History has shown that assassination could be wielded as an effective weapon in the pursuit of interest, security and power. As the feudal age neared its end in Europe, nation states emerged. Despite its pragmatic usefulness, assassination was considered unfit for this new form of governance. States no longer sought to destroy one another as predicted by Thomas Hobbes, but adhered to John Locke's proposed values, which believed that states could mutually exist as rivals. In this system which favored negotiation and settlements, it was difficult for assassination to have a place. Yet at the start of the 21st century, assassination once again saw employment. As of today, it is preferably referred to as targeted killing by its employers and has become somewhat of a 'new normal.' Clearly, there must be certain permissive catalysts that allowed this to happen. This master's thesis firstly explores the ways the United States, Israel and Russia conduct their assassination/targeted killing operations to present the unique ways these states eliminate their enemies, and secondly pinpoints the permissive causes that allowed these three super and great powers of assassination to transform the international norm against assassination and turn a dishonest, immoral practice into something more acceptable and fit...

This study set out to explore the feasibility of using international based literature theory to formulate emerging market strategies for South African companies looking to expand into Africa’s emerging markets. The level of confidence with which South African companies can base their African emerging market strategies on the literature and studies done on international emerging market strategies is what will be explored in this study. The scope of this study includes methods of identifying emerging markets, optimal strategy choices for emerging markets, effective distribution channel selection methodologies and appropriate diversification options. To ensure the studies relevance across the broader spectrum of both South African companies as well as Africa’s emerging markets, the companies studied were selected for their collective representation. The research design employed for this study was qualitative and exploratory in nature. The findings based on the eight South African companies studied over the period point to the conclusion that the international theory contained in the literature is indeed relevant to both South African companies as well as Africa’s emerging markets and that it can be used effectively and confidently to formulate efficient and sustainable expansion strategies for these markets. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

In recent years, diversification has become a common strategy used by companies in emerging markets. It is believed that diversification operations could help firms get better performance and gain higher profits from a larger internal market. However, contradictory results reveal that diversification empirically hurts firm value and other studies show the relationship between diversification and firm performance is complicated that should be studied in separate industries. The opinion is inconclusive on this topic. This study developed a performance index to see how diversification impact on various perspectives of firm performance. Conclusions as follow. International diversification has a positive correlation with firm performance in several aspects whereas industrial diversification helps firms’ developing ability. However, due to the unavailability of long-term data, we can not rule out the possibility that well-performed firms go for international diversification. Besides, The relationship between diversification and firm performance affected by different industries. The agricultural and natural resource firms tend to exceed manufacturing firms in the efficiency aspects whereas manufacturing companies tend to have advantages in the sustainability aspect compared to service firms. There is also evidence showing that the largest shareholders’ holdings rates have a positive impact on firm performance and state-owned rate has a negative relation with firm performance.

Emerging adulthood is a developmental period characterized by the themes of identity exploration, instability, feeling in-between, being self-focused, and exploring possibilities (Arnett, 2006). Emerging adults are at higher risk for anxiety as they navigate novel developmental experiences and responsibilities (Kranszler et al., 2019). This study explores whether these themes map on to the experiences of modern-day emerging adults, and whether developmental functioning corresponds to anxiety. College students completed standard questionnaires and provided free-text responses about adjusting to adulthood. Identity exploration and instability were perceived as the most positive and negative aspects of aging, respectively, though response-type varied by participant demographics. Several responses were not captured by these themes. Participants’ ability to engage in self-care and their living situation were negatively associated with current anxiety. These findings provide important directions for expanding theoretical models and measurement of emerging adulthood.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / For adults with intellectual disability life as an adult is more constrained, with fewer opportunities; the literature indicates that intellectual disability negatively impacts people across multiple life domains. Despite this adverse influence, it is largely unknown how those with intellectual disability describe their experiences with adulthood. The current study utilizes photo-elicitation interviewing methodology in an attempt to rectify this deficit. Photo-elicitation research methodology uses images, rather than text, to construct queries and prompt responses. This approach is generally undertaken in disability studies to accommodate participants’ verbal and cognitive challenges, to make abstract concepts concrete, to provide opportunity for meaningful participation, and to empower subjects within the research environment. In this study, photo-elicitation interviewing was employed with a sample of 11 young adults with intellectual disability to discover how adulthood might differ in comparison with typical peers. Participants shared their perceptions of adulthood and experiences related to family, learning/education; community/volunteering/spiritual or faith community/employment/vocation; housing/neighborhood; friends/supportive relationships/personal connections; hobbies/fun; personal health. Results replicate participants’ endorsement of the same broad criteria for adulthood attainment as typified by normative peers in the emerging adulthood literature: acceptance of responsibility for oneself; independent decision-making; financial independence. Salient emergent findings specific to the study population indicated that adulthood differs in comparison with typical peers in relation to (1), advocacy efforts to increase awareness and value of the disability experience; (2), the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic; (3), the need for continued access to support services. Access to services can only be achieved through increasing awareness of this need, recognizing the importance of this need, and prioritizing policy change to meet this need. Participants in this study have indicated that they are more than up to the task of increasing awareness through advocacy, yet it falls to social institutions such as education and government to recognize this need for ongoing support and to prioritize this need by implementing service provision policy change. / 2024-05-26

