Syfte: Att revisorn behåller sitt oberoende i en revison är grundläggande inom redovisning. Tidigare forskning har påvisat att olika faktorer kan påverka revisorns objektivitet och på så sätt medverka till att revisorn begår kvalitetsreducerande handlingar, så kallade RAQ acts. Då intressenter måste kunna lita på att informationen i revisionen är korrekt för att kunna fatta informativa beslut är det viktigt att identifiera de faktorer som kan påverka revisorns objektivitet och på så sätt förhindra revisorn från att begå kvalitetsreducerande handlingar. Syftet är då att undersöka vilka faktorer som påverkar revisorns objektivitet och då främst om ett transformellt ledarskap från klienten har en påverkan på revisorns benägenhet att begå RAQ acts. Metod: Underlaget för studien kommer från en enkätundersökning som vi utfört för att samla in primärdata. Enkätundersökningen genomfördes på auktoriserade och godkända revisorer i Sverige. Vi har sedan använt statistikprogrammet SPSS statistics för att analysera svaren och datan och redovisat resultaten i tabellform. Resultat & slutsats: Resultaten från studien visar att tidspress är en faktor som påverkar revisorn till att begå RAQ acts. Dock finner vi inget statistiskt samband som styrker att ett transformellt ledarskap från klienten påverkar revisorns benägenhet att begå RAQ acts. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Studien skulle med fördel kunna genomföras igen då resultaten skulle kunna bli annorlunda vid en högre svarsfrekvens.Förslag på fortsatt forskning skulle även kunna vara att undersöka ytterligare faktorer som kan påverka revisorns objektivitet och dennes benägenhet att begå RAQ acts. Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien bidrar till att uppmärksamma behovet av att identifiera faktorer som påverkar revisorns objektivitet. / Aim: It´s essential that the auditor retains its independence in accounting. Previous research has shown that different factors may affect the auditor's objectivity and thus contribute to the auditor commits quality reduced actions, so called RAQ acts. The stakeholders need to be confident that the information in the audit is correct to make informative decisions, that‟s why it is important to identify the factors that may affect the auditor's objectivity and thus prevent the auditor from committing RAQ acts. The aim then is to examine the factors that affect the auditor's objectivity, primarily if transformational leadership from the client has an effect on the auditor's propensity to commit RAQ acts. Method: The data for the study comes from a survey we performed to collect raw data. The survey was conducted on authorized and certified accountants in Sweden. We then used the statistical program SPSS Statistics to analyze the responses and the data and reported the results in table form. Result & Conclusions: The study results show that the time pressure is a factor affecting accountant to commit RAQ acts. However, we find no statistical correlation showing that a transformational leadership from the client affects the auditor's propensity to commit RAQ acts. Suggestions for future research: The study could usefully be carried out again when the results would be different at a higher response rate. Suggestions for further research could also be examining other factors that may affect the auditor's objectivity and his/hers propensity to commit RAQ acts. Contribution of the thesis: The study helps to draw attention to the need to identify factors that affect the auditor's objectivity.

In contemporary capitalist economies such as the UK, it is commonly held that an increasing number of people and households experience anxiety over time and symptoms of 'time squeeze'. Existing accounts of the character and causes of this phenomenon are rather one-dimensional and lacking in nuance, however. In part, this is because they typically lack any substantial theoretical engagement with the concept of time itself. Accordingly, this research aims to provide a more complex and contextual account of experiences of working time (both paid and unpaid), and to investigate how and why experiences of time squeeze vary between individuals and social groups. This is achieved by calling upon an enriched understanding of time, and employing an instrumental case study built around a set of 50 semi-structured interviews with employees working in Oxford University's central IT department and four of its constituent colleges. The empirical findings reveal that the (quantitative) extent and (qualitative) nature of participants' temporal anxieties vary with occupation, social class, gender, age and family status, as well as the importance of institutional and local context. Furthermore, they demonstrate that contemporary time squeeze is generated by a variety of causal mechanisms relating to the duration, tempo and timing of both paid employment and unpaid reproductive work, and their intersections with the personal, natural, social, institutional and technological rhythms that variously constitute everyday life.

