A epidemia da obesidade pediátrica tem aumentado significativamente nas últimas três décadas e é considerada um problema de saúde pública. Dessa forma, é importante avaliar os fatores obesogênicos nesta população a fim de planejar intervenções para prevenir e tratar essa epidemia. O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar fatores associados com a obesidade geral (OG) e a obesidade abdominal (OA) em adolescentes de Maringá, Paraná. Estudo transversal com uma amostra representativa de 991 adolescentes (54,5% adolescentes do sexo feminino) de escolas públicas e particulares, selecionadas por amostragem aleatória em estágios múltiplos. A OG foi classificada segundo os valores do indice de massa corporal e a OA foi classificada segundo os valores da circunferência da cintura; ambos foram os desfechos para este estudo. As variáveis independentes estudadas foram: idade, nível socioeconômico, características familiares, consumo de tabaco, consumo de bebidas alcoolicas, inatividade física (<300 min/semana), conportamento sedentário ( 4 h/d) e hábitos alimentares. As variáveis categóricas foram apresentadas em percentagens e o teste do qui-quadrado analisou a existência de associações. A significância (p) foi fixada em 5%. As análises foram estratificadas por sexo. A prevalência de OG entre adolescentes foi de 6,3% (feminino=3,3%, masculino=7,7%, p=0,04) e mostrou-se negativamente associada com o baixo consumo de vegetais nas adolescentes do sexo feminino, (p= 0,033) e positivamente associada com o consumo inadequado de frutas nos adolescentes do sexo masculino (p= 0,003). A prevalência de OA foi de 32,7% (feminino=36,3%, masculino=28,4%, p<0,001). Nas adolescentes do sexo feminino o trabalho formal mostrou-se como risco para a OA. Se a mãe da adolescente trabalha e o consumo inadequado de frituras associaram-se negativamente com a obesidade abdominal. Nos adolescentes do sexo masculino observamos associação negativa com o consumo inadequado de vegetais e se o adolescente trabalho, com o consumo inadequado de doces e refrigerantes. Conclui-se que a prevalência da obesidade geral e obesidade abdominal são altas em adolescentes, independente do sexo. A OG está associada aos hábitos alimentares em ambos os sexos, mas com alimentos diferentes. A OA está associada com variáveis socioeconômicas da família e hábitos alimentares no sexo feminino e com o trabalho do adolescente e os hábitos alimentares no sexo masculino. / The paediatric obesity epidemic has increased significantly over the last three decades and it is considered a public health problem, it is important to assess the obesogenic factors in this population in order to plan interventions to prevent and treat this epidemic. The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with obesity general and abdominal obesity among adolescents in Maringá, Paraná. Cross-sectional study with a representative sample of 991 adolescents (54.5% girls) from both public and private high schools selected through multi stage random sampling. The general obesity (GO) was classified according to the values of body mass index and abdominal obesity (AO) was classified according to the values of circumference waist; both were the outcomes for this study. The independent variables studied were: age, socioeconomic level, parental and household characteristics, smoking, drinking alcohol, physical inactivity (<300 min/wk), sedentary behavior (4 h/d) and nutrition-related habits. Categorical variables are presented in percentages and chi-square test analyzed the existence of associations. The significance (p) was set at 5%. The analysis were stratified by sexes. Prevalence of GO among adolescents was 6.3% (girls= 3.3%, boys= 7.7%, p=0.04). General obesity was negatively associated with the low consumption of vegetables in girls, (p= 0.033) and positively associated with inadequate fruit in boys, (p=0.003). The prevalence of AO was 32.7% (girls = 36.3%, boys = 28.4%, p <0.001). In the girls, employment proved risk for the AO. The mother works and inadequate intake of fried foods were inversely associated with abdominal obesity. The AO showed positively associated if adolescent have an employment and negatively with age, the mother works and inadequate consumption of fried foods. In boys we found a negative association with inadequate consumption of vegetables and whether the adolescent work, with inadequate consumption of sweets and soda. We concluded that the prevalence of general obesity and abdominal obesity are higher in adolescents, independent of sex. The OG is associated with eating habits in both sexes, but with different foods. The AO is associated with socioeconomic and family eating habits in females and work with adolescents and eating habits in males.

