Дисертації з теми "Corporate farm"

Thesis (MScAgric)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The optimal farm size and organizational form of agriculture is a widely discussed topic with little consensus as to which organizational form would be optimal under certain circumstances. There is often confusion as to what constitutes a corporate farm as well as a family farm, with the size of the farm often used as a distinguishing factor. This should however not be the case as there are many extremely large farms that are owner-operated within South Africa. The distinguishing factor should rather revolve around the management structures of these farms. It is these management structures that would seem to limit the metamorphosis of owner-operated farms into large corporate structures. This thesis uses an analysis of both technical and allocative efficiency in determining the organizational form chosen within agriculture. It is shown in the thesis that farm size determines or improves the technical efficiency and this is brought about by the farms ability to stay abreast with the technological times by having “economies of size” to their advantage. The evolution of farm size would therefore seem to be driven by this need to obtain “economies of size” so as to be able to earn comparable wages to off-farm activities. The attainment of this technical efficiency however does not seem to be linked to the organizational structure of the farm; it is rather dependant of the size of the farm. While the size of the farm is an important factor in achieving technical efficiency it is not as important in determining allocative efficiency, with various studies arguing that larger farms are less allocatively efficient than smaller farms. This reduced allocative efficiency seems to stem from various transaction costs and principle agent issues within the corporate setting that are not prevalent in the owner-operated farms. This is because in the owner-operated settings the family are the residual claimants to profit, which suggests that they do not have the incentive to shirk. The opposite is true for the corporate setting where the model is fraught with moral hazard and other issues of the principle-agent nature, which would seem to raise the transaction costs of this organizational form, and this has negative implications for the allocative efficiency with which these farms operate at. This thesis therefore uses data obtained from such a corporate farm, where the owners of the farms are kept on as farm managers and the company makes all the production decisions. This thesis argues that it is these agency issues and transaction costs that hamper this organizational form while it is shown that the technical efficiency for these farms are high suggesting that economies of size are important in determining the technical efficiency of these farms.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die optimale plaasgrootte en organisasievorm in die landbou is ’n onderwerp wat al baie aandag in die literatuur ontvang het, maar waar daar min ooreenstemming is oor watter organisasievorm optimaal sal wees onder spesifieke omstandighede. Met die grootte van die plaas wat dikwels as 'n onderskeidende faktor gebruik word, is daar dikwels verwarring oor wat ‘n korporatiewe plaas sowel as ʼn familie plaas uitmaak. Dit hoort egter nie die geval te wees nie, want daar is baie groot plase wat as alleen-eienaar bedryf word in Suid-Afrika (m.a.w. familie-plase met gehuurde arbeid). Die onderskeidende faktor moet eerder die bestuur strukture van hierdie plase wees. Dit is hierdie bestuur strukture wat die metamorfose vanaf eienaar-bedryfde plase na (groot) korporatiewe strukture beperk. In hierdie tesis word 'n ontleding van beide tegniese en allokatiewe doeltreffendheid gebruik in die ontleding van die optimale organisasievorm in die landbou. Die tesis bewys dat die plaas se grootte die tegniese doeltreffendheid bepaal of verhoog, vanweë die groter plase se beter vermoë om op hoogte te bly met tegnologiese ontwikkeling deur die "ekonomieë van grootte" tot hul voordeel te gebruik. Plaasgroottes pas aan by die geleentheidskoste van die eienaar-bestuurder en tegniese doeltreffendheid is nie afhanklik van die organisasiestruktuur van die plaas nie, maar is eerder afhanklik van die grootte van die plaas. Terwyl die grootte van die plaas 'n belangrike faktor in die bereiking van tegniese doeltreffendheid is, is dit nie so belangrik in die bepaling van allokatiewe doeltreffendheid nie. Verskeie studies wys daarop dat groter plase minder allokatief doeltreffend is as kleiner plase, hoofsaaklik as gevolg van verskeie transaksiekoste voordele van klein plase. Maar daar is ook prinsipaal-agent kwessies in die korporatiewe omgewing wat nie algemeen by eienaarbedryfde plase voorkom nie. Dit is omdat in die geval van die eienaar-bedryfde instellings die familie aanspraak het op die residuele wins, en dus ʼn aansporing het om opdragte uit te voer. By korporatiewe plase is daar egter prinsipaal-agent probleme wat gepaard gaan met morele risiko (‘moral hazard’). Dus het familieplase ʼn koste voordeel oor korporatiewe plase. Hierdie tesis gebruik dan data wat verkry is uit 'n korporatiewe boerdery onderneming, waar die eienaars van die plase die plaasbestuurders is en die maatskappy al die produksie besluite maak. Die tesis wys dat dit hierdie agentskap kwessies en transaksie koste is wat die organisasievorme belemmer terwyl dit blyk dat die tegniese doeltreffendheid vir dié plase hoog is wat daarop dui dat die ekonomie van grootte belangrik is in die bepaling van die tegniese doeltreffendheid van hierdie plase.

