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    The financial impacts of climate risk : the dissertation presented in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, PhD in Finance at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2025-11-13) Trinh, Hai Hong
    Drawing on state-level data on temperature anomalies, the dissertation contributes to the growing literature on the financial impacts of climate change on US-headquartered firms. Benchmarking long-term climate change, the first two chapters are empirical corporate finance papers examining the impacts of statewide climate change risks on corporate payout policy and the value of firms' financial flexibility. The third chapter is an asset-pricing paper that predicts corporate climate sensitivity of firms’ stocks to state-level climate change as a new systematic risk factor. The first chapter shows that long-term climate change adversely affects corporate dividend payout policy. With state-level temperature anomalies (SLTA), the impacts of climate change on corporate payout are severely persistent when firms are exposed to abnormally warmer temperatures. Cash holdings, trade credit, and market leverage present statistically significant mediating roles in the impacts of long-term climate change on corporate payout policy. The impacts of SLTA on corporate payout are pronounced for firms with higher vulnerability to climate transition risk (e.g., polluting firms) since the Paris Agreement (COP21). Smaller and younger firms and firms with higher tangibility are sensitive to the long-term impacts of climate change across US states. The contributions of the study to related literature are threefold. First, the study shows that the consequences of climate change on firms are chronically severe. With the persistent predicted decrease in dividend policy, climate change affects firms’ growth prospects, with its geographical complexity, escalating earnings uncertainty for firms. Second, the long-term systematic risks of climate change imposed on firms are multifaceted, with high geographical divergence, for which firms might face great challenges in opting for flexible and reliable financing choices in the long-term period. The impacts of SLTA on corporate dividends are persistently robust when the study controls the mediating effects of corporate financial policies and the moderating effects of other climate risk factors. The geographical complexity of long-term climate change impacts on firms is investigated in the second chapter through the lens of corporate financial flexibility. The second chapter shows that long-term climate change is adversely associated with the value of corporate financial flexibility (VOFF). Using the forward-looking and market-based measure, the predicted decrease in VOFF supports evidence from the first chapter by showing that long-term climate change systematically affects firms’ growth opportunities across the US states. The impact of SLTA on firms’ VOFF is persistent for firms with higher market-to-book values and larger firms. The impacts of long-term climate change on the VOFF are robust when the study controls the mediating effects of financial policies and the joint effects of other climate-related externalities. The third chapter estimates the state-level corporate climate sensitivity (SL-CCS) to temperature anomalies. Using the predicted SL-CCS for each firm’s stock, the study examines whether the financial market is pricing the SL-CCS betas as a new systematic risk factor. The broad findings show that the pricing of financial markets to the SL-CCS betas is conditional on the levels of global warming across the US states. Investors demand a premium when firms’ stocks are exposed to abnormally warmer temperatures; otherwise, there is a negative association between SL-CCS betas and firms’ stock returns (RET). The varying associations between SL-CCS betas and RET are aligned with our predictions when the study tests for other endogenous and exogenous climate-related risk factors.
