Cette thèse analyse empiriquement les effets macroéconomiques de différentes réformes des retraites par répartition et leurs conséquences redistributives. Dans un modèle d'équilibre général avec générations imbriquées, le critère de l'effet sur la croissance permet d'écarter le choix d'une hausse des cotisations sociales comme levier exclusif de la réforme. Cependant il ne permet pas de départager, notamment en France, des scénarios aussi différents qu'une hausse de l'âge effectif de départ en retraite liée à l'espérance de vie ou une baisse du taux de remplacement avec âge de la retraite inchangé, qui permettraient chacun de soutenir le taux de croissance annuel moyen futur du PIB par tête d'environ 0.2% par rapport au scénario d'augmentation des prélèvements obligatoires. La prise en compte des conséquences redistributives devient décisive pour le choix de la réforme. Un gel de l'âge de la retraite alimente un conflit intergénérationnel entre actifs alors qu'une augmentation de cet âge répartit le coût en bien-être de la réforme plus également entre les actifs. Un planificateur utilitariste avec aversion modérée à l'inégalité intergénérationnelle privilégie ainsi l'âge effectif de la retraite comme principal levier d'une réforme. Les réformes avec hausse de l'âge de la retraite modèrent aussi les effets de redistribution selon le niveau de revenu par rapport aux réformes avec âge de la retraite inchangé. Enfin, la prise en compte des effets des réformes sur le bien-être des bas revenus (carrières incomplètes, éligibles au minimum vieillesse) peut infléchir le choix du paramètre d'ajustement (taux de cotisations sociales ou de remplacement) accompagnant une hausse de l'âge de la retraite. Au total, cette thèse incite à privilégier, en France, une hausse de l'âge de la retraite d'un peu plus d'une année par décennie, accompagnée d'un repli contenu du taux de remplacement moyen de 0.5 point de pourcentage par an sur les vingt prochaines années.

<p>Through the use of political conditionality, the EU has exercised what many have chosen to call an international normative power. The fast democratisation process of the central European countries that joined the EU in 2004 has often been attributed to the force of EU’s normative power. Here, the core of the political conditionality was found in a promised future membership – acting as a reward in exchange for democratic reforms. The new European Neighbourhood Policy however, initiated briefly after the 2004 enlargement, gave rise to new prerequisites to the Unions new neighbours and this time enlargement fatigue prevailed in the EU policy. This case study examines and assesses the ability of the EU to exercise its normative power on Ukraine through the new conditions set up by the European Neighbourhood Policy, were a membership perspective neither is promised nor ruled out. The result show that the effective conditions for the conditionality are favourable and that a good progress on the areas of democracy, rule of law and human rights has been achieved. Although difficult to prove, I argue that this progress most probably is partly due to EU’s normative power on Ukraine.</p>

<p>The European Union is the greatest donor of the world. Until 2002, the south African country Zimbabwe was a recipient of European development aid. Due to major disagreements over key issues, such as human rights and democratic principles, theEuropean Union has partially suspended official development cooperation in 2002. Zimbabwe has not longer fulfilled the criterions of Good Governance, which isdemanded by the European Union. In order to restore the respect for human rights and ademocratic way of governance, the EU has posed sanctions and resolutions. This study provides a study of the outcomes of these repressive measures. Have the sanctions led to a better governance performance in Zimbabwe? Before the terms Governance and Good Governance will be explained into detail, the first part of the thesis is spotting out the European Union as a normative actor.</p>

<p>What are the social conditions that enable depression to play a significant societal role in contemporary Western societies? This is the leading question of the dissertation. As an alternative to those who claim that contemporary depression is constructed by the exorbitant consumption of antidepressants, it is stated that both depression and the consumption of antidepressants is</p><p>possible due to contemporary social conditions. Inspired by the analysis of modernity by Wagner, and on the basis of the theoretical concept of third modernity as proposed by Carleheden, it is claimed that an ethical conduct of life that demands authentic self-realization has been institutionalised in</p><p>our historical epoch. By analysing how authentic self-realization is being realized in the new spirit of capitalism (Boltanski & Chiapello), it is being concluded that the socializing parameters of third modernity are those of being able to be active, flexible, polyvalent, adaptable, versatile etc. selves. Hence, authentic self-realization in imbued with these normative demands. In relation to the phenomenon of depression this is interesting, because contemporary depression can be understood, not as a subjective condition, but as a phenomenon of lack. What is being applauded in the society of today is just what depressive individuals lack, namely the ability to act in accordance</p><p>with the normative claims of self-realization. Depressed individuals are in that sense failed selves (Ehrenberg) who represent and informs us about the “other side” of contemporary normative self-realization requirements. In other words: Within present-day society the institutionalized demands for authentic self-realization and depression have become each others antithesis. This socially demanded form of self-realization – which is put under the scrutiny of normative critique (Taylor) – is thus exactly what allows for depression to play such a significant role in present-day Western societies.</p><p>Keywords: third modernity, new spirit of capitalism, authenticity, self-realization, depression, normative critique.</p>

