<p>Question:</p><p>"Does the market possess perfect information as the efficient market hypothesis says?"</p><p>"Is there any significant relationship between the abnormal stock return on the ex – day and the dividend?" Purpose: The purpose of this study is to enlighten and find understanding about stock return versus dividend on the ex – day and try to figure out if abnormal returns occur on the portfolio during dividends.</p><p>Methodology:</p><p>The study was based in a quantitative nature and was derived with an event study and a hypothesis testing. The authors investigated the thirty most traded shares on the Stockholm stock exchange during a period of five years (2005 – 2009). They were analyzed during a total of nine days; the estimation window was set to sixty days. Theory: Leading theories in this field of study have been picked to enlighten and analysis the questions of the study. Theories used: Efficient market hypothesis, agent theory and the events of dividends.</p><p>Empiricism / Results:</p><p>The authors made an event study and hypothesis tested the information. From the data they could see a small abnormal return on every day except the day after the ex – day. However, they could not prove a significant relationship between the stocks return and the dividend.</p><p>Conclusion / Discussion:</p><p>The efficient market hypothesis was strengthened in the conclusion where all new information is reflected in the stock price because the null hypothesis was accepted in all nine cases. The authors also concluded that although they have a differentiated result compared to other studies, it could be a result of the recession. Another conclusion was that the relationship between shareholders and the management has been improved because of a better spread of information.  </p>

Question: "Does the market possess perfect information as the efficient market hypothesis says?" "Is there any significant relationship between the abnormal stock return on the ex – day and the dividend?" Purpose: The purpose of this study is to enlighten and find understanding about stock return versus dividend on the ex – day and try to figure out if abnormal returns occur on the portfolio during dividends. Methodology: The study was based in a quantitative nature and was derived with an event study and a hypothesis testing. The authors investigated the thirty most traded shares on the Stockholm stock exchange during a period of five years (2005 – 2009). They were analyzed during a total of nine days; the estimation window was set to sixty days. Theory: Leading theories in this field of study have been picked to enlighten and analysis the questions of the study. Theories used: Efficient market hypothesis, agent theory and the events of dividends. Empiricism / Results: The authors made an event study and hypothesis tested the information. From the data they could see a small abnormal return on every day except the day after the ex – day. However, they could not prove a significant relationship between the stocks return and the dividend. Conclusion / Discussion: The efficient market hypothesis was strengthened in the conclusion where all new information is reflected in the stock price because the null hypothesis was accepted in all nine cases. The authors also concluded that although they have a differentiated result compared to other studies, it could be a result of the recession. Another conclusion was that the relationship between shareholders and the management has been improved because of a better spread of information.

Syftet med detta examensarbete är att ta reda på hur elevers uppfattningar om de rörelser som sker i vårt solsystem stämmer överens med de vetenskapliga fakta som finns. I våra vardagliga situationer refererar vi till det vi med ögats hjälp kan uppfatta i fråga om vad som rör sig eller ej. Hur påverkas eleverna av de dagliga uttryck som de får höra sedan de är mycket små, och har de en möjlighet att med skolans hjälp förändra dessa tankesätt? Undersökningen genomfördes med hjälp av kvalitativa intervjuer av elever i skolår 1 respektive 5. Detta för att se hur stor skillnaden är mellan de elever som inte har erhållit någon undervisning om solsystemet och de elever som ska ha uppnått de mål för fysik som skolverket har ställt upp. Eleverna som deltog i studien valdes slumpmässigt ur respektive klasser. De fick besvara 14 frågor, var och en för sig. De besvarade frågorna olika utförligt, vissa var mycket fåordiga. Ibland var jag tvungen att ställa följdfrågor, eftersom jag ville förstå eleverna på ett bra sätt. Resultatet av undersökningen visar att elevernas kunskaper inom området har en stor variation, även inom samma åldrar. Detta kan härledas till elevernas eget intresse av vårt solsystem. Den slutsats som jag har dragit av undersökningen är att det är viktigt att ta reda på vilka föreställningar som eleverna har inför arbetet med arbetsområdet. / The purpose of this degree project is to find pupils´ understanding about the movements which occur in our solar system and compare them with the scientific facts we know about. In our daily life we refer to what we can see with the help from our eyes whether something moves or not. How do the pupils´ get affected by these daily expressions they hear from early ages, and do they have an opportunity with the help from the school to change these ways of thinking? The survey was carried out with help of qualitative interviews of pupils´ in class 1 and 5. This because to see how large the difference is between pupils´ who hasn’t received any education about the solar system and the pupils´ who are supposed to have reached the goals compiled by The National Agency for Education. The pupils´ who took part in this study were chosen by random from both classes. They answered to 14 questions, each and everyone on their own. They answered the questions with various details, some were very taciturn. Sometimes I had to ask resulting questions, since I wanted to understand the pupils´ properly. The result of the survey shows that the pupils´ knowledge within the area have a large variation, even within the same ages. This can be deduced to the interest of the pupils´ in our solar system. The conclusion I have maid from this survey are that it is important to find out which understandings the pupils´ have before the work with the subject area.

