<p>The purpose of the present study was to examine effects of driver, vehicle, and environment characteristics on Collision Warning System (CWS) design. One hypothesis was made that the capability of collision avoidance would not be same among a driver, vehicle, and environment group with different characteristics. Accident analysis and quantitative analysis was used to examine this hypothesis in terms of ‘risk’ and ‘safety margin’ respectively. Rear-end collision had a stronger focus in the present study. </p><p>As a result of accident analysis, heavy truck showed a higher susceptibility of the fatal rear-end accidents than car and light truck. Also, dry road surface compared to wet or snow, dark condition compared to daylight condition, straight road compared to curved road, level road compared to grade, crest or sag, roadway having more than 5 travel lanes compared to roadway having 2, 3 or 4 travel lanes showed a higher susceptibility of the fatal rear-end accidents. Relative rear-end accidents involvement proportion compared to the other types of collision was used as a measure of susceptibility. </p><p>As a result of quantitative analysis, a significant difference in terms of Required Minimum Warning Distance (RMWD) was made among a different vehicle type and braking system group. However, relatively small difference was made among a different age, gender group in terms of RMWD. Based on the result, breaking performance of vehicle should be regarded as an input variable in the design of CWS, specifically warning timing criteria, was concluded.</p>

<p>There are numerous of ideas and theories around the present development in our global society, describing an ever changing era based and propelled by information and communication technology (ICT). How influential has this development been on political visions and intentions and on the business worlds views on important competencies? The purpose of this thesis is to describe the national and international visions of important competencies in the “information society”. Through a case study, focused on how the training and consultancy industry apprehends and answer to this change and development, as they often act as agents for new trends in the business world both as accommodators and originators. The growth and speed of the universally available information demands knowhow in seeking, analyzing and managing information, and this competence is crucial today. To place my study in an adequate theoretical context it is placed in the realms of Information Literacy (IL). I will describe and discuss connections between IL and workplace processes. All political visions in my research are unanimous and have an extremely positive, almost naïve approach to the future effects that the ICT development will have on our society. The case study shows that, even if the predecessors don’t speak or use the term information literacy they are well aware of the challenges and problems related to Information Literacy.</p> / Omvärldsbevakning och Omvärldsanalys

Bakgrund: Om tio till tolv år väntas 40 % av Sveriges 500 000 familje- och ägarledda bolag att säljas enligt en uppskattning gjord av PwC år 2012. Många små och medelstora onoterade bolag kommer därför inom den närmaste tiden att behöva värderas inför försäljning. De modeller som används vid företagsvärderingar är i dagsläget inte  anpassade för mindre onoterade bolag och dess företagsspecifika risker varför författarna valde att utföra studien. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att ta fram en praktiskt användbar modell för att skatta ett mindre onoterat bolags avkastningskrav. Modellen ska ta hänsyn till de företagsspecifika risker som är kopplade till mindre onoterade bolag. Metod: Studien bygger på en kvalitativ undersökning där intervjuer med personer som dagligen arbetar med värdering av eller rådgivning för alternativt arbetar inom mindre bolag. Utifrån data insamlad från studiens intervjuer samt teorier kring ämnet har en praktiskt funktionell modell utformats för att stödja företagsvärderares arbete i praktiken. Slutsats: BRACE-modellen (Business Risk Adjusted Cost of Equity) består av två huvudkomponenter, en CAPM-premie som mäter marknadsrisken samt en företagsspecifik riskpremie. Den företagsspecifika risken hänförs till bolagets storlek och illikviditet samt kvantifieras i en poängbedömningsskala där ett mindre bolags specifika risker tas hänsyn till. / Background: In ten to twelve years, 40 % of Sweden's 500 000 family- and owner led firms will be up for sale according to an estimation done by PwC in 2012. Many small and medium sized firms will therefore need to be valued within the near future. The models and theories used in todays' business valuations are not applicable for small private firms why the authors chose to conduct this study. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to design a practically useful model in terms of assessing the owners' required rate of return in a small private firm. The model should include the firm-specific risks that are linked to private firms. Methodology: This study uses a qualitative research method where data is collected through interviews with people who on a daily basis, work with, value and advise small private firms. From the data collected through the interviews as well as theories regarding the subject the authors have designed a practical model with the intentions to support private firm valuations. Conclusion: The BRACE-model (Business Risk Adjusted Cost of Equity) consists of two main components, a CAPM-premium and a firm-specific risk premium. The firm-specific risk premium is derived from the firm's size and illiquidity and is further quantified with a point system where a small private firm's specific risks are considered.