<p>The purpose of this study is to examine to what extent there is a discrepancy between the formal guiding documents and the employees experiences of the activity at Kronobergshäktet. Furthermore, is it possible that any discrepancy could be explained by institutional imbalance? My main theories are normative institutionalism and a modified type of institutional analysis. The model consists of three parts –values (a common value-system), rules and practice (the unpredictable reality) and it assumes a reciprocal relationship between them. In order to examine this I have used qualitative methods in form of interviews combined with an analysis of content. The normative institutionalism presupposes that the actors follow a logic of appropriateness in the interest of both the institution and the actor. According to the respondents, their performance is restrained by the influence from practice. I found that the respondents in their work can’t apply the common value-system in favour of the unpredictable practice. This means that the people detained do not receive the care they are entitled to in times of overcrowdment. Remarkable as it is, the respondents are well aware of what causes the problem; the overloaded custody and the influence from the unpredictable practice. The conclusion is that in times of overcrowded departments the custody is governed neither by rules or values but by practice.</p>

This dissertation attempts to answer the question, "How is truth communicated through fiction?" It begins with an analysis of theories of fiction that have been given in analytic philosophy. Then, it frames the question in terms of a response to the "war" between philosophy and poetry, represented by Plato's Socrates, who sees a variety of problems with allowing that poetry can teach ethical behavior, and Sir Philip Sidney, who believes that poetry has a great ability to teach. At the heart of the disagreement between the two is a question about the relationship between truth and the kind of communication that takes place in poetry, which is everywhere assumed rather than stated and argued for. The dissertation then continues to work toward an answer to its main question. First it looks at the theories of several continental philosophers who had things to say that hint at the direction to go in answering the question. The last two chapters are an attempt to give and support an answer to the question; imput is drawn from sources as various as Leonard Nimoy, Dorothy Sayer's "Gaudy Night," Linda Young's "Remember WENN" website, and academic literary theory; and the question is given a direct answer in the last chapter. There are three things that all fiction does that makes it communicate truth in a specific manner: all fiction attempts to engage, purports to describe the normal, and actually makes normative implications. It is because of this that fiction is the dangerous but potentially beneficial thing that Plato and Sidney respectively see it as.

