<p>The purpose of this Bachelor Thesis is to investigate if an independent private investor can form a reliable opinion about an investment company's strategy exclusively by public accessible sources. This is to be conducted by a case study of the investment company Bure Equity. Bure's strategy according to its public communication is compared to its actual performed activities.</p><p>The main results show that Bure follows its overall strategy relatively well. However, ambivalence exists, as they often choose to adapt their strategy to the given situation. With the results of this thesis, Bure's strategy is more understandable, defendable and above all consistent. An independent private investor can in fact gain a trustful picture of Bure's strategy by only having a look at their public documents and the media's publications. This however demands for detailed engagement in the topic. One way to facilitate the evaluation of a strategy for private investors in the future would be a higher transparency of the firm's documents.</p>

The starting point in industrial organization is the notion of perfect competition. In a market with perfect competition, everything is transparent. In particular, there is perfect information about price, product value and firms' actions. This dissertation deals with exceptions from the world of perfect competition. The first two essays deal with imperfect information about prices and firms' actions, whereas the third essay considers imperfect information about the value of the traded goods. The first essay "Transparency and Competition" asks the question If prices are more or less transparent, does that favour consumers or producers? Starting from a search model, where some consumers know prices and other have to search, it is shown that a greater price transparency, i.e. a lower search cost, reduces the price in a single play of the game. When the game is repeated, however, the lower is the search cost, the easier it is to sustain collusion. Thus, promoting greater price transparency reduces the price in the stage game at the risk of increased opportunity for collusion. The second essay "Does Advertising Prevent Collusion?" analyses the case when firms can transmit price information to consumers by advertising. In contrast to the first essay, improved price transparency through advertising always reduces the price. It is even shown that the mere possibility of advertising can reduce the price, when firms are colluding. Thus, it is important to distinguish between advertising by firms and price publication by a third party. The first fosters competition, whereas thesecond may be harmful. In the third essay "Underwriter Competition" it is not the price that is more or less transparent. Instead, we consider a situation where sellers cannot transfer knowledge about their product values to the buyers. In order to overcome this problem, sellers may hire a renowned third party, an underwriter, who can certify that the products are of a certain value. The question that is posed in this essay is What happens if sellers can chose between different underwriters? It is shown that the underwriter market is a natural monopoly, where the underwriter with the highest ability toassess the value of the products gets the whole market. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2001

In this thesis, the problem of controlling a surgical masterand slave system with force reflection is studied. The problemof stiff contacts between the slave and the environment isgiven specific attention. The work has been carried out at KTHbased on an initial cooperation with Karolinska Sjukhuset. Theaim of the over all project is to study the possibilities forintroduction of a force reflective teleoperator in neurologicalskullbase operations for the particular task of bone millingand thereby, hopefully, increase patient safety, decreasesurgeon workload and cost forthe society. The main contributions of this thesis are: Derivation of a dynamical model of the master andoperator’s finger system and, experimental identificationof ranges on model parameter values. Based on this model, theinteraction channel controllers optimized for transparency arederived and modified to avoid the influence of the uncertainmodel parameters. This results in a three channel structure. Todecrease the influence of the uncertain parameters locally atthe master, a control loop is designed such that the frequencyresponse of the reflected force is relatively unaffected by theuncertainties, a result also confirmed in a transparencyanalysis based on the H-matrix. The developed teleoperatorcontrol structure is tested in experiments where the operatorcould alter the contact force without facing any problems aslong as the slave is in contact with the environment. As a result of the severe difficulties for the teleoperatorto move from free space motion to in-contact manipulationwithout oscillative behaviour, a new detection algorithm basedon passivity theory is developed. The algorithm is able todetect the non-passive behaviour of the actual teleoperatorinduced by the discrete change in system dynamics occurring atthe contact instant. A stabilization controller to be activatedby the detection algorithm is designed and implemented on themaster side of the teleoperator. The detection algorithm andthe stabilization controller are shown highly effective in realexperiments. All major research results presented in the thesis have beenverified experimentally. KeywordsTeleoperator, Force Feedback, Passivity, StiffContacts, Control, Robustness, Transparency, Bone Milling,Uncertainty

