<p><strong>Background:</strong> A warrant is a derivative that is normally issued over stocks. During the last financial crisis, the trading of warrants reached new records. The high leverage and the complexity of the product make the warrant a risky investment. Financial products such as warrants therefore imply a significant purchase decision for an individual and the consequences of making a poorly thought-out choice can be of considerable importance. Financial products require a high degree of involvement since the decision process is characterized by uncertainty of outcome and complexity of the product. Traditional theories on consumer decision making build on the assumptions of self-interest and rationality. In the context of financial services, the rationality of the decision process has been questioned within the field of behavioral economics, a field that suggests that the consumer is unable to make rational decisions as well as comparative judgments.</p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>With a theoretical basis in the traditional consumer decision process, the purpose of this thesis is to examine and describe the decision making of young investors that buy warrants.</p><p><strong>Methodology:</strong> The study can be described as abdicative, since the subject of this thesis is based on an empirical problem observed in reality as well as based on existing theories on the subject. The thesis is furthermore a mixed qualitative and quantitative study. The empirical information was gathered using an Internet survey that was sent out to young investors that are members or are connected to financial associations or societies at different universities.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> The study is considered to show that the decision making of young investors can be described as neither optimal nor rational when buying warrants. The respondents seldom seem to make efficient and as rational decisions as the traditional decision process model implies. Instead, individual characteristics and attitudes of the young investors affect their decision making.</p>

<p>Denna uppsats är, precis som titeln anger, en analys av sambandet mellan motsägelser och ångest. De nutida vardagsuttrycken för begreppen utreds och granskas med hjälp av känslo- och rationalitetsfilosofiska teorier och distinktioner ifrån Arne Næss och Jean-Paul Sartre. Författaren föreslår en egen definition av ångest och jämför denna med andra filosofers och tankeskolors definitioner av begreppet. Författarens syn på ångest skiljer sig från Sartres, då han menar att ångest kan lösas upp och att den ofta är väldigt specifik och konkret till sin karaktär, medan Sartre menar att ångesten är omöjlig att lösgöra sig ifrån och att den är av ett mycket mer generellt slag. Detta konkreta och specifika element i den ångestdefinition, som författaren vill lägga fram, består i att ångesten uppstår i vissa valsituationer där valalternativen, i någon form, är sinsemellan motsägande och där ett val är tvunget att göras.</p> / <p>This paper is, as the title states, an analysis of the connection between contradictionsand anxiety. The present everyday expressions of these concepts are investigated with the help of philosophical theories from Arne Næss and Jean-Paul Sartre concerning emotions and rationality. The author presents his own definition of anxiety and compares it to other philosophers and thinkers’ definitions of the same concepts, and this way he reaches a conclusion. For example this conclusion diverge with Sartre’s view of anxiety, because the author states that it is possible to get free from anxiety and that it is often something very particular and precice, while Sartre says it is impossible to free yourself from it and that it is very general by nature. This specific element in the author’s definition of anxiety lies in the fact that he thinks of it as something that often occurs in situations with two or more options, and where these options are, amongst themself, contradictory in one form or an other, and where a choice has to be made.</p>