Selon l'IASB (§ 26) une information " (...) possède la qualité de pertinence lorsqu'elle influence les décisions économiques des utilisateurs en les aidant à évaluer des événements passés, présents ou futurs ou en confirmant ou corrigeant leurs évaluations passées ". Ce cadre conceptuel repose sur des hypothèses de comportements qui doivent être encadrées pour tendre vers une communication financière fidèle et pertinente donc utile et destinée à réduire l'asymétrie d'information. Autrement dit, la pertinence de l'information financière est comprise comme un facteur de réduction d'asymétrie d'information entre l'entreprise et ses investisseurs. Ainsi le choix d'un parcours de recherche fondé sur la complémentarité entre une démarche hypothético déductive et une démarche normative nous semble justifié puisque " bien que leurs visées soient différentes, les unes (théorie normative) sont les théories " de " et les autres (théorie positive) des théories " pour " la pratique " (Colasse, 2009). Nos travaux s'inscrivent dans le nécessaire renforcement des liens entre la communauté scientifique et la communauté des praticiens. Le praticien utilise et parfois modélise une doctrine comptable qui peut se définir comme l'ensemble des travaux théoriques (articles, rapports, guides d'application, ouvrages...) exprimant, d'une part, la pensée d'auteurs sur les problèmes généraux de la discipline comptable et, d'autre part, les avis et recommandations donnés par différents organismes (ANC, CSOEC, CNCC, AMF, etc.). La doctrine contribue à dégager des tendances et à trouver des solutions aux problèmes que les textes n'ont pas précisé. Elle sert de référence à la résolution de problèmes comptables souvent délicats que les textes ne pouvaient prévoir lorsqu'ils ont été élaborés. La doctrine comptable contribue ainsi au cadre comptable. La doctrine comptable est susceptible de se nourrir des liens étroits entre la recherche et la pratique professionnelle pour fournir un terrain d'expérimentation et de validation pertinent afin d'améliorer la théorie comptable et donc la cohérence de la normalisation. La doctrine contribue à l'émergence de problématique pertinente d'un point de vue académique et nécessaire dans son utilité sociale. Nos principaux apports, au-delà des résultats, propositions doctrinales et méthodologiques, est donc d'élaborer une mise en interaction des démarches positives et normatives, cette piste nous parait promise à un grand avenir en raison des politiques d'harmonisation comptable dont la quête consiste à proposer des normes favorisant la pertinence des états financiers. Plus que jamais la pertinence de l'information comptable est devenue un outil politique de la régulation dont l'exploration et la connaissance sont indispensables à la confiance et à la stabilité des marchés. Pour autant, c'est aussi un schéma de recherche exigu car seul les investisseurs sont compris dans la recherche de la pertinence, hors la comptabilité est peut être un bien public qui n'est pas forcément et directement destiné aux acteurs des marchés financiers. A ce titre, les théories sociologiques de type constructiviste pourraient aussi avoir le mérite de nous engager sur une réflexion concernant les besoins réels ou supposés d'informations d'une large gamme d'utilisateurs comme les clients, les fournisseurs, les salariés, les instances politiques et tout utilisateur dont la démarche d'investissement repose aussi sur des motivations différentes que celles que nous présupposons dans nos travaux. Ainsi, la théorie positive de la comptabilité au moyen d'une cohérence épistémologique et méthodologique offre les outils pour comprendre une réalité et postuler des hypothèses qui pourront justifier scientifiquement la nécessité de l'application d'une règle issue de travaux normatifs. A l'inverse, l'application d'une norme est susceptible de susciter des hypothèses d'application dont la validation répond à une démarche hypothético déductive prônée par la théorie positive. Cette interaction est un chemin prometteur pour poursuivre nos travaux relatifs à la pertinence de l'information comptable dans le cadre d'une contribution académique et institutionnelle indispensable et dans un contexte d'instabilité et d'incertitude significatif quant à l'application uniforme des IFRS dans tous les pays du monde.

In May 2000 share repurchases were legalized in Sweden, with the purpose to provide companies with an efficient and flexible way to distribute capital. To buy back shares gives companies several benefits which are discussed in our study. The lack of academic research about this topic for Swedish companies gave us an incentive to provide knowledge specifically for this market. When companies announce a share repurchase program they are subject to uncertainty about the society’s reaction and economic consequences. Individuals within a well established organizational field deal rationally with uncertainty by adjusting to their institutional environment. The institutional environment can be defined as an abstract structure of regulations and behavioral norms that guide human’s decisions. This often leads to homogeneity in companies’ culture, structure and output. We ask the question if companies are realizing repurchase programs in a similar way over time, and if share repurchases have been developed as a more common used financial instrument since 2000. Our second question is if companies that decide to buy back shares pursue this under similar economic conditions as a result from becoming homogeneous. The purpose of this study is to describe how institutional pressures in form of coercive, normative and mimetic isomorphism have affected companies’ decision to repurchase shares. We want to explain if there is an upward going trend of share repurchases, a standardized way to repurchase over time and if this decision can be determined by similarities in certain financial indicators of a company’s economic situation. To answer our purpose we used a quantitative research strategy with a deductive approach. The collected data was analyzed in a logistic regression analysis and by interpretations of descriptive statistics. We decided to examine for mimetic isomorphism public companies listed within the industrial sector on Stockholm Stock Exchange from the years 2000-2006. For the test of coercive and normative isomorphism with a logistic regression analysis we had to limit ourselves to investigate the years 2001-2003. In reality the three institutional pressures are working simultaneously and should together lead to a common perception about share repurchases among companies. For our testing we separated institutional isomorphism based on our theoretical preconceptions. This allowed us to analyze each individual institutional pressure and how they interact together. We defined mimetic isomorphism as companies adjusting their repurchase behavior to other companies within the industrial sector. Our result has not shown any indications of such a behavior concerning time, amount or frequency of the buybacks. Testing if certain financial indicators such as excess cash, liquidity, solvency, dividends, volatile operative income, prior year return, growth opportunities, companies’ size, ownership concentration, institutional and individual shareholders could explain stock repurchase activity gave us the possibility to evaluate coercive and normative isomorphism. But the question how institutional isomorphism affects companies’ repurchase decisions still remains unanswered. We have not found any certain financial indicator which motivates companies’ decision to buy back their own shares. The decision might therefore be carried out under very different economic conditions and with different objectives. In the industrial sector and generally in the whole Swedish market only a relatively low proportion of companies buy back shares. The stated findings for the Swedish market imply a need for further investigations over a longer time horizon and for a larger population. Further investigations in this topic which has the potential to provide recent insight into the stock repurchase decision for Swedish companies would enhance and verify our statements.

