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This thesis comprises three research essays. The study documents empirical evidence around the research themes by analysing a sample of the UK’s listed non-financial firms from 2005 to 2018. It applied panel data analysis (fixed or random effects) techniques and the potential endogeneity issue is controlled by using the two-step system, GMM. Earnings-management research holds that manipulating a firm's real activities is more damaging to its long-term growth and value than accruals manipulation. Therefore, by building on agency theory and emphasising board monitoring, first essay investigates the role of independent directors’ tenure and connection to several boards in controlling real earnings management (REM). This study finds that independent directors elected to board before appointment of current CEO are negatively associated with the level of REM. Furthermore, this research provides evidence that REM is higher in those firms whose INDs are connected to several boards at a time. Though economically insignificant in most of the models, this research also shows that the association between INDs’ tenure and REM varies with the phases of their tenure. Directors in the early stage of their tenure are observed as being less effective in controlling REM. However, as INDs’ tenure grows, they employ better oversight over management's conduct, thereby reducing REM. Contrary to this, the extended tenure of INDs is associated with higher REM. These results collectively suggest that the board monitoring role protects the stakes of shareholders/stakeholders by constraining REM; when INDs are free from the influence of CEO, they are not over-committed due to their presence on several boards, and they have moderate board tenure which is neither too short nor too long. Furthermore, drawing on collective contributions and group performance perspectives, second essay explores the role of board diversity in the firm’s R&D investment decisions. Additionally, building on a fault-line argument about a team's demographic attributes, the current research decomposes the impact of demographic and cognitive diversity on R&D spending. The research observes a positive relationship between board diversity and the level of R&D spending. Moreover, this research documents that cognitive diversity is positively associated with R&D investment. However, demographic diversity has an insignificant relationship with firms’ spending on R&D projects. Further, this study confirms that demographic diversity negatively moderates the relationship between cognitive diversity and R&D investment. These results suggest that the board's attributes as a group carry the significance to influence the decisions having strategic importance. The findings on the sub-dimensions of board diversity imply that board functional/cognitive diversity is more relevant to corporate decisions and outcomes than is demographic diversity. Based on the monitoring perspective (agency theory) and resource provision view (resource dependency theory), third essay investigates the role of independent directors’ specific attributes in the corporate propensity to R&D investment. The study documents a positive association between INDs’ moderate (median) tenure and the firm’s spending on R&D projects, but early and extended tenure is observed as being insignificant. INDs with a presence on three or fewer boards are observed to promote R&D investment. However, INDs sitting on more than three boards negatively affect the firm’s propensity to invest in R&D initiatives. Financially expert INDs are negatively associated with corporate R&D investments, suggesting that such directors may resist funding these projects beyond optimal risk level because of their expertise. These results suggest that INDs’ monitoring and advising competence improves as they spend time on the firm’s board, but that extended tenure is counterproductive as it impairs INDs’ impartiality. Furthermore, INDs’ capital (resources) accruing from connection to multiple boards is only beneficial for the firm’s strategic decisions if their monitoring role is not compromised because of their over-commitment (busyness). / Mirpur University of Science and Technology (MUST)

