This thesis applies continuous time Markov chain theory to develop three different models for financial applications.

As societies the world over move towards defining inclusive and effective education systems this presents the educator with the new challenge of providing an equal and democratic education environment for all students. With children the nature of functioning and environmental settings varies greatly in comparison with adults and assessing children’s involvement in activities is of particular importance to ensure effective and inclusive society building through education. Building on the existing and previous participation research this thesis specifically aims to provide a means to theorize participation from two perspectives (frequency of attending and intensity of involvement) and put in to operation using five dimensions of the environment: availability, accessibility, affordability, accommodability, and acceptability. Contextually this has been done by investigating children in need of additional support (including children with disabilities) at school. Results indicate that while research and theory take a holistic and balanced approach by using participation based on two perspectives, this has yet to filter down to practice. A new approach to measuring inclusive education using social capital, the five environmental dimensions, and the ICF-CY is proposed and tested. However, while the ICF-CY provides a consistent descriptive framework, no clear connections between social capital and inclusive education policy could be drawn and the five environmental dimensions – especially the involvement-related ones – need further development. The final paper presents evidence from the individual perspective for a third ICF-CY activities and participation qualifier to represent the subjective experience of involvement. Participation can thus be regarded as a multi-dimensional phenomenon with two main conceptual roots: sociology and developmental psychology. / MURINET project (Multidisciplinary Research Network on Health and Disability in Europe, European Commission project funded within the Sixth Framework Programme, MRTN-CT-2006-035794).

Le problème de satisfaisabilité booléenne 3-SAT est connu pour présenter un phénomène de seuil en fonction du quotient entre le nombre de clauses et le nombre de variables. Nous donnons des estimations de la valeur de ce seuil au moyen de méthodes combinatoires et probabilistes: la méthode du premier moment et la méthode du second moment. Ces méthodes mettent en jeu des problèmes d'optimisation sous contraintes et nous amènent à employer de façon intensive la méthode des multiplicateurs de Lagrange. Nous mettons en œuvre une forme pondérée de la méthode du premier moment sur les affectations partielles valides de Maneva ainsi que des variantes. Cela nous conduit à élaborer une pondération générale pour les problèmes de satisfaction de contraintes qui soit compatible avec la méthode du premier moment. Cette pondération est constituée d'une graine et d'un répartiteur, et nous permet d'obtenir une pondération des affectations partielles valides meilleure que celle de Maneva. Nous comparons aussi dans certains cas les performances de la pondération et de l'orientation de l'espace des solutions des problèmes de satisfaction de contraintes relativement à la méthode du premier moment. Nous développons la première sélection non uniforme de solutions pour majorer le seuil de 3-SAT et nous montrons sa supériorité sur ses prédécesseurs. Nous construisons un cadre général pour appliquer la méthode du second moment à k-SAT et nous discutons des conditions qui la font fonctionner. Nous faisons notamment fonctionner la méthode du second moment sur les solutions booléennes et sur les impliquants. Nous étendons cela au modèle distributionnel de k-SAT.