Bakgrund Nasometer är ett datorbaserat instrument som procentuellt mäter andel ljudenergi som vid tal kommer ut via näsan. Nasometern är det främst använda instrumentet vid instrumentell nasalitetsbedömning. I användningen av Nasometer behövs normalvärden från personer med typisk resonansutveckling. Normalvärden för svenska språket finns för flera åldersgrupper, men inte för tonåringar. Syfte Ta fram normalvärden för Nasometer hos svensktalande 13- respektive 18-åringar, studera värdenas spridning samt analysera könsskillnader inom respektive åldersgrupp. Metod  Deltagarna bestod av två grupper; 39 deltagare i åldern 12 - 13 år och 48 deltagare i åldern 18-19 år. Alla deltagarna hade svenska som modersmål samt typisk tal- och språkutveckling. Talmaterialet bestod av ord och meningar med endast orala fonem samt nasala meningar innehållande hög andel nasala fonem. Normalvärden för Nasometer samlades sedan in genom inspelning.   Resultat  Medelvärdena gällande 13-åringar var för orala ord 13,6 % (SD 8,7), orala meningar 11,4 % (SD 6,2) och nasala meningar 60,2 % (SD 12,0). 18-åringars medelvärden var för orala meningar 14,0 % (SD 5,5) och nasala meningar 57,5 % (SD 6,2). Det fanns signifikanta könsskillnader endast för 18-åringar, dock uppvisade flickor/kvinnor deskriptivt något högre medelvärde inom båda grupperna. Slutsatser  Medelvärdena visade stor spridning inom grupperna, speciellt för 13-åringar. Medelvärdena i båda åldersgrupperna i föreliggande studie ligger dock inom spannet för typisk nasalitet, vilket visar att normalvariationen av medelvärde är stor. / Background  The Nasometer is a data-based instrument that measures the amount of acoustic energy from the nose during speech and is the most common instrument for nasalance assessments. To use the Nasometer clinically, normative scores are needed from people with typical resonance development. There are normative scores in Swedish for several age groups, except for teenagers. Aim Collect normative nasalance scores with the Nasometer among two Swedish age groups, study the scores spread and analyze gender differences within the groups. Method  Two groups of participants; 39 participants 12-13 years and 48 participants 18-19 years. All participants used Swedish as their native language and had typical speech- and language development. The speech material consisted of oral word and sentences containing only oral phonemes and nasal sentences containing a high amount of nasal phonemes. Normative scores for the Nasometer were then collected by recording. Results  Means for the younger group were for oral words 13,6 % (SD 8,7), oral sentences 11,4 % (SD 6,2)  and nasal sentences 60,2 % (SD 12,0). Means for the older group were for oral sentences 14,0 % (SD 5,5) and nasal sentences 57,5 % (SD 6,2). Only in the older group there was a significant gender difference but females showed higher descriptive scores in both groups. Conclusions  Means showed great spread within both groups. The means are though within the range for typical nasality. This implicates great variation of means among normal speakers.

This project examines the how camera movement as a stylistic element is used as a storytelling device in the films of select international filmmakers. The main intention of the study is to trace the changing function of the mobile frame to see how a specific stylistic element develops across different narrative paradigms, national industries and between “early” and contemporary periods of filmmakers. My primary assertion is that the norms guiding the development of the tracking camera expand gradually from normative functions toward figurative uses. In order to be able to differentiate between normative and figurative uses of the tracking camera with conceptual clarity, this project adapts Roland Barthes’s typology about the narrative function of distinctive textual/stylistic units. Barthes’ conceptual framework becomes functional by assigning specific codes (hermeneutic, the semic, the proairetic, the symbolic and the cultural codes) to the interactions of the elements of narration. When transforming and changing the function of stylistic elements across their films, artists respond to a wide range of industrial, technological, aesthetic, cultural factors, from which this study focuses on socio-cultural trends. The underlying assumption of this project holds that the mentioned trends can be detected in the stylistic choices of artists. This study takes a bottom-up route: starting with an analytical interpretation of a specific aesthetic device, it moves towards an explanation that connects camera movement to larger, dynamic signifying systems. The arch of my project traces the relation between normative and figurative textual codes through the prism of camera movement.