The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the differences between 9-ending on promotion prices used by Thai retailers and Swedish retailers. The quantitative research approach is the chosen method in order to evaluate the differences between 9-ending on promotion prices used by Thai retailers and Swedish retailers. The collection of data will be mainly concentrated on primary data through brochures from retailers in both countries. Evaluation of the price endings for advertised products in the brochures from Thai and Swedish retailers founded the distinctions between the use of 9-ending prices in many ways such as the way the retailers used left and right digits for price endings, the way they set the prices compared between the same product category and the same product sub-category.

The purpose of this study is to see whether price endings affect people's perceptions of luxury and necessity goods. There is evidence that the rightmost digits, or endings, of retail prices can communicate meanings to consumers. Some researchers (Schindler and Kirby, 1997; Stiving and Winer, 1997; Thomas and Morwitz, 2005) argued that there are two price ending effects level effects (those effects in which consumers may underestimate the price); and image effects (those effects in which consumers may infer meaning from the right-hand digits). In the study, ninety-three participants were recruited from the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. All participants were given questionnaires to rate the quality and necessity-luxury of the good first; then a distraction session which used for distracting participants' attention from memorizing the prices of the goods; then a recall-test was given. Participants gave significantly different ratings for luxuries and necessities according to the different price-endings. In addition, the idea that the prices ending in 9 tend to be underestimated was also found.

Background: According to the existing evidence base, the experience of ending therapy, from the perspectives of adolescents who are looked after, is substantially under researched. Moreover, the ending of therapy is highlighted as an important phase of the therapy process and previous research into ending therapy indicates this as a valuable area of research. The available literature indicates that those with a history of loss may find the ending phase particularly challenging. It was hoped that the research findings may assist Clinical Psychologists and other therapists to make sense of how young people experience ending therapy, and may also highlight ways in which therapists can support looked after young people through this transition. Aims: The study aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the way in which young people who are looked after make sense of ending psychological therapy. Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six looked after adolescents who had recently ended psychological therapy. The transcripts of the interviews were then analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results: Four master themes emerged from analysis: inextricable link between therapy and therapy relationship, ambivalence, means of coping and moving on from therapy. Implications and Conclusion: This study highlights the need for careful and on going consideration of the ending phase of therapy with this population. It also gives further support to the significance of the therapeutic relationship and consideration of this at the end of therapy. Areas for future research are highlighted, notably the value of conducting further research with looked after young people, to explore factors such as culture and gender on the experience of ending therapy.

Jag vill i den här uppsatsen lyfta fram olika berättartekniska aspekter i romanen, och visa hur dessa samverkar med varandra samt ger extra dimensioner till idéinnehållet. För att uppnå det vill jag använda mig av flera ingångar – såväl narratologiska som retoriska – för att på det viset framhäva flera olika effekter.

The purpose of this study is to see whether price endings affect people's perceptions of luxury and necessity goods. There is evidence that the rightmost digits, or endings, of retail prices can communicate meanings to consumers. Some researchers (Schindler and Kirby, 1997; Stiving and Winer, 1997; Thomas and Morwitz, 2005) argued that there are two price ending effects level effects (those effects in which consumers may underestimate the price); and image effects (those effects in which consumers may infer meaning from the right-hand digits). In the study, ninety-three participants were recruited from the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. All participants were given questionnaires to rate the quality and necessity-luxury of the good first; then a distraction session which used for distracting participants' attention from memorizing the prices of the goods; then a recall-test was given. Participants gave significantly different ratings for luxuries and necessities according to the different price-endings. In addition, the idea that the prices ending in 9 tend to be underestimated was also found.

