This study aims to investigate the relationship between systematic risk and credit ratings. The systematic risk, frequently measured by beta, is an important consideration for both investors and corporations. Therefore it is interesting to examine if indications about the systematic risk could be gained by looking at credit ratings, especially on the Nordic market, where credit ratings are seemingly growing in importance. Consequently, the following research hypothesis is posed; We intend to establish a relationship between market risk (Beta) and credit ratings for firms in the Nordic countries. In order to confirm or deny the research hypothesis, theories from peer reviewed databases were collected. These were divided into three sections; background theories, hypotheses about credit ratings and a literature review. The background theories consisted of two classical financial theories, the Capital Asset Pricing Model and the Efficient Market Hypothesis, which are the foundation upon which the research field have progressed. The hypotheses is specifically designed to explain the relationship between credit ratings and either systematic risk or stock price. The literature review contains information about studies which did not contribute to theory building, but produced results interesting in the research area.   The actual sample in the thesis consisted of the 58 credit rated companies on the Nordic stock market. These companies were rated by Moody’s and/or Standard & Poor’s, the two largest credit rating agencies in the world. As a measure of the systematic risk, betas for each of the companies were calculated. To investigate the relationship between these variables a regression analysis was performed, as well as one sample T-test using the software SPSS.   The result revealed a moderate relationship between beta and credit risk, a relationship which was not statistically significant on the five percent level. Our results suggest that credit ratings contain some information about companies’ systematic risk, a finding that might be useful for market participants.

The current study attempted to discern the extent to which a gender bias influences the adult ratings of observed childhood pain. While gender differences in pain sensation are well documented in physiologically mature individuals, there seems to be no such difference in children. The effect of manipulating gender on the procedural pain ratings of 201 university undergraduate and nursing students was examined via a deceptive pain observation task. Results demonstrated no significant difference between gender conditions; however a strong link was established between prior exposure to painful pediatric medical procedures and lower pain ratings. The results suggest that, while a gender bias failed to alter pain ratings, desensitization to viewing painful procedures could alter how much pain healthcare professionals believe a patient is experiencing.

Syftet med den här studien har varit att analysera informationsbehovet hos vemdalsområdets besökare för att se hur Destination Vemdalen AB i framtiden skall bedriva en funktionell gästinformation som möter konsumenternas behov. Här vill vi bidra med ett ramverk för en hållbar verksamhet i framtiden. Undersökningen är baserad på en enkätundersökning bland Destination Vemdalens besökare, intervjuer med personer på strategiska poster inom turismnäringen samt informella intervjuer med aktörer i position med mycket gästkontakt där allmän service efterfrågas. Studien har visat att turistbyråns roll är föråldrad och att en teknisk revolution inom gästinformationens utveckling måste till för att möta konsumenternas behov. Vidare visar undersökningen att besökarna litar mer på fysiska personer än digitala källor, dock använder sig många av den nya tekniken av praktiska skäl då den är mer tillgänglig. Därför måste destinationer arbeta mer med det digitala värdskapet och höja tillförlitligheten på det digitala så att konsumenten kan ta beslutet att köpa produkter direkt på destinationsbolagens hemsidor.

Microfinance has been hailed as a “magic bullet” for poverty alleviation and women’s empowerment, and many believe that microfinance organizations (MFOs) can help the world’s poor move up the socioeconomic ladder. However, MFOs are also under increasing pressure to demonstrate high levels of organizational efficiency, economies of scale, and strong financials. The expectations facing these organizations are thus inherently contradictory: MFOs must do good and at the same time do well. In this dissertation, I focus on the expectations and demands imposed on MFOs by external evaluators. More specifically, I investigate how rating practices and the idealized organizational images that these project were constructed and worked in the Indian microfinance sector from 1999-2014. Through their credit recommendations, rating agencies not only direct the flow of resources in the market; their assessments also constitute a type of normative guidance for MFOs, signaling a set of criteria and ideals for how organizations should act and be structured, as well as which goals should be prioritized and pursued. In my analysis, I identify three sequential and distinct idealized images which are encoded in the rating reports during the study period. This means that ratings lead to the reinforcement of one particular model of conducting microfinance. I also find that prominent raters play a dual role. First, they inform MFOs about the idealized image by codifying what “is out there”, thus explicating institutional pressures. At the same time, they also actively contribute to the construction of idealized images, thereby suggesting which organizations and organizational features should be bestowed with legitimacy. The construction of the idealized image is found to be more noticeable during the early years of the study period, when the field was newly emerging. / <p>Diss. Stockholm :  Stockholm School of Economics, 2015</p>

