Thesis advisor: Thomas Chemmanur / My dissertation is comprised of three chapters. In this first chapter, I study the effect of social connections on mutual fund investors' information production and accuracy of their signals. While connected investors have access to information in their social network (information diffusion effect), social connections also reduce their incentives to acquire costly information, since they can free ride on connected peers ("free riding on friends" effect). I find this negative "free riding on friends" effect of social connections dominates information diffusion effect in the mutual fund industry, using fund managers' connections built upon their prior career experiences. First, I find that connected funds are more likely to hold the same stocks and to trade in the same direction, relative to unconnected funds. Second, I find that funds with lower network centrality earn higher alphas, even after controlling for other fund and manager characteristics. A one-standard-deviation increase in eigenvector centrality predicts a decrease of 29-37 basis points in annualized fund alphas. Third, when I define a stock-level variable PMC (Peripheral minus Central) as the difference in average portfolio weights between peripheral funds and central funds, I find that stocks with higher PMC have significantly higher abnormal stock returns. A one-standard-deviation increase in PMC predicts an increase of 1.48%-1.52% in the next quarter risk-adjusted returns (annualized). Finally, I find that PMC predicts firms' future earnings surprises. In the second chapter, co-authored with Thomas Chemmanur, Yingzhen Li, and Jie Xie, we propose a "noisy signaling" hypotheses of open market share repurchase (OMSR) programs, where the equity market equilibrium that prevails after OMSR program announcements is a partial pooling rather than a fully separating equilibrium. We argue that two complementary mechanisms, namely, actual share repurchases by firms and information production by institutions, serve to reduce the residual equity market information asymmetry facing firms subsequent to OMSR program announcements. We test the implications of this noisy signaling hypothesis using transaction-level data on trading by institutions and by a subsample of identified hedge funds, and find strong support for the above hypothesis. In the third chapter, co-authored with Thomas Chemmanur, and Jiekun Huang, we analyze how the geographical locations of institutions affect their investments in IPOs and various characteristics of the IPOs that they invest in. We argue that institutions geographically close to each other may free-ride on each other's information when evaluating IPOs, resulting in IPOs dominated by geographically clustered institutions reflecting less accurate information signals compared to those dominated by geographically dispersed institutions. We find that the equity holdings of institutions in IPOs are influenced more by the investments made by neighboring institutions. We show that an increase in the geographical dispersion of the institutions investing in an IPO is associated with higher IPO price revisions, higher firm valuations at offering and secondary market, larger IPO initial returns, greater long-run post-IPO stock returns lower information asymmetry facing an IPO firm in the equity market. Finally, the predictive power of institutional trading post-IPO for subsequent long-run stock returns and earnings surprises for the first fiscal-year end after the IPO is greater for geographically isolated institutions compared to those that are geographically clustered. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Finance.

Background: Good social connections have been identified as a factor that may be associated with healthy cognitive function in later life. In line with cognitive reserve theory, good social connections may provide mental stimulation through complex interaction with others and hence build cognitive reserve and maintain healthy cognitive function. However, there is considerable inconsistency in findings reported by studies that examine this association. Inconsistency in findings may be attributed to the heterogeneity of concepts potentially associated with social connections and to the variation in approaches to measuring and defining these concepts. Aims: To assess the association between aspects of social connections and cognitive function in later life. This thesis introduces a novel element by considering the moderating role of cognitive reserve in this association. Method: A scoping review was conducted to establish which concepts are used within the literature to describe social connections and how these are measured and defined. Next, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to identify evidence regarding the association between social isolation and cognitive function in published studies. Empirical work was conducted using cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study-Wales (CFAS-Wales) to determine the associations between social isolation, cognitive reserve, and cognitive function in healthy older people. Extending this approach further, these associations were examined in two groups potentially at risk of social isolation: older people with depression or anxiety and older people living alone. Finally, empirical work was completed using the Platform for Research Online to investigate Genetics and Cognition in Ageing (PROTECT) to assess how satisfaction with social contact may be associated with cognitive function compared to a structural measure of isolation. Results: A lack of social connections was associated with poor cognitive function in later life. For people with depression or anxiety, these associations may be better explained by mood-related symptoms than social connections. People who live alone in later life were at no greater risk of poor cognitive function compared to those living with others. Satisfaction with social contact was associated with poor cognitive function but a structural measure of social isolation was not. Conclusions: Social connections play an important role in building cognitive reserve and protecting people against poor cognitive function in later life. People who are vulnerable to social isolation have different needs to those who are less vulnerable. Satisfaction with social contact is often neglected in measures that assess structural aspects of social connections but may be a better predictor of cognitive function.

