Research has shown that the selection criteria, so-called screens, of socially responsible funds (SRF) affect their financial performance. The difference is particularly distinguishable during market crisis, where the exclusion of unethical industries (negative screening) has proven to be an inferior strategy compared to selecting companies with good social performance (positive screening). Few academic papers compare SRF with different screens to each other under market turmoil, instead comparing them to conventional funds. We examined the Swedish fund market during crisis and non-crisis by dividing SRF according to their screens. The results indicated that the financial performance between SRF with positive and negative screening was not significantly different during neither the crisis nor non-crisis period. In contrast to previous literature, SRF did not exhibit any risk reducing characteristics during market crisis. / Forskning som utvärderat socialt ansvarsfulla fonder (SRF) har sett indikationer på att deras investeringsstrategier som berör sociala och miljömässiga aspekter, så kallade screens, påverkar deras finansiella prestanda. Skillnaden mellan SRF med olika screeningstrategier har visat sig extra tydligt under marknadskriser, där exkluderingen av oetiska branscher (negativ screening) har visat sig vara en sämre strategi än att välja in företag med god social prestanda (positiv screening). Studier som undersöker SRF under olika marknadsstadier jämför sällan screeningstrategierna mot varandra, utan drar istället paralleller mot konventionella fonder. För att belysa hur olika screeningstrategier påverkar den finansiella prestationen undersöktes den svenska fondmarknaden under kris samt icke-kris genom att dela in svenskförvaltade SRF efter vilken typ av screening de tillämpade. Fonderna utvärderades genom regressionsanalyser för att kalkylera alpha. Resultatet indikerade att den finansiella prestationen mellan SRF med positiv och negativ screening inte var signifikant skild under varken kris eller icke-kris. I kontrast till tidigare studier uppvisade SRF inte riskreducerande egenskaper under dåliga ekonomiska tider.

<p>Socially engaged design programs, community development coalitions, and intentional and unintentional design spaces are rich with expertise and thinkers who are developing solutions to very pressing, yet complicated problems. Little research has been conducted on the expertise and sense-making of the community partners who participate in these situations. The goal of this research endeavor is to unpack the ways various community partners make meaning of their design experiences by answering the question: What evidence of system’s thinking can be seen in the way community partners describe their work or context? A qualitative research study was conducted in which three community partners were interviewed at various points during their engagement with socially engaged design programs. They demonstrated their systems thinking ability most strongly across the following domains: differentiate and qualify elements, explore multiple perspectives, consider issues appropriately, recognize systems, identify and characterize relationships. These findings imply that the community partners are not only capable of systems thinking but have the potential to be more deeply involved in <a>developing solutions</a> within these settings. Future studies should investigate systems thinking beyond socially engaged design in formal settings and should consider investigation protocols that more directly surface systems thinking domains. Overall, this study contributes to existing work in systems thinking by calling for a more expansive and inclusive engagement of community partners in socially engaged work.</p>

Children and young people rank among the most endangered social groups. Not only do they go through an important stage of personality formation which could be influenced by many factors, but this phase of personal development influences, to a certain extent, their future lives and the possibility of a fully-fledged social integration. At this stage, children and young people develop stronger perceptual sensitivity of either positive or negative outer factors. These factors can have a stronger impact on children and young people living in an environment which the majority society perceives not as standard, but as a socially excluded, and hence unwanted, locality. The group of children and young people, especially the ones from socially excluded localities, are very often affected by the use of addictive substances. There is a big risk, that members of the group will become regular users of addicted substances which generate further negative effects. The dissertation is focused on the use of addictive substances by children living in socially excluded localities. The aim of the thesis is not only to explain terms like a socially excluded locality, or addictive substance, but also to point out to an extent and kind of perception and knowledge of addictive substances on the part of the monitored group...

Background: As more individuals continuously become more conscious of the external influences of their decisions, integrating social and ethical criteria and perceived non-monetary value in their investment decisions, the interest in socially responsible investments (SRI) has escalated in the past decade. Reflecting this shift, the Swedish Pension Agency continuously increases the requirements and sustainability demands for the funds available in the premium pension selection. To investigate the underlying variables affecting the decision to invest socially responsibly, the authors of this thesis studied Swedish pension beneficiaries’ demographics, attitudes and beliefs.  Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the socio-demographic and psychological determinants of pension beneficiaries' and the influence of these variables on the willingness to pay for socially responsible investments. The study will additionally explore the tendency to underestimate exponential growth in one’s pension savings.  Method: The study is conducted by collecting primary data in the form of quantitative research through an online questionnaire. Based on previous research, six hypotheses are developed. This in order to investigate the relationship between willingness to pay for socially responsible investments and several socio-demographic and psychographic variables. Additionally, to examine Swedish pension beneficiaries’ tendency to underestimate exponential growth. The data collected is analysed through a multiple linear regression model and other descriptive statistics to examine if the hypotheses are rejected or not.  Conclusion: The majority of the subjects in the study are willing to pay for SRI. Gender significantly impacts the willingness to pay for SRI, as men demonstrate a lower willingness to pay than women. Furthermore, altruistic values, concern for one’s pension savings, concern for ESG-related issues (environmental, social and governance) and perceived consumer effectiveness proves to have a significant impact on the willingness to pay for SRI. Further, the sample demonstrated a definite tendency to underestimate exponential growth.

