This doctoral thesis consists of 4 self-contained chapters: Sovereign Credit Default Swap Premia. This comprehensive review of the literature on sovereign CDS spreads highlights current academic debates and contrasts them with contradictory statements from the popular press.  Real Economic Shocks and Sovereign Credit Risk. New empirical evidence highlights that global macroeconomic risk unspanned by global financial risk bears some responsibility for the strong co-movement in sovereign spreads. A model with only two global macroeconomic state variables rationalizes the existence of time-varying risk premia as a compensation for exposure to common U.S. business cycle risk. The Term Structure of CDS Spreads and Sovereign Credit Risk. The term structure of CDS spreads is an informative signal about the relative importance of global and country-specific risk factors for the time variation of sovereign credit spreads. An empirically validated model illustrates how local risk matters relatively more when the slope is negative, while systematic risk bears more responsibility when the slope is positive. Squeezed Everywhere - Disentangling Types of Liquidity and Testing Limits-to-Arbitrage. The CDS-Bond basis is used as a laboratory to disentangle different types of liquidity and to test limits-of-arbitrage. While asset-specific liquidity is cross-correlated in both the cash and derivative market, funding and market liquidity matter only for the former. The tests find strong evidence in favor of margin-based asset pricing and flight-to-quality effects. / <p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2013. Sammanfattning jämte 4 uppsatser</p>

In view of the complexity characterizing the contemporary discipline of academic theology, there is a need for functional models. Against the background of significant developments in twentieth-century theology, this thesis attempts to develop an analytical model which can make sense of some of the complexity characterizing this field. More specifically, the aim is to produce a model which can be used to distinguish between and relate different theological positions to each other at a meta-level. This is achieved through the elaboration of a two-dimensional typology composed of four quadrants representing distinct theological orientations. The proposed model and its analytical categories form the basis for a discussion of some key figures and themes in modern theology, with a particular emphasis on eschatologically oriented theologies. Finally, on the basis of preceding discussions, a case is made for theology’s ability to fulfill a vital cultural-critical role in a secular context.

The purpose of this study was to examine the potentially unique roles that parental use of two psychological control dimensions, shame and disappointment, play in predicting children's relational and physical aggression. It was additionally of interest to investigate whether warm/involved parenting would moderate the effects of these forms of psychological control on both types of childhood aggression. Based on a review of literature, it was hypothesized that parental use of shame would positively predict aggression in children, whereas parental use of disappointment would not be significantly associated with childhood aggression. Additionally, it was hypothesized that warm, involved parenting would have varied interactions with shaming and disappointment. Specifically, it was expected that warmth and involvement would exacerbate the aversive affects of shaming (leading to more child relational aggression), but that warmth and involvement would enhance the effect of disappointment to curtail relationally aggressive behavior. The participants were 217 fourth grade children (100 boys, 117 girls) and their parents (184 fathers, 216 mothers) from two school districts in an urban, moderate-sized community in the Western United States. Separate regression models were conducted for pairs of psychologically controlling and positive parenting dimensions in order to test for the main effects of the variables and also potential interaction effects. Additionally, this study explored the interactions between warm/involved parenting and shame and disappointment as they affected childhood aggression. To a large extent, the hypotheses were confirmed. In line with expectations, parental use of shame was significantly and positively associated with both physical and relational aggression, whereas disappointment was not. Interestingly, mothers' use of shaming significantly predicted relational aggression in all models for both boys and girls, whereas physical aggression was predicted only twice, once in the mother-son dyad and once in the father-daughter dyad. Two forms of warmth and involvement emerged in exploratory factor analysis: expressive warmth and supportive involvement. These positive parenting dimensions demonstrated very few main effects and only one significant moderating effect, which was on the relationship between shame and physical aggression. Specifically, post hoc analysis showed that fathers' use of shaming significantly and positively predicted boys' physical aggression only when supportive involvement was low. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / Organizational cynicism is an attitude, characterized by frustration and negatively valenced beliefs, resulting primarily from unmet expectations, which is capable of being directed towards an organization in general and/or more specific facets of the organizational environment (Brockway, Carlson, Jones, & Bryant, 2002). This thesis presents an exploratory study into the causes of organizational cynicism at the United States Naval Academy. The study is based on focus groups involving 30 first class midshipmen (i.e., seniors). Gaps in expectations versus students' reality emerged as a cause of organizational cynicism. Themes such as (1) constraints on decision-making discretion, (2) disappointment in peers' actions, (3) organizational inconsistencies, and (4) emphasis on outside interests versus midshipmen's interests emerged as the strongest precursors to the development of cynicism. The effects of organizational cynicism were reported as (1) lack of organizational commitment and citizenship and (2) deficiencies in decision-making and risk taking skills. / Lieutenant, United States Navy

