Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur socialsekreterare beaktar barnets bästa när ett våldsutsatt barn placeras i familjehem. Därmed har socialsekreterares uppfattning av barnets bästa, hur det tillämpas vid placering av våldsutsatt barn samt huruvida handlingsutrymmet är tillräckligt stort för att kunna beakta barnets bästa undersökts. De teoretiska utgångspunkterna för arbetet är empowerment samt Michael Lipskys definition av gräsrotsbyråkratens handlingsutrymme. Studien utgår ifrån ett kvalitativt angreppssätt i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer mot bakgrund av ett målinriktat urval. Resultatet från intervjuerna har analyserats tematiskt och utgör således grunden för vidare diskussion. Resultatet i studien visar främst på att socialsekreterare tolkar barnets bästa genom att se till barnets skydd och trygghet. Detta tillämpas genom att göra barnet mer delaktig i beslutsprocessen genom att ta hänsyn till barnets önskemål vid placering. Samt ständigt se till barnets specifika situation och därmed ta beslut och överväga faktorer som säkerställer barnets trygghet. Resultatet visade även olika uppfattningar kring socialsekreterarnas handlingsutrymme där en del ansåg sig ha tillräckligt med handlingsutrymme för att kunna ta beslut för barnets bästa, medan övriga upplevde det motsatta. Samtliga intervjupersoner stod dock eniga i att det främsta som hindrar deras handlingsutrymme är bristen på familjehem. / The aim of this study is to examine how social workers consider the child’s best interest when an abused child is placed in a foster home. Thus, the social workers’ perception of the child’s best interest, how it is considered when placing an abused child in foster care and whether the social worker discretion is large enough to be able to take the child's best interest into consideration has been investigated. The theoretical framework from which the study is based upon is empowerment and Michael Lipsky's definition of the discretion of street-level bureaucrats. The study is assessed using a qualitative approach in the form of semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample. The results from the interviews have been thematically analyzed and thus form the basis for further discussion. The results of the study mainly show that social workers perceive the best interest of the child by ensuring their protection and safety. This is applied by making the child more involved in the decision-making by taking the child’s desires into consideration when placing the child. Also, by constantly looking at the child’s specific situation and thus making decisions that ensures the child’s safety. The results also showed different perceptions regarding the social worker discretion where some participants felt they had enough discretion to make decisions in the best interest of the child, whereas some participants felt the contrary. However, all participants agreed upon the fact that the main difficulty with their discretion is the lack of foster homes.

Cette thèse se divise en deux grandes parties, la première traite la combinatoire associée à l’ordre normal des opérateurs non-commutatifs et la seconde aborde des distributions symétriques du nombre de croisements et du nombre d’emboîtements, respectivement k-croisements et k-emboîtements, dans des structures combinatoires (partitions, permutations, permutations colorées, …). La première partie étudie l’ordre normal des opérateurs en termes de placements de tours. Nous étudions la forme de l’ordre normal en connectant deux opérateurs non-commutatifs D et U, et des polynômes orthogonaux spéciaux, et établissons des bijonctions entre les coefficients de (D+U)n et le nombre de placements de tours sur un diagramme de Ferrers. Nous donnons également des preuves combinatoires à des conjectures quantiques posées par des physiciens. Dans la seconde partie, nous définissons des statistiques, comme emboîtements et k-emboîtements, sur l’ensemble des permutations du groupe de Coxeter de type B. Nous donnons également des extensions au type B des résultats sur les croisements et les emboîtements, respectivement k-croisements et k-emboîtements dans les permutations de type A, en termes de distributions symétriques. De plus, nous étudions le lien entre les opérateurs non-commutatifs et ces statistiques. D’autres extensions de la distribution de ces statistiques sur les ensembles de partitions colorées et de permutations colorées de types A et B sont ainsi établies / This thesis is divided into two parts, the first deals with the combinatorics associated to the normal ordering form of noncommutative operators and the second addresses the symmetric distributions of the crossing numbers and nesting numbers, respectively k-crossings and k-nestings, in combinatorial structures (partitions, permutations, colored permutations, …). The first part studies the normal order of operators in terms of rook placements. We study the normal ordering form connecting two noncommutative operators D and U, and some special orthogonal polynomials, and establish bijonctions between coefficients of (D+U)n and rook placements in Ferrers diagrams. We also give combinatorial proofs and alternatives to some quantum conjectures posed by physicists. In the second part, we define the notions of statistics, nestings and k-nestings, on the sets of permutations of the Coxeter group of type B. We also give extensions to type B of the results of the crossings and nestings, respectivelu k-crossings and K-nestings in the set of permutations of type A, in terms of symmetric distributions. Likewise, we study the link between non-commutative operators and these statistics. Other extensions of the distribution of these statistics on the sets of colored partitions and colored permutations of type A and B are established

