Cities constitute important political, economic and cultural frameworks, playing a potentially crucial role in influencing the residents' views and opinions about the world. In the context of Central Europe, there has been little attempt to examine the dynamics and construction of attitudes within urban societies. In this research, I explore the influence of urban spaces on citizens' attitudes towards the city and the European Union (EU). This study investigates such citizen behaviours in the largest new EU member state - the Republic of Poland. Building on existing scholarship, I include economic factors and attachment-related approaches to assess support of EU integration among highly skilled citizens living in European cities, the so-called Eurostars. The thesis asks to what extent perceived conditions in Polish cities shape the attitudes of young well-educated urban citizens towards the EU. How do citizens' perceptions of the local and of the supranational space affect their choice of location and work? I assess these questions by employing a sequential mixed methods approach that combines a quantitative and a qualitative method. I devised a survey that I conducted on 923 Masters (MA) students in Polish cities to evaluate their perceptions about their cities' performance. The survey further assessed students' attachments to their cities and their support for the EU. This collected data is complemented by detailed semi-structured interviews with 27 MA students to investigate whether their individual views on their respective city and on the EU influence their motivations to leave or stay in their city. This study situates these students as 'potential Eurostars' as they still live in their hometown. I conducted the comparative investigation in five large urban spaces in Poland: the Tricity area (Gdańsk-Sopot-Gdynia), Poznań, Warsaw, Wrocław and Kraków. Although not representative of every urban centre in Poland, these cities serve as a microcosm to understand the impact of local conditions and Europeanisation in Central and East Europe. (CEE) The use of cities as sites of analysis departs from the traditional and dominant nation-state framework. This thesis further underscores the attitudes of a specific social urban group, whose newly-gained access to the EU - with its opportunities for mobility - potentially offers them new perspectives. Such conditions may influence students' choices of future location and work. The developed methodological framework, with its focus on Polish cities, can be further applied to other countries, groups and territorial units in future research. The quantitative and qualitative findings reveal a relatively marginal influence of urban conditions on place attachment. I further demonstrate that satisfaction with economic and cultural conditions in Polish cities relate to positive attitudes towards the EU. The perception of quality of life plays an important role for the sampled MA students in how they decide where to work and live after graduation. Although, attachment to the city does not necessarily lead to a negative opinion about the EU, it does impact students' exit strategies and often leads to temporary migration plans. Other elements such as local patriotism, family and friends' networks, equally shape this form of place attachment.

Nos últimos anos, o tema da representação política no contexto brasileiro adquiriu maior relevância na pauta nacional a partir das manifestações de rua que eclodiram por todo o Brasil em junho de 2013. A presente dissertação tem os objetivos de analisar o dever dos partidos de assegurar a autenticidade do sistema representativo sob a perspectiva intrapartidária e de verificar o significado da expressão “igualdade de oportunidades” no direito eleitoral e partidário brasileiro e sua aplicação. A metodologia adotada consiste em pesquisa qualitativa, por meio do método lógicodedutivo de abordagem. A coleta dos documentos e bibliografias foi realizada por meio de pesquisa em livros, periódicos, jurisprudências e artigos armazenados em arquivos públicos, bibliotecas e sites eletrônicos na Internet. O estudo mostra-se relevante em face da perda de confiança nos partidos políticos para a melhoria da democracia representativa brasileira, bem como a intervenção do Supremo Tribunal Federal na legislação eleitoral em nome de um chamado equilíbrio da igualdade política. Nesse contexto, resta à ciência investigar as causas da falha dos partidos políticos no cumprimento do dever de assegurar a autenticidade do sistema representativo e verificar o que se entende pela expressão “igualdade política”. O trabalho foi dividido em quatro