A prevalência da obesidade em crianças e adolescentes tem aumentado em diversos países do mundo, inclusive no Brasil. Esse fato está fortemente relacionado à mudança no estilo de vida e aos hábitos alimentares. A transição nutricional é um fenômeno caracterizado pelo aumento da ingestão de calorias e o consumo alimentar tem sido relacionado à obesidade não somente quanto ao volume de ingestão alimentar como também à composição e qualidade da dieta. O Healthy Eating Index (HEI, índice de alimentação saudável) é uma medida de adesão às recomendações dietéticas americanas. O HEI é composto por um escore de 100 pontos, onde 10 componentes alimentares são avaliados e destinados a avaliar a qualidade da alimentação, com a finalidade de monitorar as mudanças na ingestão dietética ao longo do tempo e como um instrumento base para elaboração das atividades de educação nutricional e promoção de saúde na população. Muitos estudos avaliaram a qualidade da alimentação através desse índice, alguns mostraram associação positiva entre o HEI e a ingestão de nutrientes essenciais. Porém, poucos estudos correlacionaram o HEI com marcadores de perfil lipídico. Este estudo se preocupa com o surgimento de alguns fatores de risco cardiovascular já na infância, e uma das causas relacionadas a esse problema seria o tipo de alimentação que as crianças consomem. Para avaliar a qualidade da dieta e marcadores de perfil lipídico, realizou-se um estudo transversal com a finalidade de investigar a associação entre o HEI e marcadores de perfil lipídico e o índice de massa corporal em escolares de sete e oito anos de idade, de baixo nível socioeconômico. A amostra foi constituída de 305 escolares, sendo 173 meninos e 132 meninas, a média geral de idade foi de 7,7 ± 0,4 anos, o excesso de peso foi diagnosticado em 27,2% das crianças, sendo que 11,5% foram classificadas como obesas. A média geral da pontuação do HEI foi 58,8 ± 7,7. Neste estudo foi encontrada uma elevada proporção de crianças com consumo alimentar que precisa ser melhorado e nenhuma criança com qualidade boa da dieta. Além disso, não foi possível mostrar associação entre o HEI e os níveis de lipídeos séricos nas crianças estudadas. Os resultados desta pesquisa, aliados a estudos de intervenção já feitos, destacam a necessidade de elaborar e implementar políticas e programas de nutrição nas escolas que tenham como alvo as crianças e suas famílias, com o objetivo de aumentar a ingestão de legumes, verduras, frutas e reduzir a ingestão de produtos industrializados, sódio e gorduras. / The prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents has increased in several countries including Brazil. This fact is strongly related to changes in lifestyle and eating habits. The nutrition transition is a phenomenon characterized by increased calorie intake and food consumption has been linked to obesity not only in the amount of food intake as well as the composition and diet quality. The Healthy Eating Index – HEI – is a measure of adherence to U.S. dietary recommendations. HEI is composed of a score of 100 points, in which 10 food components are evaluated and are designed to assess the quality of food, in order to monitor changes in dietary intake over time and as a basic instrument for development activities nutrition education and promotion of health in the population. Many studies have assessed the quality of food through this index, some showed a positive association between the HEI and the intake of essential nutrients. However few studies HEI correlated with markers of lipid profile. This research is concerned with the emergence of some cardiovascular risk factors in childhood and one of the causes related to this problem would be the type of food that children consume. In order to assess the quality of diet and lipid profile markers a crosssectional study was conducted to investigate the association between the HEI and markers of lipid profile and body mass index in schoolchildren of seven and eight years old, low socioeconomic status. The sample consisted of 305 school children, 173 boys and 132 girls, the overall mean age was 7.7 ± 0.4 years, overweight was diagnosed in 27.2% of children, and 11.5 % were classified as obese. The general average HEI score was 58.8 ± 7.7. This study found a high proportion of children with food consumption that needs to be improved and no child with good quality diet. In addition, we could not show an association between the HEI and serum lipid levels in children. The results of this research combined with intervention studies ever made highlight the need to develop and implement policies and nutrition programs in schools that target children and their families in order to increase the intake of vegetables, fruits and reduce the intake of processed products, sodium and fats.