Abstract This research aims at developing theory about the dissolution process of business-to-business relationships in tailored software context. Although dissolving business relationships can be viewed as one of the essential themes of marketing, the existing research on dissolution does not provide us with a holistic picture of the dissolution as a process. This research builds an empirically-grounded model of the business relationship dissolution process. First, a theoretical, tentative model of the process of business relationship dissolution is built. Second, empirical knowledge is acquired from a case study of business relationship dissolution in a software context. The case study data has been collected from various sources, from both seller and buyer organisations as well as network actors, through interviews and also from other written and oral sources in order to ensure triangulation. Third, the findings of the case study are compared to the tentative process model and the model is adjusted accordingly, thus developing the empirically-grounded process model. The process model includes three elements: the nature of the relationship, the factors influencing its dissolution, and the dissolution process. It incorporates both the time dimension and the multiplicity of the actors (individuals, companies, other relationships) involved into the model. The nature of the relationship is classified (terminal, continuous, episodic) as are the influencing factors and events (predisposing, precipitating and attenuating). The dissolution process is modelled by using stages, which describe the different action and time periods of the process, and by using levels, which describe the different actors who bring the process about. Six stages are distinguished: the communication stage, consideration stage, disengagement stage, enabling stage, restoration stage, and sensemaking / aftermath stage. The concept of stage is used to divide the complex process into more comprehensible periods and to emphasise that in each stage, managers' actions differ. The dissolution process does not always proceed through all the stages, nor have the stages any particular order.

La consécration sur la scène juridique, en 1999, des modes de conjugalité alternatifs au mariage - le concubinage et le PACS-, a contribué à renouveler l'appréhension de la notion de couple, placée au coeur des préoccupations législatives. De plus en plus envisagé comme une notion unitaire, le couple est désormais compris dans une acception qui transcende les modes de conjugalité, au point que la réalité d'un droit commun du couple encouragé par le législateur est aujourd'hui tangible. Dans cette logique, on observe un rapprochement des processus de rupture résultant de l'extension de certaines règles protectrices du divorce aux ruptures du PACS et du concubinage. Dès lors, le développement d'un droit commun de la rupture du couple au détriment de la spécificité du divorce est-il inéluctable ? ou à l'inverse, la rupture est-elle encore le symbole des différences fondamentales entre les modes de conjugalité, en révélant ce qui est l'essence irréductible de chacun d'eux -et ceci, dans un contexte du droit de la conjugalité profondément renouvelé par l'appréhension nouvelle du mariage en tant qu'union ouverte aux personnes de même sexe ?Telle est l'alternative pour le législateur à qui il incombe de donner une nouvelle cohérence au droit de la conjugalité. / The arising on the legal scene in 1999 of various types of union as alternatives to marriage (cohabitation and french civil partnership -PACS-) contributed to reconsider the very notion of couple as the core of legislative priorities. More and more understood as a unitarian concept, the couple is now included in an understanding that goes beyond the type of union, to the point where a common law of couples becomes a reality, promoted by the legislator. Doing so, the legal ways of ending a cohabition or a PACS are now obviously converging with the way of ending a marriage, thanks to the extension of protective laws that initially concerned only married couples.From here, must we consider inevitable the development of a common law of ending a couple, at the expense of the specificity of divorce ? Or, at the opposite, is the ending of a couple still the best representation of the fundamental differences between unions, revealing their very nature - moreover now that the laws of conjugality have been deeply reconsidered through the legalization of same sex marriage ?Such is the alternative for the legislator, who has now to give a brand new coherence to the laws of conjugality.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether oil and gas producing companies smooth their ending reserve quantities. Smoothing is defined as a reduction in variance in the trend of ending reserve quantities over time compared to the trend of ending reserve quantities less the hypothesized smoothing variable over time. This study focuses on two variables that are most susceptible to manipulation—revisions of previous estimates and additions. This study also examines whether revisions are positively or negatively biased and the variability of the revisions. The sample consists of 70 companies chosen from oil & Gas Reserve Disclosures: 1980-1984 Survey of 400 Public Companies by Arthur Andersen and Company. For each company, ending reserve quantities for the years 1978-1984 were regressed over time, and the standard deviation of the estimate (SDE) was calculated. Then the ending reserve quantities less the hypothesized smoothing variable were regressed over time, and the SDE was calculated. A linear model and a semi-logarithmic model were used. A smoothing ratio (SR) was determined by dividing the SDE of reserves less the hypothesized smoothing variable by the SDE of ending reserve quantities. An SR greater than one indicates smoothing, and an SR less than one indicates that smoothing did not occur. The mean percentage revision and a t-test were used to test for positive or negative bias in the revisions. The mean absolute percentage revision was used to assess the relative variability of revisions. The number of companies classified as smoothers of oil reserves was statistically significant for the semi-logarithmic model but not for the linear model. Under both models the number of companies classified as smoothers of gas reserves was statistically significant. Few companies had mean percentage revisions that were significantly different from zero. The majority of companies had mean absolute revisions of under ten percent.

