WHY SHOULD TURKEY CONTINUE WITH STRONG FISCAL ADJUSTEMENT? LESSONS DERIVED FROM THE PAST AgAR PASLI, Mediha M.S., Department of Economics Supervisor: Associate Prof. Dr. Nadir &Ouml / CAL November 2006, 87 pages Turkey managed to produce a strong fiscal adjustment during the period of 1999-2005 with the annual average of close to 5 percent. Moreover, with the help of this tight fiscal stance, Turkey&rsquo / s public debt has been reduced from the peak of 90.5 percent of GNP in 2001 to 55.8 percent in 2005. Although this is a major achievement both in terms of the size and the speed, the challenge for Turkey is now to continue with fiscal adjustment in order to further reduce its public debt level which still poses a sizeable vulnerability risk for the economy. Therefore, in order to provide an answer to the sustainability question, this thesis first aims to (i) measure the fiscal adjustment in Turkey at the general government level during 1999-2005 period, (ii) analyze sources of fiscal adjustment based on the economic classification, institutional breakdown, and cyclical and structural components. After understanding size and sources of adjustment, the reduction in public debt will be decomposed into its parts including the contribution come from primary surplus. This will shed light on whether Turkey could still rely on those factors for further reduction in public debt in the future.

Šios disertacijos tikslas – išanalizuoti mokslo populiarinimo diskursą anglų ir lietuvių kalbomis multimodaliuoju aspektu. Multimodalioji analizė – pakankamai nauja diskurso analizės prieiga, kai analizuojama ne tik kalba, bet ir kitos raiškos priemonės (pvz., paveikslėliai, nuotraukos, diagramos). Taigi šiame tyrime analizuojami dominuojantys neverbaliniai (nejudantys paveikslėliai) ir verbaliniai elementai (autoriaus požiūrio raiška, intertekstualumas ir interdiskursyvumas). Analizė parodė, kad nuotraukose ir paveikslėliuose vaizduojami stereotipai (pvz., stereotipiškai vaizduojamos profesijos, lytys ar nevakarietiškos kultūros). Taip pat atskleidžiama, jog vaizdinių raiškos priemonių funkcijos skiriasi: nuotraukos ir paveikslėliai ne tik informuoja, bet ir atlieka tarpasmeninę, estetinę, naratyvinę ar kitas funkcijas. Santykis tarp teksto ir vaizdo irgi nevienareikšmis: jis varijuoja nuo glaudaus, kai tekstu aprašomi vaizdiniai aspektai, iki pakankamai atsieto, kai tarp raiškos priemonių nėra aiškaus tiesioginio ryšio. Labiausiai dominuojančių verbaliųjų bruožų analizė atskleidė, kad autoriaus požiūrio raiška mokslo populiarinimo straipsniuose anglų ir lietuvių kalba ženkliai nesiskiria. Pagrindinis skirtumas pastebimas lyginant mokslo populiarinimo ir akademinį diskursą. Anglų kalba daugiau autoriaus požiūrio bruožų vartojama akademiniame diskurse, o lietuvių kalba – jų daugiau kaip dvigubai daugiau mokslo populiarinimo diskurse. Pastebėta, jog anglų mokslo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of this dissertation is to analyze popular scientific discourse in English and Lithuanian from a multimodal perspective. Multimodal analysis is a comparatively new approach to discourse analysis which discusses not only language but also other modes, such as pictures, photos, videos, or graphs. Thus, the present investigation combines the analysis of non-verbal (non-moving images) and verbal elements (the author’s stance, intertextuality, and interdiscursivity), which appeared to be the most dominant modes in both languages. The analysis has revealed that the visual mode typically shows stereotypes depicted in pictures or photos (e.g., stereotypes of professions, gender, or non-Western cultures). The present investigation also demonstrates that the functions of the visual mode are varied: pictures and photos serve not only the informative, but also interpersonal, aesthetic, narrative, and other functions. The relationship between the textual and the visual is not homogeneous as it varies from very close when the textual describes the visual to a looser one when there is no direct relationship between the modes. The analysis of the verbal mode has revealed that the expression of the author’s stance is not very different in English and Lithuanian. The main difference can be observed when comparing popular scientific and academic discourse. In English more author’s stance features are used in academic discourse, while in Lithuanian they are used more than twice in... [to full text]

