Background and problem: The abolishment of the mandatory audit in Sweden resulted in a marketorientation in which the small sized enterprises gained a stronger position. Theaudit firms are faced with the challenge to better meet the clients need and todemonstrate the value of audit now when it is optional. In coherence with thisclient focus it is endorsed to implement a value-based pricing that primarilyconsiders the client’s value and willingness to pay. The value of audit andaccounting services to small sized enterprises is not yet fully investigated, whyit is difficult to implement a value-based strategy. Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the value of audit and accounting servicesto the small sized enterprises through the study of which attributes theseservices consist of and which priority the small sized enterprises attach to thedifferent attributes. This study will result in the optimal combination ofattributes and levels of performance related to audit and accounting servicesthrough the eyes of the small sized enterprises. Method: In order to investigate the attributes of audit and accounting services, we haveconducted a qualitative pre-study including three interviews with small sizedenterprises about their perception of the value of these services. Thereafter aquantitative survey study has been realized through the function Conjoint Analysis in the Excel program named Marketing Engineering. The purpose is toinvestigate the preferences of small sized enterprises in order to present theoptimal combination. Results and conclusion: In addition to the presentation of the optimal combination, this study impliesthat the value of audit and accounting services partly consists of a functionaluse, where the utilization of these services solves the client’s problems. Partlythe services consist of more hedonic values, where the relationship with and theconsulting from the person who performs the service are highly valued by thesmall sized enterprises. In order to create additional value, the information aboutthese services needs to be improved. / Bakgrund och problem: Revisionspliktens avskaffande ledde till en marknadsorientering därsmåföretagarna har intagit en starkare position. Revisionsbyråerna står inför enutmaning att bättre tillgodose klientens behov och påvisa nyttan med revision dåden numera är frivillig för småföretag. I linje med denna klientfokuseringförespråkas en implementering av den värdebaserade prissättningen som utgårfrån klientens värde och betalningsvillighet. Småföretagarnas värde avrevisions- och redovisningstjänster är dock inte helt utrett varför det än så längeär svårt att implementera en värdebaserad prissättningsstrategi irevisionsbranschen. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka småföretagarnas upplevda värde avrevisions- och redovisningstjänster genom att studera vilka attribut dessa tjänsterbestår av och vilken prioritet småföretagarna fäster vid de olika attributen.Genom denna studie förmedlas en bild av den optimala kombinationen avattribut och prestationsnivåer relaterade till revisions- och redovisningstjänsterur småföretagarens synvinkel. Metod: För att kunna undersöka vilka attribut en revisions- och redovisningstjänst kanbestå av har vi genomfört en kvalitativ förstudie där vi intervjuat tre småföretagom deras uppfattning kring värdet av dessa tjänster. Därefter har en kvantitativsurveyundersökning genomförts på 20 företag med hjälp av Excel-programmet Marketing Engineering där funktionen Conjoint Analysis har tillämpats för attkunna undersöka småföretagarnas preferenser och slutligen presentera denoptimala kombinationen. Resultat och slutsats: Utöver presentationen av den optimala kombinationen framgår i denna studie attvärdet med revisions- och redovisningstjänster dels består av en funktionellnytta, där utnyttjandet av tjänsterna löser klienternas problem. Dels bestårtjänsterna av mer hedonistiska inslag, där relationen med och rådgivning fråntjänsteutövaren värdesätts av småföretagen. För att skapa ytterligare värde börfrämst informationen kring tjänsterna förbättras.

