by Chun Wai (May) Chan. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [147-149]). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Introduction --- p.1-3 / The Historical Event / Intersection of History and Biography / Contemporary Emigration / Literature Review --- p.4-15 / Conceptual and Theoretical Issues / "Types of Contemporary HK Emigrants, Emigration Strategies, & Emigration Adjustments" / "Rationales for Emigration, Return Emigration, and Settlement" / Politically Driven vs. Economically Driven Emigration / Middle Class Emigration vs. Working Class Emigration / The Meaning of the Contemporary Wave of Emigration / Research Method --- p.16-20 / Research Aim / Framework of Analysis / Subject of Study / Research Design / Conducting the Interview / Data Analysis / Chapter Organization --- p.21-21 / Chapter 1- The Setting / Chapter 2- The Search / Chapter 3- The Transition / Chapter 4- The Split / Chapter 5- The Scale / Chapter 6- The Meaning of the Contemporary Wave of Emigration from Hong Kong / Chapter Chapter 1- --- The Setting --- p.22-26 / Chapter 1.1 --- History of Emigration / Chapter 1.2 --- The Contemporary Period / Chapter 1.2A --- Transformations in Hong Kong / Chapter 1.2B --- Immigration Policies of Overseas Destination Countries / Chapter 1.3 --- The Timeframe / Chapter Chapter 2- --- The Search --- p.27-48 / Chapter 2.1 --- Forward / Chapter 2.2 --- Motivations for Emigration / Chapter 2.2A --- Overseas Educational Opportunities / Chapter 2.2B --- Overseas Living Environment / Chapter 2.2C --- Political Transition (97) / Chapter 2.3 --- 1997: Divergent Focus / Chapter 2.3A --- Shadow Past / Chapter 2.3B --- Ambiguous Future / Chapter 2.4 --- Non-Conventional Cases / Chapter 2.5 --- Recapitulation / Chapter Chapter 3- --- The Transition --- p.49-74 / Chapter 3.1 --- Forward / Chapter 3.2 --- Economic and Social Transitions / Chapter 3.2A --- Economic / Chapter 3.2A. 1 --- Employment/ Career Adjustments / Chapter 3.2A. 1. a --- Experience and Education Route / Chapter 3.2A. 1 .b --- Experience Route / Chapter 3.2A. 1. c --- Further Education Route / Chapter 3.2A. 2 --- Economic Insecurity / Chapter 3.2.B --- Social / Chapter 3.2B.1 --- Expanded Living Environment / Chapter 3.2B.2 --- Detracted Sense of Belonging / Chapter 3.3 --- Recapitulation / Chapter Chapter 4- --- The Split --- p.75-107 / Chapter 4.1 --- Forward / Chapter 4.2 --- Motivations for Return Emigration / Chapter 4.2A --- Lack of Extended Family Support & Contact Overseas / Chapter 4.2B --- Preference of Living in Hong Kong / Chapter 4.2C --- Economic/Career Opportunities in Hong Kong / Chapter 4.3 --- Conditional Return / Chapter 4.4 --- Tendency to Return to Destination Country / Chapter 4.5 --- Return Emigration Experiences / Chapter 4.6 --- Motivations for Settlement / Chapter 4.6A --- Overseas Living Environment/Lifestyle / Chapter 4.6B --- Opportunities for the Next Generation / Chapter 4.6C --- Timing/Inability to Overcome Barriers to Return Emigrate / Chapter 4.7 --- Perception of Passport / Chapter 4.8 --- Recapitulation / Chapter Chapter 5 --- The Scale --- p.108-118 / Chapter 5.1 --- Forward / Chapter 5.2 --- The Losses / Chapter 5.3 --- The Gains / Chapter 5.4 --- The Balance / Chapter 5.5 --- Recapitulation / Chapter Chapter 6- --- The Meaning of the Contemporary Wave of Emigration from Hong Kong --- p.119-131 / Appendix / Table I: Motivations for Emigration / Table II: Motivations for Return Emigration / Table III: Motivations for Settlement / Table IV: Occupation and Education Level / Table V: No. of Children / "Table VI: Current Age, Age at Time of Emigration, and Year of Emigration/ Return Emigration/Settlement" / Interview Schedule (Abridged) / Bibliography

