Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur moderbolagets aktiekurs reagerar, därmed påvisa eventuell onormal avkastning när ett moderbolag beslutar sig för och sedan avyttrar en del av ett dotterbolag till börsen (Equity Carve‐Out). Delsyftet är att undersöka sambandet mellan onormalavkastning i storleken på avyttrade andelar samt beskriva de motiv som anges och analysera detta mot storleken på avknoppad andel. Metod: Undersökningen är en eventstudie med en kvantitativ ansats. Empirin består av sekundärdata i form av börskurser och index. Teori: Eventstudien bygger på hypotesen om effektiva marknader, teorin om asymmetrisk information, agent teori samt teorin om avknoppningsfördelar. Empiri: Eventstudien bygger på 25 Equity Carve‐Outs genomförda mellan åren 1991‐2007 och behandlar aktieutvecklingen dels vid beslut och dels vid genomförandet av en avknoppning, detta relateras sedan till tidigare forskning. Resultat ECO mellan åren 1991 och 2007 har generellt medfört svagt positiva priseffekter vid beslutet om avknoppning och positiva priseffekter vid avyttringen. En ECO motsäger sig inte den effektiva marknadshypotesen i dess halvstarka form. Det finns inget samband i marknadsreaktionen beroende på storleken i avyttrad andel. Angivna motiv skiljer sig generellt inte beroende på hur stor andel som avyttras. / Purpose: The aim of this bachelor thesis paper is to investigate parent company stock market reactions to decision and sale of a subsidiary through an Equity Carve‐Out. A secondary purpose is to investigate the correlation between the abnormal returns and the amount of stocks sold in a subsidiary and describe the motives associated whit the sale, and relate those motives to the amount of stocks sold in the subsidiary. Methodology: An event study with a quantitative approach based on empirics consisting of abnormal returns, calculated based on the adjusted market model. Theoretical perspectives: This study is based on the efficient market hypothesis, asymmetric information hypothesis, agency theory and divestiture gains hypothesis. Empirical foundation: The study is based on 25 Equity Carve‐Outs during the period 1991‐2007 on the Swedish stock exchange. Conclusion <ul type="disc">Equity Carve‐Outs between 1991 and 2007 have generated slightly positive price effects at the time of decision and increasingly positive price effects at the time of the sale. An Equity Carve‐Out does not contradict the efficient market theory. There is no immediate correlation between the market reaction and the size in the subsidiary retained. Parent company motives do not differ depending on the size in the subsidiary retained.

The purpose of this study is to develop a sustainable community in a village called Sahmuratli inYozgat, Turkey based on the remarkable case of a Swedish eco-village called Hagaby. TheKerkenes Eco-Center in Sahmuratli village provides the essential baseline for the village toconvert it into a sustainable community in terms of social and economic dimensions ofsustainability. Survey and interview methods were used to collect information about the Eco-Center. The overall outcome of the study is that the the Kerkenes Eco-Center can become asignificant initiative to promote sustainable community development in terms of promotingeconomic welfare and increasing social relationships among the village community throughvarious practices influenced by Hagaby in Uppsala, Sweden.

The overall aim with this thesis is to create a broader understanding of how the EMS tool works in local authorities. This means to study whether EMS is a useful tool for managing the environmental impact from the local authorities' activities and by highlighting its strengths and weaknesses as a tool. EMS is a tool that is used on a voluntary basis that aims at improving organisations' environmental performance. There are several standards for designing EMSs; however, this thesis focuses on EMSs designed according to the principles of the international standard ISO 14001 and the EU regulation Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). The standards are based on a wide range of requirements. If these requirements are fulfilled, the organisation can choose to get its EMS certified by a third party. The EMS tool is frequently used in the private sector, and it is sometimes argued that it is designed for private (industrial) organisations. However, local authorities worldwide have shown an increased interest in EMSs since the mid 1990s. The EMS use in the private sector has been subject to some critique. For example, there is a risk that the tool is used only to get another certificate in order to increase their legitimacy, which means that there is a risk that the environmental issues are neglected. Until now, little academic research has been conducted concerning EMS use in local authorities. Therefore, it is interesting to study what approaches local authorities have to EMSs. Mainly Swedish local authorities have been studied for this thesis. Many Swedish local authorities have been using EMSs for a fairly long time, which means that they have a certain amount of experience from this using tool. The local authorities' approaches to EMS use have been studied from several perspectives using postal surveys, interviews, and case study methodology. This means that the research has a strong empirical foundation. The EMS use in Swedish local authorities is fairly common, since almost half of them are in the process of implementing EMSs in all or some of their departments. The main reason for implementing EMSs is to improve the structure of their environmental management. The local authorities often use ISO 14001 and/or EMAS as inspiration and design the EMSs according to their local conditions and ambitions, thus certification of the EMSs is seldom an aim. Although many local authorities seem to use EMSs in a reflective and sensible way, several barriers or difficulties - for example, maintaining continuity and ensuring follow-up of the environmental improvements - have been discovered. Furthermore, the EMSs that are being implemented often exclude environmental impact related to their exercise of authority since it is difficult and abstract. Including environmental impact related to these activities is often seen as a matter of maturity. To develop the organisations' EMSs, internal and external communication and interaction is experienced as very important. Such issues contribute to the EMS maturity processes, since the local authorities find new inspiration, knowledge, and motivation to further develop the EMS processes and, as a consequence, improve their environmental performance.