Tidigare forskning har visat att tidspress återfinns inom revisionsbranschen, vilket i sin tur visat sig vara en stor källa till stress. Forskning indikerar på att stressen kan leda till skadliga konsekvenser på välbefinnandet, men med hjälp av effektiva strategier kan de skadliga konsekvenserna motverkas. Det tycks existera ett forskningsgap gällande strategier för att hantera stress inom revisionskontexten, både ur individ- och organisationsperspektiv. Studiens syfte är därmed att få en förståelse för hur revisorer och revisionsbyråer hanterar stressen som tidspress medför, i form av olika strategier med ändamål att främja välbefinnandet. För att uppfylla studiens syfte har en kvalitativ forskningsmetod använts, i form av intervjuer med revisorer, revisorsassistenter och HR-medarbetare. Ämnet har studerats utifrån litteratur inom följande perspektiv: tidspress inom revision, tidspressens relation till stress, stressens inverkan på välbefinnandet samt strategier för att hantera stress. Studiens resultat visar att revisorer och revisorsassistenter använder strategier som både tar itu med känslorna som kan uppstå av stress och som går direkt till källan till stressen. De identifierade strategierna på individnivå är: planering & prioritering, hjälp & stöttning, gränssättning, återhämtning samt inställning. Det framgår att revisionsbyråernas arbete med att hantera stress är av stor vikt, och de strategier som identifierats är: kapning av toppar, mentorskap & nära ledarskap, externa stöd samt flexibilitet. Studiens slutsats visar på att revisorernas, revisorsassistenternas och revisionsbyråernas strategier är av stor betydelse för att reducera de negativa effekterna av stress inom revision och på så vis främja välbefinnandet. / Previous research shows that time pressure exists in auditing, which has shown to be a major source of stress. Research indicates that stress could lead to harmful consequences on the well-being, and with effective strategies these consequences can be reduced. There seems to exist a research gap concerning strategies to handle stress in auditing, both in an individual- and organizational perspective. The aim of this study is therefore to obtain an understanding of how auditors and audit firms handle stress from time pressure, in terms of strategies aiming to foster the well-being. To fulfill the aim a qualitative research method has been used, through interviews with auditors, audit assistants and HR-workers. The subject has been studied through literature in the following perspectives: time pressure in auditing, time pressure in relation to stress, the impact of stress on well-being and strategies to handle stress. The result of the study shows that auditors and audit assistants use strategies that both tackles the emotions from stress and the source of the stress. The identified strategies on the individual level are: planning & prioritizing, help & support, boundary setting, recovery and attitude. It appears that the work of the audit firms to handle stress is of importance, and the identified strategies are: cutting peaks, mentorship & close leadership, external support and flexibility. The conclusion of the study shows that auditors, audit assistants and auditing firms strategies is of great importance to reduce negative effects of stress and thereby foster the well-being.

Both literature and practice have looked at different strategies to diminish healthcare associated costs. As an extension to this stream of research, the present three paper dissertation addresses the issue of reducing elevated healthcare costs using analytics. The first paper looks at extending the benefits of auditing algorithms from mere detection of fraudulent providers to maximizing the deterrence from inappropriate behavior. Using the structure of the physicians' network, a new auditing algorithm is developed. Evaluation of the algorithm is performed using an agent-based simulation and an analytical model. A case study is also included to illustrate the application of the algorithm in the warranty domain. The second paper relies on experimental data to build a personalized medical recommender system geared towards re-enforcing price-sensitive prescription behavior. The study analyzes the impact of time pressure, and procedure cost and prescription prevalence/popularity on the physicians' use of the system's recommendations. The third paper investigates the relationship between patients' compliance and healthcare costs. The study includes a survey of the literature along with a longitudinal analysis of patients' data to determine factors leading to patients' non-compliance, and ways to alleviate it.

