The thesis had its starting point in the first paragraph of the eleventh chapter in the Swedish social services act, which discusses the immediate risk assessments that has to be made when the social services receive a report about a child. The thesis highlights an area that has received a lot of attention in media since the spring of 2014, when an eight year old girl was fatally abused by her legal guardians. The social services had at the time received a report about the girl but it was left unread. This tragic case has brought attention to the routines used by the social services for dealing with reports and risk assessments. This thesis was conducted through individual interviews with social workers working with children and families in the social services, with the aim to acquire an enhanced understanding of how social workers perform immediate risk assessments and what these assessments are based on. The results of the study showed that several of the municipalities had a routine for how to handle incoming reports, but lacked specific routines regarding the immediate risk assessments. Without specific routines, the informants stated experience, intuition and cooperation with co-workers and managers as important factors of making risk assessments. / Studien tog avstamp i socialtjänstlagens elfte kapitel, första paragrafen, vilken behandlar den omedelbara skyddsbedömning som ska göras av socialtjänsten vid en inkommen anmälan gällande ett barn. Studien belyser ett medialt uppmärksammat område som sedan våren 2014 blivit vida diskuterat då en åttaårig flicka misshandlades till döds av sina vårdnadshavare. Socialtjänsten hade då fått in en anmälan om flickan men som ingen ännu hade läst. Detta tragiska fall har uppmärksammat socialtjänstens rutiner kring anmälningar och hur de genomför skyddsbedömningar. Studien genomfördes genom individuella intervjuer med socialsekreterare som arbetar inom Barn och familj i socialtjänsten och syftet med studien var att få en ökad förståelse för hur socialsekreterarna utför skyddsbedömningar och vad som ligger till grund för dessa bedömningar. Studiens resultat visade att det i flera av kommunerna fanns en rutin för hur en inkommen anmälan skulle hanteras, men att det saknades specifika riktlinjer för hur de omedelbara skyddsbedömningarna skulle göras. I avsaknad av specifika riktlinjer uppgav informanterna att erfarenhet, intuition och samarbete med kollegor och chefer utgjorde viktiga delar av att göra skyddsbedömningar.

One of the most conspicuous features of mergers is that they come in waves that are correlated with increases in share prices and price/earnings ratios. We use a natural way to discriminate between pure stock market influences on firm decisions and other influences by examining merger patterns for both listed and unlisted firms. If "real" changes in the economy drive merger waves, as some neoclassical theories of mergers predict, both listed and unlisted firms should experience waves. We find significant differences between listed and unlisted firms as predicted by behavioral theories of merger waves. (author's abstract)

