Recently, corporate scandals rocked the South African financial landscape, prompting the re-examination of existing corporate governance practices and renewed scrutiny of corporate governance institutions and mechanisms. One of these practices, a phenomenon called “director interlock”, was scrutinised in this study. A quantitative and inductive approach was used in this research to scrutinise companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, as well as the directors who served on their boards during the periods researched, namely, 2010 and 2016, with the purpose of considering the consequences of director interlock in a South African context. Appropriate sources on corporate governance, director interlock and network analysis were accessed. Social network analysis was applied to analyse and map the extent, nature and structural dynamics of director interlock statistically in all South African listed companies in respect of 2010 and 2016 with a view to considering the causes and consequences of identified changes between 2010 and 2016, and possible implications of those changes for corporate governance in South Africa. Both periods occurred shortly after times of financial turmoil or contracting economic growth, where, in line with global trends, financial consolidation and a possible decline in economic activity and board sizes of companies would be expected. The concept of centrality, comprising three components, was used in the statistical social network analysis. These components were degree centrality, which is an indicator of the number of connections and the degree of activity of a company or a director, closeness centrality, which is an indicator of the closeness of a company or a director to other companies or directors within a network and the number of steps from that company or director to other companies and directors in the network, and betweenness centrality, which is a measure of the centrality of a company or a director and the extent to which the company or the director acts as a bridge between and connects with other well-connected companies and directors in the network. The following striking findings emerged from this research: a massive increase in the average board size between 2010 and 2016, a resultant increase in the density of networks between 2010 and 2016, and an apparent shift away from the dominance of mining houses described in earlier studies to financial services companies in 2010 and retail companies in 2016. In the literature review the existence of a global elite in the structure of company boards was pointed out, and the question was asked whether there is any evidence of the existence of a similar elite in South Africa and, if so, whether there have been any changes in the makeup, characteristics or nature of such an elite from 2010 to 2016. Further, the question was asked whether any changes can be observed regarding the central actors of company boards in the local economic power network. The research results indicate that iii there was an apparent reversal of transformational gains towards the re-establishment of white male dominance in the ultra-elite echelons of directors in the South African network by 2016. In the absence of conclusive evidence emanating from this research, the value of director interlock is still hotly debated. Is the practice of director interlock beneficial or damaging to corporations and the wider economic landscape, or could it be both beneficial and damaging? This study provides conclusive evidence that the value of interlock depends on the way in which it is applied, taking into account how the causes, consequences and dynamics of director interlock are manifested in individual companies. While evidence suggests that director interlock, if applied correctly, can be beneficial, the recent Steinhoff debacle was used to illustrate that it can also be detrimental, depending on how it is applied. This study emphasised the value of social network theory, resource-dependence theory, agency theory, small-world theory and power