Tidigare forskning visar att många akademiker upplever hög arbetsbelastning och påtaglig tidspress på arbetsplatsen. Det kan leda till en konflikt mellan arbete och fritid. Tidspress och välmående är aktuella ämnen, vilket dagspressen styrker. Tidigare forskning upplever dessutom en kunskapslucka vad gäller forskning om obalans mellan arbete och fritid, samt vilket effekt det får på individens välmående. Studiens syfte är således att utforska hur redovisningskonsulten upplever tidspress utifrån ett välmåendeperspektiv. För att besvara syftet har en kvalitativ studie genomförts. Tidspress utforskas från tre håll: tidsdeadlinepress, tidsbudgetpress och arbetsbelastning. I begreppet välmående inkluderas life satisfaction, job satisfaction och work life balance. Studien bygger på empiri från åtta redovisningskonsulter aktiva på redovisningsbyråer i södra Sverige. Empiriinsamling har skett genom en metodtriangulering bestående av intervjuer, observationer och dokumentär forskning, detta för att öka studiens tillförlitlighet. Studiens resultat visar att uppkomsten av tidspress i redovisningsbranschen bland annat beror på dokumentationskrav, avbrott i arbetet och kundens förväntningar. Trots tidspress och ojämn arbetsbelastning trivs redovisningskonsulten med sitt arbete. Dock uppstår situationer där tidspressen tar överhanden, vilket resulterar i negativa konsekvenser för redovisningskonsultens välmående. Omfattningen av tidspress och arbetsbelastning redovisningskonsulten känner sig bekväm med kan hänföras till individens personliga egenskaper. Slutsatsen visar att redovisningskonsultens personliga egenskaper är avgörande för hur tidspress upplevs. Om tidspressen tar överhanden, vilket är individuellt och beror på personliga egenskaper, återspeglas det genast genom obalans mellan arbete och fritid, vilket resulterar i minskat välmående hos redovisningskonsulten. / Previous research shows that many academics experience a high level of workload and time pressure at work, which could lead to a work life conflict. Time pressure and well-being are current topics, which is evidenced in the daily press.  Previous research indicates a knowledge gap regarding research about work life balance, and its effect on the well-being of individuals. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore how accountants experience time pressure, from a well-being perspective. In order to fullfil the purpose of the study, a qualitative method was chosen. Time pressure has been explored from three perspectives: time deadline pressure, time budget pressure, and workload. The term well-being includes life satisfaction, job satisfaction, and work life balance. This study is based on empirical material gathered from eight accountants settled in southern Sweden. To increase reliability of the study, empirical data have been collected through a method triangulation consisting of interviews, observations and documentary research. The result of this study shows that occurrence of time pressure in the accounting profession is dependent on documentation requirements, constant interruptions and the expectations of the client. Despite time pressure and workload, the accountants are pleased with their profession. However, situations occur when time pressure is prevailing, which negatively impacts accountants’ well-being. The extent of time pressure and workload that accountants feel comfortable with depends on personal characteristics. The findings show that personal characteristics are crucial regarding how the accountant experience time pressure. Depending on personal characteristics, if time pressure is prevailing it instantly leads to an imbalance between work and life, which results in decreased well-being for accountants.

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2016-06-20T14:37:52Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Rejane Alexandrina Domingues Pereira do Prado.pdf: 1433567 bytes, checksum: 7e9c68d708cb016f14f5e67fa4725585 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-20T14:37:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rejane Alexandrina Domingues Pereira do Prado.pdf: 1433567 bytes, checksum: 7e9c68d708cb016f14f5e67fa4725585 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-20 / The term omission neglect encompasses the insensitivity of the consumer before the lack of information about such aspects as products and/or service characteristics, quality and options, as well as other factors. Omission neglect occurs when only part of the necessary information for analysis is present. Furthermore, this lack of information may not even be noticed, which leads to negligence in the decision-making process. This phenomenon has been studied since 1998, beginning in the United States, and has been researched in different contexts since then. However, studies on the effect of time pressure on omission neglect has not been found so far, which sets up a new investigation problem. Because individuals may not recognize omission of information in the purchase decision processes, notably in the evaluation of alternatives, consumption mistakes of either lower or higher degree may occur. Also, considering that time pressure is a factor that may also damage the quality of decisions, this study tried to identify the time pressure effect on omission neglect. Eight hypotheses were tested in two different experiments. The results allowed us to identify the time pressure effect on the negligence of information omission, the non-congruence between subjective expertise and objective expertise, and also identified that omission salience cancels the time pressure effect. / O termo negligência da omissão compreende a insensibilidade do consumidor diante da ausência de informações, tais como características dos produtos e/ou serviços, qualidade e opções, entre outros fatores. Ocorre a negligência da omissão quando, em determinada situação, tem-se apenas parte das informações necessárias para análise, não se percebendo a ausência de outras, o que resulta na negligência das mesmas. Esse fenômeno começou a ser estudado em 1988, nos Estados Unidos, e, nos últimos anos, tem sido pesquisado em diversos contextos. Todavia, até o presente momento, não foram localizados estudos sobre o efeito da pressão do tempo na negligência da omissão, configurando-se esta uma nova problemática de investigação. Dada a relevância do estudo, pois o indivíduo que não reconhece a omissão de informações nos processos de decisão de compra, notadamente na avaliação das alternativas, pode incorrer em erros de consumo de menor ou maior grau, e considerando que a pressão do tempo é um fator que pode prejudicar a qualidade das decisões, buscou-se identificar o efeito da pressão do tempo na negligência da omissão de informações. Foram testadas oito hipóteses em dois experimentos distintos. Os resultados alcançados permitiram identificar o efeito da pressão do tempo na negligência da omissão de informações, a não congruência entre expertise subjetiva e expertise objetiva e, ainda, identificou-se que a saliência da omissão anula o efeito da pressão do tempo.

