This paper describes and develops a trade off model of optimal capital structure by Bradley et al. (1984). The model is then tested to examine how changes in corporate tax rates affect the optimal capital structure of firms. Based on theoretical implications of the model, four hypotheses are derived stating that firms? optimal debt-to-value ratio is (1) negatively related to financial distress costs, (2) negatively related to non-debt tax shields, (3) negatively related to firm volatility and (4) positively related to the corporate tax rate.

This paper seeks to discern the political factors that determine the results of negotiations in international cooperation. On the one hand, it makes a contribution to the broader theoretical debate on international regimes by combining regime theory and theories on globalisation into an integrated framework for the analysis of international policy results, or in this case treaties (theoretical objective). More generally, globalisation theory will help us understand why it has become important to initiate international cooperation, and regime theory to elucidate how these international cooperations emerge. To many observers, it is the large transnational corporations of the rich North, which have done best out of free trade. Through the huge influence they wield over governments at the WTO (World Trade Organisation), these corporations have won the freedom to move around the globe without restriction, making use of cheap labour, and locating wherever they can best tap into the largest and most lucrative markets.

The main purpose of this essay is to study how classroom interaction can take place in a class for Second Language Learners (SLL).1 I have applied a case study methodology on a linguistic method used by a Teacher in Swedish as Second Language working on a primary school situated in the Southern suburbs of Stockholm. The learning method is based on extensive reading of books which comprehend several learning techniques organized into a process that support the development of linguistic skills such as discussing in a group, writing, reading and thinking in a second language. The methodology applied is based on observations, on an interview with a Teacher in Swedish as Second Language and on a questionnaire answered by 11 students that participated on ?Boksamtal?.Based on a theoretical framework about socio cultural theories on learning and scaffolding,2 I attempt to integrate theory and practice to investigate how the Teacher succeed on applying effective methods for second language learning. Through the analyses of the data is also my intention to emphasize the advantages and disadvantages of such a method.

Background: The background explains different financial crises and the effect those crises had on the Swedish acquits regarding variable compensation. The resent discussion regarding variable compensation and the main problems with bonuses is also explained. Our theories for this essay is mainly based on the new directions from Finansinspektionen FFFS 2009:6,7 and stakeholder theory. Other theories used are agency theory, stewardship theory and economic man.Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to analyze the new directions for variable compensation and to investigate if these new directions can lead to a more long-term thinking for managers in banks. Method: We used semi-structured interviews with open questions for our survey.

Denna uppsats undersöker varför vissa blogginlägg får många kommentarer jämfört med mindre kommenterade blogginlägg. Utgångspunkten är att undersöka en dagboksblogg skriven av en tonårig kvinna, då det finns förhållandevis lite forskning inom detta specifika område. Materialet som ligger till grund för undersökningen är en blogg som heter Kenza och de tre mest respektive minst kommenterade inläggen från denna blogg under perioder från 1 januari till 28 februari 2009.William Labovs teori om narrativer och Wolfgang Isers reception theory utgör uppsatsens teorier. Metoderna som används är läsbarhetsindex, nominalkvot, narrativ analys och interpersonell analys.Resultaten som framkommit ur analyserna visar att i jämförelse mellan de minst och de mest kommenterade blogginläggen har de mest kommenterade få långa ord och en utpräglad verbal stil. Blogginlägg med en tydlig narrativ struktur och ett direkt tilltal fick också fler kommentarer. .

The aim of this paper is to analyze how syllabus plans for the course Swedish for immigrants have changed in the past 40 years. The paper focuses mainly on how different theories on learning in general and second language acquisition in particular have influenced the syllabus. Furthermore, the paper attempts to identify changes in how the teachers? role is described in the documents. My results indicate that syllabus plans from the 70?s were influenced by behaviorism, progressivism and the sociocultural view on learning, while syllabus plans from the 90?s and 00?s show only influences from the two latter perspectives.

There are many children in Sweden today, approximately 200 000, who have parents or a parent that abuses alcohol or other drugs. The aim of this study was to investigate how group leaders in support groups for children with addicted parents relate to this sort of support groups. What are their advantages and disadvantages, according to the group leaders?The method used was qualitative and the empirical material was collected through group interviews. We have interviewed eight persons who are social workers and the interviews were carried out at three work places.

The aim of the study is to examine which present conceptions of sexuality there are in treatment of substance abuse for men. The intention is to examine how staff members in these environments perceive clients? sex and sexuality as well as studying if and in that case how they work with sexuality in treatment. A qualitative method formed the methodological approach and semistructured interviews were carried out for the collection of data. Four staff members from two different treatment institutions for substance abuse were interviewed.