Introdução: O tabagismo é um dos mais importantes problemas de saúde pública; sabe-se também que o uso de tabaco passou a ser considerado uma condição prevenível e potencialmente tratável. O fumo está associado à perda de saúde e estudos têm salientado a importância de conhecer não apenas a magnitude do problema do consumo de tabaco, mas também conhecer os fatores associados ao consumo. No Brasil há uma carência de estudos que possibilitam conhecer e relacionar a prevalência de tabagismo a outros indicadores. Acredita-se que as ações de intervenção preventivas no ambiente de trabalho são impactantes na redução das consequências negativas do uso e abuso de substâncias e do estresse laboral. Assim, conhecer os fatores de risco do consumo de tabaco, em relação às características sociodemográficas e econômicas, de trabalho e condições de saúde (incluindo estresse laboral) entre servidores da categoria \"técnico-administrativos\" de uma universidade pública, torna o presente estudo relevante para a emersão de conhecimento científico, pois pode sustentar futuras pesquisas de intervenção. Objetivos: Identificar a prevalência de consumo de tabaco e testar sua associação com variáveis sociodemográficas, econômicas, de trabalho e de condições de saúde entre servidores públicos universitários. Material e Método: Trata-se de estudo epidemiológico, descritivo-exploratório, tipo corte transversal, do qual participaram 925 servidores técnico-administrativos de uma universidade pública do interior do Estado de São Paulo. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio da aplicação de três instrumentos: Questionário de dados sociodemográficos, econômicos e características do trabalho, Questionário de Uso do Tabaco e Dependência de Fagerström e Job Stress Scale (JSS). Foram realizadas: análise descritiva das características da amostra e Odds Ratio (OR), como medida de associação estimada por meio das análises de regressão logística bivariada e multivariada, sendo utilizado o modelo hierarquizado criado para a entrada das variáveis. Para o controle das variáveis de confusão foram mantidas aquelas com p<=0,20. Foram consideradas significantes as associações com p<=0,05. Resultado: Essa população é composta, em sua maioria, por mulheres com idade entre 40 e 49 anos; são casados e moram com alguém (com os filhos, na maioria dos casos); recebem mensalmente de um a dois salários mínimos; possuem escolaridade acima do nível médio concluído; são praticantes de algum tipo de religião e fazem uso de bebidas alcoólicas. No trabalho, a maioria exerce função de nível médio e há em alguns casos uma inadequação ao relacionar escolaridade e nível exercido na instituição; e trabalham há mais de 11 anos na instituição. Sobre estresse no trabalho, observou-se que a população em geral não sofre estresse no trabalho e que o suporte social recebido é de nível intermediário. Uma porcentagem significativa da população faz uso de tabaco, e em sua maioria gostaria de parar de fumar. A maioria dos ex-tabagistas deixou o hábito há mais de 10 anos. Quanto à dependência nicotínica, ainda encontram-se na população pessoas que têm uma dependência muito elevada. Foi verificada uma chance maior para o uso de tabaco nessa população, com mais de 50 anos e ensino fundamental completo, tempo de vínculo no trabalho entre 6 e 20 anos, ser solteiro, ter filhos e morar com eles, e fazer uso de álcool. Conclusão: O presente estudo permitiu uma caracterização bastante específica da população em questão, evidenciando características com maior nível de associação ao uso de tabaco. Assim, entende-se que qualquer tipo de ação a ser desenvolvida junto à população de estudo, com vistas à promoção e prevenção relacionadas ao uso de tabaco no ambiente de trabalho, deva considerar tais características. / Introduction: Smoking is one of the most important public health concerns and it has become widely known that the use of tobacco is considered a preventable and potentially treatable condition. Smoking is related to loss of health and many studies emphasize the importance of knowing not only the magnitude of the consumption of tobacco, but also the factors related to its consumption. In Brazil the need to study this habit in a way to enable increase the knowledge about the subject and relate the prevalence of smoking with other indicators is still unmet. It is believed that preventive interventional actions in the work environment impact the reduction of negative consequences related to the use and abuse of substances and work-related stress. Therefore, the need to enhance the knowledge about the risk factors