dynamics, specifically in research into corporate governance and related fields of study. This research undoubtedly contributes to the body of knowledge on corporate governance in general and the structure and functioning of company boards, inclusive of director interlock, in particular. The guidelines that emerged from this study could be used to identify board structures and strategically positioned directorship candidates for board appointments and to avoid potentially destructive patterns that may even lead to corporate failure. / Maduzane nje, kuvele amahlazo ezinkampani ezinkulu zezezimali eNingizimu Afrika, lokhu okwenze ukuthi kuhlolwe kabusha inqubo nenkambiso yamanje yolawulo lwezinkanpani ezinkulu, kanti futhi lokhu kwavuselela ukuhlaziywa kwezikhungo zezolawulo lwezinkampani ezinkulu kanye nezindlela zokwenza lokhu. Enye yalezi zinkambiso, ukuhlala nokungenelelana kwabantu kumabhodi ezinkampani ezehlukene okuyinto ebizwa ngokuthi yi-"director interlock" iye yahlolisiswa kulolu cwaningo. Kusetshenziswe inqubo ye-quantitative ne-inductive kulolu cwaningo ukuhlolisisa izinkampani ezifakelwe kuhla lwe-Johannesburg Stock Exchange, kanye nodayirektha abakumabhodi azo ngesikhathi sokwenziwa kocwaningo, okusho ukusukela ngo 2010 ukuya kua 2016, ngenhloso yokubhekisisa imiphumela yenqubo yodayirektha abahlala kumabhodi amaningi ehlukene i-director interlock kwisimo seNingizimu Afrika. Kuye kwatholwa imithombo yolawulo iv lwezinkampani, inqubo ye-director interlock kanye nokuhlaziya ukuxhumana okwaziwa njenge-network analysis. Uhlaziyo lwama-network okuxhumana kwabantu kwe-social network analysis kwasetshenziswa ukuhlaziya kanye nokubheka ukujula nokwenza imephu yenhlobo kanye nobudlelwane bezakhiwo kunqubo ye-director interlock, namastatistiki kuzo zonke izinkampani ezifakelwe kuhla zaseNingizimu Afrika ngesikhathi esiphakathi kuka 2010 no 2016 ngenhloso yokubheka izimbangela kanye nemiphumela yezinguquko ezibhekiwe phakathi kuka 2010 no 2016, kanye nemphumela yalezi zinguquko kwinqubo yolawula lwezinkampani eNingizimu Afrika. Zombili izinkathi zenzeke maduzane ngemuva kweziyaluyalu zezezimali nokuncipha kwesimo somnotho, laphokhona, ngokuhambisana nobekwenzeka kuwo wonke umhlaba, kuye kwaba nokuqoqana kwesimo sezezimali kanye nokwehla kwezimo zomnotho kanye nosayizi bamabhodi ezinkampani okwakulindelwe. Umqondo wokuqoqela ndawonye, onemikhakha emithathu, wasetshenziswa ekuhlaziyweni kwamastatistiki okuxhumana kwabantu okwaziwa nge-statistical social network analysis. Le mikhakha kwakuyizinga lokuqoqana ndawonye okwaziwa nge-degree of centrality, okuyinkomba yamanani okuxhumana kwezinto kanye namazinga emisebenzi yenkanpani noma udayirektha, ukusondelana qokuqoqana ndawonye okwaziwa ngokuthi yi-closeness centrality, okuyinkamba yokusondelana kwenkampani noma udayirektha nezinye izinkampani noma abanye odayirektha kwi-network, kanye nenani lezinyathelo kuleyo nkampani noma udayirekha kwezinye izinkampani kanye nabanye odayirektha kwi-network, kanye nanokuxhumana phakathi kwabo, okuyisikali sokuxhumana kwenkampani noma udayirektha, nezinga lendlela inkampani noma udayirekha athatha ngalo izinyathelo njengomxhumanisi phakathi kokuxhumana nezinye izinkampani kanye nabanye odayirektha kwi-network. Imiphumela eyisimanga etholakele ngalolu cwaningo: kuye kwaba nokwenyuka kakhulu kosayizi bamabhodi esikhathini esiphakathi kuka 2010 no 2016, lokhu okubangele ukwenyuka kokujula kwama-network phakathi kuka 2010 no 2016, kanye nokugudluka ukusukela kubukhulu bezimayini ukuya kwizinkampani zezezimali ngo 2010 kanye nezinkampani zama-retail ngonyaka ka 2016. Ekubuyekezweni kwemibhalo ubukhona bama-elite kumhlaba wonkana kwizakhiwo zamabhodi kuye kwabona, kanti umbuzo owabuzwa ukuthi ngabe bukhona ubufakazi bobukhona bama-elite efanayo eNingizimu Afrika, uma kunjalo, ngabe kube khona ushintsho ngendlela ahleleke ngayo, ubunjalo noma inhlobo yalawo ma-elite ukusukela ngo 2010 ukuya ku 2016. Omunye umbuzo, owabuzwa, wukuthi ngabe noma yiziphi izinguquko ziyabonakala yini mayelana nababambiqhaza ababalulekile kumabhodi