The current fiscal policy does not differentiate capital expenditure from current expenditure. Since the global deficit target is fixed according to the present fiscal policy rule, the non financial expenditure becomes pro cyclical, and the public investment is adjusted to meet the targeted deficit. As a result, the public investment has dramatically decreased which, in turn, has affected the international competitiveness and the economic and social development of the Peruvian society. This paper proposes: 1) change the public expenditure policy public investment by eliminating its pro cyclical bias; and 2) redefining the system of fiscal accounting. To meet this purposes the budget must be divided in two parts: the current budget with a saving or primary surplus target, and the investment expenditure based on a rule of directing the public debt only to finance this kind of expenditure over the economic cycle. This is the so called Public Investment Golden Rule. To this Golden Rule is added other according to which the ratio of public net debt must be sustainable during the economic cycle. Finally, it’s proposed to adopting the new IMF accounting system. The Golden Rule becomes pretty velar in the context of this new system. When the operational result becomes equal to cero, the net investment becomes equal to the public debt. Hence, the null operational result according to the new accounting system is the only one which is consistent with the Golden Rule. / La actual política fiscal no diferencia los gastos de capital de los gastos corrientes. La regla vigente de fijación de metas globales de déficit convierte al gasto no financiero en una variable procíclica, y la inversión pública es la que se ajusta para cumplir las metas de déficit. Esta política fiscal procíclica ha reducido la inversión pública a niveles mínimos sin precedentes históricos, conspirando así contra el desarrollo y la competitividad del país. En este trabajo se propone: 1) cambiar la política de gasto, eliminando el sesgo procíclico de la inversión pública; y 2) rediseñar la contabilidad fiscal. Para ello el presupuesto público debe dividirse en dos partes: uno de gasto corriente, con una meta de ahorro o de superávit primario corriente anual, y otro de gasto de inversión basado en una regla de destinar el endeudamiento, a lo largo del ciclo económico, a financiar solo el gasto de inversión y no el gasto corriente. Esta es la Regla de Oro de la Inversión pública. A esta regla se le adiciona otra según la cual la deuda neta del gobierno como porcentaje del PBI debe mantenerse, durante el ciclo económico, en un nivel sostenible. Asimismo, se plantea rediseñar la contabilidad fiscal sobre la base del nuevo sistema de contabilidad del FMI. Con este sistema, la Regla de Oro se hace aún más comprensible: cuando el resultado operativo es igual a cero, la inversión neta sería exactamente igual al endeudamiento. Por tanto, el único resultado coherente con la Regla de Oro en esta nueva contabilidad es que el ahorro corriente o resultado operativo sea nulo sobre el ciclo económico.

This master’s essay presents a study designed to investigate twelve police students’ability to handle academic writing conventions and to show critical-analyticalcompetence in their degree projects, which are written as part of the education atSweden’s three police academies. The education of police officers is not an academicone, and the students’ main focus is therefore on writing texts in the field of policediscourse. At the same time, scientific principles and critical thinking are emphasized intheir syllabus, but the question of how students handle the encounter with academicdiscourse has so far not been investigated. This, therefore, is the aim of the presentstudy. The texts have been analyzed according to the academic writing conventions ofreferencing, citation, hedging and boosting. By studying how these conventions areapplied, the writers’ stances become visible, which makes it possible to discern in whatways they remain critical-analytical to person, theory and content. The study shows thatpolice students can handle academic writing conventions to varying degrees, whichmeans that their texts differ in how well they function in an academic context. The factthat they do not fully master these conventions also makes it more difficult for thestudents to signal a critical stance, and only occasionally does their critical-analyticalcompetence show. The difficulties displayed by the police students can thus be viewedas general within the field of academic discourse. At the same time, the study showsthat the students do acquire a certain competence in textual as well as writingconventions, which they are able to transfer from police discourse. This, in turn,constitutes the didactic consequence of the study. If this were to be brought up as part ofthe educational program, the writing of a degree project might raise police students’awareness of different genres and further develop the competence necessary in theirprofession.