This thesis approaches the question of sustainability and firm performance. In the contemporary business model, firm performance measurement must take into account not only economic profits, but also environmental and social issues, in order to ensure the sustainable development of the firm. By using advanced methodological approaches and exploring sustainability through a holistic view, this thesis contributes significantly to sustainability performance literature. Three specific objectives have been fulfilled through three papers that constitute the main body of the present thesis. The first article aims to answer whether profitable business is compatible with balanced sustainability by investigating the relationship between the economic, social, environmental and governance performance for a sample of global firms. A canonical vine (C-vine) copula is used for this purpose. Results show the existence of a fairly strong positive relationship between economic, social and environmental performance. The corporate governance dimension is shown to have a weak relationship with the rest of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) dimensions. Important policy implications are derived from these results. The second paper investigates the relationships among performance dimensions associated with corporate social responsibility focusing on the U.S. electric utility sector. Results of a statistical copula approach suggest that economic performance of utilities is compatible with environmental, social, and governance performance. The CSR model has the potential to help U.S. electric utilities become better corporate citizens while also obtaining higher economic profits. The third paper investigates farms’ stochastic production technology as the interaction of three-main types of sub-technologies that govern, respectively, the production of agricultural commodities, environmental pollution, and social outputs of agricultural activities. The model is empirically implemented through a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model. The empirical application is based on a survey of Catalan arable crop farms. On average, we find our sample farms to display high technical and social performance, while they show relatively poor environmental performance.
Esta tesis aborda la cuestión de la sostenibilidad y el rendimiento de la empresa. En el modelo de negocio contemporáneo, la medición del rendimiento de la empresa debe tener en cuenta no solo las ganancias económicas, sino también las cuestiones ambientales y sociales, para garantizar el desarrollo sostenible de la empresa. Mediante el uso de enfoques metodológicos avanzados y la exploración de la sostenibilidad a través de una visión holística, esta tesis contribuye significativamente a la literatura sobre la sostenibilidad. Tres objetivos específicos se han cumplido a través de tres documentos que constituyen el cuerpo principal de la presente tesis. El primer artículo tiene como objetivo responder si el negocio rentable es compatible con la sostenibilidad equilibrada, mediante la investigación de la relación entre el desempeño económico, social, medio-ambiental y de gobernanza de una muestra de empresas globales. Un modelo canónico de viña de copulas (C-vine) se usa para este propósito. Los resultados muestran la existencia de una relación positiva bastante fuerte entre el desempeño económico, social y ambiental. Se muestra que la dimensión de gobernanza corporativa tiene una relación débil con el resto de las dimensiones de la responsabilidad social corporativa (RSC). Importantes implicaciones de política se derivan de estos resultados. El segundo articulo investiga las relaciones entre las dimensiones de desempeño asociadas con la responsabilidad social corporativa que se centran en el sector de servicios eléctricos de los EE. UU. Los resultados obtenidos del análisis de las cópulas sugieren que el desempeño económico de las empresas eléctricas es compatible con el desempeño ambiental, social y de gobernanza. El modelo de la RSC tiene el potencial de ayudar a que los servicios eléctricos de los EE. UU. Se conviertan en mejores ciudadanos corporativos mientras se logran mayores beneficios económicos. El tercer trabajo investiga la tecnología de producción estocástica de las explotaciones agrícolas como una interacción de tres sub-tecnologías que gobiernan, respectivamente, la producción de productos agrícolas, la contaminación ambiental y los productos sociales de las actividades agrícolas. El modelo se implementa empíricamente a través de un modelo de Análisis Envolvente de Datos (DEA). La aplicación empírica se basa en una encuesta de explotaciones de cultivos en la región de Cataluña. En promedio, encontramos que nuestras explotaciones muestran un alto desempeño técnico y social, mientras que muestran un desempeño ambiental relativamente pobre.

This thesis examines the enduring nature of child labour on Ivory Coast’s cocoa farms. The thesis shows that the role of the state in promoting instead of inhibiting child labour practices in the Ivory Coast favours the thriving of challenging factors to any prospect of a total abolition. This thesis focuses on the influences of traditions customary practices underpinning the child labour practice. The thesis shows the adverse role of Multinational Corporations operating in Ivory Coast’s cocoa industry. This thesis shows that despite Ivory Coast being a signatory to the ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour 1999 (No. 182), the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1999) as well as other regional and sub-regional legal instruments, the appropriate legal and policy response to child labour has yet to be provided. The thesis, therefore, offers the pedagogic approach as the shifting factor.

Corporate codes of ethics (CCEs) have become increasingly prevalent as overarching ethical guidelines for multinational corporations doing business around the globe. As formal documents, governing corporations’ work, policies, and ways of doing business, CCEs are meant to guide all business activities and apply to all of the corporation’s employees, suppliers, and business partners. In multinational corporations, this means that diverse countries, cultures, and a myriad of heterogeneous actors are expected to abide by the same standards and guidelines, as stipulated in the CCE. Despite this empirical reality, CCEs have previously been approached by academics mainly as passive company documents or as marketing or management tools, in the contexts of their country of origin. Building on Actor-Network Theory this thesis applies an interactionist ontology, and relational epistemology, seeing the code as a sociomaterial object with both material and immaterial characteristics, and moving in a global arena. Furthermore, the CCEs are assumed to be susceptible to change, i.e. translations. With these assumptions, the CCE of a multinational corporation is followed as it travels between its country of origin (Sweden) and another country (China) and goes to work in different contexts. Heterogeneous empirical materials such as interviews, company documents, observations, shadowing, and emails are used to present stories from different contexts where the CCE is at work. The overall purpose of the thesis is to contribute to the theorizing of CCEs, thereby providing further understanding of the possible consequences of CCEs in contextually diverse settings. By following traces of a CCE, this study posits the need for a simultaneous understanding of three dimensions of CCEs for CCEs to be understood in contextually dispersed settings. The three dimensions are a) material translations of the code, b) enactments of these translations, and c) ideas associated with the material and enacted code.  The study contributes to the understanding of CCEs by highlighting a specific country-context (China), by putting together knowledge from codes in various contexts, and the overarching contribution lies in highlighting codes as different kinds of objects and adding to the existing literature – specifically, contextualizing the CCE as a vaporous object.

