The official language policies and their basic concepts, the principle of personality in Canada and the principle of territoriality in Switzerland, are critically analyzed. The two democratic federations are compared as two multination states since 'nation' is defined in cultural terms. Language survival is justified in liberal theory through minority rights. The principle of territoriality that assures the dominance of the linguistic majority over a territory within the federation is in accordance with liberal democracy if fundamental rights are protected. The principle of territoriality contributes thus to political stability within a multination federation. There is no movement in Switzerland that is fed by a language-based grievance despite the existence of three linguistic minorities: Switzerland accommodates successfully linguistic diversity. In Canada, the perception that the survival of the French language might not be sustained fuels a secessionist movement threatening the unity of the federation.

Tyrimo objektas: smulkiosios motorikos ir funkcinio savarankiškumo kaita pirminės reabilitacijos eigoje. Tyrimo problema: kadangi kiekvieno sergančiojo insultu reabilitacija turi skirtingų krypčių poreikius, o literatūroje iki šiol nėra apibrėţtos stratifikacijos ir reabilitacijos programų individualizavimo krypčių, skirtų insulto paţeistos rankos judesių valdymui atgauti (Meldrum, 2004), siekiant efektyviai panaudoti reabilitacijos išteklius, svarbu numatyti galimas ligos baigtis (Milinavičienė ir kt., 2007). Todėl analizavome smulkiosios motorikos atsigavimą pirminės reabilitacijos etape pacientams, patyrusiems išeminį galvos smegenų insultą, siekiant įvardinti nors kelis atskaitos taškus formuojant kineziterapijos artimuosius bei tolimuosius tikslus – retrospektyviai perţiūrint įgyvendintus tikslus, keltus tipiškos funkcinės būklės tiriamųjų grupei – kuriuos matome rezultatų analizėje. Tyrimo tikslas: išanalizuoti ir įvertinti pacientų, patyrusių išeminį galvos smegenų insultą, smulkiosios motorikos atsigavimą bei funkcinio savarankiškumo kaitą, pirminės reabilitacijos eigoje. Tyrimo uţdaviniai: 1. Ištirti ir įvardinti dominuojantį smulkiosios motorikos atsigavimą pirminės reabilitacijos eigoje; 2. Ištirti ir įvertinti pacientų funkcinio savarankiškumo kaitą, pirminės reabilitacijos eigoje; Tyrimo hipotezė: pirminės reabilitacijos etape artimieji bei tolimieji kineziterapijos tikslai turėtų atitikti paciento regeneracinį potencialą, kuris taip pat galėtų būti įvertintas... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Study subject: the dynamis of interchange of fine motor and functional independence in the process of the initial rehabilitation. The problem of the study: the rehabilitation of each patient suffering from stroke has different requirements, however, to this date literature does not indicate defined individualisation types of stratification and rehabilitation programmes, assigned to recover the control of stroke affected hand/arm movement (Meldrum, 2004). In order to effectively use rehabilitation resources, it is important to foresee the possible consequences of the disease (Milinavičienė ir kt., 2007). Therefore we analysed the fine motor recovery at the initial rehabilitation stage in the patients who had suffered ischemic head brain stroke. Study aim: to analyse and evaluate patients‘, who had suffered ischemic head brain stroke, the small motor post stroke recovery as well as the change in functional independence in the initial rehabilitation stage. Study goals: 1. To examine and name the dominant fine motor recovery in the initial rehabilitation stage; 2. to examine and evaluate change in patients‘ functional independence in the initial rehabilitation stage; Hypothesis: at the initial rehabilitation stage the short-term and long-term physio-therapeutic goals have to match a patient‘s regenerative potential, which can also be evaluated with reference to the initial functional stage at a patient‘s arrival to hospital. Study methods: Barthel test measuring a patient‘s... [to full text]

Purpose: Our purpose is to investigate if the documentation of an internalaudit department at banks reflects a shift towards more consultingactivities, and how this potential change in the internal audit doc-umentation can be explained. Background: Previous research indicates that internal audit has developed fromits traditional assurance activities to include more consulting ac-tivities such as risk management assistance and corporate govern-ance support. Some researches argue that this development canhave a negative impact on internal auditor independence. Howev-er, there is a lack of research in this area using documentation andcontent analysis of internal audit reports. Method: In this study, we have done qualitative content analysis of internaldocuments collected from the period 2004-2013. These docu-ments are analyzed using a coding scheme based on previous re-search. Conclusion: By qualitatively analysing the activities reported we find that thedocumentation reflects a shift, over time, towards more activitiesthat we classified as consulting. We argue that this can mainly beexplained by coercive and normative isomorphism; for example,regulatory pressures and influences from the Institute of InternalAuditors. We also argue that internal auditing might benefit froma more consistent view of the role.

