Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 356-365).

This thesis consists of three self-contained chapters. Chapter 1 develops a two-sector, bivariate matching model, in which each sector uses a different dimension of skill in the production process. I show there exists a unique assignment of agents to sectors and derive comparative statics. The main result is that if jobs are scarce, both an increase in sector one skills' spread and a technological improvement increase the supply of talent in sector one, but decrease it in sector two. In sector two, this raises wages and wage inequality. In sector one, the effects are ambiguous in general, but wages increase for the most and decrease for the least talented agents. Chapter 2 studies the impact of social status on occupational sorting in a two-sector matching framework. Talent is two-dimensional and thus status is not a zero-sum game; it depends both on occupational prestige and within-sector rank (local status). I show that the weights with which these two components enter - the structure of status - crucially influence the way in which agents self-select into sectors and argue that it is likely that these weights differ across occupations. The more important are the individual components of status in a sector, or the less important the collective component, the better the agents who join that industry, which has important implications for total payoffs, wage levels and inequality, and profits. I also show that the stable assignment is typically inefficient, which is driven by the distortion of relative status rewards, not status concerns per se. Chapter 3 investigates whether directors of companies should have limited liability. I develop a three-player model in which: (a) debtholders and equityholders are defined by their control rights and (b) the project is run by the directors. The main result is that increased liability for directors forces them to internalise more of the downside risk of the project and hence reduces their risk-taking. This is optimal if over-investment was a problem initially. I show that the extent to which over-investment is a problem depends on how well debtholders are protected compared to equityholders. If debtholders are strong, increased liability can cause under-investment.

This thesis explores the demographic, geographical, economic and social experiences of service for early modern women. Considering service as a holistic experience, it challenges several orthodoxies in existing literature on service, including the typical profile of the female servant, the organisation and structure of service and the experiences of female servants in the early modern community. Using depositional evidence from the church courts of the dioceses of Gloucester and Exeter, it calls for a reinterpretation of service, reintegrating female servants into community economies and social networks. The first section of this thesis provides an outline of the methodology used and, importantly, analyses patterns of litigation and the demographic, social and economic profiles of witnesses and litigants who appeared in the church courts. The second section focuses on demographic and economic patterns of female service, demonstrating the significance of other experiences outside the ‘life-cycle’ model. It considers the economic conditions in which women entered service and the social backgrounds from which they came. The third section focuses on service as a form of work, unpicking what is meant by ‘service’, and considering how female servants found employment, how much they were paid and how long they remained with particular employers. The section challenges the traditional gendered dichotomy between service in husbandry and domestic service by analysing the types of work that they undertook. The fourth section considers female service from the perspective of geography and space, examining the distances travelled by female servants to show the varied experiences of mobility in service. The section also explores mobility on a parish level, exploring the spaces and locations in which female servants were described within the depositions to highlight the social and economic presence of these women within community spaces, not just the household. The final section moves away from the historiographical focus upon the relationships that female servants built with members of the household, in which the vulnerability of these women is consistently stressed. This section demonstrates that this was but one experience of service, and instead considers relationships forged outside the household with neighbours, friends and other community members.

Denna rapport syftar till att ta reda på hur handelssjöfarten drabbats ekonomiskt och humanitärt av piratverksamheten utanför Afrikas Horn, vilka insatser och åtgärder som vidtagits i bekämpandet av piraterna och hur utfallet av dessa åtgärder varit samt även ge en inblick i bakgrunden till varför piratverksamheten uppstått just i detta område.   Genom litteraturstudier och genom att jämföra och sammanställa data från olika rapporter från tidsintervallet 2010-2016 visas utvecklingen för de ekonomiska och humanitära konsekvenserna av piratattackerna.   Bilden som framkommer är att antalet piratattacker i området minskat mycket kraftigt sedan 2010 och att de olika åtgärder som vidtagits således gett god effekt. Det framkommer dock att de flesta insatserna och åtgärderna främst varit av repressiv typ och mindre av förebyggande typ och att det krävs mer av den senare typen för att förhindra att piratattackerna tar fart igen.

