Country Risk and Market Reactions to Earnings Announcements: Evidence from Finnish Stock Markets

The objective of this thesis is to examine the market reaction around earnings announcements in Finnish stock markets. The aim is to find out whether the extreme market conditions during the financial crisis are reflected in stock prices as a stronger reaction. In addition to this, the purpose is to investigate how extensively Finnish listed companies report the country segmentation of revenues in their interim reports and whether the country risk is having a significant impact on perceived market reaction. The sample covers all companies listed in Helsinki stock exchange at 1.1.2010 and these companies’ interim reports from the first quarter of 2008 to last quarter of 2009. Final sample consists of 81 companies and 630 firm-quarter observations. The data sample has been divided in two parts, of which country risk sample contains 17 companies and 127 observations and comparison sample covers 66 companies and 503 observations. Research methodologies applied in this thesis are event study and cross-sectional regression analysis. Empirical results indicate that the market reaction occurs mainly during the announcement day and is slightly stronger in case of positive earnings surprises than the reactions observed in previous studies. In case of negative earnings surprises no significant differences can be observed. In case of country risk sample and negative earnings surprise market reaction is negative already in advance of the disclosure contrary to comparison sample. In case of positive surprise no differences can be observed. Country risk variable developed during this study seems to explain only minor part of the market reaction.

Management of commercial property derived risks in the market context of the Russian Federation

The objective of the thesis is to examine the current state of risk management and to determine an appropriate risk management policy for commercial property derived risks in the Russian branch of a Finnish retail trade company. The employed research methodologies are comparative in-depth interviews and empirical value at risk analysis, including portfolio risk decomposition to determine the inter-currency characteristics. For a multinational retail trade company, the commercial property derived risks open up as a diverse combination of financial and non-financial risks with four distinctive interest groups. The research results indicate that geographical diversification across currency regimes provides diversification benefits. The Russian ruble is the most significant single risk component when considering the net investments outside the euro-zone. Decreasing the Russian ruble and Swedish krona exposures are the most effective methods to reduce translation derived risk. Exchange rate volatility varies over time according to idiosyncratic currency regime characteristics, and cost-effective risk management requires comprehensive analysis of the business environment. Profound and proactive risk management methods are found to be pivotal for companies with cross-border operations in order to succeed among international competitors.

Earnings management in the process of preparing corporate financial reports

Earnings management (EM) literature examines managers’ use of judgment in financial reporting and in structuring transactions to alter financial reports for a specific reason. Mainstream EM literature strongly concentrates on statistical research methodologies and it is driven by positive accounting theory. Although EM occurs in the process of preparing corporate financial reports, that process has so far largely remained a “black box” in prior literature. The purpose of this study is to analyze what EM is, how and why it unfolds and how it is intertwined in the process of preparing corporate financial reports. In order to meet the needs of the study, a qualitative case study method will be used. The contribution of this study is threefold. First, it indicates that the concept of EM is not as unam-biguous as the prior literature has assumed. I find that EM is socially constructed and more open to interpretation than absolutely dichotomous conception given by previous studies. Second, this study contributes to our knowledge of the role and the importance of actors involved in conducting EM, indicating that EM is much more actor-dependent than the prior literature has assumed. Third, this study broadens our knowledge base with regard to the processes and potential for EM in academic research.

Private Home Care in Municipal Service Systems – A Case Study among Finnish and Swedish Municipalities