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My dissertation consists of two chapters which explores various aspects of empirical corporate finance and institutional ownership. In the first chapter, I examine whether common owners – an institution with holdings in both the distressed and the lending firm – ameliorates this conflict given that common owners should seek to maximize the equity value of both firms. The results show that when a common owner holds a stake in both the borrowing and lending firm, distressed firms are over 3.3-times more likely to file for Chapter 11 freefall bankruptcy (rather than prepack) as compared to borrowing-lending firms without a common owner. Using ownership of passive funds as an instrument for the presence of a common owner, I provide evidence of a causal relation between common ownership and bankruptcy filing choice. Overall, the analysis indicates that common ownership in both financially distressed borrowing firms and their lending firms leads to a greater likelihood of Chapter 11 freefall bankruptcy filing; suggesting that common owners typically side with creditors to maximize their combined equity value in both the borrowing and lending firm. Next, I examine the effect of CEO social connections on stock returns. An equally weighted (value weighted) long-short portfolio strategy earns investors excess returns of 5.39% (4.44%) per year. Three potential reasons explain the relation between CEO social connections and excess returns; better firm performance, investor information asymmetry, and/or greater investor risk-bearing. Our analysis provides evidence consistent with CEO connections both increasing firm risk and improving firm performance. / Business Administration/Finance

Social connections represent an important determinant of economic agents’ behaviour. The three chapters of this thesis empirically analyse the effect of different types of networks on several economic outcomes. The first chapter analyses the role played by co-worker networks on immigrants’ employment outcomes. It investigates how immigrants’ job search outcomes are affected by the labour market outcomes of co-workers from the same country of origin. Using matched employer-employee micro data from Italy and an instrumental variables approach, I show that an increase in the employment prospects of socially connected workers improves immigrants’ job search outcomes. The paper also sheds light on the different mechanisms generating the social effect and it highlights the role of migrant networks in explaining immigrant segregation. Chapter 2 employs a unique dataset on articles, authors and editors of the top four economics journals over the period 2000-2006 to investigate the role of social ties in the publication process. Connections between editors and authors are identified based on their academic histories. Regression results show that the existence of a social tie with an editor positively affects publication outcomes of connected scholars. The analysis of citations shows that connected articles receive on average a higher number of citations than non-connected ones. The final chapter focuses on the impact of female managers on female workers’ employment outcomes. Exploiting changes in the share of female managers induced by firms’ takeovers, I find no statistically significant effect of an increase in the presence of female managers on employment outcomes of female workers. However there is an interesting negative effect on wage inequality within the acquiring firm, which may matter for both equity and efficiency reasons.

Over the past fifty or so years there has been a well examined decline in socialconnections and many other facets of American communities (Fischer 1982; Putnam2000; Freeman 2001; McPherson, Smith-Lovin, & Brashears 2006; Dunham-Jones &Williamson 2009). New urbanism has been proposed as a tool to reverse some of thissocial decline in communities. This study seeks to understand the possible socialconnective benefits of new urbanism in a number of ways. First, a new urbanistcommunity is compared to a similar adjacent community that also happens to betraditional suburban community. The study examines differences between the twocommunities in terms of social connections, social interactions, and communitysatisfaction. Second, the study examines individual design elements of new urbanism to understand their relationships with social interactions and social connections. This study also examines community cohesion in terms of diverse social interactions and bridging ties. Previous studies suggest that bridging ties are more likely to be formed between persons who are connected with weaker social bonds (Granovetter, 1973) as well as persons who interact through spontaneous rather than planned forms of social interaction (Molm, Collett, & Schaefer 2007). Lastly, this study seeks to understand if any of the new urbanist design strategies examined are related to bridging ties. The findings of this study suggested that new urbanist communities do have more social interactions, social connections, and community satisfaction than do traditional suburban communities. The findings also suggested that four new urbanist design strategies: porches, community meetings, and mixed-use zoning are positively related to social interactions and social connections. Moreover, findings suggested that persons connected by weaker social bonds are indeed more likely to have bridging ties, however, they did not support the idea that persons who have more spontaneous interactions will also be more likely to have bridging ties. Lastly, the findings indicated that of all the new urbanist design strategies, only the neighborhood business center was positively related to bridging ties. Conversely, a negative relationship was found between resident's who use their porches and bridging ties.