<p>A Road project’s frame is built up of a decision- and consultation process, where the results of the preparatory studies are being discussed. The aim with a consultation process is that all the</p><p>opinions and knowledge from the operators' will be taken into count in the basis of information, that is needed in order to the different involved operators' to take a decision.</p><p>The aim of the essay was to investigate how the decision- and consultation process for a road project, the E4 section between Uppsala Läby, turned out. The aim is also to bring up how the</p><p>process could have been done more correctly. The study was carried out through a qualitative method with an analysis of materials from the National Road Administration's archives, the associated Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and through interviews of the different operators.</p><p>My theoretical basis has been a Stakeholder Analysis and its principles, and theory about different executions of social planning.</p><p>The result showed that the decision- and consultation process has been bursting in democracy and consideration taking of the different operators' opinions, has been poor from the developer’s, in this case the National Road Administration's, side. The National Road Administration has implemented the project on the basis of its own preferences and has not more or less given some compromises to the other operators. The public felt displeased and disappointed, as there were many people affected by the road. The municipalities and the county board got the feeling of that there has been an informal process at the National Road Administration that has been vital important for the final decision about the road's draw.</p> / <p>Ett vägprojekts stomme byggs upp av besluts- och samrådsprocesser, där resultaten av förstudierna diskuteras. Syftet med en samrådsprocess är att alla aktörers åsikter och kunskaper ska tas med i det underlag av information, som behövs för att de olika inblandade</p><p>parterna ska kunna fatta ett beslut.</p><p>Uppsatsens syfte var att undersöka hur besluts- och samrådsprocessen för ett vägprojekt, E4:ans delsträcka mellan Uppsala-Läby, gick till och att föra fram vad som kunde ha gjorts bättre. Studien utfördes genom en kvalitativ metod med en analys av material från Vägverkets</p><p>arkiv, den tillhörande Miljökonsekvensbeskrivningen och genom intervjuer av de olika aktörerna.</p><p>Min teoretiska utgångspunkt har varit aktörsanalyser och dess principer, samt teori om olika utföranden av samhällsplanering.</p><p>Resultatet visade att besluts- och samrådsprocessen har varit bristande i demokrati och hänsynstagande av de olika aktörernas åsikter, har varit dåligt från projektörens, i det här fallet Vägverkets, sida. Vägverket har genomfört projektet utifrån dess egna preferenser och har i stort sett inte givit några kompromisser till de andra aktörerna. Allmänheten känner sig missnöjda och besvikna, det var många som drabbades hårt av vägens sträckning.</p><p>Kommunerna och Länsstyrelsen fick känslan av att det har pågått en informell process hos Vägverket som har varit avgörande för det tagna beslutet om vägens dragning.</p>

This master thesis in economics discusses the time use of today as well as the observed trends in time use over the last 20 years in Sweden. This is done by analysing time-use and consumption data at the microeconomic level, i.e. by explaining individual behaviour given the economic assumption of a rational behaviour. We reach the conclusion that the value of time is an important explanatory variable concerning the rationality in that time is used differently by different individuals and in the changed use of time. Furthermore, other variables such as social norms and the process benefit of a certain activity, i.e. the satisfaction obtained from performing this activity, are also crucial determinants. In addition we discuss whether an increased value of time results in an increased level of stress, and we reach the conclusion that stress above all is attached to certain socioeconomic groups. However, we are of the opinion that the increased value of time can explain a perceived general increase in the speed of time. Finally, the thesis ends with a discussion in which time is linked to happiness and welfare, and we pose the question whether the indiviual uses his/her time in such a way that happiness is maximised. We conclude that it is difficult to use one’s time in this way, since it is impossible to know one’s total supply of time.