of the consumption of tobacco against social-demographic and economic characteristics, as well as work and health condition factors (including work-related stress) among the collaborators of a technical-administrative category in a public university is what makes this a relevant study to the scientific world, since it may support future interventional researches. Objectives: To identify the prevalence of tobacco consumption and test its association with social-demographic, economic, work, and health variables among public university collaborators. Materials and Method: This is an epidemiological, descriptiveexploratory, cross-sectional study in which 925 technical-administrative workers of a public university from the countryside of the State of Sao Paulo were enrolled. Data collection was conducted through the application of three tools: Social-demographic, economic, and work characteristics questionnaires, Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence, and Job Stress Scale (JSS). A descriptive analysis of the sample characteristics was conducted and the Odds Ratio (OR) was applied as an association measurement, estimated through a dual and multivariate logistic regression analysis, being the hierarchical model used for variables input. For variables confusion control, those with p<=0.20 were kept. Associations with p<=0.05 were deemed significant. Result: This population consists mostly of women, between 40 and 49 years of age, married, living with somebody (children, most of the time), earning monthly incomes equivalent to one to two minimum wages, at least with a high school diploma, following some kind of religion, and using alcoholic beverage. At work, most of them have a medium-level occupation - in some cases, it was not possible to correlate the educational level to the work exercised in the institution; and they work for over 11 years at this institution. Regarding work stress, the studied population usually does not suffer from this problem, and the social support they receive is considered of intermediary level. A significant percentage of the population uses tobacco and the majority of them would like to quit. Most former smokers have quit the habit for over 10 years. Regarding nicotine dependence, some members of this population were found to be highly dependable on that substance. Higher chance of using tobacco was observed among this population, in subjects of over 50 years of age, with elementary school diploma, working at the institution for 6 to 20 years, single, with children (and living with them), and making use of alcohol. Conclusion: This study enabled a very specific characterization of this population, being that these characteristics showed a higher level of association with the use of tobacco. Therefore, we understand that any kind of action to be developed together with the study population, in order to promote and prevent the use of tobacco in the workplace, must take into account these characteristics.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a chronic, irreversible disease that robs individuals of vision, quality of life, and independence. It is the leading cause of blindness in industrialized countries. Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is a condition characterized by repeated episodes of apnea and/or hypopnea, insomnia, short sleep duration, and/or sleep disturbances (snoring, gasping, etc.). Because SDB has been shown to cause chronic hypoxia resulting in oxidative stress on the retina, it has been proposed that SDB may be associated with AMD. Based on the life course theory of chronic disease, this quantitative, cross-sectional study used data from the 2005-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to study whether there was an association between SDB and AMD, including neovascular AMD and geographic atrophy in adults 40 years and older. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were used. The results suggest that AMD is associated with diagnosed sleep disorders, including sleep apnea and insomnia, as well as sleep apnea symptoms of gasping snoring, snorting, and stopping breathing. The findings of this study highlight the importance of diagnostic screening and therapeutic intervention to treat SDB. Early diagnosis and therapy for SDB could address not only the comorbidities associated with SDB, but could also prevent or slow the progression of AMD. In turn, this would yield lower rates of vision loss, reduced comorbidities associated with vision loss, and reduced impact of AMD on the health care system and social and financial costs to society.

