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A systematic study of cross-border M&As: uncovering how Chinese MNEs gain benefits
No full textAlthough Cross-border M&As (CBMAs) are a popular strategy, only a minority of firms have achieved significant success. In response to this issue, this thesis explores the influence factors on Chinese multinational enterprises' (MNEs) CBMAs premiums and post-CBMAs performance, aiming to identify the contingent factors that enable Chinese MNEs to enhance their global competitiveness.
Specifically, it examines the role of home-country institutions on Chinese MNEs’ CBMAs premiums, the role of experiential learning in improving Chinese MNEs' acquisition capability, and the role of absorptive capacity in Chinese MNEs’ strategic asset-seeking CBMAs performance. The main findings are threefold. First, in Chapter II, this thesis finds that: 1) government financial support exerts an adverse effect on the premiums paid by Chinese MNEs in cross-border M&As; 2) Chinese MNEs tend to pay lower premiums during hot political periods compared to cold political periods; 3) Chinese MNEs tend to pay higher premiums when the targets are relevant to strategically important industries; and 4) Chinese MNEs tend to pay even higher premiums when the targets are politically connected.
Second, in Chapter III, this thesis finds that 1) acquisition experiences can mitigate the negative impact of weak diplomatic relations on Chinese MNEs’ post-CBMA performance; 2) greenfield experience enhances the negative impact of weak diplomatic relations on Chinese MNEs’ post-CBMA performance; 3) the moderating effect of acquisition experience on the relationship between diplomatic relations and post-CBMA performance is weaker for state-owned enterprises; 4) the moderating effect of greenfield experience on the relationship between diplomatic relations and post-CBMA performance is stronger for state-owned enterprises; 5) acquisition experience plays a more significant moderating role when it has been accumulated in host countries with poor diplomatic relations with China; and 6) greenfield experience plays a stronger moderating role when it has been accumulated in host countries with poor diplomatic relations with China.
Third, in Chapter IV, this thesis indicates that 1) the Top Management Team (TMT)’s technological experience positively moderates the relationship between strategic assets acquired and the post-CBMA performance of Chinese MNEs; 2) the TMT’s managerial experience positively moderates the relationship between strategic assets acquired and the post-CBMA performance of Chinese MNEs; and 3) the TMT’s political connections negatively moderate the relationship between strategic assets acquired and the post-CBMA performance of Chinese MNEs.
This thesis contributes to the IB literature by engaging in the ongoing debate on how home-country institutions and government factors influence Chinese MNEs’ CBMA activities. It helps IB scholars gain a deeper understanding of Chinese MNEs' CBMAs and argues that, generally, government involvement tends to have a negative impact on both acquisition intent and post-CBMA performance. Moreover, this thesis highlights a series of firm-level factors that can help Chinese MNEs overcome obstacles hindering CBMAs. It contributes to the IB literature by indicating that developing Chinese MNEs’ internal capabilities is crucial
Using neuroimaging to investigate central auditory changes following hearing loss and tinnitus
No full textTinnitus, a condition characterized by the perception of phantom sounds, affects a significant portion of the population, often in conjunction with hearing loss. Despite its prevalence, the underlying mechanisms of tinnitus remain elusive, with central auditory processes believed to play a crucial role. This thesis explores the central mechanisms involved in tinnitus, focusing on brain plasticity models—cortical reorganization and homeostasis—as potential explanations for the onset and persistence of tinnitus in humans.
The research presented in this thesis comprises three neuroimaging studies employing advanced techniques such as structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI, diffusion MRI, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to investigate brain structural and functional changes associated with hearing loss and tinnitus. The first study, using MRS, assessed the feasibility of quantifying gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels in the auditory cortex, revealing challenges in detecting significant changes in this key inhibitory neurotransmitter, which may play a role in tinnitus perception.
The second study, leveraging data from the UK Biobank, examined structural plasticity in central auditory structures, identifying small yet significant effects of hearing loss on brain structure, particularly in auditory white matter tracts. The study also found that tinnitus interacts with hearing loss, moderating structural integrity, with implications for understanding the preservation of brain health in the context of sensory deprivation.
The third study employed resting-state fMRI to investigate the effects of tinnitus on spontaneous neural activity. By using a functional analogy that compared the resting brain activity of individuals with and without tinnitus, the study simulated the persistent auditory experience of tinnitus with continuous acoustic stimulation. The results demonstrated that tinnitus is associated with increased spontaneous activity fluctuations in auditory-related regions, particularly at smaller spatial scales, and revealed that the coherence of spontaneous fluctuations decreased, particularly at larger spatial scales, during task conditions compared to rest, suggesting a reorganization of neural activity that may enhance information processing during auditory tasks.
