The system changed after the Cold War and the bipolar structure ended and left the USA as the only superpower. The question of the 21st century what is the current structure and how the emerging powers are becoming more important and how it can change the structure and rise their dominance in the multipolar world. The analyzed actors Brazil, China and Russia through their strategies are offering the possible system changes and configurations for the near future from the realist/neorealist perspective.

The purpose of this study was to explore a phenomenon known as pexing that is prevalent in South Africa‟s Black youth. The study aimed to explore the nature of pexing in relation to other conspicuous consumption behaviours and understand the drivers for this behaviour. The study interviewed a sample of 10 participants. Findings of the study indicated that pexing is similar to conspicuous consumption but also has aspects that are distinct to it and the researcher proposes a framework and term (destructive conspicuous consumption) for this noted consumption activity. The study also shows that although different to anti-consumption pexing has some anti-consumption behaviours. The study also identifies antecedents that lead to the noted behaviour and these range from a low income environment to adult modelling. Relationships and links between antecedents; coping strategies and the resultant consumption activity (Pexing) was demonstrated. The research then concludes by making recommendation to both government and marketers in light of the findings of this research. The research also highlights some socio-economic considerations of pexing and also suggests other variables to be researched that are key to further understanding of pexing. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The discussion about the corporate sustainability issues getting more importance in recent days. The stock markets around the world also are affected with this subject of discussion. Investors as well as the companies theirselves are considering sustainability concepts during taking their investment decision strategies. Many index providers launched different ’Sustainable stock’ indices around the world to recognise these new investment decision choices. But do the investors actually care about the sustainability during their investment choices? The purpose of the study was to explore the answer of this unsolved question. Towards achieving the goal the study has been conducted to explore the relationships between the announcement of the ’Dow Jones sustainability Index Emerging Markets’ and the market reactions. Though there were some efforts, which were done to understand the patterns of the relationships between these two variables in developed markets, but no such study has been conducted in case of emerging markets. An event study was conducted to find out the answer of the research question. Five years panel data from 2015 to 2019 of the listed companies on the ’Dow Jones sustainability Index Emerging Markets’ were considered as the study sample to analyse the market reactions for the announcement of this index of this study period. The findings of the study did not recieve any significant influences of the announcement of inclusion, exclusion and continuation events on the stock market return at that study period. That means the investors in the emerging markets did not care about the sustainable performance of the listed companies during their investment decisions. But this study provide a deep insight about the future trend of sustainable investment, as the announcement events had some non-significant influences on the return trend. The results of the study indicate that investors are getting aware of the corporate sustainable performances day by day. Hopefully these insights give us the opportunity to anticipate that the investors will consider the sustainability issues more in their investment decision making process in the future.

