In the field of sustainable finance, Environmental-, Social- and Governance-ratings (ESG) have become an acknowledged measurement of a firm's sustainability performance. The increased awareness of sustainability issues in today's society is undeniable. However, based upon contradicting results from previous research, it was uncertain if investors were rewarding a firm’s sustainability efforts in the form of a lower cost of equity. The purpose of this thesis has therefore been to examine the relationship between sustainability, risk and valuation as well as stock-price behavior in times of crisis regarding large firms publicly listed in the Nordic countries. In order to fulfil the purpose, various multiple regression models have been conducted on quarterly data from the period between 2011 to 2020. The approach chosen to examine if ESG has a relation to the cost of equity has been to calculate the implied cost of equity inferred from consensus forecasts of future financial development and stock price at each point in time, also known as the ex-ante cost of equity. Since the independent variable ESG-score was not likely to be the sole variable to affect the independent variables in our multivariate regression models, we have followed previous studies in the choice of control variables. The empirical results of this study showed a significantly negative relationship between a firm’s ESG-score and the cost of equity. In addition, our results showed a significantly positive relationship between a firm’s ESG-score and both the price-to-earnings ratio as well as the price-to-book ratio while no significant relationship between a firm’s ESG-score and the enterprise value to earnings before interest and taxes ratio could be established. Finally, the results of this thesis showed that firms with a greater ESG-score generated excess returns during the latest market turmoil of 2020 caused by the Covid-19 outbreak. This thesis challenges the value-destruction view of ESG-efforts since our results indicate that investors are pricing sustainability risk with a negative risk premium in line with the value creation approach. No causality test has been performed during this study, however several possible mechanisms by which ESG impacts the valuation and crisis resistance have been discussed based upon previous research and the theoretical framework. We argue for the reduced cost of equity to reflect diminished information asymmetry, a larger investor base, improved growth and cash-flow opportunities as well as reduced risk for litigations as aconsequence of a more sustainable business conduct. To the best of our knowledge, no previous study on the topic has been conducted on the Nordic markets. This study fills thus a research gap on the relation between sustainability, risk andequity market valuation and we sincerely hope to have contributed to academia with new approaches.

Selon le droit de l'exécution des peines, un éventail de mesures judiciaires permet de déplacer un détenu vers l’extérieur des murs, de manière temporaire ou pérenne. Il s’agit d’un ensemble assez flou, appelé aménagements de peine. Un paradigme dominant des politiques publiques enjoint à favoriser les demandes de ces mesures de la part des détenus condamnés. L’idée est d’organiser des voies progressives de sortie. Les acteurs professionnels de la prison et de la justice s’accordent à considérer qu’il s’agit de la meilleure transition entre le dedans et le dehors. Pourtant, l’obtention d’une mesure telle que la libération conditionnelle ou la semi-liberté relève d’un processus très sélectif. Les professionnels enrôlés dans ces activités décisionnelles tiennent compte d’ordres de considérations contradictoires polarisées par, d’un côté, l’idéal de la réhabilitation du condamné, et, d’un autre côté, les préoccupations concernant la récidive. Il en résulte des dilemmes, et un chemin exigeant pour le condamné. Ces exigences, les professionnels leur donnent un sens, ils les transforment en épreuve traversée par un détenu singulier. Cette thèse prend pour objet la manière dont le justiciable, candidat à un aménagement de peine, se voit engagé à suivre un programme institutionnel, un curriculum de la réinsertion. Au cours de cette épreuve, le détenu est conduit à se rapprocher des attentes qui s’expriment à son égard, d’un schéma du bon candidat à ’aménagement de peine. Les gages qu’il doit présenter « enveloppent » tout ce qui fait une personne : gages d’insertion socio-économique, mais aussi gages d’une amélioration de son for intérieur, de son intimité psychique. Ces critères sont objectivés, notamment, par les expertises psychiatriques. Or, d’une manière ou d’une autre, l’ensemble des acteurs professionnels en prison, et même les bénévoles, sont mis à contribution dans ce projet institutionnel, qui prétend considérer comment le détenu a “évolué” en tant que personne. La thèse décrit cette économie morale : les relations de travail sous-tendues, en prison, par une politique pénale qui tend à gouverner les détenus en les enrôlant dans un programme dont on considère qu’il doit être voulu par le justiciable. / According to the law, a range of judicial measures allows to move a prisoner towards the outside of walls, in a temporary or long-lasting way. It is called sentencing reductions. One paradigm dominating public policies orders to favor the requests of these measures on behalf of the condemned prisoners. The idea is to organize progressive ways