Some families in the Free State Province, specifically in Thabo-Mofutsanyana district, are families living with mentally ill family members. The families accompany the mentally ill family members to designated clinics which offer primary, secondary and tertiary mental health services, and all these levels of care provide care, treatment and rehabilitation of mentally ill persons (SA, 2002:2). Despite the care that these families give to their mentally ill family members, it seemed that they find it difficult to cope living with a mentally ill family member. This is supported by Zergaw, Hailemariam, Alem and Kebed (2008:191) who indicate the economic impact, disruption of daily life, work and family relationships experienced by families living with a mentally ill family member. This was also evident in a study by Du Plessis, Greeff and Koen (2004:4), that, because of a lack of a formal support system for families living with mentally ill family members, and lack of necessary skills to take on the responsibility of caring for mentally ill relatives, mentally ill family members relapse and are readmitted in the mental health care institutions. Adding to this, in most of the families living with mentally ill family members in the Thabo-Mofutsanyana district, it is not known how they cope and are supported. Once there is a clear understanding of how families experience living with mentally ill family members, health care practitioners can give better support to families living with mentally ill family members. The research objective of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of families living with a mentally ill family member in the Thabo-Mofutsanyana district, to explore and describe the strengths of families living with a mentally ill family member, and to formulate guidelines to support families living with mentally ill family members. A qualitative, phenomenological design was used which enabled the researcher to understand the way in which the families experience living with a mentally ill family member. The population studied in this research consisted of families living with mentally ill family members in the Thabo-Mofutsanyana district in South Africa. The purposive sampling was used to select participants with the assistance of a mediator. Permission to conduct research was negotiated with the district manager. Voluntary and informed consent in writing was obtained from all the participants. The sample size was determined by data saturation, which was reached after 14 interviews. Data analysis was carried out simultaneously with data collection. In consensus discussions, the researcher and the co-coder reached consensus on the main and sub themes. From the research findings, five main themes were identified. The first two themes are the positive and negative experiences of living with a mentally ill family member. The third theme is the concerns of family in staying with a mentally ill family member. The fourth theme is the strengths in coping with a mentally ill family member. The last theme is ways in which family members as families wanted to be supported. It could be concluded that the experience of families living with mentally ill family members in Thabo-Mofutsanyana district need to be supported. In order to address this support holistically and to enhance quality of life and to lessen the burden the families experience in living with a mentally ill family member, the support should firstly be addressed individually and then as a family. Following that, the collective support can be addressed by a support network system through involvement of the department of health, clinics, rehabilitation centres, community, mental health care workers, giving of medication and establishment support of groups of families living with mental health care users. From these findings the researcher proposed guidelines to support families living with mentally ill family members, and to increase knowledge in these families on how to handle a mentally ill family member. The researcher also compiled recommendations for nursing practice, nursing education and nursing research in families living with mental health care users. / Thesis (MCur)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Family businesses are rapidly becoming the dominant form of business enterprise in both developing and developed economies. Family businesses are also being recognised as a potential driver of economic growth and wealth creation in the world. Family businesses in particular, have been making a positive contribution towards the South African economy for the last 300 years. Approximately 80% of businesses in South Africa could be classified as family businesses and they comprise 60% of the companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Family business wellness, which often forms the underlying causes for a lack of family harmony, is, however, a neglected area of research. The primary objective of this study is to explore selected determinants of family business wellness in small and medium-sized family-owned businesses in South Africa and to make recommendations to ensure effective management of these determinants in the family business. Topics such as the characteristics of the job, work stress and burnout, job engagement, family member commitment, the perceived success of the family business, among others, was investigated. In order to achieve the primary objective of this study, a survey was undertaken using a structured questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined by calculating the Cronbach alpha coefficient, which indicated that the questionnaire used in this study conformed to the criteria of acceptable reliability and can be regarded as internally consistent. The survey yielded 45 usable questionnaires from 17 family businesses restricted to Gauteng and the North-West provinces in South Africa. Because this study was exploratory in nature, descriptive statistics was then used to analyse the statements that captured the information to measure the selected determinants of family wellness. The correlations between the variables were assessed using Pearson’s correlation coefficients and the relationships between the variables assessing family wellness were used for the discussion and conclusion points. Practical recommendations are suggested to improve family business wellness and, subsequently, increase the sustainability of such business. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Some families in the Free State Province, specifically in Thabo-Mofutsanyana district, are families living with mentally ill family members. The families accompany the mentally ill family members to designated clinics which offer primary, secondary and tertiary mental health services, and all these levels of care provide care, treatment and rehabilitation of mentally ill persons (SA, 2002:2). Despite the care that these families give to their mentally ill family members, it seemed that they find it difficult to cope living with a mentally ill family member. This is supported by Zergaw, Hailemariam, Alem and Kebed (2008:191) who indicate the economic impact, disruption of daily life, work and family relationships experienced by families living with a mentally ill family member. This was also evident in a study by Du Plessis, Greeff and Koen (2004:4), that, because of a lack of a formal support system for families living with mentally ill family members, and lack of necessary skills to take on the responsibility of caring for mentally ill relatives, mentally ill family members relapse and are readmitted in the mental health care institutions. Adding to this, in most of the families living with mentally ill family members in the Thabo-Mofutsanyana district, it is not known how they cope and are supported. Once there is a clear understanding of how families experience living with mentally ill family members, health care practitioners can give better support to families living with mentally ill family members. The research objective of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of families living with a mentally ill family member in the Thabo-Mofutsanyana district, to explore and describe the strengths of families living with a mentally ill family member, and to formulate guidelines to support families living with mentally ill family members. A qualitative, phenomenological design was used which enabled the researcher to understand the way in which the families experience living with a mentally ill family member. The population studied in this research consisted of families living with mentally ill family members in the Thabo-Mofutsanyana district in South Africa. The purposive sampling was used to select participants with the assistance of a mediator. Permission to conduct research was negotiated with the district manager. Voluntary and informed consent in writing was obtained from all the participants. The sample size was determined by data saturation, which was reached after 14 interviews. Data analysis was carried out simultaneously with data collection. In consensus discussions, the researcher and the co-coder reached consensus on the main and sub themes. From the research findings, five main themes were identified. The first two themes are the positive and negative experiences of living with a mentally ill family member. The third theme is the concerns of family in staying with a mentally ill family member. The fourth theme is the strengths in coping with a mentally ill family member. The last theme is ways in which family members as families wanted to be supported. It could be concluded that the experience of families living with mentally ill family members in Thabo-Mofutsanyana district need to be supported. In order to address this support holistically and to enhance quality of life and to lessen the burden the families experience in living with a mentally ill family member, the support should firstly be addressed individually and then as a family. Following that, the collective support can be addressed by a support network system through involvement of the department of health, clinics, rehabilitation centres, community, mental health care workers, giving of medication and establishment support of groups of families living with mental health care users. From these findings the researcher proposed guidelines to support families living with mentally ill family members, and to increase knowledge in these families on how to handle a mentally ill family member. The researcher also compiled recommendations for nursing practice, nursing education and nursing research in families living with mental health care users. / Thesis (MCur)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Family businesses are rapidly becoming the dominant form of business enterprise in both developing and developed economies. Family businesses are also being recognised as a potential driver of economic growth and wealth creation in the world. Family businesses in particular, have been making a positive contribution towards the South African economy for the last 300 years. Approximately 80% of businesses in South Africa could be classified as family businesses and they comprise 60% of the companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Family business wellness, which often forms the underlying causes for a lack of family harmony, is, however, a neglected area of research. The primary objective of this study is to explore selected determinants of family business wellness in small and medium-sized family-owned businesses in South Africa and to make recommendations to ensure effective management of these determinants in the family business. Topics such as the characteristics of the job, work stress and burnout, job engagement, family member commitment, the perceived success of the family business, among others, was investigated. In order to achieve the primary objective of this study, a survey was undertaken using a structured questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined by calculating the Cronbach alpha coefficient, which indicated that the questionnaire used in this study conformed to the criteria of acceptable reliability and can be regarded as internally consistent. The survey yielded 45 usable questionnaires from 17 family businesses restricted to Gauteng and the North-West provinces in South Africa. Because this study was exploratory in nature, descriptive statistics was then used to analyse the statements that captured the information to measure the selected determinants of family wellness. The correlations between the variables were assessed using Pearson’s correlation coefficients and the relationships between the variables assessing family wellness were used for the discussion and conclusion points. Practical recommendations are suggested to improve family business wellness and, subsequently, increase the sustainability of such business. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to facilitate an improved understanding by intensive care nurses about their care of family members of critically ill patients. The study aimed to challenge intensive care nurses to reconceptulaise family nursing within the context of the intensive care unit (ICU). Background to the study: Critical illness is not an event that occurs in isolation for the patient and staff. It affects the patient's family in a unique way. A plethora of literature exists identifying the needs of family members in the ICU. However, there are considerably fewer studies which have examined interventions to meet family members' needs and no identified research that discreetly examined the concept of family-focused nursing in the intensive care environment. Design of the study: This study utilised a collaborative action research methodology. It was developed in four phases through the cyclical, dynamic steps of action research. Setting: This study was undertaken in the general intensive care facility of a metropolitan tertiary referral hospital. Phase One: Phase One of the study was the establishment of a collaborative action research group (CARG) with interested registered nurses working in a general intensive care unit. The CARG explored the first two research questions of this study: 1) What are intensive care nurses' perceptions of family-focused nursing? and 2) Is familyfocused nursing appropriate in the intensive care environment? Data were collected through audio taping meetings, flip chart notes and the researcher's reflective diary. Data analysis was undertaken utilising open coding. For the first research question, open coding of the data revealed two categories relating to perceptions of family focused intensive care nursing: partnership in care and maintaining a balance. For the second research question, CARG members agreed unanimously that family focused nursing was appropriate in the intensive care environment. The CARG determined future direction of the action research phases, commencing with a family needs analysis in Phase Two. Phase Two: Phase Two of the study was the utilization of a descriptive survey to determine family member needs in the ICU to determine focuses for interventions during Phase Three. Both family members and staff in the ICU were surveyed utilising the Critical Care Family Needs Index (CCFNI) (Molter & Leske, 1983). Data were analysed by the CCFNI subcategories of assurance, proximity, information, comfort and support, comparing means, rank ordering of means and t-test for statistically significant differences in means between the family members and staff participants. Results indicated that statistically significant differences in means scores between family members and staff participants were in the CCFNI categories of assurance, proximity, information and support. On the basis of these results, a platform for Phase Three of this study arose. The areas for intervention for Phase Three were identified by the CARG as: the provision of staff education seminars to raise staff awareness of family needs and the development of a structured family assessment tool to identify family needs in the ICU. Phase Three: Phase Three of the study addressed research question three: &quotHow can intensive care nurses provide care that is focused toward the family of the critically ill patient?" Phase Three examined practice interventions in two areas. Phase Three Part A was the implementation of nursing staff education seminars. Forty-two nursing staff participated in the family needs education seminars. Data were collected by detailed researcher field notes and completion of a descriptive survey, the CCFNI, post seminar attendance. Thirty-five participants completed the CCFNI. This CCFNI data from nursing participants in the education seminars was compared to family members CCFNI data from Phase Two. Open coding of data from the education seminars revealed codes of family needs, visiting, family presence, encouragement, simple things and boundaries under the theme of &quotestablishing the context" and attitudes, confidence, empathy and culture under the theme of &quotbuilding a partnership". CCFNI results highlighted statistically significant differences in means scores between family members and staff participants were in the subcategories of proximity and support. Results demonstrated that through understanding family members needs that intensive care nurses can provide care that is focused toward the family of the critically ill patient. This is a building process to be achieved over time. Phase Three Part B was the content validity development of a family assessment tool for the Computer Information System (CIS) in the ICU. A family assessment tool (See Figure 6.1) was developed through the literature and in consultation with the CARG. A series of focus groups were organised. All nursing staff in the general ICU were invited to participate. Twenty-nine registered nurses (43.9%, n=66) participated in the family assessment tool focus groups. The five domains of the family assessment tool, family roles, family spokesperson, family perception and coping, family issues and family health needs, were each discussed to determine readability, clarity and applicability. The focus groups agreed on content validity of the family assessment tool. (See Figure 6.2). Phase Four: Finally, Phase Four of the study has addressed research question four: &quotIs action research an appropriate methodology to transform intensive care nursing practice?" Somekh's (1995) framework was utilised to guide this critical evaluation. It is suggested that action research is an appropriate methodology to transform intensive care nursing practice as it enables the development of professional, it is sensitive to the specific nature of intensive care nursing, it acknowledges of attributes of the researcher in the process. It is also an appropriate methodological choice as it provides opportunity for a critical evaluation and a platform for the ongoing nature of the action research journey. Conclusions: Overall the findings achieved the objectives of the study in that organisational, cultural and clinical practice changes were identified to facilitate family-focused intensive care nursing. Collaboration occurred with intensive care nurses to effect change. The action research process involved in the change process was articulated throughout the four phases of the study. An improved understanding by intensive care nurses about their family nursing practice was demonstrated in Phase Three and the efficacy of action research methodology for clinical practice change was demonstrated in Phase Four.

