M.Com. (Business Management) / The residential demand profile for electricity shows that this segment of the market has. a great demand in the morning and early evening. Due to a shortage of generation capacity during these peak consumption periods, different strategies are now needed to persuade customers to use their electricity in the periods when there is not a great demand. One way in which this can be achieved is to give the customers a time differentiated tariff i.e. a time-of-use (TOU) tariff, whereby the customer will pay a high energy rate in the peak periods, and lower energy rates in the off-peak and standard periods. The overall goal of this study was to determine to what extent residential customers would respond to such a tariff The study covered three consumption groups i.e. customers using more than 1500 kWh per month, between 600 and 1000 kWh per month, and between 300 and 600 kWh per month. All the customers taking part in the study were direct Eskom customers. Once the customers had agreed to participate in the study, they had TOU measuring equipment installed in their homes, which measured their consumption according to the time of day it was consumed.

M.Phil. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

District heating (DH) is considered to be an efficient, environmentally friendly and cost-effective method for providing heat to buildings, since electricity is usually co-generated in biomass fuelled combined heat and power (CHP) plants. This gives it an important role in the mitigation of climate change. Swedish district heating companies are currently facing multiple challenges, and are in urgent need of new price models to increase transparency and maintain their competitiveness. This thesis describes a survey carried out to understand the structure of the present price models and subsequently proposes and compares two restructured price models with the most commonly used price model. This work also investigates the impact of restructured price models on users who would encounter a significant cost increase if the restructured price models were to be introduced. The district heating costs of different price models are compared with three alternative technical solutions. The results show that price models based on the consumption pattern of users can reflect district heating companies’ cost structure. Meanwhile, adopting a pricing strategy based on users’ consumption patterns increased the incentives to reduce the peak load. Consequently, users with high load factor (flat consecutive load curve) were able to reduce costs whereas users with low load factor (steep consecutive load curve) faced possible cost increases, when the load demand cost was changed to daily or hourly peak demand based methods. Further, the most economically preferable option for the invested district heating user was to combine district heating with direct electrical heating or with a ground source heat pump. / Fjärrvärme anses som ett effektivt, miljövänligt och kostnadseffektivt sätt för att leverera värme eftersom kraftvärme blir vanligare i fjärrvärmesystem, där elektricitet produceras tillsammans med värme. Den spelar en viktig roll i att begränsa klimatförändringen. Svenska fjärrvärme företag står inför flera utmaningar nu för tiden, och är i akut behov av nya prismodeller för att öka öppenheten och behålla konkurrenskraften. I denna avhandling, genomfördes en undersökning för att ta reda på strukturen av de nuvarande prismodellerna. Därefter föreslogs två omstrukturerade prismodeller, vars påverkan på kostnaden av fjärrvärme konsument analyserades jämför med den nuvarande modellen. Detta arbete undersökte också effekten av omstrukturerade prismodeller på konsument som skulle drabbas på signifikant kostnadsökning i samband med införande prismodeller. Kostnaden av fjärrvärme under olika prismodeller har också jämförts med tre olika tekniska lösningar. Resultatet visade att prismodeller som baserar sig på konsuments förbrukningsprofil kunde återspegla fjärrvärme företagens kostnadsstruktur; Samtidigt medförde prissättningsstrategi baserad på användarens förbrukningsprofil högre incitament för att minska spetseffekt. Följaktligen kommer att konsumenter med stabila konsumtionsprofiler att spara kostnader, medan konsumenter med spetsiga konsumtionsprofiler kommer att drabbas av kostnadsökning. Och för den investerade fjärrvärme konsument, den ekonomiska bättre val var att kombinera fjärrvärme med elpanna eller bergvärmepump.