A Road project’s frame is built up of a decision- and consultation process, where the results of the preparatory studies are being discussed. The aim with a consultation process is that all the opinions and knowledge from the operators' will be taken into count in the basis of information, that is needed in order to the different involved operators' to take a decision. The aim of the essay was to investigate how the decision- and consultation process for a road project, the E4 section between Uppsala Läby, turned out. The aim is also to bring up how the process could have been done more correctly. The study was carried out through a qualitative method with an analysis of materials from the National Road Administration's archives, the associated Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and through interviews of the different operators. My theoretical basis has been a Stakeholder Analysis and its principles, and theory about different executions of social planning. The result showed that the decision- and consultation process has been bursting in democracy and consideration taking of the different operators' opinions, has been poor from the developer’s, in this case the National Road Administration's, side. The National Road Administration has implemented the project on the basis of its own preferences and has not more or less given some compromises to the other operators. The public felt displeased and disappointed, as there were many people affected by the road. The municipalities and the county board got the feeling of that there has been an informal process at the National Road Administration that has been vital important for the final decision about the road's draw. / Ett vägprojekts stomme byggs upp av besluts- och samrådsprocesser, där resultaten av förstudierna diskuteras. Syftet med en samrådsprocess är att alla aktörers åsikter och kunskaper ska tas med i det underlag av information, som behövs för att de olika inblandade parterna ska kunna fatta ett beslut. Uppsatsens syfte var att undersöka hur besluts- och samrådsprocessen för ett vägprojekt, E4:ans delsträcka mellan Uppsala-Läby, gick till och att föra fram vad som kunde ha gjorts bättre. Studien utfördes genom en kvalitativ metod med en analys av material från Vägverkets arkiv, den tillhörande Miljökonsekvensbeskrivningen och genom intervjuer av de olika aktörerna. Min teoretiska utgångspunkt har varit aktörsanalyser och dess principer, samt teori om olika utföranden av samhällsplanering. Resultatet visade att besluts- och samrådsprocessen har varit bristande i demokrati och hänsynstagande av de olika aktörernas åsikter, har varit dåligt från projektörens, i det här fallet Vägverkets, sida. Vägverket har genomfört projektet utifrån dess egna preferenser och har i stort sett inte givit några kompromisser till de andra aktörerna. Allmänheten känner sig missnöjda och besvikna, det var många som drabbades hårt av vägens sträckning. Kommunerna och Länsstyrelsen fick känslan av att det har pågått en informell process hos Vägverket som har varit avgörande för det tagna beslutet om vägens dragning.

The transformation of the planning paradigm from rational comprehensive planning to participatory planning is commonly explained by the shift from instrumental rationality to communicative rationality. Based on communicative rationality, participatory planning approach has its own assumptions. One of the assumptions and pre-conditions of the realization of participatory planning practices is consensus-building. However, because of context-dependency of participatory planning processes, building consensus at the same level within every unique context is not possible. Therefore, comparing the participatory processes in terms of their success, which is commonly evaluated with standard success criteria in the literature, cannot be proper to participatory planning approach. Moreover, for the present study, exploring the factors affecting the participatory processes with a critical approach to increase the realization chance of participatory practices is more important than evaluating their successes. Focusing on the factors, affecting the participatory planning processes at interactional and socio-cultural levels, the thesis study aims to explore the socio-psychological dimensions of participatory processes that hinder and/or enhance them. To do that, the study poses three main research questions: &lsquo / what are the socio-psychological dimensions of the participatory processes of Gazi, Kaymakli, Odunpazari and Seyrek?&rsquo / , &lsquo / how much do socio-psychological dimensions explain the success of participatory processes?&rsquo / and &lsquo / how do socio-psychological dimensions explain contextually different participatory processes?&rsquo / To respond to these questions, the study was designed as case study and intended to pursue exploratory and quasi-experimental research approaches. As a result of the study, the research questions were answered in the case of the &lsquo / Local Government and NGO Cooperation in Participatory Democracy&rsquo / project in the Turkish context.

Background: A warrant is a derivative that is normally issued over stocks. During the last financial crisis, the trading of warrants reached new records. The high leverage and the complexity of the product make the warrant a risky investment. Financial products such as warrants therefore imply a significant purchase decision for an individual and the consequences of making a poorly thought-out choice can be of considerable importance. Financial products require a high degree of involvement since the decision process is characterized by uncertainty of outcome and complexity of the product. Traditional theories on consumer decision making build on the assumptions of self-interest and rationality. In the context of financial services, the rationality of the decision process has been questioned within the field of behavioral economics, a field that suggests that the consumer is unable to make rational decisions as well as comparative judgments. Purpose: With a theoretical basis in the traditional consumer decision process, the purpose of this thesis is to examine and describe the decision making of young investors that buy warrants. Methodology: The study can be described as abdicative, since the subject of this thesis is based on an empirical problem observed in reality as well as based on existing theories on the subject. The thesis is furthermore a mixed qualitative and quantitative study. The empirical information was gathered using an Internet survey that was sent out to young investors that are members or are connected to financial associations or societies at different universities. Results: The study is considered to show that the decision making of young investors can be described as neither optimal nor rational when buying warrants. The respondents seldom seem to make efficient and as rational decisions as the traditional decision process model implies. Instead, individual characteristics and attitudes of the young investors affect their decision making.

