M.Comm. / Any macro transport economic study of maritime education, training and development (ETD) will need to identify the many and varied role players involved therein or affected thereby. An introduction to the complexity, demands, needs and problems, and dynamic nature of the maritime industry, and of ETD in South Africa, is also necessary. Attention in the industry to safety and the resultant international requirements, in particular, makes adequate and coordinated maritime ETD and cognisance of the developments in this arena, essential. The regulatory and institutional framework within which ETD and the maritime industry function must be investigated. The Maritime Industry Training Board (MITB) is the current coordinator of maritime ETD in South Africa. As such, the effectiveness and efficiency of its activities need to be assessed, on an ongoing basis, by the role players which it serves to ensure that its co-ordinating functions facilitate the fulfilment of their needs and problems. The core problem investigated in this study, is the lack of co-ordinated maritime ETD, specifically in South Africa. The aim of the study, therefore, is to explore the subject of maritime ETD.

This dissertation consists of two essays: one looks at the relation between firm focus and hedging in the REIT industry, and the other compares bank board structures in China and the US. The first essay presented in Chapter 2 examines the relation between corporate hedging and firm focus in the REIT industry by using a sample of REITs in 2005 and in 2007. We find 46.41% utilization rate in 2005 and 43.41% in 2007. Consistent with our hypothesis, we find that, relative to diversified firms, focused firms are more likely to engage in hedging. Focused firms also tend to be involved in greater amount of hedging. We also document a negative relation between hedging and transparency, although the evidence is not overwhelming. Consistent with previous literature, there is a strong firm size effect. The second essay presented in Chapter 3 examines the relation between bank performance and board structure by using a sample of 74 US banks and 53 Chinese banks for the period 2002 to 2006. Indeed, the empirical relation between board structure and performance is virtually non-existing in China. In particular, for the US sample, the board size is found to be significantly and negatively correlated with ROA, but a larger board also tends to be associated with lower costs. For Chinese banks, the evidence indicates that governance variables are not significantly correlated with performances with the exception of block ownership: there is strong evidence that the relation between block ownership and bank performance is negative. Additionally, we find substantial differences in board structure between the two countries; in particular the average board size and the proportion of outside directors for US banks are almost twice of those in China.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / Supporters of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), founded in 1987, hoped that its certification process would create a cadre of publicly recognized master teachers who would take on professional roles that have traditionally been the responsibility of administrators rather than teachers. Such a change would allow teaching to become a true profession, regulated collegially instead of bureaucratically. A national survey of national board certified teachers (NBCTs) administered in 2001 found little evidence that they were in fact taking on new professional roles. This study examines fifteen schools with large numbers of NBCTs in three North Carolina school districts to determine if NBCTs in these exceptional places are gaining new professional roles, and what factors are enabling or preventing that change. Telephone interviews were conducted with state level officials in North Carolina, district level officials in each of the school districts, and one NBCT, the principal, and one non-NBCT at each school. Interviews were transcribed and coded for analysis. The results indicate that NBCTs in these schools are not taking on significant new professional roles as a result of their certification, and suggest two reasons for this lack of change. One is structural: the NBPTS, the state of North Carolina, and the three school districts studied appear to have narrowed the focus of national board certification so that it is concerned primarily with identifying and rewarding excellence in classroom teaching. This study found few explicit attempts to use NBCTs in professional leadership roles or to provide them with opportunities for professional leadership in addition to classroom teaching. Another concerns the perceived validity of the certification process: board certification is not broadly accepted among study respondents as a consistent and accurate designation of teaching excellence. The results of this study also raise questions about the persistence of egalitarian norms among teachers in schools with significant numbers of NBCTs. / 2031-01-01

