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The emergence of stablecoins and their current implementations share many similarities to the American free banking era. This was an era with economically inefficient money and payment systems, where banks issued private money that were fully redeemable in theory but not always in practice. As of today, parts of the monetary and payment systems can also be considered inefficient, and a digital currency such as a stablecoin could provide significant improvements in areas such as cross-border payments, financial inclusion, as well as contribute to a more robust monetary system.  This thesis aims to help contribute insights into how the future payment systems may look like, with a specific focus on stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The emergence of the two technologies are closely interlinked, and are currently in an early state of coexistence. This qualitative study investigates the sentiment regarding the future development of stablecoins and their possible continued coexistence with CBDCs. Semi-structured interviews were held with participants from three categories of the Swedish corporate landscape; cryptocurrency innovators and investors, state representatives, and corporate representatives. The main conclusions were was that in the short term, regulations will be a key enabler for continued stablecoin development. There is currently a lack of clarity and guidelines which is making it hard for generally accepted stablecoins to be established. Furthermore, the general consensus is that stablecoins and central bank digital currencies will co-exist in the future monetary system in the long-term, where each technology will have different use cases. / Framväxten av stablecoins och dess nuvarande implementationer delar många likheter med den amerikanska ”free-banking” eran. Detta var en tidsepok med ekonomiskt ineffektiva pengar och betalsystem, där banker emitterade pengar som skulle vara fullt inlösningsbara teorin, men inte alltid i praktiken. Även idag kan delar av penga- och betalsystemen anses vara ineffektiva, och en digital valuta såsom en stablecoin skulle kunna bidra med betydande förbättringar inom områden såsom utrikesbetalningar, finansiell inkludering, samt bistå i utvecklingen av ett mer robust pengasystem. Denna uppsats ämnar bidra med insikter om hur framtidens betalsystem kan se ut, med ett specifikt fokus på stablecoins och centralbanksvalutor (eng. central bank digital currencies, CBDCs). Framväxten av de två teknologierna är nära relaterade, och för närvarande samexisterar dessa i ett tidigt stadie. Denna kvalitativa studie undersöker sentimentet kring den framtida utvecklingen av stablecoins och dess möjliga fortsatta samexistens med centralbanksvalutor. Semi-strukturerade intervjuer hölls med deltagare från tre kategorier av svenskt näringsliv: innovatörer och investerare inom kryptovalutor, företrädare för staten, samt bolagsrepresentanter. De huvudsakliga slutsatserna var att på kort sikt kommer regleringar vara viktiga för att möjliggöra fortsatt utveckling av stablecoins. I dagsläget saknas det klarhet och riktlinjer vilket gör det svårt för en generellt accepterad stablecoin att utvecklas. Vidare så är den generella uppfattningen att stablecoins och centralbanksvalutor kommer samexistera i framtidens betalsystem, då de båda teknikerna kommer ha olika användningsområden

Urbanization, changing forest landowner values, and restructuring forest industry are creating challenges for the active management of small parcels of forestland. Many traditional service providers are reluctant to service small acreage parcels due to economies of scale, shrinking profit margins for unprocessed stumpage, and changing landowner expectations. They do not understand traditional forestry operations and do not know where to look for service providers. A gap in our nation's forest system has emerged. A new market opportunity exists for service providers willing to work with small-scale forest landowners. In this study, over sixty forest service providers working with small acreage or amenity oriented clients were interviewed to determine how their business is structured, how they charge for the services they provide, what reactions they get from their clients, and how successful they perceive themselves to be. Informants came from a wide variety of professional backgrounds, including forestry, logging, arboriculture, landscaping, and woodworking. In addition, about 20 public-forest professionals were interviewed to determine how they and their programs are changing in response to emerging conditions. Successful service providers generally charge by some measure of time and materials rather than by commission. They exhibit a willingness to diversify their business to offer a bundle of services, and to cooperate with professionals in related industries. Value-added processing and creative marketing assist service providers in achieving a profit from small-scale tracts with traditionally low-value products. Lessons learned from these early adopters will assist other service providers interested in working with small acreage private landowners. / Master of Science

