Public architecture and civic identity in classical and Hellenistic Ionia

The main objective of this thesis is to investigate how works of public architecture, both alone and as components of the general urban layout, were related to the selfperception and identity of the ancient Greek polis community. And further, how the gradual evolution and change of this identity affected the history and associations of the buildings and the overall appearance of the city. The study concentrates on the Classical and Hellenistic periods with emphasis on the process of transition, and the geographical region of Ionia, which in that particular period lay at the centre of the historical developments that would bring important changes to Greek poleis and their communities. Miletus and Priene were selected as case studies because both were founded in the Classical period and continued to develop throughout the Hellenistic, are extensively excavated and published, and offer sufficient material for study. Miletus allows insight into large and influential polis communities, while Priene offers evidence for small ones with more limited means. In the first chapter, fundamental concepts such as 'collective identity,' 'cultural community,' 'cultural memory,' 'monumentality,' etc. and also those of 'city,' 'citystate' and 'polis community' are defined and analyzed, and their relation to each other and to architecture is discussed. In the second and third chapters, the architectural development of Miletus and Priene is examined against its historical background, in the light of the principles and associations observed in the first, theoretical part. In the final chapter, the developments and tendencies observed in Miletus and Priene are placed into context with similar phenomena that occurred in other poleis of the region and the Greek world in general during the process of transition from the Classical to the Hellenistic era. The discussion is based around the main axes of civic life i.e. the economic-political, socio-cultural, religious etc., and around issues of particular concern at the time such as the effects of monarchy and the growing role of the individual.</p

Quantitative MRI and strength measurements in the assessment of muscle quality in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Imaging- and therapeutic targets in neoplastic and musculoskeletal inflammatory diseas

The Association Between Dividends and Accruals Quality

This paper responds to a specific gap identified in the prior literature by examining whether dividend paying status and dividend size are associated with accruals quality, using three accruals‐based earnings quality proxies on a large sample of 2387 firm‐year observations over 17 years in a developing economy, South Africa. Univariate tests are also conducted to identify differences in characteristics between dividend and non‐dividend paying firms, and large and small dividend paying firms. The paper finds that dividend paying status is positively associated with accruals quality. This association remains robust over sub‐groups of firms that differ in size, growth, profitability, age, maturity, leverage, capital intensity and propensity to raise new capital. The prior literature is extended by using quintiles of dividend size to further investigate the association between dividend size and accruals quality. The findings include that larger dividend paying firms are associated with better accruals quality, and that this relationship is stronger among firms that pay average‐sized dividends. Additionally, there are significant differences in characteristics between dividend and non‐dividend paying firms and between large and small dividend paying firms. Based on these results, policymakers, regulators, legislators and boards may want to explore the use of dividend policy as a corporate governance mechanism.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/183525612021-03-01hj2019Accountin