Este trabalho visa identificar possíveis vantagens que as empresas obtêm ao contribuir com campanhas políticas. Para isso, foi utilizada uma extensa base de dados com informações de doações a candidatos aos cargos de deputado, senador e presidente nas eleições de 2006 e 2010. As variáveis de interesse analisadas foram o retorno anormal cumulativo à época da divulgação do resultado das eleições e o retorno sobre o patrimônio líquido no ano posterior a cada eleição. Foram estimadas regressões de dados em painel através de mínimos quadrados ordinários, e incluídos efeitos fixos de ano e setor das empresas. Os resultados indicam que não apenas o mercado antecipa benefícios futuros para as empresas que contribuíram com campanhas – o que se reflete em retornos anormais cumulativos positivos à época da eleição – mas também estas empresas apresentam retornos sobre o patrimônio líquido superiores aos daquelas que não participaram do processo político. Além disso, doações a candidatos vencedores geram retorno superior aos de doações a candidatos perdedores; o que vai ao encontro da hipótese de retribuição de favores. De forma similar, contribuições a candidatos filiados à coligação do presidente eleito também apresentaram impacto superior quando comparadas com doações a candidatos da oposição. / This paper aims to identify potential benefits that companies obtain by contributing to political campaigns. We used an extensive database with information on donations to House, Senate and Presidency candidates in the 2006 and 2010 elections. The variables of interest analyzed were the cumulative abnormal return by the time the results of each election became know and the return on equity in the year following the election. Panel regressions were estimated as ordinary least squares (OLS), and fixed effects of year and industry were included. The results indicate that not only the market anticipates future benefits for companies that contributed to campaigns - which is reflected in positive cumulative abnormal returns at the announcement of the election results - but these companies also have higher returns on equity than those that were not involved in the political process. In addition, donations to winning candidates generate higher returns than donations to losing candidates; which supports the return of favors hypothesis. Similarly, contributions to candidates affiliated to the president’s coalition's also had higher impact when compared to donations to the oposition candidates.

Handling product returns has become a critical activity for organizations as the volume of gods flowing back through the supply chain rapidly increases. Few research studies have published specific empirical data concerning the reverse logistics practices of companies. Information technology and information support has long been recognized as a competitive weapon – capable of enhancing company performance and achieving efficient reverse logistics. Reverse logistics is very unlike the forward, as it is more reactive and also has less visibility. Unlike forward logistics, incoming products from reverse logistics are not tracked broadly because of the lack of information systems resources necessary.The investigated apparel company in this study is operating on the global market and expands their sales twenty per cent each year, resulting in increased pressure in the return flow. To meet this future demands, the return process has to be more efficient and not so time consuming. This study emerged from a case study made at the return department of this apparel company based on a research question. An improvement area was discovered through interviews, internal documents and observations. This area was investigated in existing theories through books and scientific research papers. From the theories and the case study, a hypothesis was created in order to be tested. To strengthen the hypothesis, an experiment was developed and performed at selected retailers and at the apparel company.Research Question Where in the product return process can improvements be made in order to make the information flow more efficient between retailers and an apparel company?HypothesisBy creating a web-based return form, the information flow between retailers and an apparel company will be more efficient, resulting in a more effective and structured product return process.Through the experiment, various factors that strengthen the hypothesis were discovered. For instance, the information flow becomes more effective when retailers have clear guidelines how to send back products and when inserting the information into the computer system before returning. As the apparel company knows what is coming back, the disposition of returned products can be predetermined which will speed up the return process. Shared and available information across various parties facilitate the daily work with better communication. Furthermore, activities that are existing today within the return process can be eliminated which result in more effective product return process. Refund for retailers can be made quicker which result in more satisfied retailers and creates stronger relationships. / Program: Master programme in Applied Textile Management

This is a study about abnormal characteristics in the stock market and how to successfully use them in personal portfolios. Market anomalies are unexpected excess returns that occur in relation to certain variables. Five commonly known market anomalies (market cap, price-earnings ratio, price-book value, momentum, volatility) are tested to give evidence for their presence. Existing variables are then combined in different portfolios in order to observe whether they generate greater excess returns combined rather than individually. This study will also reveal whether long-term holding is possible and how the anomalies react in bullish and bearish markets.