Este estudo objetivou investigar a influência da estrutura de propriedade sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis divulgados pelas empresas negociadas no mercado acionário brasileiro. Foi considerada como informatividade a intensidade da relação entre o lucro contábil e o retorno das ações, mensurada pelo coeficiente angular da reta estimada entre essas duas variáveis. A pesquisa teve como foco a influência específica de duas características da estrutura de propriedade: a concentração dos votos e a divergência entre os direitos das ações (voto versus fluxo de caixa) sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Tendo em vista a realidade do mercado brasileiro, a pesquisa considerou a adoção das práticas diferenciadas de governança corporativa como mecanismo redutor da influência da concentração de votos e da divergência entre direitos sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Adicionalmente, a pesquisa abordou a diferença da informatividade entre o lucro contábil e o dividendo, provocada pela divergência entre os direitos das ações (voto versus fluxo de caixa). A importância deste estudo, no ambiente brasileiro, encontra-se no fato de o mercado brasileiro, diferente dos mercados desenvolvidos, ser caracterizado por uma forte concentração dos votos nas mãos de poucos acionistas e pelo desvio entre os direitos de voto e fluxo de caixa por intermédio da emissão de ações preferenciais. A relação entre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis e a concentração de votos e a divergência entre direitos foi fundamentada pelo efeito entrincheiramento e pelo efeito alinhamento. A metodologia adotada foi baseada na utilizada nos estudos de Fan e Wong (2002) e Francis et. al. (2005) desenvolvidos, respectivamente, no mercado do sudoeste asiático e no mercado americano. Utilizou-se a definição do maior acionista controlador. A amostra utilizada na pesquisa foi formada pelas empresas não-financeiras listadas na Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo (Bovespa) durante o período de 2000 a 2006. Como a amostra de trabalho selecionada apresenta características de um painel desbalanceado, os modelos adotados foram estimados em três abordagens: Pooled, Efeitos Fixos e Efeitos Aleatórios. Os resultados encontrados indicam que a concentração dos votos exerce uma influência negativa sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Quanto à divergência entre direitos, a influência negativa foi confirmada parcialmente. Diferente do resultado esperado, a divergência entre direitos exerce influência positiva sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Quando a divergência entre direitos passa a ser observada em conjunto com o excesso de votos, verifica-se a sua influência negativa sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Essa evidência sugere que a divergência entre os direitos passa a influenciar negativamente a informatividade somente quando o maior acionista controlador possui a maioria (>50%) dos votos. O maior impacto negativo sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis foi observado quando ocorre a combinação da concentração de votos com a divergência entre direitos. Sobre a adoção de práticas diferenciadas de governança corporativa, não foi confirmado o seu papel como elemento redutor da influência da concentração de votos e da divergência entre direitos sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Em relação à comparação da informatividade dos lucros contábeis e dos dividendos, foram levantadas as seguintes evidências: (i) quando condicionadas a divergência entre direitos, foi observada a diferença estatística entre as informatividades dos lucros contábeis e a dos dividendos, e (ii) ao contrário do esperado, sob a influência da divergência entre direitos, a informatividade dos lucros contábeis aumenta e à dos dividendos diminui. / This present study consists on examining the effects of the ownership structure over the informativeness of the accounting earnings which are disclosed by traded companies in the Brazilian stock market. Informativeness is about measuring how intense is the relation between accounting earnings and stock prices considering the angular coefficient of the probable straight line between these two variables. The research focus on the specific influence of two ownership structure´s characteristics: the concentration of the vote rights and the divergence between the rights of the shares (vote versus cash flow) on the accounting earnings informativeness. Analyzing the Brazilian market, this study considerate the use of the different practices of corporative governance to reduce the influence of the concentration of vote rights and the divergence between rights on the accounting earnings informativeness. It also approaches the difference of the informativeness between accounting earnings and dividends, caused by the divergence between the rights of the shares (vote versus cash flow). The relevance of this study, in the Brazilian reality, meets in the fact that the Brazilian market, different from other developed markets, is the typical concentration of the vote rights at the hands of a few shareholders, plus the deviation between the rights to vote and cash flow through emission of preferential shares. The relation between the informativeness of the accounting earnings and the concentration of votes and the divergence among rights was based on the entrenchment and the alignment effects. Its methodology was based on the studies made by Fan and Wong (2002) and Francis et. al. (2005) in Asian southwestern market and the American market. The definition of the largest ultimate owner was used. The sample used in the research was formed by the no-financial companies listed in the São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa) during the years of 2000 the 2006. There were three approaches: pooled, fixed effect and random effect. The results show that the concentration of the vote rights has a negative influence on the accounting earnings informativeness. Concerning the divergence between rights, the negative influence was confirmed partially. However, as an unexpected result, the divergence between rights has positive influence on the accounting earnings informativeness. When the divergence between rights is taken into consideration within the excess of votes, it becomes clear its negative influence over the accounting earnings informativeness. This evidence suggests that the divergence among rights can influence negatively the informativeness only when the largest ultimate owner has the majority (>50%) of the vote rights. The most negative impact on the accounting earnings informativeness was observed when the combination of the concentration of votes with the divergence between rights occurs. Concerning the different practices of corporative governance as the reducing element of the influence of the concentration of votes and the divergence between rights over the accounting earnings informativeness, it was not confirmed. At last, comparing informativeness of accounting earnings and dividends, evidences emerged: (i) when the divergence for rights were conditioned, there was a difference in statistics between informativeness of accounting earnings and dividends, and (ii) whereas, unexpectedally, under the influence of the divergence within rights, accounting earnings informativeness increased and informativeness dividends decreased.

