Thesis and Research Data Repository Leeds Beckett University
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Sustaining Consumerism
No full textMany would argue that due to increasing prosperity in many parts of the western world we now live in a consumer society, a society in which the buying and selling of goods and services takes precedence over the production of materials as a result of increasing affluence and further individualism (Oxford Dictionary of Sociology, 2009). In this critical reflection I will consider how our lifestyles and current ways of life are one of the largest threats to our planet in contemporary society.</p
A Second Look at My Trip to the Philippines
No full textCatherine Charles’ reflective piece written in the form of a diary about a trip to the Philippines. It touches on concepts such as the tourist gaze and how the globalisation and the global tourist industry affects developing countries. It examines how social media and photography are factors in encouraging people to travel. It also talks of the hypocrisy of traveling to beautiful environments without a thought about how the travel itself affects the environment and the traveller is therefore complicit in its demise.</p
Corporate governance practice and bank failure in Nigeria: a critical realist case-study
No full textThe aim of the study was to examine the influence of country-level cultural and political social structures on board decision making related to corporate governance practices and bank failure in Nigeria in 2009. An abductive critical realist case-study methodology, using Casual Process Tracing, inferred that cultural collectivism and unethical tribalism -probably influenced bank directors, under certain generative economic and legal conditions, to unduly interfere in board decision making related to corporate governance lapses and bank failure in 2009 in a Nigerian case-study. Furthermore, failure in the banking case-study in 2009 -within the culture of a highly collectivist Nigerian banking industry -probably triggered mechanisms of ‘financial contagion’ and ‘self-fulling prophecy’ that caused a ‘run’ on Nigerian banking stocks. The ‘run' on banking stocks revealed the full extent of under capitalisation within the Nigerian banking industry which prompted a government bail-out of one third of the private banking sector in 2009. The wider implications of this study for comparative corporate governance practice are that different national contexts, with different cultural and institutional social structures, probably warrant different national codes of corporate governance practice. Furthermore, this thesis suggests that where: 1) indices indicate high national, industry and organisational levels of cultural collectivism and 2) director impunity to reputational damage, arising from unethical conduct, persists unchecked by regulators and 3) National governments explicitly guarantee the bail-out of failing banks, then the systemic nature of bank failure experienced in Nigeria in 2009 may reoccur. To the extent that implicit agreements, to bail-out banks ‘too big to fail’ exist in the West then it may be appropriate, in accordance with this study’s typology, to also regulate behaviour in Western banking systems with both contract-based and reputation-based measures
Country Reputation Theory: Brazil’s Brand Image in the United Kingdom
No full textThe meaning of a country brand image in the competitive global world is evidently a multidimensional phenomenon, as various stakeholders are involved in the reputation of a country. However, existing research discreetly recognises the presence of theoretical convergences regarding the image of a country (e.g. country-of-origin, country branding, nation branding) and country reputation. Therefore, the aim of this cross-disciplinary research is to rationally explore and describe Brazil’s brand image while making advances into the evolution of country reputation theory. By probing associations, perceptions and awareness based on country reputation dimensions, this research scientifically evaluates the case of Brazil considering four stakeholders: the government and the citizens of the country, the media and the residents of the United Kingdom. Philosophically, interpretivism and constructivism are employed in this multifaceted and unique snapshot case study. Methodologically, mixed-method was chosen containing three phases. In Phase I, news coverage and historical documentation were adopted followed by Phase II, which included an elite and expert interview with the Brazilian Government and a focus group with UK residents. Content analysis aligned to thematic analysis was carried out for Phases I and II. In Phase III, two surveys were undertaken with UK residents and with Brazilians using exploratory factor analysis. The analysis and interpretation of the overall results indicated a medium country reputation of Brazil in the UK. The reputation of a country is certainly embodied over time-fixed and temporary associations with a country name, as perceptions are revealed underneath the country-of-origin construct recognised by multiple stakeholders. This research offers a groundwork for future studies on theorising country reputation theory. It also provides support to manage country reputation as the conclusion emphasises integrative and continuous strategies applied to enhance a country reputation within the globalised context of international business. Finally, this thesis contributes not only to academia and government authorities, but also to professionals engaged in the management of country reputation, specifically for Brazil’s economic and sustainable progress through ethical and reputable competition
An Era of Trumps? the Disappearance of Knowledge in Contemporary Politics
No full textFollowing Donald Trump’s recent inauguration into the white house, this piece analyses the implications of such a man coming to power. Drawing upon Webster’s conceptualisation of the ‘Information Society’ and Bauman’s ideas of a surveillance society, this piece seeks to understand the ways in which new technologies and social media were used in the US elections, and the ways in which trump used these tools for his advantage. Is this new development of information in our postmodern society for the greater good? Does it indeed make us more knowledgeable?</p
Internal Corporate Social Responsibility: a Perspective of Nigerian Commercial Banks
No full textThe study exploited the backdrop of the paucity of empirical studies on internal corporate social responsibility (ICSR) practices within indigenous organisations in Nigeria. The study adopted a qualitative research design to identify and explain internal CSR in Nigerian banks‟. The research tools included semi- structured interviews with six CSR directors and six executives in six key commercial banks in Nigeria. It also used open-ended questionnaire surveys to collect data from 101 employees from within the commercial banks in Nigeria. The data collected was analyzed using content and thematic analyses using the Nvivo 9 software package. As a knowledge base for the study, the ISO26000 was used to investigate the presence of internal CSR (health and safety, gender equality, diversity, fairness treatment, fair remuneration, fair selection in recruitment process and work-life balance) in Nigerian banks. The study found that internal CSR practices are common in Nigerian Banks but are not clearly defined or categorized as internal CSR. The major trend from the study highlights CSR in the Nigerian banking sector as a strategy for fulfilling societal expectations and contributing to the development of the educational sector, addressing social challenges and philanthropy gestures. Hence, the notion of internal CSR is not widely defined. This study contributes to knowledge by summarising the need for an integrated framework which promotes internal CSR practices in Nigeria. Among other things, the framework underlines the need for an integrated shared responsibility by all stakeholders in creating an enabling environment to maximise the benefits of internal CSR in the Nigerian banking sector. In conclusion, the study highlights the need for further research on the benefits of internal CSR from a public sector environment in Nigeria and the challenges of integrated networking by legislative and regulatory bodies of enforceable internal CSR expectations
THE DYNAMICS OF EMERGING SECONDARY CAPITAL MARKET – A CASE STUDY OF N.S.E
No full textThe search for factors influencing prices of shares is one area of modern economic
research that is being studied most intensively especially in view of recurring
crashes in different capital markets.
