Masters of Public Health - see Magister Public Health / Overreliance on donor supported health programs has crippled many African countries and there is inadequate long-term planning on the future sustainability of health systems. In the age of uncertainty in global politics and global economy, the future of these donor funded programs is also uncertain. It is imperative for African nations to begin to take responsibility for their health programs. In as much as the name “donation” suggests that something is given free of charge, in actual sense this may not be the case due to hidden costs attached. In medicine access, the hidden costs are the supply chain costs including cost for clearance, storage and distribution of such medicines which are charged as a percentage of claimed commodity costs on donors’ or suppliers’ invoices. Since the medicines donated are in originators’ brands, the invoiced prices are high thus supply chain costs are high as well. In some cases, it is thought that the hidden costs are higher than the cost of medicines had they been sourced locally as generics. The aim of this research was to assess and determine the hidden supply chain costs associated with the four medicine donation programs supporting the Tanzania Neglected Tropical Diseases Program and inform policy decision on optimal financing options for the program Methodology The cost analysis of the two options was undertaken from a payers’ perspective which in this case is the Government of Tanzania (Ministry of Health). Data was collected on both product and supply chain cost drivers incurred in the medicine donation programs from July 2014 to June 2017. Costs of the current mechanism were obtained from the program’s quantification reports and transaction data for the study period. Transactional data was obtained from shipment documents including sales invoices, parking list, proof of delivery and goods receiving notes were evaluated for actual quantities shipped, commodity prices and other supply chain cost. To verify the actual supply chain cost charged by the program, both the official bills from Medical Stores Department (MSD) to the program and the electronic bills available at MSD electronic database covering the study period were studied.

This master thesis studied key determinants in service innovation that contribute to user adoption. The study applies design method to understand Visa applicant experiences and tendency to adopt a new service design, which the standard is set up by production workers at Thai embassy in Stockholm Sweden. The methodology for the design research includes participant observation, staff interview and user survey, which provided insights on users and determinants reflecting on the relevance of co-designing solution by media consultant and production staffs. The results show that service design that is pioneered by production workers shows a positive result. Most participants did not find the current process difficult, however, more than 70% are willing to use the new service and willing to pay an extra fee. Non-first-time users and participants who live out of Stockholm show the highest willingness to adopt and willingness to purchase the new service even though their rating to the convenience of the current service is the highest among other groups of participants. The study also shows that the participants in all age group are adoptive and shows high willingness-to-pay towards add-on services. / Denna masteruppsats studerade viktiga determinanter inom service innovation som bidrar till användarupptagning. Studien tillämpar designmetod för att förstå visumansökares erfarenheter och tendens att anta en ny servicedesign, vilket upprättades av arbetare inom produktion på Thailändsk ambassad i Stockholm, Sverige. Metodiken för designforskningen innefattar deltagare observation, personlig intervju och användare undersökning, vilket gav insikter om användare och determinanter som speglar relevansen av medarbetarlösningen av mediekonsult och produktions personal. Resultaten visar att servicedesign som är av produktions arbetare visar ett positivt resultat. De flesta deltagarna känner inte att den nuvarande processen är svår, men mer än 70% är villiga att använda den nya tjänsten och villiga att betala en extra avgift. Icke-första gången användare och deltagare som bor utanför Stockholm visar den högsta villigheten att anta och vilja att köpa den nya tjänsten, trots att deras betyg till den aktuella tjänstens bekvämlighet är den högsta bland andra än grupper av deltagare. Studien visar också att deltagarna i alla åldersgrupper är adoptiv och visar stor vilja att betala tilläggstjänster.

Syfte: Inom revisionsbranschen har rapporteringen om ett företags fortlevnad under en lång tid varit ett omtvistat ämne. Detta specifikt till följd av revisorsskandaler, då företag gått i konkurs utan att ha erhållit en fortlevnadsvarning från sin revisor. I redovisningslitteraturen finns det motstridiga argument kring huruvida revisorer anses oberoende eller inte utifrån deras benägenhet att utfärda fortlevnadsvarningar och de finansiella incitament som finns. Uppsatsens syfte är att: Undersöka om det finns något samband mellan utfärdandet av fortlevnadsvarningar och ekonomisk förlust för revisionsbyrån. Metod: Utifrån tidigare forskning har forskningsbara hypoteser deducerats fram, vilka sedan undersökts empiriskt. En kvantitativ metod har använts för att samla in data från svenska företags årsredovisningar åren 2011-2014. Dessa data har sedan testats och analyserats i ett statistikprogram och har därefter redovisats i olika tabeller. Resultat & slutsats: Denna studie har funnit bevis för den självuppfyllande profetian, vilket indikerar att revisorer drar sig för att utfärda fortlevnadsvarningar. Gällande undersökningen kring ekonomiska incitament som hot mot revisorns oberoende, ger denna studie bevis på att storleken på NAS-arvodet kan utgöra ett potentiellt hot. Studiens resultat visar även att det inte finns någon kvalitetsskillnad mellan Big 4 och icke Big 4 revisorer när det gäller utfärdandet av fortlevnadsvarningar. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Förslag till fortsatt forskning är att kombinera de finansiella faktorerna med de icke finansiella faktorerna för att studera revisorers oberoende. En tredje begränsning med uppsatsen är att vi utgått från revisorns perspektiv, vilket innebär att förslag till fortsatt forskning är att byta till företagens perspektiv eller kombinera dessa. Uppsatsens bidrag: Denna uppsats har bidragit med mer kunskap kring den självuppfyllande profetian, ekonomiska incitaments påverkan på revisorns oberoende. Uppsatsen har även bidragit med ytterligare förståelse kring hur problematiskt det kan vara att utfärda en fortlevnadsvarning. / Aim: The reporting of an organizations going concern has been center for debate during a long period of time. This is mainly due to auditing scandals where organizations have gone bankrupt without a modified going concern opinion from their auditor. In accounting literature there are conflicting claims about whether auditors are considered independent or not due to their tendency to issue a going concern modified opinion and the influence financial incentives have on auditor independence. The aim of this essay is to: Examine if there is a relation between the tendency to issue a going concern modified opinion and the financial loss for the audit firm. Method: From previous research hypotheses have been deduced. These hypotheses have then empirically been studied. A quantitative method was used to gather data from Swedish companies’ annual reports from the year 2011-2014. After gathering the data, it was tested and analyzed with a stats program and then presented in different tables. Result & Conclusions: This study has found evidence of the self-fulfilling prophecy, which indicates that the auditor withdraws from issuing a going concern modified opinion. Regarding the financial incentives as threats of audit independence, this study gives evidence that the size of Non-audit service fees poses a potential threat. The results of the study also show that there is no significant difference in quality between Big 4 and Non-Big 4 auditors regarding the issuance of going concern modified opinions. Suggestions for future research: In this study the financial factors have been taken into account, a combination of both the financial and non-financial factors is the suggestion for future research. A third limitation of this study is that is based upon the auditors’ perspective, therefore a study based solely on the companies' perspective or a combination of both is our suggestion for future research. Contribution of the thesis: This thesis contributes with more knowledge to the accounting literature. The study has provided more knowledge about the self-fulfilling prophecy, financial incentives on audit independence and the quality among Big 4 and non-Big 4 audit firms. This thesis has also contributed to further understanding of how problematic it can be for an auditor to issue a going concern modified opinion.