The aim of this study is to assess the current and future preconditions for conducting private business in municipal service systems for home care in Lahti and Hyvinkää in Finland, and in Uppsala and Huddinge in Sweden. This study also aims to assess the implications of quality related issues on the preconditions for conducting private business in the service systems in question. The theories and the research methodologies of the study are based on the Business Model Generation and the Business Model Canvas -concepts. Also a couple of frameworks on implications of quality are applied and integrated into the study. The study is completed as a case study – with structured and identical approaches for all four municipalities. The analyses and assessments of the study are primarily qualitative, but supported by simple quantitative methodologies. The data of the study consists primarily of publicly available information, and secondarily of answers provided by the case-municipalities to multiple choice questions. The results of the study show that the service systems for home care among the case-municipalities are, from perspective of private companies, diverse with local characteristics. Both the premises for conducting private business and the quality-issues are in many respects different in the Finnish and the Swedish case-municipalities. This is partly due to differences in the national service systems; the service voucher system versus the system of choice. Still, it appears that the current preconditions for conducting private business in the service systems for home care, including the implications of quality, would be more favorable in Uppsala and Huddinge than in Lahti and Hyvinkää. On the other hand, the service systems are subject to changes, and the most positive and significant development is here forecasted for a Finnish case-municipality (Lahti). Communication of quality is clearly more advanced in the Swedish case-municipalities. The results of this study can be utilized in several ways, for instance by private companies interested in entering into service systems for home care, either in some of the case-municipalities, or in some other Finnish or Swedish municipalities. Also municipalities can apply the analyses of the study when designing, developing or evaluating their own service systems for home care.

Conceptualizing and measuring human anxiety on the Internet

Since the 1990’s, the Internet has played a central role in our daily lives. The Internet is an integral part of our personal, business, family, research, entertainment, academic and social life. However, there are social implications in using the Internet that are dependent on categories such as gender, age, ethnicity and cultural attributes. This social aspect can play a detrimental role in the expression of human anxiety on the Internet. An anxiety is a complex phenomenon that requires further elaboration. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to investigate human anxiety, or specifically, whether Internet anxiety can be conceptualized and measured. This thesis utilizes literature, qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, and a triangulation validation approach to conceptualize and measure the Internet anxiety phenomenon. In particular, the aim is to explore anxiety levels of Internet participants to develop and validate an Internet anxiety scale based on earlier research on Internet anxiety. The results of the dissertation present a two phase study. In Phase I, a smaller set of studies were conducted with a limited sample size. In Phase II, the research topic was investigated using 385 participants. Based on a number of studies or experiments, the state-of-the-art discovered in this thesis is creation, design, and validation of two scales, the Self-Assessment Scale (SAS) and a Modified Internet Anxiety Scale (MIAS) for measuring users’ anxieties on the Internet. The result of this dissertation is a conceptualization and measurement of various types of Internet anxiety and measurement of affective feelings of users on the Internet. As a proof-of-concept of measuring Internet anxiety, this thesis describes the author’s implementation of three sets of tools: MyAnxiety, introducing Internet anxieties types; Intelligentia, for collecting Internet anxieties types; and MyIAControl tool, implemented as a browser plug-in, for measuring affective feelings of users on the Internet. Conclusions drawn from the results show that these empirically validated scales and tools might be useful for researchers and practitioners in understanding and measuring the Internet anxiety phenomenon further.