I detta självständiga arbete undersöks en lärandeprocess i musikalisk komposition under tidspress. Sex kompositioner skrivs utifrån tre olika tidsbegränsningar: fyra dagar, två dagar och tre timmar. Till varje deadline skrivs två kompositioner. Studien utgår ifrån ett fenomenologiskt perspektiv med stöd i forskning och litteratur kring musikalisk komposition och att jobba under tidspress. Loggbok och videoobservation används som dokumentationsmetoder och för att analysera materialet används metoden tematisk analys. Resultatet besvarar de två frågeställningarna: Hur upplever jag att arbeta med tidspress? Vilka metoder använder jag för att klara tidsfristen? Resultatet delas in till fyra teman utefter valda tidsbegränsningen: Komposition på fyra dagar, komposition på två dagar och komposition på tre timmar. Dessa fyra teman innehar underrubrikerna: kompositionens metoder och hur tidspress upplevs i kompositionen. I diskussionen sätts dessa resultat i relation till vald litteratur, forskning och fenomenologiskt perspektiv i ett diskussionskapitel. / In this self-study, I explore my own learning process in musical composition during time pressure. Six compositions are written with three different deadlines: four days, two days and three hours. There are two compositions for each deadline. The study is based on a phenomenological perspective with supporting literature and scientific research on musical composition and the correlation between work and time pressure. This study uses log records and video observations as methods of documentation while thematic analysis is used to analyze the collected data. The result answers two questions: How I experience working with limited time? and What methods are used to finish in time? The result is split into four categories each after its own deadline: four day composition, two day composition and three hour composition. These four categories have two subcategories: The compositions method and the experience in composing with time pressure. In the discussion, these results are set in relation to the selected literature, research and the phenomenological perspective.

Recent stressful environments within military and non-military domains are producing a new challenge for the lab-based study of stress on task performance, one that requires knowledge of underlying cognitive-motivational and goal orientation factors. Results of recent stress on task performance research traditionally employ metaphorical explanations (i.e., resource theory) in order to rapidly apply stimulus-response outcomes to the real world counterparts. This dissertation provides an alternative perspective about these metaphorical, or black box, interpretations and reveals how they may be confounded with respect to the intended real world counterpart. To examine how voluntary human control can influence traditional stress/no-stress research findings, traditional as well as exploratory paradigms were presented. Both noise and time pressure conditions produced significant differences between experimental and control groups on visual discrimination. However, when analogous cash payment-contingency conditions were employed, the traditional stress/no-stress findings were not evident. In addition, a second experiment revealed that this trend of differences (and non-differences) held consistently over 30 minutes of interrupted task performance time. This study indicates the importance of developing more diagnostic measures that include assessments of how the differences between participants' and the generalized operators' goals and motivations may alter results in stressful task environments.