Digitalization includes a technical and digital development that plays a central role in today's banking sector. In step with digitalization, FinTech has developed and resulted in a collaboration between banks and FinTech companies, which leads to the development of new digital payment options within the banks. Digital payment options have grown in the banking sector and are widely used against customers in various ways. Along with the introduction of digital payment options, and a collaboration between banks and FinTech companies, challenges and risks have also developed. With this as a basis, the study intends to analyze how the Swedish banks handle digital payment alternatives, in relation to the challenges and risks that arise as a result of the banks' collaboration with FinTech companies. The study uses an abductive approach and the empirical answers are based on in-depth interviews, which results in a qualitative study. The study has focused on both large banks and other newly developed banks, with the aim of reaching large parts of the banking sector. The study has identified that the development of FinTech, digital payment options, risks and challenges do not differ broadly between the different banks. All respondents highlight how they experienced cyber attacks, data leakage and human errors. Furthermore, different management strategies have been highlighted for the challenges and risks that arise, many of the responses being mutually reinforcing while others are more unique. The study shows how the banks' management strategies are based on technical and organizational improvements. Different management strategies that the study can highlight are training, authorization levels, monitoring systems and the employment of hackers. The study has contributed with several aspects that explain the management strategies in more detail and contributes with new research on the cooperation between banks and FinTech companies.

This thesis is a result of a research conducted during three months in four State Protected Conservation Units in the State of Amazonas in Brazil. The world‟s largest PES-program - Programa Bolsa Floresta, will serve as case study. The aim of the study is to identify the socio-environmental conditions under which the program is implemented and, to study if the program architecture is in coherence with the livelihood needs of the target group-, and the needs to protect the rain forest. The target group of the program are the river dwellers, “ribeirinhos”, living in extremely isolated areas being excluded from the public safety net of the Brazilian Government.A basic understanding of the livelihood situation was achieved through the use of systematic collection of empirical data. A combination of qualitative semi-structured interviews, quantitative literature reviews and triangulation of data compose the methodological base of the study. The holistic and human centered theoretical framework of Carney‟s Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA) laid the theoretical base of the study.Based upon the baseline study made over the local conditions and the context description this study recognizes that the programs architecture is coherent with the most basic needs of the ribeirinhos as well as the need to protect the forest. Due to the programs few years in execution it is hard to determine long-term impacts of the program at this stage. However, even being in an early stage, the program seems to be a potential key mechanism to build the foundation for future sustainable development in the region. The object of the program is to put value on the Environmental Services (ES) provided by the locals and by doing so, compensate them for their loss of capital. The program is designed holistically, i.e. its components include all five capital assets of the SLA framework. The payments given as compensations aim to advocate participatory, social organizational, educative, and self-reliance promoting methods, such as incentives to an alternative income, construction of schools, improved infrastructure, investments in water filters, means for communication, health programs in schools and ambulance boats.

The purpose of the dissertation is to establish a framework with which to assess the prospective gains from regional monetary integration among five neighboring countries in East Africa: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. The neo-classical theory assumes that economic and monetary union would stimulate additional growth in such a union as a whole, with the trickle-down effects of overall development, and would enhance factor mobility, solving the problem of regional disparity automatically. Past experiences of African regionalism have shown that countries that participated in a monetary union were able to pursue credible monetary policies. This economic performance has been credited to their monetary policy discipline. Since countries in East Africa are small both in terms of their individual populations and the respective sizes of their economies, the study concludes that regional integration is a useful way of increasing their economic clout and bargaining power on the global scene. / Economics / Thesis (M. Comm.)