O avanço da tecnologia de aparelhos eletro-eletrônicos favorece a troca constante dos equipamentos. O freqüente descarte de aparelhos obsoletos se torna um problema de sustentabilidade e também um problema ambiental devido ao seu acúmulo em aterros. A solução para minimizar estes impactos é a reciclagem de seus componentes. Por esta razão, o principal objetivo deste trabalho é estudar o processamento das placas de circuito impresso de telefones celulares através de operações unitárias de Tratamento de Minérios e hidrometalurgia a fim de se recuperar o cobre contido nas placas. Para isso, inicialmente, placas de circuito impresso foram processadas em moinho de martelos, a fim de liberar os materiais, em seguida foi feita a separação magnética do material cominuído. Com a fração não magnética foi feita a separação eletrostática e o material foi separado em: fração condutora, mista e não condutora, com cada fração foi feita a classificação granulométrica e, posteriormente, realizaram-se ensaios de caracterização como pirólise, digestão em água régia e análise química de espectroscopia de emissão óptica por indução de plasma. Os processos hidrometalúrgico aplicados para a recuperação de cobre nas placas de circuito impresso de aparelhos celulares obsoletos envolvem etapas lixiviação com ácido sulfúrico na ausência e na presença de peróxido de hidrogênio. Os resultados da caracterização mostraram que as placas de circuito impresso de celulares após a moagem possuem 24% de cerâmicas; 12,7% de polímeros e 63,3% de metais. Além disso, após a classificação granulométrica e a separação eletrostática os materiais não se concentraram em nenhuma fração especifica, portanto o processamento mecânico visando a recuperação de metais deve contemplar a moagem e a separação magnética. / The technology advancement of electro-electronics devices favors the constant equipment exchange. The frequent disposal of obsolete equipment becomes a sustainability problem and also an environmental problem due to their accumulation in landfills. One possible solution to minimize these impacts is the recycling of their components. For this reason the aim goal of this study is processing of printed circuit boards of mobile phones utilizing unit operation of ore treatment and hydrometallurgy to recover the copper contained in the printed. Therefore, initially printed circuit boards were processed on a hammer mill to release the materials, then it was made magnetic separation of comminuted material. With the non-magnetic fraction was made electrostatic separation in which the material was separated into: conductive, mixed and non-conductive fraction, with each fraction was made grain sized classification and then assays were performed analysis of characterize as pyrolysis, digestion in aqua regia and chemical analysis of inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. Hydrometallurgical processes applied to the cooper recovery in printed circuit boards of obsolete mobile phones, involve steps leaching with sulfuric acid in the absence and presence of hydrogen peroxide. The characterization results showed that the printed circuit boards of mobile phones after grinding have ceramics 24%, polymers 12.7% and metals 63.3%. Moreover, after grain sized classification and electrostatic separation the materials didn\'t concentrate in no specific fraction, therefore the mechanical processing in order to recover metals should include grinding and magnetic separation.

This study examines whether water conservation is actually being incorporated into municipal water management practices. The development of a conservation policy from a general goal declaration to specific programmatic practices is reviewed for a Texas state water agency, the Texas Water Development Board. From January 1986 through September 1989, 102 political units in Texas applied to the Board for water-related loan funds and thus were required to implement municipal water conservation plans. Two aspects of this conversation policy are assessed: one, the Board's procedural arrangements for the development and review of water conservation plans, and two, the conservation plans of each political unit. It is concluded that Texas state water managers, and local manager also, have yet to incorporate conservation as a significant planning tool for the achievement of water management goals.

No description available.