För att värna om finansiell stabilitet utförs kontinuerligt bedömningar utav de risker och hot som återfinns mot det finansiella systemet, man granskar också det finansiella systemets motståndskraft emot dessa. För att förhindra att nya bankkriser uppstår införs med jämna mellanrum nya regleringar. Däribland skall en ny redovisningsmodell implementeras för redovisning utav kreditförluster – Expected loss model. Denna redovisningsmodell ger upphov till ett ökat inslag av bedömningar vid redovisning utav kreditförluster. Det blir därmed intressant att försöka förklara banktjänstemäns och revisorers uppfattningar angående subjektiva bedömningar och dess påverkan på en rättvisande bild vid redovisning utav kreditförluster. Genom att tillämpa en abduktiv ansats i studien har en växling mellan empirisk och teoretisk reflektion möjliggjorts vid skapande utav hypotesen. Med hjälp utav ett webbaserat frågformulär har man undersökt banktjänstemän och revisorers uppfattningar angående i vilken utsträckning subjektiva bedömningar leder till en rättvisande bild vid redovisning utav kreditförluster. Frågeformuläret tilldelades banktjänstemän som dagligen arbetar med förlustavsättningar och samtliga auktoriserade revisorer vilka är medlemmar i FAR. Empirin har sedan bearbetats statistiskt för att kunna testa den hypotes som tagits fram med bakgrund i studiens teoretiska referensram. Genom denna studie har man statistiskt kunnat säkerställa att det återfinns en skillnad i uppfattningar mellan banktjänstemän och revisorer angående hur subjektiva bedömningar speglar en rättvisande bild utav bankens kreditkvalitet. Man kan således i enlighet med studiens hypotes påvisa att banktjänstemän i större utsträckning anser att subjektiva bedömningar leder till en mer rättvisande bild utav bankens kreditkvalitet. Då bedömningar med stor sannolikhet förändras i samklang med rådande marknadsklimat och aktuella redovisningsstandarder anser man att studien fyller en kunskapslucka inom området. / To protect the financial stability, assessments of the risk and threats to the financial system are carried out continuously. Also, the financial system’s resilience against these risks and threats is reviewed. To prevent creation of new bank crisis new regulation are implemented continuously. Among these, a new accounting model is implemented for the accounting of credit losses - Expected loss model. This accounting model gives rise to an increase in the use of assessments in the accounting of credit losses. This makes it interesting to try explaining bank office workers and auditors’ perceptions regarding subjective judgments and their impact on a true and fair view in accounting of credit losses. The application of an abductive view in the study made it possible to switch between empirical and theoretical reflections to be used in the creation of the hypothesis. An investigation of bank office workers and auditors’ perceptions regarding the extent to which subjective judgments impacts a true and fair view in accounting of credit losses was carried out through a questionnaire. The questionnaire was handed to bankers who in their daily work are in contact with loss provision and to all certified public accountants that are members of FAR. The result was then statistically processed in order to test the hypotheses which have been created from the study’s theoretical framework. This study has statistically made it possible to show that there is a difference in perceptions between bank office workers and auditors’ regarding how subjective judgments reflect a true and fair value of the bank’s credit quality. Therefore it is possible in accordance with the study’s hypothesis to prove that bank office workers to a greater extent believe that subjective judgments lead to a more true and fair value in accounting for credit losses. Since assessments with high probability change in consistence with current market conditions and accounting standards, it is believed that the study fills a knowledge gap in the field.

An employee is usually entitled to representation in a disciplinary hearing. The question arises whether this representation includes legal representation or whether it is limited to representation by union representatives or a fellow employee? An employee's right to legal representation will in most cases be determined by a collective agreement, the employment contract or a disciplinary code. Over the years the Courts have indicated that they are not prepared to grant an absolute right to legal representation in disciplinary enquiries. Yet in some cases the courts found legal representation to be a sine qua non for a fair hearing and an intrinsic part of natural justice. It seems that the conclusion that can be drawn from this research is that legal representation might soon become a requirement for a fair disciplinary hearing in serious and complex matters. This research looks at numerous decisions both in die public and private sector before and after 1994. The right to legal representation is also discussed in the light of a fair hearing. The various advantages and disadvantages of legal representation are briefly examined. It is argued that all employees should be granted legal representation in complex and serious matters where the employee is likely to be dismissed. It is thus said that all presiding officers should be granted a discretion to allow legal representation in serious and complex matters. / Thesis (LL.M. (Labour Law))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Principals are required to continuously exercise their discretion on a variety of matters that affect schools, teachers, children and communities. In spite of this reality, not much study has been done in this area of the principal’s job. In this study I examine discretionary decision-making in areas of discipline, budgets and staff management. I found that principals seek to balance the needs of their students against defensibility of their actions within the context of seemingly conflicting school board policies, school policies and superintendents expectations. I present a new conceptual model for discretion and a call for careful policy writing, increased understanding of discretion by administrators and further studies which would include the perspectives of those affected by principals’ decisions.

The honour-related violence and opression got more attention in the years 1999 and 2002, when two young women were murdered in the name of honour in Sweden. Honour-related violence is associated with a so called honour culture, which for many symbolize the oppression of a women. It is a fact that not only girls and women are victims of this culture but also many young men and boys are exposed. The aim of this study is to illustrate how individual social workers handle cases where boys and young men are exposed to violence and oppression on the basis of the theory of discretion. In this study a qualitative research strategy has been used which involves the implementation of semi-structured interviews in the collection of empirical data. This is because I am interested in social workers own experiences and perceptions but also for having my researched questions being answered. The results show that in all five communities there are no local guidelines or plan to work for an effective management of honour-related cases.