This article is an important content of the research on 'Assessment of Forest Tenure Policies and Regulation in Vietnam '. This assessment reviewed 79 legal documents related to forest land tenure that includes: 1 Constitution; 8 Laws; 1 Resolution; 20 Decrees; 30 Circulars, 18 Decisions and 1 Directive. The objective of this paper was to assess some facets of Justice, Dispute Resolution, Gender, Pro-poor and Inclusiveness in the system of Vietnam forest tenure policies. The main research method was based on the assessment framework Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Forests and Fisheries. The results of 2 theme groups (a-Access to justice and resolution of tenure rights; and b-Gender equity and pro-poor and inclusiveness), corresponding to the seven sub-themes/criteria showed that its marks were at from 1 to 2 (the system of forest tenure policies in Vietnam has attained “slightly addressed” to “moderately addressed” for the facets of forest tenure rights), has not gained the levels of “mostly addressed” (mark 3) or “fully addressed” (mark 4). / Bài báo này là một phần nội dung quan trọng của nghiên cứu “Đánh giá các Chính sách và Quy định hưởng dụng rừng ở Việt Nam”. Công trình nghiên cứu đã rà soát phần lớn các chính sách hiện hành quan trọng của hưởng dụng rừng với tổng số 79 văn bản, gồm: 1 Hiến pháp; 8 Luật; 1 Nghị quyết; 20 Nghị định; 30 Thông tư; 18 Quyết định và 1 Chỉ thị. Mục tiêu của bài viết này là đánh giá các mặt công bằng, giải quyết tranh chấp, giới, vì người nghèo và sự toàn diện trong hệ thống các chính sách hưởng dụng rừng ở Việt Nam. Phương pháp nghiên cứu chính được dựa trên khung đánh giá của Hướng dẫn tự nguyện về Quản trị chịu trách nhiệm của hưởng dụng đất, lâm nghiệp và thủy sản. Kết quả nghiên cứu 2 nhóm chủ đề (a-Tiếp cận đến sự công bằng và giải pháp giải quyết tranh chấp hưởng dụng; b-Giới và công bằng, vì người nghèo và sự toàn diện), tương ứng với 7 chủ đề phụ/tiêu chí đều cho thấy mới đạt mức điểm từ 1 – 2 (tức là hệ thống chính sách hưởng dụng rừng hiện hành ở Việt Nam mới “giải quyết một phần” đến “giải quyết trung bình” các khía cạnh về quyền hưởng dụng rừng), chứ chưa “giải quyết phần lớn” (điểm 3) hoặc “giải quyết đầy đủ” (điểm 4).

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One of the key determinants of the “quality” of a neighbourhood is the extent to which owners maintain their properties. Much has been written about the impact of neighbourhood blight or the physically rejuvenating impact of gentrification. To better understand why some neighbourhoods are thriving, and others not, a critical variable that has seen little exploration is the type of tenure. This thesis, focused mostly on data from the City of Rochester NY, comparing absentee landlords, resident landlords and owner-occupiers, looking for differences in the level of maintenance of residential properties. Using a procedure developed by the author, every house in Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse containing 1-6 units was assessed, creating a quantitative analysis that is both more current, and on a much larger scale than previous work. Findings mostly confirmed observations and theories in the literature, but there were a number of significant differences. The key observation within Rochester was that, regardless of geographic scale, absentee owners consistently took the worst care of their properties, followed by resident landlords and then owner-occupiers. Further, size and type of absentee landlord mattered. Tenure was found to be the driving force in predicting maintenance outcomes, compounded by variables such as property values and race. Evidence from Buffalo and Syracuse indicated that findings may be generalizable, at least for declining industrial cities. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Rural communities have engaged in the governance and management of forest resources by developing institutions that prevent overexploitation of common-pool resources and maintain the basis of their livelihoods. Effective community forestry relies on several conditions, including secure tenure rights, an enabling regulatory framework, strong governance, and sufficient knowledge. Worldwide, customary community forests have gained legal recognition in the wake of tenure reforms with the expectation that this formalization would enhance tenure security. In Thailand, the Royal Forest Department (RFD) began in 2000 to legally recognize community forests and share formal rights and responsibilities with communities through a national co-management program. This program was further expanded to support the development of community forest networks. The RFD could not provide extension services to approximately 10,000 community forests and aimed to improve the information sharing among communities. The objective of this dissertation was to investigate whether both program elements, i.e. forest tenure formalization and community forest networking, could provide better conditions for community forests. It was of particular interest whether the formalization could enhance the security of tenure rights, which could affect the willingness of communities to invest in forest conservation. The intervention to enhance inter-communal networks is of particular relevance for the international community due to its uniqueness. A diverse set of methodological approaches was required to address each objective. A quasi- experimental design was used to analyze the effect of community