of release. The professional actors of the prison and the justice agree to consider that it is about the best transition between inside and the outside. Nevertheless, the obtaining of a measure such as the release on parole or the relative freedom is a matter of a very selective process. The professionals enlisted in these decision-making activities take into account orders of contradictory considerations polarized by, on one side, the ideal of the rehabilitation of the condemned person, and, on the other hand, the concerns concerning the recidivism. It results from it dilemmae, and demanding path for the condemned person. These requirements, the professionals give them a sense. They transform them into an meaningfull experience crossed by a singular prisoner. This dissertation takes for object the way the citizen, who applies to a sentencing reduction, get committed to follow an institutional program, a curriculum of the reintegration. During these hardships, the prisoner is driven to get closer to expectations which express themselves towards him/her. He is led into a plan of the good candidate for the sentencing reduction. The wages which he has to present "wrap" all which makes a person: wages of socioeconomic insertion, but also wages of an improvement of its heart of hearts, its psychic intimacy. These criteria are objectified, in particular, by psychiatric examinations. Yet, somehow or other, all the professional actors in prison, and even the volunteers, are put in contribution in this institutional project, which claims to consider how the prisoner "evolved". The dissertation describes this moral economy: the tend to govern the prisoners by enlisting them in a program of which we consider that they must desire to get hired into the programm.

The doctoral thesis is dealing with the questions about synergy business which is understood as clusters, strategic alliances and franchise. It investigates the influence of the selected synergy business on the change of the company value (market value or the objective one). The topic reacts on the contemporary economic trends where fusions and grouping of companies is happening in more levels. One of them is the fusion and acquisition. Second one are various forms of alliances and groupings which allows to companies cooperation, sharing of knowledge, marketing, risks, know-how etc. They allow to the small and middle size companies to increase their competitiveness against the big firms. The doctoral thesis is treating the effect of using one of the form of the synergy business, namely the franchise, on the company value. Because just the increase of the company value should be one of its basic goals. In the framework of the doctoral thesis was made a research with the goal to identify the changes of selected value generators, which determine as a whole the company value. On the basis of the research results there was made in the final part of the work model evaluation of some variants, simulating the value change caused by the change of the selected value generator and there was quantified the synergy effect coming from the use of synergy enterprise. At the end of the work there are summarised the results of the research and of the model determination of the company value, possible benefits for the practice and theory and there are mentioned some possible starting points for the following scientific work in this field.

Text in Afrikaans. / Die definisie van 'n huwelik tref 'n onderskeid tussen heteroseksuele en homoseksuele lewensmetgeselle ten opsigte van die bevoegdheid om te trou. Hierdie onderskeid op grond van seksuele georiënteerdheid mag moontlik ongrondwetlik wees. Voorts is daar 'n menigte regte en verpligtinge wat outomaties uit huweliksluiting spruit, maar nie outomaties op lewensverhoudings van toepassing is nie. Hierdie onderskeid op grond van huwelikstaat mag eweneens moontlik teen die bepalings van die Grondwet van die Republiek van Suid-Afrika, 1996 indruis. Hierdie studie is gevolglik daarop toegespits om ondersoek in te stel na die grondwetlikheid van hierdie twee onderskeide. Die ondersoek word geloods met verwysing na relevante wetgewing en regspraak. 'n Bondige oorsig van fundamentele regte word as agtergrond verskaf. Na afhandeling van die ondersoek word daar aandag geskenk aan die huidige en voorgestelde toekomstige erkenning en regulering van lewensverhoudings in die Suid-Afrikaanse reg, waarna die bevindings saamgevat en krities beoordeel word. SUMMARY The definition of marriage differentiates between heterosexual and homosexual life partners with regard to the capacity to marry. This differentiation on account of sexual orientation may possibly be unconstitutional. Furthermore there are a multitude of rights and obligations that automatically flow from marriage, which are not automatically applicable to life partnerships. This differentiation on account of marital status may also violate the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Accordingly this study is aimed at investigating the constitutionality of these two differentiations. The investigation is conducted with reference to relevant legislation and case law. A concise overview of fundamental rights is provided as background. In conclusion of the investigation, attention is paid to the present recognition and regulation of domestic partnerships in South African law, after which the findings are summarised and evaluated critically. / Jurisprudence / LL.M.

