The aim of this paper is to compare the performance of the Merton model to a machine learning technique (random forest), in a context where the number of predictors is low or the dataset is quite small. Since random forest is a data-intensive method, the main goal is to find the minimum number of explanatory variables and observations that is needed for it to perform at least as well as the Merton

The need for sustainable renewable energy has been increasing due to the negative impact of non-renewable energy sources. With the unstable and sporadic nature of sustainable renewable energy, flow batteries show immense potential in mitigating these issues. Traditional vanadium and zinc-based flow batteries, as well as new flow battery systems, are now being researched extensively. Vanadium and z

This paper examines the experiences of women working in the field of engineering. The specific focus of this qualitative interview study is female employees in a factory at an international engineering company. Previous studies have found that women face major barriers to success in the profession, including gender bias in recruitment processes (Kessler, Low & Sullivan, 2019), lower chances of

Denna text undersöker socialdemokratins utveckling under 2000-talet. I svallvågorna av en nyliberalisering av många socialdemokratiska partier på 1990-talet och genom tredje vägens politik fick många partier i Västeuropa ett politiskt lyft där man kunde kombinera vänsterpolitik med en mittenpolitik för att tilltala en större mängd väljare. På längre sikt är inte lyftet lika tydligt, utan i vissa f

Sustainability has become an urgent issue for business research. In this regard, many researchers attempted to examine the relationship between sustainability performance and corporate financial performance (CFP). However, the results remain unclear. Thus, this paper contributes with a new perspective on intra-industry performance of the poorly-studied North American oil and gas industry. Using mu

Capacity development in the field of disaster risk reduction is suggested by the Sendai Framework to be the primary tool for obtaining the goals of globally reduced disaster risk. However, ownership in capacity development initiative is often skewed towards the external organization. This thesis aims to understand the perceived success factors and challenges for the personnel in a governmental org

With the number of digital display advertisements increasing, consumers have become accustomed to ignoring or skipping internet ads. Previous research has investigated the use of different types of human images (like celebrities and social media influencers) in advertising to improve advertising effectiveness. However, existing studies neglect the role of normal people and examine the presence of

The purpose of this study is to find out how assistance officers reason about making decisions about moving to special housing. We pay special attention to the principle of remaining resident, which should guide such decisions. The main focus of this study is to increase understanding and provide a clearer picture of the historical events that have resulted in the success of the remaining residenc

The scope of this work is to help determine the functional improvement brought on by introducing a Bismuth germanate (BGO) Anti-Compton Scattering (ACS) shield system to a germanium COMPEX detector module. The COMPEX germanium detector module is already an extremely useful addition in examining gamma-ray spectroscopy. However, by introducing an ACS it is hoped to compound on these improvements yie

This thesis analyses the discourses of the Portuguese far-right party, Chega, through interviews and statements of its leader, André Ventura. With the rise of the political far-right in the European and Portuguese context, I focused my aim on understanding this politician’s use of the legal world in his discourse. Additionally, I sought to understand the representations of women and racialized gro

Spatial experience can be perceived as a kind of exploration of space that evolves within the fragments of lived moments and transforms over time. Squares, parks, and streets are the primary urban spaces where social interactions are experienced at an extremely high level. Taksim is one the most important and memorable public spaces of Istanbul, Turkey by being an assemblage of a square, a park, a

Fostering entrepreneurship has become fundamental to economic development in cities and countries globally. The emergence of digital tools and services has created novel ways of pursuing entrepreneurship. Sweden ranks as the third most digitalized EU country, so this thesis aims to investigate how digitalization has facilitated the development of one of its most progressive Entrepreneurial Ecosyst

Benefit fraud became a major topic in the Swedish news media during the 1990’s. The description of the benefit cheater in news reports has changed over time, often depending on the political landscape. The aim of this study was therefore to analyze how the phenomenon of benefit fraud is portrayed in news media in present time, between 2019-2021. The method chosen for this study was a qualitative c

In May 2018, the Swedish Parliament voted in favor of a Sexual Offense legislation based on voluntariness and the new law came into force on the first of July. In the proposal to change the legislation, the government claimed that a new consent culture must be established. The purpose of the amendments is not only to achieve legal effects but also to achieve societal effects, in terms of influenci

Involuntary celibacy is often referred to with the term incel. Incels are well-known for their internet forums where they discuss this matter in private. Earlier studies have also shown that the incel community infact is rooted in misogyny but also focuses on immense self-hatred and a longing for death. Several sources have expressed a concern about the growing terror-threats from incels. Therefor

Det här examensarbetet hade som mål att ta reda på om neuronnätverk kan användas för bildigenkänning av ’street-view’-bilder för att avgöra om en byggnad har eller inte har en källare. För att göra detta hämtades en datamängd av bilder från Google Street View utifrån en lista med adresser som på förhand hade inventerats av VA SYD. Från filen med bilder på fastigheter som innehar källare valdes det

This thesis studies the effect on private consumption and its components by durability, following an exogenous shock to government spending, in Denmark and Sweden. In order to compare the outcomes when being at the zero lower bound (ZLB) or not, the quarterly data ranging from 1995 to 2020, is split into two sub-samples. The impulse response functions, generated by a Bayesian structural VAR (BSVAR

Rural Germany is massively dependent on fossil fuel driven cars. But in many villages, socio-technical innovations have emerged to tackle this dependency. Electric carsharing, often organised in grassroots-settings, is one of them. For such innovations to spread and grow, different projects from across the country need intermediariesto connect them in networks, or share ideas, and experiences. Thi

Preliminary firm level evidence suggests that macroprudential policies reduce firm credit growth and MSME investment, and could therefore have a negative impact on economic growth. However, the question remains if macroprudential policies affect R\&D investments as well. Although R&D is primarily financed internally, the literature also suggests that debt financing may be used to some degr