Entrepreneurship is becoming increasingly important to the success of global economies. As a result, this paper assesses the similarities and differences between male and female entrepreneurs in facets that are fundamental to the practice; risk-tolerance, communication and leadership styles. Literature on the subject suggests that men and women differ in these three aspects. Men emerge as entrepreneurs more frequently than women, which has partially been accredited to socialization. Moreover, women are exposed to fewer social and financial resources and opportunities. However, the data suggest that women are equally capable as entrepreneurs. This paper analyzes the interaction of innate psychological qualities and societal influences in the context of entrepreneurship. It proceeds to provide implications and suggestions in order to increase gender diversity and provide equal opportunity.

Research has consistently demonstrated a negative association between religiosity and college students’ alcohol consumption. However, few studies have explored the unique roles religious beliefs and behaviors might play in this relationship. Using 283 underage college students, we investigated the influence of internal and external factors on drinking behaviors for students with differing combinations of religious beliefs and religious behaviors. Tests of mediation and mediated-moderation were used to help explain the unique influences beliefs and behaviors have on alcohol consumption. Results indicated that religious beliefs only functioned as a protective-factor against underage drinking when accompanied by religious behaviors; students with high religious beliefs but low religious behaviors exhibited the highest rates of alcohol consumption. Positive affect experienced during alcohol consumption mediated the relationship between religious beliefs and alcohol consumption. Drinking norms and social availability of alcohol mediated the association between religious behaviors and alcohol consumption. Both positive affect and negative affect were found to partially mediate the interaction between religious beliefs and behaviors on student alcohol consumption. Findings from this study may aid in the formulation of a more comprehensive model for the relationship between religiosity and alcohol consumption in young college students.

A recent debate has identified a description– experience gap, where the non-linear weighting function identified in prospect theory reverses when probabilities are discovered through experience rather than by description (probabilities). This thesis will explore the role of experience and probabilities theoretically and empirically. It is argued that both behaviors are compatible on a theoretical basis given a preference for the status quo, but produce opposing decision weights due to different cognitive and motivational factors. Probabilities focus a decision on the potential for rare events creating a preference for certain outcomes and reduced risk taking consistent with loss aversion. Experience overweighs customary outcomes consistent with sensitivity to a reference point or the status quo. Experience in the form of loss, however, moderates the effect of probabilities on risk taking. An experimental game of dice supports this hypothesis, suggesting ambiguity seeking in the face of loss and raising the possibility that the use of probabilities may not be always be maximizing behavior.

Nyanländande Generation Y håller på att positionera sig på arbetsmarknaden och omfattas av individer födda inom intervallet 1980 – 1995. Det återfinns dessvärre ytterst lite forskning gällande generationens investeringsbeteende. Mestadels av tidigare forskning har hittills handlat om hur tidigare generationer, så som Baby Boomers och Generation X, tenderar att investera. Denna studie har därför försökt bidra till att fylla ut tomrummet i kunskapen beträffande Generation Y. Studien utreder investeringsbeteendet hos Generation Y genom att undersöka hur specifika karaktäristika påverkar deras sä̈tt att investera. Således är syftet med denna studie att kartlägga och analysera hur Generation Y:s särskilda karaktäristika påverkar deras investeringsbeteende. Tillvägagångssättet har varit att det först konstruerades en modell utifrån den redan tillgängliga forskningen, varpå uppsatsen därefter avsåg att testa validiteten och kvaliteten i våra antaganden och i den upprä̈ttade modellen. Uppsatsen utfördes med hjälp av en kvantitativ metod med positivistisk filosofi och deduktiv ansats. Undersökningsverktyget som till största grad användes för studien var en internetbaserad enkät där respondenterna fick ta del av en rad olika påståenden. Respondenterna som har deltagit i denna studie är till majoriteten bosatta i Sverige och omfattar respondenter som vid undersökningstillfället var 15 – 70 år. Denna studie indikerar slutligen att Generation Y har ett särskilt investeringsbeteende och att deras specifika sätt att investera på grundar sig i deras särskilda karaktäristika, vilket också påvisas med hjälp av ett antal statistiska modeller. Resultatet åskådliggör ytterligare att även demografiska faktorer som modersmål, kön och ålder påverkar investeringsbeteendet. Ett förslag till framtida forskning kan vara att komplettera uppsatsens kvantitativa metod med en kvalitativ metod. Detta tillvägagångssätt hade således kunnat bidra till en djupare förståelse för forskningen och ett bättre resultat och har därför varit av stort värde för uppsatsen. / The newly arriving Generation Y, that embraces the individuals born within 1980 – 1995, is on the way of positioning themselves on the labour-market. Unfortunately, there has not been done much research on the investment behavior of this generation. Mostly of previous research has been about how previous generations, the Baby Boomers and Generation X, tend to invest. This study therefore sought to help fill the gap in knowledge regarding the Generation Y. This study investigates the investment behavior of Generation Y by examining how specific characteristics affect their approach to investing. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify and analyze how Generation Y’s specific characteristics affect their investment behavior. The approach has initially been that a model was constructed based on the already available research, whereupon the paper then aimed to test the validity and quality of our assumptions and of the established model. The essay was performed by a quantitative method with a positivistic philosophy and deductive logic. The research tool for this study was, to the biggest extent, an online survey in which a variety of claims were presented to the respondents. The respondents who participated in this study, with the majority residing in Sweden, were at the time of the study 15 – 70 years old. This study indicates that Generation Y has a particular investment behavior and that their specific way of investing is based on certain characteristics, which is also shown by the several statistical models that have been used. The result further illustrates that also demographic factors, such as native language, gender and age, has affection on the investment behavior of Generation Y. A proposal for future research might be to supplement the essay’s quantitative method with a qualitative one. This approach could possibly contribute to a deeper understanding of science and a better result, and would therefore be of great value to the essay.