En revisor bidrar till att kvalitetssäkra den finansiella information företag lämnar ifrån sig och revision ses som en kvalitetsstämpel gentemot tredje part. När det inte längre är revisionsplikt för små bolag har konkurrensen hårdnat i revisionsbranschen. Revisionsbyråerna har därför tilltagit åtgärder så som marknadsföring för att behålla och attrahera nya klienter. Syftet med denna studie är att skapa förståelse för hur revisorer resonerar kring relationen till klienter och hur de upplever att den påverkas av de åtgärder som krävs för att behålla och attrahera klienter. Studien har fördjupats i tre begrepp som i sin tur är kopplade till teorier. Det studeras hur revisoryrket som profession, marknadsföring och oberoende påverkar klientrelationen och dessa stöds av agentteorin, professionsteorin och institutionell teori. Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ metod där personliga intervjuer använts för att samla empiri från sex erfarna revisorer. Revisorerna lägger stor vikt vid att relationerna till klienterna är goda. Det är viktigt dels för att klienterna ska vara nöjda och stanna kvar, men även för att det är genom ryktesspridning revisorerna får flest nya klienter. Revisoryrket är en profession och revisorerna är medvetna om hur de uppträder såväl inom arbetet som utanför. Marknadsföring strider mot professionen men är något revisorer börjat använda sig av i större utsträckning. Revisionsbyråerna använder sig av varumärkesmarknadsföring medan revisorerna främst riktar in sig på personlig marknadsföring. Enligt lag måste revisorer vara oberoende gentemot sina klienter och detta är de noga med. Inget får hota deras oberoende eftersom det kan förstöra deras rykte som revisor. Slutsatsen är att revisorer värderar klientrelationen högt. De är medvetna om vad som kan påverka och hota deras roll som revisor i relationen och vet hur de ska agera för att undvika dessa. Förslag till vidare forskning är att studera detta ut klientens perspektiv, vilket sedan kan jämföras med denna studies resultat. / An auditor contributes to assure the quality of the financial information the company hands over and auditing is seen as a quality stamp for third part. There is fierce competition in the audit industry as is no longer mandatory auditing for small companies. Audit firms use marketing and other activities to retain and attract new clients. The purpose of this study is to create an understanding for how auditors reason regarding the relationship with clients and how they perceive that activities to retain and attract clients affect the relationship. The study covers three concepts that are linked to theories. It studies how auditing as a profession, marketing and independence affect the client relationship and the Agency Theory, Professional Theory and Institutional Theory support these. The study is preformed through a qualitative approach where individual interviews are used to collect data from six different auditors. The auditors attach great importance to that the relationships with the clients are good. It is important that the clients are satisfied and stay, but also because it is through word-of-mouth auditors gain most new clients. Auditors belong to a profession and, therefore, the auditors are aware of how they behave in work and outside. Marketing is contrary to the profession but is something they have started to use more. Audit firms use brand marketing while auditors focus mainly on personal marketing. Because of laws, auditors must be independent against their clients and with this they are carful. Nothing may threaten their independence because it can destroy their reputation. The conclusion is that auditors value the client relationship highly. They are aware of what can affect and threaten their role as an auditor in the relationship. They are also aware of how to act in order to avoid these. A suggestion for further research is to study auditor-client relationship from the clients’ perspective, which can then be compared with the result of this study.

