Contemporary aspects of dividends: Before and during the financial crisis

The number of dividend paying firms has been on the decline since the popularity of stock repurchases in the 1980s, and the recent financial crisis has brought about a wave of dividend reductions and omissions. This dissertation examined the U.S. firms and American Depository Receipts that are listed on the U.S. equity exchanges according to their dividend paying history in the previous twelve quarters. While accounting for the state of the economy, the firm’s size, profitability, earned equity, and growth opportunities, it determines whether or not the firm will pay a dividend in the next quarter. It also examined the likelihood of a dividend change. Further, returns of firms were examined according to their dividend paying history and the state of the economy using the Fama-French three-factor model. Using forward, backward, and step-wise selection logistic regressions, the results show that firms with a history of regular and uninterrupted dividend payments are likely to continue to pay dividends, while firms that do not have a history of regular dividend payments are not likely to begin to pay dividends or continue to do so. The results of a set of generalized polytomous logistic regressions imply that dividend paying firms are more likely to reduce dividend payments during economic expansions, as opposed to recessions. Also the analysis of returns using the Fama-French three factor model reveals that dividend paying firms are earning significant abnormal positive returns. As a special case, a similar analysis of dividend payment and dividend change was applied to American Depository Receipts that trade on the NYSE, NASDAQ, and AMEX exchanges and are issued by the Bank of New York Mellon. Returns of American Depository Receipts were examined using the Fama-French two-factor model for international firms. The results of the generalized polytomous logistic regression analyses indicate that dividend paying status and economic conditions are also important for dividend level change of American Depository Receipts, and Fama-French two-factor regressions alone do not adequately explain returns for these securities.

International tourism : can it contribute to Nigeria's economic growth as other industrial sectors?

The growth of international tourism and the attendant economic benefits to the world nations, has been phenominal since the end of the second world war. It is considered that the industry's upsurge will continue even in the phase of various constraints exemplified in high fuel cost, constant increase in fares and the threatening world-wide recessions. Developed as well as developing countries have gained substantially from the industry. A recent development shows increasing tourist traffic towards developing countries, while developed countries still hold their fort in stable growth of tourist receipts. The strategic beneficial effects of international tourist industry are often quantified in terms of foreign exchange earnings, employments offered, and the Real Estate super-structures; but in general,the industry has innumerable direct and indirect benefits to any nation engaging in the trade. The objective of this thesis is to demonstrate by comparative analysis and proven parameters that the international tourist industry which is given low priority in development in Nigeria, can equally contribute to the nation's economic growth as other industrial sectors which receive high priority and patronage in development. The data for this paper are gathered from primary sources which are i) responses by the Federal and State Governments' tourism-related offices; ii) government publications e.a. the Third National Development Plan of Federal Republic of Nigeria; and iii) Books and collections. The secondary sources include reports,periodicals and hospitality industry publications. To formally establish the international tourist industry in Nigeria, all the governments (Federal, State and Local) and the private sector in the country, should commence the development of the industry with research and feasibility studies, to be followed by proper planning at all levels and based on the result of the research and feasibility studies.

Emoções, documentos e subjetivação na construção de transexualidades em João Pessoa/PB

This research aims to understand how the affective components involved in transgender relations with documents constitute specific ways in which these people recognize themselves and build their bodies and their paths, their life projects and their relationship with others. We understand that the documents, if the personal identification or those produced by social movements, legal actors and health and the State, are experienced by trans people beyond administrative functions that are initially thought, but also involve a series of emotional experiences mark their subjective processes, in how these people produce themselves and design in the world their sociality networks. We elected as research field two institutions located in the city of João Pessoa (Paraíba State), noting the intense institutional movement, political, social in favor of the rights of transexuals that have occurred in that city in recent years. Thus, the Rights Reference Centre for LGBT and Fight Against Homophobia (Espaço LGBT) and Health Clinic of Transvestites and Transexuals (Ambulatório de Saúde de Travestis e Transexuais) were the spaces where we find our interlocutors and analyze their experiences with the documents noting two key aspects: the search for first name change in the civil registry and the relationship of trans people with documents produced by the health policies and services such as protocols, records, receipts and psychiatric reports. We realized that although there is disagreement about the perception that our interlocutors have on the documentation that regulates health services, all reported experiencing embarrassment in social situations when you have those who make use of a document that is not consistent with the performance and “social face” taken. In addition to the reports of embarrassment, we saw that the discussion of social distress and trauma has grounded the platforms of social movements, public policy, legal processes and become “narratives of pains” that present strong potential micro-political on demand for rights to “trans people”.