University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Business. / Recent regulatory changes in developed economies have sought to apply uniform standards for corporate governance following a series of high profile corporate collapses between 2000 and 2002. The various regulatory responses raised questions in the governance literature on the appropriateness of a “one size fits all” approach. However, empirical outcomes in this literature do not provide a consistent picture on how, or even whether, governance choices vary with firm characteristics. This thesis addresses the lack in empirical direction by investigating the discriminatory power of a fundamental firm variable, the price-to-book ratio (P/B), that is often applied in Australian and other studies to predict governance outcomes. It evaluates how a joint price-to-book, price-to- earnings, firm classification (P/B, P/E) captures variations in governance choices by Australian firms and compares the results with those using a conventional P/B classification. Choices for two key mechanisms – the level of independence of the board of directors and the quality of its external auditors, are examined as they feature prominently in regulatory reforms. The results show that a joint P/B, P/E classification captures significant differences in the use of both mechanisms confirming that governance frameworks vary with firm characteristics. Consistent with expectations, these differences are recorded for board independence within high and within low P/B firms. Significant variations are also identified in the choice of auditor quality within both P/B classes of firms. By enabling a more parsimonious analysis of firm characteristics through the joint P/B, P/E framework, these results enhance our understanding of the choice of independent directors and high quality auditors. They also lend support to the general proposition that a “one size fits all” governance framework could lead to unnecessary costs for firms as they seek optimal governance arrangements that suit their specific information environments.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

This study investigated the effects of a shared book reading professional development program on preschool educators’ ability to engage children in book-related conversations and promote word learning. 20 preschool educators were video-recorded reading two books to a small group of children at pre- and posttest eight weeks apart. Educators in the experimental group (n = 10) participated in professional development that included classroom instruction and individualized coaching. The control group remained on the waitlist. All video-recordings were transcribed and coded. Results indicated that educators in the experimental group included significantly more questions, responsive statements, and lexical diversity in their book-related talk compared to the control group. Further, they facilitated longer book-related conversations and had more long conversations (i.e., five turns or longer). Finally, conversations that included inferential talk resulted in the longest conversations. These findings suggest that professional development can enhance educators’ responsiveness during shared book reading.

The focus of this research is to examine the book club as a social context for literacy development. Students in book clubs perceive literature authentically in ways of reading, writing and talking through a variety of interactions. Meanwhile, teachers, by observing students’ learning in book clubs, reflect on their language teaching and lead to an innovation of literacy instruction in schools, which can bridge to a community instructional change for language teachers. In this research, I observed, videotaped, audio-taped, and interviewed high school students and the teacher in an urban Canadian high school, who were involved in English classroom book clubs which replaced the traditional instructional mode of teaching literature, trying to figure out a structure for a classroom book club by comparing to an extracurricular book club and by analyzing the diverse reading experiences of students both in and outside of school.

This study investigated the effects of a shared book reading professional development program on preschool educators’ ability to engage children in book-related conversations and promote word learning. 20 preschool educators were video-recorded reading two books to a small group of children at pre- and posttest eight weeks apart. Educators in the experimental group (n = 10) participated in professional development that included classroom instruction and individualized coaching. The control group remained on the waitlist. All video-recordings were transcribed and coded. Results indicated that educators in the experimental group included significantly more questions, responsive statements, and lexical diversity in their book-related talk compared to the control group. Further, they facilitated longer book-related conversations and had more long conversations (i.e., five turns or longer). Finally, conversations that included inferential talk resulted in the longest conversations. These findings suggest that professional development can enhance educators’ responsiveness during shared book reading.

The focus of this research is to examine the book club as a social context for literacy development. Students in book clubs perceive literature authentically in ways of reading, writing and talking through a variety of interactions. Meanwhile, teachers, by observing students’ learning in book clubs, reflect on their language teaching and lead to an innovation of literacy instruction in schools, which can bridge to a community instructional change for language teachers. In this research, I observed, videotaped, audio-taped, and interviewed high school students and the teacher in an urban Canadian high school, who were involved in English classroom book clubs which replaced the traditional instructional mode of teaching literature, trying to figure out a structure for a classroom book club by comparing to an extracurricular book club and by analyzing the diverse reading experiences of students both in and outside of school.

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The purpose of this study is to assess the instructional use of mathematics picture books and teaching activities in the teaching of two second-grade mathematical units: ¡§Multiples¡¨ and ¡§Classification¡¨. In order to achieve this purpose, the researcher created four mathematics picture books. Furthermore, she explored the mathematical learning effects of second-grade elementary school students through mathematics picture book teaching. The stages of this study were three: creation of 4 picture books; implementation of using picture books in mathematics class; and, data analyzes on the collection of pre-test and post-test data; checklists of picture books follow-up activities; mathematics diaries; and, notes on students interview, classroom observations by teacher and investigator. The findings are three: 1) the creation of mathematics picture books; 2) the implementation of mathematics picture books in mathematics teaching; and, 3) the effects of using picture books in second-grade elementary school children's learning of mathematics. The creation of mathematics picture books. While ¡§Multi-colored Ice-cream¡¨ and ¡§Grandpa¡¦s Magic Forest¡¨ were designed in accordance to the unit of ¡§Multiples¡¨, two other books, named ¡§My Swimsuit is Lost¡¨ and ¡§Lala is Sick¡¨ were designed to integrate instruction in ¡§Classification¡¨. In these four stories, the plots were close to real life of students. These vivid presentations of illustrations and compositions not only drew students¡¦ interests and kept their high concentration, but also made them feel happy in exploring mathematical concepts implied in these books. The implementation of mathematics picture books. During the process of picture book teaching activities, students could keep high degrees of participation. Moreover, showing picture books through TV screen was applicable to whole class; using mathematics activities that were highly connected with contents of these picture books could motivate students¡¦ mathematics learning; applying these extensive activities flexibly could limit these activities which were infinite. The effects of using mathematics picture books. There was not only an advance in the cognition and understanding on ¡§Multiples¡¨ and ¡§Classification¡¨, but also positive attitude towards mathematics, mathematics class and mathematics learning. Besides, most students expressed their high expectations in mathematics picture book related teaching activities.

We analyze institutional allocation in initial public offerings (IPOs) using a new data set of R.O.C. offerings between 2005 and 2006. We document a positive relationship between institutional allocation and day one IPOs returns. This is partly explained by the practice of giving institutions more shares in IPOs with strong premarket demand, consistent with Book Building theories. However, institutional allocation also contains private information about first-day IPOs returns not reflected in premarket demand and other public information. Our evidence supports Book Building theories of IPO underpricing, but suggests that institutional allocation in Underpriced issue is in excess of that explained by Book Building alone.