Hankinnan prosessien systemaattinen kehittäminen

Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman tavoitteena oli standardoida ja kehittää hankinnan prosesseja systemaattisesti. Prosessien standardoiminen edesauttaa organisaation itseohjautuvuutta ja parantaa organisaation kyvykkyyttä. Tämä tutkielma tuottaa uutta tutkimustietoa tutkimusaukkoon hankinnan prosessien systemaattisesta kehittämisestä. Tutkielman teoriaosassa käsitellään prosessiajattelua, ISO 9001 standardin vaikutusta hankintatoimintaan, tunnistetaan hankinnan prosesseja ja esitetään erilaisia hankinnan prosesseihin soveltuvia LEAN Six Sigma kehitystyökaluja. Tutkielman empiirinen osio on toteutettu toimeksiantona suurelle teollisuusyritykselle. Tämän tutkielman empiirisessä osiossa on yhdistelty kvalitatiiviselle ja kvantitatiiviselle tutkimukselle ominaisia tutkimusmetodologioita. Tutkimusmetodologioiden yhdisteleminen tuottaa lisäarvoa tutkielman toteutukselle ja parantaa työn luotettavuutta. Tässä tutkielmassa käytetyt tutkimusmenetelmät koostuvat kvantitatiiviselle tutkimukselle ominaisesta kyselystä hankinnan prosessien nykytilan selvittämiseksi sekä kvalitatiivisen tutkimuksen tutkimusmenetelmille ominaisesta tapaustutkimuksesta. Kyselyn avulla muodostettiin analyysi hankinnan prosessien nykytilasta, jonka pohjalta toimeksiantajayritykselle ehdotettiin kehitettäviä hankinnan prosesseja. Lopulliseksi kehityskohteeksi valittu prosessi määriteltiin aivoriihessä kerätyn tiedon perusteella kehityspotentiaalin esille tuovasta nelikentästä. Kehitettävä prosessi asemoitui samalla tapaustutkimuksella tutkittavaksi tapaukseksi. Kehitettäväksi prosessiksi valittiin saapuvan tavaran vastaanotto ja visuaalinen tarkastaminen. Prosessia kehitettiin mallintamalla ja LEAN Six Sigma menetelmiä hyödyntäen. Prosessimallinnuksen sekä LEAN Six Sigma menetelmien tueksi kerättiin tietoa aivoriihistä ja teemahaastatteluista. Tutkielman tuloksena toimeksiantajayritys sai kokonaiskuvan hankinnan prosessien nykytilasta, kehitetyn tavoiteprosessin ja työohjeen saapuvan tavaran vastaanotolle ja visuaaliselle tarkastukselle sekä jatkossa hankinnan prosessien standardoimista ja kehittämistä helpottavan hankinnan prosessin systemaattisen kehittämismallin. Hankinnan prosessin systemaattinen kehittämismalli on uutta tutkimustietoa, joka asemoituu hankinnan prosessien kehittämisen tutkimusaukkoon. Hankinnan prosessin systemaattista kehittämismallia ei tämän tutkielman pohjalta voida yleistää, koska tutkielma on toteutettu toimeksiantajayrityksen lähtökohdista. Johtopäätöksenä voidaan todeta, että toimeksiantajayritys, muut organisaatiot sekä tutkimuskenttä tarvitsevat lisää tietoa hankinnan prosessien kehittämisestä. Hankinnan prosessien kehittämistä tulisi tutkia enemmän ja erityisesti tässä tutkielmassa esitettyä kehittämismallia tulisi jatkossa testata niin, että kehittämismallin toimivuus voitaisiin yleistää.

Yritysvastuuraporttien varmennusraporttien kehitys 2002 - 2013

Tämän pro gradu – tutkielman tavoitteena oli ymmärtää ja kuvata, kuinka yritysvastuura-porttien varmennusraportit ovat muuttuneet tarkasteluajanjaksolla vuosina 2002 – 2013 sekä kuinka varmennuksen antaja voi vaikuttaa annettaviin varmennusraportteihin. Aikaisemmissa tutkimuksissa on todettu, että pienilläkin eroilla varmennusraporteissa voi olla suuri vaikutus niiden tulkintaan. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli lisätä ymmärrystä siitä, millaista vaihtelua raporteissa on ollut eri ajanjaksojen ja varmentajien välillä, ja millainen vaikutus tällä on raportin lukijan kannalta. Tutkimus on toteutettu laadullisen menetelmin, ja tutkimusmenetelmänä on käytetty kvantitatiivista sisällönerittelyä ja laadullista sisältöanalyysiä. Empiirisen aineiston muodostivat 16 yrityksen yritysvastuuraporteille tilintarkastajan antamat varmennusraportit, joita tarkasteluajanjaksolla oli yhteensä 67 kappaletta. Varmennusraportit kerättiin yritysten internetsivuilta.   Tutkimuksen perusteella varmennusraportit ovat monin tavoin standardisoituneet tarkasteluajanjaksolla. Merkittävä vaikutus varmennusraportteihin on ollut ISAE3000-standardien voimaantulolla, koska ne määrittävät melko tarkasti, kuinka varmennus tulee suorittaa sekä millainen varmennusraportti suoritetun työn perusteella tulee antaa. Jotkut raportit osat ovat sisällöltään samanlaisia varmentajasta riippumatta, mutta toiset osat vaihtelivat paljon varmentajasta riippuen. Eroja oli niin raportissa käytetyissä sananmuodoissa kuin itse sanoman sisällössäkin. Jossain kohdin, kuten varmennusraporttien johtopäätöksissä, oli kuitenkin havaittavissa, että vaikka standardi ei sinänsä määritä, mistä asioista johtopäätös tulee antaa, oli tässä tapahtunut ns. luonnollinen standardoituminen eri varmentajien välillä.

