Typescript. / Bibliography: leaves [102]-110. / vii, 191 l illus., tables

plan B / Pacific Islands Studies

Today's increasingly interconnected world creates new challenges related to the use and understanding of the concept of citizenship. The idea of a global citizenship is not new; however, in recent years there has been an evolution of increasing research leading to the expansion of interest with regard to the exploration of the concept and how it could be implemented in practice. This study attempts to deepen the understanding of the qualitatively different ways of perceiving this concept amongst a number of Indian and Nepalese young adults. The study is based on a phenomenographic research approach, where the data material was collected through semi-structured interviews. The results of the study show that global citizenship can be perceived as being related to equality, cultural diversity, global responsibility, global communication and cosmopolitan governance. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that the young adults perceive themselves either only as national citizens, or as both national and global citizens. Finally, the respondents believe that formal education can contribute to the promotion of global citizenship by including the concept in the educational curriculum and by encouraging cultural exchange. The role of formal education in promoting global citizenship is also perceived to be unclear due to terminological confusion.

Traditional financial theories see capital structure as a result of mainly financial, tax and growth factors (Modigliani & Miller, 1958). But corporate governance theories (Jensen & Meckling, 1976) and business strategy theories (Barton & Gordon, 1988) suggest that ownership structure and ownership concentration, product diversification and asset specificity may also influence capital structure. Focusing on the examination of the determinants of capital structure in Chinese listed companies, this research goes beyond financial factors and considered business strategy and corporate governance approaches, and their impact on capital structure, in a transitioning Chinese context where institutions, expertise and regulatory processes are different to, but converging on, Western approaches. A panel data set of 1,098 Chinese listed companies for the period of 1991 to 2000 was collected from published sources, and conventional and innovative econometric methodologies were used to model a range of relationships between capital structure and its financial and non-financial determinants. The statistical approaches used in this study included Ordinary Least Squares Model and also Linear Mixed Model, which is a powerful tool to examine panel data where independence of explanatory variables is not assumed. The analysis also involved Hox’s model building procedures to measure model fit. The capital structure of listed companies in both the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Securities Exchange is positively related to a firm’s tax rate, growth and capital intensity and negatively related to a firm’s profit and size. Other financial factors such as tangibility, risk and duration are non-significant. The capital structure of listed companies, particularly in the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, is positively related to product diversification and negatively related to asset specificity. The capital structure of listed companies in the Shanghai Securities Exchange is positively related to government ownership and ownership concentration of the largest shareholder and negatively related to legal person ownership and ownership concentration of the ten largest shareholders. The data and modelling support financial and non-financial determinants of capital structure. In particular, information asymmetry, business diversity and asset specificity have a significant impact on capital structure. In addition the empirical work in the study supports agency cost explanations of debt and equity. Finally the research demonstrates that the two main financial markets in China, Shenzhen and Shanghai, have operated differently but are converging towards a common norm. The research contributes to the general field of capital structure and provides valuable insights into the nature of the Chinese firm and the evolution of the Chinese financial system. / Doctor of Philosophy

Studies of tourism statistics have revealed that tourism movements worldwide are based on intraregional tourism, which includes cross-border mobility, rather than long-haul tourism. Although there have been studies on borders carried out in the past for various purposes, there remains a distinct lack of research into cross-border leisure-oriented mobility, particularly in Southeast Asia. As a result, examining constraints and permeability on leisure-oriented cross-border mobility may well help to overcome the tourist behaviour and cross-border mobility divide in literature, thus the subject of this thesis. The aims of this thesis are to investigate an identifiable sector of the population (i.e. Thai university students) and to analyze the motivations that drive, and constraints that limit their ability to travel to the neighbouring countries of Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, and Myanmar. Using a self-administered closed-questionnaire, data was collected from 750 students in seven universities in three provinces: Assumption, Kasetsart, and Thammasart Universities in Bangkok, Naresuan, and Pibunsongkram Rajabhat Universities, in Phitsanulok, and Mae Fah Luang and Chiang Rai Rajabhat Universities in Chiang Rai. The data was collected from October to December 2005. A response rate of approximately fifty percent was achieved. Analysis of the data showed that Thai university students were motivated by visiting heritage and historical sites to cross borders to Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar; whereas, the driving force for visits to Malaysia was to see new things and places. Interestingly, fear emerged as the constraint which most limited the students from travelling over the border to each of Thailand�s neighbouring countries. Psychological constraints were reported as having more influence on the respondents� border crossings than physical constraints. Distance from the borders also influenced cross-border ability. The study showed that cross-border travel behaviour was related to gender and income, but unrelated to the respondents� age. The research revealed that the respondents felt the easiest way to overcome their constraints to travel was to gain more travel experience and search for more information on their destination of choice. Interviews were gathered from fifteen key persons employed in five different fields of the travel industry and whose work related either directly and indirectly to cross-border mobility. The interviews took place during November 2005 to February 2006 at informants� workplaces in Bangkok and Chiang Rai. It was revealed that tourism development in border areas is regarded by society as having substantial social and economic benefits to the local people and their communities. It also revealed that borders do not have any direct physical effects toward people�s movement. It was found that the tenets of people�s leisure-oriented cross-border mobility were formed by both motivations and constraints; therefore, individuals must find a way to negotiate or overcome constraints before achieving the actual action. The uniqueness of the study was to illustrate the dynamic and simultaneous treatment of the fundamentals contributing to cross border mobility. This thesis has broken new ground in analyzing the theories developed predominantly in Western contexts of travel motivations and leisure constraints in an Asian setting, particularly in the context of Thai studies. It was found that the Thai tourist behaviour especially the university students, who are an important and significant and separate population, are difference from those students in the Western society in that Thai university students more concern in cross-border travelling to gain knowledge than to enjoy nightlife (sex, alcohol, and drugs).

