Browsing by Subject "Nordic"
Now showing items 1-8 of 8
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(2023)The efficient market hypothesis EMH (efficient market hypothesis) has long been a cornerstone theory in finance, serving as the basis for understanding the behaviour and efficiency of financial markets. This thesis tests the market efficiency in the Nordic stock market by the momentum and the short-term reversal strategies and finds strong evidence against the EMH. By comparing the trading strategies’ excess returns over the benchmark in different market conditions, this thesis found that the market stocks of smaller sizes, lower valuation, and lower liquidity are less efficient. Besides, the results of this thesis are also consistent with the traits of the Nordic stock market, such as its focus on technology stocks, and dominance of a small number of highly liquid stocks.
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(2020)This thesis analyzes the digitalization policy of the Finnish government. The main attempt is to, firstly, identify the central ideas and ideologies behind the approach of the Finnish government toward societal digitalization. Secondly, the attempt is to analyze them from the perspective of the traditional ideas and ideologies of the Nordic welfare state. The underlining research question is, whether the possible approach of the Finnish government toward digitalization is compatible with the traditional ideas and ideologies of the Nordic welfare state. The method in this thesis is a combination of qualitative content analysis and historical research methods. Qualitative content analysis with a focus on an analysis of ideologies is used for analyzing primary sources. A historical perspective is used in an attempt to locate contemporary societal digitalization on a trajectory of societal transformations in post-industrial capitalist states, as well as when presenting the Nordic welfare state model. Overall, the approach of the Finnish government appears largely in line with traditional Nordic welfare state values, such as equality and inclusion. However, one of the main findings of this thesis is that the approach of the Finnish government toward digitalization is a largely apolitical and instrumentalized one. Although possible political, economic and social implications of digitalization are identified, the government appears more concerned with providing all citizens equal access to digitalization than facilitating a public discussion on the nature, form or scope of the phenomenon. While such a consensual approach may be analyzed from the perspective of the Nordic culture of conformity, one of the main arguments of this thesis is that a politicized approach to digitalization could allow for a fruitful discussion on its eventual effects on society.
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Digital Transformations? The Idea of Digitalization in the Nordic Welfare State: the Case of Finland (2020)This thesis analyzes the digitalization policy of the Finnish government. The main attempt is to, firstly, identify the central ideas and ideologies behind the approach of the Finnish government toward societal digitalization. Secondly, the attempt is to analyze them from the perspective of the traditional ideas and ideologies of the Nordic welfare state. The underlining research question is, whether the possible approach of the Finnish government toward digitalization is compatible with the traditional ideas and ideologies of the Nordic welfare state. The method in this thesis is a combination of qualitative content analysis and historical research methods. Qualitative content analysis with a focus on an analysis of ideologies is used for analyzing primary sources. A historical perspective is used in an attempt to locate contemporary societal digitalization on a trajectory of societal transformations in post-industrial capitalist states, as well as when presenting the Nordic welfare state model. Overall, the approach of the Finnish government appears largely in line with traditional Nordic welfare state values, such as equality and inclusion. However, one of the main findings of this thesis is that the approach of the Finnish government toward digitalization is a largely apolitical and instrumentalized one. Although possible political, economic and social implications of digitalization are identified, the government appears more concerned with providing all citizens equal access to digitalization than facilitating a public discussion on the nature, form or scope of the phenomenon. While such a consensual approach may be analyzed from the perspective of the Nordic culture of conformity, one of the main arguments of this thesis is that a politicized approach to digitalization could allow for a fruitful discussion on its eventual effects on society.
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(2017)The present study examines the discursive construction of Nordic identity in a contemporary movement of the twenty-first century known as New Nordic Cuisine (NNC). It contributes to the sparsely researched topic of food and nationalism by uncovering how New Nordic Cuisine relies on a shared history of the Nordic nation-states and roots itself in a primordialist conception of nations in order to create a Nordic identity movement. The thesis incorporates theories and concepts from history, human geography, and political science as its foundation for answering how a Nordic identity is discursively constructed by the movement and what the societal implications are of this construction. The methodology used for this type of interdisciplinary analysis is Critical Discourse Analysis as envisioned by Norman Fairclough. The data consists of two cookbooks, three reports by the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM), and one promotional brochure also by NCM. This range of material ensures that the main figures and initiators of the movement, meaning the chefs and the politicians of NCM, are represented. The analysis locates three discourses on globalization, terroir, and identity respectively. NNC adopts the French gastronomic term ‘terroir’ in order to explain a close connection between food, nature, and identity. The movement defines terroir as the eternal conditions in which produce grows, meaning all the natural elements of the weather and the soil, which together make a place unique. Due to the produce coming to life in these conditions, it is thought to embody the culture of that location. When humans consume the food, their conception of themselves transforms. Thus, the timeless identity of the land is experienced through food and, at the same time, affects the identity of people. The implications of this idea are that societies, who legitimize themselves based on a shared identity, are at least partly created based on the nature of that location. Such a terroir is argued to exist in Norden. The idea of a Nordic terroir means that the Nordic people, in order to establish a stable identity, need to experience the terroir-dimension in the food they consume. However, according to the movement the emergence of globalization has obfuscated a previously close connection to nature by industrializing and homogenising the production of food. This has resulted in a lack of Nordic identity. This thesis argues that the NNC movement due to their romantic vision of nature and people fail to see the creation of Nordic nation-states and the idea of Norden in a historical perspective. Globalization is not antithetical to nation-states, but was instead an essential facilitator in their emergence during the nineteenth century. Only by acknowledging the historical specificity of Norden and its nation-states as well as the changing nature of terroirs throughout history can we live with a vision of the world that complements history and scientific evidence.
