Norwegian Mutual Funds A Study of 18 Norwegian Mutual Funds and Their Performance During the Period 1997-2013

Masteroppgave økonomi og administrasjon- Universitetet i Agder, 2015In this study I have analysed 18 Norwegian mutual equity funds during the period 1997-2013. All of the mutual funds are registered at the Oslo Stock Exchange as of December 2013. The purpose of the study was to analyse the performance of these funds, and find whether or not the funds were able to outperform their benchmark, both for the whole period and for shorter periods during the 17-year sample period. By dividing the whole period into shorter periods I have evaluated the mutual funds during periods of bull and bear markets. I wanted to see if there exists a connection between different stock market cycles and mutual funds excess return. Using linear regression and calculation of three well-known performance measures, the Sharpe ratio, the M2 measure and the information ratio, I have evaluated the mutual funds performance through the research period. Both the linear regression and the performance measures evaluate the mutual funds against a benchmark index, and in my research I have data from the Oslo Stock Exchange Mutual Fund Index (OSEFX). Based on the regression analysis and the performance measures I have ranked the mutual funds. When not taking any risk measures into account, an equally-weighted portfolio of all my mutual funds had lower total return than OSEFX. However, individually 50% of the funds showed higher total return than OSEFX. When adjusting for risk, using performance measures, there were both mutual funds outperforming and underperforming OSEFX. However, in the calculations of both risk-adjusted and clean return-based measurements the highest ranked mutual funds based on one measure seemed to repeat and rank high in other measurements as well. When analysing the shorter periods, the results were not as consistent. Outperforming OSEFX in periods of upswing did not necessarily imply outperformance of OSEFX in periods of recession and vice versa. From the regression analysis I cannot conclude that the funds have significant alpha values, and therefore no significant risk-adjusted excess return. However, based on the performance measures and excess return some of the funds did beat their benchmark

Fra nøling og epistemologisk tvil til litterær ontologi : En analyse av utviklingen innen fantastisk litteratur, og av forståelsen av den

Mitt hovedanliggende i arbeidet med denne oppgaven er å undersøke vilkårene for, utviklingen av og funksjonen til fantastisk litteratur, fra den formen som Tzvetan Todorov hevdet at den hadde i sin gullalder på 1800-tallet og vel inn i postmodernismen. Jeg støtter meg hovedsaklig til fire litteraturteoretikere: Tzvetan Todorov, Kathryn Hume, Brian McHale og Lance Olsen, og teorien bringer jeg i dialog med tre skjønnlitterære verk: Robert Louis Stevensons Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), Italo Calvinos Il barone rampante (1957) og Tor Åge Bringsværds Den som har begge beina på jorda står stille (1974). Gjennom en lesning av disse tekstene utforsker jeg en linje i utviklingen av det fantastiske i litteraturen fra det Todorov opptegnet grensene for og funksjonene til i sin sjangerpoetikk. Det fantastiske i denne 1800-tallslitteraturen, hos meg eksemplifisert gjennom Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, hadde et realistisk utgangspunkt med en mimetisk intensjon. På bakgrunn av denne realismen oppstod det, ifølge Todorov, en nøling når det overnaturlige i litteraturen inntraff. Fra dette undersøker jeg det fantastiske hos Calvino i Il barone rampante, som i modernismen styres av en epistemologisk dominant og som gir utslag i en mer distansert form for tvil, heller enn todorovsk nøling. Til sist gir jeg en analyse av det fantastiske i postmodernismen via en lesning av Bringsværds tekst, og her vil jeg belyse hvordan nettopp postmodernismen har endret premissene for og funksjonen til det fantastiske i litteraturen

Is Reflexive Modernization also an Important Topic among Adolescents within Risk Zones. And Does it also Have Influence on the Further Biographical Unfolding?

The Alternative School Day (ASD) is a project for adolescents who have difficulties in several arenas. The pupils attended ASD one day per week, and the content in the program is more practical adjusted. Inclusion as a principle are formulated in the educational legislation in many countries throughout the world; however, different special initiatives may have shown positive effects on adolescence in risk zones. Some theorists have emphasized that the normal school is based on middle class values, and for pupils with other class backgrounds, the school, represent “represent an away ground”. Further, we have debated whether reflexive modernization is an important topic also in the general knowledge within the society nowadays, with globalization, extended consumption and several risks associated with the modern society. And we are questioning whether the students could experience the immersive turning points and fateful moment in the biography, where they actually started to look upon themselves as clever and competences pupils, while attending in the ASD.The positive attention and expectation from the teachers, as well as the tasks were more practical oriented, represented the core factors in the positive outcome measures found through this study

The Danish Anaesthesia Database

AIM OF DATABASE: The aim of the Danish Anaesthesia Database (DAD) is the nationwide collection of data on all patients undergoing anesthesia. Collected data are used for quality assurance, quality development, and serve as a basis for research projects. STUDY POPULATION: The DAD was founded in 2004 as a part of Danish Clinical Registries (Regionernes Kliniske Kvalitetsudviklings Program [RKKP]). Patients undergoing general anesthesia, regional anesthesia with or without combined general anesthesia as well as patients under sedation are registered. Data are retrieved from public and private anesthesia clinics, single-centers as well as multihospital corporations across Denmark. In 2014 a total of 278,679 unique entries representing a national coverage of ~70% were recorded, data completeness is steadily increasing. MAIN VARIABLE: Records are aggregated for determining 13 defined quality indicators and eleven defined complications all covering the anesthetic process from the preoperative assessment through anesthesia and surgery until the end of the postoperative recovery period. DESCRIPTIVE DATA: Registered variables include patients’ individual social security number (assigned to all Danes) and both direct patient-related lifestyle factors enabling a quantification of patients’ comorbidity as well as variables that are strictly related to the type, duration, and safety of the anesthesia. Data and specific data combinations can be extracted within each department in order to monitor patient treatment. In addition, an annual DAD report is a benchmark for departments nationwide. CONCLUSION: The DAD is covering the anesthetic process for the majority of patients undergoing anesthesia in Denmark. Data in the DAD are increasingly used for both quality and research projects