Summaries in English, Afrikaans and Zulu / This study explored the determinants of foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in emerging markets, using panel data analysis. In all three models, main data analysis using the dynamic generalized methods of moments (GMM) approach showed that FPI was positively and significantly by its own lag. This result confirms the view in the literature (Barrell and Pain. 1999; Wheeler and Mody. 1992; Saini. 2000), which argues that existing foreign investors attract other foreign investors as a result of the positive spillovers that they generate. Financial development also had a positive and a significant effect on FPI in all the three models under the fixed effects, random effects and the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS). Moreover, a significant positive relationship running from financial development towards FPI was also detected in model 1 under the pooled OLS method. The findings resonate with those of Bartels et al. (2009), whose study observed that financial markets improve international mobility of capital through their ability to make use of timely, cheaper and efficient to prospective foreign investors. Model 2 produced results that showed that the impact of financial development on FPI was significantly negative under the pooled OLS approach, in line with Gordon and Gupta’s (2004) findings. Trade openness positively affected FPI in a significant manner under the FMOLS, random and fixed effects in all the three models. Similar results were observed in model 1 and 3 under the pooled OLS approach. These results agree with Dobbs et al (2013) that openness to trade addresses any obstacles that might hinder the movement of international capital from one country to another. The complementarity between openness to trade and financial development had a significant negative impact on FPI in all the three models under the random effects, fixed effects and FMOLS. This result is similar to Al-Smadi’s (2018) finding that foreign investors can easily sell off their investments if financial markets are developed and liquid, especially in the presence of high levels of trade openness that facilitates the movement of capital across country borders (Dobbs et al. 2013). In contrast, model 2 under the pooled OLS showed that the combination between financial development and trade openness had a positive significant effect on FPI. This finding agrees with literature which notes that both trade openness and financial development separately and individually enhance FPI. The expectation therefore is that the combination of trade openness and financial development in a particular single country leads to greater FPI inflows. In model 1, the FMOLS, random and fixed effects showed that exchange rates had a significant positive impact on FPI, something that was found in all three models under the pooled OLS approach. This finding supports Haider et al.’s (2016) argument. Models 1, 2 and 3 showed a significant positive relationship running from economic growth to FPI under the fixed effects, FMOLS and pooled OLS econometric estimation techniques. Similar results were observed in models 1 and 2 under the random effects approach. The finding echoes Al-Smadi’s (2018) argument on the relationship between economic growth and FPI. In contrast, the dynamic GMM method showed that economic growth had a negative significant impact on FPI, supporting Leong and Wickramanayake’s (2004) argument that in the presence of high levels of economic growth, local investors prefer to buy back domestic securities from foreign investors, triggering a deleterious effect of FPI inflows. In model 1, the impact of savings on FPI was found to be significantly negative under the fixed effects, random effects, pooled OLS and FMOLS approaches. Similar results were found in model 2 under the random effects and the pooled OLS. These findings contradict the available literature (Masood and Mohsin. 