Konsumtionen har idag blivit en stor del av samhället och människans vardagliga liv. Särskilt hos unga individer förekommer det en benägenhet att konsumera mer för att uppnå en högre social status och skapa en identitet genom konsumtionen. Det var därför intressant att undersöka varför unga individer konsumerar trots att de idag besitter en hög miljömedvetenhet. Syftet med studien var att undersöka unga individers konsumtionsvanor samt hur de förhåller sig till sina konsumtionsvanor i relation till det rådande miljöproblemet. Till det formulerades även tre frågeställningar för att kunna uppfylla syftet, vilka var: ”Hur ser intervjupersonerna på sina konsumtionsvanor?”, ”Hur ser intervjupersonerna på miljön?” samt ”Hur upplever intervjupersonerna sina konsumtionsvanor i förhållande till miljön?”. Det teoretiska ramverket består av teorier om konsumtion och konsumtionssamhället i vilket individer skapar sig en identitet med de varor de konsumerar. Empirin samlades in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med åtta personer i åldrarna 18–25. Under intervjuerna ställdes frågor som var baserade på olika teman, vilka var härledda är det teoretiska ramverket samt från syfte och frågeställningar. Dessa teman rörde intervjupersonernas konsumtionsvanor, miljömedvetenhet samt förhållandet mellan dessa. Resultatet visade att intervjupersonernas konsumtionsvanor varierar, men att konsumtionen är en stor del av deras liv. Merparten konsumerar saker de upplever trendiga eftersom de i viss mån påverkas av andras åsikter och vad de ser andra personer konsumera. Intervjupersonerna upplever positiva känslor vid konsumtion till en början, för att sedan uppleva ångest över att de har spenderat pengar och således minimerat möjligheten för att konsumera ytterligare. Samtliga intervjupersoner ansåg att en bättre ekonomi hade möjliggjort för en önskad ökad konsumtion. Intervjupersonernas miljömedvetenhet varierar även den stort där samtliga är medvetna om det rådande miljöproblemet varpå merparten känner en oro för framtiden. Dock kände intervjupersonerna en hopplöshet eftersom de upplevde att deras engagemang inte hjälper klimatet i det stora hela vilket resulterar i inaktivitet även hos de som har en stor miljömedvetenhet. Medvetenheten kring deras konsumtionsvanors påverkan på miljön är låg varpå samtliga menar att dåliga vanor är svåra att bryta. Intervjupersonerna känner en stark vilja att konsumera nya varor och det finns en ständig rädsla att inte passa in på grund av en bristande konsumtion. Detta väger därför högre än deras medvetenhet kring konsumtionens negativa påverkan på miljön. / Consumption has today become a large part of human life. Especially for young individuals there is a tendency to consume more to achieve a higher social status and create an identity through consumption. It was therefore interesting to investigate why young individuals consume despite the fact that they today has a high environmental awareness. The aim of this study was to investigate the consumption habits of young individuals and how their feelings are towards their consumption habits in relation to the current environmental problem. In addition three questions were stated to fulfill the aim of the study, these were stated as followed: “How do the interviewees understand their consumption habits?”, “How do the interviewees understand the environment?” and “How do the interviewees experience their consumption habits in relation to the environment?”. The theoretical framework consists of theories of consumption and consumption society in which individuals create an identity with the product they consume. The empire was collected through semi-structured interviews with eight people aged 18-25. The interview questions were based on different themes which referred to the interviewees consumption habits, environmental awareness and the relationship between them. The result showed that the interviewees consumption habits varies but that consumption is a big part of their lives. The majority of the interviewees consume things they found to be trendy, as they to some extent are affected by the opinions of others and what they see other people consume. The interviewees experience positive emotions while consuming initially, and then experienced anxiety about having spent money and thus have less money to consume further. All interviewees considered that a better economy had made it possible for a desired increased consumption. The environmental awareness of the interviewees also varies widely, all of which were aware of the current environmental problem and most of them feel anxiety about the future. However, there was a hopelessness amongst the interviewees as they feel that their involvement do not help in the grand scheme of things, which results in inactivity even for those who have environmental knowledge. Awareness of the impact of their consumption habits on the environment is low, and all believed that bad habits are difficult to break. The interviewees feel a strong desire to consume new goods and there is a constant fear of not fitting in because of a lack of consumption and that therefore outweighs their awareness of the negative impact of consumption on the environment.

