The term "safe space" has a long history of signifying a place of sanctuary or refuge, and of a potential site of activism, advocacy, and political action (Davis, 1999; Kenney, 2001; Harris, 2015; Crockett, 2016). In recent decades, it has been adopted by student groups and advocates for inclusion, diversity and social justice on college and university campuses, who also saw such places as providing safety, freedom, activism, and intellectual discussion (Crockett, 2016; White, 2016). But critics argued that such spaces have the potential to stifle academic freedom, intellectual growth and free speech, and act as cocoons for students (Crovitz, 2016; Will, 2016). Both advocates and critics use the term "safe space," but with different meanings. Using speech code theory, I analyze opinion-editorial essays and commentaries from five national news periodicals to examine how proponents and critics of safe spaces use the term and to explore the clash of meanings and contexts. / Master of Arts / The term safe space suggests a place of refuge and safety, where those who use it are free from harm. During the past 60 years, the term has taken on additional meaning as a potential site of activism and advocacy action as well as safety and freedom (Davis, 1999; Kenney, 2001; Harris, 2015; Crockett, 2016). Originally used by second wave feminists, Civil Rights activists and the LGBTQ movement, it more recently has been adopted by student groups and advocates for inclusion, diversity and social justice on college and university campuses. For them, safe spaces serve as places not only for safety, but for intellectual discussion (Crockett, 2016; White, 2016). Not everyone favors providing such spaces on campus. Critics argued that safe spaces have the potential to stifle free speech and interfere with students' opportunities to learn, and that such spaces can insulate students, allowing them to avoid dealing with uncomfortable ideas (Crovitz, 2016; Will, 2016). Using speech code theory, I analyzed 79 opinion-editorial essays and commentaries from five national news periodicals to examine how proponents and critics of safe spaces use the term and to explore the clash of meanings and contexts in their words.

The purpose of this study was to identify whether the residential environments of Korean women age 65 and older living in apartments were safe for them. In order to accomplish the purpose, this study focused on the safety practices of older Korean women in their daily activities. The sample of 90 older women was selected from the residents living in three apartment complexes of Kang-Nam and Kang-Dong areas in Seoul, Korea. The data were collected through survey questionnaires, which had been pretested, and revised based on Tomlinson's instrument. The survey instrument measured perception of safety hazards, safety features, safety precautions, and intended modifications/assistance. The data were analyzed using frequencies, percentage, and means as descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis. The average age of the sample was 73.5 years old. Most of the respondents were in good health. The majority of the sample lived with the family of their adult child. Most of them received money from their children. Most of the dwelling units were owned by their child. The majority of the sample lived in dwelling units located below the ninth floor. / Master of Science

No / It is a commonly held view that gold protects investors’ wealth in the event of negative economic conditions. In this study, we test whether other metals offer similar or better investment opportunities in periods of market turmoil. Using a sample of 13 sovereign bonds, we show that other precious metals, palladium in particular, offer investors greater compensation for their bond market losses than gold. We also find that industrial metals, especially copper, tend to outperform gold and other precious metals as hedging vehicles and safe haven assets against losses in sovereign bonds. However, the outcome of the hedge and safe haven properties is not always consistent across the different bonds. Finally, our analysis suggests that copper is the best performing metal in the period immediately after negative bond price shocks.

I denna studie undersöks guld som safe haven-tillgång och om den erbjuder tillflykt mot volatilitet, vilket är studiens huvudsakliga syfte. För att åstadkomma detta används data från VIX- och GVZ-indexet samt priset på guld under perioden 1994–2018. Guldets egenskaper testas mot safe haven-teorin via ett kvantitativt angreppsätt där korrelation, avkastning och standardavvikelse är ämne för undersökning i utvalda perioder. Guld visar sig bevara sitt värde under oroligheter – vilket syns genom att den genomsnittliga avkastningen för guld är högre när VIX befinner sig på höga nivåer. Dock misslyckas tillgången att förbli lågvolatil då guldets volatilitet stiger i takt med den förväntade volatiliteten på aktiemarknaden. Den förväntade volatiliteten i guldpriset, uttryckt genom GVZ, korrelerar dessutom med den förväntade volatiliteten på aktiemarknaden mätt av VIX-indexet. Däremot upptäcks knappt någon korrelation mellan guldets pris och förändringar i VIX-indexets värde. / The purpose of this study was to analyse whether gold fulfils the criteria for being a safe haven asset in certain conditions. Through the use of data pooled from CBOE’s VIX, GVZ and the spot price of gold, we employ a quantitative approach to analyse correlation, rate of return and standard deviation during times of market volatility. The chosen period for this analysis is the time between 1994 and 2018. Gold proved its ability to retain value during such conditions, which is evidenced by higher average returns when VIX has been at high levels. This strengthens its role as a safe haven asset. However, gold failed to keep a low level of volatility in periods of rising implied volatility on the stock market, as expressed by the VIX index. Moreover, the implied volatility of gold, expressed through the GVZ index, has shown a strong correlation with the VIX, indicating that gold is not a safe haven. Finally, the gold spot price was shown to have little to no correlation with changes in VIX.

