Recent years have seen a significant increase in growth of the Asian luxury market, of which China has clearly come to make up the new major market. As the strategic considerations for international companies differ between countries, an individual approach needs to be adopted to customize operations. With this master’s thesis, the author aims to map out the key current challenges for international luxury fashion companies in China. Through in-depth interviews with industry experts, the study identifies and analyzes a set of thirteen challenges, and finds unique issues within each of the challenges investigated. While further research is needed to further validate the findings of the study, its results points towards a broad spectrum of challenges and considerations, thus purposedly acting as a springboard for future research.

The main purpose of this Master Thesis has been to evaluate whether active fund management is profitable on Emerging Markets. The material used to examine this consists of 106 actively managed funds, with varying length during the period 1988-2006 and who uses MSCI Emerging Markets (MSCI EM) as benchmark index. The thesis has been written under the supervision of the Asset Management Department of Länsförsäkringar AB (LFAB) and the Department of Production Economics, Linköping Institute of Technology. Apart from the main purpose, the methodology used is also meant to form a template for in-depth or similar studies, preferably by the assigner of this survey, LFAB. The results shows that the median manager underperforms the MSCI EM throughout the whole period, which leads to the conclusion is that active management on Emerging Markets is not profitable. A grouping of the funds based on tracking error still shows that a majority of the managers in all of the groups underperforms against the benchmark. All in all, the relationship between tracking error and the profit of the fund is not significant and managers in groups with higher level of tracking error, most likely, does not outperform the rest of the managers. The material has also been divided into subperiods to assess overall market conditions influence on manager’s performance. The results are principally equivalent with the ones obtained for the period as a whole; however, a slight tendency of better performance in times of stationary rates compared to rising ones is observed. All results are based on NAV-rates of the fund and by the implicit assumption that passive management is free of charge. Naturally the results for the fund managers are improved if a cost of buying the index is considered. However, the median manager is still most likely to be underperforming against the MSCI EM, even when such a cost is taken into account. In every grouping of mangers there are, despite the negative performance of the median manager, still a number (15 - 25 %, depending on the level of tracking error and time period) that outperforms MSCI EM. The mangers performance is therefore studied under the hypothesis that it is the same mangers every year that beats the index. The results indicate persistence on a general level, that it mainly originates from the top rank of mangers and also that this persistence has strengthened during the last few years. This is an interesting result, especially from an investor’s point of view, and also the most remarkable positive result of this thesis. Further studies should therefore be carried out, primarily to examine the practical usefulness of this result. / Det huvudsakliga syftet med detta examensarbete har varit att utreda om aktiv fondförvaltning kan anses vara lönsamt på emerging markets. Materialet som behandlats består av 106 aktivt förvaltade fonder med varierande längd under perioden 1988 – 2006, som alla kan anses ha MSCI EM som jämförelseindex. Studien har utförts på uppdrag av kapitalförvaltningen på Länsförsäkringar AB och är även tänkt att kunna fungera som metodbeskrivning för fördjupade eller liknande framtida studier. Handledning under arbetets gång har, förutom från företaget, även erhållits från Institutionen för produktionsekonomi vid Linköpings tekniska högskola. Då resultatet visar att medianförvaltaren underpresterar gentemot jämförelseindex MSCI EM är slutsatsen att aktiv förvaltning inte är lönsam på emerging markets. Även när förvaltarna grupperas efter aktivt risktagande har majoriteten av förvaltarna inom samtliga grupper en negativ överavkastning. Totalt sett är sambandet mellan aktiv risk och överavkastning mycket svagt, och medianförvaltaren i gruppen som tar högst aktiv risk klarar sig heller inte bättre än övriga grupper. För att undersöka marknadsklimatets påverkan på förvaltarnas prestationer har även delperioder studerats. Resultatet blir i stort sett likvärdigt med det för hela perioden, men vi noterar dock en tendens till att förvaltarna underpresterar mindre i en fas med stillastående kurser jämfört med en expansionsfas. Samtliga resultat har utvärderats utifrån NAV- kurser för fonderna och det implicita antagandet att indexförvaltning kan erhållas kostnadsfritt. Påförs en kostnad även för den passiva förvaltningen blir resultatet för medianförvaltaren något bättre, men fortfarande underpresterar medianförvaltaren i samtliga grupper. Inom varje gruppering av aktivt risktagande existerar ett antal förvaltare (mellan 15 och 25 % av totala antalet, beroende på graden av aktivt risktagande) som överpresterar gentemot index. Skulle det vara samma förvaltare som slår index varje år tyder det på att kategorin som helhet kan vara mer attraktiv än vad resultatet för medianförvaltarna visar. Resultaten från undersökningarna visar på en viss förekomst av persistens i materialet på en generell nivå. Denna persistens verkar framförallt härstamma från de högst rankade förvaltarna och verkar dessutom ha stärkts under senare år. Detta är ett mycket intressant resultat från en placerares synvinkel och är samtidigt det mest intressanta positiva resultatet från denna studie. Vidare studier bör dock företas inom området, framförallt för att utreda den praktiska tillämpbarheten av resultaten.