Introduction Due diligence or “företagsbesiktning” as it is called in Swedish is an approach to collect and review information about a company's characteristics and risks prior to negotiation and decision on a significant business transaction regarding the acquisition object. A due diligence is often carried out in connection with company transfers and in most cases buyers or sellers hire a law firm or auditing firm for the implementation. There are various forms of due diligence, of which the usual forms are commercial, financial and legal due diligence. Together, the forms of due diligence cover a wide area and are usually sufficient to succeed in identifying the most significant risks that a target company is covered by. In the implementation of company acquisitions, there is an information asymmetry between buyers and sellers. This means that salespeople who have the target company in their possession have more access to knowledge and information about the company's condition. A seller's information advantage can be reduced by a due diligence. The purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate and describe how due diligence is carried out in practice by law firms and auditing firms and whether it can be related to how the process is presented in the literature. The purpose is also to study whether the information asymmetry between buyers and sellers is reduced if a more thorough due diligence is carried out in a company acquisition. In addition, the goal is also to describe the way in which representatives of law firms and auditing firms in Sweden handle the information asymmetry between buyers and sellers in company acquisitions. Method The study's approach has been a qualitative method where qualitative data has been generated via 6 interviews with representatives of law firms and auditing firms in Sweden. The study is based on essential and existing literature that is proven through collected empirical data where own conclusions are drawn, thus the study applies a deductive approach. The conclusion The conclusion that can be drawn in this study is that due diligence in company acquisitions is carried out in practice much like Sevenius' (2021) description of the process where five steps are included; preparation, information gathering, analysis, reporting and implementation. The conclusion is also that the information asymmetry between buyers and sellers is reduced with a more thorough due diligence according to all representatives of law firms and auditing firms. Representatives of law firms and audit firms handle the information asymmetry between two parties through, for example, confidentiality agreements or that the advisers act as agents for the client and receive information about the target company. / Inledning Due diligence eller företagsbesiktning som det heter på svenska är ett angreppssätt för att insamla och granska information om ett företags egenskaper och risker inför förhandling och beslut om en betydande affärstransaktion beträffande förvärvsobjektet. En due diligence genomförs ofta i samband med företagsöverlåtelser och i de flesta fall anlitar köpare eller säljare en advokat- eller revisionsbyrå för genomförandet. Det finns olika former av due diligence, varav de sedvanliga formerna är kommersiell, finansiell och legal due diligence. Gemensamt täcker due diligence-formerna ett brett område och är oftast tillräckligt för att lyckas identifiera de mest väsentliga risker som ett målföretag omfattas av. Vid genomförandet av företagsförvärv föreligger en informationsasymmetri mellan köpare och säljare. Detta innebär att säljare som har målföretaget i sin besittning har mer tillgång till kunskap och information om företagets tillstånd. En säljares informationsövertag kan reduceras genom användningen av en due diligence. Syfte Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva och analysera hur due diligence genomförs i praktiken av advokat- och revisionsbyråer samt om det kan relateras till hur processen framställs i litteraturen. Syftet är även att studera om informationsasymmetrin mellan köpare och säljare reduceras om en mer grundlig due diligence genomförs vid ett företagsförvärv. Därutöver är målet också att beskriva på vilket sätt företrädare för advokat- och revisionsbyråer i Sverige hanterar informationsasymmetrin mellan köpare och säljare vid företagsförvärv. Metod Studiens tillvägagångssätt har varit en kvalitativ metod där kvalitativa data har genererats via 6 intervjuer med företrädare för advokat- och revisionsbyråer i Sverige. Studien har sin utgångspunkt i väsentlig och befintlig litteratur som styrks genom insamlad empiri där egna slutsatser dras, således tillämpar studien en deduktiv ansats. Slutsats Slutsatsen som kan dras i denna studie är att due diligence vid företagsförvärv genomförs i praktiken ungefär som Sevenius (2021) beskrivning av processen där det ingår fem steg; förberedelse, informationsinsamling, analys, rapportering och implementering. Slutsatsen är även att informationsasymmetrin mellan köpare och säljare reduceras med en mer grundlig due diligence enligt samtliga företrädare för advokat- och revisionsbyråer. Företrädare för advokatoch revisionsbyråer hanterar informationsasymmetrin mellan två parter genom exempelvis sekretessavtal eller att rådgivarna fungerar som ombud för klienten och erhåller information om målbolaget.

Defining ambiguity as investor's uncertainty about the precision of the observed information, Chapter One constructs an empirical measure of ambiguity based on analysts' earnings forecast information, and finds that the market tends to react more negatively to highly ambiguous bad news, while it tends to be less responsive to highly ambiguous good news. This result supports the theoretical argument of Epstein and Schneider (2003, 2008) that ambiguity-averse investors take a worst-case assessment of the information precision, when they are uncertain about the information precision. In addition, Chapter One shows that returns on stocks exposed to highly ambiguous and intangible information are more negatively skewed. Chapter Two finds that certain traders are informed about either the forthcoming analysts' forecasts or long-term value of the stock, and informed traders prefer to use medium-size trades to exploit their private information advantage. Specifically, medium-size trade imbalance prior to the forecast announcements is positively correlated with the nature of forecast revisions, while in the days immediately after the forecasts medium-size trade imbalance is positively correlated with future stock returns for up to four months. Small-size trade imbalance is also positively correlated with future returns but only following downward revisions. In contrast, it is also shown that large trades placed right after the forecasts are unprofitable and generate slightly negative profits in the long run. Overall, our results are consistent with the "stealth trading hypothesis" proposed by Barclay and Warner (1993).