En contrôle non-destructif par ultrasons, la simulation présente un intérêt majeur en permettant à la fois d’optimiser les configurations de contrôle des pièces et de simplifier l’analyse des données acquises. Cette thèse traite de la modélisation de la propagation des ultrasons dans les matériaux composites tissés. Ces matériaux sont constitués de fibres de Carbone (micrométriques) regroupées en mèches (millimétriques) qui sont ensuite tissées pour former une couche de matériau : leur structure est donc hétérogène à deux échelles distinctes. L’étude à l’échelle du tissage nécessite la connaissance préalable des propriétés mécaniques des mèches. Nous proposons deux méthodes visant à effectuer l’homogénéisation dynamique du matériau à l’échelle microscopique. Une première consiste à identifier les rigidités complexes d’un milieu effectif représentatif de la mèche en comparant les nombres d’ondes des modes guidés s’y propageant à ceux calculés dans un milieu hétérogène de même géométrie ; nous avons développé un algorithme génétique permettant de faire correspondre les jeux de nombres d’onde, dont l’application permet d’identifier certaine des rigidités recherchées. La seconde consiste à étendre un modèle existant permettant d’homogénéiser la structure de la mèche en tenant compte de la diffraction multiple des ondes de volume par les fibres. Le modèle initial (modèle à trois phases) ne traitant que le cas de l’incidence normale aux fibres est étendu au cas plus complexe de l’incidence oblique : un calcul de la diffraction multiple en incidence oblique par un réseau dense de fibres et tenant compte de l’anisotropie des différents milieux est donc proposé. Comme pour la première méthode, on utilise un algorithme génétique pour effectuer l’identification des rigidités effectives. Les résultats obtenus nous amènent à remettre en cause certaines hypothèses de base faites pour effectuer cette homogénéisation dynamique ; particulièrement, la dépendance des résultats à l’angle d’incidence semble remettre en cause le choix de la loi de Hooke comme loi fondamentale pour effectuer une homogénéisation dynamique des composites à structures complexes. / The simulation of nondestructive examinations is of great interest to optimize testing configurations and to help interpreting collected data. This thesis deals with the modeling of ultrasonic propagation into woven composite materials. These materials are made from Carbon fibers (micrometric) assembled into bundles (millimetric) which are woven to form a layer; their structure is thus heterogeneous at two scales. To study the material at the weave scale, one first needs to know the mechanical properties of bundles. We propose two methods aiming at dynamically homogenize the material at this scale. The first one achieves identification of complex rigidity coefficients of the effective material by comparing the wave numbers of guided waves propagating in the effective materials with those of guided waves propagating in the heterogeneous composite. A genetic algorithm is developed to match the sets of wave numbers, allowing to identify some of the coefficients. The second method extends an existing model that homogenizes bundles and takes into account multiple scattering of bulk waves on fibers. The existing model (3-phase model) was limited to waves at normal incidence; the extension deals with oblique incidence. For this, the problem of multiple scattering of waves under oblique incidence on fibers is solved; the solution takes into account the anisotropy and viscoelasticity of the various phases. A genetic algorithm (as already used in the first homogenization method) allows one to identify the complex effective rigidity coefficients. Results obtained using this method finally brings us to question some of the basic hypotheses made to proceed to dynamic homogenization.

This thesis deals with the safe country concept; within which we can further distingiush two concepts - the one of a safe country of origin and that of a safe third country. When applying the safe country concept, states are limited by their obligations which stem from international law, in particular by the principle of non-refoulement. Furthermore, the concept of safe countries cannot be analyzed nor applied without taking the non-refoulement principle into consideration. The non-refoulement principle is therfore one of the main topics of this thesis. It is viewed primarily trough the lens of the definition given by the Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951 and the New York Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1967. The goal of this thesis is to determine, whether the concept of safe countries is indeed in accordance with the non-refoulement principle. We will subsequently try to answer the question of how influential the principle is (and should be) in terms of states that follow the concept of safe countries. The main concern of this thesis is the application of the safe country concept in Europe, or more precisely in the European Union. The european safe country legislation belongs to the so-called Common European Asyulm System. The centrepiece of this legal...

