Two studies examined the relationship between gender and self- and other-advocacy. In the first study, 163 business students (78 women and 85 men) participated in a questionnaire study that examined the relationships between gender, sex-role, modesty, self-esteem and subjects' responses to two advocacy scenarios. In response to the first scenario, modesty influenced subjects' reported preference for using either self- or other-advocacy. When subjects read a second scenario about a self-advocate, modest and feminine subjects responded more favorably toward people who had explicit reasons for their requests. In Study 2, actual advocacy was examined. In response to a job description, 178 subjects (102 women and 76 men) wrote a letter accepting the position and requesting a salary. As predicted, when women were told that they would meet with a male evaluator, they requested lower salaries for themselves and higher salaries for friends. Men who believed that they would meet with a male evaluator requested higher salaries for themselves and lower salaries for friends. The opposite pattern of results was found when women and men were not told that they would meet an evaluator. Implications for the role that gender norms play in men's and women's advocacy are discussed.

In this dissertation, we discuss various general financial equilibrium problems, for which we present formulations and computational methods. In particular, we introduce financial equilibrium models with quadratic utility functions and general utility functions, with policy interventions in the form of taxes and price controls, and also with transaction costs. Equilibrium conditions are derived for each model, and qualitative analysis of each model, as well as the computational procedures and the convergence results, are studied using the theory of variational inequalities. A variety of numerical results to illustrate the performance of the algorithms is also provided. This dissertation relaxes several conventional assumptions used in deriving the capital asset pricing model. For example, it relaxes the assumption of homogeneous expectations, the assumption of the existence of a riskfree asset, and the assumption of perfect markets which assumes that there are no transaction costs and taxes, etc. We consider an economy in which there are multiple sectors, each of which can hold the multiple financial instruments as assets and/or liabilities. Each sector has his own utility function and his own beliefs about the future. The framework in this dissertation is one of competitive financial equilibrium, in which portfolio optimization is the behavioral assumption underlying each sector in the economy. The instrument prices serve as the market signals reflecting the economic market condition. The solution of the models yields the equilibrium instrument asset and liability volumes, as well as the equilibrium prices. Such problems are inherently complex and large-scale and, hence, present challenges from both modeling and mathematical programming perspectives. The framework which we introduce here is theoretical, although the foundations are empirical and based on the flow of funds accounts that provide a financial snapshot of an economy, and, in the case of the United States, are maintained by the Federal Reserve Board. In this dissertation, hence, we also balance the flow of funds data from the Federal Reserve Board for 1982 to 1991 and create the base-line for the general equilibrium models. We conclude this dissertation with possible extensions of the framework developed here and provide suggestions for future research.

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This study explores the reasons why corporations which supported and collected contemporary art in the twentieth century chose abstract expressionism as the appropriate visual expression of their achievements during the 1950s and 60s. Corporate use of contemporary art began during the mid-1920s as the result of new interest in modernist subject matter. Affinities between technology and aesthetic modernism were promoted by some business advertisers. The depression of the 1930s prompted a conservative cultural retrenchment and new aesthetic statements. Regionalist art was used as an effective marketing tool by advertisers until political events abroad and at home led to its association with fascism. Nazi persecution of abstracted modernist work during the same period forged links between abstraction and democracy for many artists and collectors in the United States. Returning affluence and the shift of the center of modern art from Paris to New York at the end of World War II provided an impetus for corporate consumption of American modernist art. In the increasingly restrictive cultural climate of the post-war years, social realist art was perceived by Congressional investigators to be subversive and communist-influenced; consequently, many business patrons turned to abstract expressionism as a depoliticized, safe alternative. Other corporate collectors defended all varieties of modernist art under the banner of artistic freedom. These patrons called for government support of contemporary American art because they believed that diversity was essential to the preservation of democracy and freedom. The personal freedoms associated with democracy were not unlike the depoliticized personal expression through pure aesthetics emphasized by the abstract expressionists. During the 1950s and 60s increasing numbers of corporate executives saw the advantage of connecting the ahistorical nature of abstract expressionism and its emphasis on individual expression with corporate image. They believed that abstraction would attract attention and, perhaps more important, suggest that the corporation itself was up-to-date, diverse, and uniquely individual. By the 1960s issues of style had superseded earlier political, moral or aesthetic concerns of corporate collectors. Corporate involvement in the arts became chic. That modern art was good for business and that abstract expressionism was the perfect corporate style were fully accepted.

