The 2007–2009 financial crisis led to a decrease in consumer and investor confidence worldwide (SARB, 2008:2). Along with the weakened business sentiment and consumer demand, tightened funding conditions in financial markets, increased inflationary pressures, and declining global manufacturing activities, the world economic recession that followed the collapse of the world financial sector led to an estimated wealth destruction of approximately US$50 trillion (SARB, 2008:2; Aisen & Franken, 2010:3; Karunanayake et al., 2010). Apart from this estimate, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also projected that the global bank balance sheets in advanced countries suffered losses of approximately US$4 trillion during the period 2009–2010 (Aisen & Franken, 2010:3). As a result, investors have become more risk-adverse (Guiso et al., 2013:1), and the consequences of the financial crisis, made insurable profitable investment decisions extremely difficult as market volatility tends to increase during crises periods (Karunanayake et al., 2010; Schwert, 1989:83). With the financial environment in distress, some fund managers consider equities as the preferred asset class to protect the purchasing power of their clients (Ivan, 2013). However, the studies of Ennis and Sebastian (2003) and Nicholas (2004) found evidence that hedge funds will outperform equity markets during a downswing in financial markets. In addition, hedge funds are considered market-neutral due to these investment funds’ unrestricted investment flexibility and more efficient market timing abilities (Ennis & Sebastian, 2003). Hedge funds are also considered to be more unconventional assets for improving portfolio diversification (Lamm, 1999:87), where the variation of investment strategies available in a hedge fund has the ability to satisfy investors with several different risk preferences (Shin, 2012). Still, a number of previous studies have debated conflicting evidence regarding the performance of hedge funds and the persistence in outperforming other markets. This led to the objective of this study; to evaluate the risk-adjusted performance of US and EU hedge funds compared to the associated world equity markets over the 2007–2009 financial crisis. The evidence from this study confirmed the dominance of hedge funds over the CAC 40, DAX, S&P 500 and Dow Jones, from 2004 to 2011, emphasising that the performance of the US and EU hedge funds would overshadow a normal buy-and-hold strategy on the world equity markets under investigation. Overall, the Sharpe-, Sortino-, Jensen’s alpha-, Treynor- and Calmar ratios illustrated that US hedge funds outperformed both EU hedge funds and the associated equity markets over this period. The presence of non-normality among the return distributions led to the use of the Omega ratio as the proper benchmark, which also confirmed the outperformance of US hedge funds over EU hedge funds and associated world equity markets. / MCom (Risk Management), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

The 2007–2009 financial crisis led to a decrease in consumer and investor confidence worldwide (SARB, 2008:2). Along with the weakened business sentiment and consumer demand, tightened funding conditions in financial markets, increased inflationary pressures, and declining global manufacturing activities, the world economic recession that followed the collapse of the world financial sector led to an estimated wealth destruction of approximately US$50 trillion (SARB, 2008:2; Aisen & Franken, 2010:3; Karunanayake et al., 2010). Apart from this estimate, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also projected that the global bank balance sheets in advanced countries suffered losses of approximately US$4 trillion during the period 2009–2010 (Aisen & Franken, 2010:3). As a result, investors have become more risk-adverse (Guiso et al., 2013:1), and the consequences of the financial crisis, made insurable profitable investment decisions extremely difficult as market volatility tends to increase during crises periods (Karunanayake et al., 2010; Schwert, 1989:83). With the financial environment in distress, some fund managers consider equities as the preferred asset class to protect the purchasing power of their clients (Ivan, 2013). However, the studies of Ennis and Sebastian (2003) and Nicholas (2004) found evidence that hedge funds will outperform equity markets during a downswing in financial markets. In addition, hedge funds are considered market-neutral due to these investment funds’ unrestricted investment flexibility and more efficient market timing abilities (Ennis & Sebastian, 2003). Hedge funds are also considered to be more unconventional assets for improving portfolio diversification (Lamm, 1999:87), where the variation of investment strategies available in a hedge fund has the ability to satisfy investors with several different risk preferences (Shin, 2012). Still, a number of previous studies have debated conflicting evidence regarding the performance of hedge funds and the persistence in outperforming other markets. This led to the objective of this study; to evaluate the risk-adjusted performance of US and EU hedge funds compared to the associated world equity markets over the 2007–2009 financial crisis. The evidence from this study confirmed the dominance of hedge funds over the CAC 40, DAX, S&P 500 and Dow Jones, from 2004 to 2011, emphasising that the performance of the US and EU hedge funds would overshadow a normal buy-and-hold strategy on the world equity markets under investigation. Overall, the Sharpe-, Sortino-, Jensen’s alpha-, Treynor- and Calmar ratios illustrated that US hedge funds outperformed both EU hedge funds and the associated equity markets over this period. The presence of non-normality among the return distributions led to the use of the Omega ratio as the proper benchmark, which also confirmed the outperformance of US hedge funds over EU hedge funds and associated world equity markets. / MCom (Risk Management), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

