This paper discusses whether the allocation of Swedish aid is dependent on absolute or relative poverty, and whether there is any difference in this respect between ODA and aid distributed through officially funded NGO?s. Given the Millennium Development Goals, and their overarching goal of halving extreme poverty by 2015, we should expect the aid allocation to be determined by absolute rather than relative poverty. We use OLS to estimate multiple linear regressions. We find that Swedish ODA has an absolute poverty focus, while the Swedish NGO aid rather seems to be concentrated on relative poverty. .

Hedge funds? importance within the financial system has during the most recent years increased dramatically. These special funds are unique instruments that differ from traditional mutual funds in a variety of ways, however especially in how they expect returns. Due to the fact that hedge funds are able to hold short positions they possess the possibility to become market neutral investment vehicles.Because of this possibility to sustain positions neutral to market fluctuations, the concept of absolute returns became a unique selling point for hedge fund managers and promises of stable returns unchallenged by market conditions was assured. This research paper aims to examine the theory of absolute returns in hedge funds by examining hedge funds from the Nordic region during the last years of economic turmoil that has occurred by  analyzing the results from their strategies, partially by quantitative measurements as well as qualitative.  The results show that none of hedge fund strategies managed to deliver absolute returns over the chosen period..

Introduction: Pregnancy, obesity, aging and certain diseases are examples of conditions thataffect the body, its constitution and composition. Simpler methods to estimate bodycomposition are needed to complement more advanced traditional methods to better identifythe health status without sacrificing accuracy and precision.Objective: To validate the results of body composition from bioelectrical impedancespectroscopy (BIS) against results from the study reference method, dual energy X-rayabsorption (DXA), in overweight and obese lactating women after childbirth.Method: The design of the LEVA-study (Lifestyle for Effective Weight loss during lactation)consisted both intervention and longitudinal follow-up, which gave the opportunity tovalidate the absolute values (accuracy) and the ability to detect changes (precision). Themean difference between methods was tested statistically by paired t-test. Bland-Altman plotsused to examine the degree of agreement between BIS and DXA, but also distribution andany systematic differences. Association between methods was measured by using Pearson´scorrelation coefficient.Results: Between BIS and DXA, absolute measurements of the variables fat-free mass (FFM)and fat mass (FM) showed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001).

During the three first centuries A.D the cult to roman emperor was practiced over the absolute majority of the known world. It was based on the idea of the deified ruler, where religion was used as a way of legitimizing a social position of an absolute few. It arrived from below but was promoted and spread from above as a way of governmental control. During the same period of time did a new aristocratic social group emerge in remote Scandinavia that eagerly sought new ways to identify themselves and their newly found social standing. With a base consisting of an economic surplus they wanted to create an acceptance for their new way of life and thus in doing so change the very foundation and core beliefs of their own society.The central theme of this study is the cultural exchange that took place between these two cultural spheres and mainly of the effect that the cult to the roman emperor had on the emergence and identification process of the Scandinavian aristocracy..

Despite the fact that the issue has been discussed for several decades, there are still no rules in Sweden mandating political parties and candidates to disclose received donations. Because of this lack of transparency, Sweden is not fulfilling some of its international obligations and has fallen behind in the international trend to increase the transparency of election campaign finance. The lack of disclosure rules in Sweden has led to extensive criticism, most notably from the Council of Europe´s group of states against corruption, Greco, who criticized Sweden in light of the guidelines on the subject from the Council of Europe. At this writing, a new proposal for disclosure rules is being prepared at the Department of Justice, DoJ. The proposal is to be presented in spring 2013.

This essay examines the love affair between the two main characters of Rut Hillarp?s novel Sindhia. It draws attention to the schism between the Surrealist version of love as an extatic-religious fusion of the sexes ? that in a way marks the relationship ? and the yet remarkable coolness between the two lovers.With the theories of French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, I will show how the man and the woman project their unrealistic individual fantasies on each other, thus rendering impossible the Surrealist Meeting, with its road to an absolute reality. The Surrealist "l?amour fou", I will argue, is trapped in the ritualized "l?amor interruptus"; a lacanian term for a certain kind of love that wishes to conceal the fact that desire will never find its object.

AbstractThe ideas of adulthood, adolescence and childhood in Swedish law have a tendency to not be expressed or discussed. This thesis has focused on the preparatory work of the sexual offence-law to see whether it defines adulthood. This has been achieved by analyzing the documents related to this preparatory work. The thesis focused on two central questions: 1) Was the idea of adulthood an integral part of the discussions in the preparatory work 2) If so, then how was it defined and are there any contradictions in the definition. In addition, this work also evaluated the impact of this law and investigated whether the absolute protection intended by the government and the committee of sexual crime seek actually exists.The study shows that the concept of adulthood was not defined specifically in the preparatory work.