The purpose of this thesis is to assess and compare the energy consumption and carbon footprints of two, online and offline, major movie rental services in Canada. The thesis is divided into two parts that represent two papers that are being published. The comprehensive literature survey provides the state-of-the-art in E-Commerce carbon footprinting with a new categorization framework. The model development and application compares the energy consumption and carbon footprints of the two business models via a systems approach and the Economic Input Output Life Cycle Assessment (EIO-LCA) model and evaluates environmental performances. The portions of the logistics chains that were different in the two business models were analyzed and processes that were common were excluded. Regarding findings, the analyses conclude that the online movie rental service has lower carbon footprint than the offline one. We suggest practical implications for policy makers, government, businesses, and customers in movie rental industry. / This thesis contains two papers, recently presented at international conferences and accepted for publication in recognized journals.

Eco-labels impact consumers‟ likelihood to buy eco-labelled products and serve as a tool during the decision-making process that helps consumers make informed purchase choices. The textile industry is responsible for a large amount of pollution, but has started to follow a more holistic, eco-friendly approach. Information about their eco-friendliness is communicated to consumers via eco-labels. Consumers can influence the textile industry to include more eco-labelled textile products in their desired range of products, by buying and demanding eco-labelled textile products. However, international studies indicate that consumers do not understand textile eco-labels and the information that is found on these labels. A lack of understanding prevents consumers from including such products in their pre-purchase decision-making process. Yet some consumers, from developed and developing countries, are willing to buy eco-labelled products and pay more for such products. Limited research in this regard, within a South African context, is available hence, more research was required in this study field. Therefore, this study aimed to explore consumers‟ understanding and utilisation of textile eco-labels during pre-purchase decision-making. The research for the study was done using a convenience and purposive sampling method with a quantitative structured online questionnaire for data collection purposes. Findings suggest that respondents were environmentally conscious, but only to some extent. Most respondents objectively understood textile eco-labelled products, but not textile eco-labels or organic label information regarding cotton production processes. Respondents indicated that they do not use textile eco-labels when making a pre-purchase decision, yet they somewhat recognised the need to buy eco-friendly textile products, because they are aware of environmental implications. Regarding the information on eco-labels, respondents searched for information surrounding the quality of eco-labelled textile products, followed by the care instructions and the credibility of the eco-label on the product. Finally, there was a segment of respondents who buy and utilise textile eco-labelled products, and are willing to pay a higher price for these products. The higher price was the main factor that prevented other respondents from buying eco-labelled textile products. Consumers can benefit from education regarding environmental issues and how their purchasing choices can make a difference in protecting the environment. Furthermore, educating consumers about eco-labelled textile products might increase their awareness and utilisation of these products. In turn, this awareness about eco-labels might encourage consumers to include these kinds of products in their pre-purchase decision-making process. Additionally the industry can strive towards keeping eco-labelled products‟ prices relatively equal to regular product‟s prices to make it easier for consumers to choose between the different products, based on their environmental attributes and not price. Finally, the textile industry and manufacturers can focus on making textile eco-labels more attractive and attention-grabbing in order to focus consumers‟ attention on these labels. Furthermore, on these labels, symbols and words should be used together and all elements should correspond to enhance consumers‟ understanding. If all of these elements of an eco-label convey the same message, consumers might be able to understand the intended message by manufacturers and the industry better. / M Consumer Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Darbo tikslas - išanalizuoti ekologinių produktų rėmimo situaciją šios dienos rinkoje. Pirmoje šio darbo dalyje analizuojama ekologiško marketingo, vartotojo ir ekologiškų produktų samprata. Vienas iš pagrindinių taškų skatinimo ekologiškų produktų yra suteikti visą būtiną informaciją potencialiam vartotojui apie ekologiškus produktus ir skatinti juos įsigyti. Šiam tikslui yra naudojamos reklamos priemonės – tai reklama televizijoje, spaudoje, tiesioginis bendravimas su ūkininkais. Taip pat yra rengiamos specialios TV laidos, straipsniai spaudoje, seminarai apie ekologiškus produktus ir jų naudą vartotojui. Prekybos centrai organizuoja degustacijas, loterijas, žaidimus skatinant kuo daugiau informuoti ir parduoti ekologiškų produktų. Antrojoje darbo dalyje pateikiami anketos apklausos rezultatai ir jų analizė. Atlikto tyrimo rezultatai rodo, kad pakankamai nemažai informacijos apie ekologiškus produktus vartotojai gauna žiūrėdami televiziją 29%. 15% respondentų su ekologiškais produktais susipažįsta parodose ir mugėse. Nemažai informacijos vartotojas suranda internete 31%, bei spaudoje 9%. Baigiamajame darbe analizuojama ekologinio marketingo vystymasis ir raida, ekologiškumo samprata, ekologinis vartotojas ir produktas, bei ekologiškų produkto rėmimo kompleksai pasitelkiant mokslinę literatūrą, pagal tai padarytos išvados: 1. Stipriai besikeičiantis vartotojų požiūris į ekologines problemas, koreguoja įmonių veiklas. Taip pat vartotojas skatina organizacijas taikyti... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim - to analyze the situation in the promotion of eco-products on the market today. In the first part of this work analyzes the eco-marketing, consumer and organic conception. One of the key points to promote eco-friendly products is to provide all the necessary information to potential consumers about environmentally friendly products and encourage them to buy. For this purpose, it is used for promotional tools - it is advertising on TV, print, direct communication with farmers. It also held a special TV broadcast, press articles, workshops on eco-friendly products and their benefits to the user. Supermarkets organizes tastings, lotteries, games to promote more awareness and sell organic products. The second part of the questionnaire survey. The survey results indicate that a considerable degree of information about organic products consumers receive television watching by 29%. 15% of respondents familiar with organic products in exhibitions and fairs. A number of information the user finds the internet 31% and 9% in the press.