Prior to 1994, citizenship was one of the pillars upon which the erstwhile government's policy of separate development rested. The concepts of citizenship and nationality were manipulated by the apartheid government to justify the denationalisation of black people and the creation of different classes of citizenship. Race, colour and language were the distinguishing features used to classify people into the different classes of citizenship. With the advent of the new constitutional order in 1994, common citizenship and the rights associated with it were restored to all South Africans. This discussion shows how in the post-1994 constitutional order citizenship has become an element of nation-building, while on the other hand it continues to perpetuate discrimination against non-citizens. The study aims to further the debate regarding the ill treatment of non-citizens with a view of influencing legislative and policy reform to replace the existing laws which are biased against no-citizens. / Law / LL.M.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between attitudes towards supervisory support after training and work performance of employees at the Department of Education’s Nkangala District in Mpumalanga during 2008. The sample comprised a complete sampling frame of HR and finance personnel. A five-point Likert scale was used to evaluate the attitudes of respondents towards supervisory support, and their work performance scores were correlated with the ratings of the attitudes towards supervisory support after training. Pearson’s product- moment correlation coefficient (PPM) was used to assess the relationship between the two variables. The results showed no significant relationship between attitudes towards supervisory support and work performance. The ANOVA test found that a significant (p= .016) difference only existed between attitudes towards supervisory support and educational level. The hypothesis stated in this study was therefore rejected. / Human Resource Management / M. Tech. (Human Resource Development)

Thesis (LLM)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The rights entrenched in the Bill of Rights in South Africa’s final Constitution are, with a few exceptions, guaranteed to citizens and non-citizens alike. South Africa has seen an influx of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees since 1994, and this migratory movement has posed significant challenges to the post-apartheid legal order. This thesis is concerned with the State’s implementation of its constitutional obligations to protect and guarantee the constitutional rights of everyone within the borders of South Africa. It is important that these constitutional obligations do not remain mere aspirations but should translate into reality. Most non-citizens living in South Africa face numerous barriers to accessing justice and the processes that could enable them to realise their rights. The thesis examines the concept of “access to justice” and investigates a number of obstacles encountered by different categories of non-citizens – such as refugees, asylum seekers and documented and undocumented migrants – in trying to access justice and to realise their rights. Against this background, arrest, detention and deportation under the Immigration Act and Refugees Act are examined because these processes have often been abused by State officials to prevent non-citizens from accessing the rights and protections guaranteed in these Acts and the Constitution, and to frustrate the implementation of court orders vindicating the rights of non-citizens. The application of the Immigration and Refugees Acts is discussed through the lens of sections 12(1), 33, 34 and 35(2) of the Constitution which ensure that arrest, detention and deportation are done in a lawful and procedurally fair manner, as opposed to the arbitrariness that most non-citizens experience on a daily basis. Secondly, the thesis also examines access to justice for non-citizens in the context of xenophobia and bias based crimes. The State has in the past failed to respond in a coordinated and timely fashion in the face of violent manifestations of xenophobia. Against this background, the State’s obligation to protect non-citizens from violence from either public or private sources in terms of section 12(1)(c) of the Constitution is discussed and analysed. The role, accessibility and effectiveness of Equality Courts are also examined in light of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act and the cases that were brought before them emanating from xenophobic incidents. The thesis concludes with proposals on areas which require better implementation of existing laws; and areas in which legislative reform is needed. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die regte wat in die Handves van Regte in Suid-Afrika se finale Grondwet veranker is, word op enkele uitsonderings na vir burgers en nie-burgers gewaarborg. Sedert 1994 het Suid- Afrika instroming van migrante, asielsoekers en vlugtelinge beleef, en hierdie verskuiwing het wesenlike uitdagings aan die post-apartheid regsorde gestel. Hierdie tesis is gemoeid met die Staat se implementering van sy grondwetlike verpligting om die grondwetlike regte van almal wat hul binne Suid-Afrika se landsgrense bevind, te beskerm en te waarborg. Dit is belangrik dat hierdie grondwetlike verpligtinge nie blote aspirasies bly nie, maar ’n werklikheid word. Die meeste nie-burgers wat in Suid-Afrika woon staar talle hindernisse in die gesig wat dit vir hulle moeilik maak om toegang tot geregtigheid te verkry en om hul regte te verwesenlik. Die tesis ondersoek die begrip “toegang tot geregtigheid” en bekyk aantal struikelblokke in die weg van verskillende kategorieë nie-burgers – soos vlugtelinge, asielsoekers en gedokumenteerde en nie-gedokumenteerde migrante – wat toegang tot geregtigheid probeer verkry en hul regte probeer verwesenlik. Teen hierdie agtergrond word arrestasie, aanhouding en deportering ingevolge die Wet op Immigrasie en die Wet op Vlugtelinge ondersoek, aangesien hierdie prosesse dikwels deur staatsamptenare misbruik word om nie-burgers te verhinder om toegang te verkry tot die regte en beskermings wat in hierdie wetgewing en in die Grondwet gewaarborg word, en om geregtelike bevele wat die regte van nie-burgers afdwing, te verydel. Die toepassing van die Wet op Immigrasie en die Wet op Vlugtelinge word deur die lens van artikels 12(1), 33, 34 en 35(2) van die Grondwet bespreek, wat probeer verseker dat arrestasie, aanhouding en deportering op regmatige en prosedureel billike manier geskied, in teenstelling met die willekeur wat nie-burgers op daaglikse basis ervaar. Tweedens ondersoek die tesis toegang tot geregtigheid vir nie-burgers in die konteks van vreemdelingehaat en misdade wat op vooroordeel gebaseer is. Die Staat het in die verlede in gebreke gebly om in die aangesig van gewelddadige manifesterings van vreemdelingehaat op gekoördineerde en tydige manier te reageer. Die Staat se verpligting om ingevolge artikel 12(1)(c) van die Grondwet nie-burgers teen geweld van hetsy openbare hetsy private oorsprong te beskerm, word bespreek en ontleed. Die rol, toeganklikheid en doeltreffendheid van gelykheidshowe word ook bespreek in die lig van die Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act en die sake wat deur hierdie howe beslis is wat uit xenofobiese voorvalle voortspruit. Die tesis sluit af met voorstelle oor terreine waar beter implementering van bestaande wetgewing benodig word, asook terreine waar wetgewende hervorming verlang word.

This thesis looks into the analysis of iconography of the northern lateral portal of the Church of Our Lady before Týn. For this purpose this thesis summarizes the most important historiographical, Artististic Science and source literature related to this relic. Based on researched iconographic analysis this thesis aids to propose all possible solutions iconographic programme which could have been intended for this thesis. Based on the evaluation of literature, sources and on the formal analysis principal the objective of this thesis is to specify significantly problematic dating range (approximately from mid. 13th century up to late 1450) to shorter period of possible origin of the artwork there are also evaluated all available restauration reports and construction historical surveys related to the inspected relic.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T19:58:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Liniane Haag Brum.pdf: 6383423 bytes, checksum: 6702515acecea6ffb93b0307da91ddbe (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This dissertation is inscribed into a zone of interval between critics and literary creation, that is, between the critical discourse about a work, Before the past: silence comes from Araguaia (2012), by my authorship, and the potential creation of another work - Stone house. Its objective is to speculate possible points of view for the narrator of a potential narration stablished around what is to be said by another one, already published: the novel Before the past, inscribed in the post-dictatorial Brazilian literature. Our methodological strategy is structured around two cores. The first one embraces the analysis of Before the past: the silence which comes from Araguaia, which was based on the concepts of narrator, vestige and threshold according to Wayne Booth and Walter Benjamin studies. The second one is centered on the work in progress - Stone house and has as conceptual axis the notions of archive, act and potency came from Michel Foucault e Giorgio Agamben studies. From this context, emerges the proposition of giving ear and trying to identify, describe and analyze Before the past narrative voice procedures, departing from a site where we are settled simultaneously as a researcher and a reader who scrutinizes her own work. In Part II, the architectural mechanisms of Stone house are investigated by a reflexive voice, which mixes first and third persons that narrate the creation research construction in the form of a writer s book , in the light of the book Passages, by Walter Benjamin. As a result, we delineated a sort of literary cartography of proto-book, which is Stone house, based on collecting and organizing archives made of documental vestiges, memories, audiovisual interviews, photographs, written and oral narratives about Brazilian military dictatorship, and the disappearing and death through a fragile narration which tries