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    Across borders and time : testing the competing perspectives of system justification : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2025-08-29) Valdes, Evan Armando
    Why do people defend societal systems that perpetuate inequality and injustice? This question is increasingly relevant in today’s geopolitical climate, amid growing tensions between calls for progressive social change and maintenance of a traditional, sometimes polarized, status quo. System Justification Theory (SJT) posits that individuals are motivated—due to both dispositional and situational factors—to defend and justify existing social, economic, and political systems, even when doing so may conflict with their self- or group-interests. Competing theories, however, argue that system justification is largely a reflection of those interests. This thesis tests these competing perspectives on system justification across countries and time through four studies, using a consistent four-item measure of general system justification for comparability. Study 1 examined SJT’s status-legitimacy hypothesis in China and the United States, using both subjective and objective indicators of socioeconomic status (SES). Subjective SES consistently positively predicted system justification across cultures and time, aligning with self- and group-interest explanations. Objective SES, however, showed only weak and inconsistent support for SJT in China. Study 2 expanded the scope cross-culturally, comparing SJT to the social identity perspectives and Social Dominance Theory, using data from 42 countries. Results largely favored self- and group-interest explanations over SJT across cultures. Study 3 tested SJT’s claim that system justification provides psychological benefits in the form of enhanced psychological wellbeing using four waves of longitudinal data. Bidirectional cross-lagged panel modeling showed that system justification predicted greater subjective SES via increased life satisfaction over time, but not vice versa, supporting SJT’s claim that system-justifying beliefs can confer psychological benefits independent of materials self-interest. However, when assessing this model using more robust longitudinal techniques, no such effect was observed. Study 4 used a longitudinal quasi-experiment centered around New Zealand’s 2023 general election to compare SJT with the Social Identity Model of System Attitudes (SIMSA). Results showed that system justification generally coincided with self- and group-interests among electoral winners and losers in line with SIMSA. However, among disadvantaged electoral losers, perceived system threat [of SJT] better explained continued system justification than did optimism about the future [of SIMSA], providing stronger support for SJT. Overall, this thesis demonstrates that system justification arises from a complex interplay of individual, situational, ideological, and societal factors. While system justification often reflects self- and group-interests, under certain conditions it functions as an ideological mechanism that can conflict with these very interests to uphold societal structures – especially when those structures are perceived to be under threat. This supports the view of system justification as both an ideological disposition and a palliative mechanism, sustaining societal structures despite inequality. Such insights highlight the challenge of addressing systemic injustice and underscore the need to frame social change in ways that align with psychological motivation and a desire for stability.
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    Factors affecting pandemic biosecurity behaviors of international travelers: Moderating roles of gender, age, and travel frequency
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2021-11-08) Kim MJ; Hall CM; Bonn M; Witlox F
    Research undertaken during the COVID‐19 pandemic has identified a number of significant factors that affect international travelers’ biosecurity behavior. Tourists’ age and gender as well as travel frequency have been found to have significant impacts on consumers’ non‐pharmaceutical intervention practices. However, despite the importance of age, gender, and travel frequency, such studies have overlooked international tourists’ values, attitudes, interventions, and behaviors relevant to biosecurity during a pandemic. In order to bridge this gap, the purposes of this study are to build and test a conceptually comprehensive framework on the relationships between values, attitudes, interventions, and behaviors, along with the moderating effects of age, gender, and travel frequency. To meet the study objectives, a digital survey was administered during 1–5 September 2020, which generated n = 386 total useable responses. Data were analyzed using the partial least squares approach. The results revealed that tourists’ values have the greatest effect on their attitudes toward COVID‐19 biosecurity for travel, which in turn positively influences interventions and behaviors. Interventions also have a significant impact on travelers’ COVID‐19 biosecurity behavior. This study expands the theoretical understanding of biosecurity and pandemic behavior. The findings of this research also provide significant insights to the literature as well as stakeholders, such as governments, health organizations, international health and tourism agencies, and destinations, with respect to managing international travel biosecurity measures.
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    The Importance of Dietary Protein Quality in Mid- to High-Income Countries
    (Elsevier Inc on behalf of American Society for Nutrition, 2024-03) Moughan PJ; Fulgoni VL; Wolfe RR
    In wealthy countries, the protein intake of adults is usually considered to be adequate, and considerations of protein quality are often deemed irrelevant. The objective was to examine dietary protein intakes of adults in developed countries in the context of dietary protein quality. An analysis of NHANES population data on actual protein intakes in the United States (a developed country) demonstrated that for a dietary Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score (DIAAS) of 100%, 11% of the adult (19-50 y) population had habitual protein intakes below the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) and 22% below the Recommended Dietary Allowance. The percentage of the population with utilizable protein intakes potentially falling below the EAR increased as the assumed DIAAS declined. Analysis of the NHANES data and several other datasets also indicated that total protein intakes can be limiting or close to limiting for the elderly and some vegetarians and vegans. Here, lower dietary protein quality can potentially lead to inadequate utilizable protein intakes. For many people in specific physiological states (e.g., weight loss, endurance sports, resistance exercise) attempting to meet higher dietary protein targets often with accompanying lowered energy intakes, low dietary protein quality can lead to protein calories expressed as a proportion of total calories, falling outside what may be acceptable limits (maximum of 30% protein calories from total calories). In general, individuals within the adult population may be susceptible to macronutrient imbalance (whenever total protein intakes are high, daily energy intakes low) and for diets with lower protein quality (DIAAS <100%). Our analysis shows that dietary protein quality is relevant in mid- to high-income countries.