Zugl.: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Magisterarbeit

The use of anthropomorphic animal characters is pervasive in animation, but there has been little examination of how and why these are created, and how a viewing audience understands them. This Practice-based PhD examines how a re-defining of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic representation might bring a new impetus to the use of animal imagery within contemporary animation practice. An initial stage of research was to define the term anthropomorphism both as a visual language within animation practice and in the wider contexts of scientific and philosophical discourse. Social and psychological aspects are discussed, recognising this form of hybrid representation throughout the development of human culture. Links with Human Animal Studies disciplines raised the question of relating anthropomorphism to negative aspects of anthropocentrism and this led to a second stage of the research that explores ways of working with anthropomorphism that do not promote an anthropocentric bias. This is firstly achieved through the devising of a new theoretical approach to character analysis that is based on the recognition of perceptual aesthetic and sensual animal qualities in human-led , animal-led and design-led anthropomorphic characters, rather than a reliance on conceptual symbolic referencing of human experiences, goals, and narratives. Moving into the practice and influence from historical animation work provides impetus for a move away from character and narrative based work. Experimental animation techniques are used to create rhythms and patterns of abstracted animal and human imagery. This new work is based on contemporary ecological ideas that discuss relationships between humans and animals as interconnected species, thus providing a second way of lessening of anthropocentric bias in the subject matter. Having a starting point of aesthetic and sensual responses to actual experiences with animals is an important factor and live action film is re-animated to create digitally manipulated rhythms of colour, texture, movement and sound. The practical research outcomes are animation samples that evidence the coming together of experimental digital techniques and contemporary ecological subject matter. An action research model was devised for the research to enable the integration of theory and practice, and reflection on theory and practice to have an important influence on the practical outcomes. The approach taken was dependent on experience as a creative practitioner and as a teacher helping others to develop a sustainable creative practice, in allowing an open and intuitive discovery of ideas from both theoretical and practical explorations to create a flow through the research. The combination of theoretical and practical research undertaken provides an impetus towards the creation of future animation work using an anthropomorphic visual language redefined as zooanthropomorphic animation . The submission includes outcomes of a written thesis and links to practical animation work.