Diploma thesis "Impact of physiotherapy on stability in stance and selected clinical parameters in Multiple Sclerosis patients" is aimed to study problems of disturbed postural stability in connection with this disorder. Research was made to evaluate the impact of two-month's physiotherapy, based on sensomotor learning, on the balance in stance, gait parameters and related functions. The sample of 6 patients with disability EDSS = 5, age 43 and more than five years course of MS on average, were undergoing a battery of clinical and paraclinical tests. Questionaire method was used for assessing quality of life parameters. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

This dissertation is three interlinked studies that pilot new methods for combining corpus linguistics and semantic network analysis (SNA) to understand and teach academic language. Findings indicate that this approach leads to a deeper understanding of technical writing and offers an exciting new avenue for writing curriculum.<br><br>The first phase is a corpus study of fixed and variable formulaic language (n-grams and p-frames) in academic engineering writing. The results were analyzed functionally, semantically and rhetorically. In contrast to previous n-gram analyses, the p-frame analysis found that variable phrases are often participant-oriented and communicate author stance. <br><br>The second phase combined corpus and network analysis tools to create educational materials. Several elements of successful design were highlighted. The final phase tested the materials in two classes with fifteen graduate students, finding evidence for the value of this novel approach.<br>

This licentiate thesis examines mathematical activities in a preschool. More precisely, the aim is to create knowledge of how mathematical activities emerge and are constructed in children's interactions with each other and with their teachers. The empirical material consists of video recordings and field notes collected through participant observations during a six-month period in two preschool units for children 3-5 years old. Theoretically the study is based on an ethnomethodological (EM) and conversation analytic (CA) perspective. Video recordings were analyzed using conversation analytic methods, involving a close and detailed analysis of sources in situated mathematical activities. Through the use of an EM and CA perspective this study contributes with new theoretical and methodological approaches to research on mathematical activities in preschools. In the close analysis of children's actions in interaction, an active child with ideas, interests, and commitment emerges, a child who uses a variety of communicative resources when participating in mathematical activities. Whether it is the children or the teachers who initiate the activity the children are actively involved in the construction of the mathematical content. Geometric shapes and concepts as well as different aspects of children's number sense are a couple of the mathematical topics covered in the study. In the activities the childrens display knowledge of math verbally as well as with their bodies, something that is analyzed by using the concept of epistemic stance. The preschool teachers sometimes used occasions when children display specific knowledge as an educational resource for other children's learning. The study also shows that children as well as their teachers follow each other's initiatives in the activities. This means that children change and enlarge the mathematical content within the activities and that the teachers follow the children's initiative. Through this reciprocity the mathematical content of the activity is maintained.

The thesis examines the atheistic development visible in the Swedish Human-Ethical Society’s (HEF) journal 1979 to 1999. It argues that HEF:s atheism from a diachronic perspective is best understood with the regards both to its religious criticisms, as well as to the specific outlook on life that the organisation developed over time as a secular alternative to religious belief-systems. The thesis further stresses the importance of comprehending atheism as a pluralistic system of thought that throughout history – as well as in present day – have taken a variety of different formations. Hence, atheism is not seen as possessing one single overall essence. The result of the study show that several developmental patterns can be made visible in HEF:s atheism throughout the period. The organisations religious criticism changed regarding its objects, contents and rhetoric. From initially having its focus directed towards Christianity (Swedish Christianity in particular), HEF later to a larger extent directed their critical gaze towards what they regarded as fundamentalist ideological values. Over time the organisation also started to highlight atheism in a, according to their phrasing, more “positive” light. With this, HEF:s human-ethical life stance was given a more instrumental role in the organisations message to the public. The thesis argues that this development should be understood as a successive shift in the basis for HEF:s atheism. On a general analytic level this process is characterized as a move from scientific atheism to humanist atheism.