This study examines the role of a private standard (GlobalGAP) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) compliance in the Pakistani mango industry and how this compliance affects rural workers‘ motivation. Pakistan is the fifth largest mango producer in the world and the fourth largest exporter in global mango trade, also mango is the biggest fruit crop within the country. Mango trade is subject to trade terms, where buyers decide the conditions of trade agreements by means of codes of conduct. The key dimensions of the codes involved in agro-food trade are food safety, traceability, workers welfare and environmental consideration, issues which are all connected with CSR. Private standards ensure compliance with these codes of conduct. This study draws on interviews and a questionnaire survey with the certified mango producers and farm workers in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The mango industry also involves other stakeholders such as government institutes and NGOs; interviews were also conducted with their representatives. Given that this study is an impact assessment research, the researcher designed a theoretical framework using a mixed method approach to investigate the rationale behind acquiring the GlobalGAP standard by the mango growers in Pakistan and what impact (if any) this shift has generated with regards to the farm workers‘ job satisfaction and motivation. This study is the first to empirically examine good agricultural practices in Pakistan and evaluate their impact. This study shows that private standards play a significant role in ensuring compliance, and CSR practices implemented through them were found to be positively related to the rural workers‘ job satisfaction and motivation. Furthermore, this study has made separate contributions to theory, methodology, and practice. The production of the synergistic model for improving compliance is among the key highlights of the study. The findings of this study can extend to other agriculture and primary production industry workers in Pakistan and even beyond to other developing countries‘ rural agriculture workers.

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências Veterinárias, especialidade de Clínica
The development of species-specific protocols for on-farm welfare assessment represents a major concern for the European Union agricultural policy. Proper welfare assessment demands for the use of valid, reliable and feasible animal-based welfare indicators. The literature and policy-makers recognise the need for advancing knowledge in this area. This thesis aims at developing and integrating animal-based indicators in on-farm welfare assessment protocols, focusing on dairy goat farms. Specifically, this thesis contributes to literature in three areas. First, it contributes to the identification of animal-based welfare indicators that should be included in welfare assessment protocols. We conducted a literature review that allowed for the recognition of the need for future research in the indicators’ psychometric properties, such as reliability and feasibility. Secondly, this thesis develops tools to assist the measurement of body condition and lameness. For body condition, we developed a visual body condition scoring system (BSC). Our approach requires minimum animal handling without compromising a valid and reliable individual assessment of the goats. With respect to lameness we developed a websurvey that allowed us to collect observer’s ratings of goats lameness condition. Our survey showed that observers were only able to consistently assess severely lame goats, a finding which is important towards the integration of the indicator in assessment protocols. The observers’ ratings also showed that the numerical rating scales should only be used considering their ordinal level of measurement. This directs research towards the development of scoring systems with higher levels of measurement, like the modified visual analogue scales. Third, this thesis contributed to the development of a welfare assessment protocol that integrated and tested the two studied indicators (BCS and lameness). Such protocol was implemented in 30 Portuguese farms and provided insights into the main welfare problems affecting intensively kept dairy goats in our country (claw overgrowth, queuing at feeding, very fat animals), which is paramount to improve dairy goats’ welfare. Research conducted for this thesis has practical implications for both welfare assessment research and to the goat industry in general. Ultimately, through the development of adequate assessment tools, it integrates the welfare issue into the food chain, meeting the consumers’ expectations in the development of a sustainable food production system.
RESUMO - Desenvolvimento e integração de indicadores de bem-estar animal, incluindo dor, em explorações de cabras em Portugal - A elaboração de protocolos de avaliação de bem-estar específicos para cada espécie pecuária é uma preocupação da política agrícola europeia. A literatura da área de bem-estar animal identifica a criação de instrumentos de medição como o primeiro passo para a elaboração destes protocolos. Esta tese tem como objetivo desenvolver e integrar indicadores para incluir em protocolos de avaliação para utilizar em explorações de cabras de aptidão leiteira. Esta tese apresenta três contributos para a literatura de bem-estar animal. Em primeiro lugar, contribui para a identificação de indicadores, baseados nos animais, com potencial para integração em protocolos de avaliação. A revisão bibliográfica realizada permitiu reconhecer a necessidade premente de investigação nesta área, dado que a maior parte dos indicadores necessitam de ser testados e validados. Em segundo lugar, esta tese desenvolve ferramentas para apoiar a avaliação da condição corporal e da claudicação. Para a condição corporal foi criado um sistema visual de avaliação considerado válido e repetível, e que apenas necessita de uma breve contenção dos animais para ser utilizado. Relativamente à claudicação foram recolhidas participações de observadores relativamente à observação de vídeos de cabras com diferentes níveis de claudicação. A análise destas observações permitiu concluir que os participantes apenas são consistentes a avaliar os casos mais graves de claudicação, facto importante para a integração do indicador em protocolos de avaliação. As classificações dos observadores mostraram ainda que as escalas numéricas em uso apenas podem ser utilizadas considerando um nível ordinal de medição. Este facto abre o caminho para o desenvolvimento de escalas com níveis mais elevados de medição, como as escalas visuais analógicas modificadas. Em terceiro lugar, esta tese desenvolve um protocolo de avaliação que inclui e testa os indicadores condição corporal e claudicação. Este protocolo permitiu investigar sobre os maiores problemas de bem-estar que afetam as explorações intensivas de leite de cabra em Portugal (sobre crescimento das unhas, filas na manjedoura, animais gordos), sendo esta informação fundamental para analisar como melhorar o bem-estar das cabras de leite. A investigação conduzida no âmbito desta tese apresenta implicações práticas tanto para o estudo do bem-estar animal, como para a exploração de leite de cabra. O desenvolvimento de ferramentas adequadas de avaliação permite a integração da valoração do bem-estar na cadeia de produção, indo ao encontro das expectativas dos consumidores para a concepção de sistemas mais sustentáveis de produção de alimentos.