forest management on deforestation and the impact of the subsequent formalization based on statistical matching and panel data analyses. Comparative case studies were investigated subsequently to better understand the relationships between formalization, tenure security, forest-related conflicts, and deforestation. Social network modeling was used to analyze how networking organizations affected the flow of information between communities. The findings indicated that community in Thailand have effectively protected their forests even before receiving legal recognition. The formalization procedure has improved the relationship between communities and RFD officials but it has not enhanced their ability to prevent forest encroachment as support from the State has been insufficient in the case of tenure conflicts. In the absence of state-led extension services, established networking organizations enabled communities to provide mutual support as indicated by the enhanced inter-communal flow of information on a provincial level. However, networking organizations still depended on external funding and support during their initial establishment. The co-sharing of forest tenure rights and responsibilities between communities and the RFD might have helped to build trust and acceptance. This study has, however, confirmed that formalization can only provide limited benefits to forest-managing communities if they remain unprotected from forest encroachment because their formal tenure rights are not being enforced. Thus, communities might become disillusioned if their rights are not protected against more powerful actors. The community forest networks have the potential to increase the political influence of these communities while also enhancing their capacity to share and develop new knowledge. However, communities require more financial resources as their responsibilities increase while their ability to generate financial returns remains legally limited. Thus, the regulatory framework can be changed to balance communal rights and responsibilities or expanded by developing financing mechanisms to fund community-based conservation activities, such as forest patrols and fire prevention measures.:Acknowledgements Summary List of Figures List of Tables 1 Enabling effective community forestry 1.1 Potential outcomes of community forestry 1.2 Conditions for effective community forestry 1.3 Policy interventions in Asia’s community forests 2 Justification and objectives 2.1 Impact of formalization on tenure security and local institutions 2.2 Impact of registration on forest loss 2.3 Impact of network administration organization on information-sharing 3 The history of community-based forest management models in Thailand 3.1 Expansion of state control over forestland 3.2 Forest Village Programs 3.3 Community forestry discourse 3.4 Community Forest Program 3.5 Conclusions 4 Designing impact evaluations for policy interventions 4.1 Quantitative impact evaluation 4.2 Qualitative impact evaluation 4.3 Social network analysis 5 The impact of community forest formalization on tenure security and forest co- management in Thailand 5.1 Abstract 5.2 Introduction 5.3 Background 5.4 Methodology 5.5 Results 5.6 Discussion 5.7 Conclusion 6 Community-based forest management moderates impact of deforestation pressure regardless of formalization in Thailand 6.1 Abstract 6.2 Introduction 6.3 Methodology 6.4 Results 6.5 Discussion 6.6 Conclusion 7 Network administrators facilitate information sharing among communal forest organizations in Thailand 7.1 Abstract 7.2 Introduction 7.3 Methodology 7.4 Results 7.5 Discussion 7.6 Conclusion 8 Synthesis, implications and outlook 8.1 Synthesis of key results 8.2 Policy implications 8.3 Future research 8.4 Critical reflections on research methodology Supplementary material for Chapter 6 Supplementary material for Chapter 7 References Supplementary material

no abstract available / Development Studies / MA (DEVELOPMENT STUD)

SAMMANFATTNING I denna uppsats studerar jag social hållbarhet i djupare bemärkelse i syfte att undersöka och definiera åtgärder och arbetssätt som skulle kunna lämpa NCCs byggkoncept - Hållbar renovering. I min studie utgår jag ifrån akademisk forskning och statliga utredningar (som avser bl a miljonprogrammet) samt bostadsområdet Orrholmen som en inspirationskälla. Mitt empiriska material erhålls från intervjuer med NCC, Karlstads Bostads AB och brunnberg & forshed AB. I min analys fokuserar jag på hållbar utveckling, social hållbarhet, brister och potential avseende miljonprogrammet och dess gårdsmiljö, gemensamma och offentliga rum, blandning av bostäder och verksamheter, olika upplåtelseformer, sociala hållbarhetsåtgärder och förslag på fysisk utformning samt analys av bostadsområdet Orrholmen. Sammanfattningsvis visar erhållna slutsatser att social hållbarhet är en dynamiska och komplex