2002; Abdelhafidh. 2013; Ferreira and Laux. 2009) but are similar to those of Al-Smadi (2018), who argues that higher levels of inflation wipe out the value of not only return on capital but also of the original capital invested. Inflation had a significant negative effect on FPI in models 1 and 2 under the pooled OLS approach. Human capital development had a significant positive influence on FPI in models 1 and 2 under the pooled OLS and the dynamic GMM approaches. This result supports Dunning’s (1988) argument that locational advantages exert a significant influence on foreign direct investment or any form of foreign investment. Human capital development was found to be a locational advantage for foreign investment in this case, as Tsaurai (2017a) found. / In hierdie studie is die bepalers van buitelandse portefeuljebelegging (BPB) in ontluikende markte aan die hand van ʼn paneeldataontleding verken. In al drie die modelle het ʼn hoofdataontleding volgens die benadering van dinamiese, veralgemeende metodes van momente (VMM) aangetoon dat sy eie vertraging BPB positief en opmerklik beïnvloed. Hierdie uitslag onderskryf die bevindings in die literatuuroorsig (Barrell & Pain 1999; Wheeler & Mody 1992; Saini 2000). Hiervolgens word aangevoer dat bestaande buitelandse beleggers ander buitelandse beleggers deur hulle positiewe surplusse aanlok. Ook finansiële ontwikkeling het in al drie die modelle onder die benadering van vaste en ewekansige effekte en volgewysigde gewone kleinste kwadrate (VGGKK) ʼn positiewe en opmerklike effek op BPB gehad. Daarby is ʼn opmerklik positiewe verband, wat van finansiële ontwikkeling tot BPB strek, onder die saamgevoegde gewone kleinstekwadrate- oftewel GKK-metode in model 1 bespeur. Hierdie bevinding staaf dié van Bartels et al (2009) dat finansiële markte die internasionale mobiliteit van kapitaal verbeter deurdat hulle tydig goedkoper en doeltreffende inligting aan voornemende buitelandse beleggers verstrek. Die uitslag van model 2, dat die uitwerking van finansiële ontwikkeling op BPB onder die saamgevoegde GKK-benadering opmerklik negatief is, strook met die bevindings van Gordon en Gupta (2004). Oop handel het BPB onder die VGGKK, ewekansige en vaste effekte in al drie die modelle op ʼn opmerklike wyse positief geaffekteer. Soortgelyke uitslae is in model 1 en 3 onder die saamgevoegde GKK-benadering waargeneem. Hierdie uitslae stem ooreen met dié van Dobbs et al (2013), naamlik dat oop handel baie hindernisse uit weg ruim wat die beweging van internasionale kapitaal van een land na ʼn ander belemmer. Die komplementariteit tussen oop handel en finansiële ontwikkeling het ʼn opmerklik negatiewe uitwerking op BPB in al die modelle onder die benadering van ewekansige effekte, vaste effekte en VGGKK gehad. Hierdie uitslag klop met Al-Smadi (2018) se bevinding dat buitelandse beleggers hulle beleggings maklik van die hand kan sit as finansiële markte ontwikkeld en likied is, en in die besonder as handel in hoë mate oop is en kapitaal met gemak oor landsgrense heen kan beweeg (Dobbs et al 2013). In teenstelling hiermee het model 2 onder die saamgevoegde GKK getoon dat die kombinasie van finansiële ontwikkeling en oop handel ʼn opmerklik positiewe effek op BPB het. Hierdie bevinding stem ooreen met dié in die literatuur dat oop handel en finansiële ontwikkeling gesamentlik en afsonderlik BPB aanwakker. Dienooreenkomstig word verwag dat oop handel en finansiële ontwikkeling groter BPB na in ʼn land sal laat vloei. Die VGGKK en ewekansige