This study is motivated by the needs to critically reflect upon development aid. Foreign aid work has since the 1950s expanded to become a large and complex enterprise, where every country is either an aid donor or aid recipient, or being both. Foreign aid has always been viewed as a moral issue and the benefits have been contested and challenged. There are few voices that are questioning the provision of emergency aid, however, development aid have had its critics since the modern idea was raised of providing aid continuously. The question is whether it could ever produce the desired effect. It has also been criticized because of the way that decisions about who to give it to are influenced by political, strategic and commercial interests of donors. The purpose of this essay was to review the ideas that international aid workers have of development aid. This essay is based on qualitative data, where I have interviewed seven respondents about their experiences of working with international development aid. The empirical data has been interpreted using development theories specifically theories of social capital and human resources, rationality and the ideas of empowerment. The conclusions of this essay shows that it is very complex to talk about any obvious results of development aid, though it all depends on the significance of development. What where noticeable in this essay where that hardly anyone of respondents was committed to national aid work of any kind before they took the assignment. Since they got home, most of the respondents were devoted to national aid work. In order to generate help to self-help, the result shows that essential for development aid is cooperation.

The future is uncertain. We therefore make predictions and forecasts of the future in order to be able to plan and react to future events. For this purpose, financial analysts are argued to have a responsibility towards investors and the market, in helping to keep the market efficient. Given that financial analysts act in a rational way we argue that analysts should strive to maximize forecast accuracy. The purpose of this study is to investigate how accurate financial analysts’ forecasts of Swedish firms’ future values are, and what information that analysts use that significantly affect the analysts’ forecast accuracy. To investigate this we first examine whether financial analysts contribute with value to investors by comparing their forecast precision against a simple time-series model. Our findings show that financial analysts produce significantly more accurate forecasts than a time-series model in the short term. Furthermore, given that rational analysts act in their own best interest while making accurate forecasts, we argue that analysts will incorporate and use the information that is available to them for the purpose of maximizing forecast accuracy. We investigate this by testing if the analysts’ forecast accuracy is affected by; the forecast horizon, the number of analysts following a firm, the firm size, the corporate visibility, the predictability of earnings, and trading volume. We find that the forecast accuracy is better when the amount of analysts following a firm is high, the firm size is larger, the forecasted company’s corporate visibility in the news is more frequent, and the predictability of earnings is higher. The trading volume does not have a significant effect on analysts’ forecast accuracy. To conclude, we question the value of financial analysts’ forecasts for longer forecast horizons.

Since the transformation from Political Economy to Economics and from Classical to Neoclassical theory in the late nineteenth century, a theory of human behavior has constituted the initial foundation upon which all economic theory is based and developed. Two main theories of human behavior developed by William Stanley Jevons and Carl Menger have been generally accepted to have ushered in this Marginalist Revolution. Jevons marginal utility theory popularized by Alfred Marshall is still extensively used today, while the Austrian approach of Menger was effectively removed from academic discussion in the nineteen thirties; mainly as a result of the annexation of Austria and the dissolution of the Austrian School of Economics. Given the inability of economists to fully operationalize the marginal utility theory and realistically explain and resolve a broad range of behavioral anomalies using Neoclassical and Post-Neoclassical Economics, this thesis attempts to examine and address the most fundamental issues of human behavior in economics to explain how utility theory and modern Neoclassical and Post-Neoclassical Economics are flawed and how a realistic theory of human behavior, developed from the scholarly work of the early Austrian Economists, can be used to develop the basis of a scientific economics, derived from observation, that holds the potential to both expand the scope of economic understanding, redirect the focus of the discipline, and possibly unify the many disparate theories in the field.