This work is analysing association between stock returns and financial statement information. It studies the usefulness of accounting data for investors and its development in time. In the beginning it summarizes main features of this relationship and derives hypothesis of weakening temporal association. In the analytical part two models for assessment of this phenomenon are introduced and based on various financial indicators available from annual reports it tests this hypothesis year by year. The evidence suggests that the usefulness of financial statement information is not deteriorating over examined period. Nonetheless, the association is very weak despite both increasing investor demand for relevant information and persistent regulator efforts to improve the quality and timeliness of financial information.

Many Extension organizations in the United States utilize social media to communicate with clients and deliver Extension educational programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate what social media platform Extension employees were using as a communication tool to deliver educational programs, and to examine factors influencing Extension employees’ attitude toward using social media with Mississippi State University Extension. The study followed a descriptive correlational design, using a researcher- developed questionnaire. Data were collected via Qualtrics. A total of 170 Extension faculty and agents responded to the questionnaire. Most of respondents were Extension agents, white, with an equal percentage of male and female. Their age ranged from less than 25 to over 65 years old, and 51.2% were in age range from 25 to 44 years old (f = 87). Facebook and Twitter were the most-used social media platforms by Extension faculty and agents. Based on 135 usable responses of social media users, two principle component analyses were conducted. The result of principle component analyses on organizational and social media scales revealed five components that influence social media use. These five variables were named social media characteristics, clients’ interest and skills, graphic skills, organizational support, and availability of equipment and Internet. The results revealed that Extension faculty and agents’ social media users and nonusers have a positive (in range of agree) attitude toward using social media in Extension. Social media users have positive (in range of agree) perceived usefulness of social media in Extension. Extension faculty and agents Facebook self-efficacy was in the range of agree, and their Twitter self-efficacy was in range neither agree nor disagree. Perceived usefulness, clients’ interest and skills, and social media characteristics were the significant factors that influenced Extension faculty and agents attitude toward social media with Mississippi State University Extension.

Mental health self-help accounts on social media often provide tips and strategies for individuals struggling with mental health difficulties to improve mental health outcomes. As mental health poses a public health concern that causes economic and physical problems worldwide, this self-help approach offers a potential solution to help millions of people at risk. In accordance with Technology Acceptance Models, how useful an individual finds a social media account should predict their intent to follow such accounts. Additionally, since social media accounts are highly visual content-driven, aesthetics may be a significant driver of intent to follow social media accounts. The present research examines how feelings of depression moderate the relationship between perceived usefulness of a self-help account and intent to follow the self-help account, as well as perceived aesthetics and intent to follow the self-help account. An online study was conducted with N = 410 participants in which participants were shown both self-help accounts and non-self-help accounts from Instagram. Participants were then asked to rate each account's perceived visual appeal and usefulness and their intent to follow these accounts. Lastly, participants completed a Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and a Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS). Results indicate that while aesthetics and perceived usefulness of self-help social media accounts are positively correlated with intent to follow such accounts, perceived usefulness is the dominating predictor of intent to follow.

In this study we conducted a heuristic evaluation on a user interface. It was conducted in accordance to Nielsen’s theory of heuristics. The user interface that we evaluated is that of the Swedish national library database LIBRIS. The purpose of this study was to create a knowledge base for the development of LIBRIS’s user interface. The study was conducted by using three of Nielsen’s ten usability heuristics. Visibility of system status, Match between system and the real world and Aesthetic and minimalist design. The evaluation was done by three evaluators that conducted it independently and separately from each other. All of them had prior knowledge or experience in the field of human-computer interaction. This study shows that most of the usability problems was found under the criteria Aesthetic and minimalist design. The problems found under this heuristic was also the most severe. In total 37 usability problems were found.

A study on the possibilities of place-making by systematically separating the traditional responsibilities of the wall as an architectural element. Walls usually serve several simultaneous structural, enveloping and distributional duties. The project consists in designing a house where four distinct but interacting types of walls are present, each with a well defined duty. Each necessary but deliberately insufficient in itself: one provides the structure; another is a continuous skin for enclosure and partition; still another solely weatherproofs and, finally, one filters the light and grants privacy. The four walls function as layers with the capacity of interplay, while retaining their identity. The places resulting from these boundaries assert their presence and function in view of the character bestowed by the form of their enclosure. The choice of material, assembly, texture and color in unique correspondence to each boundary's usefulness, complete the experience of the inhabitant and architectural form comes about. / Master of Architecture