Agency Costs of Controlling Minority Shareholders (coauthored with Henrik Cronqvist) estimates the agency costs of controlling minority shareholders (CMSs) using a panel of Swedish listed firms. CMSs are owners who have a control stake of the firm’s votes while owning only a minority fraction of the firm’s equity. The study documents that families in control are almost exclusively CMSs through an extensive use of dual-class shares. The results show that increased ownership of votes by a controlling owner is associated with an economically and statistically significant decrease in firm value, but that the decrease in firm value is significantly larger for firms with family CMSs than for firms with financial institutions or corporations in control. This indicates that the agency costs of family CMSs are larger than the agency costs of other controlling owners.Family Ownership, Control Considerations, and Corporate Financing Decisions: An Empirical Analysis analyzes the relation between concentrated family control and firms’ choice of capital structure for a panel of Swedish listed firms. The results suggest that the capital structure choices made by firms with families in control are influenced by the controlling families’ desire to protect their control, and that the resulting capital structures are likely to increase the agency costs of family control. The Choice between Rights Offerings and Private Equity Placements (coauthored with Henrik Cronqvist) analyzes the determinants of the choice between rights offerings and private equity placements using a sample of rights offerings and private placements made by listed Swedish firms. The results indicate that control considerations explain why firms make uninsured rights offerings. The evidence also suggest that private placements, and to some extent underwritten rights offerings, are made by potentially undervalued firms in order to overcome underinvestment problems resulting from asymmetric information about firm value. Furthermore, private placements are frequently made in conjunction with the establishment of a product market relationship between purchaser and seller, which is consistent with equity ownership reducing contracting costs in new product market relationships. Why Agency Costs Explain Diversification Discounts (coauthored with Henrik Cronqvist and Peter Högfeldt) studies diversification within the real estate industry, in which firms can diversify over property types and geographical regions. Similar to previous studies, this essay documents the existence of a diversification discount. However, the major cause of the diversification discount is not diversification per se but anticipated costs due to rent dissipation in future diversifying acquisitions. Firms expected to pursue non-focusing strategies do indeed diversify more, are valued ex ante at a 20% discount over firms anticipated to follow a focusing strategy, and are predominantly family controlled. The ex ante diversification discount is, therefore, a measure of agency costs.  The Difference in Acquirer Returns between Takeovers of Public Targets and Takeovers of Private Targets shows, for a sample of Swedish takeovers, that the average acquirer abnormal return is positive and significant when the target firm is privately held but insignificant when the target firm is listed on a stock exchange. These results are robust when controlling for sample selection problems and other variables capable of explaining acquirer returns. The evidence is consistent with greater acquirer bargaining power and resolution of information asymmetries in takeovers of private targets. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2002

The assignment given to us by NCC was to compose a degree project based on ground excavations for power cables. The aim of the study was to examine suitable excavation methods depending on different possible terrain conditions. The amount of previously written material within this subject is nearly non- existent and therefore there is a genuine interest by the NCC to receive a compilation of different production methods. The greater part of this study is based upon interviews with several companies active within this area of expertise. The technique of placing the electricity grid beneath ground for safety is today getting more and more common. The aftermath of the hurricane “Gudrun” has forced several power companies to re-evaluate their electric supply network, which has lead to more placements of power cables underground. We have come to the conclusion that there are several factors that would affect the method of choice for cable excavations. Costumer demands, obstacles and the difference in ground conditions are vital factors behind the verdict for suitable production methods.

<p>The assignment given to us by NCC was to compose a degree project based on ground excavations for power cables. The aim of the study was to examine suitable excavation methods depending on different possible terrain conditions. The amount of previously written material within this subject is nearly non- existent and therefore there is a genuine interest by the NCC to receive a compilation of different production methods. The greater part of this study is based upon interviews with several companies active within this area of expertise. The technique of placing the electricity grid beneath ground for safety is today getting more and more common. The aftermath of the hurricane “Gudrun” has forced several power companies to re-evaluate their electric supply network, which has lead to more placements of power cables underground.</p><p>We have come to the conclusion that there are several factors that would affect the method of choice for cable excavations. Costumer demands, obstacles and the difference in ground conditions are vital factors behind the verdict for suitable production methods.</p>

