<p>The aim of this study was to examine how athletes and coaches, in Sweden and Portugal, perceive and experience success and failure in relation to sport. Moreover, study if there were cultural differences in coping. The main objectives of the study consisted of examining differences based on culture and coaches vs. athletes in the following research questions; how athletes and coaches define, react and cope with success and failure, how they perceive consequences and how coaches help athletes to cope with success and failure. Fifteen (n=15) individual semi structured interviews was carried out with ten (n=10) Swedish and five (n=5) Portuguese sportsmen. An interview guide based on the objectives of the study was developed. 1226 raw data units were identified and categorised using categorization, tagging and regrouping of relevant concepts. The results are discussed according to several stress-coping theories. Moreover, the result showed some differences based on both culture and on coaches vs. athletes. Furthermore success was mainly defined as reaching goals and failure as performance related mistakes. Reactions on both success and failure were mainly emotional. Negative consequences of both success and failure were most common and problem- focused coping were adopted to cope with those situations. The coaches supported the athletes by adopting emotion- and problem-focused coping.</p>

<p>The aim of this study is to investigate how athletes and coaches perceive and experience</p><p>success and failure. Objectives of the study consist of examining how athletes and coaches define, react and cope with success and failure, how they perceive consequences and how coaches help athletes to cope with success and failure. Ten (n=10) individual semi structured interviews was carried out with seven (n=7) elite athletes and three (n=3) coaches in track and field. An interview guide based on the objectives of the study was developed. 385 raw data</p><p>units were identified. These were categorised according to the objectives. The analysis showed that athletes and coaches defined success as achieving goals and a typical reaction to success was to feel happy. A typical consequence that follows success was increased self</p><p>confidence and athletes cope with this by setting new goals. The analysis of coaches showed that coaches create an understanding for the athletes, what they want and what they need. Failure was most frequently defined as injury. The most common reaction to failure was increased negative thinking and athletes coped with that by “clenching the fist”. Coaches help athletes to cope with failure by adapting the training. Development was considered to be a</p><p>significant consequence of failure.</p>

This thesis explores the field of dollarisation as a macroeconomic instrument to increase domestic and foreign investments. The dollarisation is a pressing issue, especially for countries suffering from high inflation rate and decreasing purchasing power of their national currency. The aim of the study is to investigate whether the dollarisation in Ecuador has had any effects on domestic and foreign investment. The frame of references consists of two parts. In the first part, we present a introduction to the dollarisation concept, the origins and the effects of the implementation. The second part concerns domesticand foreign investment. The determinant factors of expected profitability are presented herein which constitutes our main tool for analysis.

The aim of this study was to examine how athletes and coaches, in Sweden and Portugal, perceive and experience success and failure in relation to sport. Moreover, study if there were cultural differences in coping. The main objectives of the study consisted of examining differences based on culture and coaches vs. athletes in the following research questions; how athletes and coaches define, react and cope with success and failure, how they perceive consequences and how coaches help athletes to cope with success and failure. Fifteen (n=15) individual semi structured interviews was carried out with ten (n=10) Swedish and five (n=5) Portuguese sportsmen. An interview guide based on the objectives of the study was developed. 1226 raw data units were identified and categorised using categorization, tagging and regrouping of relevant concepts. The results are discussed according to several stress-coping theories. Moreover, the result showed some differences based on both culture and on coaches vs. athletes. Furthermore success was mainly defined as reaching goals and failure as performance related mistakes. Reactions on both success and failure were mainly emotional. Negative consequences of both success and failure were most common and problem- focused coping were adopted to cope with those situations. The coaches supported the athletes by adopting emotion- and problem-focused coping.

The aim of this study is to investigate how athletes and coaches perceive and experience success and failure. Objectives of the study consist of examining how athletes and coaches define, react and cope with success and failure, how they perceive consequences and how coaches help athletes to cope with success and failure. Ten (n=10) individual semi structured interviews was carried out with seven (n=7) elite athletes and three (n=3) coaches in track and field. An interview guide based on the objectives of the study was developed. 385 raw data units were identified. These were categorised according to the objectives. The analysis showed that athletes and coaches defined success as achieving goals and a typical reaction to success was to feel happy. A typical consequence that follows success was increased self confidence and athletes cope with this by setting new goals. The analysis of coaches showed that coaches create an understanding for the athletes, what they want and what they need. Failure was most frequently defined as injury. The most common reaction to failure was increased negative thinking and athletes coped with that by “clenching the fist”. Coaches help athletes to cope with failure by adapting the training. Development was considered to be a significant consequence of failure.