Cette thèse commence comme une simple question en réponse au modèle du « parfait flâneur » que Baudelaire a élaboré dans Le peintre de la vie moderne (1853): un flâneur peut-il être imparfait? Je suggère trois interprétations possibles du mot « imparfait ». Il permet d’abord de sortir le flâneur du strict contexte du Paris du dix-neuvième siècle et permet des traductions imparfaites de personnages dans d’autres contextes. Ensuite, le flâneur déambule dans la dimension « imparfaite » de l’imagination fictionnelle – une dimension comparable à l’image anamorphique du crâne dans la peinture Les ambassadeurs de Holbein. Enfin, il réfère à l’imparfait conjugué, « l’imparfait flâneur » peut rappeler le personnage antihéroïque de l’humain dont l’existence est banale et inachevée, comme la phrase « il y avait ». Ces trois visions contribuent à la réinterprétation du flâneur dans le contexte de la fin du vingtième siècle. Mon hypothèse est que l’expérience urbaine du flâneur et la flânerie ne sont possibles que si l’on admet être imparfait(e), qu’on accepte ses imperfections et qu’elles ne nous surprennent pas. Quatre études de romans contemporains et de leurs villes respectives forment les principaux chapitres. Le premier étudie Montréal dans City of forgetting de Robert Majzels. J’examine les façons par lesquelles les personnages itinérants peuvent être considérés comme occupant (ou en échec d’occupation) du Montréal contemporain alors qu’ils sont eux-mêmes délogés. Quant au deuxième chapitre, il se concentre sur le Bombay de Rohinton Mistry dans A fine balance. Mon étude portera ici sur la question de l’hospitalité en relation à l’hébergement et au « dé-hébergement » des étrangers dans la ville. Le troisième chapitre nous amène à Hong-Kong avec la série Feituzhen de XiXi. Dans celle-ci, j’estime que la méthode spéciale de la marelle apparait comme une forme unique de flânerie imparfaite. Le quatrième chapitre étudie Istanbul à travers The black book d’Orhan Pamuk. Inspiré par les notions de « commencement » d’Edward Saïd, mon argumentaire est construit à partir de l’interrogation suivante : comment et quand commence une narration? En lieu de conclusion, j’ai imaginé une conversation entre l’auteur de cette thèse et les personnages de flâneurs imparfaits présents dans les différents chapitres. / This dissertation begins with a simple question in response to “the perfect flâneur” model that Baudelaire elaborated in his 1853 essay “The Painter of Modern Life”: can a flâneur be imperfect? I suggest three possible inferences behind the word “imperfect.” First, it should liberate the flâneur from the strict context of nineteenth-century Paris, and allows for imperfect translations of the figure into other urban contexts. Second, the flâneur also strolls in the “imperfect” dimension of fictional imagination, a dimension comparable to the anamorphic skull in Holbein’s painting The Ambassadors. Third, in the grammatical meaning of imperfect verb tenses, “imperfect flâneur” can also refer to the anti-heroic figure of the living, whose existence remains incomplete and mundane as in the phrase “it was.” All three implications contribute to the reinterpretation of the flâneur in late twentieth-century contexts. My premise is that to experience the city as a flâneur, or to make flânerie possible in the city, one should concede being imperfect, anticipate imperfections, and come to terms with them. Four in-depth studies of contemporary novels and their respective cities constitute the main chapters. Chapter One reads Robert Majzels’s City of Forgetting and Montreal. I examine the ways in which homeless characters could be said to occupy – or, fail to occupy – contemporary Montreal from their dislodged position. Chapter Two focuses on Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance and Bombay. My reading evolves around the question of hospitality in relation to the accommodation and un-accommodation of strangers in the city. Chapter Three brings us to XiXi’s Feituzhen series and Hong Kong: I address the special method of hopscotching as a unique form of imperfect flânerie in XiXi’s works. In Chapter Four, I study Orhan Pamuk’s The Black Book and Istanbul. Inspired by Edward Said’s notions of beginning, I frame my argument with the enquiry: how and when does a narrative begin? In lieu of Conclusion, I imagined a conversation between the writing subject of this dissertation and the imperfect flâneurs featured in each chapter.