When the financial markets start to shake investors start looking for a safe asset for protection. When people talk about a safe asset, they for the most part refer to gold. But is that really the case? There are few studies about gold as a safe haven however they do not concern the Swedish financial market. That is the purpose of this research; to examine if gold could act as a safe haven in the financial market in Sweden. This is of interest since there is an economic crisis caused by covid19 at this particular moment. The result could help us understand how investors could use gold in their portfolio of investments. To do this we have gathered daily returns from OMXS30, gold, and a 10-year Swedish government bond. With a statistical model we answered the question. When the financial markets start to shake investors start looking for a safe asset for protection. When people talk about a safe asset, they for the most part refer to gold. But is that really the case? There are few studies about gold as a safe haven however they do not concern the Swedish financial market. That is the purpose of this research; to examine if gold could act as a safe haven in the financial market in Sweden. This is of interest since there is an economic crisis caused by covid19 at this particular moment. The result could help us understand how investors could use gold in their portfolio of investments. To do this we have gathered daily returns from OMXS30, gold, and a 10-year Swedish government bond. With a statistical model we answered the question.

As a response to digitalisation and new niche competitors, incumbent banks tries to increase their flexibility by adopting agile principles at their development departments. However, the flexibility of the agile departments is constrained by the flexibility of the rest of the organisation, which are still working according to the waterfall method. To address this problem, several incumbent banks are focusing towards scaling their agile work to the entire organisation. The case company for this study is a bank trying to scale their agile work by using the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). Nonetheless, there is scepticism within the bank whether Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF), the prioritisation model used in SAFe, is applicable in financial software development. The available case studies are often conducted by consultancy firms implementing the framework and are focused towards the positive effects, excluding challenges or adaptions made for specific industrial contexts. This study contributes to this gap in the literature with empirical findings by assessing the adaptability of WSJF and its ability to satisfy the prioritisation needs of financial software development. Moreover, empirical data is used to formulate recommendations for how WSJF can be adapted and integrated with the current processes of financial software development. To operationalise the study, the following research question was formulated: "How could WSJF be modified to better suit financial software development?". To answer upon this, a qualitative case study employing semi-structured interviews was conducted. The semi-structured interviews were used to identify the prioritisation needs at a selected case department. The needs were used to formulate prioritisation requirements that were structured according to an analytical framework. The framework was used to evaluate how many of the requirements WSJF were able to satisfy. Moreover, the analytical framework was used as a guideline in formulating the recommendations of modifications to better satisfy the prioritisation needs. The results showed that no single set of needs is able to conclude the prioritisation needs of all organisational levels. Employees on an operational level have a more practical approach towards prioritisation and requires a model that is easy to use and time efficient. Meanwhile, the strategic level requires a model with high precision that could estimate the value of deliveries monetarily, allowing them to track the realisation of deliveries in the financial figures. WSJF are able to satisfy the needs of the operational level but fails to satisfy the needs of the strategic level. Derived from the obtained needs of both levels, the following two modifications are recommended: Establish a uniform value definition that are used by the entire organisation and Implement a prioritisation model that can combine monetarily CoD at a strategic level with relative CoD at an operational level. By implementing these changes the percentage of satisfied requirements increased from 50% to 89% on a strategic level and from 85% to 90% on an operational level. Resulting from this, the conclusion is that WSJF can be modified to better suit financial software development by implementing the recommended changes formulated in this report. / De traditionella storbankerna försöker implementera agila arbetssätt inom deras utvecklingsavdelningar för att öka flexibiliteten. Detta är ett svar på en ökad digitalisering och nya nischade konkurrenter. Dock är flexibiliteten av de agila arbetssätten begränsad av flexibiliteten av den övriga organisationen, som fortfarande jobbar enligt vattenfallsmodellen. För att adressera denna begränsning fokuserar bankerna på att skala upp det agila arbetet så att det täcker hela organisationen. I denna studie studeras en av dessa banker, som har valt att använda sig av det agila skalningsramverket Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). Trots valet av SAFe finns en viss skepticism huruvida den medföljande prioriteringsmodellen Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) lämpar sig för finansiell mjukvaruutveckling. De studier som finns tillgängliga kring SAFe och WSJF är till stor del framtagna av konsultfirmor vars uppgift är att implementera SAFe. Således är dessa rapporter fokuserade på de positiva effekter som uppnås, samtidigt som utmaningar och anpassningar för det specifika industriella kontexten utelämnas. Detta skapar ett gap inom litteraturen, till vilket denna studie ämnar att bidra med empiriska resultat från en undersökning av WSJFs förmåga att tillfredsställa och anpassas efter prioriteringsbehoven inom finansiell mjukvaruutveckling. Därutöver ligger de empiriska resultaten till grund för rekommendationer gällande hur WSJF bättre kan anpassas och integreras inom finansiell mjukvaruutveckling. För att operationalisera studien formulerades följande forskningsfråga: "Kan WSJF modifieras för att lämpa sig bättre inom finansiell mjukvaruutveckling?". För att besvara detta genomfördes en kvalitativ fallstudie där semi-strukturerade intervjuer användes för att identifiera prioriteringsbehoven av en utvecklingsavdelning hos den undersökta banken. Behoven användes för att populera ett analytiskt ramverk, som sedan användes för att utvärdera hur många prioriteringskrav som WSJF lyckas tillfredsställa. Dessutom agerade ramverket som guide i framtagandet av rekommenderade modifikationer, för att öka antalet krav som WSJF tillfredsställer. Resultatet indikerar att ingen enskild uppsättning av behov täcker samtliga prioriteringsbehov i organisationen. Anställda på en operationell nivå har en praktisk syn på prioritering och efterfrågar en modell som är tidseffektiv och enkel att använda. Anställda på en strategisk nivå kräver en prioriteringsmodell med hög precision som kan uppskatta värdet av en leverans monetärt, då detta möjliggör en uppföljning av hur leveransvärdet realiserats genom de finansiella siffrorna. WSJF tillfredsställer prioriteringskraven från den operationella nivån medan den misslyckas med att tillfredsställa hälften av kraven från den strategiska nivån. Utifrån de prioriteringskrav som samlats in rekommenderas följande två modifikationer: Fastställ en gemensam värdedefinition som används i hela organisationen och Implementera en prioriteringsmodell som kombinerar monetärt värde på en strategisk nivå med relativt värde på en operationell nivå. Genom att implementera dessa modifikationer ökar antalet tillfredsställda krav från 50% till 89% på en strategisk nivå och från 85% till 90% på en operationell nivå. Utifrån detta är slutsatsen att WSJF kan modifieras för att bättre lämpa sig för finansiell mjukvaruutveckling.