Bakgrund: Alzheimers sjukdom är den vanligaste demenssjukdomen. Anhöriga tar ofta ett stort ansvar över sin närstående med sjukdomen. Det är viktigt att sjuksköterskan uppmärksammar samt ger stöd och information till anhöriga för att möjliggöra en vardag med god livskvalitet. Syfte: Att beskriva anhörigas upplevelser av livet tillsammans med en närstående som har Alzheimers sjukdom. Metod: En litteraturöversikt innefattande 16 artiklar med kvalitativ design. Artiklarna analyserades genom induktiv analys vilket resulterade i två huvudkategorier och sju underkategorier. Resultat: Anhöriga upplevde en förändrad livssituation fylld av starka emotioner såsom sorg, skuld, skam, rädsla och oro. Även känslan av att vara isolerad och förlora sitt normala liv uttrycktes. Att ta ett vårdande ansvar för sin närstående innebar förändrade roller i relationen. Anhöriga utvecklade strategier i vardagen för att hantera tillvaron och uttryckte ett behov av stöd och kunskap. Slutsats: Ett samband kan ses mellan komponenterna begriplighet, hanterbarhet och meningsfullhet och anhörigas upplevelser av känsla av sammanhang. För att få en ökad förståelse för närståendes förändrade beteende behövs information och stöd. Vidare forskning kring information och stöd till anhöriga gällande Alzheimers sjukdom anses relevant. / Background: Alzheimer's disease is the most common dementia disease. Family members often take great responsibility over their close relatives with the disease. It's important for nurses to pay attention and provide support and information to family members in order to manage good quality of life. Objective: To describe family members experience of everyday life together with a close relative who has Alzheimer's disease. Methods: A literature review including 16 articles with a qualitative design. The articles were analysed by an inductive analysis, resulting in two main categories and seven subcategories. Results: Families experienced an altered life situation filled with strong emotions such as sadness, guilt, shame, fear and concern. Feelings of being isolated and losing their normal life was expressed. Taking a caring responsibility for their close relative involved changing roles in the relationship. Families developed strategies to handle everyday life and expressed a need for support and knowledge. Conclusions: A connection is seen between the components of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness, and relatives' perceptions of sense of coherence. To gain a better understanding of the changing behaviour of close relatives, information and support are needed. Further research about information and support to family members regarding Alzheimer's disease is relevant

Bakgrund: Generell anestesi och operation kan skapa oro för familjen. Förståelsen för familjens upplevelser under sitt barns anestesi är essentiell för att den anestesiologiska omvårdnaden skall kännas trygg för hela familjen. Barnet verkar känna oro över den okända miljön och osäkerheten den kan bidra till, trygghet för barnet verkar grunda sig i att ha familjemedlemmar närvarande. Familjemedlemmar har således sannolikt en stor inverkan på barns sjukvård och med rätt förutsättningar kan de skapa en trygghet i en annars otrygg och steril miljö, för barnet och för varandra. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva familjens upplevelser i samband med barns anestesi. Metod: Studien är en systematisk litteraturstudie med familjefokuserad omvårdnad (FFO) som teoretisk referensram. Analysen är gjord enligt Bettany-Saltikov och McSherrys metod. Tolv artiklar inkluderades efter kvalitetsgranskning. Resultat: Faktorer som delaktighet, information innan och under operation, väntetiden och anestesisjuksköterskans förmåga att anpassa miljön och informationen till familjen var starkt kopplade till upplevelsen av anestesi. Information om vad som ska hända, när och hur ter sig vara viktigt för en ökad trygghetskänsla för familjen. Slutsats: Studien gav ökad förståelse för familjens betydelse för varandra och familjens betydelse för den anestesiologiska omvårdnaden. En fördjupad insikt i eventuella förbättringsmöjligheter för att vården skall bli så bra som möjligt. Anestesisjuksköterskor bör se familjen som en självklar del i den anestesiologiska omvårdnaden. / Background: General anesthesia and surgery can create a concern for the family Understanding the family's experiences during their child's anesthesia is essential so that the anesthesiologic care feel safe for both the whole family. The child seems to worry about the unknown and the uncertainty it contributes to. The child’s sense of security often seems to be based on having members of the family present. Family members are therefore likely to have a major impact on children's healthcare and with the right conditions, the family can create a security in an otherwise unsafe and sterile environment. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to describe the family's experiences in connection with children's anesthesia. Method: The study is a systematic literature review with family-focused nursing (FFO) as a theoretical frame of reference. The analysis is done according to Bettany-Saltikov and McSherry's method. Twelve articles were included after quality appraisal. Result: Factors such as participation, information before and during surgery, the waiting time and the ability of the anesthesiologist to adapt the environment and information to the family were strongly linked to the experience of anesthesia. Information about what will happen, when and how seems important for an increased sense of security for the family. Conclusion: The study gave a deeper understanding of the importance of the family for each other and the importance of the family for the health care system. An in-depth insight into possible improvement opportunities to make the care as good as possible. The anesthetist should include the family as a natural part of anesthesiologic care.

Studies have indicated that relapse is noted as a major problem facing mental health services both nationally and internationally whereby family members caring for mental health care users experience a serious burden. Factors commonly associated with relapse include poor adherence to treatment, substance abuse, co-morbid psychiatric illness, a co-morbid medical and or surgical condition, stressful life events and the treatment setting. Relapse prevention strategies have been identified and they include, empowering people with mental illness to recognize early warning signs of relapse in order to develop appropriate response plans as well as communication and understanding between the mentally ill person, their family, and specialist mental health system and community support services. The researcher was prompted by the problem of relapse faced by mental health services to explore and describe the strengths of families in assisting mental health care users to limit relapse and to formulate guidelines for psychiatric nurses to empower family members caring for mental health care users to limit relapse. A phenomenological design was used in this study and a purposive sampling technique was used to select participants who met the selection criteria. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with 15 family members. All interviews were recorded with an audio recorder after participants gave consent. Data saturation was achieved after 13 participants were interviewed and further two interviews confirmed data saturation. Field notes were written immediately after each interview. Data analysis was done according to Tesch as quoted by Creswell (2007:187) and the researcher and co-analyzer reached consensus on the themes in a meeting. The findings of research resulted in four main categories namely, accepting the condition of a mentally ill family member, having faith in God, involving a mentally ill family member in daily activities and being aware of what aggravates the mentally ill family member. The conclusion that can be made is that “acceptance through education” assisted family members in developing a positive attitude and acceptance of their feelings as well as the condition of their mentally ill family members. A strong spiritual base provides family members with strength and hope in times of adversity and teaches them how to have healthy relationships within the family unit and with others. It is also evident that sharing activities, as the things that all members of the family do together, reinforce and strengthen their togetherness and that if family members can be aware of what aggravates mentally ill family members by communicating well with them, that can bring harmony in families and ultimately limit relapse. Recommendations in this research are made for nursing education, nursing research and psychiatric nursing practice with guidelines for psychiatric nurses to empower families caring for mentally ill family members to use their strengths and contribute to limiting relapse. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

由於當公司管理機制設計出了問題時，盈餘管理動機會較容易通過篩檢，甚至管理機制本身可能都會產生盈餘管理動機，並使得管理當局可能容易操縱公司決策或是報表數字，又從國內報章雜誌的報導，我們可以發現一些台灣管理機制上的亂象，如董監一家親、董事不懂事、監事不監視或是一個家族、機構投資包辦董事會席次的情況。 在此環境之下，為了維護股東權益、降低盈餘管理行為與促進證券市場的穩定發展，本研究擬針對三構面—與股東有關、與董監事有關、與經理人有關之管理機制，如：機構投資者持股比例、外部大股東持股比例、董事會規模大小、最大家族成員董事持股、監察人是否具獨立地位、董事長是否兼任總經理、經理人持股比例、總經理薪資總額等管理機制設計，探討其與盈餘管理程度之影響。 本研究為了達到學術與實務結合，採用會計師與會計經理之實地訪談與實證研究兩種方法，以兼具深度之訪談與廣度之實證研究，探討公司管理機制設計對盈餘管理程度之影響。 一、會計師與會計經理之訪談 本訪談目的係為了瞭解國內上市公司管理機制設計與操縱之情形，因此挑選對於實務運作有深入瞭解的執業會計師與上市公司會計經理，透過依研究問題所設計的各項訪談問題，最後依照所獲結論彙總形成研究假說。而訪談結果大部分的會計師與會計經理皆認為，有些公司的確會在股東部分、董監事部分與經理人部分的管理機制作刻意的安排，以使得其盈餘管理目的較易達成。 二、實證研究 透過以上訪談形成研究假說之後，本研究以上市公司為研究對象，蒐集民國84年至87年間盈餘管理程度與各管理機制之相關資料，進行複迴歸分析，經由會計師與資深會計經理之訪談與實證研究，本研究得出以下綜合性結論： (一)股東部分之管理機制： 1. 機構投資者持股比例：從訪談中得知，機構投資者持股對於公司盈餘管理程度有相當程度之影響，但由於其身份真假難以區分，因此較難確定其所發揮之角色，及其對盈餘管理程度之正負影響；在實證分析結果部分，此管理機制則未與盈餘管理程度成顯著關係。 2. 外部大股東持股比例：從訪談結果中得知，由於國內企業普遍存在董事席次安排的問題，因此外部大股東對於公司決策有一定程度之影響；但由於較難確定此管理機制所發揮之角色，因此較難確定其對盈餘管理程度之正負影響；在實證分析結果部分，此管理機制則未與盈餘管理程度成顯著關係。。 (二)董監事部分管理機制： 1. 董事會規模大小：從訪談結果中發現，若具有共通性的成員越多，可能越容易從事盈餘管理行為，且在實證分析部分，民國八十七年度樣本分析中發現，董事會規模大小與盈餘管理程度呈顯著正相關，即表示董事會規模越大，公司之盈餘管理程度越高。此實證分析結果與專家訪談所獲結論相符。 2. 最大家族成員董事持股比例：從訪談結果中發現，若最大家族在董事會中勢力越大，則對公司影響程度越大，而在實證分析部分，於民國八十七年度樣本分析中發現，最大家族成員董事持股比例與盈餘管理程度呈顯著正相關，表示最大家族成員董事持股比例越高，公司盈餘管理程度越高。此實證分析結果與專家訪談所獲結論相符。 3. 監察人身份是否獨立：從訪談中發現，若是機構監察人可能由於較容易操縱，不易維持獨立地位，因此較自然人監察人不易發揮監督功能，而在實證分析部分，則未與盈餘管理程度呈顯著關係。 (三)經理人部分管理機制： 1. 職務雙重性：從訪談中得知，若具有職務雙重性較不易執行相互報告與負責之制度，可能使得盈餘管理行為較易發生，但可能由於仍有其他董事會成員兼任經理人之情況未納入考慮，使得實證分析部分，未與盈餘管理程度呈顯著關係。 2. 經理人持股比例：從訪談中發現，有些產業偏好以股票招攬或鼓勵員工，因此對於經理人的激勵有相當大的誘因，但也可能因此產生盈餘管理的動機，但可能由於未能考慮不同持股來源之不同動機程度，使得在實證分析部分未能與盈餘管理程度呈顯著關係。 3. 總經理薪資總額部分： 從訪談結果中發現，總經理的薪資通常包括本薪與依照盈餘計算之紅利，因此可能由於未能詳細區分薪資內容之盈餘管理動機，使得在實證分析部分，未與盈餘管理程度成顯著關係。 目 錄 第一章 緒 論………………………………….............1 第一節 研究動機與目的…………………………………… 1 第二節 研究問題…………………………………………… 3 第三節 研究方法…………………………………………… 4 第四節 研究架構…………………………………………… 6 第二章 文獻探討…………………………………............8 第一節 盈餘管理相關文獻………………………………… 8 第二節 公司管理機制之相關文獻…………………..…….. 10 第三節 公司管理機制與盈餘管理相關文獻……………… 21 第四節 文獻彙總…………………………………………… 30 第五節 研究延伸…………………………………………… 38 第三章 資深會計經理與會計師之訪談………........ 43 第一節 訪談目的……………………………….…….……... 43 第二節 訪談問題之形成………………………….………… 43 第三節 訪談結果記錄…………………………….……….... 48 第四節 訪談內容比較與分析…………………….………… 58 第四章 研究方法論……………………………........ 61 第一節 觀念性架構………………………………...……….. 61 第二節 研究方法………………………………….…..…….. 62 第三節 研究假說…………………………………….…..….. 62 第四節 變數衡量………………………………………...….. 74 第五節 實證模式………………………………….……….... 81 第六節 研究期間與抽樣限制條件……………….………… 82 第七節 資料來源………………………………….………… 83 第八節 資料分析方法……………………………...……….. 