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Item Environmental Violation and Cost of Equity Capital—Evidence From Europe(ERP Environment and John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2025-05-01) Bhuiyan MBU; Man YWe examine the association between environmental violations and the cost of equity capital. We posit that firms that breach environmental compliance introduce firm-specific risks and, consequently, elevate the costs associated with equity capital. Utilizing a dataset comprising publicly listed firms from the Bloomberg European 500 index spanning the period from 2005 to 2020, we present empirical evidence that environmental violations contribute to an increase in a firm's cost of equity capital. Our findings hold economic significance, revealing that a one standard deviation increase in environmental violations results in a 4.28–5.12 basis point increase in the cost of equity. Furthermore, we establish that the positive relationship between environmental violations and the cost of equity capital is more pronounced in firms lacking corporate social responsibility training and those operating within highly competitive industries. Importantly, our results withstand endogeneity concerns, affirming their robustness. The implications of our study extend to stakeholders, enhancing their understanding of the repercussions of environmental violations on investment decisions.Item Prevalence of unmet health care need in older adults in 83 countries: measuring progressing towards universal health coverage in the context of global population ageing.(BioMed Central Ltd, 2023-09-15) Kowal P; Corso B; Anindya K; Andrade FCD; Giang TL; Guitierrez MTC; Pothisiri W; Quashie NT; Reina HAR; Rosenberg M; Towers A; Vicerra PMM; Minicuci N; Ng N; Byles JCurrent measures for monitoring progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) do not adequately account for populations that do not have the same level of access to quality care services and/or financial protection to cover health expenses for when care is accessed. This gap in accounting for unmet health care needs may contribute to underutilization of needed services or widening inequalities. Asking people whether or not their needs for health care have been met, as part of a household survey, is a pragmatic way of capturing this information. This analysis examined responses to self-reported questions about unmet need asked as part of 17 health, social and economic surveys conducted between 2001 and 2019, representing 83 low-, middle- and high-income countries. Noting the large variation in questions and response categories, the results point to low levels (less than 2%) of unmet need reported in adults aged 60+ years in countries like Andorra, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Thailand and Viet Nam to rates of over 50% in Georgia, Haiti, Morocco, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe. While unique, these estimates are likely underestimates, and do not begin to address issues of poor quality of care as a barrier or contributing to unmet need in those who were able to access care. Monitoring progress towards UHC will need to incorporate estimates of unmet need if we are to reach universality and reduce health inequalities in older populations.Item Exploring the experience of workplace qiling (bullying) in Shenzhen, China : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand(Massey University, 2024-03-24) Sun, JishuoWorkplace bullying constitutes a significant and widespread concern that impacts the health and wellbeing of employees in numerous work environments globally. Although previous studies conducted in European countries have explored a dominant understanding of this issue, there is an increasing interest in the role of context (e.g., cultural and socioeconomic differences) in the understanding of workplace bullying. The Chinese context differs markedly from that of European countries, where the majority of the dominant research on bullying has been conducted to date. With a scarcity of bullying research specifically targeting the Chinese context, exploring how Chinese employees experience bullying will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of this issue to better manage it in the Chinese workplace as well as globally. From the perspective of language, qiling is the Chinese term that has been used as the equivalent term for bullying. However, the academic understanding of qiling (in China) may be very different from the concept of bullying developed by scholars in European countries. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to understand the nature and development of workplace qiling from an employee’s perspective in a Chinese context (i.e., Shenzhen). Drawing on a pragmatic philosophical position, a constructivist grounded theory approach was used to address the research objectives. This study collected qualitative data through a semi-structured interview conducted virtually. It adopted three sampling methods—purposive, snowball, and theoretical sampling methods—to recruit participants. As a result, thirty-two participants, who were employees working in companies in Shenzhen and believed that they had either directly or indirectly experienced qiling within the last two years, were recruited for this study. Three stages of data analysis—initial, focused, and theoretical coding—were conducted to construct the findings from the collected data. The research findings contribute to an in-depth understanding of the nature and development of qiling in the workplace in Shenzhen. In terms of the nature of qiling, although its features were generally similar to the dominant understanding of workplace bullying, qiling behaviour is relatively invisible and subtle due to the influence of Chinese culture, and intention was considered by employees in Shenzhen as a crucial feature of qiling. In addition, the identified sources of power causing the power imbalance between perpetrators and targets included hierarchy, zili (seniority), and guanxi (relationship). The traditional Chinese belief of shi bu guo san (the rule of three times) was also identified regarding the frequency and duration of qiling. In terms of the development of qiling, the identified organisational antecedents can be grouped by involving Salin’s (2003) framework as a relevant sensitising concept: (1) enabling structures and processes (i.e., perceived power imbalance, adverse leadership styles, lack of sufficient management competencies, and coercive workplace culture); (2) motivating structures and processes (i.e., conflict of interest and neijuan (rat race)); and (3) precipitating