This study is about teachers in socially oriented subjects and their attitudes and experiences regarding working with controversial issues in teaching. Previous research has shown that there are shortcomings and major challenges in handling controversial subjects in the classroom. Therefore, I chose to investigate this by interviewing eight subject teachers in socially oriented subjects. The purpose of the study was to examine different teachers' work with controversial issues and their experiences of opportunities and challenges respectively in teaching controversial subjects. After conducting a qualitative interview study with eight teachers, the results were consistent with previous research. The results of the study indicate a lack of time and challenges associated with working on controversial issues, as they are difficult to handle and can lead to conflicts and disruptions in the classroom. Consequently, some teachers choose not to teach about controversial issues. However, on the other hand, the results of the study show that there were teachers who encouraged working with controversial issues as they considered it important to socialize students into society by addressing controversial topics. They believed that by doing so, students develop into democratic citizens with political tolerance. Another interesting finding from the interview study is that certain schools as a whole choose not to work with controversial issues to avoid negative consequences. This is interesting because other schools in the study, for example, those with UN profiles, focus on challenging students with controversial issues to develop them into democratic citizens of society. One can therefore conclude that working with controversial issues is a task that must involve the entire school, not just the teacher, as it requires efforts from management, colleagues, teachers, and students. Thus, in schools where only the teacher is responsible for addressing controversial issues without support from management or colleagues, it may lead to a reduction in teaching on controversial subjects.

Revisorn ska verka för allmänhetens bästa (Volcker, 2002) men verkligheten är långt mer komplicerad. Den allokerade tiden per uppdrag (tidsbudget) har minskat till följd av revisionsbranschens kommersialisering. Revisionsbyråerna behöver därför ta ställning till huruvida de kan tänkas genomföra ett revisionsuppdrag till ett lägre pris utan att kompromissa med kvalitén. Revisorer utsätts således för tidspress i form av time budget pressure då de tvingas genomföra revisionsuppdrag på kortare tid. Dysfunktionellt beteende är ofta följden av TBP (time budget pressure) som i sin tur sänker revisionskvalitén. Det saknas forskning som explicit undersöker hur TBP kan minskas. Uppsatsens syfte är att förklara huruvida ett belöningssystem kan användas för att lindra revisorns upplevda TBP. Ett välutvecklat belöningssystem kan möjligen vara lösningen då belöningar motiverar personalen. Empirin samlades in med hjälp av en webbaserad enkätundersökning. 350 e-mail innehållandes en länk till enkäten skickades ut till godkända samt auktoriserade revisorer på de fem största revisionsbyråerna i Sverige. E-mailet innehöll även en uppmaning att sprida enkäten vidare på kontoret i hopp om att nå revisorsassistenterna. 58 svar erhölls. Resultatet påvisar att revisorerna inte upplever TBP i någon stor utsträckning. Det är inte vanligt förekommande med yttre monetära belöningar bland revisorerna men inre icke-monetära belöningar förekommer i stor utsträckning. Belöningssystemen som implementeras motiverar revisorerna men belöningssystem, i sin helhet, kan inte användas för att lindra en revisors upplevda TBP. / Accountants are intended to further the public interest (Volcker, 2002) but the reality of the business is far more complicated. The allocated time per audit assignment (time budget) have been reduced as a consequence of the commercialization of the accountancy market. Accountancy firms are required to either accept a lower client fee or possibly lose the client. The cost-quality issue means that accountancy firms have to balance cost savings and quality of service and consequently the accountants are forced to finalize audit assignments in a shorter period of time. Thus time budget pressure (TBP) arises. Dysfunctional behaviour is a common outcome of TBP consequently affecting audit quality. There are however no research whose aim is to explain the factors possible of reducing TBP. The purpose of this thesis is to explain whether a reward system can be utilized to reduce TBP affecting accountants. A well-designed reward system is a plausible solution to the problem of TBP because of the fact that rewards motivates personnel. The empirical evidence was gathered using an online-questionnaire. 350 e-mails were sent to approved and authorized accountants currently working at one of the five largest accountancy firms in Sweden. The e-mail contained a link to the questionnaire as well as an appeal too forward the questionnaire internally with the intent of reaching the firms’ assistant accountants. 58 respondents participated. The results show that accountants does not experience a high degree of TBP. Extrinsic monetary rewards are perceived as frequently occurring and intrinsic non-monetary rewards are perceived as less-frequently occurring by the accountants. The reward system currently implemented are contributing to the accountants’ motivation but reward systems cannot be utilized to reduce TBP affecting accountants.