Uppfattning om gott och ont, vad som är rätt och fel, kan kraftigt skilja sig mellan olika individer. Hur en människa uppfattar och hanterar begreppet etik är unikt för varje enskild individ i samhället. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur redovisare och revisorer ser på redovisningsetik och om de använder ett etiskt förhållningssätt och handlingssätt i sitt dagliga arbete. Vidare undersöker studien medias framställning av redovisningsrelaterade företagsskandaler, dess effekter och hur media påverkar involverade parter. Studien utgår från ett abduktivt forskningsperspektiv. Studien består av en medieanalys där fyra olika företagsskandaler analyseras utifrån sammanlagt tolv dagstidningsartiklar. Medieanalysen är komparativ eftersom en jämförelse mellan de olika artiklarna inom de fyra företagsskandalerna har skett i form av en innehållsanalys. Vidare innefattar studien även en innehållsanalys av fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer. Respondenterna består av yrkesaktiva redovisare och revisorer. Intervjuerna analyseras genom en kvalitativ ansats, där meningen i det som sägs är huvudfokus. En slutsats som studien drar är att etiska beslut är svåra att fatta, eftersom de ska följa lagar och förordningar samtidigt som de ska vara anpassade till individens, samhällets och företagets bästa. Vidare ser vi genom studien att medias framställning av företagsskandaler påverkar människors uppfattning av de inblandade företagen, branscherna och individerna i skandalen. Där de inblandade ofta står försvarslösa till den bild som media målar upp av dem. Av detta framkommer en slags dominoeffekt, där media påverkar samhällets bild av en individ, som i sin tur även påverkar samhällets bild av företaget som individen är kopplad till. Effekterna av medias framställning av företagsskandaler kan då bli kraftiga. Eftersom ett företag inte kan gå mot samhällets förväntningar. Om detta var fallet skulle de kunna förlora sitt “lov att verka” på marknaden. Ett förslag på vidare forskning är en jämförelse mellan hur en person ser på ett företag innan en skandal och efter att de har läst om skandalen. Ytterligare ett förslag på vidare forskning är att genomföra en studie med samma utformning men med ett större respondenter. Detta för att få en större bredd och därigenom också öka urvalet studien riktar in sig på.
Perception of what is deemed good and bad, what is right or wrong, can greatly differ between individuals. How a person perceives and manages the concept of ethics is unique to each individual in society. The purpose of the study is thus to investigate how accountants and auditors view accounting ethics and how they use an ethical approach in their daily work. Furthermore, the study examines the effects of media's presentation of accounting-related corporate scandals and how media affects the involved parties. The study is based on an abductive research method. The study consists of a media analysis of four corporate scandals that are analyzed based on a total of twelve news articles. The media analysis is conducted by a comparative content analysis where a comparison of the various articles within the four scandals is made. The study also includes a content analysis of four semi-structured interviews. The respondents who have been chosen for the interviews are professionally active accountants and auditors. These interviews are analyzed through a qualitative approach, where the meaning of the word is analyzed. A conclusion that the study draws is that ethical decisions are difficult to make, as they must comply with laws and regulations while at the same time being adapted to the individual's, society's and the company's best. Furthermore, through the study, we see that media portrayal of corporate scandals affects people's perceptions of companies, industries and individuals involved. Where those involved often stand defenseless to the image that the media portray. This results in a kind of domino effect, where the media affects society's image of an individual, which in turn also affect society's image of the company the individual are linked to. The effects of the media's presentation of corporate scandals can therefore be severe, since a company cannot go against society's expectations. If this were to be the case, they could lose their “license to operate” in the market. A proposal for further research is a comparison between preconceived opinions of individuals and the same peoples' thoughts after reviewing news articles about the corporate scandal. Another proposal for further research is to carry out a study of the same design with a larger number of accountants and auditors. The aim is to greater the width and thereby also increase the targeted selection of the study. Apart from this abstract this paper will be conducted in Swedish with the exception of a few quotes.