The emerging technologies in the field of telecommunications enable us to access high speed data services through mobile handsets and portable modems over the mobile networks. The recent statistics also shows the use of mobile broad band services are increasing and gaining popularity. In this thesis we have investigated the impact of payload size and data rate on one-way delay and packet loss in operational 3G mobile networks, through network level measurements. To collect the network level traces an experimental testbed is developed. For accurate measurement Endace DAG cards together with GPS synchronization is implemented. Results are gathered from three different commercial mobile operators in Sweden. From the results it is concluded that the combination of maximum payload size and data rate resulted in minimum one-way delay. It is also observed within the big payload size category, that the percentage of packet loss is less as compared to the smaller payload sizes. Such findings will improve efficiency of application developers to meet the challenges of UMTS network conditions.

The aim of this study is to examine how the holiday Valentine’s day was introduced in Sweden during the 1950’s. The essay reviews the topic from the field of economic history, with focus on advertising history in Sweden during the first half of the 20th century. Valentine’s day has roots in English medieval traditions and a Roman legend from 270 but has no evidence of being celebrated in Sweden earlier than 1956, when the company Nordiska Kompaniet (NK) launched its first collection of Valentine’s day cards to be put on presents to give to your loved ones. In that sense, the Swedish form of celebrating Valentine’s day stems more from American pop culture and customs, which makes the analysis of Valentine’s day in Sweden fitting in the discourse on Americanization of the European advertising industry and culture. The study uses the definition of Americanization provided from Harm G. Schröter (2005), and reviews advertisements and commentary found in newspapers such as Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet (1956–1971) from a narrative approach, described by Peter Hansen (2012). The research questions focus on how advertisements create meaning around the holiday Valentine’s day, and whether or not the introduction of the holiday in Sweden can be seen as a part of Americanization of the Swedish culture and advertising industry. The study found that advertisements for the holiday uses Swedish and European history, an emphasis on selling the feeling of gift giving and the strive for a modern lifestyle to create meaning around the holiday and a legitimate place in the Swedish calendar. The introduction of the holiday can also be seen as a part of Americanization of the Swedish advertisement industry, with examples as portraying the American celebration as an ideal and using American advertising techniques in the advertisements analyzed.

Denna studie har undersökt huruvida det är möjligt att på Nasdaq OMX Stockholm generera systematiska överavkastningar i samband med att aktier börjar handlas exklusive rätt till utdelningar. Samtliga utdelningstillfällen har undersökts under perioden 2007-2011 vilket givit en total observationsmängd på 699 stycken tillfällen. Genom att ha tagit hänsyn till eventuella marknadsfluktueringar och vikta dessa med bolagets unika risk, i form av betatal, har resultaten även justerats för normalavkastningar under den undersökta dagen. Resultaten från Large Cap, Mid Cap samt Small Cap har sedan jämförts. Resultaten visar att överavkastningar är möjliga under dagen då aktien slutar handlas inklusive utdelning, samt att effekten är större för de mindre bolagen. / This study, has examined the possibility of achieving abnormal returns in the Swedish stock market on the day when stocks no longer trade with its dividend rights. All stocks on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm had been analyzed during 2007-2011, a total of 699 observations. By also including market fluctuations and weight of these fluctuations with the stock’s unique risk, the results have been adjusted for the normal return during the observed day. The results from Large Cap, Mid Cap and Small Cap have then been compared to one another. The overall result shows that abnormal returns are possible on the day stocks no longer trade with the rights of dividends. The result also shows larger, abnormal returns for smaller companies.