Scholars have long been interested in the complex relationships between personality and motivation. However, much of their understanding has been limited to The Big Five personality factors (namely, Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism), and a proliferation of motivation constructs emanating from a large number of different theories and sub-theories. This study adds to the body of personality psychology and motivation science literature by examining the relationships between The Big Five personality factors and The MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation (MMAM) components (i.e., eMpowerment, Usefulness, Success, Interest, and Caring). The MMAM is comprised of five components that summarize the many instructional implications derived from motivation theories and research to provide instructors with a holistic, conceptual understanding of them. The results of this study may provide evidence as to whether or not the personality traits of college students influence their academic motivation beliefs. To obtain data, I surveyed college students using two self-report instruments. The first instrument, the Big Five Inventory (BFI), measured college students on The Big Five personality factors. The second instrument, the MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation Inventory (MMAMI), measured the academic motivation beliefs of college students as related to the MMAM. Data were obtained from 305 college students at a single university in southwest Virginia enrolled in an online course. Exploratory Factory Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used to answer the following research question: To what extent do the Five Factor Model factors relate to the MMAM components? Due to the lack of substantiated knowledge regarding the relationships between The Big Five personality factors and the MMAM components, specific hypotheses were not generated. The measurement models for the Big Five personality factors and the MMAM fit well. However, the structural model, in which the Big Five factors were modeled to predict the MMAM components, did not adequately fit the data for these college students. Yet, there were a number of significant pathways between The Big Five personality factors and the MMAM components. Openness and Conscientiousness had a significant, negative impact on eMpowerment, while Extraversion had a significant, positive impact on eMpowerment, Usefulness, and Interest. Additionally, Agreeableness had a significant, positive impact on Usefulness, Success, Interest, and Caring, while Neuroticism had a significant, negative impact on Success. Findings indicated that personality factors can relate to or predict academic motivation. In other words, students' academic motivation beliefs are, to a certain degree, influenced by some of their personality traits, and these differences in traits may manifest themselves in the classroom. In the future, researchers could examine the extent to which students with different personality traits display varying preferences as to the types of pedagogical methods or strategies that motivate them academically. / Ph. D.

Streaming blir dagligen en allt mer populär form av musikkonsumtion. Denna typ av medium har gjort det allt mer enkelt för individer att lyssna på musik. Diskussioner om de villkor som kreatörerna som bidrar med värde till dessa medium påpekar dock tuffa arbetsförhållanden. Kreatörer tenderar att få låg ersättning och dålig översikt över den data som relaterar till artistens lyssnare. I och med Web3:s framfart har det påbörjats en diskussion om decentraliserade musikplattformar som ett alternativ till de traditionella streamingtjänsterna. Det är inom detta område som studien ämnar att utforska acceptansen kreatörerna har av detta alternativa sätt att distribuera musik. Utifrån ramverket TAM (Technology acceptance model) skapades en modell. För att testa denna modell genomfördes sedan en enkätstudie. Det insamlade materialet användes sedan för att utföra en univariat, bivariat samt multivariat analys med hjälp av frekvenstabeller, Spearmans korrelationskoefficient och PLS-SEM-verktyg. Resultatet visade på möjliga problemområden, bland annat validiteten hos enkätfrågorna, men även lämpligheten hos studiens ramverk i förhållande till den typen av system som faktiskt undersöktes. Det var dock tydligt att urvalets användning av plattformen i fråga var en direkt effekt av hur deras avsikt till att använda densamma såg ut. Denna användaravsikt berodde sedan på deras attityd till plattformen som i sin tur berodde på den nytta de upplevde att plattformen genererade. / Music streaming is growing in popularity on a daily basis. This type of medium has made listening to music more accessible to its users. Discussions regarding tough working conditions for the creators that bring value to the platforms are becoming more common. Creators tend to get low compensation and insufficient data regarding its listeners. In regards to the growing interest with Web3 technology, discussions are being held about decentralized music platforms potential of being an alternative to the traditional streaming platforms. It’s within this field the study aims to shed some light in regards to the acceptance creators have toward this alternative way of distributing music. With regards to the theoretical framework TAM (Technology acceptance model), a model was constructed. In order to evaluate this model a survey was conducted. The data collected was then used to perform a univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis. These were possible with the help of frequency tables, Spearmans correlation coefficient as well as PLS-SEM tools. The results brought light to several possible problem areas, amongst these the validity of the questionnaire, but also the adequacy of the theoretical framework with regards to the a type of system the study actually concerns itself with. It was, however, clear that the creators’ actual use of the platform was a direct product of their intention to use it. This intention was a result of their attitude towards the platform, which in turn depended on the usefulness the creator perceived the platform to generate.