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Este estudo teve dois objetivos. Primeiro, pretendeu-se identificar quais dados são relevantes para suportar testes sobre o impacto da existência de diretorias jurídicas no desempenho das companhias listadas na Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo (BM&FBovespa). Segundo, com os dados destacados no primeiro objetivo, buscou-se verificar se essas companhias apresentavam desempenho financeiro distinto, quanto ao valor e à rentabilidade, pela formalização de diretorias jurídicas. Para cumprir o primeiro objetivo apresentado, foram coletados dados de 1997 a 2008 no Formulário de Informações Anuais (IAN), relatório que as empresas de capital aberto remetem periodicamente e compulsoriamente à Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM), e no banco de dados da Economática: dados utilizados para avaliar e comparar o desempenho financeiro nos testes realizados para valor (Q de Tobin) e rentabilidade (ROA). Para cumprir o segundo objetivo, o método utilizado abrangeu a matriz de correlação e o teste de colinearidade, para justificar o uso das variáveis independentes e, consequentemente, para melhor explicar a regressão; o teste de independência, ou teste não paramétrico de diferença de médias, entre companhias listadas com diretorias jurídicas e o grupo de empresas sem essa diretoria; duas regressões com dados em painel, tendo o Q de Tobin e o ROA como variáveis dependentes representaram o modelo usado neste trabalho. Cumpriram-se os objetivos desse estudo pelos resultados apresentados. As respostas quanto aos dados pesquisados para suportar os testes quantitativos (primeiro objetivo) foram relevantes e representativos ao mostrar a elevação exponencial de companhias com existência de diretorias jurídicas de 1,35% em 1997 para aproximadamente 10% em 2008. Na mesma linha, houve também evolução do número de setores da economia com existência de diretorias jurídicas, aumentando de três setores em 1997 para mais de quinze em 2008. Os resultados dos testes (segundo objetivo) mostraram fortes indícios de que a formalização da diretoria jurídica na companhia favorece o valor (Q de Tobin) e a rentabilidade (ROA) das companhias listadas na BM&FBovespa. O teste de independência ou não paramétrico de diferença de média mostrou significância quanto ao Q de Tobin e ROA em 2003, 2005 e 2006; significância somente quanto ao Q de Tobin em 2002 e 2007; e, significância exclusivamente quanto ao ROA em 1999 a 2001, 2004 e 2008. Somente em 1997 e 1998 não houve significância de resultados, em vista do baixo número de empresas com diretorias jurídicas. A regressão com dados em painel, tendo o Q de Tobin como variável dependente, teve resultados consistentes quanto à parcela dos conselheiros externos, com o tamanho da firma e com o tempo de companhia listada na bolsa de valores. Quanto à regressão com dados em painel, tendo o ROA como variável dependente, os resultados foram significantes para o número de conselheiros da empresa, tamanho da empresa e, finalmente, para a existência de diretorias jurídicas na empresa. / This study had two objectives. First, we sought to identify what data are relevant to withstand tests on the impact of the existence of the boards with legal member in the performance of companies listed on São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo, BM&FBovespa). Second, the data highlighted in the first goal, we sought to determine whether these companies had separate financial performance, as the value and profitability, the formalization of legal directors. To accomplish the first goal made, data were collected from 1997 to 2008 on Annual Information Form, report that publicly traded companies regularly and compulsorily refer to brazilian securities exchange commission (Comissão de Valores Mobiliários, CVM), and the database Economática: data used to evaluate and compare the financial performance in tests for value (Tobin\'s Q) and profitability (Return on Assets, ROA). To achieve the second objective, the method used included the correlation matrix and collinearity test, to justify the use of independent variables and hence to better explain the regression, the independence test, or nonparametric mean difference, between listed companies with boards and the legal group of companies without such a board, two regressions with panel data, and Tobin\'s Q and ROA as dependent variables represented the model used in this work. Fulfilled for the purposes of this study the results presented. The responses regarding the research data to support quantitative tests (first goal) were relevant and representative to show the exponential rise of companies with boards of legal existence from 1.35% in 1997 to about 10% in 2008. In the same vein, there were also changes in the number of sectors of the economy with existence of legal directors, increasing from three sectors in 1997 to more than fifteen in 2008. The test results (second goal) showed strong evidence that the formalization of the board with legal member at the company promotes the value (Tobin\'s Q) and profitability (ROA) of companies listed on BM&F Bovespa. The independence test or nonparametric mean difference showed a significant relation to Tobin\'s Q and ROA in 2003, 2005 and 2006; significance only in relation to Tobin\'s Q in 2002 and 2007, and, solely on the significance of ROA from 1999 to 2001 , 2004 and 2008. Only in 1997 and 1998 there was no significant result, considering the low number of companies with that director. The regression with panel data, and Tobin\'s Q as the dependent variable had consistent results in the proportion of outside directors, with firm size and time of a company listed on the stock exchange. As for the regression with panel data, with ROA as the dependent variable, the results were significant for the number of directors of the company, company size and finally to the legal existence of the company directors.