dimension och likaså åtgärderna. Kärnan i social hållbarhet är människan och därtill även främjandet av hennes välfärd. De åtgärder som ämnas komplettera Hållbar renovering, bör väljas och bearbetas med omsorg. Brukarnas deltagande före en totalrenovering i kombination med omhändertagande av de faktiska problemen i bostadsområdena skapar positiva och gynnsamma resultat. De allra viktigaste åtgärderna är blandning av såväl bebyggelse och boendegrupper samt låg skala av bebyggelse och blandning av olika upplåtelseformer. Omätbara värden såsom identitet, platskänsla, skönhet och deltagande skapar mervärde och berikar områden. Omätbara värden ska utgöra riktlinjer för förnyelseprocesser och utformning av såväl bostäder som stadsmiljö. Detta är en av de centrala slutsatserna i denna studie. / Abstract In this thesis I focus on social sustainability in the deeper sense in order to examine and define measures and procedures, which aims to be suitable for the construction company NCC and its concept Hållbar renovering (a concept developed by NCC, focus on sustainable solutions). I base my study on previous academic research, government investigations (including investigations on so called the million program), and also highlight residential area – Orrholmen - as a source of inspiration. I obtain my empirical data from interviews with three different companies within construction sector - NCC, Karlstads Bostads AB and brunnberg & forshed AB. In my analysis, I focus on sustainable development, social sustainability, lack of and potential of the million program, garden, common and public spaces, mix of housing and businesses, various forms of tenure, and measures and design from social sustainability point of view. Furthermore, I analyze the most relevant contributions from Orrholmen. In summary; my conclusions show that social sustainability is a dynamic and complex dimension and also its measures. The core of social sustainability is man, and the promotion of her welfare. The measures which are intended to complement Hållbar renovering should be selected and processed with a genuine care. The participation of residents before the refurbishment, in combination with the disposal of the actual problems in the neighborhoods, creates positive and beneficial results. The most important measures are the mixture of both buildings as residents groups, low-scale buildings, and mix of different tenures. Unmeasurable values such as identity, location, feeling, beauty, and participation adds value and enriches areas. Unmeasurable values should be guidelines for the design and renewal processes for both housing and urban environment, which is one of the key findings in this thesis.

The aim of this study was to establish whether hardiness and tenure are predictive variables for coping with shiftwork. The extent of shiftwork and shiftwork research has expanded internationally in the past decade. It has been established that shiftwork has a negative effect on shiftworkers who are predisposed to certain strain symptoms such as inefficiency, impaired health and domestic problems. However, certain inter individual differences do moderate coping with shiftwork through a process of cognitive and behavioural protective acts which modify the stressful situation and neutralise the experience of problems. Using questionnaires (Biographical, Hardiness Index and Coping with Shiftwork Questionnaire), a sample group of 75 cases was analysed. A 95 percent confidence level was used throughout with a multiple stepwise regression analysis computed. The significant r2 value = 0.18. Focus group discussions were conducted to· add qualitative information to the areas of social, domestic, work and sleep problems as well as coping strategies. The predictive variables were regressed onto a number of criterion variables, namely coping with shiftwork, work, sleep, domestic and social problems, as well as engagement and diseng.agement strategies including both strategies in all four domains (work, sleep, social and domestic). It was found that hardiness and tenure are not predictive variables for coping with shiftwork. However, hardiness, commitment and challenge are predictors for disengagement strategies so that hardy, challenged and committed individua1s will use less disengagement coping strategies and more specifically, use less domestic disengagement coping strategies. The research established hardiness as an additional personality variable linked to a primary scale of coping with shiftwork, namely disengagement. The longer term adjustment of shiftworkers (through tenure) was not established. Recommendations were made for targeted shiftwork coping programmes and more extensive classical shiftwork research in South Africa / Economics and Management Sciences / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

Thesis (Th.M.)--University of South Africa, 2002.