Dans cette thèse, nous étudions les caractéristiques de diffusion de nanostructures plas- moniques tout en adaptant et améliorant l'holographie hétérodyne numérique, qui est une technique d'imagerie plein champ pour mesurer en trois dimensions le diagramme de rayonnement. En outre, nous avons effectué de nombreuses mesures spectroscopiques pour enregistrer les spectres de diffusion de nanoobjets uniques. Afin d'obtenir une com- préhension plus profonde des caractéristiques du champ diffusé que nous mesurons, nous avons développé un modèle numérique basé sur la méthode des éléments finis. Ce modèle nous a permis de simuler le champ proche et le champ lointain d'une nanostructure avec une onde incidente en réflexion ou en transmission. Nous obtenons un excellent accord entre nos résultats expérimentaux et calculés. Dans cette thèse, nous avons étudié de nombreux nanostructures d'or fabriquées sur du verre par lithographie électronique. Des structures simples nous ont permis de valider la technique. Des objets plus sophistiques nous ont ensuite permis de constater que leur di- agramme de diffusion est extrêmement sensible aux facteurs externes et internes, tels que la polarisation et la longueur d'onde de la lumière incidente ou la géométrie de la struc- ture et sa longueur d'onde de résonance. En outre, nous montrons que la technique de l'holographie hétérodyne photothermique mesure directement l'augmentation de la tem- pérature, et ainsi, se présente comme une nouvelle méthode pour étudier la distribution de la chaleur dans des nanostructures plasmoniques.

One of the many tasks that an International Human Resource Management department has relates to the field of expatriation in which an employee is sent abroad to work in a foreign subsidiary. Expatriation is not a new concept, in the early modern era of expatriation after World War II, businesses were usually driven by international divisions that supervised the export issues, licensing and subsidiaries abroad. The main role of corporate human re-source department was to make it easier to select staff for foreign postings. This to find employees that were familiar with the activities and products of the company, organization, culture and also at the same time comfortable with working abroad. The purpose of this thesis is to gain an understanding of how three Swedish multinational companies select and train their Parent-Country National (PCN) expatriates before the in-ternational assignment in China. In order to reach the goal of our purpose, we have chosen to conduct case studies on three Swedish multinational companies that are currently operating in China, where interviews with the key persons for respective company has been made. The interviews was either conducted through phone or face-to-face. Our Frame of reference is based upon four sub-chapters in which we in the first chapter defines the concept of Expatriation followed by a brief introduction of the cultural differ-ences between Sweden and China. The third chapter deals with the different selection is-sues and the fourth chapter deals with training issues. Based on the Frame of reference, we created six major research questions in which from them we developed our interview questions. Through the Empirical Findings which was analyzed with help of the Frame of reference, we can say that most of the processes within selection and training are not as visible and clear as what it is said in literatures compared to a few Swedish multinational companies practice.

<p>One of the many tasks that an International Human Resource Management department has relates to the field of expatriation in which an employee is sent abroad to work in a foreign subsidiary. Expatriation is not a new concept, in the early modern era of expatriation after World War II, businesses were usually driven by international divisions that supervised the export issues, licensing and subsidiaries abroad. The main role of corporate human re-source department was to make it easier to select staff for foreign postings. This to find employees that were familiar with the activities and products of the company, organization, culture and also at the same time comfortable with working abroad.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to gain an understanding of how three Swedish multinational companies select and train their Parent-Country National (PCN) expatriates before the in-ternational assignment in China.</p><p>In order to reach the goal of our purpose, we have chosen to conduct case studies on three Swedish multinational companies that are currently operating in China, where interviews with the key persons for respective company has been made. The interviews was either conducted through phone or face-to-face.</p><p>Our Frame of reference is based upon four sub-chapters in which we in the first chapter defines the concept of Expatriation followed by a brief introduction of the cultural differ-ences between Sweden and China. The third chapter deals with the different selection is-sues and the fourth chapter deals with training issues.</p><p>Based on the Frame of reference, we created six major research questions in which from them we developed our interview questions.</p><p>Through the Empirical Findings which was analyzed with help of the Frame of reference, we can say that most of the processes within selection and training are not as visible and clear as what it is said in literatures compared to a few Swedish multinational companies practice.</p>

