are lacking in enforcement powers. In an effort to encourage good corporate governance, the China Securities Regulatory Commission promulgated the QFII (Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor) scheme in December 2002 in the hope that by opening the domestic securities market to foreign financial institutions, this would result in the implementation of sound corporate governance in Chinese listed companies as they vied to attract foreign shareholders. A survey was carried out and the results have only been mildly encouraging. The QFII has not had the dramatic impact that was expected of it initially and the reason is that the quotas allocated have been small and the QFII have had many restrictions placed. Until these are loosened the impact of the QFII will continue to be modest.

This thesis re-examines the foundation of South Australia influenced by Foucauldian theories of governance and set within the framework of contemporary thinking on colonisation and empire in the early decades of the nineteenth century. Informed also by postcolonial theory it seeks to incorporate the Aboriginal inhabitants within the story of settlement, in a way which has previously not been attempted. The influence of utopian thought on governance and society in early nineteenth century Britain is explored. These combined approaches, which do not always sit easily together, may provide a new lens through which to view the complexities and ambiguities of the State's beginnings.

This thesis examines the process of gradual political centralisation in Nigeria from the colonial period until today. It argues that since the formation of Nigeria in 1914, there has not been an effective state administrative structure in the governing of the nation. Pre-independence Nigeria (1888-1960) was characterised by a flawed structure put in place by the British colonial administration and the changes implemented by the successive military regimes and associated constitutional developments that followed independence have not changed the underlying problems established during this period. Traditional approaches to political decentralisation in developing countries generally involve delegation, devolution and deconcentration. However, the role of traditional institutions in a decentralised governance structure is not always made explicit. Rather the potential roles of traditional institutions are assumed to be part of the local administrative system (e.g. l ocal governments). As a result, they are defined as part of the governance process. This limits applicability of these models to a country as ethnically diverse as Nigeria. The central argument put forward in this thesis is that an ideal decentralised administrative system is practicable in Nigeria only if the traditional institutions actively participate in the governance of the country. However, a review of the administrative system for the period 1914-2005 shows that the powers of the traditional institutions have been eroded over time. The thesis concludes by proposing a model for decentralising the complex administrative structure of Nigeria through 'institutional reconciliation'. The model follows previous approaches, but proposes a separation of the traditional institutions from both the administrative and governmental units (federal, state and local government). The thesis argues that the legitimacy of policies undertaken by any of the government units rests on these policies being consistent with et hnic, religious and cultural beliefs. It proposes one means of putting in place such a form of 'institutional reconciliation' while highlighting the potential problems that may also result.