This study aims to establish factors that led to crash of prices of shares on the
Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 2008 as well as determinant of such prices in the
emerging capital market. The research is based on regression analysis, analytical
review of financial statements of some of the Companies quoted on NSE, and a
survey of randomly selected investors in the market.
The regression analysis shows that prices of shares on NSE largely depend on
returns on other investment options and dividends. It further shows that contrary to
a priori expectation, prices of shares are inversely related to exchange rate, and
notably, output growth.
Analytical review of sampled financial statements shows that prices of shares
responded to the related entities’ earnings report as contained in the financial
statements. It further shows the need to look beyond just the figures.
Survey analysis re-affirms a strong relationship between dividend payment by the
entities listed on the NSE and their share prices. It however, shows that financial
position of the entities is not a significant factor impacting prices of shares in the
market.
The general conclusions of this study are that prices of shares in the market
responded mainly to returns on other investment options and dividend payments by
the quoted entities. This realization led to manipulations of financial statements and
declaration of dividends even when the true state of affairs of the entities did not
support same. It was the widespread of this practice aided by the weak regulatory
environment and speculative buying of shares by unsuspecting investors that led to
eventual crash in the NSE in 2008
The Impact of ICT on Democratic Governance: A Case for Botswana e-Democracy
No full textUnderstanding the link between ICT implementation outcomes and e-democracy in the African region has been difficult to justify due to; the perceived lack of research data and limited access to internet that facilitate democratic governance. Literature on ICT and related disciplines seems to suggest that regular replications have been well researched with a focus on the internet and much less has been reported on ubiquitous ICT applications and their evolving new media convergence technologies through the means of mobile telephone, radio and television.
Using critical realist perspective, this qualitative case study validates idealized theories on e-democracy models in literature and redefines the role of ICT to encompass other domains of the empirical such as mobile phone, radio and television. This research study would therefore argue that; contemporary models of e-democracy framework (Paivarinta & Saebo, 2006) are empirically generalizable in the case of Botswana and, to some extent, for developing nations of the world ICT facilitated democracy has more potential for ubiquitous application such as mobile phone, radio and television, which are more pervasive than internet applications.</p
One Earth - Two Different Worlds
No full textThere are many things first world coutries take for granted and within todays consumer society we are all too ready to indulge in the latest gadgets. It can be argued that consumer society is linked with a wasteful society. Objects once deemed as must haves are quickly replaced with the next best thing. Baurdrillard (1998) claims that objects are now made with an expriy date, only to be branded as old and outdated when something new comes out. This Critical reflection looks into the vast contrast between western consumerism and the lifestyles of those in developing countries who struggle with rescources and the impact western production has upon them.</p
Stock Return Volatility in Southeast Asian Markets
No full textThis thesis explores determinants of stock return volatility in Southeast Asian markets. Firstly, we examine the effects of fundamental factors (macroeconomic and corporate variables) and behavioural factors (index composition and political risk) on stock market volatility. The factors are studied based on two theories in finance: neoclassical finance and behavioural finance. The results show that behavioural factors affect stock market volatility more significantly than fundamental factors in the countries with underdeveloped financial systems and unstable economies. This implies that the concept of behavioural finance is more reliable. However, the implication of the results presented in this thesis contributes to numerous finance researches regarding the theory of neoclassical finance in the countries with developed financial systems and stable economies.
Next, we investigate evidence of primary factors influencing stock return volatility at industry level. Our results indicate that behavioural factors influence industry return volatility more significantly compared to those on aggregate market level. In other words, noise trading tends to be found in industry level, while informed traders become more dominant in the market, and thus the impact of noise trading on aggregate market volatility is reduced.
Finally, we further evaluate the significance of stock return volatility by investigating the dynamics of volatility for the implications of real economic activity and crisis. A number of tests are conducted to examine whether the characteristics of return volatility involve a crisis and whether information in time-varying return volatilities explains macroeconomic fluctuations. As expected, we have found some characteristics of return volatility related to a crisis. There are the same results in both aggregate market and industry levels. The positive and relatively large value of β coefficient, which indicates high persistence in volatility, has been found in the time of pre-crisis. In addition, the results suggest that return volatility at industry level are most important closer to real economic activity, while return volatility at aggregate market is further. Most notably, industries that highly related to financial system (finance & securities and banking industry groups) appear to warrant overweighting for macroeconomic environment.
Our results should be of value to macro-prudential, fiscal and monetary policy makers, as they provide guidance on how policy makers should think about the relationship between stock return volatility and the financial system to indicate economic conditions. These also present an important policy implication in light of stock market regulations, which should be established to prevent investors from clouding decision-making processes.</p