84 第五章 實證研究結果…………………………... .........85 第一節 敘述性統計…………………………………….…… 85 第二節 複迴歸分析結果…………………………….…….... 86 第六章 結論與建議……………………….…….. .........93 第一節 研究結論………………………………………...….. 93 第二節 研究限制……………………………………………....96 第三節 建議及未來研究方向……………………….…….... 96 參考文獻………………………………............…………….99 表 次 表一、國外盈餘管理文獻彙總表………………………………. 31 表二、國內盈餘管理文獻彙總表………………………………. 31 表三、國外管理機制文獻彙總表—屬理論探討者……………. 32 表四、國外管理機制文獻彙總表—屬實證分析者……………. 32 表五、國內管理機制文獻彙總表………………………………. 34 表六、國外管理機制與盈餘管理相關性之文獻彙總表………. 35 表七、國內管理機制與盈餘管理相關性之文獻彙總表………. 36 表八、研究延伸彙總表…………………………………………. 42 表九、研究問題與訪談問題對照表……………………………. 44 表十、訪談問題形成之彙總表…………………………………. 45 表十一、問題一結論彙總表……………………………………. 49 表十二、問題二結論彙總表……………………………………. 50 表十三、問題三結論彙總表……………………………………. 52 表十四、問題四結論彙總表…………………………………… 53 表十五、問題五結論彙總表……………………………………. 54 表十六、問題六結論彙總表……………………………………. 55 表十七、問題七結論彙總表……………………………………. 56 表十八、問題八結論彙總表…………………………………… 56 表十九、問題九至十六結論彙總表……………………………. 57 表二十、會計師與會計經理訪談結果比較表…………………. 58 表二十一、變數衡量彙總表……………………………………. 80 表二十二、所有樣本之產業分布表……………………………. 82 表二十三、敘述統計分析表……………………………………. 85 表二十四、總樣本分析VIF值表……………………………… 86 表二十五、總樣本迴歸分析表…………………………………. 87 表二十六、各年度樣本獨立性假設分析表……………………. 90 表二十七、各年度樣本迴歸分析表……………………………. 90 表二十八、管理機制與盈餘管理程度之研究結果彙總表……. 94 圖 次 圖一、研究方法概念流程圖…………………………….……... 5 圖二、研究架構圖……………………………………….……... 7 圖三、訪談問題形成流程圖…………………………………… 44 圖四、股東部分管理機制與盈餘管理之觀念架構圖………... 61 圖五、董監事部分管理機制與盈餘管理之觀念架構圖……… 61 圖六、經理人部分管理機制與盈餘管理之觀念架構圖……… 62 附 錄 附錄一、國內外管理機制整理表…………………………….. 105 附錄二、統計結果彙總表……………………………….….… 110 附錄三、依照產業別估計裁決性應計項目之迴歸分析….…. 114 / If there are some deficiencies on corporate governance structure, the motivations of earnings management will pass through the corporate governance easier. The corporate governance will even create some motivations, and managers (might be owners also) will tend to manage the decisions or reported earnings. Hence, whether the corporate governance of public companies be designed and works well is the hottest topic in Taiwan, in order to assert stockholders’ rights, decrease the behaviors of earnings management, and improve the stock market develop steadily. This thesis combines interviews (with CPAs and accounting managers) and empirical study to investigate the relation between corporate governance and earnings management. 4. Interviews with CPAs and accounting managers: The main purpose of interviews is to understand how the corporate governance of public companies be designed and manipulated, so the interviews are made with CPAs and accounting managers who realize the true meanings of CG more profoundly. By the conclusions of the interviews, I can further ascertain the foundations of my assumptions and give the outcomes of empirical tests stringent explanations. In the conclusions of the interviews, most CPAs and accounting managers consider that the corporate governance in stockholders, members of board, and managers’ dimensions are indeed manipulated to achieve some purposes of earnings management in many public companies in Taiwan. 5. Empirical study: My study objects are the public companies in Taiwan Stock Trade. I collect financial and corporate governance data and run regression analysis. The comprehensive conclusions of interviews and empirical tests are as followed: 3. Stockholders’ dimension: (1) Institutional stockholders’ holdings: From the contents of interviews, I realize that institutional shareholders’ holdings have some impacts on earnings management, but the real roles of institutional shareholders are hard to clarify. As the result, it’s hard to predict the relation between institutional holdings and earnings management as positive or negative. In the empirical test, there is no significant relation between institutional holdings and the level of earnings management. (2) Outside big stockholders’ holdings: From the contents of interviews, I realize that most of big shareholders of some family company have been in the board of directors, and in the empirical test, there is no significant relation between outside big stockholders’ holdings and the level of earnings management. 