en vaste effekte het in model 1 getoon dat wisselkoerse ʼn opmerklik positiewe uitwerking op BPB gehad het. Dit het trouens in al drie die modelle onder die saamgevoegde GKK-benadering voorgekom. Hierdie bevinding beaam Haider et al (2016) se argument. Model 1, 2 en 3 het ʼn opmerklik positiewe verband, wat van ekonomiese groei tot BPB strek, onder die vaste effekte, VGGKK en saamgevoegde GKK ekonometriese ramingstegnieke aangedui. Soortgelyke uitslae is in model 1 en 2 onder die benadering van ewekansige effekte waargeneem. Hierdie bevinding sluit aan by Al Smadi (2018) se argument oor die verband tussen ekonomiese groei en BPB. Hierteenoor het die dinamiese GMM-metode getoon dat ekonomiese groei ʼn negatiewe, opmerklike uitwerking op BPB gehad het. Dit staaf Leong en Wickramanayake (2004) se argument dat plaaslike beleggers verkies om binnelandse sekuriteite by buitelandse beleggers terug te koop as ʼn hoë mate van ekonomiese groei aanwesig is, en dat dit ʼn nadelige effek op die invloei van BPB het. In model 1 was die uitwerking van spaargeld op BPB opmerklik negatief onder die benadering van vaste effekte, ewekansige effekte, saamgevoegde GKK en VGGKK. Soortgelyke resultate het in model 2 voorgekom onder die ewekansige effekte en die saamgevoegde GKK. Ofskoon hierdie bevindings strydig met dié in die beskikbare literatuur is (Masood & Mohsin 2002; Abdelhafidh 2013; Ferreira & Laux 2009), strook dit met dié van Al-Smadi (2018) wat beweer dat hoë inflasie nie alleen die opbrengs op kapitaal nie, maar ook die oorspronklike kapitaal uitwis. Inflasie het ʼn opmerklik negatiewe effek op BPB in model 1 en 2 onder die saamgevoegde GKK- en dinamiese VMMbenadering gehad. Die ontwikkeling van menslike kapitaal het ʼn beduidend positiewe invloed op BPB gehad in model 1 en 2 onder die saamgevoegde VKK- en die dinamiese VMM-benadering. Hierdie uitslag beaam Dunning (1988) se argument dat landsgebonde voordele ʼn beduidende invloed op direkte buitelandse belegging of enige ander vorm van buitelandse belegging uitoefen. Tsaurai (2017a) het bevind dat die ontwikkeling van menslike kapitaal in hierdie geval ʼn landsgebonde voordeel vir buitelandse belegging inhou. / Lolu cwaningo luye lwaphenya izizathu zokutshalwa kwezimali emazweni angaphandle, phecelezi (foreign portfolio investment (FPI) ezimakethe ezisafufusayo, ngokusebenzisa uhlelo lokuhlaziywa kwedatha, phecelezii-panel data analysis. Kuwo onke amamodeli omathathu, kuhlelo lokuhlaziywa kwedatha esemqoka, ngokusebenzisa izindlela eziguquguqukayo zezikhathi ezahlukene (GMM) , lokhu kuye kwakhombisa ukuthi i-FPI yathola umthelela omuhle futhi okungumthelela wayo wokushiywa yisikhathi. Lo mphumela uqinisekisa ulwazi olutholakele olumayelana nokubuyekezwa kombhalo wobuciko (Barrell & Pain 1999; Wheeler & Mody 1992; Saini 2000), okuwumbhalo okhuluma ngokuthi abatshalizimali bangaphandle abakhona baheha abanye abatshalizimali bangaphandle okuyinto edalwa yizinzuzo ezinhle ezingumphumela wokutshalwa kwezimali. Ukuthuthukiswa kwezinhlelo zezimali nakho kube nomthelela omuhle nobalulekile kwi-FPI, kuwo wonke amamodeli amathathu, angaphansi kwesimo semiphumela enqunyelwe isikhathi, angaphansi kwemiphumela yazo zonke izinhlelo eziguqulwe ngokugcwele phecelezi fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) . Ngaphezu kwalokho, ubudlelwano obuhle obusemqoka, obuqala ekuthuthukisweni kwezinhlelo zezimali ukuya kuhlelo lwe-FPI, nabo lobudlelwano buye babonakala kumodeli 1, ngaphansi kohlelo lwe pooled OLS method. Ulwazi olutholakele lufana nalolo lukaBartels et al. (2009), lapho ucwaningo lwakhe lwathola ukuthi izimakethe zezimali zithuthukisa ukuthunyelwa kwezimali emhlabeni ngekhono lokusebenzisa ulwazi lwalo ngesikhathi, ngentengo ephansi futhi ulwazi olufanele, lolu lwazi luthunyelwa kubatshalizimali bangaphandle