What consequences arise as a result of repeated control of the legislature by the same party or coalition? Are incumbent parties less likely to lose an election the longer they remain in power? Furthermore, as parties remain in power longer and longer, do the factors which electoral scholars have proposed influence elections have less of an impact on election outcomes? The purpose of this project is to examine the electoral impact of repeated control of the legislature by the same party or ruling coalition. In this project, I argue that the length of time an incumbent party or coalition has maintained control of the legislature is a critical consideration for scholars interested in studying elections. In doing so, I hope to develop a better understanding of elections, the factors which influence election, and the mechanisms by which these factors affect election outcomes. Central to this project is the phenomenon I call party duration. I define party duration as the number of years the incumbent party has maintained control of the legislature in unicameral legislatures or the lower house in bicameral legislatures. This is the party that has secured enough seats to control the legislature independently in cases where a single party controls the legislature, or the party that serves as the largest party in the ruling coalition that controls the legislature in cases where a single party does not control the legislature by itself. Using cross-sectional time-series analysis to study a novel dataset, I show that not only does increasing party duration decreases the likelihood that an incumbent party will lose an election, controlling for various other factors, but I find evidence that party duration also affects the effect of other variables which influence elections. Specifically, I focus on the impact that the length of party duration has on the effect of economic conditions on the incumbent party's performance in elections. These findings highlight the importance of party duration, a variable which has previously not received attention from electoral scholars

The deformation mechanisms operating in diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings on (100) and (111) Si, has been investigated. The effect of coating thickness, indenter geometry, substrate orientation and deposition technique on the deformation of DLC coatings and the underlying substrate was studied by undertaking nanoindentation followed by subsurface microstructural characterization. Uncoated (111) Si was also investigated for comparison. The observed microstructural features were correlated to the indentation response of the coatings and compared with simulation studies, as well as observations on uncoated Si. In uncoated (111) Si, phase transformation was found to be responsible for the discontinuities in the load-displacement curves, similar to (100) Si. However, slip was activated on {311} planes instead of on {111} planes. Moreover, the density of defects was also significantly lower and their distribution asymmetric. The coatings were adherent, uniformly thick and completely amorphous. The load-displacement curves displayed several pop-ins and a pop-out, the indentation loads for the first pop-in and the pop-out depending primarily on the thickness of the coating. The coatings exhibited localized compressive deformation in the direction of loading without any through-thickness cracks. The extent of this localized deformation increased with indentation load. Hardness and thickness of the coatings and the geometry of the indenter influenced the magnitude of compressive strains. Harder and thinner coatings and a blunt indenter exhibited the minimum degree of deformation. Densification by rearrangement of molecules has been suggested as the mechanism responsible for plastic compression. At indentation loads corresponding to the first pop-in, (100) and (111) silicon substrates initially deformed by <111> and <311> slip respectively. Higher indentation loads caused phase transformation. Therefore, unlike in uncoated Si, dislocation nucleation in the Si substrate has been proposed as the mode responsible for the first pop-in. Subsequent pop-ins were attributed to further deformation by slip and twinning, phase transformation and extensive cracking (median and secondary cracks) of the substrate. The pop-out, however, was ascribed to phase transformation. Extensive deformation in the substrate, parallel to the interface, is attributed to the wider distribution of the stress brought about by the DLC coating. Good correlation was obtained between the nanoindentation response, microstructural features and simulation studies.