This dissertation focuses on dominant contemporary depictions of women in order to investigate the related processes of producing and policing physical attractiveness and privilege in mainstream cultural productions. I examine how certain US Latina, Colombian, and Dominican female portrayals fit definite paradigms of ideal beauty and contribute to patterns of power within magazines, films and television, music, and literary novels. I explore the ways in which the majority of dominant representations in all three countries favor specific beauty ideals linked with an Anglo or Northern European archetype, thus limiting the acceptable model and excluding a great part of the racially mixed female population which fails to match this criterion. By studying the relationship between body image and messages that inspire anxiety for those women who fall outside of ideal beauty patterns, my analysis bridges sociological and anthropological studies within literary theories and visual culture and contributes to new perspectives on Latinidad and Tropicalism by including a trans-nationalistic approach. While much work has been done on the connection between the body and identity within the United States, scholarship within this area has been more limited within Hispanic literature and Latin American popular culture in terms of the role of power structures. While one perception of beauty is that it is merely physical, in reality racial classification and the recognition of “legitimate” beauty have tangible impacts on social matters such as access to employment, marriageability, perceptions of education, civilization, decency, and purity.

Till denna studie har vårt empiriska material baserats på sex individers utsagor. Vi har valt att göra en kvalitativ intervjustudie för att undersöka individernas upplevelser kring ett fenomen. Val av ämne inspirerades av samhällsdebatten som förs kring flyktingar, asylsökande och immigranter. Det har deltagit sex informanter i studien och de har alla varit bosatta i Sverige i över åtta år. Tre av informanterna som deltagit i studien kom till Sverige som ensamkommande asylsökande och tre kom på grund av anknytning till anhörig.  Studiens mål var att lyssna till informanternas egna upplevelser och utsagor. Baserat på detta blev syftet med studien att förstå hur individer som immigrerat till Sverige upplever integrationen samt vilket stöd som finns att tillgå.  Vi har lutat oss mot tidigare forskning som innefattar begreppen integration och “vi” och “dom”. Vi har även använt oss av begrepp som handlar om vardagsrasism, kultur och tillhörighet. Med hjälp av tidigare forskning och begrepp har vi jämsides med det empiriska materialet analyserat och fått fram resultat. Resultatet visade att integrationen är komplex och att våra informanter har uppfattat detta. Informanterna ser att samhällsstödet har hjälpt dem att bli en del i det svenska samhället. Samtidigt har informanterna stött på olika hinder vad gäller integrationsprocessen. Detta var något som visade sig i form av vardagsrasism, utanförskap,  och anpassning av den nya kulturen. / The empiric data is based on six individuals’ statements. We have chosen to make a qualitative interview study to investigate individuals' experiences of a phenomenon. The selection of study field was inspired by the social debate about refuges, asylum seekers and immigrants. There have participated six informants in the study and they have been resident in Sweden for over 8 years. Three of the informants who participated in the study, came to Sweden as an unaccompanied asylum seeker and three came because of connection to kin. Our goal was to listen to the informants' own life experiences and statements. Based the statements, the purpose of the study was to investigate how people, who have immigrated to Sweden, experiences the integration process and what kind of social support is available for their integration. We have leaned towards previous research, for instance, the concepts of integration and the meaning of "us" and "them". We also used the concept which relates to everyday racism, culture and connection. Using previous research and concepts we have alongside the empirical material analyzed and produced results. The results showed that the integration is complex and that our informants have comprehend the phenomenon. They think that the social support has helped them to become a part of the Swedish society. At the same time the informants encountered various obstacles in terms of everyday racism and the adaptation of the new culture