abathembisayo. Imodeli 2 ikhiqize iveze imiphumela ethi umthelela wokuthuthukiswa kwezinhlelo zezimali ohlelweni lweFPI luye lwabonakala lulubi kakhulu ngaphansi kohlelo lwepooled OLS approach, lokhu kuhambisana nolwazi olutholwe nguGordon kanye noGupta (2004). Uhlelo lwezokuhwebelana oluvulekile luye lwaba nomthelela omuhle ohlelweni lweFPI, ngendlela esemqoka kakhulu, ngaphansi kohlelo lweFMOLS, ngaphansi kohlelo lwemiphumela enqunyelwe isikhathi nohlelo olunganqunyelwanga isikhathi, kuwo wonke amamodeli amathathu. Imiphumela efana naleyo yatholakala kumodeli 1 neye 3, ngaphansi kohlelo lwepooled OLS approach. Le miphumela ihambisana naleyo kaDobbs et al. (2013), yona ngile elandelayo; uhlelo oluvulekile lokuhwebelana luyisisombululo sanoma yiziphi izihibe ezingaphazamisa ukuthunyelwa kwezimali emhlabeni ukusuka kwelinye izwe ukuya kwelinye. Ukusebenzisana phakathi kohlelo lokuhweba oluvulekile kanye nohlelo lwezokuthuthukiswa kwezinhlelo zezimali kuye kwaba nomthelela ongemuhle kwiFPI, kuwo wonke amamodeli omathathu, ngaphansi kwemiphumela enganqunyelwanga isikhathi, imiphumela enqunyelwe isikhathi kanye nakwihlelo lweFMOLS. Lo mphumela ufana nalowo ka-Al-Smadi’s (2018) othi abatshalizimali bangaphandle bangatshala kalula izimali zabo uma izimakethe zezimali zithuthukile futhi zinemali elingene, ikakhulukazi uma kukhona amazing aphezulu wohlelo oluvulekile lokuhwebelana, okungamazinga ahola uhlelo lwezokuthunyelwa kwezimali ngaphesheya kwemingcele yamazwe (Dobbs et al. 2013). Okuphikisana nalokhu, imodeli 2, ngaphansi kohlelo lwepooled OLS, luye lwakhombisa ukuthi ukuhlanganiswa kohlelo lwezokuthuthukiswa kwezinhlelo zezimali kanye nohlelo oluvulekile lwezokuhwebelana kuye kwaba nomthelela omuhle kakhulu kwiFPI. Lolu lwazi olutholakele luvumelana nombhalo wobuciko, wona oshoyo ukuthi zombili lezi zinhlelo uhlelo oluvulekile kwezohwebo kanye nokuthuthukiswa kwezinhlelo zezimali, ezehlukene kanye nalezo ezizimele ngayinye, ziqinisa uhlelo lweFPI. Ngalokho, okulindelwe, ukuthi umbimbi oluxuba uhlelo oluvulekile lwezokuhwebelana kanye nezinhlelo zokuthuthukiswa kwezimali, ngandlelathize,, ezweni elilodwa, ziholela izinga eliphezulu lokungena kweFPI. Kumodeli 1, uhlelo lweFMOLS, imiphumela enganqunyelwe naleyo enqunyelwe isikhathi iye yabonisa ukuthi amazinga okushintshelana ngezimali abe nmothelela omuhle kakhulu kwiFPI; okuyinto etholakele kuwo wonke amamodeli omathathu angaphansi kohlelo lwe pooled OLS. Lolu lwazi olutholakele luxhasa umbono kaHaider et al’s (2016. Amamodeli Models 1, 2 kanye neye 3 ziye zakhombisa ubudlelwano obuhle kakhulu obuqala ekuthuthukisweni kwezomnotho ngokohlelo lwe FPI, ngaphansi kwesimo semiphumela enqunyelwe isikhathi, ngaphansi kohlelo lwe FMOLS kanye nasohlelweni lwe pooled OLS okuyindlela esetshenziswa ukulinganisa izinga lokuhluma komnotho. Imiphumela efana nayo le iye yatholakala kumodeli 1 kanye nakumodeli 2, ngaphansi kwemiphumela enganqunyelwe sikhathi. Ulwazi olutholakele luveza imibono ka-Al-Smadi (2018) mayelana nobudlelwano obuphakathi kokuhluma komnotho kanye nohlelo lwe FPI. Okuphikisana nalokho, indlela eguquguqukayo iGMM iye yakhombisa ukuthi ukuhluma komnotho kuye kwaba nomthelela omubi kakhulu kwi FPI, uxhasa umbono ka Leong kanye no Wickramanayake (2004) othi, uma kunamazinga aphakeme okukhula komnotho, abatshalizimali basekhaya bathanda ukuthenga amasheya amabhizinisi asekhaya kubatshalizimali bangaphandle, lokho kuba nomthelela omubi kakhulu ekungeneni kwe FPI. Kumodelil 1, umthintela wokongiwa kwezimali ohlelweni lwe FPI watholakala ukuthi ube nomthelela omubi kakhulu, ngaphansi kwesimo semiphumela enqunyelwe isikhathi, kwemiphumela enganqunyelwanga isikhathi, ohlelweni lwe pooled OLS kanye nasezinhlelweni ze FMOLS. Imiphumela efana nayo le iye yatholakala kumodeli 2, ngaphansi kwemiphumela enganqunyelwe kanye naleyo