processes (i.e., organisational changes). Although some of the organisational antecedents evident from the data overlapped with European theoretical frameworks, unique antecedents caused or influenced by Chinese culture and the characteristics of Shenzhen were identified. Overall, this study provides new insight into qiling in the Chinese context, which is equivalent to bullying. It also provides further evidence for the importance of contextual framing of workplace bullying in China and across different countries. The findings of this study are crucial because a thorough understanding of bullying is the cornerstone of developing prevention and intervention strategies to reduce the issue in the Chinese workplace, and it also contributes to knowledge about the global understanding and management of workplace bullying.Item Parity and the risk of incident dementia: a COSMIC study(Cambridge University Press, 2020-10-20) Bae JB; Lipnicki DM; Han JW; Sachdev PS; Kim TH; Kwak KP; Kim BJ; Kim SG; Kim JL; Moon SW; Park JH; Ryu S-H; Youn JC; Lee DY; Lee DW; Lee SB; Lee JJ; Jhoo JH; Skoog I; Najar J; Sterner TR; Scarmeas N; Yannakoulia M; Dardiotis E; Riedel-Heller S; Roehr S; Pabst A; Ding D; Zhao Q; Liang X; Lobo A; De-la-Cámara C; Lobo E; Kim KW; for Cohort Studies of Memory in an International Consortium (COSMIC)Aims To investigate the association between parity and the risk of incident dementia in women. Methods We pooled baseline and follow-up data for community-dwelling women aged 60 or older from six population-based, prospective cohort studies from four European and two Asian countries. We investigated the association between parity and incident dementia using Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusted for age, educational level, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and cohort, with additional analysis by dementia subtype (Alzheimer dementia (AD) and non-Alzheimer dementia (NAD)). Results Of 9756 women dementia-free at baseline, 7010 completed one or more follow-up assessments. The mean follow-up duration was 5.4 ± 3.1 years and dementia developed in 550 participants. The number of parities was associated with the risk of incident dementia (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02–1.13). Grand multiparity (five or more parities) increased the risk of dementia by 30% compared to 1–4 parities (HR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.02–1.67). The risk of NAD increased by 12% for every parity (HR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.02–1.23) and by 60% for grand multiparity (HR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.00–2.55), but the risk of AD was not significantly associated with parity. Conclusions Grand multiparity is a significant risk factor for dementia in women. This may have particularly important implications for women in low and middle-income countries where the fertility rate and prevalence of grand multiparity are high.Item Shareholder wealth effects of European takeovers : 1997-2004 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Business Studies in Finance at Massey University(Massey University, 2005) Wales, RyanThis study provides an empirical analysis of the returns to acquirers and targets in European mergers and acquisitions. An event study has been carried out to test the announcement effect of a merger on the bidding and target company stock prices over the period. January 1, 1997 to December 31, 2004. for twenty-three markets in Europe. This is the first comprehensive study, the author is aware of, to complete such that includes transactions throughout all of Europe, including Eastern Europe and countries from the former Soviet Union. This thesis tests the hypothesis that the incentive mechanisms created by investor protection rights, along with the strength of legal enforcement across countries, affects the value created and destroyed by managers in domestic and cross-border acquisitions within Europe. Thus, the relative difference in corporate governance rules between nations is a source of value for merged firms in and of itself. Prior studies have found significant variation in the gains to acquiring and bidding firms as a function of the nationality of the bidder, but the ultimate source of this international variation in returns has not been satisfactorily addressed. It is argued that a firm's legal and corporate governance environment provides a partial explanation for the observed variation in returns for domestic and cross-border acquisitions and it is tested across all European countries, something that has not been done before. The results suggest that countries with stronger investor protection rules generate larger returns to target shareholders. The better accounting standards increase disclosure, helping acquirers identify potential targets. This reduces the cost of capital and thus increases the competition among bidders and the premium paid by the winning bid. Similarly, target shareholders in strong investor protection and disclosure regimes also experience a price drift in 30 days leading up to a takeover announcement. The sophistication of legal rules requires substantial legal and financial consultation resulting in leakages in the market. The analysis also looks at the difference between domestic and cross-border transactions, and confirms that targets in cross-border deals generate higher returns, implying that targets benefit from expanding into foreign marketplaces. However, acquirers receive lower benefits in cross-border deals than in national transactions, signalling that acquiring firms are to some extent penalized for engaging in a cross-border merger.Item "A damned dangerous act" : New Zealand prisoners of war on the run in Europe during the Second World War : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in History at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand(Massey University, 2016) Tilbury, AlishaDuring the Second World War thousands of New Zealand servicemen found themselves behind barbed wire as prisoners of war. The vast majority of them were taken captive in failed campaigns in Greece, Crete and North Africa. This thesis will analyse the journey taken by those who dared to escape in the European theatre of war. It will begin by analysing the impact that the unsuccessful campaigns in the Mediterranean and North Africa had on motivating servicemen to escape. From there it will begin to analyse the many different ways in which men attempted escape; starting with those who slipped away in the heat of battle, to those who jumped from moving trains en route to prison camps, to those who planned elaborate get-‐aways under