The research problem of this project is to investigate if, and how, Birkinshaw and Bouquet‟s model of subsidiary attention seeking by means of weight and voice needs to be modified for MNC subsidiaries operating in emerging markets. The qualitative research technique used for this research was the multiple-case study method. Key findings are that weight is moderated by institutional environments and voice by national culture in emerging markets. Recommendations are made to assist managers of subsidiaries in increasing weight and voice in emerging markets in order to gain more attention from Corporate Headquarters. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Prior research suggests a gender difference in friendship intimacy where men repeatedly report less intimacy. While several studies have identified a gender difference, others have raised alternative possibilities to explain the gender difference, such as measurement error, or that men’s friendships function differently from women’s friendships. Our qualitative study explored the possibility that men’s friendships are different than what is described in the literature using an inductive and anonymous online survey. The collected data from 64 self-identified men in emerging adulthood (19-25 years) was thematically analyzed to present a thematic map of their perception of intimacy in close friendship. Findings indicated that the participants valued their close friendships highly and that the generated themes showed an overall high degree of similarity with earlier studies. However, the themes confrontational honesty, flow, and timeless connection diverged from prior research and are discussed. We provide suggestions for future research that can advance the understanding of the divergent themes, and further the understanding of intimacy in men’s close same-gender friendships.

No description available.

This paper aims to measure, compare and model Sovereign Risk. The risk position of South Africa compared to Emerging Markets as well as in comparison to Developed Markets is considered. Particular interest is taken in how the South African Sovereign Risk environment, and its associated determinants, differs and conforms to that of other Emerging Markets. This effectively highlights how the South African economy is similar to the Emerging Markets and where it behaves differently. Regression, optimisation techniques, dimension reduction techniques as well as Machine Learning techniques, through the use of sentiment analysis, is utilised in this research.

Depression is a debilitating mental health disorder that has the potential to affect an individual's lifespan adversely; adolescents who reside in low-income urban environments are more at risk of developing the disorder. The purpose of this quantitative ex post facto study was to compare depression symptomatology and quality of life rates among emerging adults who enrolled and emerging adults who did not enroll in a mentorship program as an adolescent while in high school. Beck's cognitive model of depression was used as a theoretical foundation to determine how negative schemas are formed in adolescents who show symptoms of depression. The sample consisted of 128 participants from two groups who included emerging adults between the ages of 18 and 30, half of whom enrolled in a Mentorship Program in Northern New Jersey (MPNNJ) while the other half did not enroll in the mentorship program in Northern New Jersey (non-MPNNJ). ANCOVA analyses were used to investigate whether emerging adults from the MPNNJ versus non-MPNNJ reported differences in depression symptoms and quality of life rates while controlling for job satisfaction and substance use. It was concluded that The MPNNJ group reported significantly lower depression symptomatology rates and higher quality of life rates than the non-MPNNNJ while controlling for covariates, job satisfaction and substance use. Study findings provide empirical evidence to support the long-term positive effects of mentorship programs on depression symptomatology and quality of life. Community planners may be able to use study findings to design youth development programs that have long-term beneficial impacts on participants.