to keep itself in a threshold between said and non said, creation and (un)creation / Esta dissertação inscreve-se numa zona intervalar entre a crítica e a criação literária, ou seja, entre o discurso crítico sobre uma obra, Antes do Passado o silêncio que vem do Araguaia (2012), de minha autoria, e a criação potencial de outra Casa de Pedra. O objetivo é o de especular possíveis pontos de vista para o narrador de um relato potencial cujo esteio está naquilo que ficou por dizer em outro, já publicado: o do romance Antes do Passado inscrito na literatura brasileira do período pós-ditatorial. A estratégia metodológica se estruturou em dois núcleos. O primeiro abrange a análise da narração de Antes do Passado o silêncio que vem do Araguaia, tendo como fundamentos os conceitos de narrador, rastro e limiar a partir dos estudos de Wayne Booth e Walter Benjamin. O segundo centra-se na obra em processo de criação - Casa de Pedra - e tem como eixo conceitual as noções de arquivo, ato e potência, a partir de Michel Foucault e Giorgio Agamben. Surge, deste contexto, a proposição de uma escuta que procura identificar, descrever e analisar procedimentos da voz narrativa de Antes do Passado, partindo de um lugar onde nos colocamos, simultaneamente, como pesquisadora e leitora que perscruta a própria obra. Já na Parte II, são investigados os mecanismos arquitetônicos de Casa de Pedra, por meio de uma voz reflexiva que mescla primeira e terceira pessoas, a narrar a construção da pesquisa de criação na forma de um Livro do Escritor , à luz do livro das Passagens de Walter Benjamin. Como resultado, delineamos uma espécie de cartografia literária de um proto-livro , que é Casa de Pedra, a partir da recolha e da organização de arquivos feitos de rastros de documentos, memórias, entrevistas audiovisuais, fotografias, narrativas verbais e escritas sobre a ditadura militar brasileira, o desaparecimento e a morte por meio de uma frágil narração que busca se manter no limiar entre o dito e o não dito, entre criação e des-criação

L’étude repose sur l’hypothèse que les aides d’État fiscales sont autonomes, se singularisant par rapport aux autres règles du droit fiscal de l’Union. Cela est dû au fait que la véritable nature de l’intégration, la véritable finalité du contrôle des aides fiscales, n’est pas facilement perceptible.Le régime des aides fiscales dépasse son cadre initial de contrôle des systèmes fiscaux pourintégrer celui d’élaboration de règles juridiques communes. Les autorités de l’Union, par le biais du régime des aides fiscales, contrôlent les systèmes fiscaux nationaux ; en même temps, elles parviennent à jouer un rôle important pour la coopération interétatique au regard de la lutte contrela concurrence fiscale dommageable. Plus important encore, elles réussissent à coordonner les systèmes fiscaux nationaux, procédant d’une instrumentalisation du contrôle des aides fiscales,contrôle étant conçu comme un succédané de l’harmonisation fiscale. La démonstration des finalités protéiformes de ce contrôle repose d’abord sur la méthode d’identification d’une aide fiscale, identification qui correspond aux finalités recherchées. La vérification de l’hypothèse initiale de singularisation des aides fiscales pose également la question de sa finalité. Ce contrôle est-il susceptible de façonner la structure même du droit fiscal de l’Union et, d’une manière plus substantielle, la répartition des compétences entre les autorités européennes et nationales ? Une technique comme celle du contrôle des aides fiscales peut-elle potentiellement contribuer à redéfinir la ligne de démarcation entre souveraineté fiscale des États membres et limitation tolérable de celle-ci par le droit de l’Union ? / This thesis is based on the premise that tax state aids differentiate themselves from other tax law related rules of the European Union. This is due to the fact that the true nature of the integration, the true purpose of the regulation of tax state aids, is not so easily discernible. The legal status oftax state aids outreaches its original scope—the scrutiny of fiscal systems—to integrate that of creation of common legal rules. The authorities of the Union, through the tax aids regime, monitor domestic tax systems; at the same time, they come to play an important role in the context of the interstate cooperation tackling harmful tax competition. More importantly, they manage to coordinate domestic tax systems as a result of the “instrumentalization” of the regulation of taxaids. The latter is then regarded as a substitute to tax harmonization. This manifestation of themultifarious objectives of tax state aids regulation is firstly based on the technique ofcharacterization of a tax aid, a characterization corresponding ultimately to the goals as expected.The proof of the initial hypothesis of the self-containment of tax aids raises the question of its purpose. Is this regulation likely to weave the very structure of Union tax law and, more substantially, the division of competences between European and domestic authorities? Is a technique like the one related to tax state aids regulation likely to contribute to redefining the dividing line between member States tax sovereignty and its tolerable limitation by Union law?