<p>Traditionally seen as a time for increasing independence and autonomy, the college experience is often the first major, long-term physical separation from parents (Chickering, 1969; Chickering & Reisser, 1993). For previous generations, living away from home provided conditions for autonomy development partially based on infrequent contact with parents. In contrast, the rapid evolution of communication technology in the recent past allows today's generation of college students to connect to their parents instantly and frequently through a variety of electronic means including cellular phone calls, text messages, emails, video chats, and social media. The current study used self-report data from 180 residential college students at a mid-sized private institution in the southeastern United States to explore parent-child communication patterns as they relate to parenting styles and the development of emotional autonomy and adjustment to college. Emotional autonomy was measured with items from the Emotional Autonomy Scale (EAS; Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986). Following Beyers, Goossens, Van Calster, & Duriez (2005), a separation scale (derived from the EAS subscales of parental deidealization, nondependence on parents, and individuation) was used as a measure of emotional autonomy. Two scales from the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (Baker & Siryk, 1989) measured students' academic and social adjustment to college.</p><p>Results indicated that, in a given week, students reported an average contact frequency (with both parents combined) of 10.92 cell phone calls, 49.88 text messages, and 6.04 email exchanges. Contact was initiated by students and parents at roughly the same rates, and females had more contact with parents than males, in general. Facebook was more popular than Twitter and Instagram for connecting with parents through social media, and the majority of students felt either neutral or positive about being "Facebook friends" with their parents. Overall, students reported high satisfaction with both the frequency and the quality of communication with their parents. Greater levels of parental closeness significantly predicted higher satisfaction with the parent-child Facebook friendship. </p><p>The relationships between the traditional parenting styles of permissive, authoritative, and authoritarian parenting (Baumrind, 1991) were investigated in relation to communication patterns, autonomy, and adjustment. Helicopter parenting was also included as a predictor variable, though it is considered separate from the traditional parenting styles (Padilla-Walker & Nelson, 2012). Results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that parents' higher scores on authoritarian parenting and helicopter parenting predicted more frequent cell phone contact with parents. Parental closeness also emerged as a significant, positive predictor of frequency of cell phone and total communication. Students who talked on their cell phones more frequently overall (not including parental contacts) tended to talk to their parents more often on the phone, and the same went for texting, as well. </p><p>Helicopter parenting also predicted lower emotional autonomy, which was in line with the only previous study of helicopter parenting in emerging adulthood (Padilla-Walker & Nelson, 2012). Surprisingly, authoritative and permissive parenting significantly predicted lower emotional autonomy, while authoritarian parenting was related to greater autonomy. Analyses investigating frequency of cell phone contact with parents as a moderator of this relationship indicated that more frequent phone conversations predicted decreased autonomy when parents were more authoritative. High levels of authoritarian parenting, on the other hand, resulted in higher levels of autonomy regardless of how often students talked on the phone with parents, while high contact with less authoritarian parents predicted decreased autonomy. Frequency of cell phone contact with parents was unrelated to academic and social adjustment to college. Findings are discussed in light of previous research and situated within a framework proposing that technological advances in communication have contributed to lengthening the path to adulthood.</p> / Dissertation

This paper explores the relationship between presidential elections and sovereign credit default swap (CDS) returns, as well as, equity returns in the Latin American countries, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico. In particular, this paper tests whether or not presidential elections, which potentially represent political uncertainty and risk, affect sovereign CDS returns. I also analyze stock returns during the elections of each country to establish benchmarks that I compare to the CDS returns. Specifically, I evaluate the movement of CDS and equity adjusted returns (i.e. returns measured as deviations from average returns) over 7 presidential elections from 2005 to 2011. The baseline panel regression did not find statistical significance in the dummy election coefficients, but did find significance in the equity intercept coefficient at the 10 percent level. This result suggests that, on average, adjusted equity returns were higher during election periods than adjusted equity returns outside of election periods. I discuss the implications of these results later in the paper.

Recent research has proposed a new stage in human development, termed emerging adulthood by Jeffrey Arnett, which is characterized by a prolonged journey to adult roles and responsibilities. This thesis explores the experience of Chinese emerging adults, university students aged 20-25 years using Erikson’s and Levinson’s developmental theories as a theoretical framework. These authors proposed that three major developmental tasks are necessary for the transition to adulthood: separating from family of origin, forming an adult identity and finding the place for the self in the larger society. Qualitative interviews were conducted virtually with 12 Chinese university students to understand their perceptions and lived experience. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview transcripts. The results suggest Chinese emerging adults (a) have a low level of separation from parents; (b) have not formed a clear sense of identity and have not achieved a self-definition in adulthood; and (c) have not made initial commitments to love and work. It is speculated that the Chinese sociocultural context may further postpone its young adults’ independence and autonomy, and this prolonged transition to adulthood is both positive and problematic to Chinese young adults. This study lends support to Arnett’s emerging adulthood theory through its exploration of emerging adulthood in China, where, to date, little research has been done on this subject. It provides rich descriptions of the experience of Chinese emerging adults’ lives and enhances understandings of the role of culture in influencing the emerging adulthood period.