This study provide empirical evidence whether bias in the standard errors of Jensen’s alpha explains conflicting results in the extant literature in real estate funds. Significant alphas in real estate mutual funds and REITs are compared with heteroskedasticity consistent covariance matrix estimators (HC1, HC2 and HC3), Newey-West standard errors, a robust regression tempering the effect of high leverage points, a GARCH model, and a HC3 adjusted wild bootstrap. In the analysis of real estate mutual funds and a separate sample set of REITs, the HCCME had a minimal impact attenuating the number of firms with excess returns. Contrary to expectations the differences from HC1 to HC2 to HC3 were also negligible. The Newey-West standard error provided highly variable results when compared with the OLS results particularly in the REIT sample. Of the techniques to adjust for bias in the standard error, the wild bootstrap with HC3 adjustment to the standard error provided the most conservative result to the number of real estate mutual funds and REITs with significant alphas. The co-movement of real estate funds suggests common exogenous influences. Including state variables such as the changes in unexpected inflation, term spread, default spread, market skewness and industrial production growth in a multi-factor model is used to identify systemic economic factors in significant alphas. The significant alphas varied with the inclusion of these variables, the time period and the bias adjustment.

Titel: Värdeskapande processer – Beräkna det som räknas Nyckelord: Värdeskapande effekter, påvisande av socialt värdeskapande, Social Return On Investment (SROI), intressenter, legitimitet. Idag ställs allt högre krav på företag och organisationer att ta ett samhällsansvar. I och med de ökade kraven höjs också angelägenheten att kunna redovisa dessa insatser på ett tydligt och effektivt sätt. Europakommissionen har exempelvis efterfrågat metoder för att synliggöra och redovisa organisationers samhällsinsatser och samhällsansvar. Även inom idrottsrörelsen efterfrågas sätt att tydliggöra värdeskapande, då idrottsföreningar ofta har problem med att visa sitt värde för samhället och dess övriga intressenter. Idrotten är Sveriges största folkrörelse, med cirka 3 miljoner medlemmar och det är tydligt att den är betydelsefull för många. Idrottsföreningar står således inför en rad utmaningar, bland annat är det relevant för dessa att identifiera vilka som är deras intressenter och vad de anser kring värdeskapande. Detta för att ha möjlighet att svara på deras förväntningar, något som skapar förtroende för verksamheten. Enligt det rådande forskningsläget är det även relevant att finna verktyg att påvisa detta värde för dess intressenter. Metoder för påvisning av liknande effekter efterfrågas idag och forskning kring ämnet sker, bland annat eftersom de mätinstrument som används idag fått kritik för bristande tillämpbarhet och effektivitet. Ett relativt nytt mått som används för att mäta dessa samhällsinsatser är Social Return on Investment (SROI). Metoden används ofta inom den ideella sektorn och mäter det värde verksamheter skapar, som inte bara är ekonomiskt, utan även socialt och miljömässigt. Baserat på ovanstående forskningsläge är syftet med studien att analysera en organisations värdeskapande processer, dess intressenter och relation till dessa, med inslag av SROI-analys. För att uppnå syftet har en kvalitativ studie genomförts i samarbete med en idrottsförening. Semistrukturerade intervjuer utfördes med respondenter som är aktiva i idrottsföreningen samt med representanter för den kommun där föreningen verkar. Det empiriska materialer kommpleteras med intressentteori, legitimitetsteori samt teori kring SROI som metod. De slutsatser som kan dras från denna studie är att en idrottsförening har många intressenter med varierade intressen. Studien presenterar en analys kring relationerna mellan idrottsföreningen och dess intressenter, där det framkommer att den mest framstående intressenten är de aktiva i föreningen. De aktiva upplever effekter av sitt engagemang i föreningen; Socialt välbefinnande, Fysisk hälsa och Personlig utveckling. Dessa effekter påverkar även de aktiva efter avslutat engagemang i föreningen, vilket medför att idrottsföreningens aktiviteter skapar effekter som är hållbara över tid. Studien avslutas med en analys kring värderingen av dessa effekter och hur användbar SROI är som metod, där det konkluderas att måttet underlättar diskussion och värdering av effekter som traditionellt sett inte står i fokus vid utvärdering av organisationers prestationer. Denna insikt är värdefull för idrottsföreningar då de är beroende av relationen till sina intressenter, för att exempelvis få tillgång till ideellt engagemang och finansiell support. Att påvisa vilket värde de skapar för dessa visas relevant i denna studie, bland annat för att idrottsföreningen ska nå en ökad legitimitet.