ezinkampani kuma-network anamandla kwezomnotho. Imiphumela yocwaningo ikhombisa ukuthi kwabanokuhlehla ngokuzuziwe kwezezinguquko, kwabuyelwa emuva ekubuseni kakhulu kwabesilisa abamhlophe v kwimikhakha ephezulu yama-elite odayirektha kuma-network aseNingizimu Afrika ngo 2016. Ngokusweleka kobufakazi obuphethakele obuvela kulolu cwaningo, ukubaluleka kwe-director interlock kusaxoxwa ngakho kakhulu. Ngabe i-director intelock inenzuzo noma ilimaza izinkampani kanye nesimo somnotho ngokunabile, noma kungenzeka ukuthi kwenzeka kokubili, ukubanenzuzo kanye nokulimaza? Lolu cwaningo luhlinzeka ngobufakazi obuphelele bokuthi ukubaluleka kwe-director interlock kuncike kwindlela okusetshenziswa ngayo, ngokubonelela izimbangela, imiphumela emibi kanye nama-dynamic endlela i-directoer interlock ebonakala nokuvela ngayo ezinkampanini ezehlukene. Ngisho noma ubufakazi bukhombisa ukuthi i-director intelock, uma isetshenziswa kahle, ingaba yinzuzo, kodwa ihlazo lamaduzane le-Steinhoff lisetshenziswe ukukhombisa ukuthi, lokhu kungaba ngokulimazayo, kuncike ngokuthi kusetshenziswa kanjani. Lolu cwaningo lukhombise ukubaluleka kwe-social network theory (ithiyori yobudlelwane bokuxhumana kanye nokwabelana ngolwazi), i-resource-dependence theory (ithiyori yokuthi ngabe imithombo yosizo yangaphandle ichapha0zela kanjani ukuziphatha kwenhlangano), i-agency theory (ithiyori yobudlelwane phakathi kwama-ejenti kanye nabaphathi), small-world theory (ithiyori yokuxhumana kwabantu bexhunyaniswa ngabanye noma eminye imikhakha yabaxhumanisi) kanye nama-power dynamic (ndlela amandla umuntu anawo nokuba nomthelela kwabanye abantu nokuchaphazela ubudlelwane babo), ikakhulukazi kucwaningo ngokulawulwa kwezinkampani ezinkulu kanye nemikhakha ehambelanayo yocwaningo. Ngaphandle kokungabaza, lolu cwaningo lunomthelela kwingqikthi yolwazi ngezolawulo lwezinkampani ezinkulu ngokunabile kanye nezakhiwo nokusebenza kwamabhodi ezinkampani, okubandakanya ukukungenelelana kodayirektha kwamanye amabhodi ezinye izinkampani, ikakhulukazi. Imikhombandlela evelile kulolu cwaningo ingasetshenziswa ukuphawula izakhiwo zamabhodi, kanye nobudayirektha obusemkhakheni ethize, ngokuqokwa kwamabhodi ukugwema ukuba namaphatheni anemiphumela emibi, engaholela nasekwehlulekeni kwezinkampani ezinkulu. Amagama abalulekile: Inqubo yebhodi, ukuchaphazelana kobudlelwane nemithelela kumabhodi, ukuhleleka ngezinhlobo kwamabhodi, ukungenelelana kwabantu kumabhodi ezinkampani ezehlukene, ubudlelwane phakathi kwabantu abakumabhodi ehlukene, i-isomorphism, i-social network analysis (SNA), ama-network obudlelwane babantu, ubudlelwane babantu, i-social network analysis software, i-statistical analysis system (SAS / Malobanyana, mahlabišadihlong a koporase a wetše tikologo ya ditšhelete ya Afrika Borwa, yeo e hlohleletšago go sekwasekwa leboelela ga ditlwaedi tša pušo ya dikgwebo le nyakišišo ye e mpshafaditšweng ya mekgwa ya diinstitšhušene tša pušo ya koporase. Se sengwe sa ditlwaedi tše, ke ponagalo ya go bitšwa “tlhatlaganyo ya molaodi”, mahlabišadihlong a nyakišišitšwe ka nyakišišong ye. Mokgwa wa khwalithethifi le taelo o šomišitšwe ka gare ga nyakišišo ye go nyakišiša dikhamphani tše di ngwadilwego lenaneong la Johannesburg Stock Exchange, le balaodi bao ba šomilego dibotong tša yona dinakong tše di nyakišišitšwego, e lego 2010 le 2016, ka morero wa go šetša ditlamorago tša tlhatlaganyo ya molaodi mo maemong a Afrika Borwa. Methopo ya maleba mabapi le pušo ya koporase, tlhatlaganyo ya molaodi le tshekatsheko di fihleletšwe. Tshekatsheko ya neteweke ya leago e dirišitšwe go sekaseka le go beakanya bogomo, tlhago le diphetogo tša sebopego tša tlhatlaganyo ya molaodi ka dipalopalo ka gare ga dikhamphani tša Afrika Borwa ka moka tše di ngwadilwego lenaneong mabapi le 2010 le 2016 ka kgopolo ya go ela hloko ditlholo le ditlamorago tša diphetogo tše di hlaotšwego gare ga 2010 le 2016, le dikhuetšo tše di kgonegang tša diphetogo tšeo tša pušo ya koporase ka Afrika Borwa. Dinako ka bobedi di diragetše kgauswinyana morago ga dinako tša mathata a ditšhelete goba kgolo ya ikonomi