Companies spend trillions of dollars on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) every year, and tens of thousands of new M&A deals are announced every year. However, despite the huge costs, only 10% to 30% of the M&As announced, get finalized (Christensen et al., 2011).There is extensive research conducted on why M&As fail, and their implications for the companies involved in the transaction. However, these large deals do not only impact the firms directly involved in the deal.  Microsoft, one of the world’s most influential companies, made on the 18th of January 2022 an acquisition announcement regarding its intent to acquire Activation Blizzard, one of the world’s largest game studios. The announcement made headlines all over the world and resulted in protests from competitors of the two companies. One of these competitors, Sony, experienced a 13% drop in stock price due to the acquisition announcement.  This thesis investigates the effect of acquisition announcements on the stock return of competitors to the target company. The study is examining the competitors stock return during the month leading up to the announcement, as well as the stock return during the month following the announcement. The authors have taken inspiration from a previous study “Acquisitions: A curse or blessing for direct competitors? The impact of target ownership structure” conducted by Mataigne et al. (2021).  By reviewing over 700 market reactions to acquisition announcements over a 10-year period, the authors were able to statistically test the differences in mean stock return. The authors were able to conclude that acquisition announcements have a negative impact on the stock return of competitors, and thereby answer the proposed research question: “What is the effect of acquisitions announcements on the stock returns of target company’s competitors in Sweden?”. Competitors to the target firm of an acquisition will experience the most significant change in their stock returns in the time period close to the announcement, after which the reaction will stabilize. The empirical findings of the study contribute to the field of knowledge using Behavioral Finance, the Efficient Market Hypothesis, the Capital Asset Pricing Model, the Stakeholder Theory, the Mitchell Model, and various market valuation methods.  Evidently, theories as part of the Behavioral Finance scope, such as the Efficient Market Hypothesis, provide support to the findings following the acquisition announcement. Theories such as the Stakeholder Theory and the Mitchell Model have helped identify competitors' stakeholder role to show how various events and organizations affect them as stakeholders in the market.  This study, which utilizes over 60.000 datapoints from daily price data for its analysis, takes a deductive approach within the positivist paradigm framework. The data is statistically tested using paired t-tests.

Studien undersöker social hållbarhet med inriktning på exkluderande design. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vad exkluderande design är och öka medvetenheten kring problematiken att exkludera vissa människor från specifika platser. Det undersöks även vilken roll olika aktörer har i att skapa ett inkluderande samhälle och främja social hållbarhet, samt hur designvalet relaterar till den sociala hållbarheten i samhället. Diskussioner om hur designen påverkar hemlösa och andra utsatta personer i samhället utgör en central del i studien. Studien baseras på en kvalitativ metod genom att utföra en litteraturstudie som fördjupar sig i social hållbarhet, hemlöshet, exkluderande design samt ansvar och roll. Relevanta aktörer inom området har intervjuats för att få fram olika perspektiv i ämnet, samt att studien kompletteras med en fältstudie som genom bilder visualiserar vart i Malmö det finns exkluderande design.  Exkluderande design är hur platser eller föremål utformas med syfte att hålla vissa människor eller beteenden borta från specifika platser. Exkluderande design förekommer på flera ställen i Malmö och kan bland annat identifieras som bänkar med armstöd eller som lutar, ljud samt spetsiga konstruktioner. Designen påverkar den sociala hållbarheten genom att det bidrar till segregation och minskad trygghet för de utsatta personerna. Det visar sig även finnas ett kunskapsgap hos intervjupersonerna. Det är ett samhällsansvar att minska användningen av exkluderande design och främja social hållbarhet. Ansvaret kan fördelas på allt från stat och myndigheter, med lagar och regleringar, till ett individuellt ansvar som främjar gemenskap och inkludering. / The study explores social sustainability with a focus on hostile architecture. The purpose is to investigate what hostile architecture entails and raise awareness about the problem of excluding certain people from specific places. It also examines the role of various actors in creating an inclusive society and promoting social sustainability, as well as how design choices impact social sustainability in society. Discussions about how design affects homeless and other vulnerable individuals are a central part of the study. The method is based on qualitative research, conducting a literature review that explores social sustainability, homelessness, hostile architecture, and responsibility. Relevant stakeholders have been interviewed to gather different perspectives, and the study has been supplemented with a field study that visualizes where hostile architecture exists in Malmö. Hostile architecture involves how places or objects are designed to keep certain people or behaviors away from specific areas. It occurs in various places in Malmö and can be seen in benches with armrests or inclination, noise, and sharp constructions. This design affects social sustainability by contributing to segregation and reducing the safety of vulnerable individuals. There is also a lack of knowledge about this among the respondents. It is a societal responsibility to decrease the use of hostile architecture and promote social sustainability. Responsibility can be shared between the government and authorities through laws and regulations, as well as individual responsibility to promote community and inclusion.