Stafford and Warr (1993) reconceptualized general and specific deterrence into a single theory in which individuals' propensities to engage in criminal behavior are based on some combination of personal experiences with being punished and avoiding punishment and vicarious (or indirect) experiences with being punished and avoiding punishment. The researchers make a substantial contribution to the deterrence literature by accounting for the effect of punishment avoidance when assessing deterrence theory. Despite the theoretical appeal of this restatement, few studies have tested its empirical merit. The current study tests the applicability of Stafford and Warr's model but also addresses several key limitations that still exist in the deterrence literature. The present study was the first of its kind to directly test Stafford and Warr's (1993) model, blending specific and general deterrence, on an offending population. The majority of perceptual deterrence research examines largely pro-social groups. Evidence suggests that offenders may have unique decision-making processes and may be very different from those typically studied in deterrence research. Identifying the relevant deterrents among non-conventional or offending populations has significant policy implications. Additionally, in order to understand the decision-making process of criminals, this study incorporated alternative sanction forms from a rational choice perspective into the deterrence framework. This is a particularly salient point because non-legal costs may be more influential in criminal decision-making than formal sanctions. By examining the deterrent effects of several other factors (besides the traditional variables studied in deterrence models) among a non-conventional population, findings may suggest methods for designing more effective punishments. Therefore, the present study conducted survey research of high-criminality among an adult sample. This dissertation recruited 326 work release inmates from Orange County, Florida, and asked them to complete a written questionnaire. Results from the bivariate analyses revealed some support for the deterrence doctrine and the rational choice perspective. However, more rigorous tests of these predictions revealed no support for deterrence theory. Even though this study concluded that deterrence alone does not adequately predict future offending, the idea of choice was upheld. The results from this dissertation and from several other studies suggest the need for further analysis of the effect of extralegal sanctions on future criminal activity, especially among non-conventional populations. The current study offers suggestions for effective crime control policies and directions on how future research can clarify the inconsistencies between the theoretical predictions of deterrence theory and empirical reality.

"Liszt's music, unlike that of Mozart, projects the man. With rare immediacy, it gives away the character of the composer. ... " (Brendel 1986, 3) The purpose of this study is to examine Liszt's song genre from an historical and stylistic standpoint as a reflection of Liszt's ongoing personality and style development. this end the following will be presented: - an overview of Liszt's life circumstances which reflect his personality development - a chronological classification ofLiszt's song genre - the songs viewed historically as a reflection of the man - characteristics in the revisions of the songs which reveal Liszt's ongoing developing style - a study of the development ofLiszt's harmonic and tonal language as agents of colour and textual imagery. Liszt's song oeuvre will be studied in relation to the man himself in order to revtal his motives, his values, the experiences that moved him, and the ways in which he reproduced them in music. / Department of Musicology / M.Mus.

Bakgrund: Sedan 1980-talet har en uppsättning organisatoriska idéer och teorier lånade från näringslivet under namnet New Public Management tagit sig in i den offentliga sektorn och sjukvården. I takt med att medvetenheten om dessa idéer och teorier ökat hos allmänheten har en levande debatt om New Public Management inom sjukvården tagit fart. Från politiskt håll har nu en önskan om att utveckla nya styrmodeller för offentlig sektor bortom New Public Management lagts fram. Därför är det av intresse att studera New Public Management-diskursen kring svensk sjukvård. Syfte: Denna studie avser studera den rådande New Public Management-diskursen kring svensk sjukvård. Utifrån ett kritiskt analytiskt perspektiv är syftet med studien också att undersöka hur denna diskurs kan kopplas till de strukturella relationer som manifesteras av språket. Metod: Kritisk diskursanalys Teorier: New Public Management, Revisions- och mätbarhet, Kvalitetsbegreppet, Diskursanalys, Kritisk diskursanalys Empiri: Sekundärdata bestående av debattartiklar om svensk sjukvård. Slutsats: Denna studie har identifierat en strukturell maktrelation i den diskursiva praktiken som manifesteras i språket. / Background: Since the 1980s, a collection of organizational ideas and theories borrowed from the private sector and under the name of New Public Management have entered the public sector and healthcare. As the public awareness of these ideas and theories has increased, a vivid debate about New Public Management within the healthcare has gained momentum. Politically, a wish for a development of new models of management beyond New Public Management in the public sector have been introduced. Thus, it is of interest to study the discourse of New Public Management surrounding Swedish healthcare. Objective: This thesis aims to study the current discourse of New Public Management surrounding Swedish healthcare. By using a critical analytical perspective the objective of the thesis is also to study how this discourse can be linked to the structural relations that manifest themselves through language. Method: Critical discourse analysis Theories: New Public Management, Auditability, Concept of quality, Discourse analysis, Critical discourse analysis Empiric: Secondary data consisting of debate articles about Swedish healthcare Conclusion: This thesis have identified a structural relation of power in the discoursive dimension which manifest itself through language.

