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This study focuses on the effects of nominal shocks on the real exchange rate. The model used to determine the effects of a monetary expansion on the real exchange rate assumes instantaneously clearing asset markets and sticky goods prices. A monetary expansion causes the nominal exchange rate to initially overshoot its long run equilibrium value followed by a series of appreciations. The real exchange rate depreciates sharply and then appreciates until its initial value is restored. / A simple monetary model, a sticky price monetary model and a random walk model are empirically tested with Canadian/U.S. data over the 1972-1989 time period. Both monetary models were rejected and the random walk model represented the best fit to the data. This evidence supports the hypothesis that the Canadian/U.S. nominal exchange rate follows a random walk process. / An empirical examination of the Canadian real exchange rate over the 1970-1989 period confirms the hypothesis that since the advent of the floating exchange rate period, the Canadian real exchange rate movements have been much larger than most economists predicted.

The value of the RMB, China's currency has become a contentious issue. China's RMB exchange rate regime has moved from a fixed exchange rate before July 2005, to a managed floating change rate regime. There has been external pressure on China to agree to the RMB's appreciation to the US dollar. There is a common view that the RMB is considerably undervalued at this moment, with some quarrelling that this is an issue of global concern. This study has two objectives. First, to review and critically comment on China's exchange rate regime over the period 1994 to 2008. Second, to review and critically comment on whether the RMB was undervalued over the period 1994 to 2008. This study shows that the evidence is mixed. The popular Big Mac Index shows that the RMB was significantly undervalued from 1994 to 2008. In contrast, this study reviewed research that provides evidence for alternative perspectives on the valuation of RMB. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Wesville, 2009.

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I propose and test a new model determining the choice of the exchange rate regime in Latin America and the Caribbean. The key insight is that systemic level instability plays an important role in choosing the exchange rate regime. Using new data from Reinhart and Rogoff (2004), a second insight is that countries do not always follow the type of exchange rate regime they claim. Testing the determinants of regime choice against both the traditional, official de jure and new, market de facto data, I find that policymakers are strategically using the observed gap between the measures. The evidence reveals that systemic level variables, namely instability in the US interest rate and the bilateral USD:DEM/Euro exchange rate, significantly impact the choice of the exchange rate regime.

ABSTRACT Patient safety and safety outcomes in hospitals are a major concern. A hospital’s safety climate indicates the degree to which the organization prioritizes patient safety and achieves intended care outcomes. Relationships between nurse managers and frontline nurses and relationships between health care team members are pivotal in promoting a positive safety climate which in turn reduces adverse patient outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine frontline nurses’ perceived relationships with nurse managers and health team members to identify factors associated with safety climate (SC) in a community hospital located in a western Canadian city. The study was guided by Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory. Leader-Member Exchange theory postulates that dyadic relationships and work roles develop over time through a series of exchanges between nurse managers and frontline nurses. The study further incorporated Team-member exchange (TMX), a theoretical extension of LMX. Team-Member Exchange was used to guide the study of reciprocal exchanges among nurses and other members of the health care team. A non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design was used to explore the relationship between acute care nurses’ perceived LMX, TMX, and SC. A convenience sampling technique was employed. Licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and registered nurses (RNs) were invited to complete a survey package comprised of four scales. A response rate of 31.1% was achieved with N=105. The majority of respondents were female (89.5%), over 45 years of age, and employed part-time. About half of the respondents were diploma-prepared nurses, whereas the other half had a baccalaureate degree in nursing. Based upon data’s non-normal distribution and various levels of variables, Kruskall Wallis H statistics were used to assess and compare groups in terms of the nurses’ education, gender, length of experience in their current position, specialty experience, organization experience, age, and LMX, TMX, and SC scores. Age was the sole demographic factor that had a statistically significant positive association with LMX and SC. This finding supported the notion that mature nurses enhance the SC. The relationship between TMX, LMX, and SC was explored through Spearman’s rho correlation statistics. LMX and TMX were found to have statistically significant relationships with SC. Multivariable regression analysis was used to identify factors with an association with SC. Nurses’ relationships with team members had a slightly stronger association with SC in comparison with LMX. Over 66% of SC variance was accountable by LMX, TMX, and nurses’ age. This study’s results support the nurse manager who partners with nurses to promote team work to deliver safe patient care and accomplish organizational goals. The presence of strong leadership that incorporates LMX and TMX theories into practice with the reliance upon mature nurses may facilitate the attainment of a positive SC and positive patient outcomes. Further longitudinal studies are recommended to add to the knowledge of the relationships between LMX, TMX, SC and patient outcomes.

Conditions that underlie contracts and cooperative agreements in business take different forms in different parts of the world. This research investigates the nature, structure and content of those informal relations that lie outside the formal contractual relations in the business community in contemporary China. Specifically, it addresses the role of gift giving in business relations, including the practical and cultural implications. This is a worldwide phenomenon, but my focus is on the relationships known in China as guanxi. Building and managing guanxi includes the exchange of gifts, therefore, discerning whether these exchanges are artefacts of the past or are rational and logical today is crucial. I argue that offering a gift symbolizes the desire to have cooperation within a close trusting relationship. Using an historical anthropological approach I present a systematic examination of pre collected data. The analysis looks for patterns to answer the following questions: What role, if any, does gift exchange play in creating guanxi relationships of trust that include reciprocal obligations? What role does guanxi play in China’s growing economy? I hypothesize that in the context of uncertainty in business it is important to be able to trust the person with whom one has business relationships. The research shows that gift exchanges create an atmosphere of trust that is time-and cost-efficient. Therefore, gift exchange has a rational motivation and facilitates advantageous business transactions within a guanxi relationship. Guanxi management is an important part of business strategy. This research will lead to a deeper understanding of the differences and similarities in contemporary business as it is practiced, both globally and locally, by people with different cultural backgrounds. / Graduate

Thesis (MBusiness-Research)--University of South Australia, 2001.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Northeastern University, 2008. / Title from title page (viewed Feb. 27, 2009). Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. Includes bibliographical references (p. 156-158).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 12, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 150-160).