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    Associations between social connections and cognition: a global collaborative individual participant data meta-analysis
    (Elsevier B.V, 2022-11) Samtani S; Mahalingam G; Lam BCP; Lipnicki DM; Lima-Costa MF; Blay SL; Castro-Costa E; Shifu X; Guerchet M; Preux P-M; Gbessemehlan A; Skoog I; Najar J; Rydberg Sterner T; Scarmeas N; Kim K-W; Riedel-Heller S; Röhr S; Pabst A; Shahar S; Numbers K; Ganguli M; Jacobsen E; Hughes TF; Crowe M; Ng TP; Maddock J; Marseglia A; Mélis R; Szcześniak D; Wiegelmann H; Vernooij-Dassen M; Jeon Y-H; Sachdev PS; Brodaty H; SHARED consortium for the Cohort Studies of Memory in an International Consortium (COSMIC)
    Background Poor social connections (eg, small networks, infrequent interactions, and loneliness) are modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline. Existing meta-analyses are limited by reporting aggregate responses, a focus on global cognition, and combining social measures into single constructs. We aimed to investigate the association between social connection markers and the rate of annual change in cognition (ie, global and domain-specific), as well as sex differences, using an individual participant data meta-analysis. Methods We harmonised data from 13 longitudinal cohort studies of ageing in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they had baseline data for social connection markers and at least two waves of cognitive scores. Follow-up periods ranged from 0 years to 15 years across cohorts. We included participants with cognitive data for at least two waves and social connection data for at least one wave. We then identified and excluded people with dementia at baseline. Primary outcomes were annual rates of change in global cognition and cognitive domain scores over time until final follow-up within each cohort study analysed by use of an individual participant data meta-analysis. Linear mixed models within cohorts used baseline social connection markers as predictors of the primary outcomes. Effects were pooled in two stages using random-effects meta-analyses. We assessed the primary outcomes in the main (partially adjusted) and fully adjusted models. Partially adjusted models controlled for age, sex, and education; fully adjusted models additionally controlled for diabetes, hypertension, smoking, cardiovascular risk, and depression. Findings Of the 40 006 participants in the 13 cohort studies, we excluded 1392 people with dementia at baseline. 38 614 individual participants were included in our analyses. For the main models, being in a relationship or married predicted slower global cognitive decline (b=0·010, 95% CI 0·000–0·019) than did being single or never married; living with others predicted slower global cognitive (b=0·007, 0·002–0·012), memory (b=0·017, 0·006–0·028), and language (b=0·008, 0·000–0·015) decline than did living alone; and weekly interactions with family and friends (b=0·016, 0·006–0·026) and weekly community group engagement (b=0·030, 0·007–0·052) predicted slower memory decline than did no interactions and no engagement. Never feeling lonely predicted slower global cognitive (b=0·047, 95% CI 0·018–0·075) and executive function (b=0·047, 0·017–0·077) decline than did often feeling lonely. Degree of social support, having a confidante, and relationship satisfaction did not predict cognitive decline across global cognition or cognitive domains. Heterogeneity was low (I2=0·00–15·11%) for all but two of the significant findings (association between slower memory decline and living with others [I2=58·33%] and community group engagement, I2=37·54–72·19%), suggesting robust results across studies. Interpretation Good social connections (ie, living with others, weekly community group engagement, interacting weekly with family and friends, and never feeling lonely) are associated with slower cognitive decline. Funding EU Joint Programme–Neurodegenerative Disease Research grant, funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council Australia, and the US National Institute on Aging of the US National Institutes of Health.
