This thesis proposes a classification system of risk mitigation strategies based on literature search and industry interviews. Following that, a list of generic properties was generated to describe individual strategies. In parallel, populating the properties of a large number of identified strategies was attempted. The practical implications are discussed mainly focusing on knowledge management for risk mitigation strategies.

Ziel der Arbeit ist - ausgehend vom Kreditrisikotransfers von internationalen Konsortialkrediten - die Darstellung der Kalkulation barwertiger Kreditrisikoprämien unter Integration von Adressenausfall- und Residualrisiken. Zentrale Aspekte sind die Identifizierung, Bewertung und Integration von Residualrisiken. Residualrisiken entstehen im Spannungsfeld des Risikotransfers zwischen Kreditgeber (=Risikogeber) und Risikonehmer. Das Adressenausfallrisiko ist der Kernbestandteil des integrierten Kalkulationsmodells. Basierend auf dem versicherungstechnischen Modell zur Kalkulation des Adressenausfallrisikos werden die Bestandteile erwarteter und unerwarteter Verlust berücksichtigt. Das integrierte Kalkulationsmodell hat die Nachhaltigkeit des Risikotransfers als Nebenbedingung. Die faire Risikoprämie, die als Summe aus erwartetem Verlust, unerwartetem Verlust und auf den Risikonehmer entfallenden Residualrisiken berechnet wird, muss der Risikogeber aus der „all-in“ Marge des Konsortialkredites bedienen.

Events are a part of every culture and community (Allen, et al., 2002; Getz, 1997; Getz, 2007; Rogers, 2003). They may differ in their purpose (celebration, education, marketing), but at the core they are a gathering of people (Goldblatt & Nelson, 2001). Economically, the event industry is an important sector of the tourism industries; in the USA it is estimated at $652 billion USD in revenues and to have created more than 1.7 million jobs in 2005 (Rutherford Silvers, 2008). Inherent within this industry are risks of varying types (financial, physical, legal, etc) that are the responsibility of the event planner to assess and manage. There are numerous proposed risk assessment and management strategies (GWU Tourism, 2007; MacLaurin & Wykes, 2003; Rutherford Silvers, 2008; Ryerson, 2008; Tarlow, 2002a), which are based on models presented in the general risk literature (Althaus, 2005; Johnson, 1993; Law, 2006; Sjoberg, 2000b; Slovic, 2000; Slovic, et al., 2004). However, there are no empirical data to support these proposed models, nor any research that has studied event planner perceptions of potential sources of risk. This study is an exploration of the socio-demographic influences of event planners on risk perception and how these support the current risk assessment and risk management strategies. A model was developed that outlined the manner in which experience, education, gender and country of residence influenced the risk concepts of “dread” and “familiarity”. These concepts then lead to risk perception that, in turn, influenced risk assessment and risk management. In order to test this model, a mixed-methods, two-stage approach was used (Creswell, 2003; Veal, 2006). In-depth interviews were used to develop a definition of risk specific to the event industry, followed by an on-line survey to measure perceptions of various risk elements and gather socio-demographic information. There was evidence to support education, experience, gender and country of residence as influencing perceptions of “dread” and “familiarity” that, in turn, directly correlated with levels of risk perception. This exploratory research has opened the way for many new facets of research in the event industry. Future research is suggested in the areas of cultural influence on risk perception, risk perception related to various event types (festivals, sports, mega-events, etc), and risk management strategies utilized by event planners.

The United States continues to be affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and now public health is faced with new challenges in mitigating the spread of the disease. African-Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV and a further understanding about the factors that influence high risk sexual behaviors needs to be continuously examined. The aim of this study was to understand and compare the the perception of HIV risk and factors associated with risk perception in high risk adult and adolescent groups. After multivariate analysis, having multiple partners was the only predictor of an increased risk perception among adults. Among adolescents, no significant relationship was found between HIV risk indicators and having an increased HIV risk perception. Both adults and adolescents appeared to underestimate their HIV risk based on their reported risk sexual behaviors. More work is necessary to help adolescents accurately assess their risk of infection.