Directors' remuneration has long attracted a great deal of attention from financial economists and academics due to its strategic role as a remedy to control agency problems. The key issue is the conflict between directors and shareholders on whether the remuneration is designed to maximise shareholders' value or to favour directors, who run the company on behalf of the investors. However, the conflict can never be detected when the disclosure of remuneration is not transparent. The study was conducted in Malaysia which provides a distinctive research setting different from other developing countries because Malaysia has a disclosure exercise that is still far below best practice as well as a unique Malaysian cultural and institutional environment. Thus, the unusual combination of politics (government) dominated by Malays and business dominated by the minority Chinese provides an interesting background to explore the determinants and consequences of directors' remuneration disclosure. This study's novelty stands on the exploration of ownership structure and board diversity in determining directors' remuneration disclosure, as well as the impact of disclosure towards firm value. The first chapter investigates the association between ownership structure and directors' remuneration disclosure. A significant and negative association is noted between family ownership and remuneration disclosure, suggesting that the traditional family control in Malaysia continue to be dominating outweighing the necessity of public disclosure. Moreover, this study encountered a non-linear relationship between government ownership and remuneration disclosure, indicating that the disclosure of directors' remuneration is positive up to a certain level of government ownership but reduces as government ownership increases. Evidently, directors in government-owned companies are being extra vigilant in disclosing their remuneration due to the political and personal security reasons, particularly post the 12th general election of Malaysia in 2008 that witnessed the government lose its two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time after 40 years. The second chapter examines how board diversity influences disclosure. The study found that only age diversity is significantly and negatively associated with directors' remuneration disclosure, supporting the age stereotype that characterised old directors who are wise and wisdom. Hence, the adverse disclosure behaviour can be explained by their ability to credibly withhold voluntary information and strategically disclose mandatory information on remuneration. Contrary to prior studies, this study found that ethnic diversity does not have a significant influence on directors' remuneration disclosure possibly due to the equal number of Malay and non-Malay directors on board throughout the period under review. Interestingly, cultural convergence is also known to be a contributing factor as both ethnics exercise their belief in determining the level of strategic remuneration disclosure. In line with upper echelon theory, the presence of female directors is found to be an insignificant determinant of remuneration disclosure possibly due to their risk-averse personality in the high-risk disclosure area. The third chapter aims to assess the extent to which directors' remuneration disclosure reflects information that is relevant to firm value. By using Tobin's Q, this chapter shows that directors' remuneration disclosure is value relevant in both financial and non-financial sectors among the FTSE30 companies. The finding implies that the market highly values directors' remuneration disclosure as it signals board transparency and provides a window to overall governance quality of an organisation. This chapter proposes that commitment to directors' remuneration disclosure has potential benefits that outweigh the risk of disclosing within the Malaysian context. Furthermore, this chapter explicitly addresses and justifies the potential endogeneity problem that has been ignored by typical accounting studies. Using the two-stage least squares (2SLS) technique to control for the endogeneity of voluntary remuneration disclosure in assessing its impact on firm value, findings from the robustness analysis carried out suggest that the empirical results reported are robust to potential endogeneity problems. Finally, this study provides two practical implications. First, it provides a disclosure incentive for directors to make better remuneration disclosure in the annual report. Despite that there is evidence of hesitancy to disclose due to the political volatility in Malaysia subsequent to the 12th general election in 2008, the market significantly values directors' remuneration disclosure as it signals good governance practice by the company as well as great reputation portrayed by the board members. More specifically, this study encourages disclosure on directors' remuneration as it positively affects firm value, in both financial and non-financial sectors. Secondly, this study offers essential guidelines for companies in determining the board composition. It suggests that a distinctive personality of each director can be a competitive advantage of a firm when it is properly transformed to make it congruent with the firm's objective, in achieving maximum efficiency of decision-making. While age diversity is found to be significantly associated with directors' remuneration disclosure, the remaining board diversity dimensions such as gender, and ethnicity are also significant in a condition when it is critically analysed using the upper echelon theory within the context of Malaysia. Overall, the study indicates the need to incorporate a diversified composition of the top decision-makers in deciding a strategic remuneration disclosure.