Wetland density is believed to be an important determinant of home range size variation in mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), but hypothesized effects of upland habitat and female size and age have not been adequately evaluated. Thus, I investigated correlates and consequences of home range size variation using radio-tracking data for 131 female mallards studied on 12 Canadian prairie parkland sites, 1995-1998. Home range size and habitat composition varied within and among study areas; overall, home range size variation was best modeled to include effects of seasonal and semi-permanent wetlands (β = -0.06 ± 0.01 SE) and wood-shrub habitat (β = -0.03 ± 0.01 SE). Contrary to predictions, I obtained no support for a positive association between home range size and female body size or a negative relationship between home range size and female age. After controlling effects of wetland density, mean home range sizes were larger on study areas with lower mallard breeding pair densities. I suspect that individual home ranges were smaller in areas of high pair density because of increased intraspecific competition for breeding space. A higher proportion of wood-shrub habitat may have contributed to smaller individual home range sizes because of greater relative availability of preferred nesting habitat. Likewise, a high proportion of wetlands in home ranges could enhance access to important resources such as food, leading to smaller home range sizes.<p> Reproductive and survival consequences were investigated using 8 variables to distinguish between three reproductive categories (females that either did not nest, nested but failed, or nested successfully) and two survival categories (dead versus alive) with discriminant function analysis. Successful females were clearly separated from non-nesting females by having smaller home ranges (95% kernel estimate) with higher percentages of wood-shrub and habitat treatment but lower percentages of seasonal and semi-permanent wetlands. Females that did not nest were further distinguished from nesting females by being younger, structurally smaller and having larger home ranges composed of higher percentages of seasonal and semi-permanent wetlands. Date of first nesting (standardized by study area) was not associated with home range composition. Survival was also unrelated to either home range composition or female attributes. Overall, breeding performance was better described by variation in landscape characteristics than by female attributes, a finding that is consistent with other recent evidence from breeding ducks.

Wetland density is believed to be an important determinant of home range size variation in mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), but hypothesized effects of upland habitat and female size and age have not been adequately evaluated. Thus, I investigated correlates and consequences of home range size variation using radio-tracking data for 131 female mallards studied on 12 Canadian prairie parkland sites, 1995-1998. Home range size and habitat composition varied within and among study areas; overall, home range size variation was best modeled to include effects of seasonal and semi-permanent wetlands (β = -0.06 ± 0.01 SE) and wood-shrub habitat (β = -0.03 ± 0.01 SE). Contrary to predictions, I obtained no support for a positive association between home range size and female body size or a negative relationship between home range size and female age. After controlling effects of wetland density, mean home range sizes were larger on study areas with lower mallard breeding pair densities. I suspect that individual home ranges were smaller in areas of high pair density because of increased intraspecific competition for breeding space. A higher proportion of wood-shrub habitat may have contributed to smaller individual home range sizes because of greater relative availability of preferred nesting habitat. Likewise, a high proportion of wetlands in home ranges could enhance access to important resources such as food, leading to smaller home range sizes.<p> Reproductive and survival consequences were investigated using 8 variables to distinguish between three reproductive categories (females that either did not nest, nested but failed, or nested successfully) and two survival categories (dead versus alive) with discriminant function analysis. Successful females were clearly separated from non-nesting females by having smaller home ranges (95% kernel estimate) with higher percentages of wood-shrub and habitat treatment but lower percentages of seasonal and semi-permanent wetlands. Females that did not nest were further distinguished from nesting females by being younger, structurally smaller and having larger home ranges composed of higher percentages of seasonal and semi-permanent wetlands. Date of first nesting (standardized by study area) was not associated with home range composition. Survival was also unrelated to either home range composition or female attributes. Overall, breeding performance was better described by variation in landscape characteristics than by female attributes, a finding that is consistent with other recent evidence from breeding ducks.