the noses of prison guards in Italy and Germany. The final section of this thesis will examine what it was like for escaped prisoners on the run in enemy occupied territory, including those who could not get back to their own lines and ended up fighting with partisan groups in Greece, Yugoslavia and Italy.Item Transgressive gestures : women and violin performance in eighteenth-century Europe : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music in Musicology at Massey University and Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand School of Music(Massey University, 2016) Bell Jordan, HesterStudies concerning eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century women musicians abound within recent musicological scholarship, but the focus on singers and keyboard players – whose musical activities are understood to have “affirmed” their femininity – has had the effect of obscuring players of less typical instruments. Violin-playing, frequently cast as a man’s activity and imbued with indecent associations, was a case in point. Yet despite the connotations of the instrument, a small but significant group of women did play the violin: it is these violinists that this thesis takes as its central focus. Looking first at the complex reasons behind objections to women’s violin performance, a number of factors that restricted women’s access to the violin – including the influence of the male gaze and limits placed on women’s physical movement – are revealed. Particular conditions nevertheless enabled certain women to play the violin, namely the personal, educational, and economic support available from diverse sources such as family members, patrons, and institutions like convents and the Venetian ospedali. In addition to placing women violinists in their historical context, this thesis centres on an analysis of a violin concerto by one of the most well-known female violinists of the era, the Italian virtuoso Regina Strinasacchi. The analysis of Strinasacchi’s Violin Concerto in B flat major is strongly performance based and focuses on the issue of gender and physical movement (performance gesture), topics which were of much interest to eighteenth-century commentators who witnessed women violinists performing. As such the analysis engages with concepts from “embodied” musicology. In exploring Strinasacchi’s concerto we see that female violinists could experiment with a variety of gendered roles through violin performance, embodying both masculinity and femininity through their transgressive gestures. By taking a closer look at women’s violin performance and experiences, this thesis aims to show that these violinists were not as peripheral to the workings of the wider musical community as is sometimes implied. Furthermore, it aims to put women violinists more firmly at the centre of their own stories, challenging the tendency to treat female violinists as novel anomalies.Item The European phenomenon : European airline environmental reporting : a research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy (Management), from Massey University(Massey University, 1999) Day, Benjamin RIt is generally accepted that the earth is facing some serious ecological issues as the world's population increases and as the environmental impacts of human endeavour take effect. Business, and the consumption that it promotes, is often blamed for the environmental dilemmas that the earth is facing (Hawken, 1994; Welford, 1995). However, as business becomes more responsible and accountable a new phenomenon has emerged in the process of environmental management and environmental accountability (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, 1993). A new catch phrase can now be heard echoing in the boardrooms all around the world, as companies begin a journey of environmental and social responsibility. Corporate Environmental Reporting or CER is a new tool in the arsenal for business and is often part of a broad environmental management process. Several commentators argue that environmental reporting is an extremely important tool in the journey towards business sustainability because CER is seen as a method of gaining trust and credibility. Honesty is an important part of the whole sustainability argument; environmental disclosure is a method for business to achieve this (UNEP, 1994; Sustain Ability, 1997).Item Occupation and risk of upper aerodigestive tract cancer: The ARCAGE study(Wiley Online, 15/05/2012) Richiardi L; Corbin M; Marron M; Ahrens W; Pohlabeln H; Lagiou P; Minaki P; Agudo A; Castellsague X; Slamova A; Schejbalova M; Kjaerheim K; Barzan L; Talamini R; MacFarlane GJ; MacFarlane TV; Canova C; Simonato L; Conway DI; McKinney PA; Sneddon L; Thomson P; Znaor A; Healy CM; McCartan BE; Benhamou S; Bouchardy C; Hashibe M; Brennan P; Merletti FWe investigated the association between occupational history and upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) cancer risk in the ARCAGE European case-control study. The study included 1,851 patients with incident cancer of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, larynx or esophagus and 1,949 controls. We estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for ever employment in 283 occupations and 172 industries, adjusting for smoking and alcohol. Men (1,457 cases) and women (394 cases) were analyzed separately and we incorporated a semi-Bayes adjustment approach for multiple comparisons. Among men, we found increased risks for occupational categories previously reported to be associated with at least one type of UADT cancer, including painters (OR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.01-3.00), bricklayers (1.58, 1.05-2.37), workers employed in the erection of roofs and frames (2.62, 1.08-6.36), reinforced concreters (3.46, 1.11-10.8), dockers (2.91, 1.05-8.05) and workers employed in the construction of roads (3.03, 1.23-7.46), general construction of buildings (1.44, 1.12-1.85) and cargo handling (2.60, 1.17-5.75). With the exception of the first three categories, risks both increased when restricting to long duration of employment and remained elevated after semi-Bayes adjustment. Increased risks were also found for loggers (3.56, 1.20-10.5) and cattle and dairy farming (3.60, 1.15-11.2). Among women, there was no clear evidence of increased risks of UADT cancer in association with occupations or industrial activities. This study provides evidence of an association between some occupational categories and UADT cancer risk among men. The most consistent findings, also supported by previous studies, were obtained for specific workers employed in the construction industry. © 2011 UICC.