Uppsatsens syfte är att fastställa hur reporäntebeslut påverkar fastighetsaktiemarknaden. Vi har undersökt 67 tidsintervall på tio dagar där annonseringen av reporäntebesluten utgör mittpunktenerna och har följaktligen läst av reporäntans kortsiktiga effekt på fastighetsaktier. Målet är att kunna ge en förklaring till marknadens reaktioner och att bilda en hypotes kring frågeställningen. Vi har genomfört en eventstudie där vi delvis replikerat tidigare studier som redogjort för styrräntans effekt på aktiemarknaden. Vidare har vi utgått från ett kvantitativt perspektiv. Respondenterna har representerats av fondförvaltare med goda kunskaper om fastighetsaktier. All empiri grundar sig på sekundärdata och material från gjorda intervjuer. Sammanställningen av våra resultat visade ett negativt samband mellan reporäntan och fastighetsaktier när en förändring av reporäntan ägde rum. Den kortsiktiga påverkan kan således härledas till vad flera studier tidigare redogjort för. Resultatet argumenterar för en ineffektiv marknad med hjälp av effekten på en förändrad styrränta, men motsätter sig samtidigt den slutsatsen i och med den effekt som förekom vid beslut om oförändrad reporänta. Bakomliggande faktorer till resultatet har inte kunnat fastställas men vi har bland annat redogjort för ett förändrat avkastningskrav hos investerarna samt en förändrad räntekostnad hos fastighetsbolagen, till följd av en reporänteförändring. / The purpose of the study was to establish how the repo rate influences the real estate stock market. We have reviewed a time interval of ten days where the middle point is defined by the time of a decision. Consequently, we have reported the short-term effect on shares in the real estate business. Our goal was to be able to present an explanation to the reactions of the market and to form a theory surrounding the initial problem. We have implemented an event study where we partially have been replicating previous studies reported on the effect of the repo rate on the stock market. Furthermore, we have started from a quantitative perspective. The respondents have been represented by fund managers favoured with great knowledge in real estate. All the empirics are based on secondary data and material from the performed interviews. The compilation of our results showed a negative relationship between the repo rate and the stocks in real estate once a change in the repo rate took place. We were able to deduce our results about short term influence to previous reports. The results do not add up with the efficient market hypothesis when a change has taken place in the repo rate. Though, the effect of an unchanged repo rate suggests there is an efficient market. We have not been able to determine the elements behind the effects, although we have thoroughly reviewed elements such as a change in investor’s required rate of return as well as a change in the interest expenses, due to a change in the repo rate.

Previous research has shown that with advancing age, there are increasing incidences of slip and fall injuries. Understanding mechanisms associated with gait adjustments across a known slippery surface may help in proactively avoiding slips and falls. The primary goal of this study involved examination of gait parameters and muscle activity characteristics of the lower extremities during two different walking conditions. Research has shown that both physical and mental changes accompany the aging process in humans. Moreover, research has shown that emotions and physiological responses are related. A secondary goal of this study was to examine the relationships of fear of falling with gait parameters and muscle activity. This study consisted of exposing 14 younger and 14 older participants to controlled slippery conditions safely, while studying normal and adjusted gait characteristics (friction requirement, heel contact velocity, and step length) and muscle activity characteristics (Integrated EMG). First, a baseline measure was done to study normal gait prior to any exposure to slipping. A second measure was done following a slip from a contaminated floor surface, but before the initiation of a second slip. The results indicate that there were significant gait parameter differences between younger and older participants for both walking conditions. Results also indicate that there were differences in muscle activity between to the two age groups for the adjusted condition. Findings suggest that older individuals require an additional step to properly adjust gait for a contaminated walking surface. / Master of Science