<p>The study focused on financial reporting in the public sector with the view to understanding the impact of the present financial management system in South Africa is adding value to the measurable outcomes-based objective process as required by the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). The study determines the role of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) in financial reporting, in relation to the business plan (strategy) and measurable outcomes and results of the Department of Community Safety. The primary objective of this study was to perform an assessment of financial reporting and its effectiveness in terms of the PFMA as the legislative framework and the MTEF as a financial management tool. The secondary objectives were to: (1) to provide a theoretical perspective of public financial management and reporting in government / (2) to provide an&nbsp / verview of policies, legislation and strategies / (3) to record and develop a case study of financial reporting in the Western Cape Provincial Government within the Department of Community Safety (WCPG) / (4) to present the research findings on financial management, and (5), to apply the theoretical framework to the case study in order to develop findings.</p>

<p>Ethiopia is exercising decentralisation of the health system and thus this study assesses lessons learned about the experiences of the decentralization of institutions in heoretical terms. The problem investigated in this study concerns the lack of institutional capacity to effectively provide services, lack of transparency, responsibility and accountability. Decision making is also very remote from the people with regard to resource allocation and public health service delivery. The scope of this study covers the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People&rsquo / s Regional State of Ethiopia and its relationship with the Cheha District in the area of health service decentralization. The objective of this study was to identify fundamental elements of decentralization of health institutions and the impact on the performance of the health system at local government level in the Cheha District in Ethiopia.</p>

Opinions, rankings and evaluations of states’ development are proliferating. In the context of the transformation and EU accession of the Baltic States, there were many organizations involved in the scrutiny of their efforts to become accepted as modern and European. This scrutiny directed towards states can be seen as a new practice of transnational regulation. Especially in times of major transformation, as was the case in the Baltic States after the collapse of the Soviet bloc, monitoring and evaluation of achievements can be expected to shape how reforms were prioritized and how problems were perceived. In order to gain a better understanding of these transformations it is necessary to study the practice of organizations that scrutinize the states. The aim of the thesis is to analyze the role of scrutiny as a practice of transnational regulation. By analyzing how international organizations scrutinize states, this thesis adds knowledge to how transforming states are constructed in the everyday practices of scrutiny. A main argument is that by evaluating and reporting on states, international organizations can be seen as ‘auditors’ of transformations in states. The thesis compares three such ‘auditors’ and their respective relations to the states under scrutiny, namely: the European Commission, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the NGO Transparency International. The thesis contributes to discussions about the role of transnational regulation in the transformation of states. By comparing the three cases of scrutiny it is concluded that scrutiny produces both comfort and critique for and about these transforming states. In addition, through processes of scrutinizing, states are constructed as auditable and comparable. Scrutiny also inscribes states into a story about progress, it thus offers hope about reforms and of a better future.

Aim of the Thesis: To investigate from a company’s perspective if the pressure for companies to produce quarterly reports has turned away their attention from working towards long-term value creation. The companies investigated are listed on the large-cap section on the Swedish stock exchange (OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm AB). Methodology: A quantitative approach has been used and empirical data has been collected through questionnaires. The data has been analyzed and presented with descriptive statistics. Theoretical Perspectives: A literature review has been conducted and resulted in a theoretical framework illustrating the concepts of quarterly reporting, long-term value creating, short-termism and forecasting. Empirical data: The empirical data was collected by distributing questionnaires to the companies listed on the large-cap section of the OMX. Conclusion: Companies listed on the large cap section of the OMX do not perceive that the pressure to produce quarterly reports affects them in a negative way. The study also showed that many companies lack awareness of the risks associated with short-termism.

The purpose of this Bachelor Thesis is to investigate if an independent private investor can form a reliable opinion about an investment company's strategy exclusively by public accessible sources. This is to be conducted by a case study of the investment company Bure Equity. Bure's strategy according to its public communication is compared to its actual performed activities. The main results show that Bure follows its overall strategy relatively well. However, ambivalence exists, as they often choose to adapt their strategy to the given situation. With the results of this thesis, Bure's strategy is more understandable, defendable and above all consistent. An independent private investor can in fact gain a trustful picture of Bure's strategy by only having a look at their public documents and the media's publications. This however demands for detailed engagement in the topic. One way to facilitate the evaluation of a strategy for private investors in the future would be a higher transparency of the firm's documents.