enqunyelwe isikhathi kanye nasohlelweni lwe pooled OLS. Lolu lwazi olutholakele luphikisana nolwazi lombhalo wobuciko okhona (Masood & Mohsin 2002; Abdelhafidh 2013; Ferreira & Laux 2009), kanti futhi le miphumela ifana naleyo ka-Al-Smadi (2018), yena oshoyo ukuthi amazinga aphezulu amandla emali akaqedi kuphela inzuzo yokutshalwa kwezimali, kodwa aqeda nemali yokuqala etshaliwe. Amandla email aye aba nomthelela omubi kakhulu kwi FPI, kumodeli 1 kanye nnakumodeli 2, ngaphansi kohlelo lwe pooled OLS. Ukuthuthukiswa kwamagugu ayikhono nezingqondo zabasebenzi aye aba nomthelela omuhle ohlelweni lwe FPI, kumamodeli 1 kanye nakumodeli 2, ngaphansi mkohlelo lwe pooled OLS kanye nezindlela eziguquguqukayo ze GMM. Lo mphumela uxhasa umbono kaDunning (1988) othi izinzuzo zendawo ziba nomthelela omuhle kakhulu ohlelweni oluqondile lwezokutshalwa kwezimali emazweni angaphandle noma ngiluphi uhlelo lwezokutshalwa kwezimali emazweni angaphandle. Ukuthuthukiswa kwamagugu angamakhono kanye nemibono yabasebenzi kuye kwatholakala kuyinzuzo yendawo ekutshalweni kwezimali emazweni angaphandle kulesi simo, njengoba lokhu kuye kwatholakala kuTsaurai (2017a). / Business Management / M. Com. (Management Studies)

La veille en santé animale, notamment la détection précoce de l'émergence d'agents pathogènes exotiques et émergents à l'échelle mondiale, est l'un des moyens de lutte contre l'introduction de ces agents pathogènes en France.Récemment, il y a eu une réelle prise de conscience par les autorités sanitaires de l'utilité de l'information non-structurée concernant les maladies infectieuses publiée sur le Web.C'est dans ce contexte que nous proposons un outil de veille basé sur une méthode de fouille de textes pour la détection, collecte, catégorisation et extraction de l'information sanitaire à partir des donnés textuelles non structurées (articles médias) publiées sur le Web.Notre méthode est générique. Toutefois, pour l'élaborer, nous l'appliquons à cinq maladies animales infectieuses exotiques : la peste porcine africaine, la fièvre aphteuse, la fièvre catarrhale ovine, la maladie du virus Schmallenberg et l'influenza aviaire.Nous démontrons que des techniques de fouille de textes, complétées par les connaissances d'experts du domaine, sont la fondation d'une veille sanitaire du Web à la fois efficace et réactive pour détecter des émergences de maladies exotiques au niveau international.Notre outil sera utilisé par le dispositif de veille sanitaire internationale en France, et facilitera la détection précoce de signaux de dangers sanitaires émergents dans les articles médias du Web. / Monitoring animal health worldwide, especially the early detection of outbreaks of emerging and exotic pathogens, is one of the means of preventing the introduction of infectious diseases in France.Recently, there is an increasing awareness among health authorities for the use of unstructured information published on the Web for epidemic intelligence purposes.In this manuscript we present a semi-automatic text mining approach, which detects, collects, classifies and extracts information from non-structured textual data available in the media reports on the Web. Our approach is generic; however, it was elaborated using five exotic animal infectious diseases: african swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease, bluetongue, Schmallenberg, and avian influenza.We show that the text mining techniques, supplemented by the knowledge of domain experts, are the foundation of an efficient and reactive system for monitoring animal health emergence on the Web.Our tool will be used by the French epidemic intelligence team for international monitoring of animal health, and will facilitate the early detection of events related to emerging health hazards identified from media reports on the Web.