IASB och FASB utkom i maj 2014 med IFRS 15, en ny redovisningsstandard för intäktsredovisning. IFRS 15 kommer att ersätta de nuvarande standarderna för intäktsredovisning, IAS 18 och IAS 11. Tillämpningen av IFRS 15 kan resultera i mer eller mindre omfattande förändringar av intäktsredovisningen. Intäktsredovisning och effekten som följer av att tillämpa olika standarder och redovisningsprinciper har länge varit föremål för diskussion. Diskussionen bottnar i olika synsätt gällande när recognition av intäkter skall ske, det vill säga vilka rekvisit som skall föreligga för att en intäkt skall tas upp i resultaträkningen/rapport över totalresultat.I denna uppsats tillämpas rekvisitet för intäktsredovisning i enlighet med IFRS 15 och IAS 11 för att belysa effekten i resultaträkningen när respektive rekvisit tillämpas i samband med entreprenaduppdrag. Effekten av de olika rekvisiten för intäktsredovisningen av entreprenader, analyseras genom att tillämpa en modell som belyser olika informationsvärden som uppstår till följd av att rekvisiten tillämpas.Finansiella rapporter syftar till att delge information till intressenter. Vilka rekvisit som underbygger intäktsredovisningen har en nära koppling till informationsvärdet som erhålls. Olika intressenter efterfrågar olika informationsvärden i de finansiella rapporterna. I vissa fall premieras aktualitet och relevans, i andra fall tillförlitlighet. I denna uppsats analyseras två intressentperspektiv kopplat till det informationsvärde som tillämpningen av IAS 11 respektive IFRS 15 resulterar i. Decision-usefulness och stewardship utgör de primära intressentperspektiven som analyseras i denna studie.Syftet med denna studie är således att genom tillämpning av IAS 11 och IFRS 15, analysera konsekvenserna vid respektive tillämpning avseende intäktsredovisning av entreprenader. Vidare utvecklas en förklaringsmodell, underbygg med litteratur inom ämnesområdet, som konsekvent tillämpas för att analysera informationsvärdet som tillämpningen av respektive standard ger upphov till. Studien visar att tillämpningen av de olika rekvisiten kan ge upphov till information som tilltalar olika intressenter utifrån deras informationsbehov. Tillämpningen av IFRS 15 ledde i större utsträckning till varierande informationsvärden än tillämpningen av IAS 11. I studien framkommer även att rekvisiten för intäktsredovisning kan ge upphov till olika effekter i resultaträkningen. / In May 2014 the IASB and the FASB published IFRS 15, a new accounting standard for revenue recognition. IFRS 15 will replace the current standards on revenue recognition, IAS 18 and IAS 11. The application of IFRS 15 may result in more or less extensive changes in revenue recognition. Revenue recognition and the effect resulting from the application of different standards and policies has long been a subject of discussion. The discussion stems from the different views regarding when the recognition of revenue take place, i.e. the necessary prerequisites which must exist for income to be included in the income statement/statement of comprehensive income. In this paper the necessary prerequisite for revenue recognition is applied in accordance with IFRS 15 and IAS 11 in order to highlight the effect in the income statement when the respective necessary prerequisites is applied in the context of construction contracts. The effect of the various necessary prerequisites for revenue recognition of construction contracts is analyzed by applying a model that illustrates the different information values arising from the application of the necessary prerequisites. Financial reports are designed to communicate information to stakeholders. The necessary prerequisites that underpin revenue recognition have a close connection to the information value that is obtained. Different stakeholders demand different information values in the financial statements. In some cases timeliness and relevance is rewarded, in other cases reliability. In this paper a stakeholder perspective is illustrated which is linked to the information value that the application of IAS 11 and IFRS 15 results in. Decision-usefulness and stewardship are the primary stakeholder perspectives that are analyzed in this study. The purpose of this study is to analyze the consequences on revenue recognition by applying IAS 11 and IFRS 15 on construction contracts. The information value resulting from the application of the standards is analyzed through an explanatory model with basis in the subject area. The findings shows that the application of the various necessary prerequisites can lead to information that appeals to different stakeholders based on their information needs. The application of IFRS 15 led in larger extent to various information values than the application of IAS 11. The findings also show that the necessary prerequisites for revenue recognition may give rise to different effects on the income statement. This paper is written in Swedish

