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2009 beslutade det europeiska fotbollsförbundet UEFA att införa regelverket Financial Fair Play Regulations, för att förbättra fotbollens ekonomiska hälsa. Detta som en följd av en allt mer ansvarslös och irrationell pengahantering bland europeiska fotbollsklubbar, med stora underskott och försenade betalningar som konsekvens. Ett avsnitt i regelverket berör de så kallade ”break-even”-kraven, som sätter begränsningar för hur stora underskott klubbar får visa upp.   I vår uppsats har syftet varit att utreda huruvida ”break-even”-kraven är att anse som förenliga med EU-rättsliga konkurrensregler, specifikt art. 101.1 FEUF. Detta då kraven, enligt vår uppfattning, kan anses ha en konkurrenshämmande verkan i form av investeringsbegränsningar och en asymmetrisk effekt på transfermarknaden.   För att kunna utreda den rättsliga giltigheten, har vi använt oss av relevant praxis på EU-nivå inom områdena konkurrensrätt och idrott. Eftersom regelverket är så pass nyutkommet, har det ännu inte hunnit prövas rättsligt på EU-nivå. I och med detta, har det för oss funnits stort utrymme för diskussion och hypotetiska scenarion. Vår studie av praxis har visat att bestämmelserna kan bedömas vara förenliga med EU-rätten, trots en konkurrensbegränsande verkan. I vår analys har vi därför, utifrån befintliga förutsättningar, diskuterat huruvida vi anser att ”break-even”-kraven ska bedömas vara förenliga med art. 101.1 FEUF, även om de kan anses ha en konkurrenshämmande effekt. Vi har vägt in både ekonomiska och sportsliga faktorer i vår analys, och har även diskuterat möjligheten till alternativa tillvägagångssätt.

Thèse (D. en informatique cognitive)--Université du Québec à Montréal, 2005. / En tête du titre: Université du Québec à Montréal. Bibliogr.: f. [172]-186. Publié aussi en version électronique.

In 2015 the Swedish Foreign Minister announced that the foreign policy would be feminist. This thesis aims to advance an understanding of the process of institutionalizing feminism in the Swedish foreign policy statements and the effects this has had on Swedish foreign policy priorities. Through a combined approach of constructivist and feminist theory, it is argued that while areas related to feminism, such as women, gender, and equality, have been institutionalizing over the last two decades, the introduction of overt feminism has increased resistance. By drawing on institutionalization theory, gender mainstreaming, and hegemonic masculinity it is revealed how ‘adding women’ has been the main approach but that the use of ‘feminism’ has challenged the hegemonic masculinity embedded in foreign policy. The thesis concludes that aspects of feminism have been institutionalized, however, feminism as a structure is still at its emerging stage internationally. Moreover, it is discussed how the relationship between national and international political spheres affect the institutionalization process of norms cyclically.

This article examines the Swedish government's decoupling of feminism and gender equality. Drawing on scholarship on feminist backsliding and gender ideology, this article suggests that the Swedish government's decision to abandon the feminist agenda in its foreign policy reflects broader trends of anti-genderism as both an international and transnational phenomenon. I argue that the Swedish government separates feminism from gender equality in order to allow for a more conservative shaping of women's roles without rejecting gender equality, while respecting the social and cultural context. The study uses norm spoiling and critical frame analysis on the political manifestos of the governing parties to examine how the issue of feminism and gender equality are respectively framed and serve to drive a wedge between the two ideas. The article concludes by discussing similarities between the key frames identified in the analysis and those identified in the literature on transnational gender ideology discourse, finding that a common strategy to impede women's rights is evident.

Fotbollsklubbar bedriver inte sin verksamhet som vanliga företag. Fotbollsklubbar strävarnämligen inte efter att generera stora vinster ekonomiskt. Vinsterna ska i stället ske påfotbollsplanen, eftersom fotbollsklubbar strävar efter sportslig framgång. Dock har den strävan inneburit att fotbollsklubbar hamnat i ekonomiska svårigheter, vilket medfört att regelverket FFP-regelverket implementerats för att undvika att klubbar går i konkurs. FFP-regelverket tvingar fotbollsklubbar att generera positiva resultat för att undvika sanktioner. Inom det engelska ligasystemet Premier League finns det däremot sex klubbar som särskiljer sig från mängden. Klubbarna som benämns ”Big-six”-lagen har dominerat ligan historiskt och har kapitalstarka ägare som inte är oroade för ekonomiska svårigheter. Tidigare forskning menar att ett sätt att lyckas med att utföra två motstridiga intressen, vilka för fotbollsklubbarna är ekonomisk lönsamhet och sportslig framgång, är earnings management. Den här uppsatsen undersöker om det förekommer earnings management inom ”Big-six”-lagen, samt om det blivit någon förändring i användandet efter införandet av FFP-regelverket. Uppsatsen undersöker även vilka andra faktorer som påverkar earnings management. Studien bygger på användandet av två proxies för earnings management, vilka är income smoothing och accrual management.Resultaten visar att det förekommer earnings management inom ”Big-six”-lagen samt att användandet ökat efter införandet av FFP-regelverket. Resultaten stödjer även hypoteserna att ett negativt operativt kassaflöde och en stor tillväxt i intäkter har en signifikant påverkan på de diskrektionära periodiseringarna och i förlängningen earnings management inom ”Big-six”-lagen.