Det är välkänt att högreflekterande ytor är svåra att skanna med ett bra resultat. Detta är ett särskilt stort problem vid användning av detaljskannrar, eftersom de ofta används för att digitalisera objekt av metall eller andra material med hög reflektans. Konsekvensen blir att osäkerhet och avvikelser i skanningsresultatet ökar, eller att skanningen inte ger något resultat alls. Därför är det viktigt att känna till hur stor inverkan ytor med hög reflektans har på skanningen. Målsättningen med detta examensarbete har varit att undersöka hur avvikelsen varierar vid skanning av högreflekterande ytor.

Until recently the Danish government was hesitant about whether investments in climate and energy policies were the right strategy for Denmark. Today the Danish government argues that during the forthcoming climate conference in Copenhagen in 2009 (COP15), the world's countries must agree upon ambitious climate objectives. Denmark is together with EU-27 aiming at an ambitious climate agreement. This thesis intends to contribute with an understanding of why Denmark, both politically and economically, invests profound resources into committing the world's countries to a climate agreement. The study uses both a neoliberal institutionalism and a constructivist theory in analyzing the Danish engagement.

Investment in hedge funds is a relatively new phenomenon for investors compared with other forms of savings. In recent years, the interest has increased among investors in investing their money in hedge funds, given the protection against declines in the market they are aiming for. Their main purpose is to generate a high return at a low risk regardless of market trends. This they can achieve by having fewer restrictions that offer more flexible investment strategies and freer investment opportunities.The purpose of this paper is to identify how the selected hedge fund strategies have performed during the recent economic downturn. We also want to clarify the claim that hedge funds exhibit a positive absolute return regardless of what the market is performing.In order to answer the purpose of the essay and its problems, we have used a quantitative method with a deductive approach in the processing of data.

This study examines whether there is an association between the length of the client-auditor relationship and audit quality, using absolute unexpected accruals estimated by industry as a measure of audit quality based on a modified Jones model. The study is motivated by the proposal on mandatory audit firm rotation for publicly traded companies from the European Commission, which is based on the notion that longer auditor firm tenure creates a familiarity threat which reduces the audit quality. Both the relation between audit quality and auditor partner tenure and audit firm tenure is examined in this study, using multivariate regression controlling for auditor type (Big 4 versus non-Big 4), signing auditors (one versus two auditors), firm size, profitability, leverage and age. There is a significant negative relationship between audit quality and audit partner tenure when only companies employing Big 4 is tested, which indicate that auditors constrain managements extreme accounting measures with longer tenure. The results provide no significant evidence of an increase in the absolute unexpected accruals with audit firm tenure, when only Big 4 companies are tested.

Introduction: Public health researchers have long been focusing on investigating health inpopulations through determinants such as income inequalities. Nevertheless, incomeinequalities can be considered an effect of the organization of welfare regimes. The publichealth status is largely affected by the organization of welfare regimes and consequently thereare large differences in health within and between welfare regimes. How are these differencesdistributed and how can they be explained?Aim: To compare health between welfare state regimes with the use of Esping-Andersen?swelfare regime typology and to investigate the relationship between welfare statedeterminants and health.Methods: A literary review based on 12 scientific articles.

Introduction: Public health researchers have long been focusing on investigating health inpopulations through determinants such as income inequalities. Nevertheless, incomeinequalities can be considered an effect of the organization of welfare regimes. The publichealth status is largely affected by the organization of welfare regimes and consequently thereare large differences in health within and between welfare regimes. How are these differencesdistributed and how can they be explained?Aim: To compare health between welfare state regimes with the use of Esping-Andersen?swelfare regime typology and to investigate the relationship between welfare statedeterminants and health.Methods: A literary review based on 12 scientific articles.

In this essay I want to investigate how the Viking aristocratic warrior elite in Scandinavia used religious mythology for the construction of their identity. The essay also takes up the concept of honor, which was important for the warriors. Honor was central to all people during Viking age and for the warriors it was absolute. In the religious myths, the aristocratic warriors justify their position in society and legitimate their acts of war. Religion continues to have importance to the warrior elite even after the arrival of Christianity.

My thesis is an attempt to clarify the purpose and workings of art in relation to the artist, his/her fellows and society. Can art be considered as a uniting force? If so, where does its unifying quality lie? How does art connect with the individual, the community and society? My interpretation of the political climate regarding the arts has resulted in an exploration of the question: What role does art have in society today?The artistic ego as an altruism ? within the title of this thesis lies an absolute paradox ? a paradox that through this paper is tested, reviewed and demonstrated as a way of describing art and its workings. The thesis is problematized and studied from several angles: Through the inner artistic process, both reflective and empirical, and through philosophical studies..