Bakgrund: Venture Capital-bolag spelar en stor roll i finansieringen och utvecklingen av nya och innovativa företag. Bolagen verkar i en miljö där investeringarna innebär ett högt risktagande, och därför är det viktigt att de har en strategi för hur de ska investera. Deras investeringsstrategier är komplexa och tidigare studier visar på olika resultat kopplat till faktorerna portföljsammansättning, avkastningskrav, riskhantering och styrning av portföljbolag. Det är därför viktigt att analysera och bidra med ny kunskap för hur Venture Capital-bolagen går tillväga när de investerar, hanterar risk och samtidigt försöker skapa värde i portföljbolagen. Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera VC-bolagens investeringsstrategier utifrån portföljsammansättning, avkastningskrav, risk och styrning i en svensk kontext. Metod: Studien baseras på en deduktiv ansats och använder en kvalitativ metod. Datainsamlingen består av semistrukturerade intervjuer med 15 representanter från Venture Capital-bolag verksamma på den svenska marknaden. Slutsats: VC-bolagen tenderar att specialisera sig på specifika branscher och investeringsstadier, medan antal bolag och geografiskt fokus varierar. Det enskilt vanligaste avkastningskravet är 25 procent, och relativvärdering är den mest förekommande värderingsmetoden. Både interna och externa risker analyseras, och två riskhanteringsmetoder identifieras. VC-bolagen vill vara aktiva ägare, samtidigt som de ser till portföljbolagens behov för grad av involvering. VC-bolagens investeringsbeslut baseras huvudsakligen på deras riskbenägenhet, kompetens och erfarenhet. / Background: Venture Capital firms play a significant role in financing and developing new and innovative ventures. These firms operate in an environment where investments involve high risk, making it essential for them to have a well-defined investment strategy. Their investment strategies are complex, and previous studies have shown varying results related to factors such as portfolio composition, return requirements, risk management, and governance of portfolio companies. Therefore, it is important to analyze and contribute new knowledge on how Venture Capital firms approach investing, manage risk, and simultaneously strive to create value in their portfolio companies. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the investment strategies of Venture Capital firms in a Swedish context, focusing on portfolio composition, required return, risk, and governance. Methodology: The study is based on a deductive approach and uses a qualitative method. Data collection consists of semi-structured interviews with 15 representatives from Venture Capital firms operating in the Swedish market. Conclusion: Venture Capital firms tend to specialize in specific industries and investment stages, while the number of companies and geographic focus vary. The single most common required return is 25 percent, and relative valuation is the most frequently used valuation method. Both internal and external risks are analyzed, and two risk management methods are identified. VC firms aim to be active owners, adjusting their level of involvement based on the needs of the portfolio companies. Their investment decisions are primarily based on their risk tolerance, expertise, and experience.

There is a need for a fuel-optimal required time of arrival (RTA) mode for aircraft flight management systems capable of enabling controlled time of arrival functionality in the presence of wind speed forecast uncertainty. A computationally tractable two-stage stochastic algorithm utilizing a data-driven, location-specific forecast uncertainty model to generate forecast uncertainty scenarios is proposed as a solution. Three years of Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting Systems (ACARS) wind speed reports are used in conjunction with corresponding wind speed forecasts from the Rapid Update Cycle (RUC) forecast product to construct an inhomogeneous Markov model quantifying forecast uncertainty characteristics along specific route through the national airspace system. The forecast uncertainty modeling methodology addresses previously unanswered questions regarding the regional uncertainty characteristics of the RUC model, and realizations of the model demonstrate a clear tendency of the RUC product to be positively biased along routes following the normal contours of the jet stream. A two-stage stochastic algorithm is then developed to calculate the fuel optimal stage one cruise speed given a required time of arrival at a destination waypoint and wind forecast uncertainty scenarios generated using the inhomogeneous Markov model. The algorithm utilizes a quadratic approximation of aircraft fuel flow rate as a function of cruising Mach number to quickly search for the fuel-minimum stage one cruise speed while keeping computational footprint small and ensuring RTA adherence. Compared to standard approaches to the problem utilizing large scale linear programming approximations, the algorithm performs significantly better from a computational complexity standpoint, providing solutions in fractional power time while maintaining computational tractability in on-board systems.

This study examined the experience of 140 students in a counselor training program that required students to participate in 10 sessions of individual counseling during their training program in order to increase their self-awareness. Students had the option of fulfilling the requirement through being counseled either by more advanced students within the training program or by mental health professionals outside the program. Results indicated that students in both settings reported a significant increase in their self-awareness. Students who fulfilled the requirement in a setting outside of the counseling program clinics reported a significantly higher increase in self-awareness than those who fulfilled the requirement within the counseling program clinics. Students' reports of increased self-awareness did not vary by their stages of progress through the program. Participants reported significant ethical concerns regarding confidentiality and dual relationships that reportedly reduced the beneficial impact of the counseling experience. Students who fulfilled the counseling requirement within the counseling program clinics experienced significantly greater ethical concerns than did those who fulfilled the requirement outside the program clinics. As with effect on self-awareness, stage in the program was not related to impact of ethical concerns on the required counseling experience. The overwhelming majority (91.4%) of participants supported requiring counselors in training to experience their own personal counseling. The majority of the students (58%) recommended that either a counseling program clinic or somewhere outside the program would be equally acceptable settings for future students to obtain the counseling. Of the remaining students, nearly equal numbers recommended a counseling program clinic (18%) as recommended an outside setting (24%). Potential benefits and costs to requiring individual counseling for counselors in training were examined. Advantages and disadvantages to providing the counseling within program clinics were discussed, as were various options for providing the counseling.