Les piles à combustible (PAC) de type PEMFC permettent d’assurer la conversion d’énergie chimique en énergie électrique en utilisant de l’hydrogène pouvant être produit à partir de sources renouvelables. La catalyse des réactions mises en jeu lors de cette conversion d’énergie nécessite l’utilisation de platine, dont les ressources sont faibles et la production (extraction et raffinage) complexe. De plus, du fait de son prix élevé, ce métal représente une part importante du coût de production des PEMFC. Aujourd’hui, le prix de cette technologie doit être réduit pour qu’elle soit économiquement compétitive et puisse être commercialisée à grande échelle. En outre, les charges en platine dans les électrodes de piles à combustible ne peuvent être réduites significativement sans altération de la performance et de la durabilité de ces systèmes. Donc, le développement d’une filière de recyclage pour assurer la récupération du Pt en fin de vie des PAC pourrait permettre une réduction du coût de production des PEMFC.Cette thèse a consisté à mettre en place une voie de recyclage du platine d’assemblages membrane-électrodes (AME) de PEMFC. Un procédé hydrométallurgique composé des étapes suivantes : (i) lixiviation, (ii) séparation et (iii) récupération du platine a été développé. Différentes alternatives de lixiviation (HCl/H2O2, HCl/HNO3), de séparation (par résine ou solvant), de récupération (sous forme de nanoparticules ou de sel) ont été testées. Le fonctionnement de ces processus de récupération du platine a alors été optimisé à partir de produits modèles (Pt/C et solutions synthétiques). Le choix de ces derniers a ensuite été orienté grâce à une étude d’analyse du cycle de vie (ACV) réalisée à l’échelle de l’AME.Enfin, 76% du platine contenu dans des AME composées de catalyseurs Pt-Co a pu être récupéré. Ce rendement a pu être obtenu après mise en place du procédé composé des étapes suivantes : (i) dissolution du Pt par lixiviation avec le mélange HCl/H2O2, (ii) séparation du cobalt sur résine échangeuse d’ions, (iii) récupération sous forme de nanoparticules par la voie polyol. Les résultats finaux d’ACV ont montré que le recyclage du platine permettrait une nette réduction des impacts environnementaux du cycle de vie d’AME de PEMFC. / The proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) can be used to convert chemical energy into electrical energy using hydrogen which can be produced from renewable sources. Platinum (Pt) is the best catalyst used to perform PEMFC electrochemical reaction catalysis. However Pt resources are low and his production (extraction and refining) is complex. Moreover the platinum price represents an important part of the PEMFC stack cost. Nowadays this technology is too expensive to be competitive with conventional energy conversion systems, and cannot be commercialized at a large scale. In addition, PEMFC electrode platinum loading could not be reduced without affecting the system performance and durability. Thus PEMFC production cost could be reduced by recovering platinum from used fuel cells.The main goal of this thesis was to develop a platinum recovery way from fuel cells membrane electrodes-assemblies (MEAs). In order to achieve this objective the following steps were combined in a hydrometallurgical process: (i) leaching, (ii) separation, (iii) recovery. Several alternatives were tested for each step: leaching (HCl/H2O2, HCl/HNO3), separation (resin or solvent), and platinum recovery (as nanoparticles or as a complex). These platinum recovery steps were optimized using Pt/C catalysts and synthetic solutions. Then life-cycle analysis (LCA) methodology has been used to help with the process selection.Finally, about 76% of the platinum contained in multi-metallic catalysts (PtCo/C) MEAs has been recovered. The following path has been followed in this case: (i) dissolution in HCl/H2O2 solution, (ii) separation from cobalt with an ion exchange resin, (iii) recovery has nanoparticles using the polyol process. The LCA study final results showed that a significant reduction of PEMFC MEA life-cycle environmental impact could be achieved by recycling Pt at these systems end-of-life.

L'industrie microélectronique est engagée depuis longtemps dans des mesures visant à réduire ses impacts sur l'environnement, et ce sur toutes les phases du cycle de vie de ses produits. Sur les sites de fabrication, la suite logique à la mise en place de système de traitement des pollutions est l'anticipation de ces dernières. L'éco-conception des technologies microélectroniques, c'est-à-dire l'intégration de paramètres environnementaux dans leur processus de développement, permet de répondre à cet objectif. Notre travail de recherche a pour but de caractériser environnementalement les procédés de fabrication microélectronique afin de proposer des outils et méthodes pour leurs concepteurs. Nous avons donc modélisé une technologie microélectronique, et associé des impacts environnementaux aux flux entrants et sortants. Cela nous a permis de proposer des indicateurs environnementaux destinés à la R&D et adaptés à un site de développement et de production microélectronique. / The microelectronic industry has been engaged for a long time in measures to reduce its impacts on the environment, regarding all the life cycle phases of its products. For the manufacturing sites, the logical follow-ups to the implementation of pollutions treatment systems are their anticipation. The eco-design of microelectronic technologies, that is the integration of environmental parameters in their development process, enables to meet this objective. The aim of our research work is to environmentally characterize the microelectronic manufacturing processes to propose tools and methods for their designers. Therefore, we modeled a microelectronic technology, and we matched environmental impacts with its inputs and outputs. This allows us to suggest environmental indicators for the R&D, which are adapted to a microelectronic development and manufacturing site.