I denna vetenskapliga essä beskriver jag två möten med personer som drabbats av stroke. I reflektion kring dessa möten redogör jag för dilemman i min yrkesvardag. Jag försöker att beskriva vikten av att förståelse uppnås mellan mig som sjukgymnast i neurologisk rehabilitering och de personer jag möter. Detta för att rehabiliteringen ska bli bra. Mitt ansvar är att göra personen engagerad i rehabiliteringen och personens ansvar är att aktivt delta. Problem uppstår när personen på grund av sjukdom inte har autonomi och därmed inte kan ta ansvar för sig själv. Kring begreppen praktisk kunskap, möte, ansvar och reflektion redogör jag för filosofers och andra författares tankar och reflekterar vidare kring dessa begrepp kopplat till de möten jag beskriver. Min slutsats är att jag behöver både teoretisk kunskap och praktisk kunskap i mitt arbete. Den praktiska kunskapen är ofta tyst kunskap. Reflektion är viktig för att jag ska kunna utföra mitt arbete så bra som möjligt och samla erfarenhet och praktisk kunskap. Trots att jag försöker att göra etiska val i min yrkesutövning ingår att jag ibland misslyckas. I reflektion och besvikelse över dessa misslyckanden bygger jag mer erfarenhet. / This scientific essay depicts two encounters with individuals who have suffered stroke. While reflecting about these encounters I describe dilemmas in my professional everyday work. I try to describe the importance of understanding between me as a physiotherapist working with neurological rehabilitation and the individuals I encounter. The purpose is achieving good rehabilitation. My responsibility is to make sure the individual feels invested in the rehabilitation and thus actively participate. Problems arise when the person as a result of disease do not have autonomy and consequently is unable to take responsibility. Philosophers’ and other authors’ thoughts and opinions about practical knowledge, encounters, responsibility and reflection as well as my own thoughts about the encounters I have had are described and analyzed. My conclusion is that both theoretical and practical knowledge are needed in my work. The practical knowledge is often tacit knowledge. Reflection is essential for me to be able to do my work as well as possible and to earn experience and practical knowledge. Even though I try to make ethical choices in my occupation I am not always successful. It is when reflecting and feeling disappointed about these failures that I emerge a more experienced professional in my field.

Le présent travail se consacre à l’étude de la trilogie de l’écrivain espagnol Rafael Chirbes (1949-2015), constitué de La larga marcha, La caída de Madrid et Los viejos amigos, et à travers laquelle l’auteur retrace l’histoire récente de l’Espagne, depuis la guerre civile jusqu’au retour d’un régime démocratique, en passant par le franquisme. L’étude narrative de chacun des trois romans couplée à une approche collective permettra d’observer comment l’histoire des personnages finit par retracer celle de l’Espagne et celle de la génération désenchantée de l’auteur lui-même. / This work is dedicated to the study of the trilogy of the Spanish writer Rafael Chirbes (1949-2015), made uo of the Larga marcha, La caída de Madrid and Los viejos amigos, and through which the author recounts the recent history of Spain, since the civil war until the return of a democratic regime, via the Francoism period. The narrative study of each novels coupled with a collective approach will allow us to observe how the story of the characters ends up recounting Spain’s History as well as the story of the author’s disillusioned generation.