Syfte: Hur CSR-prestation påverkar ett företags finansiella prestation har länge varit ett omtalat ämnesområde, vilket har bidragit till motstridiga resultat. Denna studie har tillämpat kostnad för eget kapital för att mäta finansiell prestation. Genom att betrakta CSR som en transparenseffekt, vilket ökar bolagens transparens, vill studien undersöka om CSR-aktiviteter kan sänka företagets uppfattade risk för att minska kostnad för eget kapital. Metod: Studien har tillämpat en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi och en deduktiv forskningsansats med uppställning av hypoteser. Vi har använt en kvantitativ forskningsmetod från vilket insamling av sekundärdata skett från den finansiella databasen Thomson Reuters. Studiens urval består av 548 företag från åtta europeiska länder. All data som inhämtats har bearbetats och analyserats i statistikprogrammet SPSS och JASP. Resultat &amp; slutsats: Våra resultat bevisar att det förekommer ett positivt respektive negativt samband mellan CSR-prestation och kostnad för eget kapital beroende på nation. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Ett förslag till vidare forskning är att undersöka varför sambandet mellan CSR-prestation och kostnad för eget kapital uppträder olika inom nationer. Uppsatsens bidrag: Denna studie bidrar till en ökad förståelse för hur CSR-prestation påverkar företagets kostnad för eget kapital i en europeisk kontext. Studien har bidragit till en ny forskningsinriktning beträffande hur CSR-aktiviteter kan fungera som en transparenseffekt för att minska bolagets kostnad för eget kapital. Vidare bidrar uppsatsen med ytterligare kunskap om relationen mellan CSR-prestation och finansiell prestation, vilket visar i tidigare forskning motstridiga resultat. / Title: CSR-performance and cost of equity capital – a quantitative study of 548 European companies Aim: The subject of how corporate social responsibility affects the company’s financial performance has been discussed for a long time, which has contributed to conflicting results. This study has applied cost of equity capital in order to measure financial performance. By considering corporate social responsibility as a transparency effect, which increases firms’ transparency, this study wants to examine if corporate social responsibility can minimize the company’s perceived risk to decrease cost of equity capital. Method: The study has applied a positivist research philosophy and a deductive research approach with setting of hypotheses. We used a quantitative research method where the secondary data was collected from Thomson Reuters DataStream. The sample of the study includes 548 companies from eight European countries. The collected data has been processed and analyzed in the statistical program called SPSS and JASP. Result &amp; Conclusions: Our results prove that a positive respective negative relationship between corporate social responsibility and cost of equity exists depending on nation. Suggestions for future research: One suggestion for further research is to investigate why the relationship between corporate social responsibility and cost of equity appears different in nations. Contribution of the thesis: This study contributes to an increased understanding for how corporate social responsibility can affect the company’s cost of equity capital in a European context. The study have contributed to a new research turn concerning how corporate social responsibility can work as a transparency effect too reduce the firms cost of equity capital. It provides further acknowledge on the relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance which in previous research shows conflicting results.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:30:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Jose Eduardo do Nascimento.pdf: 865114 bytes, checksum: 385d6e28c94c035d69d379ad50530b79 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-05-05 / The purpose of this paper is to analize the topic of the conditions required for criminal prosecution, under the reform established by the Law 11719 / 2008. The Criminal Procedure Code, in its original text, used the model of the art. 43 directly referred to specific cases, although proper to the reality of criminal procedure , considering the matter related to the admission of the charge. The art. 395 of the Criminal Procedure Code, after the changes resulting the Law 11719 / 2008, refers genericly to the indictment s formal regularity and to the conditions required for criminal prosecution. In order to settle the right sense of the changes, the present paper analizes, in chapter 1, the relations between constitutional law and criminal procedure law, emphasizing the due process of law and the not guilty principle. In chapter 2, the paper analizes the concept of criminal prosecution and its principles. In chapter 3 the paper analizes the conditions required for criminal prosecution. Finally, in chapter 4, the paper analizes the polemic concept of fair reason related to criminal prosecution / A presente dissertação tem por objetivo analisar o tema das condições da ação no processo penal à luz da reforma empreendida pela Lei 11719 / 2008. O Código de Processo Penal, em sua redação original, utilizava o modelo do art. 43 casuístico, porém voltado diretamente à realidade do processo penal, para o exercício, pelo juiz, do juízo de admissibilidade da acusação. O art. 395 do Código de Processo Penal, após a reforma empreendida pela Lei 11719 / 2008, faz referência genérica à aptidão formal da peça acusatória, às condições da ação e aos pressupostos processuais, e à justa causa. Para determinar o sentido e alcance destas modificações, a presente dissertação aborda, no capítulo 1, as relações entre a Constituição e o Direito Processual Penal, com ênfase nos princípios do devido processo legal e da presunção de inocência. No capítulo 2 passa-se ao estudo da ação penal e dos princípios que a regem. O capítulo 3 tem por objeto o estudo das condições da ação no processo penal. Por fim, o capítulo 4 aborda o polêmico conceito de justa causa