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Text in Afrikaans / The Gestalt Play Therapeutic approach is used as contextual frame in this research where-in music is applied as an aid for the aggressive emotions of the primary learner. Emotional and behavioral problems in children in primary and secondary schools and even in pre-primary schools, are assuming alarming proportions. From the holistic approach of the Gestalt theory, it has an influence on the development of areas such as the emotional, physical, cognitive and social in the phase of middle childhood. There is a lack of research findings on the effect of music during support to the aggressive primary learner within a Gestalt Play Therapeutic frame. The experimental single system design was used as research method as part of the quantitative investigation. The conclusion is that music was used successfully in the handling of rage and aggressive emotions in the group of child respondents within the context of the Gestalt approach. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Play Therapy)

Never before has the learning experience of incarcerated persons been captured by one of their fellow inmates. Public perception is that prisoners should be denied access to educational opportunities and be punished for the crimes committed. In this groundbreaking study, situated in the qualitative paradigm, I recorded the learning experiences of a group of inmates who are studying at undergraduate level, via distance learning. This phenomenological study originated from my experience of studying while incarcerated, and is aimed at increasing our knowledge of, and enhancing our understanding of incarcerated persons. The study focuses on the learning experiences and challenges encountered by these students. Data was collected from the participants using qualitative methods and analysed using content analysis. Interpretation of the data revealed a number of factors which impede the studies of these students. The investigation is of importance to all persons involved in the Corrections environment but also the general public as inmates return to their communities upon release. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

台新金控購併彰化銀行可以說是台灣金融業擬以融資購併方式進行合併的第一案，本研究希望透過分析此個案，了解台新金控購併的目的、資金來源與後續合併換股可能衍生之議題，為未來公股釋出，以及金融整併提供可行之方法。 本文就融資購併理論架構說明起，以當前台灣金融政策與購併環境現況分析，這包括實際已發生的金融購併案件及金融購併法規探討，它突顯出台灣在金融合併處理上是保守的。 / / The M&A of Taishin Holdings Cooperation (THC) and Chang Hwa Bank (CHB) could be regarded as the first M&A (Merge and Acquisition) by LBO ( Leverage Buy-out) in Taiwan. This study, by analyzing this case, discusses the purpose, the funding source of THC and the issues after shares-exchange, which indicates the feasible methods for the release of the state holdings and the combination of the financial institutes in the future. The beginning of this study discusses the theory and the structure of LBO to analyze the financial policy and M&A environment in Taiwan at present, including practical M&A cases and legal problems etc., which reveals not very aggressive. /

股東權益與意見在公司治理中屬重要一環，否則少數公司決策者（例如董事會或公司的CEO）會過度左右企業資源的分配，甚至發生浪費、貪污等代理問題，進而損及小股東權益，甚至勞工權益。本論文以公司治理的基本概念及架構為基礎，並以惡意併購的個案作為案例，探討並說明股東行動主義的經濟與法律意涵。其中，主要就「金融控股公司依金融控股公司法申請轉投資審核原則」法規設計，選擇具代表性個案，探討個案公司於股東治理的基礎規範與相關運作程序，包括非合意併購、委託書爭奪戰等相關法律問題。若根據目前台灣上市/櫃公司，其公司治理的實施狀況，許多法律學者均認為職業股東屬必要之罪，委託書是在目前公司所有權與經營權不分下，可能的外部監督力量。目前台灣委託書的相關規定過於保護大股東、公司派，導致小股東的權益受到一定程度的損害。若能自由化委託書收購，並且讓委託書可以在自由市場買賣，如此所創造的市場機制，據委託書的價格及外部市場機制，對於台灣過度依賴大股東或管理階層的公司治理結構會產生顯著改善效果，有效提升公司治理。本論文所選擇的個案公司，可以充分顯現上述這些方面的法律與經濟意涵。另外一個好的金融控股公司合併政策有賴一個健全之法律制度加以配套。針對金控公司是否得以所謂非合意併購達成合併之目的，金管會僅以行政命令「金融控股公司依金融控股公司法申請轉投資審核原則」與「公開收購公開發行公司有價證券管理辦法」作為主要法源，在法律上之位階上似乎有將行政命令之位階提高至法律位階之必要，本文以個案公司為例探討其相關法律問題。 關鍵字：公司治理、委託書、非合意併購、代理理論、價購委託書 / Shareholder’s interests play an important role in corporate governance. Otherwise, few decision-makers (ex. Board members, directors, etc) might misuse corporate assets and abuse in related party transactions in which interests of minority shareholders and employees will be jeopardized. This thesis will explore synergies of shareholder’s activism based on basic concepts and framework of corporate governance. In particular, case studies will focus on related regulations and practicable mechanisms of corporate governance in which certain legal issues, such as hostile takeover and proxy battle, will be elaborated based on ‘Principles of supervising investment application from financial holding companies’. Related regulations of proxy rights in Taiwan tend to protect interests of major shareholders and result in negative impacts of minority shareholders. If purchase offers of proxy could be freely traded in public, marketing mechanisms will balance the distortion of major shareholders and enhance the essence of corporate governance effectively. Case studies in this thesis therefore will reflect the above-mentioned legal and business implications. In addition, merge policies of financial conglomerate need supplementally sound regulations. In Taiwan, legal sources in financial holding companies are based on “Principles of supervising investment application from financial holding companies “ and “Regulations Governing Tender Offers for Purchase of the Securities of a Public Company “ issued by Financial Supervisory Committee of Executive Yuan. Positions of legal sources, in which case studies will be reviewed, seemingly need to be upgraded from administrative to legal level. Key word: Corporate Governance, Proxy,Hostile takeover,Agency Theory, Proxy Buying