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Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES
Introduction: The aging process is marked by changes in the human body, causing progressive loss in different functions. Muscles account for approximately 40% of total body mass and are one of the tissues that suffer the most from the impact of aging, showing progressive and linear decline in quantity as well as function. A positive association between musculoskeletal tissue and age is observed until the threshold of 27 years old, which does not differ significantly between ethnic groups and gender, but after this period there is a negative association between these variables. Objective: To investigate the association of race with variables related to function, body composition and physical activity in older adults registered in the Family Health Strategy in the city of Porto Alegre. Methods: Cross-sectional, observational, retrospective study. The studied population consisted of older men and women over the age of 60 years old, registered and accompanied by the Family Health Strategy (FHS) in the city of Porto Alegre and evaluated by the EMISUS Project. The sample consisted of 390 older adults, 272 were white and 118 were black. The collected variables were: sociodemographic and anthropometric data, functional capacity, muscle strength, mobility and physical activity level. The instruments used for data collection were: tape measure, adipometer, chair stand test, strength dynamometer, 4.6m-walk test and Minnesota Leisure-time Physical Activity (LTPA) Questionnaire. The sample was adjusted for sex, age, marital status and education. Results: Participants mean age was 68.0 ? 6.3 years and 68.9 ? 6.5 years for white and black older adults respectively (p= 0.203).Marital status and education showed statistically significant differences between the two groups (p= 0.015 and p= 0.013), the majority the elderly whites self-reported, 106 (39.4%) were single and 42 (35.9%) separated between self-reported black elderly. In relation to education the majority the white and black elderly self-reported had reported between 1-3 years of study, 76 (28.0%) white elderly and 35 (29.9%) of black elderly, respectively. Black older adults had significant greater muscle mass (MM) than older whites, (34.74 ? 5.62 and 33.15 ? 5.78; p= 0.014 respectively), but on the other hand, had lower means of lower limbs strength comparing to older whites (8.36 ? 2.86 and 9.05 ? 3.34; p= 0.053). No statistically significant differences between blacks and whites were found in calf circumference (cm) (31.99 ? 4.01 and 31.84 ? 3.42; p= 0.101), muscle mass index (14.06 ? 2.55 and 13, 59 ? 2.52; p= 0.095), gait speed (m/s) (6.83 ? 1.83 and 6.46 ? 1.94; p= 0.080), caloric (kcal) (3606,34 (1896,61-5877,59) e 3163,42 (1532,37-7283,50); p= 0,785) and time expenditure in physical activities (min) (180,00 (79,25-531,25) e 180,00 (77,00-542,25); p= 0,793). Conclusion: Older adults with black self-reported had higher muscle mass than those of white ethnicity, but less strength in lower limbs. These findings corroborate the literature with regard to the higher amount of muscle mass presented by black individuals throughout life; however, it brings the need for further studies in order to investigate the quality of the tissue as muscle fibers, especially in lower limbs, decrease progressively, which make these older adults more prone to falls and disabilities.
Introdu??o: O envelhecimento ? um processo marcado por mudan?as nos diversos sistemas org?nicos que traduzem perdas progressivas em diferentes fun??es. O tecido muscular corresponde a aproximadamente 40% da massa corporal, e ? um dos tecidos que mais sofrem o impacto do envelhecimento, apresentando decl?nio progressivo e linear, tanto em quantidade quanto em fun??o. Uma associa??o positiva entre o tecido musculoesquel?tico e a idade ? observada at? o limiar de 27 anos, n?o diferindo entre etnias e sexo significativamente, por?m ap?s este per?odo ocorre uma associa??o negativa entre estas vari?veis. Objetivo: verificar a associa??o de ra?a com vari?veis de funcionalidade, composi??o corporal e atividade f?sica em idosos atendidos pela estrat?gia da sa?de da fam?lia do munic?pio de Porto Alegre. M?todos: Estudo transversal, observacional, retrospectivo. A popula??o investigada constituiu-se de idosos homens e mulheres, com idade acima de 60 anos, cadastrados e atendidos na Estrat?gia de Sa?de da Fam?lia (ESF) do Munic?pio de Porto Alegre e avaliados pelo Projeto EMISUS. A amostra foi composta por 390 idosos, destes 272 eram da ra?a branca e 118 eram negros. As vari?veis coletadas foram: sociodemogr?ficas, antropom?tricas, funcionalidade, for?a muscular, mobilidade e n?vel de atividade f?sica. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: fita m?trica inel?stica, adip?metro, teste sentar e levantar, dinam?metro de for?a, teste da caminhada 4,6m e Minnesota Leisure Time Physical Activity (LTPA) Questionnaire. A amostra foi corrigida para sexo, idade, estado civil e escolaridade. Resultados: A idade m?dia da amostra foi de 68,0 ? 6,3 anos e 68,9 ? 6,5 anos para idosos de ra?a branca e negra respectivamente (p=0,203). O estado civil e a escolaridade apresentaram diferen?as estatisticamente significativas entre brancos e negros (p=0,015 e p=0,013, respectivamente), sendo que a maioria dos idosos brancos (106 [39,4%]) eram solteiros e 42 (35,9%) dos idosos negros separados. J? com rela??o a escolaridade a maioria dos idosos autorelatados brancos e negros apresentaram entre 1-3 anos de estudos, sendo (76 (28,0%) idosos autorelatados brancos e 35 (29,9%) dos idosos autorelatados negros), respectivamente. Os idosos negros apresentaram significativamente maior massa muscular (MM) que idosos brancos, respectivamente (34,74?5,62 e 33,15?5,78; p= 0,014), mas em contrapartida, apresentaram uma menor m?dia de for?a de membros inferiores com rela??o aos idosos brancos (s) (8,36?2,86 e 9,05?3,34; p=0,053). N?o apresentaram diferen?as estatisticamente significativas entre negros e brancos as vari?veis circunfer?ncia da panturrilha (cm) (31,99?4,01 e 31,84?3,42; p=0,101), ?ndice de massa muscular (14,06?2,55 e 13,59?2,52; p=0,095), velocidade da marcha (m/s) (6,83?1,83 e 6,46?1,94; p=0,080), gasto cal?rico (kcal) (3606,34 (1896,61-5877,59) e 3163,42 (1532,37-7283,50); p= 0,785) e tempo dispendido em atividades f?sicas (min) (180,00 (79,25-531,25) e 180,00 (77,00-542,25); p= 0,793), respectivamente. Conclus?o: Idosos autorelatados negros apresentaram maior massa muscular que os idosos autorelatados brancos, por?m uma menor for?a nos membros inferiores. Esses achados corroboram com a literatura no que diz respeito ? quantidade superior de massa muscular apresentada por negros durante toda a vida; em contrapartida nos remete a necessidade de novos estudos, a fim de investigarmos a qualidade desse tecido ? medida que fibras musculares, principalmente em membros inferiores, v?o sendo perdidas, tornando esses idosos mais propensos a quedas e incapacidades funcionais.

