No / This paper examines how risk-taking is affected by non-compliance with a ‘comply or explain’ based system of corporate governance. Using System Generalized Methods of Moments (GMM) estimates to control for various types of endogeneity, the results of this study show that non-compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code is positively associated with total, systematic, and idiosyncratic risk. However, profitability moderates the impact of non-compliance on firms' risk-taking. The findings of this study further reveal that the impact of non-compliance with various provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code is not uniform. That is, non-compliance with board independence provisions is associated with higher risk-taking. However, non-compliance with committees' chair independence is associated with lower risk-taking. These findings have implications for investors, policy makers, and corporations regarding the usefulness of compliance with a prescribed code of corporate governance.

published_or_final_version / Psychiatry / Master / Master of Philosophy

The influences of family relationship variables on motivations for adolescent sexual risk-taking were investigated. Previous research has linked these variables to adolescent sexual behavior, however, the nature of these links has not been specifically examined. Family variables were operationalized as child attachment to mother, parental support of each other, parental conflict strategies, and parental monitoring. Emotional motivations were operationalized as attachment and affiliation needs. The sample consisted of 40 single females ages 18 to22 recruited from a local pregnancy care center. Predictions that parent-child relationship and parental influence would predict emotional motivations for sexual risk-taking were not supported. The variable most highly related to sexual risk-taking, though not included in the model tested, was father's destructive conflict strategies. Theoretical and methodological issues are discussed.

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2012 / This study examined the relationship between parental monitoring and parent-adolescent communication, respectively, and sexual risk-taking behaviours. Participants consisted of 197 grade 11 and 12 learners at Bankuna High School and D. Z. J. Mthebule Secondary School in the Greater Tzaneen Municipality. The learners’ ages ranged from 15 years to 25 years. Sexual risk-taking behaviours was determined by assessing adolescents’ use of condoms, and drugs or alcohol, prior to sexual intercourse. The results indicated a statistically significant relationship between parental monitoring and the adolescents’ sexual risk-taking behaviours. However, no association was found between parent-adolescent communication and sexual risk-taking behaviours. Furthermore, the results showed that gender, socio-economic status, family structure and functioning did not play any significant role in the relationship between parental monitoring and parent-adolescent communication respectively, and sexual risk-taking behaviours.

No description available.

Thesis (Dr. P.H.)--University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-11, Section: B, page: 7288. Adviser: Michael W. Ross. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-61).

[pt] Nesta tese, utilizo uma perspectiva teórica que integra as teorias tradicionais de finanças às teorias de empreendedorismo e criatividade para investigar o comportamento das empresas ao longo de dois famosos enigmas financeiros: a alavancagem zero e a sensibilidade do investimento ao fluxo de caixa. Particularmente, eu exploro e desenvolvo dois construtos — rule-taking e risk-taking — que existem na interface entre governança corporativa e tomada de decisão gerencial sob incerteza, e que têm uma influência significativa nas decisões de estrutura de capital e de investimento. O rule-taking é um novo construto que reflete o grau em que um gestor é passível de controle externo, intervenção ou tem seu poder decisório restrito. O risk-taking, embora não seja um novo construto, é reexaminado através de uma lente teórica mais abrangente, que engloba as ideias da teoria da criatividade e os conceitos de incerteza knightiana e do estar alerta kirzneriano. Assim, tais construtos servem como o nexo para investigar os famosos enigmas financeiros, indo além das vertentes financeiras tradicionais (e.g., a teoria do trade-off; Modigliani e Miller, 1958) e das vertentes gerenciais tradicionais (e.g., a teoria da agência; Jensen e Meckling, 1976) para analisar as relações negligenciadas entre governança corporativa e a intrepidez do gestor em ambientes competitivos, complexos e incertos. A tese é composta por três artigos autônomos, além de uma introdução comum e uma discussão geral. O primeiro artigo é um ensaio teórico no qual eu problematizo o paradigma dominante da governança corporativa (teoria da agência) e desenvolvo o embasamento teórico para os construtos de rule-taking e risk-taking. O segundo e o terceiro artigo são estudos empíricos que investigam se esses construtos podem ajudar a explicar, respectivamente, o enigma das empresas com alavancagem zero, e a sensibilidade do investimento ao fluxo de caixa. Os resultados em grande parte corroboram as hipóteses. Assim, este trabalho expande a discussão sobre temas tradicionais relacionados a finanças corporativas e governança corporativa, reunindo perspectivas sub-representadas na literatura financeira, decorrentes de diferentes áreas de pesquisa, como empreendedorismo e criatividade, e demonstrando que elas podem acrescentar ideias novas e úteis para pesquisa e prática. Finalmente, esta tese também é uma resposta a chamados recentes para a utilização de abordagens mais integrativas e multidisciplinares com o fim de melhor analisar o comportamento da empresa. / [en] In this dissertation, I utilize a theoretical perspective that integrates traditional finance theories with the entrepreneurship and creativity theories to investigate the behavior of firms along two conspicuous financial puzzles: the zero-leverage puzzle and the sensitivity of investment to cash flows. Particularly, I explore and develop two constructs—rule-taking and risk-taking—that exist at the interface of corporate governance and managerial decision-making under uncertainty and which are hypothesized to have a significant bearing on capital structure and investment decisions. Rule-taking is a novel construct that reflects the degree to which a manager is liable to external control, intervention or have their discretionary power constrained. Risk-taking, although not a novel construct, is re-examined through a more comprehensive theoretical lens that encompasses the insights from creativity theory and the concepts of Knightian uncertainty and Kirznerian alertness. These constructs, then, serve as the nexus to investigate the financial puzzles going beyond both traditional finance strands (e.g., the trade-off theory; Modigliani and Miller, 1958) and traditional managerial strands (e.g., agency theory; Jensen and Meckling, 1976) to analyze overlooked relationships between corporate governance and managerial intrepidness in competitive, complex and uncertain environments. The dissertation is composed of three stand-alone papers, with a unified introduction and a general discussion. The first paper is a theoretical essay in which I problematize the dominant paradigm of corporate governance (agency theory) and develop the theoretical background for the constructs of risk-taking and rule-taking. The second and third papers are empirical studies that investigate whether these constructs can help explain the puzzles of zero-leverage firms and investment-cash flow sensitivity, respectively. The results mainly support the hypotheses. This work, then, expands the discussion on traditional themes related to corporate finance and corporate governance by bringing together underrepresented perspectives in the finance literature, stemming from different areas of research, such as the entrepreneurship and creativity literature strands, and demonstrating that they can add novel and useful insights for research and policy. Finally, this dissertation also answers recent calls for the utilization of more integrative and multidisciplinary approaches to further analyze firm behavior.