Sammanfattning De flesta barn fängslas och visar intresse för temat rymden och finner vanligtvis att det är ett mycket intressant ämne. Fokusgruppen har varit elever i årskurs 4-6 och efter några större bortfall var det slutligen elever ifrån 8 klasser som deltog, totalt 94 elever. Eleverna fick svara på en enkät där eleverna i både text och bild bland annat fick förklara hur de trodde att objekten i sol–jord–månsystemet samverkade och rörde sig i förhållande till varandra, vad de placerade i centrum för detta system, hur de såg på orsaken till årstider samt varför vi har dag och natt. De två pedagogerna som undervisade klasserna fick svara på några frågor om hur de såg på undervisningen om astronomi, om den undervisningsmetod de använde sig av och på elevernas lärande och förståelse för ämnet astronomi.    I denna undersökning kunde samma typer av missuppfattningar ses hos dessa elever, som de missuppfattningar som har dykt upp i en rad olika undersökningar som genomförts tidigare år med andra barn ifrån olika länder. Några av de missuppfattningar som fanns hos eleverna i denna undersökning var bland annat att jorden var mittpunkten, något som en femtedel av eleverna visade. Att sol och måne låg i samma omloppsbana runt jorden, årstiderna orsakas av att avståndet till solen förändras och att dag/natt beror på jordens omloppsbana runt solen var några andra missuppfattningar som rådde bland eleverna. Användandet av konkret material och 3D-modeller i undervisningen om rymden tycks vara en viktig del för elevernas förståelse av området.   Nyckelord: undervisning om rymden – astronomiska missförstånd – årstider – dag/natt – omloppsbanor i sol–jord–månsystemet / Abstract Most children find astronomy an interesting subject and usually show an interest during lessons about the subject. The focus group in this paper is Swedish students in school year 4-6. In total there were 94 students from eight classes who answered the survey with simple drawings and explanations about for example how they thought the objects Sun–Earth–Moon orbit each other, which object they placed as the center in this system, what causes season and the reason behind day and night. Two teachers whom educate the students answered some questions about their teaching method, their thoughts about the subject in question and the students learning and understanding of astronomy.   In the study that are presented in this paper the same types of astronomical misconceptions can be seen amongst these students, that has been shown in similar studies of children all over the world. 20 % of the children in this study showed an earth centered Sun–Earth–Moon system. Other misconceptions that were shown was: the sun and the moon shares the same orbit around the earth, that the seasons are caused by the distance to the sun changing and that day and night happens because the earth orbits the sun. The use of concrete material and 3D-models in the education seemed to be important for the students understanding of the subject.   Keywords: Astronomy education – astronomy misconceptions – seasons – day/night – Celestial Motion in the Sun–Earth–Moon system