Thesis (PhDBusinessandManagement)--University of South Australia, 2003.

Global diasporas caused by wars carry many streams of people - in the 1970s one of these streams contained orphans from Vietnam delivered to white parents in the West. On arrival, the social expectation was that these children would blend seamlessly into the culture of their adoptive parents. Now some adoptees, as adults, reflect on their lives as 'Asian' or racially 'Other' children in white societies, charting the critical points in their maturation. This thesis interrogates their life histories to explore the role of birth-culture in the self-definition of people removed from that culture at birth or in childhood. Thirteen adult adopted Vietnamese participants were interviewed. These interviews provided qualitative data on issues of racial and cultural identity. These data were developed and analysed, using a framework drawn from symbolic interactionism and cultural studies, in order to reveal the interpersonal dynamics in which people were involved, and the broader cultural relations that sustained them. The findings reveal that in early childhood the adopted Vietnamese identity process was shaped by a series of identifications with, and affirmations of, sharing their adoptive parents racial and cultural identity. Such identifications were then challenged once the adoptees entered society and were seen by others as different. The participants' attempts to locate a secure sense of self and identity within the world they are placed in are disturbed by numerous uncertainties surrounding racial and cultural difference. One of the most crucial uncertainties is the adopted Vietnamese knowledge about their cultural background. While most felt they lacked positive knowledge about Vietnam and racial diversity, their sense of identity was unsettled by experiences with racism and negative cultural stereotypes throughout their late childhood to adolescence. As their recognition and acceptance of their difference develops in adulthood, they experience a degree of empowerment due to their being able to access more knowledge about their cultural background and a greater appreciation of racial diversity. Many participants have formed closer ties with other people born in Vietnam, most notably other adoptees; most returned to visit Vietnam. The thesis concludes that those adoptees who were able to develop an understanding of the Vietnamese and other backgrounds to their complex identities, tended to be more integrated as adults than those who either rejected or were unable to come to terms with their Vietnamese ancestry.

Traditional financial theories see capital structure as a result of mainly financial, tax and growth factors (Modigliani & Miller, 1958). But corporate governance theories (Jensen & Meckling, 1976) and business strategy theories (Barton & Gordon, 1988) suggest that ownership structure and ownership concentration, product diversification and asset specificity may also influence capital structure. Focusing on the examination of the determinants of capital structure in Chinese listed companies, this research goes beyond financial factors and considered business strategy and corporate governance approaches, and their impact on capital structure, in a transitioning Chinese context where institutions, expertise and regulatory processes are different to, but converging on, Western approaches. A panel data set of 1,098 Chinese listed companies for the period of 1991 to 2000 was collected from published sources, and conventional and innovative econometric methodologies were used to model a range of relationships between capital structure and its financial and non-financial determinants. The statistical approaches used in this study included Ordinary Least Squares Model and also Linear Mixed Model, which is a powerful tool to examine panel data where independence of explanatory variables is not assumed. The analysis also involved Hox’s model building procedures to measure model fit. The capital structure of listed companies in both the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Securities Exchange is positively related to a firm’s tax rate, growth and capital intensity and negatively related to a firm’s profit and size. Other financial factors such as tangibility, risk and duration are non-significant. The capital structure of listed companies, particularly in the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, is positively related to product diversification and negatively related to asset specificity. The capital structure of listed companies in the Shanghai Securities Exchange is positively related to government ownership and ownership concentration of the largest shareholder and negatively related to legal person ownership and ownership concentration of the ten largest shareholders. The data and modelling support financial and non-financial determinants of capital structure. In particular, information asymmetry, business diversity and asset specificity have a significant impact on capital structure. In addition the empirical work in the study supports agency cost explanations of debt and equity. Finally the research demonstrates that the two main financial markets in China, Shenzhen and Shanghai, have operated differently but are converging towards a common norm. The research contributes to the general field of capital structure and provides valuable insights into the nature of the Chinese firm and the evolution of the Chinese financial system. / Doctor of Philosophy

The development of a Regional Spatial Data Infrastructure (Regional SDI) is much more challenging than the development of a National SDI initiative within a nation. This is mainly because of the voluntary nature of cooperation at a multi-national level and participation in a Regional SDI initiative. As a result, despite considerable interest and activities, the development of an effective and comprehensive Asia-Pacific Regional Spatial Data Infrastructure (APSDI) is hampered by a lack of support from member nations which results in this initiative remaining only an innovative concept. Based on this situation, the aim of this research is to design an improved conceptual model for Regional SDI and an implementation strategy. It is proposed that this problem can be partly addressed by increasing the level of awareness about the nature and value of SDIs; improving the SDI conceptual model to better meet the needs of nations; and by identifying key factors that facilitate development by better understanding the complexity of the interaction between social, economic and political issues.

During the 1990's, most Hong Kong companies experienced extremely high Voluntary Turnover among middle managers. This thesis attempts to find the causes of such turnover through quantitative analysis and at the same time assess the state of Succession Planning implementation in 10 subsidiaries of US multinational companies as a potential remedy to such turnover. Lack of career advancement and promotion opportunities was found by employees to be the leading cause of voluntary turnover whereas employers believe basic salary and other remuneration components are the main causes. In 9 companies out of 10, Succession Planning is found to be short on basic success criteria such as formalization, buget, support from top management, I.T. support, integra- tion with strategic HR planning, accountability and continuous review process / thesis (PhDBusinessandManagement)--University of South Australia, 2003.