Denna studie undersöker fem olika tillgångar under tre olika kriser för att se vilka tillgångar som kan definieras som en safe haven på den svenska aktiemarknaden. Tillgångarna som undersöks är guld, 10-årig statsobligation, japansk yen, schweizisk franc och amerikansk dollar. Kriserna som de undersöks under är IT-bubblan, finanskrisen och covid-19 pandemin. En safe haven tillgång definieras som en tillgång som inte är korrelerad eller negativt korrelerad med andra tillgångar eller portföljer under finansiella kriser, i denna studie jämförs respektive tillgång med den svenska aktiemarknaden. Den metod som används är kvantitativ med sekundärdata i form av den dagliga förändringen för aktiemarknaden och respektive tillgång. Dessa analyseras med hjälp av en regressionsmodell som fångar de dagar då marknaden fallit som mest där sambanden mellan tillgången och marknaden mäts för att få ett resultat. Bland de tillgångar som har undersökts finner studien att alla tillgångar förutom schweizisk franc har varit någon form av safe haven under en viss period för någon av de olika kriserna. / This study examines five different assets during three different crises to see which assets can be defined as a safe haven in the Swedish stock market. The assets examined are gold, 10-year government bonds, Japanese yen, Swiss francs and US-dollars. The crises in which they are investigated are the IT-bubble, the financial crisis and the covid-19 pandemic. A safe haven asset is defined as an asset that is not correlated or negatively correlated with other assets or portfolios during financial crises, in this study each asset is compared with the Swedish stock market. The method used is quantitative with secondary data in the form of the daily change for the stock market and the respective asset. These are analyzed using a regression model that captures the days when the market has fallen the most, where the relationship between the assets and the market are examined to get a result. Among the assets that have been examined, the study finds that all assets except the Swiss franc have been some form of safe haven during a certain period for any of the various crises.

No description available.