The final study, using functional MRI, focused on spontaneous and stimulus- evoked tonotopy response within the auditory cortex, to compare individuals with normal hearing and high-frequency hearing loss, with and without tinnitus. The findings indicate that tinnitus is associated with increased spontaneous activity fluctuations, and enhanced evoked responses within the deprived high-frequency areas to non-preferred stimulus frequencies near the hearing loss edge, or slope, suggesting cortical reorganization and homeostatic changes occurred together within the deprived area within the auditory region.
Together, these studies advance our understanding of the central mechanisms underlying tinnitus and hearing loss, highlighting the complex interplay between cortical reorganization and homeostasis. This work contributes to the broader field of sensory neuroplasticity, offering new insights into the brain’s adaptive responses to hearing loss and the resulting phantom perceptions
How do healthcare professionals recognise and respond to Hospital-Acquired Deconditioning?
No full textBackground
Hospital-acquired deconditioning (HAD) in adults is associated with increased readmission, extended length of stay, discharge to institutional care, reduced quality of life, and higher ongoing health costs. In the context of quality targets to reduce LOS and to prioritise discharge to usual residence, preventing deconditioning is a regularly cited goal of acute hospital care. However, there is no formally agreed-upon definition of hospital-acquired deconditioning. From this stems a lack of specificity in what clinical presentations indicate that a patient is affected by HAD. This PhD study addresses the gap of what clinical features may constitute a diagnosis of HAD through the exploration of how healthcare professionals recognise and respond to it in adults.
Methods
An exploratory multi-method program was undertaken to develop insight into the recognisable clinical features of HAD and responses to it. A scoping review was used to seek established key characteristics and definitions of HAD. Focus groups, interviews and non-participant observation were used to explore healthcare professionals' experiences of recognising and responding to HAD. Moreover, organisational and environmental factors that may affect the ability of healthcare professionals to recognise and respond to HAD were solicited. Results from these studies were synthesised into a draft process model of the clinical decision-making process. This draft process model was presented to a group of stakeholders and refined using a modified nominal group technique to determine the core signs and symptoms of HAD required for a diagnosis.
Results
Evidence from 103 sources included in the scoping review showed a large and diverse literature base. Key findings included a lack of consistency and clarity on the core features of HAD, suggesting that a common definition of HAD had yet to be established. A qualitative inquiry featuring five focus groups, 18 interviews, and non-participant observations was illustrated using reflexive thematic analysis, which generated the understanding that there were three aspects that shaped the participants' process of recognising and responding to HAD. These were who is recognising and responding, what is being recognised and responded to and the interpretation of the situation. Across these inquiries, it was understood that determining the clinical features of the patient's presentation due to HAD was challenging and highly contextualised. A definition of HAD was derived from the data as an observable (negative) change in a person’s ability to care for themselves that is greater than anticipated. The scoping review and qualitative inquiry findings informed a draft process model, which outlined the potential interaction between HAD symptoms, contributory factors, consequences, and the context. Reviewing this process model in a modified nominal group technique with 10 stakeholders identified that important features of HAD may include greater dependence, impaired mobility, depression, impaired recovery, anxiety, increased fear or heightened sense of danger, weight loss, frailty, impaired personal care, and reduced engagement. Consensus on the definitive clinical features of HAD was not reached. The importance of simplifying the process model for a clinical and patient audience was highlighted.
Conclusion
This thesis has provided an exploration into the nature of the concept of HAD from the perspective of healthcare professionals. This viewpoint has been unrepresented in the evidence. A process model for HAD has been developed with adaptations for clinical and patient audiences. The absence of definitive criteria developed from the work suggests that further research is required to determine HAD's boundaries and clinical features. Alternatively, these findings may indicate that while the perceived outcomes and impact of HAD are important, the terminology of HAD is inappropriate for further inquiries. A third potential is that the fragile nature of the concept of HAD provides insight into the strategies that HCPs engage in to enact change in the current NHS context, affected by austerity-induced resource constraints and the governance of New Public Management
Herbivore-Plant-Soil microbe interaction: Who is helping whom?
