Doctor of Philosophy / This study addresses the situation of adults who become deafblind. To date, their everday lives have received little attention in the research literature. Of the few studies conducted many involve surveys, the findings of which present the characteristics of people who are deafblind such as their rates of employment, need for support, or use of equipment. There are also a small number of qualitative studies that have explored the effects of having dual sensory impairment, and particularly in relation to communication and psycho-social wellbeing. Important as these research efforts have been, there is little empirical information available about the everyday lives of people who become deafblind and their concerns, nor any systematic attempt to theorise their experiences. There are however many personal anecdotes typically presented at conferences or through community publications and newsletters. This project aimed to redress the gap in the literature by developing a theoretical framework to explain the everyday experiences of adult who become deafblind. In doing so, it built upon the research and anecdotal literature with an overall purpose of presenting, through rigorous research, the experiences of adults who become deafblind and to do so within the broader discourse on disability and disablism. The study was informed by the social relational understanding of disability developed within the Nordic countries. Grounded theory was the method of choice to examine the lives of adults who become deafblind from their own perspective.Participant observation was employed through direct engagement in shared experiences with adults who have become deafblind both at a social group and via an e-mail list group. Mulitple in-depth interviews were undertaken both face to face and by e-mail with a smaller group of eight participants.The core finding from this study is that people who become deafblind are rendered interactionally powerless in a society predicated on seeing and hearing. The powerlessness that they experience comes from having this dual impairment in a world in which being able to see and hear are expected both in the physical and social environment. The inability of people who become deafblind to 'know and be' in the world in the same way as others results in them feeling, and experienceing, interactional powerlessness. In response, people who become deafblind actively engage in trying to minimise or remove their powerlessness. They do so by working to negotiate a place in this hostile world. They adopt four interrelated strategies, namely, doing things differently, managing support relationships, survivings others' perceptions and presenting sides of self.This study, with its central tenet that interactional powerlessness drives ongoing attempts to negotiate a place makes a theoretical contribution to understanding the experience of becoming deafblind. The findings support the concept of disbaility as social relational. Disability is not the same as the sensory impairment, rather it is expressed in the organisation of personal relations in society which render some more powerful than others and in this case, some less powerful due to their inability to use the natural means of communication of hearing and sight. Moreover, the study findings propose that professionals working with people with this dual sensory impairment must endeavour to reduce their part in the hostile world by providing information about options and support available; recognising the complexity of these adults support requirements; and considering the link between psycho-emotional issues and disablism. Further research is needed to understand empirically and theoretically the relative contribution of personal relationships vis a vis organisational or structural relationships in disabling people who become deafblind.

The function of accounting is to provide users with useful information in making economic decisions. Information regarding goodwill, a major constituent of the value of many listed companies, is likely to be useful in making decisions relating to those companies. A historical review of accounting literature, including professional standards, relating to methods of accounting for purchased goodwill showed that none of them has stood the test of time. The current trend towards an impairment paradigm will not resolve the issue satisfactorily because it produces, at best, a partial solution. The difficulty in accounting meaningfully for goodwill is compounded because, given its foundation in historical cost principles, accounting has been unable to present any information at all with regard to internally generated goodwill within the confines of the traditional Balance Sheet. This, in turn, has led to the evasion of the reality that the two forms of goodwill are inextricably merged. Trying to account satisfactorily for goodwill has been a prime example of R.R. Sterling�s �issues conceived in a way that they are in principle unresolvable�. The problem was accordingly redefined as being to find a method by which the current level of information relating to goodwill in the financial statements contained in a company�s Annual Report could be improved. This thesis seeks to identify a logically defensible method of accounting for goodwill which addresses the redefined problem. It builds upon the historical research undertaken, combined with a priori reasoning, to propose an additional financial statement which is a modification of nineteenth century �double accounting� in a modern context. This statement, which goes far to solve the redefined problem, also furnishes information regarding the company�s market capitalization at balance date and is termed the Market Capitalization Statement (�MCS�). While the idea of furnishing market capitalization data to readers of the Annual Report is not new, it is believed that this is the first time such data has been systematically linked with the Balance Sheet to provide an objective, integrated and meaningful view of goodwill in the financial statements. The practical application and simplicity of the MCS are illustrated by a range of examples drawn from Australian �dot-com� companies over a period of time which saw considerable fluctuation in both goodwill and market capitalization, supplemented by examining data relating to some of Australia�s largest listed companies over the same period. These examples demonstrate that the MCS has the potential to provide significant information not available in conventional financial statements, while freeing the traditional Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account to present information in a more meaningful and less distorted way. Finally, the MCS is noted as still being subject to certain problems and distortions in the context of the historical cost basis of the remaining financial statements. It is shown that, if used in the context of an exit price based system, Chambers� CoCoA, many of these distortions are removed. The MCS also complements the information provided by CoCoA as originally formulated.

