The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of joint venture announcements on stock prices behavior and simultaneously to test the German stock market (Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse) for efficiency. We tried not only to analyze the general impacts of a JV-announcement but also to look for differences in the market response to announcements of different types of joint ventures, namely: domestic, international, horizontal and vertical. Our expectations of efficient market were confirmed during our paper, which employed the technique of the standard event study. The calculation of abnormal returns which are the signals for market efficiency or inefficiency respectively were based on the market model, establishing linear relationship between the return on the market and the return on an individual security. The parameters of the model were obtained through regression analysis..

This Masters thesis work describes a comparison between two different methods for estimation of the down channel (base station to mobile subscriber) in Wide-band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA). The first estimation method, Optimal Feed-forward Channel Estimation (OFCE), is a conventional method that bases the estimates on data that is known to both sender and receiver, so called pilots. The second method, Decision Directed Channel Estimation (DDCE), is an elaboration of OFCE. It also uses user data for estimation. Simulations show that DDCE, in comparison to OFCE, does not attain an improvement in signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) for high bit error rates (BER).

The thesis handles the principal-agency problem between shareholders and the Chief Executive Officer. The purpose of the thesis was to examine the link between CEO compensation and corporate performance measured as a change in Market to Book ratio. Data was collected from corporate annual reports between the years 2000 ? 2008 and the study covers 39 Swedish companies from the Stockholm Stock Exchange Large Cap list. To examine whether there is a link between the CEO´s compensation and firm performance, we performed a regression analysis, and no significant relation is found.

This study was performed to investigate the bacteriological quality of French cheeses made from raw milk. Fifty cheeses of this type were purchased from Swedish retail premises. The methods described by the Nordic Committee on Food Analysis (NMKL) were used to determine the number of Enterobacteriaceae, presumptive Escherichia coli, coagulase positive staphylococci and Listeria monocytogenes. In 32 cheeses (64%) the number of bacteria mentioned above exceeded the determined maximum value. Thirty samples (60%) showed high counts of Enterobacteriaceae.

In printed text, sound is a somewhat forgotten aspect. The recitation of text is vital in areas like poetry and oratory, but still has no distinct technique of being communicated. Emphasis of a word might be expressed through italics, but no canonic character set or system for vocal delivery of texts exists. With this essay we are creating a foundation for a development of such a character set or system. By studying existing visualisations of sound and comparing these with semiotic and perception-based theories we obtain useful insights for a prospective system for visualisations of vocal sounds.We conclude that the aspects of sound one wants to visualise must be carefully defined since the viewer cannot process infinite amounts of information.

The aim of this study was to examine if there was a relative age effect in students grade in mathematics. The study was built on regression analysis and Spearman rho on student?s month of birth and their grades. It was found that there is a relative age effect in the student?s grades.

Abstract During the last 15 years, the former ?really existing socialist? economies have undertaken an extensive transition process. In this paper the development, measured as GDP growth, is analyzed using variables for economic policy. The analysis is both theoretical, taking as starting point current positions in academia, and econometrical with the linear regression model. We show that while economic policy variables of inflation, economic freedom and institutional quality affect economic growth, the results are not only the ones predicted by the theory.

I denna undersökning undersöker vi hur individers utbildning samt föräldrars utbildning och beteende påverkar individers jämställdhetsattityder. Vi använder oss av data från 2009 innehållandes 1325 respondenter födda mellan 1964 och 1980. Analysen utfördes med logistisk regression där vi studerar två olika typer av jämställdhetsattityder, allmänna jämställdhetsattityder och jämställdhetsattityder inom den privata sfären. Vår teoretiska ansats är teorin om socialisation samt kognitiv utvecklingsteori. Vi har funnit att en hög utbildning är associerat med mer positiva jämställdhetsattityder.

Fusarium graminearum is one of the most important pathogens on cereals and causes major crop losses around the world. The most cultivated cereal in Sweden is winter wheat. F. graminearum produces both sexual and asexual spores for dispersal. Multiple factors affect the production of these spores.

This thesis deals with the concept of how price affects demand for a good by estimating various price elasticities of demand for snu sold in Sweden. Information was gathered on price development for snus and cigarettes as well as sales data from Swedish Match, the largest supplier of snus in Sweden. Income-, price- and cross-price elasticities were estimated based on log-log regression. Results show that snus is an inelastic good since the coefficient for price of snus was -0.536. This proved that a 1% increase in price causes a 0.536% decrease in quantity demanded.

En kvantitativ studie av incitament och avkastning på 338 aktie- och 33 hedgefonder med säte i Sverige genom att variablerna fondförmögenhet, antal fonder i fondbolaget, prestationsbaserad avgift samt prestationsbaserad lön testas mot avkastning och risk. Vi finner att en större fondförmögenhet leder till lägre avkastning, fler fonder i fondbolaget resulterar även det i lägre avkastning för fonden än för motsvarande i ett fondbolag med färre antal fonder. Vår variabel prestationsbaserad lön resulterar i lägre risk för fonden och vår variabel prestationsbaserad avgift resulterar i högre risk. Vi kan inte utifrån våra resultat fastslå att agentteorins antaganden om incitament och kontroll i svenska fonder har en avgörande roll. Däremot hittar vi effekter vilka sannolikt har sin förklaring i agentteorin men då de inte är entydiga går det inte att generalisera sambandet..

Är sambandet mellan ungdomars depressiva känslor och föräldrars beteenden i nyckelsituationer större än sambandet mellan depressiva känslor och allmänna uppfostransstilar? Detta har vi undersökt genom att låta 108 högstadieelever fylla i en enkät och sedan analysera deras svar genom hierarkisk regression. Tidigare forskning har påvisat att positiva beteenden är viktiga när det gäller föräldrars uppfostran och depressiva känslor hos ungdomar. Uppvisandet av positiva beteenden verkar dock inte likaviktiga som avsaknaden av dem. Vi har i vår studie gått ännu ett steg längre och våra resultat visar på att hur föräldrar beter sig i nyckelsituationer har större betydelse för depressiva känslor hos ungdomar än vad allmänna uppfostransstilar har.

AbstractThe recruiting of lay judges to the district courts is managed by the political parties. Despite repeated efforts the parties do not succeed in recruiting lay judges that reflect the structure of the inhabitants. Why not? This is the fundamental issue of this essay.This study is a multiple case study of two parties with different success in their recruiting work. The purpose is to study the process of nomination regarding lay judges at the district courts, at the latest election (2006).

Syftet med examensarbetet är att tillföra ny kunskap inom den svenska earnings management forskningen genom att undersöka kapitalstrukturens eventuella korrelation med earnings management. Uppsatsen har en kvantitativ metodansats, paneldata regressionsanalys används för att genomföra studien. Arbetet grundar sig i tidigare forskning på earnings management området. Vidare prövas Debt-to-Equity teorin mot den svenska marknaden. Den empiriska undersökningen utgår från 231 företag listade på den svenska börsen under tidsperioden 2003-2007 och en negativ korrelation konstateras mellan earnings management och kapitalstruktur.

Dark Tourism is a relatively new concept, but as a phenomenon it has existed for centuries in the form of pilgrimages and gladiator games. The term includes visits to places associated with death and disaster, and has in more recent years become a highlighted tourist niche. This paper addresses the phenomenon of Dark Tourism and the reasons behind a visit to such an attraction. To find out the motive behind people's visits, interviews were conducted with respondents who have previously visited one or more Dark Tourism sites. A total of 32 people were interviewed about what influenced them to go to such a macabre place.