Get PDFPlant-microbe interactions are key to improving plant defence against herbivory which causes significant losses in food production worldwide. This project aimed to study how aphid herbivory changes the chemical signalling at the plant-soil microbe interface, and to disentangle the complexity of these interactions using a multidisciplinary approach involving microbiology, chemical ecology and bioinformatics.
In an initial experiment where wheat plants were exposed to aphid herbivory for two weeks, rhizosphere bacterial diversity was observed to decrease, with an increased the relative abundance of Actinobacteria class (p < 0.05). Furthermore, untargeted metabolomics analyses showed that the profile of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the rhizosphere soil was significantly different under herbivory (p < 0.05). Based on these findings, a second experiment was design using a semi-hydroponic system to facilitate the analysis of chemical signals released by plants via root exudates and volatile organic compounds. Furthermore, rhizosphere and root tissue collection were performed for DNA extraction and amplicon sequencing analysis (16S rRNA). The metabolomics analysis showed that aphid herbivory induced significant changes in the root exudate profile, with 485 metabolites altered and 39 compounds significantly enriched under herbivory. Chemical classification revealed that some of these compounds belong to the benzoxazinoids, terpenes, coumarins and flavonoid classes of secondary metabolites, with some – like HMBOA – previously identified as key signals in plant-microbe interactions under herbivory. In contrast, herbivory resulted in the depletion of certain oxidised fatty acids and amino acids in root exudates. Amplicon sequencing revealed that, some Actinobacteria genera found in the initial experiment (Streptacidiphilus, Streptomyces, Catenulispora), were enriched in the roots of plants under herbivory. Further investigations demonstrated that four herbivory-regulated compounds influenced the growth of rhizosphere bacteria isolated from wheat rhizosphere, suggesting that these metabolites play a functional role in shaping plant-microbe interactions.
Overall, this work shows that aboveground insect pests can have a significant impact on plant belowground interactions, and further research is needed to investigate how to use this knowledge for the development of sustainable pest management strategies that put the soil microbial communities at the centre of crop production
Utilising light in assistive reproductive technologies
Get PDFAccurate assessment of oocyte and embryo quality remains a key challenge for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) success, where current methods are often subjective and invasive. This thesis investigates the use of optical tweezers for passive microrheology, revealing stage-specific differences in the embryo microenvironment and viability-related differences in the oocyte microenvironment. It also shows that discrete light wavelengths can alter embryo development in ways undetectable by routine morphology. Collectively, these findings establish optical tweezers as a non-invasive approach to assess developmental potential and emphasise the critical role of regulated light conditions in optimising IVF outcomes
Trauma Informed Care within Oncology? Understanding the impact of childhood trauma on experiences of cancer and cancer services in adulthood
Get PDFObjectives: This research aimed to explore whether Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) influence individuals’ experiences when accessing and engaging in cancer services as adults, including their satisfaction with cancer services, and whether cancer services are trauma-informed.
Design: An experimental study using a mixed-method sequential explanatory design. Stage one was an online quantitative survey that informed stage two, in which semi-structured interviews were completed after analysis of the survey data.
Methods: The online survey was completed by 266 participants. Descriptive statistics, correlation and mediation analysis was conducted (quantitative data), and an inductive-deductive reflexive thematic analysis was implemented (qualitative data). The deductive framework used was based on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA; 2014) trauma-informed care model (TIC), which addresses physical, relational and emotional challenges associated with trauma exposure (Sweeney et al., 2016). The overall study results integrated both the quantitative and qualitative data.
Results: Findings indicate a moderate negative correlation (r = -.40) between childhood trauma and patient satisfaction scores, suggesting that higher levels of childhood trauma are associated with lower levels of satisfaction with cancer services, mediated by an individual’s illness perceptions of their cancer. The thematic analysis generated four themes relating to experiences of cancer care and how these are informed within personal and historical contexts: 1) ‘Connecting the dots’: Resonance of childhood memories and current experiences. 2) ‘Nobody ever told me’: Powerlessness & cancer-related losses. 3) ‘I just wanted everyone else around me to be okay’: Distributed effects of cancer through the social network. 4) ‘It’s down to bedside manner’: Patient satisfaction is shaped by relational care. Patients only made connections back to their childhood trauma in Theme 1 and spoke about their cancer experiences more broadly.