ye e phuhlamago, fao, ka go sepetšana le mekgwa ya lefase ka bophara, kopantšho ya ditšhelete le kgonagalo ya phokotšego ya ditiro tša ikonomi le bogolo bja diboto tša dikhamphani di tla letelwa. Kgopolo ya bogare, ya go bopša ka dikarolo tše tharo, e šomišitšwe ka tshekatshekong ya neteweke ya leago ya dipalopalo. Dikarolo tše e be e le bogare bja bogolo, tšeo e lego taetšo ya palo ya dikgokagano le bogolo bja tiro ya khamphani goba molaodi go dikhamphani tše dingwe ka gare ga neteweke, le bogare bja kelo, tšeo e lego kelo ya bogare bja khamphani goba molaodi le bokgole bjoo khamphani goba molaodi a šoma bjalo ka leporogo mo gare le go kgokagana le dikhamphani tše dingwe tše di nago le kgokagano ye botse le balaodi ka gare ga neteweke. Dikutullo tše di latelago tša go goga šedi di tšweletše go tšwa nyakišišong ye: koketšego ye kgolokgolo ya bogolo bja boto bja palo gare ga 2010 le 2016, koketšego ye e hlotšwego ka pitlaganong ya dineteweke gare ga 2010 le 2016, le tšhutišo ya go hlaka go tšwa go taolo ya dintlo tša moepo tše di hlalositšwego ka dinyakišišong tša pele go dikhamphani tša ditirelo tša ditšhelete ka 2010 le dikhamphani tša retheile ka 2016. Ka tshekatshekong ya dingwalo go ba gona ga bahuetši ba lefase ka sebopegong sa diboto tša khamphani di laeditšwe, gomme potšišo e botšišitšwe ge eba go na le bohlatse bofe goba bofe bja bahuetši ba go swana ka Afrika Borwa gomme, ge go le bjalo, ge eba go bile le diphetogo dife goba dife ka gare ga popego, dipharologantšho goba tlhago ya bahuetši ye vii bjalo go tloga ka 2010 go fihla ka 2016. Gape, potšišo e botšišitšwe ge eba diphetogo dife goba dife di ka bonwa mabapi le diketapele tša diboto tša khamphani ka netewekeng ya maatla a ikonomi ya tikologo. Dipoelo tša dinyakišišo di laetša gore go be go na le poelomorago ye e hlakileng ya dipoelo tša phetošo go ya go tlhomo leswa ya taolo ya banna ba bathobašweu ka gare ga maemo a go feta tekanyo a bahuetši a balaodi ka netewekeng ya Afrika Borwa 2016. Ka go hlokega ga bohlatse bja mafelelo bja go tšwa nyakišišong ye, boleng bja tlhatlaganyo ya molaodi bo sa ntše bo ngangišanwa kudu. Setlwaedi sa tlhatlaganyo ya molaodi se na le mohola goba se senya dikoporase le ponagalo ya ikonomi ye e nabilego, goba se ka ba bobedi sa mohola le go senya? Nyakišišo ye e fa bohlatse bja mafelelo bja gore boleng bja tlhatlaganyo bo laolwa ke tsela yeo bo šomišwago ka yona, go akaretšwa ka fao ditlholo, ditlamorago le diphetogo tša tlhatlaganyo ya molaodi di bago gona khamphaning e tee ka e tee. Mola bohlatse bo šišinya gore tlhatlaganyo ya molaodi, ge e šomišitšwe ka nepagalo, e ka ba le mohola, bothata bja malobanyana bja Steinhoff bo šomišetšwe go laetša gore gape bo ka ba kotsi, go ya ka fao bo šomišitšwego. Nyakišišo ye e gatelela boleng bja teori ya neteweke ya leago, teori ya boikanyo bja methopo, teori ya etšentshi, teori ya lefase le lenyane le diphetogo tša maatla, gagolo ka dinyakišišong tša pušo ya koporase le makala ao a amegago a nyakišišo. Nyakišišo ye ntle le pelaelo e kgathatema go tsebo ya mmele go pušo ya koporase ka kakaretšo le sebopego le go šoma ga diboto tša khamphani, go akaretšwa tlhatlaganyo ya molaodi, gagolo. Melawana ya tshepedišo ye e tšweletšeng go tšwa nyakišišong ye a ka no šomišwa go hlaola dibopego tša boto le bonkgetheng ba bolaodi ba go beelwa go thwalwa ga boto ka maikemišetšo le go efoga diphethene tše di nago le kgonagalo ya go senya tšeo gape di kago iša go palelwa go koporase / Business Management / D. B. L.