Förtätning är idag ett vanligt förfarande i samhällsbyggandet och sker runt om i hela världen. Det lyfts ofta fram som ett hållbart sätt för en stad att växa, men det finns nackdelar och möts ofta av motstånd från boende i området. När en ort växer och förtätas med en ny typ av bebyggelse kan det förändra identiteten, gemenskapen och känslan av en ort, vilket kan skapa starka känslor. Hur ställer sig de tre intressenterna; (1) boende, (2) kommun och (3) byggsektorn till förtätningen och tillväxten? Vilka likheter och olikheter finns det i deras inställning? Vart är de överens och var krockar de? För att undersöka detta har en fallstudie utformats på Rydebäck, för att belysa de olika intressenternas relation till varandra och deras intresse i utbyggnaden av orten. Rydebäck är en tätort med 6000 invånare i Helsingborgs kommun. Det har utförts en kvalitativ intervjustudie med respondenter från vardera grupp intressenter. Respondenterna sinsemellan visade överlag god förståelse för varandras intressen. De boende var de som framförde flest känsloargument, vilken inte är förvånande, då de är mer personligt engagerade i orten än respondenterna från kommun och byggsektorn. Det framgick att Rydebäck undergått en förändring i identitet, gemenskap och gestaltning när det förändrats från ett typiskt villa- och radhusområde till ett område med flerbostadshus. Men exakt vad som föranledde förändringen är inte helt tydligt. / Densification is today common practice within urban development around the world. The motive behind this is often that it is a sustainable way for cities to grow. However, there are downsides and it is often met with resistance from the local community. When a district is growing through densification with a different type of building that does not already exist in that area, the feeling of community and place identity may be at stake, which can cause strong emotions among the residents. What opinion do the three stakeholders; (1) residents, (2) municipality and (3) construction companies have when it comes to densification and growth? Are there any differences to their perception or are they aligned? A qualitative case study was formed around Rydebäck to identify their relations and interests. Rydebäck is a suburban area with approximately 6000 inhabitants in the Helsingborg municipality. The interviews were held with respondents from each group. The findings show that the respondents had an understanding for each other's interests. The residents had arguments largely based on emotions, which was not too surprising due to them having a more personal connection to Rydebäck than the construction companies and the municipality. It became clear that the view was that Rydebacks place identity had been subject to change in the aftermath of the integration of multi-family homes. However it is not clear if it is caused by the building of multi-family homes in an area otherwise dominated by single-family homes or by the population increase in general.

No description available.

MSc (Med), Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2008

This dissertation explores an unintended consequence of using personalized recommendations, that is, recommendations that are targeted to an individual consumer (e.g., personalized music playlists). I conceptualize that using personalized recommender systems can impede consumers’ learning of their own preferences and tastes from product experiences. Therefore, using these systems can decrease preference clarity, which is defined as certainty about individuals’ own preferences. For example, people may feel less certain about their own music preferences after listening to auto-generated personalized playlists. This reduced preference clarity, in turn, reduces consumer willingness to generate word-of-mouth (WOM) about their consumption experiences, such as their intent to talk about music they listened to with others, or to post social media content on their favorite musicians. Eight studies, using correlational and experimental designs and conducted with consumers who actively use personalization services (in the fashion and music domains), support this theorization. I end with a discussion of the potential theoretical extensions of this novel finding, as well as its practical implications.

This paper is about understanding which of two securitizing theories are the most dominant within the EU discourse from 2015 when immigration rose dramatically to the EU and up to 2019 when a new regulation heavily expanded the authority of Frontex, the European border- and coastguard. The two theoretical schools are the Copenhagen School, based on the thoughts of Ole Wæver and Barry Buzan and colleagues, and securitization based on International Political Sociology, mainly based on the thoughts of Didier Bigo. The Copenhagen School bases their thought on securitization of that of a ‘speech act’ made by an authoritative actor. By uttering something as a security threat it allows extraordinary measures to deal with the issue. Securitization according to IPS is based on actions, rather than discourse, and claims that through the development and cooperation of securitizing organisations and investments in high tech surveillance systems a spiral of (in)securitization is created. Through studying documents from the European Commission, the analysis examines which one of these two schools of thoughts is the most dominant. Even if there are clear evidence of securitization acts according to the Copenhagen School in the analysed material, the most prominent theory, mainly due to the EU structure, is that of securitization according to IPS.

This thesis investigates the history of economic differentiation in a Limbu village in east Nepal. By examining three historically overlapping productive processes - subsistence agriculture, cash crop cardamom cultivation, and international migration - this thesis shows how each productive process has contributed in different ways to the acceleration of economic differentiation. In particular this thesis focuses on cardamom cultivation which first provided a means to transform significantly the lives of a large section of Limbu society. Introduced into the village by a local inhabitant in 1968, and thereafter spread throughout the whole Kabeli river valley and beyond, the cardamom plant has given many households access to considerable cash. This has enabled some households to purchase property in the plains, send their children to English-medium private schools, and send sons abroad for work. Households with little or no cardamom however, have fallen into increasing indebtedness, losing access to land and becoming increasingly dependent on wage labour for survival. The thesis also discusses international labour migration, which has more recently become another important and lucrative productive process for a certain proportion of the village. This has resulted in the rapid growth of a dispersed village in Jhapa in the plains, which has become a hub for international migrants as well as a symbol of the hopes and aspirations of villagers. This has brought about yet further economic differentiation between households that have been able to finance visas for work abroad, and those that continue to struggle day to day. Despite the increased integration of the village with a national and global market, the continued existence of Limbu language and cultural practises emphasizes the active role villagers have played in shaping their current condition.