capítulos. O primeiro capítulo tem a função de delimitar o horizonte de compreensão a respeito de conceitos e questões fundamentais ao tema. O segundo capítulo tem o escopo de analisar o dever dos partidos de assegurar o sistema representativo sob a perspectiva do princípio da democracia intrapartidária. O terceiro capítulo se ocupa em verificar o significado da expressão “igualdade de oportunidades” no direito eleitoral e partidário brasileiro e sua aplicação. O quarto capítulo trata da análise do conteúdo da última reforma eleitoral realizada em 2015, bem como a PEC do Senado Federal nº 36/2016. / In recent years, the theme of political representation in the Brazilian context has become more relevant in the national agenda, based on the street demonstrations that broke out across Brazil in June 2013. The present dissertation aims to analyze the parties' duty to ensure Authenticity of the representative system from an intraparty perspective and to verify the meaning of the term "equal opportunities" in Brazilian electoral and party law and its application. The Methodology consists of qualitative research, through the logical-deductive method of approach. The collection of documents and bibliographies was conducted through research in books, journals, case law and articles stored in public archives, libraries and electronic websites. The study is relevant in the face of the loss of confidence in political parties to improve representative Brazilian democracy, as well as the intervention of the Federal Supreme Court in electoral legislation in the name of a socalled balance of political equality. In this context, it remains for science to investigate the causes of the failure of political parties to fulfill the duty of ensuring the authenticity of the representative system and to verify what is meant by the term "political equality". The work was divided into four chapters. The first chapter has the function of delimiting the horizon of understanding about concepts and questions fundamental to the theme. The second chapter has the scope of analyzing the duty of the parties to secure the representative system from the perspective of intraparty democracy principle. The third chapter is concerned with verifying the meaning of the term "equal opportunities" in Brazilian electoral and party law and its application. The fourth chapter deals with the analysis of the content of the last electoral reform carried out in 2015, as well as PEC from the Federal Senate nº 36/2016.

[pt] O presente estudo tem como objetivo central investigar o processo de reconhecimento de oportunidades no exterior por pequenas e médias empresas brasileiras. Este estudo se caracteriza como uma pesquisa longitudinal, que busca entender o fenômeno investigado a partir da perspectiva de processos. As teorias existentes em Negócios Internacionais assumem implicitamente que a internacionalização das firmas é precedida pelo processo de formação de oportunidades, mas apresentam pouca explicação sobre este processo, independentemente de as oportunidades serem criadas ativamente, descobertas aleatoriamente ou por meio de pesquisas Na literatura de empreendedorismo, apesar do crescente interesse pelo estudo de oportunidades, não foi encontrado nenhum modelo que descrevesse o processo de formação de oportunidades como um processo efetivamente. No campo de Empreendedorismo Internacional (EI) pouca atenção parece ter sido dispensada ao processo de reconhecimento de oportunidades internacionais desde que este subtema emergiu na literatura. Uma vez que EI deve integrar tanto as perspectivas teóricas de Negócios Internacionais quanto de Empreendedorismo, a revisão de literatura se divide em duas partes. A primeira apresenta a discussão ontológica sobre a natureza e formação das oportunidades empreendedoras, bem como o posicionamento teórico adotado. Na segunda parte busca-se identificar os fatores e os mecanismos pelos quais estes influenciariam o reconhecimento de oportunidades internacionais. O presente trabalho adotou a perspectiva teórica de Effectuation, uma vez que esta teoria, originária do campo do empreendedorismo, adota a lente de processos sobre a ação empreendedora e privilegia a lógica de controle sobre a lógica de previsão para as decisões estratégicas da firma em contextos de incerteza. De fato a teoria de Effectuation é adequada como embasamento para as teorias de internacionalização dado que a decisão de se internacionalizar é usualmente modelada como um processo e não uma decisão estratégica deliberada e orientada por metas em determinado momento do tempo. A seguinte pergunta orientou o estudo: Como empresas de