Riskkapitalbolagens verksamhet är mycket omdebatterad då förespråkare hävdar att riskkapitalbolagen bidrar till långsiktigt stabila företag och kritiker menar att de bryter ner värde hos sina portföljbolag. Denna debatt har föranlett många studier i ämnet men ytterst få har undersökt portföljbolagens syn på riskkapitalbolagens inblandning. Författarna har därför valt att bygga vidare på en tidigare studie som, genom att jämföra värdeutvecklingen för 13 portföljbolag under två år med utvecklingen hos en grupp jämförbara bolag, undersökt om riskkapitalbolagen skapar uthålligt värde hos sina portföljbolag. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka huruvida strategiska skillnader mellan portföljbolagen och jämförelsebolagen har påverkat värdeutvecklingen i den tidigare studien samt hur riskkapitalbolagens inblandning har bidragit till dessa skillnader. Detta gjordes genom en enkätundersökning där samtliga bolag i den tidigare studien tillfrågades att medverka, av dessa valde 13 företag, sju portföljbolag och sex jämförelsebolag, att delta. Resultatet visar att det finns vissa skillnader i förvaltningen mellan de båda grupperna och att portföljbolagen har påverkats positivt av riskkapitalbolagens aktiva ägande. Portföljbolagen är mer fokuserade på finansiella mål och lönsamhet medan jämförelsebolagen fokuserar på operationella mål och prioriterar tillväxt högre än lönsamhet. Detta kan vara en förklaring till resultatet i den tidigare studien som visade att portföljbolagen haft en starkare lönsamhetsutveckling än motsvarande jämförelsebolag, under mätperioden. Resultaten stödjer dock inte den långsiktighet som riskkapitalbolagen sägs bidra med.

I Sverige pågår idag en samhällsdebatt angående huruvida private equity–industrin bidrar till den ekonomiska utvecklingen genom att skapa långsiktigt starka och lönsamma bolag eller om de förstör värde genom nedskärningar och bolagsuppdelningar. Med private equity menas riskkapitalbolag som investerar i onoterade företag, så kallade portföljbolag, med avsikten att tillföra värde inför en avyttring några år senare, vanligen 3-5 år. Syftet med denna studie är att studera värdeutvecklingen på ett antal av dessa svenska portföljbolag, från riskkapitalbolagens avyttring till och med två år efter försäljningen. I studien har nyckeltal med fokus på lönsamhet, tillväxt och kapitalstruktur tagits fram för portföljbolagen. Utvecklingen för dessa nyckeltal har senare jämförts med utvecklingen för motsvarande nyckeltal hos en referensgrupp av liknande onoterade bolag som inte tidigare varit ägda av riskkapitalbolag. Resultatet visar att portföljbolagen i många avseenden har utvecklats bättre än jämförelsebolagen under den studerade tidsperioden. Detta skulle kunna förklaras av aktivt ägande med uttalat lönsamhetsfokus men kan även ha andra förklaringar, varför fortsatta studier i ämnet rekommenderas.

Based on research involving an overview of 44 policies at Canadian universities and 21 interviews with anti-harassment practitioners across the country, this thesis explores the challenges faced by anti-harassment practitioners working with legally defined institutional harassment discrimination policies. Anti-harassment work at Canadian universities is complex because practitioners must negotiate institutional demands set out in policy as well as politicized demands from members of marginalized groups both inside and outside the institution. Interviews with practitioners reveal that their daily work in reactive investigation and mediation of complaints as well as their proactive work in educating campus communities may support the less powerful parties to complaints, rather than focusing only on limiting the institution’s legal liability. Therefore, although anti-harassment practitioners occupy a boundary role as defined by Fraser (1989), their work is not entirely “depoliticizing”. Practitioners’ identities, sense of marginalization, and commitment to activist politics contribute to their position as tempered radicals as defined by Meyerson and Scully (1995), helping to explain their commitment to both institutional prerogatives and to empowering marginalized members of the institution. The advent of neoliberalism has set the stage for the shift of discourses and practices away from those which value equity to those that underscore traditional divisions of power and challenge the demands of so-called “special interest groups’. This shift is underscored by concerns about “political correctness” that arise within institutional communities and the broader social context. Perhaps the most obvious of the changes relates to the shift from a focus on equity and human rights to what is termed the “respectful workplace model”. The inclusion of personal harassment issues in human rights policies shifts the focus of the policies to issues that are not tied to historical oppressions and can potentially deflect attention from the human rights component of these policies. The challenge is to move beyond a legalistic perspective regarding policy development and to consider changes in the broader social context that influence policy change and the work of anti-harassment practitioners.

