Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (124-140). Available also in an electronic version.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-158).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 90-97).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2005. / Title from title screen. Jayant R. Kale, committee chair; Richard D. Phillips, Martin F. Grace, James E. Owers, committee members. Electronic text (98 p. : charts (some col.)) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed June 7, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-75).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-137). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

This thesis examines how livelihood diversification is also a site in which gender relations are unsettled, maintained and (re)configured. With the aim of strengthening the links between feminist and agrarian change scholarship, I present ethnographic material from Naga, a medium-size city in Bicol, Philippines, to explore how daily discourses, practices and performances of livelihood change are instrumental in mapping ways of life that are gendered. In the first part of the thesis, attention is devoted to the inadequate, or at least outdated, attention to gender relations in previous models of livelihood change, and to spell out some of the implications its integration may bring. In the remaining part of the thesis my aim is to indicate how this integration should be achieved. Specifically, I highlight some of the problems stemming from ‘structural’ analyses of gender, and emphasize the fresh perspectives opened up by a post-structural, performative approach. I then proceed to the Naga context, where I present two case studies to ‘flesh out’ these theoretical claims in more depth. Part One traces the involvement of state institutions in these changing political economies. Specifically, I consider how local state policies and practices associated with agrarian change are not simply implicated in people’s tendency to diversify, but also in the (re)production of gender identities. Notions of male responsibility and women’s rightful position in the home emerge as particularly important in this respect. In Part Two, I move to Pacol, a small farming community located on Naga’s peri-urban fringe. By drawing on interview and focus group material provided by ten ‘diversifying’ households, I consider how these discourses come into being; how they are worked through and (re)produced inperformances. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

L'objet de cette thèse est d’examiner le degré de co-mouvements des principaux marchés boursiers (G7, BRICS et MENA) à court et à long terme durant les périodes calmes et celles de crise. A cette fin, plusieurs méthodes économétriques ont été proposées pour modéliser la dynamique des prix en tenant compte d’éventuels effets d’hétérogénéité et d’asymétrie dans les données. Cette thèse est structurée autour de quatre chapitres. Le premier chapitre est d’ordre théorique. Après avoir rappelé quelques faits stylisés importants, ce chapitre introduit les concepts de base (libéralisation, intégration, contagion, diversification, etc.). Les trois autres chapitres proposent trois essais empiriques sur les comouvements des prix. Dans le premier essai, des approches économétriques hybrides (cointégration linéaire, données de panel) sont utilisées pour spécifier la dynamique des prix. Le second essai contribue en appliquant l’approche de cointégration vectorielle à seuil à transition brutale de Hansen et Seo (2002) pour mieux capturer la non-linéarité dans la dynamique d’ajustement des prix. Le dernier essai, via l’approche des modèles de cointégration à seuil en panel à transition lisse de Gonzalez et al. (2005), modélise à la fois l’hétérogénéité et la non-linéarité dans la dynamique de comouvements. Nos principaux résultats spécifient les degrés d’intégration (resp. segmentation) des régions de G6 et du BRICS (resp. MENA) vis-à-vis du marché américain. Nous montrons également l’existence d’effets de seuil significatifs dont leur activation permet de distinguer pour un marché la phase de son intégration de sa phase de segmentation. Tandis que ces résultats confirment le rôle leader du marché américain, ils permettent de spécifier et de dater plus précisément la dynamique de ce leadership et de spécifier les zones de gains diversification. / This thesis aims at investigating the degree of comovements for main stock markets in the short and long term (G7, BRICS and MENA) during calm and turbulent periods. To this end, different econometric specifications are proposed to capture further heterogeneity and asymmetry in the data. This thesis is structured into four chapters. The first chapter is rather theoretical. After recalling some important stylized facts, it introduces some basic concepts including liberalization, integration, contagion, diversification, etc. The others chapters propose three different empirical essays on stock price comovements. In the first essay, we apply some hybrid econometric approaches (Linear Time Series, Panel Cointegration Tests) to capture further evidence of heterogeneous comovements for the markets under consideration. In the second essay, we contribute through the investigation of stock price comovements using the threshold multivariate cointegration approach of Hansen and Seo (2002) to model non-linearity in stock price adjustment. The third Essay proposes to model both nonlinearity and heterogeneity in price comovements through the application of the Panel Smooth Transition Error Correction Model (PSTECM) of Gonzalez et al. (2005). Overall, we specify the time varying degree of integration (resp. segmentation) for the G6 and the BRICS (resp. the MENA). We show that significant threshold effects characterize stock price comovements while their activation enables to distinguish for a given market the integrated from segmented zone. Finally, while our findings confirm the leader role for the US market, they specify and date the dynamic of this leadership and specify for each region further diversification benefits.