Mindfulness: An Ancient Wisdom for the Reconceptualisation of Modern Education in the Complex World

Exploring the new science of emergence allows us to create a very different classroom than how the modern classroom has been conceptualised under the mentality of efficiency and output. Working on the whole person, and not just the mind, we see a shift from the epistemic pillars of truth to more ontological concerns as regards student achievement in our post-Modern and critical discourses. It is important to understand these shifts and how we are to transition our own perception and mentality not only in our research methodologies but also our approach to conceptualisations of issues in education and sustainability. We can no longer think linearly to approach complex problems or advocate for education and disregard our interconnectedness insofar as it enhances our children’s education. We must, therefore, contemplate and transition to a world that is ecological and not mechanical, complex and not complicated—in essence, we must work to link mind-body with self-environment and transcend these in order to bring about an integration toward a sustainable future. A fundamental shift in consciousness and perception may implicate our nature of creating dichotomous entities in our own microcosms, yet postmodern theorists assume, a priori, that these dualities can be bridged in naturalism alone. I, on the other hand, embrace metaphysics to understand the implicated modern classroom in a hierarchical context and ask: is not the very omission of metaphysics in postmodern discourse a symptom from an education whose foundation was built in its absence? The very dereliction of ancient wisdom in education is very peculiar indeed. Western mindfulness may play a vital component in consummating pragmatic idealism, but only under circumstances admitting metaphysics can we truly transcend our limitations, thereby placing Eastern Mindfulness not as an ecological component, but as an ecological and metaphysical foundation.

«Oroonoko» d'Aphra Behn en traduction française (1745-2009)

Ce projet offre une analyse des traductions en langue française du roman d’Aphra Behn, Oronooko, or The Royal Slave (1688). Dans cette œuvre, la première femme à vivre de sa plume présente une des premières formulations du discours abolitionniste de la littérature anglaise et met au défi des idées reçues sur l’esclavage depuis le XVIIe siècle. Le texte a été traduit vers le français pour la première fois par Pierre-Antoine de La Place (Behn, 1745), dont l’interprétation s’inscrit dans la tradition des belles infidèles. Sa version connaît un succès fulgurant jusqu’à la fin du XVIIIe siècle, avec de nombreuses rééditions parues entre 1745 et 1799. En 1990, Bernard Dhuicq publie une retraduction dans le but de faire connaître Behn aux lecteurs français du XXe siècle. En 2008, il contribue à la préparation d’une nouvelle édition de La Place, et une réédition de sa propre traduction parue en 1990. Pour sa part, Guillaume Villeneuve adapte le texte au lectorat francophone d’aujourd’hui avec une édition critique comprenant un important appareil critique publiée dans la collection « GF » des Éditions Flammarion en 2009. Les traductions de La Place, d’Dhuicq et de Villeneuve affichent chacune des variations par rapport à l’original, variations qui reflètent l’intention de ces traducteurs et de leurs éditeurs ainsi que les pratiques traductives et éditoriales de leur époque.. Cette étude montre notamment comment le récit de Behn a contribué à changer la conception occidentale de l’esclavage. Elle analyse la réception des propos idéologiques d’Oroonoko dans la culture littéraire et philosophique française, depuis le XVIIIe siècle jusqu’à nos jours. À travers le cas Oronooko, le présent mémoire offre aussi une réflexion d’ordre méthodologique sur l’étude des retraductions dans une perspective historique. L’étude des retraductions vise aujourd’hui des objectifs plus vastes sur le plan historique que ne l’indique l’hypothèse du progrès en retraduction, selon laquelle un texte est retraduit pour être corrigé ou amélioré. Notre travail montre qu’en associant à l’étude des traductions celle de leur paratexte, de leur péritexte et des sujets (traducteurs et éditeurs) qui les produisent, et ce afin de resituer chaque retraduction dans son contexte historique propre, on parvient à faire entrer ces retraductions dans un dialogue interculturel et « transhistoriciste » (Nouss, 2007).