porte pequeno e médio reconhecem oportunidades no mercado internacional? Observa-se que a pergunta endereçada neste trabalho busca entender como o fenômeno, reconhecimento de oportunidades internacionais, emerge, se desenvolve, cresce ou termina ao longo do tempo. Dessa forma, a perspectiva de processo parece ser a mais adequada para responder a pergunta de pesquisa. Assim sendo, conduziram-se dois estudos de casos longitudinais em empresas em fase de reconhecimento de oportunidades internacionais. Como método de coleta de dados adotou-se a observação em tempo real na qual as duas empresas foram acompanhadas por aproximadamente dois anos. A abordagem longitudinal em tempo real permitiu acompanhar os processos internos das organizações por tempo suficiente para observar como os empreendedores enxergam problemas e oportunidades no mercado externo e como reagem a eles. Os resultados permitiram traçar a evolução do processo de reconhecimento de tais empresas, identificando etapas e eventos importantes. Também foram identificados os fatores e os mecanismos que contribuíram para o reconhecimento das oportunidades no mercado internacional, sendo confrontados com a literatura sobre o tema. Por fim, os resultados obtidos adicionam conhecimento tanto sobre a internacionalização de empresas quanto para o campo do Empreendedorismo Internacional. / [en] The present study has as main objective to investigate the process of recognition of international opportunities by small and medium Brazilian firms. This study is characterized as a longitudinal research, which seeks to understand the phenomenon investigated from the perspective of processes. Existing theories in International Business implicitly assume that the internationalization of firms is preceded by the process of opportunity formation, but presents little explanation of this process, whether opportunities are actively created, discovered randomly or through research. In the entrepreneurship literature, despite the growing interest in the study of opportunities, no model was found that described the process of opportunity formation as a process effectively. In the field of International Entrepreneurship (IE) little attention seems to have been dispensed with the process of recognizing international opportunities since this theme emerged. Since IE sould integrate both the theoretical perspectives of International Business and Entrepreneurship, the literature review is organized into two parts. The first presents the ontological discussion about the nature and the formation of entrepreneurial opportunities, as well as the theoretical positioning adopted. The second part seeks to identify the factors and mechanisms by which these would influence the recognition of international opportunities. The present work adopted the theoretical perspective of Effectuation, since this theory, originating in the field of entrepreneurship, adopts the lens of processes on the entrepreneurial action and privileges the logic of control over the forecasting logic for the strategic decisions of the firm in contexts of uncertainty. In fact, Effectuation theory is adequate as a basis for internationalization theories given that the decision to internationalize is usually modeled as a process rather than a deliberate and goal-oriented strategic decision at a given point in time. The following question guided the study: How do small and medium sized companies recognize opportunities in the international market? The question addressed in this paper seeks to understand how the phenomenon, recognition of international opportunities, emerges, develops, grows or ends over time. In this way, the process perspective seems to be the most adequate to answer the research. Thus, two longitudinal case studies were conducted in companies that are recognizing international opportunities. As a method of data collection, real-time observation was used in which the two companies were monitored for approximately two years. The longitudinal real-time approach has allowed tracking the internal processes of organizations long enough to observe how entrepreneurs see problems and opportunities in the external market and how they react to them. The results allowed the observation of the evolution of the process of recognition of such companies, identifying important steps and events. The factors and mechanisms that contributed to the recognition of opportunities in the international market were also identified, being confronted with the literature on the subject. Finally, the results obtained add knowledge both to International Bussines and to the field of International Entrepreneurship.