Charles University, Prague Diversity dynamics across scales Antonin Machac 2018 Abstract Diversity dynamics remain controversial. It has been suggested that the dynamics are expansionary, such that the number of species across regions and clades increases constantly. However, the opposite has also been suggested, namely that species numbers are relatively stable, following equilibrial dynamics. Both views (expansionary and equilibrial) have been supported by compelling phylogenetic, biogeographic, and fossil evidence and, currently, it remains largely unclear how the two seemingly conflicting views could be reconciled. My dissertation addresses this question, based on the premise that diversity dynamics change systematically with scale. Specifically, I hypothesize that expansionary dynamics typify regionally distributed, small, and young clades whose diversity tends to expand, driven by a variety of regionally relevant factors (e.g. habitat-level adaptation, biotic interactions, or montane shifts leading to ecological divergence and speciation). Conversely, equilibrial dynamics typify large, ancient, and globally distributed clades, whose diversity is environmentally limited (e.g. by the total amount of resources that can sustain only a limited number of populations and species). Consequently, it seems...

Background: Investing internationally is easier than ever before, with the rise of the internet, unification of accounting standards, and faster flow of information. Yet, many argue that due to increasing global equity market correlations, it is getting increasingly hard to attain benefits from international diversification. Therefore, it is important to know if there are any benefits attainable from international diversification for Swedish investors. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate if there are any benefits achievable from international diversification for Swedish investors, if those benefits have changed from before and after the financial crisis in 2007/2008, as well as where Swedish investors might attain the greatest benefits from diversification; namely in developed- or emerging markets. Method: Correlations are measured over the time periods before and after the financial crisis, using both a 61-month correlation window (the entire periods) as well as a 12-month rolling correlation window.  To test diversification benefits, different portfolios are created using the Markowitz Portfolio Optimizer, such as a Maximum Sharpe portfolio and an Equal Weighted portfolio. Conclusion: Correlations have increased from before and after the financial crisis, both for developed- and emerging markets. Diversification benefits exist for Swedish investors, but they have decreased from before and after the financial crisis, and they appear slightly greater in emerging markets than in developed markets.

La surévaluation des capitaux propres implique le danger que le dirigeant adopte des stratégies d’investissement discrétionnaires destructrices de valeur. Pourtant, la croissance externe pourrait également être utilisée comme moyen d’accéder à de nouvelles ressources et compétences clés qui font naître de nouveaux produits. Quel est le rôle de la gouvernance de l’entreprise dans une situation de surévaluation des capitaux propres ? Va-t-elle privilégier la voie disciplinaire en encadrant le comportement opportuniste du dirigeant, ou privilégier la voie exploratoire, c’est-à-dire la découverte de nouvelles opportunités de croissance ? Dans cette perspective, l’étude se concentre sur l’analyse des stratégies de sept groupes de communication à l’aube de la bulle Internet. Ayant édifié un cadre conceptuel élargi intégrant la stratégie de diversification, la gouvernance de l’entreprise et les mesures de création de valeur, nous concentrons notre analyse sur l’étude des différents leviers stratégiques de création de valeur attribuables à une stratégie de diversification : synergies entre flux de trésorerie, synergies en capacité managériale ou synergies organisationnelles à travers le partage de ressources stratégiques et de compétences distinctives. Puis, l’analyse se focalise sur le rôle de la gouvernance dans le processus de création de valeur : quel composant soutient l’adaptation d’une stratégie de diversification concentrique, liée, verticale et conglomérale ? L’étude propose un modèle intégral mesurant l’impact des différentes variables et formule des propositions visant à améliorer la surveillance du management dans un contexte de surévaluation des capitaux propres. / The overvaluation of the stockholders' equity implies the danger of the CEO adopting discretionary strategies having a negative impact on shareholders` value. However, diversification strategies could also be used as means of reaching new resources and key competencies that give birth to new products and markets. What is the role of corporate governance in a situation of overvalued stockholders' equity? Will it privilege the disciplinary way by framing the opportunistic behavior of the chief executive officer, or will it privilege the exploratory way, i.e. the discovery of new growth opportunities? From this point of view, the study concentrates on the analysis of the diversification strategies of seven media groups at the dawn of the Internet bubble. Having built a widened conceptual framework integrating the strategy of diversification, the governance of the company and the measures of value creation, we will concentrate our analysis on the study of different strategic levers ascribable to a diversification strategy: synergies between treasury flows, synergies in managerial capacity or organizational synergies through the sharing of distinctive competencies and strategic resources. Then, the analysis focuses on the role of corporate governance in the process of value creation: which component has an influence on the implementation of concentric, linked, vertical or conglomerate diversification? The study will summarize the different results within an integral model and propose different suggestions aiming at the monitoring of top management in the context of overvalued stockholders' equity.