Trots lagar, nationella som internationella, återkommer diskussionen om etik vid militära interventioner. Uppsatsen handlar om huruvida NATO:s intervention i Kosovo levde upp till etiska lagar kring militära interventioner samt om normativa teorier fortfarande är relevanta och lämnas utrymme idag.Syftet med uppsatsen är att se om det fortfarande finns utrymme idag för normativa teorier, såsom den etiska teorin just war theory, och om dessa är rimliga att använda. Uppsatsen använder fallstudien Kosovo som exempel och analyserar samtidigt hur denna intervention lever upp till de nio punkterna i teorin.Kvalitativ textanalys samt fallstudie av Kosovo har använts som metoder och just war theory har använts som teori.Resultatet visar att sju av nio punkter helt eller till stor del levdes upp till under NATO:s intervention i Kosovo, och att de resterande två till viss del levdes upp till. Undersökningen påvisar också att normativa teorier lämnas utrymme idag, och att teorin fortfarande kan vara relevant, om än med lite modifikation..

In recent years it has become more and more evident that man has contributed to much of the climate changes that have taken place during the last century. A major challenge today is to reduce emissions and energy usage at the same time as the global population is growing. To contribute to a better environment, Stockholms Stad has set at target of becoming fossil fuel free by the year of 2050. The construction of new districts is done with this goal in mind; energy efficiency and renewable energy sources are examples of methods to achieve this.Solar energy is considered to be a sustainable energy source and the most common techniques to harvest solar energy in Sweden are solar cells and solar collectors which produce electricity and heat respectively. This report aims to investigate whether an investment in any of these systems would prove to be economically beneficial at Kvarnholmen, a district under construction in eastern Nacka, Stockholm.Since the finished blueprints only cover a small portion of Kvarnholmen, the report examines the possibilities for a house where construction has already begun, Nya Kvarnen.

This thesis focus on the presentation of the filmic room the viewer sees in George A. Romero´s three horror classics Night, Dawn and Day of the Dead. The hypothesis goes as follow; fear and element of tension becomes greater if the audience/viewer has a good knowledge about the filmic room in the film, in other words, a good spatial awareness. The conclusion is that it does. The environment is active in its becoming and in its presentation to the viewer.

The role of small businesses is fundamentally important for the economic development in countries. Within this context, business incubation is used as an entrepreneurship development instrument to promote and support new firms in the early stage of their existence. However, research in the field tends to disregard the perspectives of incubatee entrepreneurs. The performed investigation is based on interviews with entrepreneurs from two different business incubators at Swedish universities. This study uses a Situated Learning Theory (SLT) as a theoretical framework, to examine the entrepreneur's experience of the learning environment in a business incubator.

Our planet is faced with enormous challenges as the extreme weather events related to the human-caused climate change continue to gain strength. The scale of the problem has made changing human behaviour the central focus of sustainable development, and both public and private sector are expected to gain relevant expertise and introduce this work in their agenda. Over its 40-year history, social marketing has become an established field providing tools for social change, but compared to health promotion, sustainability has not been a major focus of social marketing research so far. At the same time, sustainable lifestyles are embedded in complex systems where both individual factors and those of physical and social environment play a defining role in their adoption. Communities are a good example of such environments, and they became the key focus of Community-Based Social Marketing, which combines different insights from psychology to suggest a step-by-step framework for crafting behaviour change campaigns. However, it has not been applied to larger and diverse communities, like cities, and has not focused on sustaining new behaviour over time, which is crucial for creating sustainable lifestyles.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process of transferring information from science to "the field" of environmental protection in Sweden. I have studied four Swedish environmental organizations, Greenpeace Nordic, WWF Sweden, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation and Friends of the Earth Sweden to see how they search/get information. I have also studied the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and its role as sender of information, since it is the authority which is responsible for environmental information in Sweden. I have used information and communication theories as a help to analyse my results. While working on this paper I realized that my methods were not the best.

AbstractThe aim of this study was to highlight who represents elderly immigrants and apply the theory of social exclusion. We chose channels for representation that we found important in relation to this group. The first part is a study of available litterature of the subject. We found three main arenas: participation in elections, participation in associations and clubs and representation in political institutions. The findings showed a democratic deficit among elderly immigrants, which gave an indication of social exclusion from the political arena and from participation in associations.For the second part we decided to concentrate on the arena of participation in associations and clubs that represent the elderly and/or immigrants.