O avanço no uso do cartão de crédito e sua função como instrumento de crédito afetou o padrão de consumo das famílias. O presente trabalho pretende analisar como alterações no limite de crédito e na taxa de juros do cartão de crédito afetam o consumo. A partir dos resultados obtidos com esta primeira análise, podemos verificar a validade das predições das Teorias de Consumo, como a Teoria de Renda Permanente / The advance in the credit card usage and its function as a means of credit affects the consumption of the families. This work intend to analyze how modifications in the limit and interest rate of the credit card affects their consumption. From the results obtained with this first analysis , we may verify the validity of the predictions of the Consumption Theories, as the Permanent Income Theory

Nos últimos anos, o chamado consumo consciente - um modo de consumir que leva em consideração as repercussões ambientais e sociais associadas à sua prática tem se difundido na sociedade como uma importante via de participação dos consumidores no enfrentamento da crise ambiental. Substituir produtos convencionais por orgânicos ou certificados, separar o lixo, reduzir o desperdício de água, alimentos e energia elétrica, entre outras, são atitudes que começam a fazer parte do dia-a-dia dos consumidores, não apenas por comunicar às empresas preferências de consumo, mas, sobretudo, por exigir delas adequação a esses novos valores. Nesse cenário, produção mais limpa associada à oferta de produtos e serviços ecologicamente corretos, seria não apenas um diferencial competitivo, mas uma condição necessária para a sobrevivência das empresas no mercado. Apesar da necessidade de se estabelecer uma nova mentalidade de consumo que incorpore os problemas ambientais e sociais, o consumo consciente tem sido reconhecido como uma estratégia limitada, entre outros motivos, porque seria responsável pelo enfrentamento apenas dos efeitos, mas não das causas dos padrões insustentáveis de consumo: ao assumir implicitamente o consumo como troca econômica dentro de um cenário de mercado, não seria capaz de questionar o aspecto crucial da mudança nos padrões de consumo, ou seja, uma ordem sócio-político-econômica que tem no consumismo o elemento básico que define os hábitos e estilos de vida contemporâneos. Em vista disso, o propósito do presente trabalho é estabelecer uma melhor compreensão desse fenômeno, mais precisamente do ponto de vista da sua constituição ideológica. Na medida em que o consumo consciente tem sido a plataforma de ação das políticas ambientais internacionais e se inserido na sociedade por diversos canais, parece oportuno um esforço para entender melhor como este se constrói, aonde leva, a que interesses atende e, principalmente, se, de fato, está a contribuir para a constituição de um novo padrão civilizatório ou, contrariamente, para reafirmar a mesma lógica que, ironicamente, leva a humanidade à atual crise ambiental e social. / In recent years, the so-called conscious consumption a way of consuming that takes into account its environmental and social consequences has been arising as a major path for consumers to take part in overcoming environmental crisis. Replacing conventional products by organics or certified ones, separating garbage, reducing water, food and energy wastefulness and so on, are attitudes are becoming part of consumers everyday life, not only because it communicates to companies their consumption preferences, but mainly because demand them to fit in those new set of values. Under these conditions, cleaning production and supplying ecological products and services would not be any longer a mere differential advantage, but a sine qua non condition for companies to survive in the market. Although its essential to settle a new mentality for consumption that embraces social and environmental problems, conscious consumption has been acknowledged as a limited strategy, for other reasons, because it would be facing only the effects, but not the causes of unsustainable consumption patterns, and for implying consumption as an economical exchange in a market scenario, it would not be capable of questioning the crucial issue of changing consumption patterns, which means, a social, political and economic order that has in consumption the basic element that defines habits and contemporary lifestyles. In regard of all these aspects, this work aims to reach a better comprehension of this phenomenon, more precisely in its ideological basis. Insofar the set of international environmental policy measures has met in conscious consumption its platform of action and has been spread out into society by several ways, it seems to be convenient to make an effort to understand how it shapes, to what it leads, whose interests it serves, and mainly if its, in fact, engaged in constructing a new civilizing pattern or, in an opposite way, reaffirms the same logic that, ironically, leads mankind to the current environmental and social crisis.