This study examines the overall effect of downsizing during the past five years on Extension Home Economists. Its objectives are to identify the downsizing strategies used in Extension organizations, and to determine the professional and personal effect of downsizing upon these respondents. The role of resilient behaviors, coping strategies, social support and life events in helping these professionals deal with downsizing is also examined. Data were collected and analyzed from 429 surveys sent to a random sample of Extension Home Economists, active members in their professional organization. The results show that the most prominent strategies used to downsize include attrition, changing traditional services and functions, financial incentives for workforce reduction, and transferring staff. Major work changes include an increased workload, loss of colleagues and involvement in more team efforts. These Extension Home Economists experienced downsizing more from a personal than a professional level. The majority rated the overall personal impact of downsizing as moderate to profound. Personal impact was alleviated by the use of resilient behaviors, the experience of a limited number of notable life events, and the quality of social support. The only variable which influenced the professional impact of downsizing was life events. While the use of coping strategies did not affect the professional and personal impact of downsizing, the use of these strategies influenced the overall ability to cope. Maintaining contact and communication with their colleagues was the most utilized coping strategy by these professionals. While those who felt satisfied with the current downsized organization indicated lower personal impact, having an accepting attitude towards downsizing did not affect these respondents personally or professionally. Of the demographic variables, only years of employment influenced the personal impact of downsizing. Neither age, relationship status nor years of employment affected the professional impact of downsizing. Downsizing will continue to provide challenges and opportunities for organizations now and well into the future. Although there is not one prescription for surviving it, there is evidence that those who exercise resilient behaviors, have a varied repertoire of coping strategies and a quality support system will have a greater capacity for reducing its side effects.

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Ukraine's official goals and policies regarding European integration are presented, and the European Union's conditions of accession are examined. Because Ukraine seeks membership in the EU, democratization and marketization, receive focused attention. Problems of Ukraine's "quadruple transition" are also examined. The meaning of the Orange Revolution is discussed, as its significance is challenged. In many extensive interviews, administrative officials from two selected oblasts express optimistic and hopeful assertions of Ukraine's development of a market economy, and officials claim to facilitate economic development and, at times, even small business development. These claims are put to the test by use of two in-depth case studies of small business creation. The two case studies take place within the two contrasting oblasts of Kharkiv and Transcarpathia. Extensive interviews of professors, small businessmen, lawyers and others tend to corroborate the findings of a recent IFC study by Yacoub and Senchuk, and corroborate the experiences of the two directors of the small businesses, Oksana Degtyarenko and Olha Zinchenko. The myths of officialdom in economic development and small business creation are evident in an inconsistency between claims of higher level administrative concern and support for entrepreneurs and small business development and the actions of officials within lower levels of administration. Instead of functioning as a chief catalyst for small business development, and development of a market-based economy more broadly, the administration and its officials are often acting as impediments. The reality, for entrepreneurs, appears to involve a high degree of state interference, specifically extraordinarily complicated processes of gaining an exhaustive number of approvals, permissions, and official acts. The administration, at its lower and mid levels, portrays an extreme lack of interest in the development of entrepreneurs, and visible incompetence and extortion. While some very worthwhile administrative reforms are evident in these oblasts, the destructive and impeding actions of the lower and mid level officials are inconsistent with the hopeful and claims of goal-oriented higher level officials, many of which are well-educated, skilled, and genuinely well-intentioned. In the drive toward a market economy and economic development, Ukraine continues to face difficult challenges.

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The intent of this exploratory case study was: (1)to compare a model of expected formal business plan content with the content of actual business plans developed within a single company, (2)to develop a modified model of formal business plan content which recognizes organizational influences on plan content, (3)to propose a method for evaluating business plans based on this modified model. The firm studied was Fast Delta Corporation, a "Fortune 500" multidivisional manufacturing company in a high technology industry. The business plan content analyzed in this study was produced through a planning system similar to those implemented by other multidivisional companies. In this study, planning by middle managers rather than top management was the primary focus. The study method was based on the analysis of formal plan content rather than direct observation or inquiry about the planning process. Study steps included: (1)test of goodness of fit between a simple model of expected business plan content and the actual content of business plans produced through the Fast Delta Corporation planning system. (2)analysis of deviations of the actual content from the expected content model. This analysis included comparison of actual formal plan content with non-content characteristics of the formal plans, with the content of business strategy case studies from other firms, and with the content of Fast Delta Corporation managers' responses to case studies in business strategy. The results of this study showed that Fast Delta Corporation formal business plan content was influenced by several factors. These included short-term corporate-wide concerns; shared assumptions among managers about the strengths and limitations of the study firm; and constraints on strategy which may be characteristic of other firms with similar structure, at a similar life cycle stage, or within the same industry. From these results a modified model of business plan content was developed which considered these influences. The validity of this model suggests that the plan analysis techniques used in this study were effective techniques for identifying the planning assumptions which underlie business plan content produced through a firm's formal business planning system. The results and conclusions of this study are significant for top management, middle management, corporate planning staff, and those doing research in strategic planning.