<p>Development thinking in the 21st century has embraced the challenge to inform development practice towards managing the relationship between the macro and micro level of development,&nbsp / with an emphasis on people-centred development (PCD) and a participatory development approach (PDA). People-centred development advocates a process focused on people, which&nbsp / enables beneficiaries of communitydevelopment initiatives to empower themselves through participation. People-centred development has been universally accepted in the development&nbsp / community as the only viable option, with the potential to reverse decades of top-down approaches to development through the engagement of community stakeholders in a meaningful participation process. The social development scene in South Africa is characterised by a strong presence of the civil society in general and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in&nbsp / particular, which are major role players in socio-economic development at the grassroots. Most of these organisations are committed to participatory development methodologies in order to&nbsp / meet the needs of povertystricken communities in South Africa. This thesis critically assessed participatory development in the Small Business Development Departments&rsquo / (SBDD)&nbsp / programmes/projects at the Elgin Learning Foundation, in the Overberg district of the Western Cape. A qualitative research methodology was applied throughout the study. This research&nbsp / approach was chosen&nbsp / because the purpose of this project was to understand and describe community participation at the SBDD from an insider&rsquo / s perspective, and not to predict social action&nbsp / or make generalisations about it. Accordingly, observation, in-depth interviews, documentary analysis, and focus-group discussions were utilised for data collection. The study also used&nbsp / secondary sources of information, namely policy briefs, project proposals, annual evaluation reports, and minutes of meetings. The findings indicate that the community-development activities&nbsp / of the SBDD are very visible in the Overberg region, and that the organisation maintains good relationships with community stakeholders. In addition, the department contributes significantly towards entrepreneurship and skills development in the&nbsp / community, through its training and mentorship programmes. However, results also suggest that community-development at the SBDD is not always people-centred because training&nbsp / programmes are largely externally designed, monitored and evaluated, without taking into consideration the felt needs of the people. Participation that is perceived as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself can be described as tokenistic. In this light, the study recommends that the SBDD develops context-specific strategies to implement participatory methodologies at all stages&nbsp / of project-cycle management, in order to provide an enabling environment for the genuine participation of people at the grassroots. This approach can empower community members and build&nbsp / local institutional capacities to ensure project/programme sustainability in the long term.</p>

<p>This dissertation consists of two chapters studying monetary and fiscal policy. In the first chapter, I study the welfare benefits and costs of increased central bank transparency in a dynamic model of costly information acquisition where agents can either choose to gather new costly information or remember information from the past for free. Information is costly to acquire due to an agent's limited attention. Agents face an intratemporal decision on how to allocate attention across public and private signals within the period and an intertemporal decision on how to allocate attention over time. The model embeds a coordination externality into the dynamic framework which motivates agents to be overly attentive to public information and creates the possibility of costly transparency. Interestingly, allowing for intratemporal and intertempral tradeoffs for attention amplifies (attenuates) the benefits (costs) of earlier transparency whereas it attenuates (amplifies) the benefits (costs) of delayed transparency. </p><p>The second chapter, co-authored with Barbara Rossi and Atsushi Inoue, studies the empirical effects of unexpected changes in government spending and tax policy on heterogeneous agents. We use data from the Consumption Expenditure Survey (CEX) to estimate individual-level impulse responses as well as multipliers for government spending and tax policy shocks. The main empirical finding of this paper is that unexpected fiscal shocks have substantially different effects on consumers depending on their age, income levels, and education. In particular, the wealthiest individuals tend to behave according to the predictions of standard RBC models, whereas the poorest individuals tend to behave according to standard IS-LM (non-Ricardian) models, due to credit constraints. Furthermore, government spending policy shocks tend to decrease consumption inequality, whereas tax policy shocks most negatively affect the lives of the poor, more so than the rich, thus increasing consumption inequality.</p> / Dissertation