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive, worldwide public health problem and one of the most common violations of human rights. The aim of this thesis were twofold: (i) to study the process and factors related to ending of IPV of Nicaraguan women and (ii) to examine to what extent IPV exposure is associated with the child linear growth and women’s contraceptive use after pregnancy. Methods: Data were collected from a panel study which followed 398 women who were inquired about their IPV exposure during pregnancy and at follow-up a median of 43 months after delivery. Three hundred seventy five of their children were available for anthropometric assessment. Thirteen in-depth interviews were conducted with women exposed to physical/sexual IPV during pregnancy but not at follow-up. For analysis both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used. Results: Women experienced four patterns of abuse: never abused, ending abuse, continued abuse, and new abuse. Of the women who experienced any IPV before or during pregnancy, 59% (95% CI 52-65%) reported no abuse at follow-up (135/229).  Women exposed to a continued abuse pattern and those exposed to any IPV, emotional or physical IPV at follow-up had higher odds of reversible contraceptive use. Further, exposure to any IPV and controlling behavior by a partner during pregnancy impaired the index child linear growth. Girls whose mothers had low social resources during pregnancy were the most affected. Women felt that being inquired about IPV while pregnant contributed to process of ending the abuse. Ending IPV was experienced as a process with three phases: “I came to a turning point,” “I changed,” and the “Relationship ended or changed.” Successful strategies to ending abuse mainly involved utilizing informal networks. Ending IPV did not always mean ending the relationship. IPV awareness, severity of the abuse, and economic independence were individual factors associated with ending of abuse. At the relationship level, diminishing or no exposure to controlling behavior by their partner was a key element. At the community level, a supportive and less tolerant to IPV environment as well as exposure to IPV inquiry during pregnancy facilitated the process of ending abuse. Conclusion: The study found that IPV exposure is associated with the children’s linear growth and women’s reversible contraceptive use. In addition, it is clear that gender norms regarding IPV are not static and that they play an important role in facilitating the process ending the abuse by increasing abused women’s access to emotional and material support. Our results emphasize the relevance of improving public services response to IPV.

This study aims to build a new language model that can be used in a Turkish large vocabulary continuous speech recognition system. Turkish is a very productive language in terms of word forms because of its agglutinative nature. For such languages like Turkish, the vocabulary size is far from being acceptable. From only one simple stem, thousands of new word forms can be generated using inflectional or derivational suffixes. In this thesis, words are parsed into their stems and endings. One ending includes the suffixes attached to the associated root. Then the search network based on bigrams is constructed. Bigrams are obtained either using stem and endings, or using only stems. The language model proposed is based on bigrams obtained using only stems. All work is done in HTK (Hidden Markov Model Toolkit) environment, except parsing and network transforming. Besides of offering a new language model for Turkish, this study involves a comprehensive work about speech recognition inspecting into concepts in the state of the art speech recognition systems. To acquire good command of these concepts and processes in speech recognition isolated word, connected word and continuous speech recognition tasks are performed. The experimental results associated with these tasks are also given.