This thesis is a collection of three essays on hedge funds with contributions to the empirical understanding of their fees, and their voluntary disclosure of returns and assets under management, using a large consolidation of widely-employed publicly available hedge fund databases. First, time-series variation in reported fees is analysed using fund launches within hedge fund management companies, and conditioning fees at launch on fund family characteristics. Larger and better performing fund families launch high fee funds. Funds with high management fees at launch do not perform any differently from low fee funds, though funds with high incentive fees marginally outperform. An interval regression technique is proposed to overcome the discrete nature of reported fees. Secondly, the reliability of voluntary disclosures of financial information is analysed with a different measure of time-variation --- tracking changes to statements of historical performance recorded at different points in time. This uncovers evidence that historical returns are routinely revised. These revisions are not merely random or corrections of earlier mistakes; they are partly forecastable by fund characteristics. Moreover, funds that revise their performance histories, significantly and predictably underperform those that have never revised. Finally, the availability, and timing, of the selective disclosure of assets under management by funds is examined. More than a third of funds have asset records falling short of returns published. There is evidence of strategic disclosure by funds --- asset reporting drying up after times of fund stress, such as poor performance or outflows. Furthermore, investors should take heed of the greater propensity for shortfall funds to trigger fraud performance flags. These results suggest that unreliable disclosures: constitute a valuable source of information for current and potential investors; have implications for researchers; and, exhort market regulators to include assets, not just returns, in the debate around mandatory disclosure by financial institutions.

abstract: Objective: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a federally-funded program that provides supplemental food packages, nutrition education, and healthcare referrals to low-income women, infants, and children under 5, who are at the highest nutritional risk. This study explores if household WIC participation is associated with healthier dietary behaviors among age-ineligible children (5-18-years-old) in WIC households. Consumption frequency of fruits, vegetables, 100% juice, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), and energy-dense snacks (sweet and salty snacks) among children from WIC and income-qualifying non-WIC households were compared. Methods: Data were obtained from two cross-sectional panels (2009-10 and 2014) of the New Jersey Child Health Study conducted in four low-income New Jersey cities. Questions from previously validated surveys assessed consumption frequency of fruits, vegetables, SSBs, and sweet and salty snacks. Analyses were confined to 570 children between 5-18 yrs; of which 365 (5-11 yrs: 237, 12-18 yrs: 128) resided in WIC participating households and 205 (5-11 yrs: 138, 12-18 yrs: 67) in income-qualifying non-WIC households. Over half of the sample was African American and 43% were Hispanic. Multivariable analyses were conducted to compute incidence rate ratios (IRRs) using negative binomial regression to compare the differences in eating behaviors of children in WIC vs. Non-WIC households Results: Household WIC participation was associated with a slightly higher frequency of vegetable consumption among 12-18-year-old children (IRR= 1.25, p=.05); differences were significant among older males (12-18-years-old) (p=.006), and not in females. Frequency of 100% juice consumption was significantly higher among younger females (5-11-years-old) in WIC households who consumed juice about 44% more frequently (p=.02) compared to similar age girls in non-WIC households. Hispanic children in WIC households reported a lower frequency of SSBs consumption (p=.01); this association was only true among males (p=.02). Conclusions: Household WIC participation is associated with healthier dietary behaviors among age-ineligible children living in the households, suggesting a positive spillover effect of the program. Proposed changes to WIC packages are likely to have dietary implications not only for WIC participants but also for non-participating children residing in WIC households, / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Nutrition 2019

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"Liszt's music, unlike that of Mozart, projects the man. With rare immediacy, it gives away the character of the composer. ... " (Brendel 1986, 3) The purpose of this study is to examine Liszt's song genre from an historical and stylistic standpoint as a reflection of Liszt's ongoing personality and style development. this end the following will be presented: - an overview of Liszt's life circumstances which reflect his personality development - a chronological classification ofLiszt's song genre - the songs viewed historically as a reflection of the man - characteristics in the revisions of the songs which reveal Liszt's ongoing developing style - a study of the development ofLiszt's harmonic and tonal language as agents of colour and textual imagery. Liszt's song oeuvre will be studied in relation to the man himself in order to revtal his motives, his values, the experiences that moved him, and the ways in which he reproduced them in music. / Department of Musicology / M.Mus.