Many Australian grain growers face increasing capital, management and scale constraints that limit their ability to adopt productivity-enhancing technical innovations. Organisational innovations in farm business models, such as joint ventures (JVs) may offer opportunities to overcome these constraints and provide new pathways for owner-operator family farms to boost productivity. JVs retain the strengths of family farm models while capturing some of the benefits offered by largescale corporate farm businesses. Using a mixed-methods approach, this research addresses gaps in current knowledge regarding the potential of organisational innovations for Australian farmers. Data collected from interviews with agribusiness personnel, as well as two surveys of Australian grain growers, are used to investigate interest in and motivations towards adopting organisational innovations. A desktop review of the literature and semi-structured interviews with farm managers identified two broad groups of innovative business models: 1) hub-based models and 2) contracting models. Advantages of these models include: efficient scale of farm operations; better access to financial capital; stronger governance and due diligence processes; and increased human capital through labour specialisation. Analysis of data from a telephone survey of Australian grain growers revealed that 3% of rainfed grain producers were already in a form of JV, and 35% of producers had an interest in hybrid farm structures to help reduce farm costs, increase profitability, improve labour efficiency and capture economies of scale. Adopters of JV structures were significantly more likely to have larger scale operations; higher cropping intensity; less diverse sources of farm income; agronomists assisting with cropping decisions; and were less reliant on contractors for farm operations. Multinomial logit regressions revealed that famers interested in adopting a JV structure were more likely to be younger, hold a university degree, and believe their business is constrained by a lack of skilled labour. The analyses of discrete choice data showed that farmers prefer JV farm structures that offer increased income with minimal loss of decision control and no change to annual leave. Significant unobserved heterogeneity of farmer JV attribute preferences was identified using random parameter logit modelling and latent class analysis. Six classes of farmers, each with distinct preferences for JV structure attributes suggest that, although there is no ‘one size fits all’ model, there are opportunities for compatible JV partnerships. Our findings suggest that there is significant interest in adoption of JV structures, but adoption will require the identification of potential partners based on attitudinal, business and geographical compatibility. Policy interventions to assist in JV development should focus on: a) supporting research and extension to demonstrate the potential financial benefits; b) providing an enabling business, communication and investment environment to attract compatible farmers, investors, and partners; and c) building a network of trusted advisors to advise and support clients on JV formation and performance. By building the awareness and capacity of the advisor network towards organisational innovation, motivated farmers can be supported to find suitable partners and develop successful JV structures.
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Centre for Global Food & Resources, 2017

碩士
亞洲大學
休閒與遊憩管理學系碩士在職專班
107
The concept of a citizen farm is derived from the concept of sustainable development and innovative parks. The aim of citizen farm is balancing the development between economy and environment, and meeting people’s needs for quality of life and health. However, the development of the public farms has gradually saturated. We need to know whether the citizen farms can still meet the needs and trends of world today. Therefore, this study used the PEST analysis model to evaluate the current situation of innovation parks in the citizen farm. We also evaluate the interaction between farm owners and tenants by case interviews. The study results were showed in four factors, including political factors, economic factors, social factors and technological factors. This study found that it can help the farmland to successfully transform, and also achieve the purpose of citizen participation and leisure and entertainment with the government policy subsidy and the technical assistance of the peasant association. Through the promotion of organic farms, the awareness of maintaining natural ecology and healthy food safety can be enhanced. But we also found the types of planting in the citizen farms are biased towards fruits and vegetables. It is hard to maintain forest resource and soil resource. On the other hand, the participating public is mostly elderly. It needs to encourage workers and young generation to work together. For the development of citizen farms, it still needs to consider comprehensive, diversified and national participation in order to achieve the goal of sustainable development.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
商學研究所
85
This article applies analytical Jamshidian closed-form bond option pricing formula (1989),which is extended from Black- Sholes option pricing formula and based on the one factor Vasicek (1977) interest rate model , and the numerical method ,the Hull and White interest rate trinomial tree method (1994),based on the Hull & White extended Vasicek interest rate model to price the cap embedded in the Far East Textile #63 corporate bond. By amortizing the caplets value over the life of the bond, we can sum up t he total value to acquire the cap value, that is the markup(mark down) compensate the bondholders'' potential loss or benefit. At last, we use the factors sensibility analysis to test the influences of the interest parameter variation, including the alpha, sigma, mu, exercise interest rate , time periods. Not only is single parameter tested , but also the sensibility analysis of simultaneous variation of two factors are tested. The conclusion of this study shows that: (1) When valuing caps, the analy tical Jamshidian closed-form formula and the numerical Hull and White trinomial tree method yield similar results. The difference between the two models is within the range to be accepted. (2) the estimation of the interest rate model parameters play very important roles to determine the caps value, how to find out an efficient way to get an accurate value is very difficult. (3).the sensitivity analysis gave us a general concept about the direction and quantities of cap value that varies with each parameter valuation. Of all the parameters, we find out the volatility has the most significant influence on the cap value. Besides, the variation of exercise rate and long term interest rate average level mu also have significant influence. (4).the pricing ability of numerical method is more powerful than the classic model, especially dealing with the bond options which have complex payoffs at the option maturity. With the fast growth and progress of the derivatives market, how to develop more accurate and powerful pricing method is an important topic of the Financial Engineering.

碩士
中華科技大學
航空運輸研究所在職專班
100
Since the government carried out the “Open Sky” policy in 1987, the airline market in Taiwan has prospered immensely. However, in the past few years, there has been competition from bus companies which have competed intensively for domination of the bus market in the western part of Taiwan. It was also predicted after the High Speed Rail started operation at the end of 2006. That severely impacted on airline market, and Far Eastern Air Transport also faced with deep financial problems at the same time. In this study, in-depth interviews of business model: SWOT analysis、 business strategies and corporate life-cycle perspectives were used to explore why this airline failed. During the past 51 years of the airline’s operation, with 3 different decisions maker’s leadership style, did any business strategy errors occur? What led Far Eastern Air Transport from an excellent airline into bankruptcy? The results of this research have identified improvements in enterprise leaders’ decision-making that can help them to achieve their company’s business objectives.