While the European Union is striving towards harmonization among the member countries, interlocks (connections) are a social phenomenon that has an implication on the Corporate Code but it is more implicitly pointed out with words like “other relevant information” or ”other significant board positions” that might affect the individual board member’s independence and ability to fully commit to the company. Although the board often is referred to as one single entity, it consists of many board members that individually can have an agenda that might deviate from all stakeholders’ goal. Every single director has a business network of social contacts, especially if they are elected to more than one company’s board. These individual directors create interlocks (links) between the firms they work for, and form a social network on company level, while the Code only recommends the companies to provide independence information and other significant assignments one by one as if they operate in solitude.   This exploratory study captures the corporate governance perspective about independence and the social networks of directors on supervisory corporate boards in Denmark, Finland and Sweden by investigating the interconnectedness of the directors and companies, and combines this data with the independence disclosure by companies.   We employed deductive approach and a quantitative archival research strategy based on secondary data from annual reports and corporate governance documents in a total of 150 companies to gather a sufficient database about the independence disclosure and the corporate networks.   We identified the most central companies and individuals in corporate framework, and found concentration of power to be evident. Identifying the director networks enabled us to focus on the structural aspects of the networks and what implications this has on the independence of the boards. Furthermore, this research analysed the disclosure independence by the companies and assessed, whether the current requirements on disclosure are adequate for their purpose.   We also found, contrary to our expectations, that the independence disclosure is not harmonized between the studied countries and therefore we assessed the disclosure by using insider-outsider theory. This showed that the current corporate codes do not capture the independence very accurately, and that harmonization of the codes in addition to insider-outsider theory would help the relevant stakeholders to get a “truer and fairer view” of the directors’ independence.   This study has been written especially the legislators in mind and suggests the use of insider-outsider -theory approach to the legislators for providing a more comprehensive and accurate view of the independence.

Revisionsplikten i Sverige avskaffades för några år sedan för de minsta aktiebolagen och idag är det ett omdiskuterat ämne. Det är dock först nu som effekterna börjar visa sig. Idag är det cirka 80 procent av de minsta bolagen som inte anlitar en revisor. Studien har utförts ur företagens perspektiv och syftet med vår studie har varit att undersöka om bolag som inte anlitar en revisor har fattat ett ekonomiskt rationellt beslut. För att genomföra studien har vi använt oss av kvantitativ metod med deduktiv ansats som utgått från positivistisk kunskapssyn.   Vi har bland annat undersökt om ett antal nyckeltal skiljer sig mellan reviderade och oreviderade bolag. Nyckeltalen som vi har undersökt är “avkastning på eget kapital”, skuldsättningsgrad samt två olika nyckeltal för räntenivåer. Det kan finnas många skäl till varför nyckeltalen skiljer sig åt mellan grupperna därför har vi även tagit ett antal förklaringsvariabler i beaktande. Exempel på sådana förklaringsvariabler är omsättning och bransch. Till vår hjälp har vi laddat ner data från företagens årsredovisningar från cirka 70 000 bolag genom en databas.   Vi har även undersökt om företagsägarna anser att nyttan med revision överväger kostnaderna samt om utbildningsnivån inom redovisning skiljer sig mellan bolag som anlitar och inte anlitar revisor. Vi undersökte också hur rationellt företagsägarna agerar samt ett av studiens delsyften var att undersöka om oreviderade bolag köper mer hjälp med bokföringen än reviderade bolag. Urvalsramen bestod av företag som inte omfattas av revisionsplikt. För att genomföra studien har vi skickat ut en enkät via sms till 2 000 små onoterade aktiebolag.   Totalt formades sju nollhypoteser varav fyra fick förkastas. Slutsatserna av studien visade att bolag inte fattar ett ekonomiskt rationellt beslut med att inte anlita en revisor om de är i stort behov av extern finansiering. Anledningen är att dessa bolag betalar högre räntor som vid en hög belåning kan skillnaden i ränta mellan reviderade o oreviderade företag vara högre än revisionsarvodet. För övriga bolag som inte har stora skulder finner studien bevis för att företagsägarna fattar ett ekonomiskt rationellt beslut med att inte anlita en revisor eftersom de inte påverkas av räntenivåerna. Studien visade också att bolag utan revisor har lägre omsättning och lönsamhet samt har en lägre skuldsättningsgrad. Från enkäten kom vi fram till att företagsägare som inte anlitar en revisor har en högre utbildningsnivå inom redovisning/bokföring. Vi fann däremot inga bevis för att oreviderade företag köper mer konsultation inom redovisning än reviderade bolag.