Denna studie undersöker huruvida Private Equity-bolag lyckas skapa bestående operationellt värde i förvärvade portföljbolag. Studien beaktar mått som reflekterar utvecklingen för olika intressentgrupper i syfte att åskådliggöra Private Equity-bolagens sammantagna bidrag till värdeskapande. Undersökningen är av kvantitativ karaktär och är baserad på ett urval av 19 svenska bolag som under åren 1999-2008 förvärvats och avyttrats av ett Private Equity-bolag. Studien genomförs genom att studera utvecklingen av finansiella nyckeltal samt därtill kompletterande mått för intressenters välstånd under perioden mellan förvärv och avyttring samt tre år efter avyttring. För att justera för makroekonomiska och branschövergripande fluktuationer har portföljbolagens utveckling jämförts med en jämförelsegrupp bestående av branschkonkurrenter. Den sammanvägda slutsatsen är att den begränsade positiva utveckling vi observerar under holdingperioden gradvis försämras under de första tre åren efter avyttring. Ur ett intressentperspektiv konstateras att ingen intressentgrupp drabbas av direkta försämringar vare sig under holdingperioden eller tre år därefter.

This paper presents an empirical study of the determinants that drive the investment performance of China’s venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) funds. Using data on VC/PE funds backed initial public offerings (IPOs) from ChiNext between October 2009 to October 2011 and the internal rate of return (IRR) as the measurement for investment performance, this paper finds that fund experience has a positive influence on investment performance whereas investment scale and investment duration have a negative influence on investment performance.

Since the 1960s, over 65,000 young Canadians have participated in volunteer abroad programs (Tiessen, 2008). Lately, the media and academia have questioned and criticized the benefits of volunteerism as development. This study highlights how issues of power and privilege extend beyond the individual, and reaches into institutional structures. The research design uses Institutional Ethnography (IE) as a method of inquiry, and maps out the social relations between the experiences of seven former youth volunteers and field staff, and their organizations. The aim is to explore how to improve individual and organizational pedagogy in the field of international volunteering, so that equity becomes a commitment by everyone in the development of sustainable and just communities.

Inclusion of children with autism in public education has become a pressing issue. As more and more children are diagnosed, schools are increasingly unable to provide individualized educational services and one to one aides for each of these children. In this master's thesis, the author describes the ways in which discourses around public education and the ideal neoliberal worker have in turn shaped discourses around students and workers with autism. Reimagining inclusion of students with autism pushes us to reimagine "autism" and "school" itself. Through discussions of the paradoxes of autistic speech and self determination, and the relationship between discourses of autism and discourses of education, the author suggests a new way to imagine autism, inclusion, and education.

Since the 1960s, over 65,000 young Canadians have participated in volunteer abroad programs (Tiessen, 2008). Lately, the media and academia have questioned and criticized the benefits of volunteerism as development. This study highlights how issues of power and privilege extend beyond the individual, and reaches into institutional structures. The research design uses Institutional Ethnography (IE) as a method of inquiry, and maps out the social relations between the experiences of seven former youth volunteers and field staff, and their organizations. The aim is to explore how to improve individual and organizational pedagogy in the field of international volunteering, so that equity becomes a commitment by everyone in the development of sustainable and just communities.

Inclusion of children with autism in public education has become a pressing issue. As more and more children are diagnosed, schools are increasingly unable to provide individualized educational services and one to one aides for each of these children. In this master's thesis, the author describes the ways in which discourses around public education and the ideal neoliberal worker have in turn shaped discourses around students and workers with autism. Reimagining inclusion of students with autism pushes us to reimagine "autism" and "school" itself. Through discussions of the paradoxes of autistic speech and self determination, and the relationship between discourses of autism and discourses of education, the author suggests a new way to imagine autism, inclusion, and education.

Achieving gender equity is an international priority. This research, guided by a critical social theory approach, explores and seeks to challenge dominant gender norms amongst young men and women living in the slum of Kibera, Kenya. To achieve this goal, 49 participants, recruited through convenience sampling techniques, engaged in a participatory diagramming technique of data collection and reflexive analysis. Findings from this research suggest that youth participants experienced numerous forms of social discrimination and exclusion that threatened health and development. Socio-economic status appeared to be the primary source of inequities, including gender inequity. Process and outcome changes were noted among participants throughout the course of this research. Participants created plans to minimize the impact of discrimination that was externally imposed on them as individuals, but challenged between members of the group. The findings underscore the significance of addressing the social, cultural, political, and economic context of health. They further suggest that groups and communities have the capacity to create integrated plans that address complex challenges.