Studies on earnings management usually hypothesise that managers manage accruals opportunistically. Few studies however, argue that managers can also use accruals to improve the value relevance of reported earnings to help investors better assess the firm's operating performance. While substantial evidence on managers' opportunistic behaviour on accruals has been documented in the literature, empirical evidence on the informativeness of accruals is scarce and inconclusive. The purpose of this thesis is to examine whether managers use accruals to communicate private information regarding the firm's operating performance, or as reported in the literature, use them for their own benefit. This thesis finds that on average, firms reporting high earnings accompanied by high accruals have significantly negative subsequent period stock returns suggesting that these firms manage their accounting earnings. Focusing on stock dividend issues as an incentive to opportunistically increase accruals, the results are found to be consistent with the earnings management hypothesis. Stock dividend issuing firms are reported to significantly increase accruals in the issue year followed by poor earnings and stock price performances in the subsequent year. Moreover, discretionary accruals of the issuing firms are negatively correlated with both future earnings and abnormal stock returns. This evidence attempts to complement the earnings management literature. The analysis on the incentive to decrease accruals related to share repurchases, however, does not provide sufficient evidence to suggest that managers use their discretion to decrease accruals. To investigate the hypothesis that managers use accruals to convey information regarding their firm's future profitability, this thesis employs the contemporaneous earnings and dividend announcements as the research setting. This choice was made to increase the likelihood of detecting the use of accruals as private information communication while simultaneously mitigating the likelihood of the opportunistic income smoothing hypothesis to explain the results. The evidence strongly indicates that managers use both accruals and dividend increases as their private information communication regarding their firm's future profitability. Dividend increasing firms report positive accruals which are positively correlated with future profitability. This finding contributes to the literature by providing evidence on the accrual signalling hypothesis. Overall, the results of this thesis suggest that, depending on the incentives, managers can use the discretion accorded under the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in estimating accounting accrual, either to manage accruals opportunistically or to help investors better assess the firms' operating performance.

Stroke is the leading cause of disability worldwide. It often leads to mobility limitations resulting from deficits in muscle performance. While reduced muscle strength and rate of force production have been reported, little is known about the power generating capability of people after stroke and its relationship to mobility. Research in other populations has found that measures of muscle power may have a greater association with activity performance than do measures of muscle force alone. Consequently, in an attempt to optimise power, investigators have focused on identifying ideal parameters within which to train for power. One such parameter is the identification of the loading level at which maximal power is generated. Literature reporting optimal loads from both young athletic and healthy older populations has yielded mixed results, making the applicability to a hemiparetic population difficult. The purpose of this study was to investigate muscle power performance at differing loads and to determine at what load muscle power is best elicited in hemiparetic and age and gender matched control groups. A secondary aim was to ascertain whether there is a relationship between the muscle power values obtained and activities such as gait, stair climbing and standing from a chair. Twenty nine hemiparetic volunteers and twenty nine age and gender matched controls were evaluated. Involved and uninvolved legs of the stroke group and a comparison leg of the control group underwent testing. Leg press muscle power was measured using a modified supine leg press machine at 30%, 50% and 70% of a one-repetition maximum (1-RM) load. Participants were positioned on the leg press machine and asked to push, with a single leg, as hard and as fast as they could. Data was collected via a mounted force platform and a linear transducer connected to a platform on which the participants lay. From these, power was able to be calculated. The activities were timed while being performed as fast as possible. The results showed that peak muscle power values differed significantly between the involved, uninvolved and control legs. Peak leg power in all three leg groups was greatest when pushing against a load of 30% of 1-RM. Involved leg peak power tested at 30% of 1-RM (Mean:240; SD:145 W) was significantly lower (p<0.05) than the uninvolved leg (Mean:506; SD:243 W). Both the involved and uninvolved legs generated significantly lower peak power (p<0.05) than the control leg (Mean:757; SD:292 W). Correlations were found between the involved leg peak power and gait speed and involved leg peak power and stair climbing (r=0.6-0.7, p<0.05). No correlation was found between paretic leg peak power and chair stands. The control group leg peak power demonstrated significant associations with the performance of all three activities.In summary, there were significant differences between the involved and the uninvolved leg in power production after stroke. As well, there are significant differences between the uninvolved leg and the leg of those not affected by stroke. Power was related to a number of activities.