碩士
康寧大學
企業管理研究所
104
Modern communication and the public telecommunications situation pushes the market of telecommunications to a new peak. The competition between the industry more competitive. In order to stand out among the competition, each company supplies all kinds of promotions, also shots many distinctive advertisement or pays for many artistes to endorse, trying to attract the attention of consumers and build brand loyalty. This study attempts to investigate the relationship between advertisement behavior and the advertising revenue of the telecommunications industry and the impact of advertising related expenses. Moreover, taking into consideration that the telecommunications industry provides more diversified services to attract consumers and thus enhance the company's revenue, so the study will also include the management expenses to the influential factor. Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone Telecommunications are used for examples. The empirical data collected from financial statements. The sample period covered from 2003 to 2015. We also considered the influence of board of directors on company performance. Use the supervisors’ shareholding ratio as the proxy variable of corporate governance. The empirical results indicated that advertising and managing expenses have the positive effects to two companies’ revenue. However the supervisors’ shareholding ratio only has the negative effect to the Far EasTone Telecommunications.

博士
國立臺灣大學
商學研究所
85
While the transactions of the derivative financial products have been worldwide popular in the capital and financial market, it just has its beginning here in Taiwan. Because the public are not familiar with these new financial products, the transaction in the market is still not active. Most of the transactions are among foreign banks or between foreign bank and large international enterprises. This study focuses on Far-East Textile 62th corporate bond, and investigates the pricing of bond derivative financial products. First, I abandon the flat hypothesis on the term stucture of interest rate in earlier theoretical paper, and take the variation of term structure of interest rate into consideration. I also utilize Hull-White(1990) Extended-Vasicek one factor term structure of interest rate model, so as to distinguish the short-term and long-term interest rate, and the prices of short- term and long-term bond. Secondly, I apply Black(1976) forward bond option pricing model and Jamshidian(1989) option pricing model in order to estimate the option prices based on these rate/bond ,including Call and Put, then summing up to calculate Floor and Cap price implied in Far-East Textile 62th corporate bond. Next, applying term structure of interest rate and Floor Approach, I also calculate the price of Far-East Textile 62th corporate bond A & B. Meanwhile I compare the theoretical price with the second market''s quote price, so as to demonstrate its pricing error. By varying the parameter in Hull-White Extended- Vasicek term structure of interest rate model, We can find out the effect of parameter''s variation on the pricing error. Besides, I use the computer simulation to calculate the Floor and Cap price implied in Far-East Textile 62th corporate bond A & B, within the 0%~25% interest rate interval. Last, under Jamshidian(1989) option pricing model, with one-factor and two- factor sensitivity analysis, I also investigate parameter''s influences on Floor and Cap price. To Sum up, the conclusions are as follows: (1)The estimations of parameters in the term structure of interest rate model will vary with different sampling periods. It will then influence the sequential valuation of Floor and Cap. (2)The variation of model parameter has very little influence on pricing error. There is little difference between Jamshidian model and Black model. (3)Under computer simulation, the Cap and Floor prices estimated by Black model and Jamshidian model are very close. (4)From one-factor sensativity analysis, We know that the adjust rate a of the short-term rate toward long-term average m is negative related to both Cap and Floor prices. The long-term average m is positive related to Cap price while negative related to Floor prices. The volatility of index rate s is positive related to Cap and Floor price. The exercise rate x is negative related to Cap price,but positive related to Floor price. Within the same index rate reset period ,as time passes toward the next reset date, Cap and Floor prices will gradually increase and come to their maximum on the day just before next reset date. On the index rate reset date, the prices will decrease and lower than those on the last reset date. The process will repeat again and again until the prices come to zero on the bond expiry date. (5)From two-factor sensitivity analysis, We know that: (a)When value a is smaller; i.e. the adjust rate of the short-term rate toward long-term average m is slower,Cap and Floor prices are bigger. Also, at this time Cap and Floor prices have nothing to do with the value of long-term average m. By contrast, when value a is bigger; i. e. the adjust rate is faster,Cap and Floor prices are smaller, and at this moment Cap and Floor prices have something to do with the value of the long-term average m. (b)Generally speaking, the volatility of index rate s is positive related to both Cap and Floor prices. The exercise rate x is negative related to Cap prices but positive related to Floor prices. However, when the adjust rate of the short-term rate toward the long-term average m is faster,i.e. as a is bigger,the effect of volatility s and exercise rate x on Cap and Floor prices will be weakened accordingly. As a conclusion, the adjust rate a of short-term rate toward long-term average m, has key influence on Cap and Floor prices. This should be worthy of our special attention.

碩士
國立臺北科技大學
經營管理系碩士在職專班
104
In the recent twenty years, the government has been working on the financial industry’sliberalization and internationalization. It makes the financial industry profession an importantfield, and the industry’s service quality has become the most competitive value. The service quality is related to the customer’s satisfaction after they have accepted the service; customer’s satisfaction is one of the important evaluation indicators in the financial industry.There are many foreign business or national financial agencies showing excellent competitive ability because of it’s professional quality of service. This research is about Far East International Bank. This research probes into the influence of Far East International Banks’ service quality and image of enterprise on customer loyalty and customer satisfaction., and the banking correspondents are as the object of study. The SPSS software are used to analyze the statistical data, and the results are as follows: 1.FEIBs’ service quality has a significant affect on customer satisfaction. 2.FEIBs’ service quality has a significant affect on customer loyalty. 3.FEIBs’ corporate image has a significant affect on customer satisfaction. 4.FEIBs’ corporate image has a significant affect on customer loyalty. 5.FEIBs’ customer satisfaction has a significant affect on customer loyalty. 6.FEIBs’ customer service quality has a significant affect on corporate image. The findings discovered that the corporate image was influenced by service quality, further affects the customer satisfaction and consumer loyalty.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
國際企業學系
85
GRADUATE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY NAME：CHEAU-MEY, HWANG MONTH/YEAR：JUNE, 1997 ADVISER：Dr. HUNG, MAO-WEI The Application of Interest Rate Term Structure Theory on the Valuation of the Interest Rate Cap Embedded in Far East Textile'' s #63 Corporate Bond Traditional option pricing theories and term structure theories have disadvantages while evaluating the price of interest rate options. Thus, new interest rate models rise because of demand. This study applies three different term structure models on the valuation of the cap embedded in Far East Textile''s #63 corporate bond, and sensitivity ana- lyses are followed. These models include Black, Derman, and Toy (1990), Heath, Jarrow, and Morton (1992), and Ritchken and Sankarasubramanian (1992). The valuing results of the three model are quite different that is because of the imperfection of estimation of parameters. About the comparisons of the three models: 1. the BDT model has simple assumption, but is not easy to solve using trial-and-error method; 2. the calculation of the HJM model is extremely time-consuming, thus the model has only a little practical value; 3. the calculation of the RS model is fast, but it may not form a reconnecting interest rate lattice.