During the 2010-11 school year, KFL&A Public Health partnered with Lancaster Drive Public School (LDPS) to develop and implement a Walking School Bus Program (WSBP). This study was designed as a pre-test post-test study to explore parental concerns and attitudes towards their children’s use of active transportation and the WSBP, perceptions of the social and built environment, and how these may be associated with parental willingness to allow their children to participate in the WSBP. However, a low response rate did not allow comparisons of pre- and post-test results. Therefore, this thesis uses the pre-test data as a pilot study to evaluate the methods, tools, and feasibility of a future, multi-school pre-and post-test study. As part of the pilot study, a questionnaire was developed and administered to 298 households. Parental willingness was assessed using one item rated on a 10-point scale. Concerns and attitudes were assessed from similar scales developed for this study. Social environment perceptions were measured using a neighbourhood collective efficacy scale and a name generator/interpreter social network instrument. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the association of parental willingness with the aforementioned variables. Fifty parents participated, which may have contributed to low power to detect associations. However, even with low power, attitudes of parents whose children had already used active transportation to school were found to be significantly associated with willingness when contrasting high and low levels (OR: 1.61, 95%CI: 1.02-2.54). This association did not appear in parents of children who used inactive transportation. Significant correlations were seen between parental willingness and compositional aspects of parental social network ties, i.e., having ties to individuals of diverse ages (τ=0.271) and having ties to individuals with children of the same age as their own (τ=0.267). Qualitative analyses of concerns revealed sub-themes related to the traffic, the need to cross a street, and the need for a suitable place to walk and bicycle, as well as concerns about the WSBP. KFL&A Public Health, LDPS, and Kingston’s City Traffic Engineers can use these results to address barriers to the WSBP and to advocate for improvements in the community infrastructure. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2011-07-20 17:17:15.828

The population's aging phenomenon is no longer a new topic world wide. "The wlderly", as the term indicates, is labeled as one not obvious marginalized group. Architecture reporter Eric Baldwin also wrote that " Architects and planners must begin moving beyond end of life care and nursing facilities to consider the new design challenges posed by aging adults who desire active, interconnected lifestyles. Embracing networks of family and community, a new generation of Elederly adults are looking to maintain independence and freedom trough nobility, self- governance and third spaces." What I am trying to do is to explore a new life style for the elderly to have fun, freedom, social connections and get the help they need properly in the center of Stockholm. At the same time, this project also has symbolic meaning that the city refill the lost attention of the elderly.

This text sets out to shed light on certain aspects of immigrant integration in Sweden. Focus for this study was immigrants’ social integration, i.e., creating personal long-term connections with members of the host society. This study’s aim is to examine the role language cafés as regularly conducted by, for example, non-profit organisations and the Swedish church play in immigrants’ social integration into the Swedish society. Language cafés bring together newly arrived immigrants and residents that have established a living in Sweden; these range from ethnic Swedes to other former immigrants with varying backgrounds and ethnicities. During the meetings, participants practice the Swedish language in a casual way with focus on everyday life while enjoying Swedish fika together. Given the general set up of language cafés and the fact that everyone participates voluntarily, these intercultural meetings lead, in some cases, to lasting contacts between immigrants and residents outside the language practicing activity. In relation to social integration, the question this study seeks to answer is therefore: how do intercultural meetings at language cafés support contacts between immigrants and residents, and in what ways do these contacts facilitate social integration? For this study, interviews were conducted with six former participants of language cafés in various locations in Sweden. These interviews built the basis for conducting a thematic analysis; it shows that people’s intercultural meetings at language cafés can lead to minor and medium sized contact networks that promote several aspects of social integration such as professional development, physical and mental health benefits, and friendships. In this study, these emerging connections are analysed and explained through theoretical framework related to intercultural meetings and communication.

This thesis project investigates the procrastination problem in university students and the effects of this issue in individual work such as essays and learning activities related to academic context. As part of students’ routines, the use of digital devices is crucial for easy access to online resources, but, at the same time, this technological development has become a high distraction source while trying to accomplish academic goals. Adding to this, the study environment greatly impacts student's performance and concentration, which turned out to be an important element in this project’s development.   Here, the problem of procrastination affects society physically and psychologically, with side effects that unpack researchers’ curiosity for a deeper understanding of this issue in the user-centered context and the Interaction Design field (IxD). Additionally, Tangible Interactions, Research Through Design and a brief study of Auto-ethnography complemented the process by introducing the impact that social problems and humans’ personal experiences have on design concept production.   Taking into consideration space and digital distractions surrounding students as one of the reasons for the lack of academic concentration, this thesis aspires to show the benefits of studying environments such as university libraries and focus on the social aspect of studying in a group. As such, Structure-Us is the final design concept that runs through Arduino Nano as an accountability box for students. As so, the outcome is a method academic students individual work maintaining social connections as a motivational method bringing reflection on their behavior as a step to achieve personal goals.