This paper examines the effects of public and bank debt financing on firm performance in emerging markets. Using data on 742 publicly traded firms from the BRIC countries, it is documented that bank debt may have a positive effect on operating performance of a firm. This effect is more pronounced for financially distressed firms and during the crisis period. It is also found that bank debt has a U

PJSC Gazprom is one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, but has a tarnished reputation and some critics question its corporate legitimacy. Using the moral foundations theory as a basis, a thematic content analysis was conducted to examine PJSC Gazprom’s efforts to support its reputation and legitimacy. The study focused on the company’s self-portrayal in five annual reports from yea

This paper aims to answer if the low-cost presence of a super discount store Lidl affects prices online for the Swedish market leader in food retailing, Ica. A collection of 50 Ica stores across Sweden with different competitive markets were compared using a cart of 10 items. Econometric analysis showed that the low-cost presence did affect Ica’s prices online and it is two-star significant.

Bygg- och fastighetssektorn står för stora utsläpp av växthusgaser från byggnadsmaterial- och energianvändning. Byggbranschen står idag för ca en femtedel av Sveriges totala koldioxidutsläpp. Ett område med stor potential är byggnadsmaterial där IsoTimber är ett av företagen som driver utvecklingen framåt. IsoTimber är en relativt ny aktör inom byggsektorn som tillverkar prefabricerade väggar i trThe construction and real estate sector accounts for a large part of the emission of greenhouse gases from the usage of building material and energy. The construction industry today accounts for about one-fifth of Sweden’s total carbon dioxide emissions. One area with great potential is building materials where IsoTimber is one of the companies that drive the development forward. IsoTimber is a re

Sverige har i över tjugo års tid, från såväl nationellt som internationellt håll, utstått omfattande kritik angående långa häktestider och en allt för liberal restriktionsanvändning. Vissa mindre förändringar har skett med tiden men de svenska problemen kvarstår i stort oförändrande än idag. I ett försök att åtgärda problemen tillsatte regeringen en utredning som presenterade sitt betänkande 2016,Sweden has during the last 20 years received severe criticism, both national and international, on the widespread use of remand imprisonment and a too liberal practice in its use of restriction. Some minor changes have been made to the legislation on the matter but the criticism remains in its major part unchanged. During 2015, the government made an effort to overcome this issue by appointing a p

Skuldbegreppet i svensk rätt utgörs av oaktsamhet (culpa) och uppsåt (dolus). Dessa två begrepp ger uttryck för olika grad av skuld, och det är således av stor vikt att gärningar begångna med uppsåt och av oaktsamhet hålls isär. Föreliggande uppsats utreder uppsåtets nedre gräns mot oaktsamhet. Lagstiftaren har konsekvent genom historien överlåtit uppgiften att utforma uppsåtsbegreppet till domsThe concept of guilt in Swedish law constitutes carelessness (culpa) and intent (dolus). These legal concepts express different ranks of guilt such that the separation of deeds of negligence and intent is of major importance. The present thesis will investigate the lower bound of the concept of intent, in relation to carelessness. The legislative branch has historically transferred ownership of s

The purpose of this essay is to investigate how female street artist experience being part of a masculine subculture. The theoretical framework is based on theories concerning patriarchy and gender roles, graffiti and masculinity and public space. Henri Lefvebre’s theory regarding the social production of space shows that female street artist do not face obstacles in the material room but in the s

In the beginning of 2017 the parliamentary rural committee handed over their final report with suggestion for a new rural policy. The final report has been described as concrete and containing some radical suggestions. Hence this thesis seeks to examine the political view of the countryside, by review of the final report from 2017 and a final report from 2006 written by two parliamentary rural com

This thesis investigates the imbalances in the polycentric Region of Scania posed by the priorities made by infrastructural planning. Comparing the demographically and economically weaker southeastern municipalities of Scania with the much stronger growth poles located in southwest of the region. Further it looks at how the existing railway system contributes to cement a hegemonic structure within