This dissertation is a collection of three essays that study the market for consumer information. The first chapter studies the role of information intermediaries and their impact on consumer privacy. The second chapter presents an analysis of signaling in credit and insurance markets through default and repayment decisions. The third chapter studies some special topics such the manipulation of credit histories by fake borrowing or deletion of records. It also identifies a learning mechanism through which uninformed consumers can endogenously learn the link between credit market behavior and insurance market outcomes. / text

published_or_final_version / Economics and Finance / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The aim of this research programme was to investigate the effects of different music applications: The differentiated exposure of music and the synchronous application of music. In Study 1, participants completed a series of 10-km cycling time trials under four single-blinded conditions: No-music control, music 0-10 km (M1), music 0-5 km (M2), and music 5-10 km (M3). The largest performance gains were noticed under M1, followed by M3, when compared to control, while the most positive psychological response was observed only in M3. Study 2 further examined the notion of differentiated music exposure by incorporating both quantitative and qualitative modes of inquiry. In addition, participants were given foreknowledge of the experimental conditions. Although no performance gains were found across conditions, M3 significantly reduced perceived exertion and prevented affective decline. Qualitative findings suggest that prolonged exposure to music may have negative psychological and psychophysical consequences. The last study contrasted the effects of synchronous and asynchronous application of music in a 6-min submaximal cycling task. Synchronous music was more effective than asynchronous music in terms of reducing perceptions of exertion and increasing subjective arousal. Although no changes in oxygen uptake were found across conditions, auditory-motor synchronisation appeared to reduce heart rate. The contribution of this thesis is twofold. Firstly, the provision of music in the latter stages of a task appears to have significant psychological and psychophysical benefits when compared against constant music exposure. Secondly, more positive effects, in terms of perceived exertion and subjective arousal, are observed when music is applied synchronously compared to asynchronously; this suggests a need for a separate conceptual framework for the application of synchronous music.

The overall aim of this doctoral thesis was to explore an assessment of participation according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in people with a mild intellectual disability. Study I used secondary data and explored how participation can be assessed. Study II-IV explored participation empirically regarding 68 everyday activities from all nine life domains according to the ICF. Study II explored assessment of self-rated participation by investigating to what extent perceived ability, actual performance and perceived importance correlated. Study III-IV explored the contribution of perceived importance to an assessment of participation; study III by investigating frequencies of everyday activities regarding performance and importance separately as well as regarding combined measures of performance and perceived importance, and study IV by comparing proxy ratings with self-rated measures regarding ability and measures of participation. Study III also correlated measures of participation with a single-item measure of subjective general well-being and study II and IV investigated internal consistency in terms of Cronbach’s alpha. Study II and III included 55 and 69 individuals with intellectual disability respectively. Study IV included 40 individuals with intellectual disability and 40 proxy persons. The informants from the target group were partly the same. Study II and IV supported the suggestions from study I that participation should be assessed by self-ratings and study II found that this is an appropriate method also to people with a mild intellectual disability. Study III showed that participation is related to subjective well-being. Study III-IV found somewhat different results if measuring participation as performance solely or as a combination of performance and perceived importance. Overall, the results of the thesis suggest that performance solely might be sufficient to assess participation at a group level but in a clinical context, when the knowledge of a certain individual is of interest, the perceived aspect of involvement is necessary to include in an assessment of participation.

The current study attempted to discern the extent to which a gender bias influences the adult ratings of observed childhood pain. While gender differences in pain sensation are well documented in physiologically mature individuals, there seems to be no such difference in children. The effect of manipulating gender on the procedural pain ratings of 201 university undergraduate and nursing students was examined via a deceptive pain observation task. Results demonstrated no significant difference between gender conditions; however a strong link was established between prior exposure to painful pediatric medical procedures and lower pain ratings. The results suggest that, while a gender bias failed to alter pain ratings, desensitization to viewing painful procedures could alter how much pain healthcare professionals believe a patient is experiencing.

Isn’t the report card just a way to distinguish the “have” schools from the “have not” schools? This is the ninth in a series of frequently asked questions that can be found on the school performance section of the Fraser Institute’s website. Importantly, the report cards in question are both produced and published by the Fraser Institute, an independent public policy research group that ranks Canadian elementary schools on a set of indicators gleaned from the results of provincial standardized testing. While the Fraser Institute answers this question with a simple No, the thesis research presented here uses a mixed methods approach to examine the accuracy of this simplistic answer. Using socioeconomic data and regression analysis, this research endeavors to uncover if standardized test results can indeed stand independently of class and other demographic factors to produce a valid point of school comparison. This research also provides an in depth exploration of the Fraser Institute’s annual elementary school report card from the perspective of current elementary teachers in Ontario. Lastly, this research presents findings regarding the ways that parents of elementary school children use and understand the Fraser Institute’s school ratings.