(Com)passo a (com)passo com o síndrome de Down

RESUMO: O presente projecto surge como trabalho final de Mestrado em “Educação Especial: Domínio Cognitivo e Motor”, relatando a concepção, realização e avaliação de um Projecto de Intervenção/Acção, no qual a Expressão Musical configura a área primordial de intervenção. O trabalho intitula-se “(Com)passo a (com)passo com a Síndrome de Down”. Baseia-se num grupo de treze crianças de educação pré-escolar, no qual está incluída uma criança com Síndrome de Down. Neste contexto reflecte-se sobre essa síndrome, segundo a perspectiva de vários autores. Descrevem-se também as metodologias de investigação utilizadas para a recolha de dados, tendo por base autores de referência. Faz-se ainda a caracterização do contexto escolar onde se desenvolveu o Projecto de Intervenção/Acção e a apresentação do respectivo Plano de Acção. Relata-se a intervenção realizada, acrescida da interpretação e avaliação dos dados obtidos a partir das vinte e três sessões de actividade levadas a cabo. A análise dos resultados permitiu inferir que as sessões de Expressão Musical se revestiram de um carácter bastante positivo, dado que se constataram mudanças consideráveis no comportamento das crianças e do grupo. Tais mudanças tornaram-se mais evidentes na área da socialização, traduzidas num maior envolvimento das crianças dentro do grupo, que provocou um maior entusiasmo e interesse em participar nas actividades propostas. ABSTRACT: The present draft appears as Masters final work in “Special Education: Cognitive and Motor Domains”, reporting the idea, implementation and evaluation of an Intervention / Action Project, in which the Musical Expression configures the primary area of intervention. The work is entitled “(Com)passo a (com)passo com a Síndrome de Down”, based on a group of thirteen children of preschool, in which is included in a child with Down Syndrome. In this context this work reflects upon this syndrome from several authors‟ perspective. It also describes the research methodologies used for data collection having for base reference authors. It‟s done, also, the characterization of the school environment where the Intervention/ Action Project and the presentation of its Action Plan were developed. It is reported the intervention, together with the interpretation and evaluation of data obtained from the twenty-three sessions of activity carried out. The results allowed inferring that Musical Expression sessions assumed a very positive character, given that significant changes were observed in the behavior of the studied children and the rest of the group. These changes became more evident in the socialization area, translated into a greater involvement of children within the group, which led to a greater enthusiasm and interest in participating in the proposed activities.

A aprendizagem da literatura Brasileira no ensino médio : possibilidades do Seminário Temático

O presente estudo é resultado de um trabalho inserido no contexto de uma pesquisa-ação desenvolvida no Instituto Federal de Sergipe- IFS, visando solucionar as dificuldades de aprendizagem apresentadas pelos alunos durante as aulas de Literatura Brasileira. A investigação tem como objeto a reflexão acerca da estratégia do Seminário Temático utilizada como método de ensino da referida disciplina, fundamentando-se, para tanto, no aporte teórico de autores como Carvalho (1979), Cândido (1995), Zilberman (2003), Veiga (2003), Morais (2005), Libâneo (2009), dentre outros que abordam não somente esta temática, mas também o ensino de Literatura, como os Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais (2002). Os sujeitos da pesquisa, em número de 82, foram alunos da 2ª série do Ensino Médio dos Cursos Integrados de Eletrônica, Informática e Química, que participaram respondendo a um questionário composto de dez questões abertas, onde manifestaram suas opiniões pessoais sobre a importância do ensino da Literatura, o Seminário como método didático, abordagens dos textos literários e a contribuição do Seminário tanto na formação da cultura individual e de ações sociais, quanto na aprendizagem da Literatura Brasileira e no estímulo à pesquisa. Partindo-se do objetivo geral de investigar a contribuição do Seminário Temático no processo de aprendizagem da Literatura Brasileira desses alunos à luz da dinâmica de sala de aula, optou-se pela metodologia da análise de conteúdo para enfatizar os aspectos qualitativos e quantitativos do material levantado. Os resultados demonstraram que os discentes valorizaram as experiências vivenciadas ao afirmarem que, no âmbito das atividades do Seminário Temático, adquiriram de forma dinâmica os conhecimentos propostos pela disciplina, validando assim a escolha do trabalho sistemático com tal estratégia metodológica.