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:05:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 1631.pdf: 1988300 bytes, checksum: e305adb917a8fdf720897942982390b7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-08-24 / Different algorithms provide efficient scheduling of parallel applications on distributed and heterogeneous computational platforms, such as computational grids. Most scheduling algorithms for such environments require an application model represented by a directed acyclic graph (DAG), selecting tasks for execution according to their processing and communication characteristics. The obtainment of DAGs for real applications, however, is not a simple quest. The required knowledge about the application tasks and the communication among them, considering existing transmission cycles, harden the elaboration of appropriate graphs. Particularly, MPI programs, that represent a meaningful portion of existing parallel applications, usually present a cyclic communication model among the master and the processing nodes. This behavior prevents most scheduling algorithms to be employed as they recursively traverse the graphs to prioritize the tasks. In this sense, this work presents a mechanism for the automatic creation of DAGs for real MPI application originally developed for homogeneous clusters. In order to do so, applications go through a monitored execution in a cluster and the collected data are used for the elaboration of an appropriate DAGs. Data dependencies are identified and existing cycles among the tasks are eliminated. The HEFT scheduling algorithm is used to evaluate the application model and the schedule obtained is then automatically converted into an RSL (Resource Specification Language) file for execution in a grid with Globus. Results from running real applications and simulations show using the grid can be advantageous. / Algoritmos diferentes possibilitam o escalonamento eficiente de aplicações paralelas em plataformas computacionais heterogêneas e distribuídas, tais como grids computacionais. Vários algoritmos de escalonamento para esses ambientes necessitam de um modelo de aplicação representado por um grafo acíclico direcionado (GAD), selecionando tarefas para execução de acordo com suas características de comunicação e de processamento. A obtenção de um GAD para uma aplicação real, contudo, não é uma questão simples. O conhecimento necessário sobre as tarefas da aplicação e as comunicações entre elas, considerando ciclos de transmissão, dificulta a elaboração de um grafo apropriado. Particularmente, programas MPI, os quais representam uma parcela significativa das aplicações paralelas, apresentam um modelo de comunicação cíclico entre o nó master e os nós de processamento. Esse comportamento impede a utilização de muitos algoritmos de escalonamento devido ao fato de eles percorrerem o grafo recursivamente para priorizar as tarefas. Nesse sentido, esse trabalho apresenta um mecanismo para a criação automática de GADs para aplicações MPI reais originalmente desenvolvidas para clusters homogêneos. Para essa implementação, aplicações são monitoradas durante a execução em um cluster e os dados coletados são usados para a elaboração de um GADs apropriados. Dependências de dados são identificadas e ciclos existentes entre as tarefas são eliminados. O algoritmo de escalonamento HEFT é usado para avaliar o modelo de aplicação e o escalonamento obtido é então automaticamente convertido em um arquivo RSL (Resource Specification Language) para execução em um grid com Globus. Resultados de execuções de aplicações reais e simulações demonstram que o uso de grid pode ser vantajoso.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera hur generalsekreterarens roll i FN har utvecklats i situationer som hotar fred och säkerhet. Uppsatsen jämför hur förutsättningarna har utvecklats från då Dag Hammarskjöld hade posten fram till idag, med Kofi Annan som generalsekreterare. Uppsatsen bygger på den hermeneutiska metoden där texttolkning ligger till grund för analysen. De stora prövningarna för de båda generalsekreterarna har varit konflikten i Kongo respektive konflikten i Irak. Generalsekreterarens intressen påverkar vilka delar av arbetet som denne kommer att prioritera. Både Dag Hammarskjöld och Kofi Annan har sett de fredsbevarande operationerna som ett viktigt ämnesområde och har arbetat för att utveckla dessa. Ett antal faktorer som påverkar generalsekreterarens förutsättningar till agerande tas upp i uppsatsen. Det internationella systemet är den faktor som mest har påverkat möjligheterna att agera. För Dag Hammarskjöld var det en balansgång att kunna agera under kalla kriget. Generalsekreteraren skulle arbeta på ett neutralt sätt utan att stöta sig med någon av stormakterna. För Kofi Annan har det varit viktigt att ha ett bra samarbete med den ensamma stormakten i dagens internationella system, USA. Det finns likheter mellan de båda generalsekreterarna men som nämnts ovan skiljer sig deras förutsättningar till agerande åt på flera punkter. Det är det internationella systemet som mest påverkat deras förutsättningar till agerande och det är även denna faktor som skiljer sig mest mellan de båda generalsekreterarna.

<p>Phosphatidylinositol (PI) is a phospholipid that constitutes only a minor component of eukaryotic membranes. However, they are critical in many fundamental cellular processes, such as signal transduction pathways, vesicular trafficking and actin cytoskeletal dynamics. PI is highly enriched in specific acyl chains at both the <em>sn-1</em> and <em>sn-2</em> positions, the major species being 1-stearoyl-2-arachidonoyl. Enzymes required for PI synthesis are believed to play a major role in this enrichment through the selective catalysis of specific substrates. We have studied several aspects of two enzymes involved in PI synthesis, Diacylglycerol kinase ε (DGKε) and CDP-Diacylglycerol synthases (CDS). We have studied the role of the ATP-binding motif of DGKε and showed that this enzyme is not only required for enzymatic activity, but substrate specificity and sub-cellular localization. We have also looked at the region adjacent to the catalytic site, containing a cholesterol recognition motif, and determined that this also affects the enzymes activity and substrate specificity. Finally, we have characterized the enzymatic properties of two CDS isoforms <em>in vitro</em> and demonstrated that these isoforms exhibit different substrate specificities. Taken together, our results serve to further our understanding of both DGKε and CDS1/2 and their roles in PI synthesis and enrichment with specific acyl chains.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)