Social entrepreneurs utilize the traits of commercial entrepreneurs; organizational abilities, opportunity identification, combining resources in novel ways, willingness to accept and manage risk and explosive growth or returns, to create enterprises that return high social value. As educators, we see opportunities where entrepreneurial skills can be applied to education, not-for-profit organizations, government offices and programs and philanthropic concerns and create service learning opportunities for students beyond the boundaries of the university. Many of us involved in higher education are frustrated with students who do not attend class, turn in assignments late or exhibit a lack of effort in classes where they pay tuition and receive a grade. It is a challenge, therefore, to gain the involvement of students in social entrepreneurship efforts where the reward (grade, pay or recognition) is not immediate or minimal and the trade-off (time management for their schedule) may be more fun or financially rewarding. This paper discusses the evolution for the process of enlisting student involvement in two distinct social entrepreneurship programs at our university. The first program involves linking university skill sets in the arts, digital media, technology and project management to the planning, implementation and evaluation of a regional arts and music festival held in the city where our university operates. Students involved in this social entrepreneurial venture work with community volunteers, city government officials and local business owners for a period of nine to ten months. In the first two years of sponsoring this program the strategy has evolved from enlisting the help of a student technology club (Edge Club, Digital Media) to working with a small volunteer student team (3 to 4 students). In each case, the organization or student team that worked on the project received no academic credit for the work involved beyond enhancement of their resume. Initial enthusiasm was high but tended to decline as the time horizon for finishing the project extended beyond the current semester and other activities or demands competed for the students’ participation. The second program also utilizes a student organization (Students In Free Enterprise, SIFE) to work on social entrepreneurship projects. In SIFE we have found that the students prefer projects that entail an afternoon of preparation for a short presentation, or service within a 3-4 day period. In that this group is involved in a “competition” with SIFE teams from other institutions at the end of the year, it is important that they seek projects that will differentiate themselves. The short-term projects that they prefer do little to accomplish this differentiation. The projects that truly differentiate are those that require a high degree of preparation for an event that culminates at the end of the semester, or even the following year. To that end, all students of this select team are required to create a long-term project that they will spearhead throughout the year. This leads to an escalation of commitment due to their “ownership” of that project. They are also required to assist another team member on their long-term project. Their efforts on these projects tend to be greater in that they realize that the other members will be assisting them on their project and they want to receive a conscientious effort from their teammates. This synergistic performance enhances both the number and quality of the projects. Using this method, we typically create 5 to 6 viable projects each year. Most teams that we compete with tend to have one major project per year. Using this system our university team has completed an average of 10 projects per year for presentation, of which 2 to 3 have been major projects.

Harm reduction is a concept that has gained momentum as it relates to prevention of negative consequences of drug use. Some harm reduction approaches, such as naloxone provision, have garnered significant support, whereas others, such as providing access to clean syringes, are the exception as opposed the rule. Evidence suggests there is significant variation in harm reduction behaviors among providers, including community pharmacists. Community pharmacies are one of the most accessible points for healthcare; approximately 90% of U.S. residents live within five miles of a pharmacy. Therefore, pharmacies have a great opportunity to promote and engage their communities in harm reduction approaches. This session will examine evidence-based harm reduction approaches that can be employed in community pharmacies. The presenters will use their syringe dispensing research conducted across three states to describe the current harm reduction climate in community pharmacies. During this interactive session, participants will discuss scenarios in which they are encouraged to evaluate their own attitudes and beliefs toward non-Rx syringe sales, naloxone dispensing and other harm reduction strategies while taking a look at the impact of state level policies on these approaches. The session will be targeted to practicing pharmacists, coalition leaders and harm reduction stakeholders.

This dissertation includes two related chapters that analyze financial condition of firms. In the first chapter, I examine the relationship between the firms' level of cash holdings and governance. The findings show that higher levels of cash holdings are significantly related to strong governance. The results also show that firms with strong governance hold asymmetrically higher levels of cash than firms with weak governance when they have high growth opportunities. Furthermore, I also test the impact of financial constraint status of the firm on the level of cash holdings for both good and poorly governed firms separately. The results suggest that strong governance firms hold higher levels of cash to use as financial slack in order to avoid financial distress. In the second essay I examine if a firm's success in leaving distress is explained by firm characteristics and manager decisions. I proxy the managers' decisions by measuring changes in operating, investing, and financing choice variables. Timely decisions with regard to product refinement, proxied by increased investment in research and development and reduction in capital expenditures, increase the probability of successful turnaround. Further the results show that increased financing through additional sale of equity, acquisitions and sale of assets do not help a firm exit financial distress.