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(2018)The Candidate Thesis consists of an analysis of four Nordic rightwing-populist parties election manifestos that date between the years 2009-2012. The political parties in question are as follows: Perussuomalaiset (Finland), Sverigedemokraterna (Sweden), Dansk Folkeparti (Denmark) and Fremskrittspartiet (Norway).The chosen method is a qualitative analysis that focuses on three areas. The three areas are the parties view on immigration, the European Union and culture. The four parties have many views that are very similar on the three focus areas with minor differences. Generally Fremskrittspartiet in Norway differs from the others in its party profile.
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(2023)This study examines how corporate sustainability discourses are constructed and utilized for building corporate legitimacy during global crises by the Nordic international financial institutions (Nordic Finance Group) through the conceptual lens of strategic corporate sustainability communication and discursive legitimacy theory and held up against the scrutiny of critical discourse analysis. In the analysis, two overarching ways to talk about corporate sustainability were found: Integrative and Instrumental. In practice, instead of more integrated understanding(s) of corporate sustainability, the Nordic IFIs seem to construct most of their argumentative legitimacy schemes on interdiscursive framings of corporate sustainability. Furthermore, the critical discourse analysis revealed that this legitimacy is signalled through ‘Purpose’, ‘Responsibility’, ‘Conformity’, and ‘Capability’ corporate sustainability discourses, respectively. Importantly, by mimicking the crisis specific topical discursive patterns, the Nordic IFIs attempt to seize the communicative opportunities to convey legitimacy narratives and mitigate the risks the sudden societal disturbances might create. The sustainability discourses utilized by the Nordic IFIs seem to advocate neoliberal ideology and global capitalism by building a narrative of action and utility around ´sustainable finance´. The analysis reveals that the Nordic IFIs rely on various co-existing discursive legitimation strategies during crises. The analysis identifies the use of four distinctive discursive legitimation strategies, namely, authorization, rationalization, narrativization and moralization. This study also argues that the concepts of ‘corporate sustainability’ and ‘sustainable finance’ can be seen as discursive legitimation tools. Furthermore, strategic corporate sustainability communication should be seen as a proactive corporate strategy and strategic practice to seek legitimacy.
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(2019)This thesis will aim to answer at least the following questions: How is the Sūrat al-Qāriʿa (Q 101) rendered in the Nordic translations of the Qurʾān? What are the similarities and differences between different translation? In what ways do the different translations relate to the source text? What aspects of the source text are prioritized by the translators? These questions are approached from the perspective of Translation Theory. The problem of equivalence is discussed in relation to the work of Eugene Nida in his Towards a Science of Translation (1964). I will argue that translating cannot be separated from hermeneutics, since "every translation is at the same time an interpretation" as Hans-Georg Gadamer has stated. The problem of hermeneutics and Translation Theory is discussed from the hermeneutical perspective of Hans-Georg Gadamer especially as developed in his monograph Truth and Method (1960). The Skopos Theory formulated by Katharina Reiß and Hans J. Vermeer will be discussed as a possible answer to these underlying problems. The method of research applied in this thesis will consist of various hermeneutical cycles of reading, interpretation, and re-reading. After analyzing the Sūrat al-Qāriʿa in Arabic, I will provide a comparative analysis of the translations juxtaposing the texts with each other and with the Arabic text. This section will discuss similarities and differences, the proximity between the original and the translation, some possible biblical intertextualities, and possible interpretative associations of the translations in their Nordic context. This thesis will point out many subtle similarities, differences and translational tendencies related to the translator's background that can illuminate, enrich and broaden our understanding of the Sūrat al-Qāriʿa and its reception in the Nordic countries, while also opening new perspectives on the complexities involved in translating ancient texts that are revered as sacred by many.
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(2019)This thesis will aim to answer at least the following questions: How is the Sūrat al-Qāriʿa (Q 101) rendered in the Nordic translations of the Qurʾān? What are the similarities and differences between different translation? In what ways do the different translations relate to the source text? What aspects of the source text are prioritized by the translators? These questions are approached from the perspective of Translation Theory. The problem of equivalence is discussed in relation to the work of Eugene Nida in his Towards a Science of Translation (1964). I will argue that translating cannot be separated from hermeneutics, since "every translation is at the same time an interpretation" as Hans-Georg Gadamer has stated. The problem of hermeneutics and Translation Theory is discussed from the hermeneutical perspective of Hans-Georg Gadamer especially as developed in his monograph Truth and Method (1960). The Skopos Theory formulated by Katharina Reiß and Hans J. Vermeer will be discussed as a possible answer to these underlying problems. The method of research applied in this thesis will consist of various hermeneutical cycles of reading, interpretation, and re-reading. After analyzing the Sūrat al-Qāriʿa in Arabic, I will provide a comparative analysis of the translations juxtaposing the texts with each other and with the Arabic text. This section will discuss similarities and differences, the proximity between the original and the translation, some possible biblical intertextualities, and possible interpretative associations of the translations in their Nordic context. This thesis will point out many subtle similarities, differences and translational tendencies related to the translator's background that can illuminate, enrich and broaden our understanding of the Sūrat al-Qāriʿa and its reception in the Nordic countries, while also opening new perspectives on the complexities involved in translating ancient texts that are revered as sacred by many.
Now showing items 1-8 of 8