China's rapid economic growth and the development of its domestic stock market have attracted considerable attention from foreign investors. China's economic financial expansion, however, has emerged from an environment of state planning and radical socialist ideology. With a view of providing investors with a better understanding of the risk and return relationship in the Chinese A-share market over the past decade, this thesis adapts several empirical models to the circumstances in China and conducts four empirical analyses. First, in order to rationalize foreign investors' entry into the A-share market, the thesis compares the diversification benefits in three China-related stock markets, namely the A-share, the B-share and the H-share markets in a mean-variance framework using daily, weekly and monthly data respectively. The results suggest that of the three stock markets, the B-share market generates the highest average annual returns while the A-share market has the most significant diversification benefits regardless of whether the analysis is undertaken implementing a traditional mean-variance framework or a downside risk framework. Next, an empirical analysis using the Fama and MacBeth two-pass procedure is undertaken to test the relationship between beta, firm factors and stock returns. Similar to the findings in other stock markets, the results of this analysis show that the static betas for individual stocks fail to capture variation in stock returns in the A-share market. In contrast, the effects of book-to-market and trading volume are significant in the sample period. However, the fact that none of these factors have a persistent role in explaining stock returns suggests a possible change in the investment philosophy of Chinese domestic investors over the past decade. In the third analysis, two global betas are incorporated into the cross-sectional regressions in a bid to examine the integration or segmentation of the A-share market with the world and Hong Kong stock markets. Specifically, both time-varying betas and static betas are used in the analysis. The results suggest that there is no beta effect and the A-share marke t is totally segmented from both the world and Hong Kong stock markets. Finally, when the segmentation and integration status of the A-share market is further examined using the Maximum Likelihood Estimation framework without beta estimation and the assumption of a linear relationship between beta and stock returns, the findings suggest that the A-share market is becoming increasing integrated with the B-share and the Hong Kong stock markets.

China's rapid economic growth and the development of its domestic stock market have attracted considerable attention from foreign investors. China's economic financial expansion, however, has emerged from an environment of state planning and radical socialist ideology. With a view of providing investors with a better understanding of the risk and return relationship in the Chinese A-share market over the past decade, this thesis adapts several empirical models to the circumstances in China and conducts four empirical analyses. First, in order to rationalize foreign investors' entry into the A-share market, the thesis compares the diversification benefits in three China-related stock markets, namely the A-share, the B-share and the H-share markets in a mean-variance framework using daily, weekly and monthly data respectively. The results suggest that of the three stock markets, the B-share market generates the highest average annual returns while the A-share market has the most significant diversification benefits regardless of whether the analysis is undertaken implementing a traditional mean-variance framework or a downside risk framework. Next, an empirical analysis using the Fama and MacBeth two-pass procedure is undertaken to test the relationship between beta, firm factors and stock returns. Similar to the findings in other stock markets, the results of this analysis show that the static betas for individual stocks fail to capture variation in stock returns in the A-share market. In contrast, the effects of book-to-market and trading volume are significant in the sample period. However, the fact that none of these factors have a persistent role in explaining stock returns suggests a possible change in the investment philosophy of Chinese domestic investors over the past decade. In the third analysis, two global betas are incorporated into the cross-sectional regressions in a bid to examine the integration or segmentation of the A-share market with the world and Hong Kong stock markets. Specifically, both time-varying betas and static betas are used in the analysis. The results suggest that there is no beta effect and the A-share marke t is totally segmented from both the world and Hong Kong stock markets. Finally, when the segmentation and integration status of the A-share market is further examined using the Maximum Likelihood Estimation framework without beta estimation and the assumption of a linear relationship between beta and stock returns, the findings suggest that the A-share market is becoming increasing integrated with the B-share and the Hong Kong stock markets.