In education today, Latino populations are growing, but Telles and Ortiz (2013) claim they account for the lowest academic levels and the highest levels of dropouts. Latino transfronterizo (literally border crossing) students and their parents in this study have high academic aspirations in spite of challenges of poverty, second language acquisition, and other difficulties which arise from U.S.-Mexico border contexts. Through dissecting the events of the 1990s and early 2000s, the progression of northern migration from Mexico and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 influenced anti-immigrant sentiment along the border and enactment of laws and policies to limit circumnavigating the international line. Misidentification as illegal immigrants creates borderland perceptions that Latinos are suspects and often results in discriminatory treatment from postcolonial dominant culture. This culture is reflected and perpetuated in schools where home language surveys identify native Spanish speakers to segregate them into Structured English Immersion programs for students with Limited English Proficiency. Ethnographic research from January of 2013 to August of 2015 included over 300 observations and 14 semi-structured interviews with seven transfronterizo students and nine parents revealed language disconnects between school and home. Relationships between teachers and students/parents did not exist and trust was lacking. Latino parents wanted to help students with school, but English only requirements limited their assistance. Through the use of Furman's ethic of community and Yosso's community cultural wealth, educational leaders could create communal process at schools to build the capacity of teachers and parents to create relationships and shared cultural competencies.

Authors: Karin Lindberg & Erika Losciale Title: The West and the Rest Level: BA Thesis in Media and Communication Studies Location: Linnaeus University Language: Swedish In today's media, the use of stereotypes and simplifications of the world and of different groups are common. It is a part of how humans make sense of the world. The problem is that these simplifications tend to encourage false notions of reality. The way charities communicate in advertising is important in order to engage the audience to donate. This study aims to examine how the non-profit organization SOS Barnbyar Sverige portray underprivileged individuals in their commercials. We have chosen to focus on two different commercials in relation to the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe. The first commercial has no relation to the crisis and the second one is an attempt to show the viewer the situation of a refugee. We have studied the material through a qualitative semiotic method, also using colonialism, stereotypes and representation as theoretical frame- work in order to examine whether or not certain notions and simplifications are reproduced in the commercials from this organization. Our study has shown that there were a lot of colonial ideals and stereotypes to be found in SOS Barnbyars commercials, thus fueling the polarization of us and them and the Other.

This paper reads Larry Beinhart’s novel The Librarian (2004) and its nonfiction companion Fog Facts (2005) as a double attempt at writing that is politically invested in representing reality but that nevertheless is openly aware of the postmodern crisis of representation. In this sense, I read both books as indicative of a broad cultural search for forms of writing that engage their readers’ reality without simply attempting to return to a less complicated moment before postmodernism. The paper situates both books within crucial textual contexts: a broad ‘epistemic panic’ about the facts and reality at the time, a surge of political nonfiction published in response to George W. Bush’s Presidency, and a longer tradition of political fiction. Tracing how the novel struggles with its nonfiction aspects and how the nonfiction book relies on fiction to make its point, I then look at how the two books evoke political affect to have a realist appeal of sorts despite their insistence on the precarious nature of all realist representation. Reading both books as distinctly popular, mass-market products and thus bringing together the debate around post-postmodernism from literary studies with an interest in reading pleasures informed by popular culture studies, I argue that the two books constitute decidedly popular attempts at a new, meta-aware yet politically engaged textuality.