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The historical development of the role of directors in public listed companies contains inherent tensions by reference to the fiduciary responsibility of directors and the method in which directors are remunerated. The nature of incentive based remuneration is such that it will compel directors, in certain circumstances, to weigh their interests against those towards whom they owe a duty of care and a moral responsibility to act with prudence and temperance. The modem day corporate environment is complex and calls for directors with strong ethical views. This assignment endeavours to identify some of the complexities that contribute towards directors finding it difficult to stay on the ethical "straight and narrow" and attempts to weigh the effect of those factors against the effect of incentive remuneration, both as detractors from ethical behaviour. Both the shareholder supremacy business model and the stakeholder approach are analysed to identify those factors present in each that may add to the ethical complexity that directors have to deal with. The advent of the stakeholder approach in particular, adds an enormous amount of complexity. The case studies deal with two South African financial services companies that have both ceased trading as a consequence of unethical behaviour. The incentive remuneration models of both companies have been found to have played a major contributing role in the decision making processes in the companies, and have contributed to the demise of these organisations. Lessons are taken from the case studies and applied against the backdrop of the various principles of ethical behaviour namely rights, utility, justice and the ethics of responsibility. The finding of this study is that there is a role for incentive remuneration of directors, provided that the ethical pitfalls that this causes are recognised and steps taken to address them. Some of these steps are identified. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die historiese ontwikkeling van die direkteursrol, en spesifiek van openbare genoteerde maatskappye bevat inherente teenstrydighede met verwysmg na direkteursvergoeding en die vertrouensverpligtinge wat op direkteure rus. Die aard van direkteursvergoeding met 'n aansporingskomponent is so dat dit 'n direkteur van tyd tot tyd in 'n posisie plaas waar hy tussen sy eie belange en die van die ander belanghebbendes in 'n maatskappy, aan wie hy dit verskuldig is om met verdrag en versigtig op te tree, moet kies. Die hedendaagse maatskappyomgewing is kompleks van aard, en vereis direkteure met sterk etiese oortuigings. Hierdie werkstuk poog om sommige van die komplekse faktore wat afbreuk doen aan 'n direkteur se vermoe om ten alle tye streng eties op te tree, te identifiseer en op te weeg teen die effek wat direkteursvergoeding speel - beide as items wat afbreuk doen aan etiese optrede. Hier word ondersoek ingestel na beide die sogenaamde "aandeelhouersmodel" asook die" belanghebbende" model waarvolgens besigheid bedryf word. Die ontsluimering van die belanghebbende model veroorsaak spesifiek 'n aansienlike hoeveelheid etiese kompleksiteit. Die gevallestudies behandel twee Suid Afrikaanse fmansiele instellings wat hul bedrywighede gestaak het as gevolg van onetiese optrede deur direkteure. Die aansporingskomponent van die vergoedingsrnodelle in daardie maatskappye blyk 'n groot bydraende faktor te wees in die onetiese besluitneming wat plaasgevind het, en wat uiteindelik tot die ondergang van die ondernemings gelei het. Laastens, word die lesse wat geleer is uit die gevallestudies, toegepas in gewysigde format, en getoets aan die hand van die verskillende beginsels wat etiese besluitneming onderhou, naamlik die beginsels van regte, regverdigheid, utiliteit en die beginsel van etiese verantwoordelikheid. Daar word tot die slotsom gekom dat daar wel ruimte vir aansporingskemas vir direkteure is, maar dat dit slegs eties regverdigbaar sal wees mits ag geslaan word op die lesse wat uit die gevallestudie voortspruit, tesame met die impementering van sekere korrektiewe maatstawwe.