Bakgrund: Ersättning till verkställande direktörer är ett ämne som blossar upp i samhällsdebatten med jämna mellanrum, speciellt vid skandaler där en VD:s agerande går att ifrågasätta. Trots att rörlig ersättning funnits i mer än 130 år i Sverige och ämnet uppmärksammas i dagstidningar, finns det begränsad forskning kring ämnet.  Syfte: Att få en fördjupad förståelse för hur fastighetsbolag i Sverige, med ett högt börsvärde, ersätter sina verkställande direktörer med rörlig ersättning. Vidare att se hur dessa företag utformar sina ersättningsprogram samt skapa en förståelse för varför det finns incitament för rörlig ersättning. Studien syftar även till att ge en förståelse för hur den svenska bolagsstyrningen är uppbyggd samt tillföra kunskap avseende normbildningen av ersättning till VD.  Referensram: Avsnittet inleds med en redogörelse kring svensk bolagsstyrning samt normbildningen avseende ersättning. Vidare görs en fördjupad redogörelse kring ersättning för verkställande direktörer och ersättningsprogram. Avsnittet följer av en presentation av agentteorin som sedan sätts i ett svenskt perspektiv. Slutligen avslutas avsnittet med en redogörelse av två perspektiv på redovisning samt redovisning av värdeförändringar i förvaltningsfastigheter.  Metod: Undersökningen bygger på en metodkombination där både kvalitativa samt kvantitativa metoder använts. Årsredovisningar har varit underlag för insamling av data varvid en dokumentärstudie utförts med en sekventiell design. Vidare har ett icke-sannolikhetsurval tillämpats där urvalet baserat sig på ett subjektivt urval.  Slutsats: Informationsvärdet i företagens årsredovisningar varierar avseende ersättning till VD. Utbetalande av rörlig ersättning sker kontant i de undersökta företagen. Andelen rörlig ersättning för VD uppgår, i de undersökta företagen, till ca 20% av total ersättning. Kortsiktiga ersättningsprogram är dominerande i dessa företag. Vidare är redovisningsbaserade mått mest frekvent använda i företagens ersättningsprogram, men kompletteras upp med andra prestations mått. Justeringar av verkligt värde för fastighetsbestånden avspeglas inte i VD:s rörliga ersättningar, således är förvaltarskap utmärkande för VD i fastighetsbolag. / Background: CEO remuneration is a topic that recurs in the public debate at regular intervals, especially in the case of scandals where a CEO’s action can be questioned. Even though variable remuneration has existed for more than 130 years in Sweden and the subject is noticed in daily newspapers, there is limited research on the subject.  Purpose: To gain a deeper understanding of how real estate companies in Sweden (with a high market capitalization) reward their CEOs with variable remuneration. Furthermore, to see how the companies design their incentive-program and to gain an understanding of why there are incentives for variable remuneration. The study also aims to provide an understanding of how the Swedish corporate governance are organized and to add knowledge regarding the setting of norms for CEO remuneration.  Framework: The section begins with a description of Swedish corporate governance and the standards regarding CEO remuneration. Furthermore, an in-depth report is made regarding CEO remuneration and incentive-programs. The section continues with a presentation of Agency Theory, which is then put into a Swedish perspective. The episode ends with a description of two perspectives in accounting and reporting of value changes in investment properties.  Method: The study is based on a combination of methods where both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Annual reports have been the basis for data collection, whereby a documentary study was carried out with a sequential design. Furthermore, a non-probability sample has been applied where the sample was based on a subjective sample.  Conclusions: The information value regarding CEO remuneration, in the annual reports, differ among the corporations. Payment of variable remuneration is made in cash. The share of variable remuneration for the CEO amounts to approx. 20 percent of total remuneration, according to the investigated corporations. Short-term incentive-programs are dominant in these corporations. Furthermore, accounting-based key performance indicators are most frequently used in the corporation’s incentive- programs, however they are supplemented with other key performance indicators. Fair value adjustments for the property holdings are not reflected in the CEO’s variable remuneration, thus stewardship is distinctive for CEOs in real estate companies.

<p> </p><p>This study firstly examines the current literature concerning the electronic banking problems during implementation of electronic problems in Pakistan and causes that hinders this process. To investigate in the real-time scenario we have taken the case study of Muslim Commercial Bank Limited in Pakistan in order to understand “why” and “how” the electronic banking could not be implemented successfully.</p><p>The data was collected via interviews, surveys and bank website. Both qualitative and quantitative research approach has been used to investigate and have proper understanding of current e-banking issues. We have sent questionnaire to bank employees and interviews were conducted by the bank mangers. The response of interviews and surveys shows that there are certain issues that hinder the use of e-banking in Pakistan. In-spite of the fact that internet banking has been started in Pakistan, people are still using the old manual system to do the banking transaction, popularity of cash system, waiting in long queues for hours and lacking of proper computer education and trust etc are the major problems that are hurdles in electronic banking. On the other side there are a lot of reasons that the banks did not concentrate on internet banking and cash flow is still popular in banks and internet banking was used by the banks for the limited services.</p><p>Last years a lot of changes has been done and a greater understanding have been developed and now banks are offering various online banking services but banks are facing the problem of customer awareness regarding security and privacy of using Internet banking services as still customers are reluctant to use the online banking services so they prefer to come to banks and deposit the money by hand. So we have investigated these hindrance in our research and also we put some light on what are the advantages in using electronic banking and the how the customers are getting benefit by using e-banking in Pakistan.</p><p>We have developed our own model based upon the prior research. The results were presented in detail based upon the interview and questionnaire and later on we have given recommendations so that e-banking concept can be implemented in Pakistan and suggestions which can be very helpful for the future research</p>