L’étude utilise la méthode des différences entre jumeaux monozygotes pour analyser le lien entre les pratiques parentales positives ou hostiles-réactives de la mère à 29 mois et la qualité des relations d’amitié des enfants à 6 ans, tout en contrôlant une série de facteurs confondants tels le sexe, le revenu familial, le tempérament et le poids à la naissance. Un effet modérateur du sexe est aussi testé. La méthodologie nouvelle et particulière de cette recherche permet de contrôler de possibles corrélations gènes-environnement. Les résultats ne concordent pas tous avec les hypothèses et démontrent que 1) le jumeau ayant reçu le plus de pratiques parentales positives de la mère est celui dont l’ami évalue le plus négativement sa relation d’amitié à 6 ans et 2) le jumeau ayant reçu le plus de pratiques parentales hostiles-réactives de la mère est celui dont l’ami évalue le moins positivement sa relation d’amitié à la maternelle. Différentes pistes d’explications sont proposées pour comprendre les résultats et pour guider les études futures. / This study used the monozygote twin differences method to analyze the links between positive or hostile maternal practices by the mother at 29 months and children’s friendship quality at 6 years of age. This new methodology can control for any possible genes-environment correlations. We also controlled for temperament, weight at birth, gender and socioeconomic status and we tested whether gender moderated the link between variables. Results are unexpected: 1) the twin who received the most positive maternal practices had the friend who evaluated the most negatively their friendship, 2) the twin who received the most hostile practices from his mother had the friend who evaluated the less positively their friendship. We propose different explanations to understand the results and we make suggestions for future studies.

This work is based on an assumption that human decision-making process is following several approximate rules (heuristics) that causes predictable and systematic errors in judgement (cognitive biases). Although this stand point is typical for fields like behavioural economics or behavioural law and economics, there is no reason to not apply this logic also on other discipline like a mass media communication studies. This work offers an analysis of the information market where supply side is represented by producers of information (e.g. media organizations) and demand side is represented by consumers of those information (audience). The analysis is focused on factors that cause perceived description of a particular event can vastly differ from this event. One of those cognitive biases which cause different perception of the same media content is called hostile media effect. In respect to this effect, sympathizers with a socially controversial topic tend to perceive information in the mass media as hostile to their own opinion. Previous research concluded that hostile perception is mainly caused by a reach of information which is explained by the selective categorization - although individuals with different worldview can see the same content, they perceive it with a different valence. The valence of the...

<p>Background: The origin of this study was the negotiations around a EU takeover directive, aimed at making the market for corporate control more open. One of the proposals was to neutralise shares carrying multiple rights in takeover situations when a potential acquirer obtains 75% of the total share capital. For many Swedish ownership groups, this would mean that the system of unequal voting rights, constituting an important defense to their control, would decrease in effectiveness. In the middle of writing this thesis, an EU agreement was finally reached, making the proposal voluntary to adopt. The imminent threat posed to the Swedish system faded, but has though not disappeared since the present rules anew will be brought under inspection in five years. </p><p>Purpose: To give examples on potential tactics to adopt if unequal voting rights would risk to become neutralised in takeover situations, these tactics dependent on two different scenarios: (1) Present Swedish ownership structure is considered advantageous for the country and thus to be remained or (2) A more open market for takeovers is desired. Course of action: Interviews have been conducted with parties within Swedish trade and industry, partly in order to assess the value and necessity of the content of this thesis. </p><p>Conclusion: The threat of an abolition of the unequal voting rights is not perceived as imminent by parties within Swedish trade and industry and few alternative resistance strategies are suggested. If current Swedish ownership structure is to be remained, the author proposes competition-reducing defenses, if a more open market for takeovers is aimed for, auction-inducing resistance strategies. The choice of how to proceed should depend on how afraid the Swedish Government and Swedish companies are of a change in present ownership structure.</p>