Orientador: Heloisa Andréa Acciari / Coorientador: Cristiane Inácio de Campos / Banca: Manoel Cleber de Sampaio Alves / Banca: Ivaldo de Domenico Valarelli / Resumo : Estudos relacionados a matérias-primas alternativas para a substituição parcial ou total de madeira na produção de produtos engenheirados, mais especificamente de painéis, vem sendo desenvolvidos com a finalidade de diminuir a utilização da madeira e também aproveitar resíduos, que muitas vezes não possuem valor agregado. Por este motivo este trabalho teve o intuito de caracterizar a utilização da casca de noz macadâmia na produção de painéis de partículas, tendo em vista que esta casca é um resíduo com alta resistência, porém raramente possui utilização. Para tanto se testou quatro composições de painéis de partículas, com 0%, 30%, 60% e 100% de casca de noz macadâmia com base na massa de partículas. Avaliou-se a razão de esbeltez das partículas e as propriedades físico-mecânicas dos painéis com base na norma brasileira ABNT NBR 14810-3 (2006). Foram realizados os ensaios físicos de densidade, teor de umidade, inchamento em espessura durante 2 e 24 horas e absorção de água durante 2 e 24 horas. Os ensaios mecânicos realizados foram de flexão estática, para a determinação do módulo de ruptura (MOR) e do módulo de elasticidade (MOE), e o de tração perpendicular à superfície também conhecido como adesão interna. Com os resultados obtidos notou-se que com a adição de casca de noz macadâmia ocorreu diminuição da resistência mecânica, tanto com relação a adesão interna quanto com relação ao MOR e MOE, sendo que este último diminuiu abruptamente com a adição de apenas 30%; e maior instabilidade dimensional, pois ocorreu o aumento do inchamento em espessura e da absorção de água. Este resultado foi devido principalmente à geometria das partículas de macadâmia que não permitiu uma boa interação entre o substrato e o adesivo. Destaca-se ainda que a alta densidade da casca de noz macadâmia dificultou a interação ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Studies related to alternative raw materials for the partial or total substitution of wood in the production of engineered products, specifically panels, has been developed with the aim of reducing the use of wood and also recycle waste that often have no value. For this reason this study aimed to characterize the use of macadamia nutshell in the production of particleboard, given that this bark is a residue with high strength, but rarely has use. For that four different compositions of particle boards with 0%, 30%, 60% and 100% of macadamia nutshell based on the mass of particles were tested. The slenderness ratio of the particles and the physical-mechanical properties of panels were evaluated based on the Brazilian standard ABNT NBR 14810-3 (2006). The physical tests performed were density, moisture content, thickness swelling for 2 hours and 24 hours and the water absorption during 2 hours and 24 hours. The mechanical tests performed were the static bending, for determining the modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) and the tension perpendicular to surface also known as internal bonding. With the results obtained it was noted that with the addition of Macadamia nutshell there was a decrease in mechanical strength, with respect to internal bonding and MOR and MOE, which latter abruptly decreased with the addition of only 30%; and in the dimensional stability, because occurred the increasing of the thickness swelling and water absorption. This result was mainly due to the macadamia particles geometry, which did not allow a good interaction between the substrate and the adhesive. Note also that the high density of the macadamia nutshell hindered the interaction between particles, because it blocked a sufficient panel compression / Mestre