Currently, the prevention and control of the spread of AIDS is one of the foremost international health concerns and one of the biggest social expectations in the United States as well. Until a medical solution to AIDS is found, the only viable means of AIDS prevention is to educate the public about AIDS and persuade those who are sexually active to avoid high-risk sexual behaviors.Because many studies have showed that college students are considered to possess the highest risk toward AIDS, in this study, possible factors that can change college students' behavior were examined.One hundred and ninety seven students who enrolled in two undergraduate general classes (biology and anthropology) at Ball State University were asked to complete a questionnaire concerning their sensation-seeking type and level, frequency of their interpersonal communication with their sexual partners, and quality of their AIDS/HIV education in middle and high schools. One student from this population refused to complete the questionnaire.This study showed that public relations practitioners would need to stimulate the target audience to interpersonal communication with their sexual partners, know each type of risk takers need different information from each other, and educate the target audience how to talk about this issue with their sexual partners, rather than educate them knowledge of AIDS or social norm of safe sex. / Department of Journalism

The purpose of this study was to explore the association among risk behaviors, HIV/AIDS knowledge, and cognitive variables in high-risk adolescents. Subjects were 82 youth (50 males and 32 females) residing in a Midwest residential treatment facility for abused, neglected, or delinquent children and adolescents. The mean age of the adolescents was 14.6 years. Self-report measures of AIDS knowledge, invulnerability, self-efficacy, locus of control, sensation seeking, and risk involvement were administered in counterbalanced order. Data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression analysis to examine the relation between risk behaviors and scores on invulnerability, locus of control, self-efficacy, and sensation seeking measures once age and AIDS knowledge were controlled in the initial steps. Although age and knowledge of AIDS were related positively to the likelihood of behavioral risk taking, the combination of cognitive variables explained an additional 23% of the variance in risk behaviors and accounted for the largest proportion of shared variability. Therefore, adolescents' risk behaviors appeared to be determined by their cognitive beliefs to a greater degree than by their knowledge of the consequences of such behavior. The importance of cognitive factors in the apparent behavior choices that adolescents make suggests that educational prevention programs need to consider more than just the sharing of knowledge in addressing issues of risky behavior. Instead, the perceptions of adolescents toward sensation seeking and other cognitive characteristics also must be considered. / Department of Educational Psychology