Empirical research findings on the consequences of post-M&A performance have generated several result, although most of which are inconsistent. The relation of such post-M&A performances to non-listed and listed companies can be relative especially when considering the companies economic and financial structure and other prevailing factors associated to the host country. However, most of these have been attributed to the choice of performance measurement indicators. This paper analyses and evaluates existing performance indicators that have been employed in the literature. It is argued that to overcome the limitations found in financial indicators of performance, a need to pursue multiple measures of performance in post-M&A research is needed. It also argues that the motives for the transaction should also be included as performance indicators. This hybrid approach will allow researchers and practitioners to measure the overall success of merger and acquisitions.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att öka investerares förståelse angående hur olika finansiella instrument som emitterats av samma bolag skiljer sig åt. Inledning: Den ökade utvecklingen av de finansiella marknaderna har skapat ett ökat utbud av finansiella instrument. Flera företag har även emitterat flera olika finansiella instrument, vilket innebär att investerare står inför ett val av vilket instrument de vill exponera sig emot. Tidigare forskning är oense angående hur dessa instrument skiljer sig åt, då resultaten från tidigare studier har visat sig vara beroende på var studierna genomförs. Metod: Tidigare studier har använts som grund vid skapandet av studiens hypoteser, vilket innebär att studien är av en deduktiv karaktär. Studiens syfte innebär att stora mängder data analyseras vilket medför att studien är kvantitativ. Studien genomfördes på svenska bolag som emitterat minst två stycken finansiella instrument. Genom att skapa olika jämförelseportföljer som innehåller respektive tillgångsslag kunde vi analysera skillnaderna mellan portföljerna och därmed svara på studiens frågeställning. Resultat: Resultatet visar att det existerar skillnader mellan olika finansiella instrument som emitterats av samma bolag. Vilket innebär att investerare måste noggrant utvärdera sina valmöjligheter innan de genomför en investering, då risken är högre för finansiella instrument som har en högre rösträtt.  Nyckelord: Risk, avkastning, riskjusterad avkastning, finansiella instrument, investerare / Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation is to enhance investor’s understanding about the differences between various financial securities that are issued by the same company. Introduction: The development of the financial markets has created an increased range of financial securities. Same companies have also issued various financial securities, which means that the investors face the dilemma of choosing between the options. Previous researches disagree on how these various securities differ from each other, because their results have shown to be dependent on the location of investigation. Method: Previous studies have been used as the basis for the formulation of this study’s hypothesis, which means that it has a deductive character. The purpose of the study requires large amounts of data to be analyzed, which entails that a quantitative method has been used. The study has analyzed Swedish companies that have issued at least two different securities. By creating various portfolios that contain each security class we have been able to analyze the differences and to answer our research question. Conclusion: The result shows that there are some differences between various financial securities issued by the same company. This means that investor must carefully evaluate their options before implementing an investment, since the risk is greater for securities with superior voting power.  Key Words: Risk, return, risk-adjusted return, financial securities, investors

My dissertation discusses refugee rights and post-repatriation integration in South Asia in the context of debates over "citizenship." Postcolonial state-formation processes in South Asia have profoundly shaped questions of belonging and membership. As a result, official citizenship has become an important marker of group inclusion and exclusion in South Asian states. Using the literature on citizenship, I discuss the "belonging" claims of non-citizens (refugees) and argue that in practice this "belonging" extends beyond the state-centric "citizenship" view of membership. In doing so, I address two sets of interrelated questions: what factors determine whether or not refugees will be repatriated in South Asia, and why do some repatriated groups re-integrate more successfully than others in "post-peace" South Asian states? I answer these questions through a study of refugees from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh who sought asylum in India and were later repatriated to their countries of origin. The politics of postcolonial state-formation and subsequent discriminatory policies on language in Sri Lanka and non-recognition of the Jumma people in Bangladesh encouraged many citizens to flee to India as refugees. I argue, first, that India's state-centric politics of non-recognition of the two refugee groups contributed to their later repatriation. In the absence of rights and status in exile, refugees turned to "home" as a place to belong. I then analyze the post-repatriation variations in accommodation in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as most refugees attempted to reclaim the lost identity and "citizenship" at "home" through the process of repatriation. However these countries pursued strategies of limited accommodation, which led to the minimal or partial re-integration of the two returnee-refugee groups.

Project (M.B.A.) - Simon Fraser University, 2004. / Theses (Faculty of Business Administration) / Simon Fraser University. MBA-GAWM Program. Senior supervisor: Dr. Peter Klein.