This dissertation presents studies of a socially highly relevant text category, local radio broadcasts. The language of news programmes in particular from three local radio stations - Radio Gotland, Radio Väs­terbotten and Radio Östergötland - has been studied in the light of the intentions behind the introduction of local radio, and the ambitions expressed by the radio people involved. Different factors for analysis and description of local radio language are presented and used in an empirical study of broadcasts from the three stations. Both regional and national variations and differences are taken into consideration. Language and context are analyzed on separate levels: complete news texts, sentences and clauses, words and phonemes. The methods vary from a pragmatic text-typology analysis to a syntactic study based on modern spoken language research. Particular consideration is given to the aspect of local radio language that establishes contact with listeners - greetings, forms of address, and studio talk between items. A receiver-oriented perspective is used to interpret the results - the concept communicative distance, that is to say the distance between the listener and the medium that she/he feels there is on the basis of the language used in the programmes. A demonstrable pattern has been found in the relations between extra- and intra-linguistic factors and what in this study is termed the communicative distance. Compared with that of national radio, the commuicative distance of local radio language tends to be somewhat less. Of the three local radio stations Radio Gotland tends to have the least and Radio Västerbotten the greatest. The book concludes with three perspectives on further research. / digitalisering@umu

Šiame darbe analizuojami optinio meno, stop kadro animacijos veikimo principai, žmogaus gyvenimo momento svarba bei lentikuliarinės spaudos technologija, autorės nuomone, turintys sąsają su jos kurta animuota fotografija. Žmogaus trumpos nenutrūkstamo, ištisinio gyvenimo dalelės aktualumas kūrybiniame darbe virsta meniniu objektu, turinčiu aiškią motyvaciją, priežastis bei tikslus. Kūrybinio darbo dalyje pateikiama stop kadrais animuota fotografija. Darbas atspausdintas modernia technika, vienu iš naujausių spaudos būdų Lietuvoje – lentikuliarine spauda. Šis spaudos būdas atveria platesnes ir efektyvesnes galimybes, suteikiant darbui šiuolaikiškumo, išskirtinumo, originalumo bei skatina kurti naujas ir aktualias idėjas. Žiūrovui, stebinčiam animuotą fotografiją, suteikiama galimybė pristabdyti, sugrįžti atgal arba pakartoti reginį. Jis pats kontroliuoja žiūrėjimo kampą bei tempą, suvokdamas imituojamą judesį. / Here is analyzed optical art, stop-frame animation’s principle, the moment of importance in human life and lenticular press technology in this work. According to the author, all it has connection with her created work. The relevance of particles of human short-continuous life into the creative work becomes an artistic object with a clear motivation for the reasons and goals. Here is introduced stop motion animated photography in creative work park. The work is printed by modern technology, one of the newest ways to press in Lithuania - lenticular press. This printing method offers a wider and more effective option, giving modernity, exclusivity, originality for the work and encourages the development of new and relevant ideas. The viewer, who is observing an animated photography, has a opportunity to pause, go back or repeat the view. He controls the viewing angle and tempo, aware of the simulated motion.