4. Members of board’s dimension: (1) Size of board of directors: From the contents of interviews, I realize that the more the number of members of board with similar characteristics, the easier will they manage reported earnings. In the empirical test of 1998 samples, there is significant positive relation between size of board of directors and earnings management. It means that the bigger the board of directors, the higher the level of earnings management. (2) The holdings of the biggest family members of directors: From the contents of interviews, if the biggest family has more power in the board of directors, it influences the board of directors more. In the empirical test of 1998 samples, there is significant positive relation between the holdings of the biggest family members of directors and earnings management. It means that the higher the holdings of the biggest family members of board, the higher the level of earnings management. (3) Whether the supervisors have independent roles: From the contents of interviews, I realize that because of some regulations of supervisors, the institutional supervisors are manipulated easier than natural supervisors and hard to supervise the behavior of earnings management. But in the empirical test, there is no significant relation between supervisors’ independent role and the level of earnings management. 5. Managers’ dimension: (1) Duality (whether the chairman of board and CEO are the same): From the contents of interviews, I realize that if the chairman of board and CEO are the same, there might be deficiencies of reporting and mutual responsibility and higher level of earnings management. But in the empirical test, there is no significant relation between duality and earnings management. (2) Managers’ holding: From the contents of interviews, I realize that some companies of particular industries are preferred to give stocks to recruit or encourage employees, so the holdings of managers are very incentive. But in the empirical test, there is no significant relation between managers’ holdings and the level of earnings management. (3) CEO’ compensation: From the contents of interviews, the CEO’s compensation is often included fixed salary, bonus based on the earnings, so it might has some relation with the level of earnings management. But in the empirical test, there is no significant relation between CEO’s compensation and the level of earnings management.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and the spectrum of associated conditions, affect 2-4% of the population worldwide. Although heritability studies in OCD have shown a 3 - 12 times increased risk for first degree relatives, the identification of the underlying risk-conferring genetic variation using classic genetic association studies has proven to be difficult. The possibility of a larger contribution of rare genetic variants to the risk of psychiatric disorder has been suggested by several successful studies. We expect that a spectrum of risk allele frequencies exists, which includes not only common variation but also a substantial amount of rare genetic variants that contribute to OCD. This thesis is aimed at identifying and functionally characterizing rare genetic variation in the OCD spectrum. Identified statistically significant variants were scrutinized for changes related to synaptic function using high content screening and subsequent functional analyses. Identifying the genetic profile of rare variants found in the OCD spectrum cohort combined with the functional impact that these variants have has provided insight into the etiology of the OCD spectrum. With these approaches a foundation can be laid for the development of a predictive model of the OCD spectrum.