Syfte: Den här undersökningen är utförd på en svensk högskola och syftar till att studera förhållanden mellan redovisningsstudenters inrapporterade etiska ställningstaganden och deras verkliga beteenden utifrån variablerna könstillhörighet, utbildningsnivå och ålder. Metod: Studien har utförts med en kvantitativ metod, där empiriinsamlingen har skett genom enkäter. Regressionsanalyser och bivariata korrelationsanalyser har utförts på insamlad data. Resultaten av analyserna har redovisats i form av text och tabeller. Urvalet för denna studie var 185 redovisningsstudenter som läste Externredovisning A eller Externredovisning C på Högskolan i Gävle. Av dessa besvarade 73 studenter alla frågor på enkäten. Resultat och slutsats: Kvinnlig könstillhörighet hade en statistisk signifikant påverkan på studenters etiska ställningstaganden. Dock var könstillhörighet inte lika signifikant när det kom till verkligt etiskt beteende. Variablerna utbildningsnivå och ålder var inte statistiskt signifikanta i den här studien. Korrelationsanalyserna visade på ett positivt statistiskt signifikant samband mellan etiska ställningstaganden och verkligt etiskt beteende hos såväl kvinnliga som manliga studenter. De manliga studenterna hade emellertid, jämfört med de kvinnliga studenterna, ett starkare positivt samband mellan sina etiska ställningstaganden och verkliga beteenden. Examensarbetets bidrag: De kvinnliga studenterna rapporterade in mer etiska svar än de manliga studenterna, men när det kom till verkligt beteende fanns överlag inga signifikanta skillnader. Utbildning i redovisningsetik kan behövas på kurser i redovisning på ekonomprogrammet eftersom studenter som läste redovisningsinriktningen det tredje året inte var mer etiska i redovisningsfrågor än studenter som läste den första grundkursen i redovisning första året. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Ett förslag är att studera variabeln könstillhörighet utförligare på en större och mer generaliserbar population av redovisningsstudenter. Ytterligare förslag för fortsatt forskning är att undersöka om sambandet mellan studenters etiska ställningstaganden och beteenden även gäller för en mer generaliserbar population. / Aim: This assignment aims to study relationships between accounting students' reported ethical stances and their actual behavior based on the variables gender, educational level and age at a Swedish University. Method: A quantitative method with surveys has been used to gather data. Regression analyzes and bivariate correlation analyzes have been implemented on the data. The results of the analyzes is presented in text and tables. The sample for this study was 185 accounting students who studied Financial Accounting A or Financial Accounting C at the University of Gävle. In total 73 students answered all questions in the survey. Results and conclusions: Female gender had a statistically significant impact on students' ethical stances. However, gender was not as statistically significant when it came to actual ethical behavior. The variables education level and age were not significant in this study. The correlation analyzes showed a positive statistically significant relationship between ethical stances and actual ethical behavior for both female and male students. The male students, however, compared to the female students, had a stronger positive relationship between their ethical stances and actual behaviors. Contribution of the thesis: Female students reported more ethical answers than what male students reported, but when it came to actual behavior overall there were no statistically significant differences. Education in accounting ethics may be needed in accounting courses in Business Administration education. It is necessary because students who majored in Financial Accounting the third year were not more ethical in accounting matters than students who studied the first basic course in Financial Accounting as freshmen. Suggestions for further research: One suggestion is to study the gender variable further on a larger and more generalizable population of accounting students. An additional suggestion for further research is to investigate whether the relation between students' ethical stances and behavior also applies to a more generalizable population.

When assessing the readability of a text it is helpful to consider all its interacting elements. This includes its syntactic complexity, but other aspects, such as that of cohesion, are no less important. The thesis explores how these are reflected in each other and in the readability of books in a dataset provided by the publisher Nypon och Vilja, which consists of easy-to-read books divided into six levels of readability. To provide additional nuance, the interrelated concepts of epistemic stance and narrativity are introduced for the purpose of deepening the analysis of the statistical findings. They also prove useful in further discussion surrounding complexity and cohesion as they relate to reading skill and knowledge asymmetries. Principal component analysis (PCA) is employed to uncover these statistical relationships on a broader scale, though more specific in-depth analysis are performed relating to certain metrics. While the findings have some support in literature, re-affirming the importance of narrativity for contextualizing cohesion, the clear link between higher complexity and less narrative text was not expected. Furthermore, the PCA indicates a more nuanced picture of referential cohesion and the use of its constituent metrics, depending both on narrativity and complexity.