Research has shown that social pressure is related to treatment motivation and plays an important role in treatment engagement in adults with problematic substance use. Despite the shifts in autonomy and decision-making in emerging adulthood, the factors affecting treatment motivation (e.g., readiness to comply with treatment) and motivation to change (e.g., problem recognition and taking steps towards change) during this period have been largely ignored. In this study, 134 youth presenting to an outpatient substance abuse program completed questionnaires investigating substance use history, mental health, social pressure to reduce use and enter treatment, and motivation. Results indicated that peer pressure accounted for significant variance in internal positive and internal negative treatment motivation. Family pressure was related only to external treatment motivation. Neither social network source had a significant impact on motivation to change. Limitations, directions for future research and treatment implications are discussed.

This study explored the experiences of young adult members of a Ukrainian Catholic community in Western Canada using the concept of sense of community as a conceptual framework. Psychological sense of community refers to a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members needs will be met through their commitment to be together (p. 9, McMillan & Chavis, 1986). Sense of community has been studied primarily at the level of the individual, rather than the group or community. This research used focus groups to move beyond the level of the individual to examine the sense of community shared by Ukrainian Catholic young adults. A total of 22 young adults participated in six focus groups. Qualitative analysis of focus group transcripts using Ethnograph 5.07 (Robbins & Seidel, 1998) revealed that belonging, familiarity with community members, and trust that the community would support them, were three core aspects of the sense of community shared by these young adults. Three supportive aspects that increased sense of community also emerged from this study: participation in church services and community events, similarity in members beliefs, values, interests and goals, and a strong sense of ones ethnic and religious heritage and traditions. These findings argue for the inclusion of participation as a dimension of sense of community rather than a correlate. Challenges to all of these aspects tended to decrease young adults sense of community. Lack of shared beliefs, feelings of intimidation in a new parish and hypocrisy in the actions of other community members were especially damaging to young adults sense of community. Based on this information, four areas of need were identified for the Ukrainian Catholic young adult population and suggestions were made to help strengthen their sense of community. The use of focus groups allowed for the emergence of a description of sense of community that was reflective of the ethnic, religious and developmental characteristics of the population under study. Future research should employ methodologies that are sensitive to the context-dependent nature of this construct.

A narrative qualitative research approach was used to understand the role that spiritual journeys had on the lives of emerging adults. Participants were four emerging adults (2 female, 2 male) ranging in age from 20 to 29 years. All participants were of middle class social economic status and lived in a mid-size Canadian prairie city. Three of the participants were Caucasian and the fourth was of Spanish-Caucasian ancestry. Semi-structured interviews provided the opportunity for the participants to share their stories regarding the role that their spiritual journey played in their life. Data were analyzed for themes within and across the participants stories. A visual representation of their collective journeys was created along with four-part poetic representations of each participants individual story. The stories that the participants shared revealed that emerging adults spiritual journeys were cyclical in that the journeys began with feelings of discontent, which led them to seek spiritual resources and experiences to address the unhappiness in their lives. In acquiring new knowledge, the participants were faced with different theories, ideas and experiences that brought forth additional questions. These new areas of thought led these individuals to search for further answers and meaning, bring forth new questions, new meaning, and in turn, the process became a cycle. The cycle that began with their initial discontent continued because of a desire for further knowledge.<p> Findings are discussed in terms of the current literature on spirituality in emerging adulthood and spirituality in relation to meaning making; implications are discussed for counselors, educators, and researchers and recommendations are made for future research.

This study explored the experiences of young adult members of a Ukrainian Catholic community in Western Canada using the concept of sense of community as a conceptual framework. Psychological sense of community refers to a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members needs will be met through their commitment to be together (p. 9, McMillan & Chavis, 1986). Sense of community has been studied primarily at the level of the individual, rather than the group or community. This research used focus groups to move beyond the level of the individual to examine the sense of community shared by Ukrainian Catholic young adults. A total of 22 young adults participated in six focus groups. Qualitative analysis of focus group transcripts using Ethnograph 5.07 (Robbins & Seidel, 1998) revealed that belonging, familiarity with community members, and trust that the community would support them, were three core aspects of the sense of community shared by these young adults. Three supportive aspects that increased sense of community also emerged from this study: participation in church services and community events, similarity in members beliefs, values, interests and goals, and a strong sense of ones ethnic and religious heritage and traditions. These findings argue for the inclusion of participation as a dimension of sense of community rather than a correlate. Challenges to all of these aspects tended to decrease young adults sense of community. Lack of shared beliefs, feelings of intimidation in a new parish and hypocrisy in the actions of other community members were especially damaging to young adults sense of community. Based on this information, four areas of need were identified for the Ukrainian Catholic young adult population and suggestions were made to help strengthen their sense of community. The use of focus groups allowed for the emergence of a description of sense of community that was reflective of the ethnic, religious and developmental characteristics of the population under study. Future research should employ methodologies that are sensitive to the context-dependent nature of this construct.

This thesis analyzes the bank-specific, industry-specific and macroeconomic determinants of bank profitability (ROA) in 31 OECD Countries between 2000 and 2009 using a panel data. Each country