Tesis por compendio / [ES] Las redes sociales han provocado un gran cambio en la manera en la que los eventos deportivos son consumidos en la actualidad, ya que consiguen generar una conversación y ser aglutinadores de un seguimiento que en muchos casos era impensable a través de los medios tradicionales. Tanto para los grandes eventos y los deportes de masas, pero muy especialmente para los deportes minoritarios, también llamados de nicho, todas las acciones en medios digitales cobran gran importancia. En este contexto de medios sociales en el deporte, la red social Twitter genera grandes debates y se posiciona como líder de la conversación en torno a los diferentes temas de actualidad deportivos o para el seguimiento de temas deportivos más específicos. El dinamismo de Twitter se basa en la participación individual, propiciando que diferentes usuarios conduzcan la conversación social gracias a su capacidad de influir. Por ello identificar tanto las dimensiones y variables, como los usuarios con mayor capacidad de generar influencia en esta red social se considera de gran importancia. En nuestra tesis, utilizando de manera combinada dos metodologías como el SNA y el AHP se propone una medida de la influencia en Twitter basada en variables obtenidas de la propia plataforma de Twitter (número de tweets, número de retweets y número de seguidores) y otras calculadas a partir del Análisis de Redes Sociales (outdegree, indegree y PageRank). Para componer este índice se utilizó el Proceso de Jerarquía Analítica, y se analizaron dos ediciones de un evento deportivo de un deporte de nicho: el ciclismo en Pista. Analizando la conversación generada en torno al mundial de Londres 2016 bajo el hashtag oficial #TWC2016, y el mundial de Paises Bajos de 2018 con el hashtag de la ciudad organizadora #Apeldoorn2018 , se constató que la dimensión autoridad formada por las variables número de retweets y pagerank era la que mayor ponderación obtuvo, un 62%, frente a la popularidad con un 29% y la actividad con un 8,4%. Además se consiguió identificar a los usuarios más influyentes de cada uno de los eventos, concluyendo que las cuentas con mayor influencia en Twitter eran las relacionadas con los deportistas participantes y organización del evento. En los eventos se pudo comprobar la importancia de la participación de los organizadores en la conversación generada, ya que en el evento de Londres, donde el perfil organizador fue uno de los más influyentes fueron más de 55.000 los tweets registrados, frente a los 19.000 de Apeldoorn, donde el organizador ocupó posiciones muy inferiores en este ranking de la influencia. Nuestra investigación adquiere gran importancia en esta área de los deportes de nicho, ya que puede resultar de gran interés para el estudio de la dependencia y origen cultural y geográfico de los deportes de nicho, y cómo posibles organizaciones pueden identificar las cuentas más influyentes que pueden redundar positivamente en la generación de menciones y beneficios para posibles patrocinadores. De hecho en nuestra tesis se refleja la creación de diferentes clusters geográficos en torno a los deportistas de un mismo país, y la importancia de determinados perfiles para ampliar el tamaño de estos grupos. / [CA] Les xarxes socials han provocat un gran canvi en la manera com els esdeveniments esportius són consumits actualment, ja que aconsegueixen generar una conversa i ser aglutinadors d'un seguiment que en molts casos era impensable a través dels mitjans tradicionals. Tant per als grans esdeveniments i els esports de masses, però molt especialment per als esports minoritaris, també anomenats de nínxol, totes les accions en mitjans digitals cobren gran importància. En aquest context de mitjans socials a l'esport, la xarxa social Twitter genera grans debats i es posiciona com a líder de la conversa al voltant dels diferents temes d'actualitat esportius o per al seguiment de temes esportius més específics. El dinamisme de Twitter es basa en la participació individual, i propicia que diferents usuaris condueixin la conversa social gràcies a la seva capacitat d'influir. Per això identificar tant les dimensions i les variables com els usuaris amb més capacitat de generar influència en aquesta xarxa social es considera de gran importància. A la nostra tesi, utilitzant de manera combinada dues metodologies com el SNA i l'AHP es proposa una mesura de la influència a Twitter basada en variables obtingudes de la pròpia plataforma de Twitter (nombre de tweets, nombre de retweets i nombre de seguidors) i altres calculades a partir de l'Anàlisi de Xarxes Socials (outdegree, indegree i