The general aim of the study was to determine the influence of entrepreneurial orientation on the perceived success of the pipeline gas company. This type of study has not been conducted previously for such a pipeline gas company and as such, a valuable contribution could be made to a more effective entrepreneurial orientation in the business environment. Two questionnaires were administered, which focused on entrepreneurial orientation and perceived success of business respectively. A response rate of 87.63% was obtained from a sample of 97 employees at management level in the pipeline gas company concerned. The results showed a statistically significant positive relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and business development as variable of business success. The data also revealed correlations among the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation, some with significant differences for various demographic groups and their level of entrepreneurial skills. Limitations within the study were discussed and recommendations were made for future research. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This thesis is concerned with the relation between bank regulation and the risk-taking behaviour of banks. Two major instruments of regulatory intervention are considered: bank levy and bank bailouts. The major objective of this thesis is to provide an answer to the following questions: Do bank levies increase the risk-taking of banks in a competitive environment? When do bank bailouts decrease banks` risk-taking? Does the international coordination of bank bailouts affect the relation between bailouts and the risk-taking behaviour of banks? Who should rescue subsidiaries of multinational banks? How could an efficient bailout policy be designed and implemented? The bank levy and cooperation between national regulators play an important role in the recently adopted Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD). This directive is a cornerstone of bank regulation in Europe. Although the conversion of debt into equity (bail-in) in emergencies is the key component of the current regulation, bailouts, or at least the assistance to struggling banks, should not be excluded. As the ordinary resolution tools, for instance, bail-in, have not yet been tested in a real crisis, and due to the fact that it will take time to prepare global institutions for such a tool, it may be useful to have an adequately designed tool of last resort available, such as an adequate bailout policy, in order to avoid the disruption of critical economic functions. We show that a bank levy may decrease banks`risk-taking behaviour. Bank bailouts can also decrease the risk-taking of banks. This depends on the regulator`s ability to condition his bailout policy in accordance with the macroeconomic environment, which has an impact on the banks` probability of success, or on his ability to condition the bailout policy on the banks` systemic relevance. Coordination of bailouts through a multinational regulator can improve welfare. The desirability of internationally coordinated bailouts depends on the dimension of the crisis. If the crisis is severe, it may be more efficient to delegate bank bailouts to a multinational regulator. However, such a delegation is not always feasible. Therefore, a predefined burden sharing of bank bailouts is necessary in order to achieve an efficient resolution of banks in distress.

A group of 21 HIV-positive gay or bisexual men was compared with a matched group of 22 HIV-negative individuals. All subjects were sexually active gay or bisexual males matched for age, as well as age at first intercourse with males. Subjects completed a detailed sexual history questionnaire as well as a series of standardized measures of psychosocial functioning. Results indicated that subjects engaged in a wide range of unsafe sexual behaviours, and frequently combined drugs with sex. Scores on the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) were significantly correlated with lifetime condom use. Social support was also found to be significantly associated with the lifetime number of homosexual partners. Regression analysis revealed a significant negative association between MAST scores and social support and a positive relationship between social support and CD-4 cell count. The groups were found to be similar in terms of clinical levels of anxiety and depression, self-esteem in interpersonal situations, and risk-taking personality.

As we enter the third decade of a devastating worldwide epidemic, much has been done to stem the flow of HIV/AIDS, in particular within North American and Western European urban centres. Successful prevention campaigns in the 1980s had the immediate impact of lowering the rate of HIV infection among gay men, and anti-retroviral drug therapies in the mid-1990s have literally brought thousands of gay men back from the brink. However, by the middle to late 1990s, epidemiological and anecdotal evidence has strongly suggested that gay men have begun to move away from the safer sex orthodoxy of the 1980s. / Forty gay men ranging in age from 21 to 55 were interviewed for this study in order to determine if they have changed their approach to safer sex strategies implemented in the mid-1980s. In contrast to approaches to risk behaviour that emphasize the Health Belief Model, with its focus on the rational individual, this dissertation focused on the social contexts that shape gay men's decisions. / This study found a number of factors that influenced gay men's sexual choices, including age and the changing role of community. Younger gay men, those who have come of age during the 1990s, have taken a different approach to the AIDS epidemic. None of the younger participants in this study had lost anyone to HIV. Furthermore, they were now part of a group of men who no longer considers a HIV diagnosis to be immediately fatal. New medications have definitely shifted their approach to AIDS. Finally, this group of gay men no longer feels defined by a gay community like older gay men interviewed for this study. They believe they are coming of age in a time and place where they have more choices in how they will define themselves as gay men. For older gay men, those who lost many lovers, friends, and acquaintances during the HIV epidemic, changes in gay men's sexual risk-taking are both surprising and inevitable. These men are dealing with issues of ageism, loss and lack of visibility in a changing gay community. / Although there are different age-related arguments for abandoning safer sex strategies, this study helps to explain why there is a definite shift in risk-taking behavior underway as we enter the third decade of HIV/AIDS. It suggests new challenges and approaches for AIDS service organizations to deal with a substantive change in gay men's sexual behaviour.