Conclusions: The results offer preliminary insights into the potential importance of applying trauma-informed care to the cancer population. While the interview findings do not conclusively support this, it remains a significant clinical consideration that cancer services in the UK may benefit from adjustments to incorporate trauma-informed care for the UK cancer population
The Social Fabric of the Remi: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Enterprise, Socio-Economic Groups, and Identity-Making in Roman Northeastern France
No full textThis thesis explores what the study of the epigraphic habit, dress, ensemble, and stone funerary monuments informs us about the world of the Remi and how these data were used to represent varied social and economic groups across a variety of cultural domains with a concentration on the long 2nd century AD. This project considers how different socially facing individual identities were expressed through the medium of stone funerary monuments and what these findings suggest about various social and economic groups represented through them and how these data inform our understanding the Remi more broadly.
There is currently no study which concentrates directly on the Remi and the identities which they held nor one that takes a multidisciplinary approach in studying the inner workings of Gallia Belgica. This project shows that the Remi and others across the east of Gaul had a penchant for enterprise and used their tombstones to demonstrate their values of hard work and industriousness. Additionally, this thesis presents a novel way to understand the Remi and their region through a description and analysis of economic and social groups which are represented through names, dress, accoutrements, and scenes on stone funerary monuments. This research presents unique insights into our understanding of the region and how urban settlements and the people living in them interacted socially, linguistically, and economically
‘Critical friends?’: an examination of the relationship between headteachers and Chairs of Governors in English secondary schools.
Get PDFFew relationships in English school leadership are as important as that between the headteacher and the Chair of Governors [CoG]. This can be a fruitful, high-functioning co-created partnership; alternatively, it has the potential to be fractious and inharmonious, negatively affecting not just the school but also the individuals involved. Literature on the subject is limited and focused more on the rationale for the relationship than its practice.
The thesis focuses on eight headteacher-CoG relationships in English secondary schools, in both the state-funded and independent sectors, to examine how they are forged and developed, so as to identify indicators of successful ways of working. A relational leadership perspective is adopted, specifically developing Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) to focus on a relationship where both parties possess leader and follower identities. The research’s methodology is based on Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), due to a desire to investigate the participants’ lived experience of the relationship alongside that of the researcher.
What emerges is a portrait of a relationship that is as much about the personalities involved as it is about the institutional roles they occupy. The headteacher-CoG dynamic is portrayed as a living, evolving partnership: a relationship that is shaped by individual character, previous experiences and the organic process of learning through interaction. Whilst the term ‘critical friend’ still maintains some validity, it does not completely reflect the high level of support that both parties can give to each other nor the capacity for considerable professional and personal intervention. It concludes that the most effective relationships are those in which both parties are willing to invest time, energy and emotional openness into building a foundation of mutual respect and shared purpose. This, in turn, has a ripple effect on the wider governance of the school, enhancing not only the efficiency of day-to-day decision-making but also the strategic capacity of the governing body as a whole.
The paper additionally hopes that LMX, and relational leadership in general, can be utilised more extensively in order to highlight the role that positive and healthy relationships can play in improving school leadership and the lives of school leaders
The diocesan inquest into Jeanne-Marie de Maillé: saint-making, value, and social creativity in fifteenth-century France
No full textThis thesis examines the process of saint-making in the later Middle Ages, through a study of the diocesan inquest into Jeanne-Marie de Maillé (1331-1414). Thinking with David Graeber’s theory of value, the saint is interpreted as a means of realising, negotiating, and manipulating value, and, through this, as a technology for the exercising of social creativity – for creating new social worlds. In contrast to previous scholarship, which has been content with the saint as ‘socially constructed’, or has bypassed the saint themselves in favour of literary readings of the sources, a value-theory approach leads us to view saints as a total social phenomenon, representing a particular, culturally bounded form of social creativity.
Chapter One considers how miracle narratives work to realise and manipulate value, offering a framework that accounts for the polyvalent properties of the miracle and the cultural work it undertakes. Chapter Two approaches the Life of Jeanne-Marie as an attempt to regulate the value of saintly performances by constructing them as aesthetic displays, and thus dependent upon the taste of the audience. Chapter Three likens the saint to Graeber’s re-interpretation of the fetish, arguing that Jeanne-Marie functions as a material token of value which can be used to underwrite projects of social creativity. Chapter Four examines the different constructions of Jeanne-Marie contained within the inquest dossier, and suggests that these are based on different constellations of value(s), and are directed at different audiences – different visions of society.
I conclude that the saint embodied value, providing a mechanism for medieval people to enact their own value projects and to bring into being new societies and new worlds, whether in imagination or in reality. Through this thesis I offer a new theoretical framework for the analysis of medieval religion, one that privileges creativity, the political nature of religious projects, and the material media of religious action
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