PageRank). Per compondre aquest índex es va fer servir el AHP i es van analitzar dues edicions d'un esdeveniment esportiu d'un esport de nínxol: el ciclisme de Pista. Analitzant la conversa generada al voltant del mundial de Londres 2016 sota el hashtag oficial #TWC2016, i el mundial de Països Baixos de 2018 amb el hashtag de la ciutat organitzadora #Apeldoorn2018 , es va constatar que la dimensió autoritat formada per les variables nombre de retweets i pagerank era la que més ponderació va obtener, amb un 62%, davant de la popularitat amb 29% i l'activitat amb el 8,4%. A més es va aconseguir identificar els usuaris més influents de cadascun dels esdeveniments, concloent que els comptes amb més influència a Twitter eren aquells relacionats amb els esportistes participants i l'organització de l'esdeveniment. En aquests esdeveniments es va poder comprovar la importància de la participació dels organitzadors en la conversa generada, només a l'esdeveniment de Londres, on el perfil de l'organitzador va ser un dels més influents, es van registrar més de 55.000 tuits, davant dels 19.000 de Apeldoorn , on l'organitzador va ocupar un lloc molt més baix en aquest rànquing de l' influència La nostra recerca adquireix gran importància en aquesta àrea dels esports de nínxol, ja que pot resultar de gran interès per a l'estudi de la dependència i l'origen cultural i geogràfic dels esports de nínxol, i com possibles organitzacions poden identificar els comptes més influents que poden redundar positivament en la generació de mencions i beneficis per a possibles patrocinadors. De fet, la nostra tesi reflecteix la creació de diferents clústers geogràfics al voltant d'esportistes d'un mateix país, i la importància d'alguns perfils per ampliar aquests grups. / [EN] Social networks have caused a great change in the way sporting events are currently consumed. They generate a conversation that in many cases was unthinkable through traditional media. Both for major events and mass sports, but especially for minority sports, also called niche sports, every action in digital media are very important. In this context of social media in sports, the social network Twitter generates great debates and positions itself as the leader of the conversation around the different current sports topics or for the monitoring of more specific sports topics. Twitter's dynamism is based on individual participation, allowing different users to lead the social conversation thanks to their ability to influence. Therefore, identifying both the dimensions and variables, as well as the users with the greatest ability to generate influence in this social network, is considered of great importance. In our thesis, using in a combined way two methodologies such as the SNA and the AHP, a measure of the influence on Twitter is proposed based on variables obtained from the Twitter platform (number of tweets, number of retweets and number of followers) and others calculated from the Social Network Analysis (outdegree, indegree and PageRank). To compose this index, the Analytical Hierarchy Process was used, and two editions of a sporting event of a niche sport were analyzed: Track cycling. Analyzing the conversation generated around the 2016 London World Championship under the official hashtag #TWC2016, and the 2018 Netherlands World Championship with the organizing city's hashtag #Apeldoorn2018 , it was found that the authority dimension formed by the variables number of retweets and pagerank was the one that obtained the highest weight, 62%, compared to popularity with 29% and activity with 8.4%. In addition, it was possible to identify the most influential users of each event, concluding that the accounts with the greatest influence on Twitter were those related to the participating athletes and the organization of the event. In these events, verifying the importance of the participation of the organizers in the generated conversation, was possible, just in the London event, where the organizer profile was one of the most influential, more than 55,000 tweets