Fall från höga höjder ombord på fartyg inträffar trots att säkerhetsutrustning används. Syftet med detta arbetet var att ta reda på vilka faktorer som påverkar säkerheten på höga höjder ombord på fartyg. Studien genomfördes med hjälp av intervjuer av ombordanställda däcksbefäl och matroser, fackförening samt inspektörer. Slutsatserna var att de faktorer som påverkar fallolyckor grovt kan sorteras in i användning av säkerhetsutrustning, attityder till säkerhetsutrustning, lämplighet hos personal, regelverk och utbildning. Det framkom att det är möjligt att säkerhetsutrustningen inte används i alla de fall då den har rapporterats ha använts samt, att om den använts, inte nödvändigtvis använts på rätt sätt. Det visade sig också vara viktigt att befälen föregår med gott exempel och sätter en tydlig standard för att skapa en miljö ombord där säkerhetsutrustning används samt används på rätt sätt. / Falling from heights on ships occurs even though safety equipment is used. The intent of this study was to find out what factors affect the safety on heights onboard ships. The study was conducted by interviews with ship’s officers, able seamen, a professional union and inspectors. The conclusion showed that there are some factors affecting the accidents where someone falls from a height onboard. The factors were usage, attitudes to the safety equipment, suitability, regulations and education. The findings indicated that safety equipment might not always have been used as reported, and that if it was used it might not have been used correctly. It appeared that it is important for the officers onboard to lead by example and to set an evident standard onboard to create an environment where safety equipment is used and used in a correct way.

The following thesis presents the results of a mixed-design study (quasi-experimental and true experimental) testing an integrated model of human risk-taking behavior, defined statistically as a preference for variance in outcomes. The research presented examines the relationships among early-life environmental conditions (i.e., harshness and unpredictability), life-history strategy, and risk-taking behavior for primary resources under various "resource-budget" conditions consisting of deprivation and non-deprivation in two areas: (1) Social-inclusion and (2) caloric "Energy-budget." Two hundred and forty seven (N=247) university students participated in the research. In session one, participants completed multiple questionnaires assessing levels of environmental harshness and unpredictability experienced during development and individual life-history strategy. In session two, participants were pseudo-randomly assigned to experience laboratory induced deprivation or non-deprivation in one of two possible areas: Social-inclusion or caloric "Energy-budget." Following the experimental manipulations, participants played two different behavioral risk-taking tasks: (1) The Wheel Spin Risk Task which required participants to select between a low variance "safe" wheel and a high variance "risky" wheel in an attempt to earn either points or food rewards (depending upon study condition). (2) The Operant Risk Taking Task which required participants to select between a low variance "safe" keyboard key which produced constant rewards and a high variance "risky" keyboard key which produced variable rewards (points or food, depending upon study condition). The results of the multivariate analyses supported main effects only (no moderation) between the characteristics of the early-life environment, life-history strategy, and the experimental manipulations on risk-taking behavior. Specifically, early-life harshness was significantly associated with a faster life-history strategy in participants. Participants with a faster life-history strategy were significantly more likely to select the risky spin wheel on the Wheel Spin Risk Task than were slower life-history strategy participants who were more likely to select the safe spin wheel. Furthermore, participants who experienced the deprivation experimental manipulations behaved more risky on the Operant Risk-Taking Task (for reward amount) than did participants exposed to the non-deprivation manipulations in the study. Interestingly, this effect was domain-general in that deprivation in either Social-inclusion or Energy-budget was associated with risk taking for both social points and for food rewards. The results of this study suggest that life-history strategy is predictive of instrumental risk-taking behavior for reward amount and that deprivation in adaptive areas like Social-inclusion and Energy-budget enhances risk-taking behavior for primary rewards in a domain-general manner as opposed to a domain-specific manner.

published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Master / Master of Public Health