Contribuição da formação continuada na melhoria da prática docente : uma perspectiva de professores da Rede Municipal de Aracaju

Esta pesquisa, cujo referencial metodológico é predominantemente de cunho qualitativo, com participação ativa do pesquisador e dos sujeitos abordados, teve como objetivo identificar os fatores que motivam os educadores a buscarem a continuidade da formação profissional e qual a contribuição dessa continuidade para o desenvolvimento de competências reflexivas, autônomas, críticas, políticas e humanas, e o aperfeiçoamento de sua prática pedagógica. A metodologia utilizada foi a pesquisa de campo e bibliográfica, contemplando a aplicação de questionários, entrevistas e observações participantes em sala de aula, junto a 58 educadores de duas escolas da rede pública municipal de educação de Aracaju. Trata-se de um estudo de caso. Os dados da pesquisam revelaram que os esforços esparsos e fragmentados que têm assinalado a formação continuada oferecida pelos órgãos próprios do sistema educacional tendem a ser superados por um modelo formativo centrado nas necessidades da própria escola, desde a disponibilidade de recursos materiais, tecnológicos e humanos até as metodologias de ensino e de aprendizagem. Conclui tendo a escola como o espaço formativo por excelência de educadores e educandos.

Introducing matrix management within a children's services setting - personal reflections

This article reflects on the introduction of ‘matrix management’ arrangements for an Educational Psychology Service (EPS) within a Children’s Service Directorate of a Local Authority (LA). It seeks to demonstrate critical self-awareness, consider relevant literature with a view to bringing insights to processes and outcomes, and offers recommendations regarding the use of matrix management. The report arises from an East Midland’s LA initiative: ALICSE − Advanced Leadership in an Integrated Children’s Service Environment. Through a literature review and personal reflection, the authors consider the following: possible tensions within the development of matrix management arrangements; whether matrix management is a prerequisite within complex organizational systems; and whether competing professional cultures may contribute barriers to creating complementary and collegiate working. The authors briefly consider some research paradigms, notably ethnographic approaches, soft systems methodology, activity theory and appreciative inquiry. These provide an analytic framework for the project and inform this iterative process of collaborative inquiry. Whilst these models help illuminate otherwise hidden processes, none have been implemented following full research methodologies, reflecting the messy reality of local authority working within dynamic organizational structures and shrinking budgets. Nevertheless, this article offers an honest reflection of organizational change within a children’s services environment.

Trabalho emocional dos militares do Exército Brasileiro nas missões de paz das Nações Unidas

O trabalho emocional (TE) foi um conceito cunhado por Hochshild em 1983, significando o gerenciamento das emoções próprias ou do outro para apresentar uma face exigida pela organização. Os estudos sobre o TE se desenvolveram em vários sentidos, principalmente em relação às metodologias de pesquisa, questões de gênero e as suas consequências. A presente pesquisa, relacionada a esta última linha, confirmou a aplicabilidade do modelo de causa e efeito de Newman, Guy e Mastracci (2008) no TE executado por militares do Exército Brasileiro (EB) nas missões de paz das Nações Unidas, utilizando-se da metodologia das equações estruturais. A análise qualitativa dos dados também permitiu identificar especificidades: a dimensão mais importante do TE naquele contexto está relacionada ao gerenciamento do relacionamento interpessoal dos subordinados pelos chefes.