Sammanfattning Det här är en kvalitativ studie i syfte att undersöka hur vetenskapliga teorier synliggörs i lärarstudenters reflektioner över sin undervisning i ämnet svenska på lågstadiet. Materialet är insamlat i samband med lärarstudenters verksamhetsförlagda utbildning och består av intervjuer, observationer av undervisning och texter i form av pedagogiska planeringar. Resultatet visar att lärarkandidaters reflektioner håller en låg nivå när det gäller skoldidaktisk reflektion och att grunda sina resonemang i teorier om lärande och i professionella ämneskunskaper i svenska, även om deras undervisning håller god kvalitet.                       Sammantaget är min slutsats att olika metoder eller förklaringsmodeller som används inom forskning skulle kunna synliggöras i större utsträckning inom ramen för svenskkurser i lärarutbildningen. De kan dessutom användas som redskap för dokumentation av elevers kunskaper samt studenters egna skoldidaktiska reflektioner men även för det systematiska arbetet med att dokumentera elevers lärande som en förutsättning och utgångspunkt för planering av kommande undervisning, det vill säga formativ undervisning. Det skulle kunna vara ett sätt att överbrygga teori-praktikproblemet i lärarutbildningen såväl som att höja nivån av hur studenter relaterar till vetenskapliga modeller som stöd för skoldidaktisk reflektion. / Title: “At least I thought the pupils were good”: Theorisation in education students’ didactic reflections on teaching Swedish   This qualitative study aimed to investigate the role of theory in education students’ reflections on their teaching of Swedish in lower primary school. The material was collected in connection with the students’ practical placements and comprises of interviews and observations. Although these prospective teachers performed well in the classroom, the study shows that the students’ didactic reflections were generally below par and inadequately founded in theories of learning or Swedish subject knowledge.        The overall conclusion is that different methods or models used in research can be highlighted to a greater extent in the Swedish subject courses on the primary education program. Students may not only use such theoretical tools to document pupils’ knowledge and formulate their own didactic reflections, but these tools could also prove useful in formative teaching, that is, in systematically documenting pupils’ learning in order to plan future teaching. This could therefore be a way to bridge the theory-practice gap in teacher training as well as improve education students’ use of theoretical models in their didactic reflections.

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Sammanfattning Det här är en kvalitativ studie i syfte att undersöka hur vetenskapliga teorier synliggörs i lärarstudenters reflektioner över sin undervisning i ämnet svenska på lågstadiet. Materialet är insamlat i samband med lärarstudenters verksamhetsförlagda utbildning och består av intervjuer, observationer av undervisning och texter i form av pedagogiska planeringar. Resultatet visar att lärarkandidaters reflektioner håller en låg nivå när det gäller skoldidaktisk reflektion och att grunda sina resonemang i teorier om lärande och i professionella ämneskunskaper i svenska, även om deras undervisning håller god kvalitet.                       Sammantaget är min slutsats att olika metoder eller förklaringsmodeller som används inom forskning skulle kunna synliggöras i större utsträckning inom ramen för svenskkurser i lärarutbildningen. De kan dessutom användas som redskap för dokumentation av elevers kunskaper samt studenters egna skoldidaktiska reflektioner men även för det systematiska arbetet med att dokumentera elevers lärande som en förutsättning och utgångspunkt för planering av kommande undervisning, det vill säga formativ undervisning. Det skulle kunna vara ett sätt att överbrygga teori-praktikproblemet i lärarutbildningen såväl som att höja nivån av hur studenter relaterar till vetenskapliga modeller som stöd för skoldidaktisk reflektion. / Title: “At least I thought the pupils were good”: Theorisation in education students’ didactic reflections on teaching Swedish   This qualitative study aimed to investigate the role of theory in education students’ reflections on their teaching of Swedish in lower primary school. The material was collected in connection with the students’ practical placements and comprises of interviews and observations. Although these prospective teachers performed well in the classroom, the study shows that the students’ didactic reflections were generally below par and inadequately founded in theories of learning or Swedish subject knowledge.        The overall conclusion is that different methods or models used in research can be highlighted to a greater extent in the Swedish subject courses on the primary education program. Students may not only use such theoretical tools to document pupils’ knowledge and formulate their own didactic reflections, but these tools could also prove useful in formative teaching, that is, in systematically documenting pupils’ learning in order to plan future teaching. This could therefore be a way to bridge the theory-practice gap in teacher training as well as improve education students’ use of theoretical models in their didactic reflections.