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    Essays on the dynamics of liquidity networks : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Finance at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2023) Farzami, Foroogh
    This dissertation presents three essays on liquidity interrelationships between firms in the Standard and Poor's 500 (S&P500) index using network theory. Liquidity is the ease of trading securities in the financial market. It varies over time and differs significantly across firms. The principal challenge for market participants is the variability and uncertainty in liquidity. In simple terms, market liquidity risk relates to the inability to trade at a fair price with immediacy. Many studies investigate liquidity co-movement of assets and the associated risk. However, almost no empirical work has been devoted to investigating the possibility of liquidity interrelationship through a liquidity network. In the first essay, I investigate if a liquidity network among 1,174 firms included in the S&P500 exists using 30 years of data, employing a lead-lag liquidity network method to analyse liquidity interrelationships beyond contemporaneous spillover effects. I find an intertemporal liquidity network where 84% of the firms exhibit statistically significant connectivity in at least one direction during the sample period. The degree and manner of liquidity communication vary across the firms and are dynamic over time. Furthermore, I show that individual firms' characteristics, such as the level and change in liquidity, firm size, and return volatility, can explain their network structure. The outcome emphasizes the fragility of the liquidity system through the firms' connectivity which can be a new factor to consider when evaluating firms' expected rate of return. The second essay explores the relationship between the firm-level liquidity shock transmission through the liquidity network and the role that firm-size plays in the transmission process. I find that the transmission of the liquidity shock depends on the firm size. The greater intensity shocks influence the transmission more through larger firms than small firms. I also find that with one unit increase in the size differences between firms, the odds of firms not being connected in the network increases by 2.5%, suggesting similar-size firms tend to have more connectivity. Furthermore, looking at size-based portfolios, I find that although all the portfolios transmit shock significantly to one another, their explanatory power varies. Most portfolios tend to send out more shocks to the next largest quantiles. The outcome overall suggests that diversification against liquidity shock transmission is possible by including different firm sizes. Finally, I investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on liquidity interlinkages of U.S. industry groups. I document that sectors differ in their liquidity interactions during the pre-COVID period, with some sectors more interlinked than others. I also document that the crisis induced by COVID-19 had a significant effect on the liquidity network, with virtually all sectors becoming more interconnected relative to the pre-COVID period. The effect varies across industries, with the real estate sector being the most affected and telecommunication services the least. Overall, due to higher interconnectedness, liquidity risk became harder to diversify.
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    Exploring organisational dissent in the online setting : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Communication at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Chen, Hui
    Online organisational dissent is an emerging phenomenon in our digital world. It occurs when employees express disagreement or contradictory opinions about organisational practices, policies, and operations via the internet. Organisational dissent research has investigated face-to-face dissent, but online employee dissent is at an early stage. However, online organisational dissent can improve effective digital and cross-cultural communication. Miss Chen explored the digital communication issue and built the scholarship of conceptualizing online dissent. The main findings and implications include: a) illustrated face is an explanatory mechanism for organisational dissent; b) organisational assimilation serves as a conflict-ridden process for dissent c) virtual organisational dissent relates more confidence in technology than fear of approaching communication; d) employees used the online platform to negotiate face in organisational dissent. This project contributes to our understanding of how online dissent is influenced by different psychological and cultural factors such as face concerns and anxiety in computer-mediated communication.