This dissertation tells the local history of one of Georgia’s earliest all-black accredited high schools, Athens High and Industrial School/Burney-Harris High School (AHIS/BHHS), in an attempt to add to the collective history of the all-black segregated school. The study investigated the Clarke County, Georgia school system, pre- and post- Brown, focusing on the uncovered themes within new research interpretations - the value within the segregated schools, networks among the all-black segregated schools, the costs and consequences of desegregation, and the displacement of black educators. Within the history of black education there is a recent effort to present alternative interpretations concerning the once stigmatized segregated school. Research now focuses on the value that was placed on black segregated schools by the local community, highlighting the schools’ strong leadership, caring teachers, academic curriculum and extra-curricular activities, and supportive community and parents. These factors were researched within AHIS/BHHS and found to have been substantial in assessing value to the school. Additionally, the study researched the involvement of H.T. Edwards, principal of AHIS/BHHS, within the national, state, and local networks determining that through its black principal, professional education associations, and professional development, AHIS/BHHS was a part of a system of networks among black schools. Reflecting the larger research indicating a loss within the black community upon desegregation, my study demonstrated this loss within the black community of Athens as a result of the closing of AHIS/BHHS and the displacement of its educators. The study employed historical methods such as archival data and oral histories.

Recent studies document that covenant violations intensify the conflicts of interest between lenders and borrowers, and lead to greater restrictions on borrowing firms’ financing and investment activities (Chava and Roberts, 2008; Roberts and Sufi, 2009b). Motivated by this literature, I investigate whether accounting conservatism, specifically conditional conservatism, mitigates the adverse consequences of debt covenant violations. I argue that conservative reporting can potentially ameliorate the conflicts of interest between lenders and borrowers. Therefore, I predict that accounting conservatism reduces the adverse impact of covenant violations on borrowers’ financing and investing activities and exhibits a positive association with operating and stock market performance after covenant violations. I obtain a sample of 312 violating and 5,327 non-violating firm-quarters observations from U.S. non-financial public firms during the period of 1998 – 2007 to test my hypotheses. Using three measures of conditional conservatism and a composite measure of the three individual measures, I find that the degree of increase in borrowing firms’ conservative reporting between loan initiation and covenant violation is associated with smaller reductions in firms’ financing and investing activities in the post-violation period. Furthermore, my analyses provide some evidence that firms that increase conservative reporting exhibit better stock market performance, implying that conservative reporting is beneficial for shareholders after covenant violations. I find no evidence that increased accounting conservatism affects operating performance after covenant violations. My results continue to hold after controlling for pre-contracting unconditional and conditional conservatism. Overall, my dissertation provides evidence that conservative accounting practices followed by borrowing firms ease the adverse consequences of debt covenant violations. My dissertation contributes to the emerging literature on the effects of accounting quality on re-contracting outcomes after covenant violations.

The last decade has seen the growth of knowledge based industries and knowledge work. It has also witnessed the ever-increasing onslaught of competition and change.Intangibles have become increasingly important factors in determining organizational effectiveness. The changing business scenario and the role of information technology has made it imperative to take a new look at existing business systems, policies and structures. Today we speak of networked innovation, knowledge work and knowledge value added. Stewart (1998) and Barley (1994) reported the increasing content of knowledge in work and increasing numbers of people doing knowledge work.Davenport (1994) and Bhat (1998) spoke of the importance of managing social interactions in the firm to create competitive advantage. The Dow Jones Index and the Fortune list of companies increasingly showed a growth in the knowledge industry.While organizations from the old economy struggled the new fangled knowledge industry was here to stay. Intellectual Capital and Intangibles accounting became a buzzword. Organizations began to demonstrate how effective management of these factors led to increased profits, reduced cycle time and brought about greater innovation. New accounting techniques were being designed and influx of information technology solutions for Knowledge Management found their way into the market. It became imperative to build Knowledge Management into business strategy and to concentrate on human capital. Late 1990’s saw a proliferation of studies and exercises in this direction. Yet, if people were to be recognized and if competitive advantage was dependent upon the effective management of human capital, this was not being done in the realm of understanding knowledge worker perceptions. A need was perceived to conduct a behavioral study of human capital value added. To understand which of the organizational and knowledge management factors were perceived as being essential for Human Capital Value Addition.