<p>In 2005 a new recommendation was implemented, IAS 36 "Impairment of intangible assets". The Swedish translation of the recommendation is RR 17. The previous treatment of impairment of goodwill was to amortize it over a certain amount of years. In order for a company to make impairment, they had to estimate the decrease in value of goodwill to be permanent. The new recommendation RR 17 on the other hand states that goodwill should be impaired as soon as an indication of impairment loss is revealed. This implies that the new recommendation shows the fair value of goodwill. Our problem description is; <em>how does the impairment procedure of goodwill in companies applying RR 17 look like?</em></p><p>In order to reach the purpose of this study, which is to understand the impairment procedure of goodwill, we used four sub questions; (1) How does goodwill arise? (2) How is goodwill divided between cash generating units? (3) How do stock listed business combinations in accordance with RR 17 estimate whether an impairment loss of goodwill exist or not, in cases where goodwill exist, how is it impaired? (4) How is goodwill revalued and how often?</p><p>The study has mainly taken a hermeneutic approach because we strive to understand the impairment procedure of goodwill. We conducted a qualitative study, with semi- structured interviews. Four companies, which operate in somewhat different branches, were chosen in order to get a diversified illustration of different business areas and see if there were any differences between them.</p><p>Our central concepts present general accounting principles as well as accounting principles handling impairment of goodwill, which helps the reader to receive a better understanding of the essential concepts concerning the impairment procedure of goodwill. In the analysis we connect our empirical findings with the central concepts in order to discover more dimensions of the impairment procedure of goodwill.</p><p>The result from our interviews showed that the companies follow the recommendation RR 17. However we could identify some differences between the companies, which we believe are due to the fact that the companies operate in different business areas and are therefore faced with somewhat diverse risks. Further we could link the differences to be correlated to the mindsets and demands of the companies’ auditors.</p><p>Finally we want to make the reader aware of the fact that the recommendation RR 17 has so far only been applied in an economic boom and therefore when we conducted this study the need to impair goodwill was very small.</p><p> </p>

<h2>Sammanfattning</h2><p>Bakgrund</p><p>För att försöka skapa en mer ändamålsenlig och effektiv kapitalmarknad utfärdade Europaparlamentet och Europarådet den 19 juli 2002 en förordning, detta i avseende att harmonisera och förbättra de internationella redovisningsstandarderna inom EU. Den första januari 2005 infördes därefter ett krav på unionens noterade bolag att redovisa i enlighet med redovisningsstandarderna IAS/IFRS. Tillföljd av detta införande förändrades tillvägagångssättet att behandla goodwill för de svenska noterade bolagen. Den linjära avskrivningen av goodwill skulle numera inte tillämpas, utan goodwill skulle nu bli föremål för en aktiv värdering i form av nedskrivningsprövningar. I och med detta sätt att värdera goodwill uppkommer det flera frågor, dessa rör de uppskattningar och bedömningar som måste göras i samband med nedskrivningsprövningar av goodwill. Detta gör enligt oss att tillförlitligheten hos detta sätt att behandla goodwill blir intressant att granska.</p><p>Syfte</p><p>Vi vill kunna ge bild av huruvida bedömningar och uppskattningar relaterade till nedskrivningsprövningar av goodwill är tillförlitliga och ger en rättvisande bild av bolaget. Vi vill även undersöka om den rådande lågkonjunkturen påverkar de svenska noterade bolagen som förväntat. Syftet är inte att redogöra tekniskt för hur bolagen räknar och kommer fram till det exakta uppskattade värdet på goodwill.</p><p>Metod</p><p>Undersökningen har skett genom en kvalitativ studie i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Uppsatsen kännetecknas således av ett hermeneutiskt synsätt som sätter tolkandet i centrum. Sju stycken svenska noterade bolag har slumpmässigt valts ut och intervjuats, och även en revisor. Intervjuerna har hållits med de på bolagen relevanta personer för studien. Intervjuerna har av olika anledningar skett via telefon. Intervjuerna har sedan spelats in, transkriberats och sammanställs. Intervjuobjekten har anonymiserats i undersökningen, detta har skett först och främst för att få en öppnare diskussion med de medverkande intervjuobjekten.</p><p>Slutsats</p><p>Vi vill vara försiktiga med att uttala oss om slutsatser kring tillförlitligheten hos svenska noterade bolags nedskrivningsprövningar av goodwill i allmänhet. Detta främst p.g.a. att vår studie inte ger några entydiga svar i frågan. Det vi dock kan säga är att det finns exempel på situationer där det kan förekomma meningsskiljaktigheter mellan vissa bolag och det rådande regelverket. I frågan huruvida det negativa konjunkturläget påverkar bolagen som förväntat, finner vi inga större anledningar till att så inte skulle vara fallet. Tveksamheter finns istället kring när och i hur stor omfattning nedskrivningar av goodwill kommer ske i de svenska noterade bolagen. Det finns dock enligt vår studie svenska noterade bolag som anser att deras goodwillvärde inte skulle kunna påverkas av en tillfällig negativ konjunktur.</p>