This is a study about employment officers at the Swedish public employment service. The aim of this study was to examine how they understand and use their discretion in their daily work. We used a qualitative method and the data was gathered by semi-structured interviews with eight employment officers working at the same office in a small town in Sweden. Lipskys theory about street-level bureaucracy and Lazarus description of coping theory are applied to analyze the empirical data. The work for the Swedish employment officers have changed over the last years with an increasing focus on control and administration. The results from the study show that the employment officers considered that they have a freedom of action in their daily work about planning their meetings, but all of them thinks that the administration, and the fact that they have to handle too many unemployed means that they are lack of time, what leads to a negative impact on their discretion. All of the interviewed subjects indicated that the Swedish public employment service has a top-down organization. We found that the informants used a unified strategy to cope dilemmas by referring to the existing laws, both when they handled disgruntled unemployed and even as a way to cope their own liable situations. They could interpret the laws in different ways and they took help from the colleagues at the local office to decide how to interpret the laws. Even if dilemma was common in their work with the unemployed, they considered that their mission to control was mainly positive. The main reasons, to how the employment officers margin for manoeuvre are limited, appears to be the laws, the regulations and the available efforts for the unemployed.

Principals are required to continuously exercise their discretion on a variety of matters that affect schools, teachers, children and communities. In spite of this reality, not much study has been done in this area of the principal’s job. In this study I examine discretionary decision-making in areas of discipline, budgets and staff management. I found that principals seek to balance the needs of their students against defensibility of their actions within the context of seemingly conflicting school board policies, school policies and superintendents expectations. I present a new conceptual model for discretion and a call for careful policy writing, increased understanding of discretion by administrators and further studies which would include the perspectives of those affected by principals’ decisions.

Although police generally exercise wide discretionary powers across most of their duties, it is with respect to young people that these powers are the most extensive. Both sociological and psychological factors influence the use of police discretionary powers. There are said to be strong relationships between authoritarianism, for example, and justice outcomes. Other measures, such as cynicism and punitiveness, have been observed to be influential predictors of police behaviour. Extending the work on jury decision-making, along with other police research, the present research examines use of police discretionary powers with young offenders. Sworn police officers from two jurisdictions, New Zealand and New South Wales, responded to written surveys about their past and intended future behaviour surrounding four crimes most commonly conducted by young offenders. In all, over 500 officers took part in the studies. Further, participants responded to a battery of personality and attitude questionnaires, along with questions about situational variables normally taken into consideration by officers. Results show that police behaviour towards the same offending varies greatly, both within and across jurisdictions. New Zealand police officers were much more likely than New South Wales police officers to report that they diverted, rather than arrested, young offenders who had committed shoplifting and burglary offences. However, when responding to scenarios of underage drinking and assault, it was New South Wales police who were more likely to divert young offenders. There were very few significant relationships between attitudes and behaviour when examining either group, with significant results possibly being a side effect of large sample sizes. Further there were few significant relationships when considering demographic or situational variables. However, in an exploration of police personality, through cluster analysis, evidence was found for different 'typologies', or resonances, of police. The results indicate that police are not an homogenous group. In addition, quite complex relationships between measures of police behaviour and individual difference were found within the resonances, with effect sizes showing moderate results. The findings support the need to investigate further personality typologies and extend them to the examination of attitude-behaviour relationships. In addition, research into the use of an attitudinal measure, such as discretionary ideology, as an alternative to measuring behaviour could be expanded. Moreover, broadening of the research into additional areas of the juvenile justice systems, such as legal representatives, magistrates, and youth detention centre officers, would provide further insight into the appropriate use of discretion within juvenile justice for both minor offending and more serious offending. / thesis (PhDBusinessandManagement)--University of South Australia, 2004.

Thesis (J.C.L.)--Catholic University of America, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-55).