The intention of this exhibition is to educate the viewer about the hidden impacts that result from simple choices of consumption. This is a critique of the materials economy and the responsibilities of the designers, consumers and industries that contributed to its success. The critique is expressed through four dominant and unsustainable consumer products: water bottles, plastic shopping bags, cigarette filters and farm chemicals, as each has its own specific story of consumption. The form is derived from manufacturing history, statistical data, and profiles of consumer behaviors. Graphic design is utilized in both formal and non-formal methods with the goal of communicating specific messages to the viewer as they progress through the exhibition space. / by Peter David Shimpeno. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

A psicologia do trabalho vivencia impasses relacionados ao seu próprio objeto e à compreensão das transformações no mundo contemporâneo. Desde o final do século XIX, o trabalho passou a ser dimensionado pela sua institucionalização na forma do emprego, constituindo-se numa referência importante numa sociedade que se industrializava muito rapidamente. Contudo, a sustentação desse referente social tem impactos na subjetividade e sofre modificações a partir da sociedade de consumo, na qual as trocas sociais são marcadas pela mediação e usufruto de bens e serviços, lógica à que o trabalho também adere. Teorizamos que a Psicologia do Trabalho, em sua análise acerca da organização do trabalho e do sofrimento psíquico, necessita incluir a dimensão do consumo em sua reflexão, tendo em vista sua presença incontestável no trabalhar hoje. Para provar essa proposição, apresentamos formulações oriundas das teorias da sociedade de consumo que explicitam as mudanças ocorridas nas relações entre os sujeitos e a sua condição de vida, a partir das modalidades de enfrentamento das vicissitudes da existência, levando em conta as contingências históricas da sociedade industrial. O norteador teórico desta análise é a Psicanálise, especialmente as contribuições de Freud e Lacan, em que as formulações de mal-estar e de discurso são balizadoras. A construção desta proposição busca no texto A Caverna, de José Saramago, o registro literário que metaforiza as questões nodais darelação entre trabalho e consumo, o que possibilita um diálogo profícuo entre um discurso que pode ser tomado como social e a formulação teórica proposta. Na consecução desse percurso, indicamos os desdobramentos que vislumbramos no mundo do trabalho a partir da implicação entre o trabalho e a sociedade de consumo / Work psychology has gone through impasses related both to its own object and to the understanding of contemporary world changes. Since the late nineteenth century, work has been dimensioned from its institutionalization as a job, thus constituting an important reference in a society that was quickly becoming industrialized. However, supporting this social reference has impacts upon subjectivity and undergoes changes from the consumption society, in which social exchanges are marked by both mediation and fruition of products and services, a logic to which work also adheres. We have theorized that work psychology, in its analysis of work organizations and psychic suffering, needs to include the consumption dimension in its reflection, considering its incontestable presence in working today. In order to prove this proposition, we have presented formulations stemmed from theories about the consumption society that make explicit the changes both in relationships among subjects and in their livelihood, from the modalities to face vicissitudes of existence, taking into account the historical contingencies of the industrial society. The theoretical guideline of this analysis is Psychoanalysis, especially the contributions made by Freud and Lacan, in which formulations of discontentment and discourse are considered. The construction of this proposition finds in the text The Cave, by José Saramago, the literary record that provides a metaphor to central issues of therelationship between work and consumption, which allows for a productive dialogue between a discourse that can be taken as social and the theoretical formulation proposed. In the achievement of this trajetory, we have identified developments in the work world from the implication between work and consumption society

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1981. / Bibliography: leaves 152-154.

Li, Pangyi. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts also in English.