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    A validation of the workplace dignity scale : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Scott-Campbell, Casey
    Workplace Dignity has long been the subject of scholarly enquiry, although until recently the body of research has been dominated by ethnographic work. Recently, Thomas and Lucas (2019) developed the first quantitative, direct measure of perceptions of workplace dignity: the Workplace Dignity Scale (WDS). Given the importance of understanding dignity in the workplace, this study sought to replicate the initial scale validation study conducted by Thomas and Lucas, so as to confirm the reliability and validity of the scale prior to its future applied and scholarly use. Moreover, the current study contributes to the ongoing methodological reform of psychology towards a transparent and rigorous science by preregistering the method and analysis script prior to collecting data. A large sample of workers (N = 853) from the United States were recruited through Prolific Academic and completed an online questionnaire that included the WDS, as well as theoretically related scales (e.g., workplace incivility). Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the model specified by Thomas and Lucas had reasonable global fit and estimates of reliability (ωt) indicated that the two main factors of the scale, Dignity and Indignity, had high internal consistency. Nomological analyses revealed that the Dignity factor of the WDS was significantly correlated in the expected directions with theoretically related variables. Furthermore, the Dignity and Indignity factors of the WDS were found to highly correlate with one another, posing questions as to whether the two factors are qualitatively different phenomena as was argued by Thomas and Lucas. It is concluded that the WDS is a promising tool for measuring workplace dignity although refinement of the proposed measurement model may be necessary.
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    Determinants and consequence of cost stickiness : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Accountancy at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2020) Costa, Mabel D
    This research investigates the determinants and consequence of cost stickiness using data of publicly listed U.S. firms. Understanding the determinants of cost stickiness and its implications is extremely crucial, since it affects firms’ profitability, consequently, shareholders’ wealth. Moreover, cost management has even wider repercussions for both debt and equity investors in the areas of risk assessment and the trust of customers, employees, and other stakeholders in the community. Therefore, this study is organised into three different research essays: (i) financial constraint and cost stickiness; (ii) trade credit and cost stickiness; and (iii) cost stickiness and firm value. Essay One investigates the association between financial constraints and cost stickiness. Using a large U.S. sample from 1976 to 2016, I find that financially constrained firms exhibit less cost stickiness. I document that such low-cost stickiness supports both “good” and “bad” arguments depending on the managerial motivation, namely: earnings management incentives, agency problem and value-creating potential of SG&A costs. I also investigate whether the association between financial constraints and cost stickiness varies across the economic cycle. I find that low cost stickiness is observed during both economic expansion and economic contraction periods, although it is more pronounced during contraction. As resources drive the cost of a business, and financial constraints affect resource availability, studying cost behaviour of constrained firms makes a valuable contribution to the existing cost stickiness literature. In Essay Two, I examine the relation between trade credit and cost stickiness and further investigate the moderating effects of agency problem, product market competition, and customer concentration. I find that firms using high levels of trade credit exhibit lower cost stickiness and this is prevalent in the high agency problem sub-sample. In addition, in a non-competitive market, where the agency problem arises owing to lack of competition, trade credit plays an external monitoring role by attenuating cost stickiness. However, high customer concentration curtails this monitoring ability of trade credit providers. Finally, in Essay Three, I investigate the association between cost stickiness and firm value, and examine whether the association, if any, is mediated by cost of equity capital and cash flows. Using a large sample of U.S. data, I find a robust negative relationship between cost stickiness and firm value. I then explore whether resource adjustment, managerial expectations, and agency theories of cost stickiness affect the negative relation, and find some support for the agency view. Furthermore, I find evidence that the detrimental impact of cost stickiness on firm value is mediated partially through the cost of equity and cash flow channels. I enrich the cost management literature by integrating cost asymmetry with corporate finance.
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    Foreign policy discourses of the United States and Iran regarding the Syrian Civil War, 2011-2015 : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Politics at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Lee, Joo Han
    This thesis offers a detailed and systemic analysis of the recent foreign policies on Syria crafted by the United States and Iran. In particular, it identifies the major ways in which key institutions from both countries’ political systems represent various aspects of the Syrian civil war before comparing the similarities and differences among these representational practices. It argues that, between 2011 and 2015, both countries’ foreign policies used humanitarian concern in order to legitimise their respective postures on Syria, though the pursuit of their respective national interests widened the scope for new opportunities to act, including the use of armed force, in the Middle East. Drawing on Norman Fairclough’s model of Critical Discourse Analysis as a means of framing its analysis, the thesis finds that diplomatic language expressing views on matters of war and peace is seldom a-political and can be shaped significantly by institutional practices and socio-cultural contexts.