This paper explores the use of the social networking site, Facebook, by the GenerationX cohort (those born 1966-1980 inclusive) currently living in the United Kingdom(identified as a somewhat under-studied group to date). Utilising a ‘Uses &Gratifications Theory’ and ‘(Media) Dependency Theory’ approach and the quantitativeempirical data collection method of an extensive online ‘self-fill’ questionnaire, a totalof 233 individuals from this cohort voluntarily provided the sought-after information,with data collected during early September 2018. An expanded version of Denis McQuail, Jay G. Blumler and J.R. Brown’s 1972 mediagratifications groups/descriptors is proposed and used for this paper’s analysis of results(see section 6.2.4) while a new single media term,‘online collaborative network’, isrecommended by the author as an alternative to current myriad of ‘social media’,‘social networking [site]’ and ‘collaborative media’ all used for the likes of Facebook(see section 9.2.2). Key project results suggest that the UK Generation X cohort spend an average of 75minutes per day using Facebook; that the most-utilised access method is via a mobilephone (89.7%); that the top two ‘uses’ of the social network are both passive ones(‘Scrolling through the homepage News Feed’ and ‘Spending time viewingPhotos/Videos uploaded by others’) and that the top three gratifications obtained fromFacebook use are ‘Contact with Friends’, ‘Contact with Family’ and (to) ‘Pass Time’. Additionally, results provide an interesting and potentially shocking overview ofexclusive dependency upon Facebook for the satisfaction of particular media needs,including the maintenance of contact with certain friends (87.6%) and certain familymembers (61.4%) and, worryingly, as an only source of news (15%).

No description available.

Latin America is a region that has deep roots in Spanish colonialism. Since its independence, many countries in the region have heavily depended on agriculture exports to industrialized states to support their economies. This has led to political theorists to label Latin America as an area full of "periphery" countries that are exploited for resources by "core countries. Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua were not the exception. In recent years, however, a noticeable difference between the economies of the countries has helped Costa Rica and Panama become more successful than Nicaragua, on the basis of GDP, GNI, and other similar measures. This thesis attempts to explain this economic difference by analyzing what type of relationship the three countries have had with the United States (which has acted as a regional hegemon) and analyzing how each country has handled economic dependence on agriculture. Through this comparative case study, the thesis tries to add to development and dependency theory literature.

No description available.

Underdevelopment has plagued Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), since independence the post-colonial African states have experienced extreme poverty, unemployment, and other economic ailments that have persisted in the region. The aim of this thesis is to critique the null hypothesis of dependency theorists that it is structural factors that cause underdevelopment instead this study proposes an alternative hypothesis through Neo-Classical Realism to explain that it is in fact state-level actors and domestic issues that are the true culprit of causing the dependent variable. The methodological approach is a single embedded case-study with an explaining-outcome process-tracing. The thesis found that the cause of the underdevelopment in Nigeria is firmly rooted in the domestic sphere and that it delves much deeper than the main factors; resource dependence, lax institutions, prebendalism, and Sino-Nigerian relations, but it is the socio-political culture that has produced the norms which the elites operate on and possibly contributing to the exasperation of the negative aspects of the main factors that have perpetuated and sustained underdevelopment in Nigeria and SSA.

Familjeföretag står inför nya utmaningar i en föränderlig värld, vilket ökar kompetensbehovet inom  styrelsen. Tidigare forskning visar att tillsättandet av externa ledamöter kan tillgodose detta behov, men det råder oklarhet kring vilka specifika kompetenser som prioriteras. Studien syftar till att undersöka hur familjeföretag värderar och rekryterar externa styrelseledamöter, med fokus på professionella och personliga egenskaper. Studien utgår främst från resursberoendeteorin och baseras på sex kvalitativa intervjuer med ägare i familjeföretag samt experter inom området. Resultatet indikerar att familjeföretagen värdesätter integritet, engagemang och mjuka värden, vilket bidrar till att nya perspektiv tas upp i styrelserummet. Därtill diskuteras vikten av tydliga kravspecifikationer samt valet av rekryteringsmetod. Studien fastslår att åldersmångfald, generell kompetens och erfarenhet i kombination med integritet och engagemang prioriteras, vilket betonar vikten av ett tydligt samspel mellan de professionella och personliga egenskaperna. / Family businesses face new challenges in a dynamic environment, which increases the need for skills on the board. Previous research shows that the appointment of outside directors can meet this need, but it is unclear which specific competencies are prioritized. This study aims to investigate how family firms value and recruit outside directors, focusing on professional and personal characteristics. The study is mainly based on the Resource Dependency Theory and has involved six qualitative interviews with family business owners and experts in the field. The results indicate that family businesses value integrity, commitment and soft values, which contribute to new perspectives being brought into the boardroom. The importance of clear specifications and the choice of recruitment method are also discussed. The study states that age diversity, general competence and experience combined with integrity and commitment are prioritized, which emphasizes the importance of a clear interplay between the professional and personal characteristics.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