<p>The purpose of this article was to describe experiences of living as hearing impaired. What kind of function and importance has rehabilitation had for professionals with hearing impairment and what hearing rehabilitation meant to ease everyday life and professional life. We also wanted to know through our questionnaire what participants in the course considered as meaning full in their rehabilitation for their everyday life and professional life. Based on our purpose a qualitative approach was chosen for data collection and analysis. We have interviewed six participants of the course ”Basrehabilitering för yrkesverksamma med förvärvad hörselskada” which Kalmar Landsting offers. We have also participated during an observation week where we have been active participants in the rehabilitation course and also done a literature study of the meaning of the term disabled in a historical view. The use of method triangulation gave us the opportunity to examine things from different views and thus the possibility to increase the validity of our study. In our study we also used the term stigma and the results show that the term is relevant and that the problems surrounding hearing impairment to a large extent is connected to shame, shame created from a stigma. The results further showed that rehabilitation is significant to prevent the stigmatization for a person with hearing impairment.</p><p>2</p>

<p>My essay is on the subject of teachers work environment with focus on noise and communication. In the essay questions are raised on how a teacher can influence his or hers noisy work environment. A school is a large work place with many employees and is owned and administered by the county municipality which is an even bigger workplace. How big an acting space does a teacher have in such a large organization?</p><p>My methods of research on these questions have been to conduct interviews and analyzing documentation from The Swedish Work Environment Authority. The Swedish Work Environment Authority inspects workplaces and conducts work environment inquiries by inspecting and discovering misdoings/abuses. They put high demands on workplaces by imposing a high fine. I have investigated a preschool and an upper secondary school that have had problems with their noise environment.</p><p>The result of the research is that a teacher, to a certain extent, can influence his or hers work environment, but that the teacher needs support from The Work Environment Authority in order to achieve real change. When the employee has risen the issue of a noisy work environment there has been no immediate response from the board of directors in the municipality. In the upper secondary school there were no major changes despite The Work Environment Authority imposing a large fine.</p>

<p>Från att linjärt skriva av goodwill skall det nu bara göras nedskrivningar om nedskrivningsbehov föreligger. Syftet med vår undersökning är att kvantitativt illustrera förändringarna i kostnader för av- och nedskrivningar av goodwill sedan införandet av IFRS 3 för 60 bolag noterade på Stockholmsbörsen och som återfinns på den nordiska Large-cap listan. Enligt vår undersökning har kostnaden för goodwill mellan 2004 och 2005 sjunkit från 20 465,1 msek till 978,8 msek. Av den sammanlagda resultatökningen på 74 653,0 msek för de undersökande bolagen är 31,82 % direkt hänförlig till avskaffandet av goodwillavskrivningen.</p>

In 1998, the United States Congress amended Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act to require federal agencies to make electronic and information technology accessible. The first accessibility guidelines from the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, were published in 1999. This study tests the usable accessibility of cultural institution web sites. Four cultural institution web sites were selected, two that were WCAG 1.0 compliant and that were not, were selected for evaluation. A combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis was conducted. Significant differences were found in the perceived usability of the guideline-compliant web sites; significance was found for one of three tasks. Overall, the guideline-compliant sites received higher usability ratings, but the task completion rates did not support a claim of greater usability.

The purpose of this thesis was to improve the understanding of what cognitive functions are important for driving performance, investigate the impact of impaired cognitive functions on drivers with brain injury, and study adaptation strategies relevant for driving performance after brain injury. Finally, the predictive value of a neuropsychological test battery was evaluated for driving performance. Main results can be summarized in the following conclusions: (a) Cognitive functions in terms of attentional and dynamic working memory-related functions are relevant for driving performance. (b) Neuropsychological impairments in information processing speed, divided and focused attention, requiring working memory, are associated to limitations in driving performance. In addition, qualitative aspects of driving problems especially impaired anticipatory attention appeared to constrain driving performance. (c) A neuropsychological test battery assessing speed of information processing and attention in terms of working memory predicted driving performance. In addition, cognitive factors are relevant for interpretation of driving problems qualitatively. (d) Driving speed adjustment and anticipatory attention were adaptive strategies for driving after brain injury. Interest in driving, motivation for driving safely, and driving experience appeared also relevant for driving after brain injury. (e) Collaboration between medical, neuropsychological and driving expertise is recommended for a total evaluation of driving performance after brain injury. Anticipatory attention was considered a working memory based attentional system, directing the processing resources flexibly and appropriately between the different information processing components. Thus, anticipatory attention demonstrated qualitatively that working memory is a prominent function in a real driving context.

My essay is on the subject of teachers work environment with focus on noise and communication. In the essay questions are raised on how a teacher can influence his or hers noisy work environment. A school is a large work place with many employees and is owned and administered by the county municipality which is an even bigger workplace. How big an acting space does a teacher have in such a large organization? My methods of research on these questions have been to conduct interviews and analyzing documentation from The Swedish Work Environment Authority. The Swedish Work Environment Authority inspects workplaces and conducts work environment inquiries by inspecting and discovering misdoings/abuses. They put high demands on workplaces by imposing a high fine. I have investigated a preschool and an upper secondary school that have had problems with their noise environment. The result of the research is that a teacher, to a certain extent, can influence his or hers work environment, but that the teacher needs support from The Work Environment Authority in order to achieve real change. When the employee has risen the issue of a noisy work environment there has been no immediate response from the board of directors in the municipality. In the upper secondary school there were no major changes despite The Work Environment Authority imposing a large fine.