If auditors question a company’s ability to continue existing, they should issue a going concern opinion in the audit report. Whether or not auditors will issue a going concern opinion depends on auditors’ ability to identify going concern problems, as well as their decision whether or not to issue going concern opinions. In Sweden, the going concern accuracy rate has been low compared to other countries. The aim of this study is therefore to analyse whether it is auditors’ lack of ability to identify going concern problems or their decision not to issue a going concern opinion, or perhaps both, that could explain the relatively low accuracy rate. Interviews with four auditors from the Big Four audit firms and four CFOs from middle sized companies were conducted. The results show that there are factors speaking both for and against auditors’ ability to identify going concern problems, why we cannot say for sure whether auditors’ lack of ability to identify going concern problems could be an explanation to the relatively low accuracy rate. The results do however reveal that auditors actively make decisions not to issue going concern opinions to their clients as much as possible, which could explain the relatively low accuracy rate.

This thesis explores the role of early development policies on the management of horizontal inequalities in Ghana and La Cote d'Ivoire. Using the wager between the first presidents of the two countries, this study charts the manner in which Horizontal Inequalities have been managed during three time periods: Independence, Structural Adjustment and Democratization.

The purpose of this study was to examine the primary reasons for the refusal of the United States to grant diplomatic recognition to the revolutionary government in Greece between 1821-1833. The generally accepted reason has been the Monroe Doctrine. This policy statement by James Monroe in 1823 seemed to preclude any form of diplomatic recognition of the provisional government in Greece by the United States because the Greek Revolution was a European affair. If the American government were to prevent intervention in the Western Hemisphere by the European powers, then certainly the United States should not interfere in an area of primary concern to the Holy Alliance.President Monroe's words in his annual message to Congress were a statement of existing American policy and the principles should not be ignored entirely. However, it is the thesis of this paper that the desire for a commercial treaty with the Ottoman Empire was more significant in the development of American policy toward the Greek War of Independence. The expansion of American trade and commerce were goals of a government that practiced commercial diplomacy. The government of the United States sought in this particular case more trade in the Eastern Mediterranean and the right to navigate the waters of the Black Sea. A treaty with the Ottoman Empire was the key to this goal.To prove this thesis it was necessary to demonstrate that the menace from European powers, or the Holy Alliance, was minimal because those powers were too divided to pose a credible deterrent to American diplomatic recognition of Greece. Chapter one is devoted to a discussion of the European diplomatic situation with particular emphasis on the collapse of the Congress System and the "Eastern Question". Both bore direct bearing on American decisions concerning the Greek Revolution.The next chapter attempts to demonstrate that the United States had direct and serious involvement in the Eastern Mediterranean. Since 1794 the United States had sought commercial advantages in the Levant, indeed, part of America's colonial legacy had been involvement in the Mediterranean trade. In addition to commerce, missionary activity, scholarly concern, and America's democratic heritage drew Americans to the Levant. By the time of the Greek Revolution the United States had bountiful interests in the Ottoman Empire. There were expectations of further advances in many quarters.The United States' response to the Greek Revolution between 1821-1833 is the subject of chapter three. America was divided between the philhellenes who advocated aid and recognition for Greece and those who did not wish to antagonize the Ottoman Empire and thereby lose commercial advantages in the Levant. This was the central issue in the debates on the Greek Question in the eighteenth Congress. Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, led the fight against the philhellene position so as not to jeopardize his secret attempts to secure a commercial treaty with the Ottoman Empire.The negotiations between representatives of the United States and Turkey, conducted in secret throughout the Greek Revolution, is the subject of chapter four. Only after the conclusion of the American-Turkish Treaty of Commerce did the United States grant diplomatic recognition to an already independent Greek nation. A commercial treaty with Turkey, a dying empire, in order to foster the expansion of American trade was the crucial determinant of American policy toward the Greek War of Independence.

A lacunary series is a Taylor series with large gaps between its non-zero coefficients. In this thesis we exploit these gaps to obtain results of linear independence of values of lacunary series at integer points. As well, we will study different methods found in Diophantine approximation which we use to study arithmetic properties of values of lacunary series at algebraic points. Among these methods will be Mahler's method and a new approach due to Jean-Paul Bézivin.