The coastal population is growing, putting extra stress on coastal sediments and protection features, such as beach dunes. Moreover, global warming will increase the frequency of storms, and coastal dunes and other defense infrastructure will be subjected to increased erosion and scouring, endangering the people they are meant to protect. Understanding soil dynamics and fluid interaction is crucial to predict the effects of sand erosion. In particular, the study of wind erosion of sands in coastal dunes is essential due to the protective role these earthen structures have during storm events. One of the challenges about predicting wind erosion in coastal dunes is its extended spatial scale and the associated economic and logistics costs of sampling and characterizing the sediments. Because of this, in-situ testing for sediment characterization is essential. In particular, the usage of free-fall penetrometers (FFP) is appealing due to their portability and robustness. The sediment properties obtained with this type of testing can later be used to assess wind erosion susceptibility by determining, for example, the wind velocity to initiate the erosion process. FFP testing involves dropping an instrumented probe that impacts the soil and measures the kinematics or kinetics during the penetration process. For example, deceleration measurements are used to compute an equivalent quasi-static failure, which is not in line with the dynamic process characteristic of FFP testing. This preassumed failure mechanism is used to back-calculate the sand's geomechanical properties. However, soil behavior is highly complex under rapid loading, and incorporating this behavior into FFP sediment characterization models is challenging. Advanced numerical modeling can improve the understanding of the physics behind FFP testing. This thesis presents various advancements in numerical modeling and erosion models to bridge FFP in-situ testing with predicting the initiation of wind erosion of sands. First, improvements oriented to the Material Point Method (MPM) for modeling in-situ FFP testing are proposed. The numerical results show that the simulation of FFP deployment in sands is affected by strain localization and highlight the importance of considering constitutive models sensitive to different loading rates. Because of the importance of rate effects in soil behavior, the second aspect of this thesis proposes a novel consistency framework. Two constitutive models are adapted to study strain-rate sensitive non-cohesive materials: i) a strain-softening Mohr-Coulomb, and ii) a NorSand model. In addition to increased strength, the proposed framework captures increased dilatation, an early peak deviatoric stress, and relaxation. Finally, a novel sand erosion model is derived using a continuum approximation and limit equilibrium analysis. The erosion law considers geotechnical parameters, the effects of slope, and moisture suction, in a combined manner. The proposed model is theoretically consistent with existing expressions in the literature. It covers a wide range of environmental and geometrical conditions and helps to reconcile the results from FFP testing with the prediction of the initiation of wind erosion. The model was validated in a wind tunnel and is demonstrated to be a viable alternative for predicting sand erosion initiation. This thesis opens up new research prospects, such as improving the soil characterization models or the direct prediction of sand erosion using rapid, reliable, and efficient in-situ testing methods. / Doctor of Philosophy / With global warming and climate change, it is expected that the frequency and intensity of storms will increase. This increment will put extra stress on coastal sediments such as beach sand and coastal dunes, making them prone to erosion. Coastal dunes lose their ability to withstand storms as they erode, potentially making coastal flooding more frequent. In light of this, all stakeholders involved in the protection against coastal disasters must have the tools to predict, prepare for, and mitigate for situations like the ones stated above. An essential aspect of the prediction component is dependent on a successful sediment characterization, for example, determining how much wind the sand can withstand before it erodes. Free-fall penetrometers (FFP) are devices designed to conduct the characterization mentioned above. However, the procedures used to perform this characterization are mainly based on empirical or semi-empirical expressions. Computer models, capable of simulating the physics behind FFP testing, can bring more insight into the process of interaction between FFP devices, sands, and water and can be the basis to improve the characterization methods. The latter results can be utilized for instance to predict wind erosion, including several properties of the sand, such as its mineralogy and shape. This study contributes to developing the computer simulations of FFP deployment and the wind erosion prediction models. Eventually, these developments can help engineers and coastal managers to anticipate and prepare for more frequent coastal hazards.