在全球併購浪潮興起之時,併購活動可能受市場競爭的影響,促使強強合 併,但也可能發生不理性的追隨行為。本文係研究在併購動能中宣告併購,對 主併公司的短期與長期併購績效之影響,並且進一步討論在併購案採現金交易、 主併公司為成長型公司、主併公司過去有成功併購經驗三個條件之下,對主併 公司於併購動能下宣告併購的短期與長期併購績效是否有顯著影響。 本研究之貢獻為,採過去併購績效是否顯著作為併購動能之衡量,而非單 純採用市場上所累積的併購績效之規模。另外,除了探討每個變數與併購績效 之直接關係外,亦特別著重於該變數與主併公司在併購動能中宣告併購之交乘 作用,剖析對主併公司短期及長期併購績效的影響。 而本研究發現,在併購動能當中,若主併公司為成長型公司,能夠顯著提 升其宣告併購之短期與長期績效。因此,對於併購動能下指併公司的績效表現 而言,該公司特性為關鍵因素,特別是對長期的併購績效來說。 / When merger waves occur, the M&A activities may be affected by competitive market. This may cause the win-win cooperation, but also may result in blind following. The primary purpose of this paper is to test the correlation of mergers in momentum and the short-term and long-term merger performance. Furthermore, this paper is also focus on three conditions which may influence the above-mentioned correlation, including cash payment, glamour bidders and bidders’ past successful experience of M&A. The major contribution of this paper is using the significance of past merger performance to measure the merger momentum, instead of simply using accumulated performance. Second, in addition to the direct relation between variables and merger performance, this paper also aims to emphasize the interaction of those variables, analyzing its influence to short-term and long-term performance. It is reported in this paper that, in the merger waves, glamour bidders significantly perofrm better in both short-term and long-term period. Thus, “Glamour” is a key characteristic for the bidders, which would lead to better performance in merger wave, especially long-term one.

Global climate change is one of the defining issues of the 21st century. The phenomenon of natural climate variation being pushed beyond normal ranges has been fueled largely by industrial activities and those which support them (i.e. land-use change and the over-exploitation of natural resources). The urgency is well established with reports demonstrating an increased occurrence of rare, highly damaging weather events, and shifts in the natural range of species. The necessity of action on climate change has resulted in the development of novel global initiatives designed to address the problem across global and regional scales. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) is emblematic of this new wave of conservation strategy. It brings together parties which are often seen as opposed on environmental issues in collaborative environmental practise. This thesis explores the development of REDD+ as an effective and equitable solutions to this problem. REDD+ is a policy architecture designed for global deployment, the success of which will depend largely upon the engagement and involvement of local community groups. Community forest management (CFM) may inform the REDD+ design process, and enhance both land-use strategies by way of synergy. The pathway to that point is, however, uncertain and marred with potential pitfalls. This thesis uses the instructive and critical lens of political ecology to assess the potential for integrating greater CFM elements into the REDD+ policy structure. It explores how the narratives of CFM and REDD+ clash at discursive levels, while also identifying elements of each which may make them mutually beneficial. The thesis finds that much of the conflict between positions on REDD+ are the result of contrasting environmental understandings, some of which are informed by negative experiences with past environmental conservation initiatives. Greater community-centric attributes may assist in improving the local and regional acceptability of REDD+ projects by appealing to the “alternative” values of forest-dependent peoples. Some suggested policy modifications are made to improve the overall design of REDD+ to be inclusive of the concerns of forest user groups, and potential areas for future research projects are discussed. / Thesis (Master, Environmental Studies) -- Queen's University, 2013-01-28 14:57:55.951

This doctoral thesis represents an investigation into financial fraud in online banking and card payment systems in the UK and China, involving network security, online financial transactions, internet fraud, card payment systems and individuals' perception of and behaviours towards electronic environments. In contrast to previous studies, the research questions were tackled by survey questionnaires both in the UK and China, with a particular interest in fraud and attempted fraud. The main findings from the UK respondents were that those with higher IT skill and younger respondents are more likely to be defrauded on the internet. Certain types of online activities are associated with higher risks of fraud, these being internet banking; online shopping and media downloading. Furthermore, four predictors (internet banking, online education services, downloading media and length of debit card usage) provided significant effects in the logistic regression model to explain fraud occurrence in the UK. Based on the data collected in China, younger respondents were more likely to have higher general IT skill and higher educational qualifications. However, online shopping was the only online activity which was significantly correlated to fraud occurrence. Finally, two predictors (frequency of usage of online shopping and number of debit cards) were selected in the logistic regression model to explain fraud occurrence in China.