Events are a part of every culture and community (Allen, et al., 2002; Getz, 1997; Getz, 2007; Rogers, 2003). They may differ in their purpose (celebration, education, marketing), but at the core they are a gathering of people (Goldblatt & Nelson, 2001). Economically, the event industry is an important sector of the tourism industries; in the USA it is estimated at $652 billion USD in revenues and to have created more than 1.7 million jobs in 2005 (Rutherford Silvers, 2008). Inherent within this industry are risks of varying types (financial, physical, legal, etc) that are the responsibility of the event planner to assess and manage. There are numerous proposed risk assessment and management strategies (GWU Tourism, 2007; MacLaurin & Wykes, 2003; Rutherford Silvers, 2008; Ryerson, 2008; Tarlow, 2002a), which are based on models presented in the general risk literature (Althaus, 2005; Johnson, 1993; Law, 2006; Sjoberg, 2000b; Slovic, 2000; Slovic, et al., 2004). However, there are no empirical data to support these proposed models, nor any research that has studied event planner perceptions of potential sources of risk. This study is an exploration of the socio-demographic influences of event planners on risk perception and how these support the current risk assessment and risk management strategies. A model was developed that outlined the manner in which experience, education, gender and country of residence influenced the risk concepts of “dread” and “familiarity”. These concepts then lead to risk perception that, in turn, influenced risk assessment and risk management. In order to test this model, a mixed-methods, two-stage approach was used (Creswell, 2003; Veal, 2006). In-depth interviews were used to develop a definition of risk specific to the event industry, followed by an on-line survey to measure perceptions of various risk elements and gather socio-demographic information. There was evidence to support education, experience, gender and country of residence as influencing perceptions of “dread” and “familiarity” that, in turn, directly correlated with levels of risk perception. This exploratory research has opened the way for many new facets of research in the event industry. Future research is suggested in the areas of cultural influence on risk perception, risk perception related to various event types (festivals, sports, mega-events, etc), and risk management strategies utilized by event planners.

Adverse childhood experiences-including parental and familial factors such as parental substance abuse, parental mental health problems, parental incarceration, parental unemployment and family violence, and personal factors such as physical, sexual, and emotional abuse- have been shown to strongly affect health risk behaviours in adulthood in the general population and are thus important in the health status of an individual. However, studies of people who use injection drugs have generally focused on disease seroprevalence and risk behaviours without considering their psychosocial histories.<p> In the 2000 Regina Seroprevalence and Risk Behaviours Study, 255 people who use injection drugs completed a standardized, confidential, and anonymous interview which included questions on adverse childhood experiences and injection-related and sexual risk behaviours. Associations among and between participants' reported adverse childhood experiences and subsequent risk behaviours were tested. Demographic factors were also considered, and general linear models of factors associated with risk behaviours were developed. <p> The rates of adverse childhood experiences and risk behaviours reported were very high. Several of the adverse childhood experiences studied were related to increased risk behaviours. The factors associated with injection-related risk behaviours were similar to those associated with sexual risk behaviours. The impact of adverse childhood experiences on risk behaviours was found to be cumulative; the more adverse childhood experiences the participants reported, the more risk behaviours they also reported. This information provides a unique opportunity to address these problems in the treatment and prevention of injection drug use. Supplementary research is needed to further elucidate the factors associated with high-risk behaviours in people who use injection drugs.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur människor upplever och hanterar risken att bli utsatt för hot och våld från klienter i arbetet. En kvalitativ ansats valdes vilket innebär att fokus har lagts på subjektiva upplevelser och erfarenheter av studieområdet. Studien genomfördes gentemot Socialtjänsten från två kommuner och urvalet bestod av intervjuer med elva socialsekreterare vars arbete innehåller myndighetsutövning och kontakt med klienter. Analys av data gjordes enligt induktiv tematisk analys. Resultaten visade att det föreligger en risk att bli utsatt för hot och våld av klienter men den upplevs vara liten. Upplevelsen att kunna påverka risken med sitt agerande och bemötande ansågs viktigt för att aggression inte skall uppstå i mötena. För att hantera risken framkom flera strategier där förebyggande åtgärder ansågs som det viktigaste. Även det sociala stödet från kollegor och erfarenhet ansågs bidra till att framgångsrikt hantera aggressioner från klienter. / The purpose of this study was to examine how people perceive and cope with the risk of being subjected to client-related violence in the workplace. A qualitative approach was chosen as the focus was on the subjective experiences of the study area. The study was conducted at two social service agencies from two municipalities and the sample consisted of interviews with eleven social workers whose work involves the exercise of authority and client contact. The analysis of data was made according to inductive thematic analysis. The results showed a risk of being subjected to aggression from clients, but it is perceived to be small. Perceived ability to influence client actions and responses were considered important in order to avoid aggression in the meetings. In order to cope with aggression several different strategies were applied. Social support from colleagues and personal experience assisted in successfully coping with client related aggressions.