At the incarnation, Jesus Christ assumed the fallen human nature that He found. Having lived a life of perfect obedience in the fallen human flesh that He assumed, He voluntarily and willingly bore the sins of the entire human race and died the second death for, and in our place; thereby paying the penalty for sin. Jesus Christ bore our sins (acts or behaviours) vicariously, while sin as nature or a law residing in the fallen human flesh that He assumed was condemned in that flesh and received eternal destruction on the cross. Thus, on the cross, in Christ, God saved the entire humanity. On the cross, the condemnation that the entire humanity had received by being genetically linked to Adam was reversed in Christ. Thus, the entire human race stands legally justified. But this is a gift, which can either be received or rejected. Therefore, salvation is not automatic. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th.(Systematic Theology)

This dissertation argues that through a secret backchannel, US National Security Adviser and later Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Soviet Ambassador to the US Anatoly Dobrynin formed a relationship which provided the empathy needed to bridge many of the ideological differences between their two countries. It examines transcripts of their telephone conversations from 1969-1977 when the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in detente, or a relaxation of tensions, during the Cold War. The dissertation concludes that the Kissinger-Dobrynin backchannel serves as a case study of the effectiveness of back channels in international diplomacy.

Les séries télévisées dramatiques américaines contemporaines (1990-2005) ont développé un mode de communication spécifique avec les téléspectateurs, fondé sur la construction d’une connivence entre le public et le programme, que nous étudierons en utilisant les principes de la rhétorique épidictique. Deux axes sont particulièrement importants et font l’objet d’une attention particulière : les seuils (titres, génériques, épigraphes, etc.) et les phénomènes d’intertextualité et de transtextualité.Les premiers sont devenus des lieux de jeu entre les producteurs du discours (chaînes, créateurs, producteurs exécutifs, scénaristes) et le public : oscillant entre normes industrielles et dynamisme créatif personnel, ils accompagnent les téléspectateurs dans leur entrée et leur sortie de la série et manifestent de forts enjeux marketing.Les phénomènes d’intertextualité et de transtextualité sont d’abord le spin off et le crossover, mais aussi tout le continuum des procédés de citation et de référence qui aboutissent à la constitution d’un texte-centon. Ils finissent par faire de la série télévisée un palimpseste, dans lequel chaque texte est l’écho de mille autres textes, d’événements de notre contemporanéité et nous rappelle les situations de notre vie.La série télévisée devient ainsi un rituel, non seulement de consommation (regarder son épisode chaque semaine), mais aussi au sens que la rhétorique épidictique donne à ce mot : elle permet de créer une communauté réunie autour de valeurs partagées. / Contemporary US TV dramas (from 1990 to 2005) have developed a specific communication process with their viewers, based on a strong proximity established between the audience and the program. In studying this issue we will apply the principles of the epideictic rhetoric. Two aspects are especially relevant and will thus receive particular attention: first the thresholds à la Genette (titles, opening credits, taglines, etc.), then the phenomena of intertextuality and transtextuality.Thresholds have become the loci of a game between the discourse producers (networks, creators, executive producers, writers) and the audience: navigating between industrial conventions and personal creative dynamism, they go alongside the TV viewer in its entrance and its exit of the series and embody significant marketing issues.The phenomena of intertextuality and transtextuality, on the other hand, are particularly apparent in both the spinoff and the crossover, as well as in a continuum of processes ranging from quotes to references. Altogether they lead to the constitution of a text-cento. Ultimately, they transform TV shows into a palimpsest, in which each text echoes thousands of other texts, key events of our contemporaneousness as well as reminders of the audience’s own life.In summary, TV shows have become a ritual in their own right, not only of consumption (watching an episode a week), but also in the sense that epideictic rhetoric gives to the concept: they create a community united around shared values.