Software size estimation/measurement has been the objective of a lot of research in the software engineering community due to the need of reliable size estimates. FSM Methods have become widely used in software project management to measure the functional size of software since its first publication, late 1970s. Although all FSM methods measure the functional size by quantifying the FURs, each method defined its own measurement process and metric. Therefore, a piece of software has several functional sizes when measured by different methods. In order to be able to compare functional sizes of software products measured by different methods, we need to convert them to each other. In this thesis study, the similarities and differences between four FSM methods, IFPUG FPA, Mark II FPA, COSMIC FFP and ARCHI DIM FSM are investigated and the common core concepts are presented. Accordingly a unification model of the measurement process of all four methods is proposed. The main objective of this model is to measure the functional size of a software system by applying all four methods simultaneously, using a single source of data. In order to have an infrastructure to validate the unification model by conducting empirical studies, a software tool is designed and implemented based on the unification model. Two empirical studies are conducted by utilizing the data of a real project to evaluate both the unification model proposed and the developed tool and the measurement results are discussed.

關係行銷或是一對一行銷是目前行銷領域上廣泛被討論的議 題，企業要如何透過有效的辨識、區隔、互動以及客制化來量身打造 顧客專屬的個人化產品與服務內容，並強化其重複消費動機及忠誠， 為目前各種產業爭相積極追求的目標，此外，由於微利時代風暴，各 產業無不希望透過顧客價值的辨識與經營，實現以更有效、更低的成 本的差異化行銷策略來創造高收益的企業經營目標，以航空產業如此 資本密集，高固定成本，低變動成本以及不對稱的供需平衡，誰掌握 低成本領導與差異化策略優勢，便能決戰存續於二十一世紀超競爭時 代之中。 由於資訊科技、網際網路以及資料探勘技術的臻於成熟， 充份 發揮了跨國、即時、深度滲透與互動的特性，使得關係行銷、一對一 行銷的實現變得更加有效而可行。本研究希望從顧客價值的認定、顧 客忠誠策略以及資料探勘技術的探討，來思考如何運用於航空公司會 員系統的顧客區隔，同時，希能透過航空公司產業通路架構、全球旅 行社訂位系統(CRS)的發展現狀、微妙的航空公司間策略聯盟以及不 同航空公司所提供的會員酬賓計劃內容的探討與陳述，初略地對個案 公司的所在環境進行策略性分析，以建議其所需採取投入關係行銷的 主要焦點客層。 緊接著， 利用資料探勘工具中的分群技術， 選定有效的指標變 數，針對某一區間的會員交易資料進行分群，藉由研究各群會員所蘊 含的特殊屬性，如營收貢獻、產品特性、通路喜好以及消費行為等等， 依據前述所定義的目標客層，以創造顧客價值為目標，精確建立目標 客戶群，並據以設計不同的行銷策略與產品組合，逐步深耕建立完整 會員關係行銷資料庫。 最後， 對於本研究所無法觸及的研究議題， 概略指出後續可能 的研究方向與建議。 / Customer Relationship Management and data mining in this hyper-competitive era have revealed a lot of interesting and innovative opportunities to enrich the capability of company to realize and provide customer value. They touch the most critical issue of the enterprise, “How can we create and sustain successful advantage, and maximize profitability by leveraging new technologies ?＂In this thesis, we will focus on the application of data mining in the FFP of the airlines industry, and look over the differences among FFP members to discover the implicative needs of FFP customers. First of all, we start discussion on literature review in chapter two, which was divided into three parts: customer loyalty strategy, customer value and data mining. In this chapter, we put emphasis on the concepts and definitions of above topics, and they would be helpful to us to select and decide key variables in the following data mining practice. Chapter three of this thesis is to introduce the structure and characteristics of the airlines industry, the history of Computerized Reservation System(CRS), the airlines strategy alliance and the FFP system, and to figure out the way to understand the existing threats and opportunities. Chapter four, which was abode by the steps of data mining process, defines business issues and collects around one year's FFP historical transaction data to establish the target data and perform an actual data mining practice. In this real practice, we use the demographic cluster function of IBM Intelligent Mining tool to do member clustering. We select net revenue, first and business class spending rate, reservation booking designator and customer activation as analytical variables to perform FFP member clustering. Each variable has been well equipped with weight and method to produce best cluster pattern. Finally, according to the mining results we have explored and interpreted, we provide our draft recommendations about marketing planning and mix activities from the perspectives of FFP members clustering.