This thesis is analysing the housing market situation in Malmö. The reason for the research is the always equally relevant choice between two types of housing- cooperative apartments and rentals. Cost and risk is compared between the two in order to see what accommodation is preferable from cost and risk aspects. A theoretical framework dealing with cost and risk associated to housing is the starting point of the thesis. Theory on different cost associated to the two types of housing is presented as well as risk aspects, such as market risk, credit risk and fluctuations in interest rates. The data used in the research is individual data from 993 households living in Malmö, providing the possibility to map out the cost and risk for the two types of housing and compare it to the housing market situation in Sweden.   At first glance it seems slightly more expensive to live in a rental compared to a cooperative apartment. However, when return on capital, risk premium and value change is included this first statement changes. The risk is slightly higher when living in a cooperative apartment than in a rental, due to higher risk associated to fluctuations in interest rate. However, the current initial economic situation is better for households in cooperative apartments than for households in rentals, implying that these households on average are more capable to handle the higher risk associated to changes in housing cost.

Background: Risk management has always been a complex topic, especially when it comes to hedge funds. Since hedge funds are able to utilize many kinds of financial instruments it is difficult to find a risk management strategy that goes well with them. Not much research regarding the Swedish hedge fund industry and its risk management has been done; hence we find it an interesting topic to focus this thesis on. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to increase the knowledge of how Swedish hedge fund managers perceive and manage different types of risk and how they construct their portfolios with regards to risk management. We also want to investigate how risk measurements are used when it comes to risk management and how valid they are when applied to hedge funds. Method: In this thesis a combination of exploratory and descriptive research strategies are used. The research method used is the inductive method. A qualitative study is performed as well as a semi-structured interview technique. Conclusion: We conclude that the definitions of risk are ambiguous and differed greatly between the hedge fund managers. The risk in the hedge funds is managed differently depending on manager’s opinion regarding the nature and controllability of risk. We found that all managers agree on that risk is controllable to some degree but that there are always limits and that an uncertainty aspect is at all times present in a portfolio. The fund managers have to use their experience and knowledge in conjunction with an active risk management to run an efficient hedge fund. We conclude that all managers realize the importance of risk management, not only as a tool to achieve superior returns but also as an incentive for investors to choose their hedge fund over others. We conclude that hedge fund managers believe that there is a need for restrictions and limits within their funds. It can be argued that by enforcing and following restrictions and limits the fund has established a foundation to build its risk management and investment philosophy upon. The larger hedge funds relied on strict enforcement of their rules and guidelines and had a high degree of hierarchy; the managers of the smaller hedge funds seemed to have a higher degree of freedom and a less complicated investment process. We also find that the smaller a firm is the less enthusiasm is expressed regarding the usage of the different risk variables in their risk management and it is expressed to be more of a demand from different stakeholders. We conclude also that even though the risk measurements are used mostly in the larger firms one is still aware that they are not able to capture all the risks. Their validity is questioned by all sizes of firms.

As a result of the change of financial environment, the competition of domestic banking industry has become more intense, and its management has also met the challenge. In order to grow the operating activities, the bank of Taiwan become less dependent on traditional deposit and loan activities and then turns to develop the non-traditional activities. Therefore the non-interest income increases year by year and the development of operating activities diversification has become the main business model to promote the profit. Based on the above reason, the study use the market and account data of listed banks from 1991 to 2009 to investigate the impact of operating activities diversification on the risk and performance of banks. The result of the empirical analysis by the accounting data shows that the higher degree of operating activities diversification can reduce the bank risk, but the performance is not actually good. When the bank develops the operating activities diversification by increasing the non-interest income, the risk will be getting higher but the performance will be getting better. Therefore, the banking industry can¡¦t put too much stress on the non-interest income. It should make the adequate decision between the risk and the performance. On the other hand, the result of the empirical analysis by the market data shows that the higher degree of operating activities diversification can increase the fluctuation of the stock price and when the non-interest income increases, Tobin's Q value gets higher. It demonstrated that the investors of the stock market anticipated the bank can improve the performance by increasing the non-interest income activities and gives recognition.