Este estudo objetivou investigar a influência da estrutura de propriedade sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis divulgados pelas empresas negociadas no mercado acionário brasileiro. Foi considerada como informatividade a intensidade da relação entre o lucro contábil e o retorno das ações, mensurada pelo coeficiente angular da reta estimada entre essas duas variáveis. A pesquisa teve como foco a influência específica de duas características da estrutura de propriedade: a concentração dos votos e a divergência entre os direitos das ações (voto versus fluxo de caixa) sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Tendo em vista a realidade do mercado brasileiro, a pesquisa considerou a adoção das práticas diferenciadas de governança corporativa como mecanismo redutor da influência da concentração de votos e da divergência entre direitos sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Adicionalmente, a pesquisa abordou a diferença da informatividade entre o lucro contábil e o dividendo, provocada pela divergência entre os direitos das ações (voto versus fluxo de caixa). A importância deste estudo, no ambiente brasileiro, encontra-se no fato de o mercado brasileiro, diferente dos mercados desenvolvidos, ser caracterizado por uma forte concentração dos votos nas mãos de poucos acionistas e pelo desvio entre os direitos de voto e fluxo de caixa por intermédio da emissão de ações preferenciais. A relação entre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis e a concentração de votos e a divergência entre direitos foi fundamentada pelo efeito entrincheiramento e pelo efeito alinhamento. A metodologia adotada foi baseada na utilizada nos estudos de Fan e Wong (2002) e Francis et. al. (2005) desenvolvidos, respectivamente, no mercado do sudoeste asiático e no mercado americano. Utilizou-se a definição do maior acionista controlador. A amostra utilizada na pesquisa foi formada pelas empresas não-financeiras listadas na Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo (Bovespa) durante o período de 2000 a 2006. Como a amostra de trabalho selecionada apresenta características de um painel desbalanceado, os modelos adotados foram estimados em três abordagens: Pooled, Efeitos Fixos e Efeitos Aleatórios. Os resultados encontrados indicam que a concentração dos votos exerce uma influência negativa sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Quanto à divergência entre direitos, a influência negativa foi confirmada parcialmente. Diferente do resultado esperado, a divergência entre direitos exerce influência positiva sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Quando a divergência entre direitos passa a ser observada em conjunto com o excesso de votos, verifica-se a sua influência negativa sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Essa evidência sugere que a divergência entre os direitos passa a influenciar negativamente a informatividade somente quando o maior acionista controlador possui a maioria (>50%) dos votos. O maior impacto negativo sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis foi observado quando ocorre a combinação da concentração de votos com a divergência entre direitos. Sobre a adoção de práticas diferenciadas de governança corporativa, não foi confirmado o seu papel como elemento redutor da influência da concentração de votos e da divergência entre direitos sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Em relação à comparação da informatividade dos lucros contábeis e dos dividendos, foram levantadas as seguintes evidências: (i) quando condicionadas a divergência entre direitos, foi observada a diferença estatística entre as informatividades dos lucros contábeis e a dos dividendos, e (ii) ao contrário do esperado, sob a influência da divergência entre direitos, a informatividade dos lucros contábeis aumenta e à dos dividendos diminui. / This present study consists on examining the effects of the ownership structure over the informativeness of the accounting earnings which are disclosed by traded companies in the Brazilian stock market. Informativeness is about measuring how intense is the relation between accounting earnings and stock prices considering the angular coefficient of the probable straight line between these two variables. The research focus on the specific influence of two ownership structure´s characteristics: the concentration of the vote rights and the divergence between the rights of the shares (vote versus cash flow) on the accounting earnings informativeness. Analyzing the Brazilian market, this study considerate the use of the different practices of corporative governance to reduce the influence of the concentration of vote rights and the divergence between rights on the accounting earnings informativeness. It also approaches the difference of the informativeness between accounting earnings and dividends, caused by the divergence between the rights of the shares (vote versus cash flow). The relevance of this study, in the Brazilian reality, meets in the fact that the Brazilian market, different from other developed markets, is the typical concentration of the vote rights at the hands of a few shareholders, plus the deviation between the rights to vote and cash flow through emission of preferential shares. The relation between the informativeness of the accounting earnings and the concentration of votes and the divergence among rights was based on the entrenchment and the alignment effects. Its methodology was based on the studies made by Fan and Wong (2002) and Francis et. al. (2005) in Asian southwestern market and the American market. The definition of the largest ultimate owner was used. The sample used in the research was formed by the no-financial companies listed in the São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa) during the years of 2000 the 2006. There were three approaches: pooled, fixed effect and random effect. The results show that the concentration of the vote rights has a negative influence on the accounting earnings informativeness. Concerning the divergence between rights, the negative influence was confirmed partially. However, as an unexpected result, the divergence between rights has positive influence on the accounting earnings informativeness. When the divergence between rights is taken into consideration within the excess of votes, it becomes clear its negative influence over the accounting earnings informativeness. This evidence suggests that the divergence among rights can influence negatively the informativeness only when the largest ultimate owner has the majority (>50%) of the vote rights. The most negative impact on the accounting earnings informativeness was observed when the combination of the concentration of votes with the divergence between rights occurs. Concerning the different practices of corporative governance as the reducing element of the influence of the concentration of votes and the divergence between rights over the accounting earnings informativeness, it was not confirmed. At last, comparing informativeness of accounting earnings and dividends, evidences emerged: (i) when the divergence for rights were conditioned, there was a difference in statistics between informativeness of accounting earnings and dividends, and (ii) whereas, unexpectedally, under the influence of the divergence within rights, accounting earnings informativeness increased and informativeness dividends decreased.