were registered, compared to 19,000 of Apeldoorn, where the organizer ranked much lower in this ranking of influence. Our research acquires great importance in this area of niche sports, since it can be of great interest for the study of the dependency and cultural and geographical origin of niche sports, and how potential organizations can identify the most influential accounts that can positively result in the generation of mentions and benefits for potential sponsors. In fact, our thesis reflects the creation of different geographical clusters around athletes from the same country, and the importance of some profiles to expand the size of these groups. / Lamirán Palomares, JM. (2022). La influencia en redes sociales durante los eventos deportivos: "Los casos de Twitter en los Mundiales de Ciclismo en Pista de Londres (Reino Unido) 2016, y Apeldoorn (Países Bajos) 2018" [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/190811 / Compendio

Up until today, nearly all Swedish regions have decided to set up an EU office in Brussels. However, earlier research on the subject shows that there are big differences concerning what the regions are trying to achieve with their EU office. The aim for this study was therefore to analyse Swedish subnational actors’ EU work within three different arenas and dimensions: at the Brussel arena (upload), at home ground (download) and lastly, the coordination between these two arenas (crossload). To achieve this, an extensively material on the subject was gathered by interviewing key persons from both Brussels and the subnational actors’ home organizations. In order to analyse the material, the theoretical framework multi-level governance was put into practice. The theoretical framework offered a definition on how the regions interact within the EU, and it also provided the framework for the analyses.  The study was able to unpack three Swedish subnational actors’ EU approaches and their different forms of organization regarding their work with EU. In addition, the study could for each explored arena set up a collection of criteria’s that Swedish subnational actors must achieve in order to succeed with their strategic work with EU. Those criteria’s, with numerous important subheadings, were categorised as effectiveness, legitimacy, and strategical selection.

Le sepsis tardif, défini comme une infection systémique chez les nouveaux nés âgés de plus de 3 jours, survient chez environ 7% à 10% de tous les nouveau-nés et chez plus de 25% des nouveau-nés de très faible poids de naissance qui sont hospitalisés dans les unités de soins intensifs néonatals (USIN). Les apnées et bradycardies (AB) spontanées récurrentes et graves sont parmi les principaux indicateurs précoces cliniques de l'infection systémique chez les prématurés. L'objectif de cette thèse est de déterminer si la variabilité du rythme cardiaque (VRC), la respiration et l'analyse de leurs relations aident au diagnostic de l'infection chez les nouveaux nés prématurés par des moyens non invasifs en USIN. Par conséquent, on a effectué l'analyse Mono-Voie (MV) et Bi-Voies (BV) sur deux groupes sélectionnés de nouveau-nés prématurés: sepsis (S) vs. non-sepsis (NS). (1) Tout d'abord, on a étudié la série RR non seulement par des méthodes de distribution (moy, varn, skew, kurt, med, SpAs), par les méthodes linéaire: le domaine temporel (SD, RMSSD) et dans le domaine fréquentiel (p_VLF, p_LF, p_HF), mais aussi par les méthodes non–linéaires: la théorie du chaos (alphas, alphaF) et la théorie de l'information (AppEn, SamEn, PermEn, Regul). Pour chaque méthode, nous étudions trois tailles de fenêtre 1024/2048/4096, puis nous comparons ces méthodes afin de trouver les meilleures façons de distinguer S de NS. Les résultats montrent que les indices alphaS, alphaF et SamEn sont les paramètres optimaux pour séparer les deux populations. (2) Ensuite, la question du couplage fonctionnel entre la VRC et la respiration nasale est adressée. Des relations linéaires et non-linéaires ont été explorées. Les indices linéaires sont la