The dissertation consists of two essays. The first essay investigates if market illiquidity is a significant determinant of capital structure decisions. We hypothesize that firms would likely compare the illiquidity of two sources of external funding at a given point in time and issue the one with lower illiquidity. Therefore, if the level of illiquidity is a key driver of firms’ capital structure decisions in that year, the higher the level of stocks illiquidity, the more of its financing needs are satisfied by the issuance of debt, and the higher the level of bonds illiquidity, the less of its financing needs are satisfied by the issuance of debt. We find that illiquidity of the two sources of external funding affects significantly the capital structure decisions of U.S. firms over the sample period 2003-2018. Specifically, the coefficient of relative bonds illiquidity is negative, large, and strongly significant regardless of leverage measurement, and the coefficient of relative stocks illiquidity is positive, large, and strongly significant regardless of leverage measurement. The second essay investigates if markets illiquidity is a significant determinant of investment decisions. We argue that an increase in investment opportunities due to an increase in bonds liquidity is for the decrease of the firm’s cost of capital and the decrease in its issuance cost. With a lower cost of capital and a higher ability to issue securities, firms are able to undertake more investment opportunities. We find that bonds and stocks illiquidity affect significantly the investment decisions of U.S. firms over the sample period 2003-2018. Specifically, the coefficients of bonds and stocks illiquidity are negative, large, and strongly significant regardless of investment measurement. Also, we find the effect of bonds illiquidity is more pronounced for financially constrained firms using different financial constraints measures.

The number of universities in Sweden has increased since the 1960s and universities have been discussed to have economic and social advantages to the community they are established in. At the same time, residential segregation is an increasing problem which affects the opportunities in life of the most vulnerable. This study aims to explore if the presence of one or several anchor institutions may have an effect on the school achievements of pupils from neighbourhoods with different socioeconomic status in secondary school and upper secondary school. Furthermore, it aims to investigate how the presence of HEIs affect adolescents’ opportunities in life, especially in vulnerable neighbourhoods. The effects of HEIs on the neighbourhoods with different socioeconomic status in Sweden are measured through linear regression analyses with interaction effects. The findings suggest that (1) the presence of university campuses have an equalisation effect on the school achievements of secondary and upper secondary school pupils; (2) the university design matters: new universities have an equalisation effect on the school achievements in contrary to old universities; (3) the presence of a university hospital does not have an improving effect on the grades like universities do, in contrary, the findings suggest that they have a negative effect; and finally (4), there are some evidence indicating that the findings can be explained by endogenous neighbourhood effects, as the presence of universities increase the number of role models within the community, which would affect the school achievements of secondary and upper secondary school pupils.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how Virtual Reality can be applied in the product development in the fashion industry. Therefore, the research focuses on potential areas of application as well as opportunities and challenges the implementation of Virtual Reality implies. A narrative literature review is conducted, thoroughly investigating the topic of product development and presenting the four application areas, namely Virtual Training, Virtual Prototyping, Virtual Manufacturing, and Virtual Factory, as well as identified opportunities and challenges. For the empirical part, semi-structured interviews are executed with five product developers of the fashion industry who are chosen based on a snowball sampling approach. The gathered data is evaluated using a thematic analysis. The findings of this study indicate that the areas Virtual Prototyping and Virtual Training were perceived as relevant for the product development in the fashion industry. However, Virtual Prototyping was regarded as most important, for instance, due to the decreased need for physical prototypes resulting in time and cost reductions. Further, the research shows that there are several opportunities and challenges when implementing the Virtual Reality technology in the product development in the fashion industry. This thesis indicates the potential of Virtual Reality in the product development for the fashion industry by showing major opportunities at different stages for the product development process. Nevertheless, there are several challenges that have to be considered in the implementation and handling of Virtual Reality.

Instructional design and delivery may be one tool available to teachers to increase the academic and social behaviors of all students in the classroom. Effective instruction is an evidence-based teaching strategy that can be used to efficiently educate our youth across all learning environments. One effective instructional strategy includes increasing students’ opportunities to respond to instructor-posed questions during lectures. Students may respond to questions using a response card system as a way to promote active engagement. This study examined the most common form of instructor-posed questions presented during lecture, recall and recognition questions, to determine the differential effects on students’ academic and participation behavior in a college classroom. Results found no differentiation in students’ academic behavior with respect to question type. Students’ participation behavior was greater when the instructor used class wide active responding procedures than observed in baseline conditions that represented typical college instruction.