(English) This work deals with dependency theory n conceptions of its two main exponents Andre Gunder Frank and Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Metodologically is it based on a basic hypothesis of sociology of knowledge that human thought (both everyday knowledge and abstract theories) is fundamentally determined by its social and historical context. It follows necessity combine a historical and sociological approach. At first, the work concentrates on historical and theoretical conditions of emergence of dependency theory (especially modernization theory, Marxism and structuralism). A core of the work is focused on writings of Frank and Cardoso, their intelectual trajectory, metodology of analysis, concept of dependency and its political implications. Hereupon follows a sketch of political influence of dependency theory in a form of Frank's activity as an advisor of Salvador Allende and particularly of Brasil at a time of Cardoso's presidency and a survey of a vast and wide-ranging critics of dependency theory. Final part of the work is comprised by a sketch of contemporary position of dependency theory, its influence and actual relevance.

No fim dos anos 1970, dois choques externos o segundo salto nos preços do petróleo e o reajuste na taxa básica de juros norte-americana marcam o início de tendências econômicas divergentes entre o Leste da Ásia e a América Latina. Para os prósperos tigres, a próxima década seria uma janela para o chamado catching up, culminando com a promoção simbólica de seu prodígio, a Coréia do Sul, ao status de país desenvolvido quando da realização dos Jogos Olímpicos em Seul. Na América Latina, inversamente, os anos 1980 são geralmente apelidados de Década Perdida, inaugurando uma era de regressão econômica e instabilidade política. A Argentina, provavelmente a menos dinâmica dentre as economias que então se industrializavam, é geralmente evocada como um desastre que tipifica a sina regional. A vasta maioria das investigações acerca desta divergência se concentra nas políticas econômicas domésticas e em seus resultados objetivos. Não obstante, tais políticas foram formuladas e aplicadas sob uma combinação de circunstâncias internacionais e políticas que podem variar consideravelmente de país para país ao longo do tempo. O objetivo deste texto é examinar em que medida algumas das particularidades destes dois casos naquilo que concerne ao processo político interno e à evolução da economia internacional moldaram a reação de cada qual ao cenário adverso. / At the end of the 1970s, a couple of external shocks namely, the second leap in petroleum prices and the readjust of American basic interest rate mark the beginning of divergent economic trends for East Asia and Latin America. For the prosperous tigers, the following decade would be a time for catching up, culminating with the symbolic promotion of its prodigy, South Korea, to the rank of a developed country by the time of Seouls Summer Olympics. In Latin America, inversely, the 1980s are generally nicknamed the Lost Decade, inaugurating an era of economic regression and political instability. Argentina, probably the worlds less dynamic industrializing economy at that time, is usually evoked as a disaster that typifies the regional fate. The vast majority of the investigations about this diversion concentrate on domestic economic policies and their objective results. Nonetheless, such policies were formulated and launched under a combination of international and political circumstances that can vary considerably from country to country and along the course of time. The aim of this text is to examine to what extent have some of these two cases particularities in what concerns to the domestic politic process and the evolution of international economy molded each national reaction to the adverse scenario.

Europe is less dynamic than other areas in the world. The European Union will lose its position as the largest economic region, with the share in world output decreasing to less than 15% in 2050. This article designs a strategy based on which Europe can increase its internal dynamics, connect with its dynamic neighborhood and stabilize its eastern and southern regions. These regions are currently searching for development paths different from those in the US and China. The envisaged strategy learns from past errors, counteracts "my country first calls", balances uneven trade and investment pacts, and prevents land and resource grabbing. A new partnership strategy with neighbors in Eurasia, the Middle East and Africa will enable Europe to overcome its growth fatigue. It could help to reshape globalization and convert the current "ring of fire" into a "ring of friends". Then, together with its neighbors, Europe could still be an important economic region in 2050, on par with China and larger than the US plus its neighbors.