corrélation (r²), l'indice de la fonction de cohérence (Cohere) et la corrélation temps-fréquence (r2t,f) , tandis que le coefficient de régression non-linéaire (h²) a été utilisé pour analyser des relations non-linéaires. Nous avons calculé les deux directions de couplage pendant l'évaluation de l'indice h2 de régression non-linéaire. Enfin, à partir de l'ensemble du processus d'analyse, il est évident que les trois indices (r2tf_rn_raw_0p2_0p4, h2_rn_raw et h2_nr_raw) sont des moyens complémentaires pour le diagnostic du sepsis de façon non-invasive chez ces patients fragiles. (3) Après, l'étude de faisabilité de la détection du sepsis en USIN est réalisée sur la base des paramètres retenus lors des études MV et BV. Nous avons montré que le test proposé, basé sur la fusion optimale des six indices ci-dessus, conduit à de bonnes performances statistiques. En conclusion, les mesures choisies lors de l'analyse des signaux en MV et BV ont une bonne répétabilité et permettent de mettre en place un test en vue du diagnostic non invasif et précoce du sepsis. Le test proposé peut être utilisé pour fournir une alarme fiable lors de la survenue d'un épisode d'AB tout en exploitant les systèmes de monitoring actuels en USIN. / Late-onset sepsis, defined as a systemic infection in neonates older than 3 days, occurs in approximately 10% of all neonates and in more than 25% of very low birth weight infants who are hospitalized in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU). Recurrent and severe spontaneous apneas and bradycardias (AB) is one of the major clinical early indicators of systemic infection in the premature infant. Various hematological and biochemical markers have been evaluated for this indication but they are invasive procedures that cannot be repeated several times. The objective of this Ph.D dissertation was to determine if heart rate variability (HRV), respiration and the analysis of their relationships help to the diagnosis of infection in premature infants via non-invasive ways in NICU. Therefore, we carried out Mono-Channel (MC) and Bi-Channel (BC) Analysis in two selected groups of premature infants: sepsis (S) vs. non-sepsis (NS). (1) Firstly, we studied the RR series not only by distribution methods (moy, varn, skew, kurt, med, SpAs), by linear methods: time domain (SD, RMSSD) and frequency domain (p_VLF, p_LF, p_HF), but also by non-linear methods: chaos theory (alphaS, alphaF) and information theory (AppEn, SamEn, PermEn, Regul). For each method, we attempt three sizes of window 1024/2048/4096, and then compare these methods in order to find the optimal ways to distinguish S from NS. The results show that alphaS, alphaF and SamEn are optimal parameters to recognize sepsis from the diagnosis of late neonatal infection in premature infants with unusual and recurrent AB. (2) The question about the functional coupling of HRV and nasal respiration is addressed. Linear and non-linear relationships have been explored. Linear indexes were correlation (r²), coherence function (Cohere) and time-frequency index (r2t,f), while a non-linear regression coefficient (h²) was used to analyze non-linear relationships. We calculated two directions during evaluate the index h2 of non-linear regression. Finally, from the entire analysis process, it is obvious that the three indexes (r2tf_rn_raw_0p2_0p4, h2_rn_raw and h2_nr_raw) were complementary ways to diagnosticate sepsis in a non-invasive way, in such delicate patients.(3) Furthermore, feasibility study is carried out on the candidate parameters selected from MC and BC respectively. We discovered that the proposed test based on optimal fusion of 6 features shows good performance with the largest Area Under Curves (AUC) and the least Probability of False Alarm (PFA). As a conclusion, we believe that the selected measures from MC and BC signal analysis have a good repeatability and accuracy to test for the diagnosis of sepsis via non-invasive NICU monitoring system, which can reliably confirm or refute the diagnosis of infection at an early stage.