In recent years, new classes of aquatic pollutants have received growing concerns from the environmentalists due to their unclear effects and increasing release into the water environment. Generally, before entering the aquatic ecosystem, many of these emerging contaminants are deemed safe active ingredients in the commercial products. This may lead to the underestimation of their potential impacts to the environment, once these substances were drained into the natural waters. So far, a wide range of emerging contaminants are still not well studied. In this thesis work, the environmental behaviors for two typical groups of emerging contaminants, which are frequently used in personal care products, are systematically probed in the aquatic ecosystem. One is the hydrophilic compounds - artificial sweeteners and the other one is the moderate hydrophobic compounds - ultraviolet (UV) filters. Acesulfame and sucralose are two of the most commonly used artificial sweeteners, which are a newly recognized class of emerging contaminants due to their widespread occurrence and extreme persistence in water environment. To date, however, their environmental behaviors, fates as well as long term ecotoxicological contributions in our water resources still remain largely unknown. In this work, a photodegradation investigation with UV/TiO2 was performed on these two artificial sweeteners, which projected their potential impacts under prolonged exposure to intensive solar irradiation. Real-time observation of the degradation profiles in both sweeteners illustrated that formation of new photo by-products under prolonged UV irradiation is highly viable. For the first time, acute toxicity for the degradates of these two sweeteners were measured and the enhancement in their ecotoxicity has been observed during the irradiation. In an attempt to neutralize this prolonged environmental threat, the feasibility of UV/TiO2 as an effective mineralization process in wastewater treatment was evaluated for both sweeteners. As a result, relatively higher removal efficiencies for acesulfame and sucralose were achieved in this study. For UV filters, a comprehensive investigation on their environmental behaviors and impacts was described in this thesis, covering the occurrence study in surface water and biota, environmental fate and their ecological risks. In the first step, an analytical method based on ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was developed for the simultaneous determination of twelve UV filters in the environmental waters, which achieved good sensitivity to sub-ng/L levels. To monitoring their occurrence in local marine environment, the regional distribution of these sunscreen compounds was monitored along the coastline of Hong Kong. At the same time, considering the intensive consumption of sunscreen products in hot weathers, seasonal variation of UV filters between summer and winter was taken into consideration in our occurrence study. Additionally, we also monitored their occurrence in the drinking water supply system of Hong Kong, including the source water in Dongjiang, raw water in local reservoirs and tap water collected from urban communities, to support a good management on the reliable water supply. Furthermore, the distribution results indicated that the incomplete removal of UV filters in the effluents could be a major source for their release into the environmental waters. Aiming to achieve the complete removal of such compounds, a powerful technique of ozonation was employed in this study and the preliminary operational conditions were further provided. Secondly, in order to gain a better understanding of their environmental fate in surface water, a simulative catalytic photodegradation study with UV/TiO2 were performed to investigate the photostability, phototoxicity and the transformation pathways of seven selected UV filters. During the photodegradation, several transformation products were primarily identified. Thirdly, since lipophilic sunscreens were easily accumulated in the biota, we also made efforts to monitor their occurrence in marine organisms of different species, including farmed fish, wild mussels, prawns and sea urchin, which were collected from local offshore areas. Last but not the least, according to the measured concentrations of UV filters in Hong Kong marine environment, we further performed the ecological risk assessment with the approach specific to the marine aquatic compartment, so as to provide the overall understanding on the environmental impacts of these UV filters.

Previous research has found that family socialization influences financial giving behaviors and that financial giving predicts personal wellbeing. However, little research since the early 1980s has explored this phenomenon, and virtually none of the research has been qualitative in nature. As part of the Whats and Hows of Family Financial $ocialization project, this study employs a diverse, multi-site, multigenerational sample (N = 115) to qualitatively explore the following research question: how do children learn about financial giving from their parents? In other words, how is financial giving transmitted across generations? From interviews of emerging adults and their parents and grandparents, three core themes emerged: "Charitable Donations," "Acts of Kindness," and "Investments in Family." Various topics, processes, methods, and meanings involved in this socialization are presented, along with implications and potential directions for future research.