I artikel 1F flyktingkonventionen stadgas ett antal av de så kallade uteslutandeklausulerna från flyktingstatus, vilka utgör undantag från möjligheten att åtnjuta internationellt skydd för personer som uppfyller rekvisiten i flyktingdefinitionen. Artikeln utesluter asylsökande som misstänks för vissa grova brott, såsom krigsförbrytelser och brott mot mänskligheten, om det finns synnerligen anledniArticle 1F in the Refugee Convention constitutes one of the so called exclusions clauses from the possibility to be recognized as a refugee and hence obtain international protection. The Article excludes asylum seekers who are suspected for serious crimes, such as war crimes and crimes against humanity, if there are serious reasons for considering that the person has committed the alleged crime. T

Ekonomiska diskrepanser mellan länder och företag globalt skapar krav och behov för reglering av beviljande av bidrag eller statligt stöd på internationell nivå. I dess frånvaro skulle länder kunna ge vinster till produkter och kringgå konkurrens med otillbörlig förskjutning av varor som skulle ha behövt samma subventioner för att ha en ärbar chans att konkurrera med. Detta skulle bidra till ett öEconomic differences between countries and undertakings on a worldwide scale creates necessities for regulation on the granting of subsidies or State aid at the international level. In its absence, countries would be able to grant benefits to products and circumventing competition with unfairly displacement of goods that would have needed the same subsidies to have a decent chance at competing. Th

This thesis explores how crimes against humanity in general and the crime of forcible transfer of population in particular, cover the most serious situations of development-induced displacement. The focus lies on the legal protection through international criminal law of persons displaced in an unjustified way as a result of development projects, such as the building of dams, roads, and other infr

This study aims at highlighting and explaining the factors that underpin Sweden's and Finland's various abilities to provide food for their citizens in crisis and war. The study has a security policy perspective but also affects the agricultural policies of the different countries. The study is a comparative, theory-consuming study that examines how the abilities are today and why. Finally

This thesis examines the fundamental problem of expert knowledge and science in democracies. It does so by a critical discourse analysis of the case about tramway in Lund and the question it searches to answer is how the group “experts” were constructed. To answer this question a division of theories regarding the question of expert knowledge and science in democracies are used. The theories could

This thesis studies three ideas represented in the political work Rukhnama written by Türkmenbaşy, the former totalitarian dictator of Turkmenistan. Using the theories of Anderson in Imagined communities, with the method of descriptive idea analysis, it comes to the conclusion that the work represents a heavily authoritarian ideology with its basis in a family structure. The family structure is pa

The question of what kind of actor the European Union is has been much debated since its formation. One of the policy areas where the union has been taking on a prominent role is the environmental. The EU uses environmental policy to form its international identity in the lack of a common military force. Not only does it impose ambitious environmental targets within its borders, but also through v

This research aims to study the conflict management process that was initiated by The Gulf Cooperation Council during the Arab spring. The Arab spring was an event that has been described as a ground breaking and political, awakening movement that the Arab world and the region has not seen in a long time. What the long term results are still unknown, but to this present day it has changed the both

There is a lot of research done on political representation with a focus on women. Nevertheless, there is not much new research available. This essay aims to build on the previous research found by studying what has happened in recent years. By investigating previous findings about how an increase in female representation increases the confidence of the national parliament, further research is bei

Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) is commonly used to measure the lifetime of fluorescence from dye molecules. In TCSPC, the sample is excited by a pulsed laser and the arrival time of each of the emitted photons at the detector relative to a trigger is recorded. An important criterion of the technique is that the excitation intensity of the laser has to be low enough such that the de

As almost three out of four EU citizens live in urban areas and this number is expected to further grow, studies on urban ecosystems and their services are crucial to understand a city’s environmental structure and capabilities. The European Commission has published a relative report which suggests an urban ecosystem condition indicator framework, yet without suggesting respective thresholds tha