(in English): The thesis deals with the current state of the functioning of the health care system for children and youth in the Czech Republic with regard to the possible consequences of failure to provide basic health care resulting from difficult life situations, and therefore closely related to the social sphere. The main objective is to explore whether the current system is functional enough that there are no socially disadvantaged individuals "falling through a net". The theoretical part deals with the lives of socially disadvantaged individuals, with a focus on the family and its specifics. Furthermore the work deals with pediatric and dental preventive and curative health care. In addition to discussing basic parameters of the care, there are analyzed the risks for the eventual malpractice. Solution of the research uses a qualitative method using interviews with instructions. Not only was the research sample composed of individuals with experience with social disadvantage - particularly parents with children from shelter homes where one can assume such experience, but also practicing doctors who come into the very first contact with children the most often - pediatricians and dentists so that the view on the situation is as complex as possible.

Approximately $25.2 trillion in total assets under management in the United States is involved in some strategy of socially responsible and sustainable investing. Grounded in the stakeholder theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationships between financial performance, firm size, leverage, and corporate social responsibility. A random sample included 119 large companies located in the United States from the population of companies listed in the Russell 100 index. The data were collected via Bloomberg Terminal. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to predict Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) activity scores. The 3 predictor variables accounted for approximately 7% of the variance in ESG activity scores and the result was statistically significant, F(3,115) = 2.83, p < .04, R2 = .07. Although the p value was significant, the R2 was low representing a poor model fit. In the final analysis, total revenue was added to the model and was a significant predictor and negatively correlated with ESG activity scores; However, return on equity and leverage were not significant predictors of ESG activity scores suggesting the potential need to transfer some corporate social initiatives from business leaders to government policy makers. Future researchers should consider incorporating additional variables to make the model more useful. The implications for positive social change include the potential to identify fiscal incentives for corporate social programs by policy makers which benefit stakeholders such as employees, suppliers, customers, communities, and the environment.

The topic of this thesis is the role of non-profit organizations in supporting the education of socially disadvantaged Roma students. The thesis provides the analysis of the involvement of non-profit organizations in the process education support. The theoretical part of the thesis defines essential concepts in the area of education of socially disadvantaged students including support strategies with the emphasis on Roma students. The thesis provides an overview of the impact of social disadvantage on the education process, the affirmative processes utilized in school environment and the available support from the non-profit organizations. The research part of the thesis analyzes the data obtained through interviews with the employees of four selected non-profit organizations providing the support in the education of socially disadvantaged Roma students. The interviews are focused on identification of main forms of education support provided by non-profit organizations, their benefits in the education process of a socially disadvantaged student and the limits and opportunities presented in this process by the cooperation of non-profit organizations and schools. Through the analysis of information, experiences and opinions collected through the interviews, the research attempts to provide a complex...

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Ungdomsbrottslighet är just nu högaktuellt i media och politiska debatter i Sverige, där fokus ofta ligger på vilka riskfaktorer som finns, och vilka förebyggande åtgärder som behövs. De risk- och skyddsfaktorer om ungas anslutning till brottslighet är oftast samma variabler. Det som avgör något är en risk- eller skyddsfaktor är vad utfallet blir. För att förstå vad som spelar roll för unga män, som är överrepresenterade i ungdomsbrottslighet, vilka förebyggande åtgärder som gör skillnad i unga mäns liv ämnar studien att identifiera möjliga skyddsfaktorer. Syftet är med uppsatsen är att identifiera skyddsfaktorer hos unga män mellan 18–28 år, vilka som ligger till grund för att de inte ansluter sig till brottslighet. För att sedan jämföra de identifiera skyddsfaktorerna med de skyddsfaktorer som presenteras i teorin om sociala band. Studien är genomförd med kvalitativ metod med semi-strukturerade intervjuer av fem respondenter som aldrig varit brottsligt aktiva, misstänkta eller dömda för brott. Insamlade empirin från respondenterna resulterade i att en kombination av skyddsfaktorer har bidragit till att de inte anslutit sig till brottslighet. Starka och närvarande familjerelationer identifieras som särskild framträdande och viktig skyddsfaktor. De skyddsfaktorer som teorin om sociala band innehåller prövades och resulterade i att de överensstämde med de skyddsfaktorer som identifierades av empirin. / Juvenile delinquency is currently highly topical in the media and political debates in Sweden, where the focus is often on what risk factors exist, and what preventive measures are needed. The risk and protection factors of young adults’ connection to crime are usually the same variables. What determines something is a risk or protection factor is what the outcome will be. To understand what plays a role for young adults, who are overrepresented in juvenile delinquency, what preventive measures make a difference in young adults’ lives, the study aims to identify possible protective factors. The purpose of this thesis is to identify protective factors in young adults between the ages of 18 and 28, which are the basis for them not joining crime. To then compare the identifying protection factors with the protection factors presented in the theory of social ties. The study was conducted using a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews of five respondents who had never been criminally active, suspected nor convicted of crimes. The empirical evidence gathered from the respondents resulted in a combination of protective factors contributing to their non-involvement in crime. Strong and present family relationships are identified as a particularly prominent and important protective factor. The protective factors contained in the theory of social ties we retested and resulted in them being consistent with the protective factors identified by the empirics.