碩士
國立中央大學
法律與政府研究所
100
This thesis discusses two main issues related to the confirmation and realization of claims in reorganization procedure. In the hope of that the reorganization process and its treatment of claim will be better understood, this thesis will present an overview of the bankruptcy regime and the elements of corporate reorganization. Chapter 2 defines Principal characteristics of bankruptcy procedure used in the reorganization bargaining process. These principal characteristics will assist in gaining a better and efficient regulations. Could we readily apply these principles to corporate reorganization in Insolvency law？ Or the reorganization statutes attempts to structure a framework for multiparty bargaining, in which we are here concerned with (The purposes of business reorganization can be seen fall in to two large bin): One bin looks at creditor wealth maximization, and in another large bin are the other social interests. While these two camps might seem to be at war. In order to eliminate the interest conflict, modulated autonomy regulations of the creditors and a system of collective debt-collection serve two efficiency purposes. A well-functioning reorganization process should have accuracy and predictability, diminish the uncertainty of the results of bankruptcy reorganization. Reorganization relief can thus be both fair and efficient. Especially, In this sense, filing proofs of claim and the mechanism for accomplishing it are fundamental to the bargaining dynamics of every reorganization. On this premise, we should first determine the definition of confirmation of the claims, Court also plays a vital role in determining whether a creditor's claim is adequately deemed allowed. This thesis will discusses the range of court’s statutory authorities and explore the possibility of court have potentially significant influence over the allowance procedure. Chapter 4 and 5 introduces many of the features of reorganization provisions under the U.S. bankruptcy laws, and discusses provisions on Issues concerning the claim confirmation trial of U.S. Enterprise Bankruptcy Cases. The Bankruptcy Code and Rules of Procedure provide mechanisms for reference , and we can analyse the confirmation and realization of claims in cases under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code of experience. Chapter 6 gives a summary of the comparison of the US and the Taiwanese law in Chapters 3, 4 and 5 of this thesis.Some studies shows that some Taiwanese reorganization courts have failed to apply a strict standard to determine whether a claim should be allow. Moreover, courts have used different standards for unequitable solution to the disputes. Bankruptcy reorganization is an equal alternative to liquidation. We should also consider the standard for the reorganization courts to manage the arguments and conduct of parties to ensure judicial efficiency and to do justice. Courts can’t be biased, incompetent, or in any event powerless to protect the priority of senior investors. And conclude by combined with the creditor’s influence against the judicial power, the legal qualification requirement that allow a claim to be ensure they can participate in the bargaining process, this thesis raising a suggestion about contingent claim-allowed model .

碩士
國立臺灣大學
商學研究所
85
The great development of interest rate derivative securities in the financial market makes its evaluation an important issue. Traditional optionpricing theories and term structure theories have disadvantages while evaluatingthe price of interest rate options. Thus, new interest rate models rise becauseof demands. This study applies three different term structure models on the valuation ofthe cap embedded in Far East Textile''s #62 corporation bond, and sensitivity analyses are followed. These models include Black, Derman, and Toy (1990), Heath, Jarrow, and Morton (1992), and Ritchken and Sankarasubramanian (1992). The study suggests an algorithm to speed up the trial-and-error method to solve simultaneous equations in the BDT model, and some solutions to the problems found in the RS model. The conclusions of this study are presented as follows:I. The valuing result of the BDT normal-distribution model is quite tiny, while the result of other models are all zero. Two reasons can explain this: 1. the cap rate is too high; 2. the historical data show that the volatility of the index rate is small, while the mean reversion speed is big.II. About the comparisons of the three model: 1. the BDT model has simple assumption, but is not easy to solve using trial- and-error method; 2. the calculation of the HJM model is extremely time-consuming, thus the model has almost no practical value; 3. the calculation of the RS model is fast, but it may not form a reconnecting interest rate lattice.

The land-grant university system was founded in the 19th century as a public means to help improve people’s everyday lives. A century and a half later, the challenges that the public faces to live a quality life are constantly changing, creating a need for the land-grant system to respond and adapt to continue to fulfill its mission. While the literature contains a wealth of conceptual papers addressing the role and mission of land-grant universities, relatively few papers could be found that reported empirical data or proposed and tested metrics for public engagement constructs. The current study sought to address this void in the literature through the investigation of factors influencing Indiana residents’ level of interest in engaging with Purdue University. Mail survey methods were used in which up to three contacts were made with adult members of 4,500 Indiana households identified through address-based sampling. Stratified random sampling was employed to ensure adequate rural household participation for other project purposes. Usable responses were received from 1,003 households representing 87 Indiana counties for a total response rate of 26%.