Abstract  Background: Emerging economies, with all their positives and negatives, needs different actors to come together and play their part in order to achieve the economic growth. The concept of growth is inseparably linked to public and private sector, where a MC is formed with a distinctive fusion of private and political actors. However, the governance strategies for MCs in EE are quite different to governance mechanisms in developed economies, including the digital governance. Having said that, every digital implementation process, in the end, will be effected, not only by the political actors but also by the individual managers, CEO and boards, that are part of the governance mechanism. Purpose:      The purpose of this paper is to explore how governance mechanisms are shaped by different factors in a MC of EE, which eventually either impede of enable the process of implementation of digital strategies. Method: To get in-depth understanding of the research phenomenon, an exploratory design, qualitative study was carried out. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather empirical data, which included 3 directors and 3 board members from two different MCs of Pakistan. The respondents were chosen through non-probability sampling method. An abductive research approach facilitated in determining a deeper understanding between gathered empirical insights and  available literature on governance mechanisms of MC. Conclusion:  As a result, some internal and external factors were identified that shaped the governance mechanism of a MC. The internal factor included, political affiliations, accountability and digital awareness of individuals. While external factors included political interference, corruption, and digital readiness of public to adapt to digital strategies. More the disablers in the process, poorer the digital strategy implementation process which resulted in poorer and fewer digital services provided to the public of that MC.

Characteristics of national cultures have frequently been claimed to influence service quality perception and customer satisfaction. This inquiry investigates this claim by analysing a multinational company’s call centre servicing two markets across national borders. Hypotheses are derived which relate the cultural and customer characteristics of age, gender and socio-economic status to customer satisfaction and perceived service quality within each country.Using multiple regression and CHAID models as well as Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests, the hypotheses are tested by analysing call centre service feedback data on 245 customers in the South African and 201 customers in the British market. Empirical support for the effect of national culture on perceived service quality and customer satisfaction is found.Empirical proof that females report higher levels of satisfaction than males is found while the importance customers place on service quality constructs are proven to vary by age and gender. A call centre management model integrating culture and customer characteristics, which provides a richer perspective of the mechanics of value creation, is suggested. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Les années récentes ont témoigné un manque de dynamisme des marchés boursiers qui a poussé un nombre croissant d'investisseurs à se tourner vers les marchés privés, notamment le private equity. Ce manuscrit aborde des thématiques qui caractérisent les mutations que connait le private equity aujourd'hui: une recherche de liquidité relative, une quête de rendements supérieurs dans de nouveaux marchés et une stabilité des ressources humaines qui restent un vecteur de communication important lors des levées de fonds auprès des investisseurs.Le premier essai de cette thèse examine l'impact de l'introduction en bourse des véhicules de private equity sur leurs performances et montre que cette recherche de liquidité induit une diminution significative des performances réalisées. Le deuxième essai traite de la performance du private equity dans les marchés émergents et montre que la réussite de ces investissements est liée à la distance géographique et à la proximité culturelle entre les firmes de private equity et les entreprises financées.Enfin, le dernier essai de cette thèse examine l'importance du capital humain pour les firmes de private equity et montre que la mobilité des managers détériore les performances réalisées. / Recent years have witnessed a lack of momentum in equity markets that has driven a growing number of investors to turn to private markets, including private equity.This manuscript addresses research questions that characterize the changes that private equity is experiencing today: a search for relative liquidity, a quest for superior returns in new markets, and a stability in human capital, which remains an important vector of communication during fundraising.The first dissertation of this thesis examines the impact of the public listing of private equity vehicles on their performance and shows that exposure to liquidity induces significantly lower realized performances.The second dissertation examines the performance of private equity in emerging markets and shows that the success of these investments is related to the geographic distance and the cultural proximity between private equity firms and the investee companies.Finally, the last dissertation of this thesis examines the importance of human capital for private equity firms and shows that manager mobility deteriorates performance.