This thesis consists of two different research problems. In the first one, the aim is to model and simulate a solar-powered, single-effect, absorption refrigeration system using a flat-plate solar collector and LiBr-H2O mixture as the working fluid. The cooling capacity and the coefficient of performance of the system are analyzed by varying all independent parameters, namely: evaporator pressure, condenser pressure, mass flow rate, LiBr concentration, and inlet generator temperature. The cooling performance of the system is compared with conventional vapor-compression systems for different refrigerants (R-134a, R-32, and R-22). The cooling performance is also assessed for a typical year in Tampa, Florida. Higher COP values are obtained for a lower LiBr concentration in the solution. The effects of evaporator and condenser pressures on the cooling capacity and cooling performance are found to be negligible. The LiBr-H2O solution shows higher cooling performance compared to other mixtures under the same absorption cooling cycle conditions. For typical year in Tampa, Florida, the model shows a constant coefficient of performance of 0.94. In the second problem, a numerical model is developed for a typical food retail store refrigeration/HVAC system to study the effects of indoor space conditions on supermarket energy consumption. Refrigerated display cases are normally rated at a store environment of 24ºC (75ºF) and a relative humidity of 55%. If the store can be maintained at lower relative humidity, significant quantities of refrigeration energy, defrost energy and anti-sweat heater energy can be saved. The numerical simulation is performed for a typical day in a standard store for each month of the year using the climate data for Tampa, Florida. This results in a 24 hour variation in the store relative humidity. Using these calculated hourly values of relative humidity for a typical 24 hour day, the store relative humidity distribution is calculated for a full year. The annual average supermarket relative humidity is found to be 51.1%. It is shown that for a 5% reduction in store relative humidity that the display case refrigeration load is reduced by 9.25%, and that results in total store energy load reduction of 4.84%. The results show good agreement with available experimental data.

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

published_or_final_version / Urban Design / Master / Master of Urban Design

No description available.

Belöningssystem och dess utformning diskuteras både i organisationer samt forskningsvärlden. Att utforma ett fungerande belöningssystem är problematiskt och det är många faktorer att ta hänsyn till. Butiken och dess miljö är en viktig faktor i ett dagligvaruhandelsföretag för att skapa bästa upplevelsen för kunden. Butikschefen ansvarar för att skapa detta samt för att butiken ska fungera systematiskt. Men hur är ett belöningssystem utformat till butikschefer i ett dagligvaruhandelsföretag? När belöningssystem utformas finns risken att det inte leder till önskande beteenden. I dessa fall kan en förändring ske, men vad är det egentligen som motiverar förändringen? Det är detta denna rapport har tagit sikte på samt det faktum att organisationen är kooperativa påverkar ledningens beslut och således belöningssystemet. Studien kommer således att undersöka: ”Hur är ett belöningssystem utformat till butikschefer i ett svenskt kooperativt dagligvaruhandelsföretag och vad motiverar en förändring av det?”. För att undersöka detta problem har principal-agentteorin tillämpats för att belysa problematiken som kan uppstå mellan ledning och butikschefer. Kooperativa teorier öppnar till en diskussion om det faktum att organsationen är kooperativ har påverkat utformningen av belöningssystemet. Teorier kring belöningssystem utgör en del i den teoretiska referensramen för att förstå hur belöningssystem är utformade samt vad som kan motivera en förändring av dem. För att besvara problemet har en kvalitativ metod tillämpats där en fallstudie på Kf Göta har genomförts. Faktumet att organisationen är kooperativ påverkade inte belöningssystemets utformning direkt. Dock påverkades belöningssystemet indirekt på grund av den bristande medlemskontrollen och att de kooperativa värderingarna genomsyrar de dagliga besluten. Den förevarande studiens slutsats är att det inte endast finns ett optimalt belöningssystem som tillfredsställer alla organisationer utan det bör anpassas efter det beteende som ledningen vill främja. Vi har således kommit fram till att det är viktigt att belöna ett beteende som leder till ett bra resultat snarare än att bara belöna ett bra resultat. / Incentive programs and its design is something that is discussed in organisations and academia. It’s problematic to design an effective incentive program and there’re many factors to consider. In a FMCG enterprise, the store and its environment is an important factor for creating the best experience for the customers. It’s the store manager's responsibility to make sure that everything in the store works in a systematic way. But how is a store manager incentive program designed in a FMCG enterprise? When incentive programs are designed, chances are that it does not lead to the behaviours that’s wanted. In these cases, a change may occur, but what actually motivates the change? This study has also reviewd if the fact that the organization is cooperative has affect the management decisions and therefore the incentive program. The study will examen "How is a incentive program designed to store managers in a Swedish cooperative FMCG enterprise and what motivates a change of it?”. To examine this problem, the principal-agent theory has been applied to illustrate the problem which can arise between management and store managers. Co-operative theories opens up to discussion about if the fact that the organisation is co-operatives has influenced the design of the incentive program. Theories about incentive programs is part of the theoretical framework for understanding how incentive programs are designed and what may motivate a change in them. To answer this problem, a qualitative method is applied and a case study on Kf Göta has been implemented. The fact that the organisation is co-operative did not affect the inceintive program design directly. However, it affected the incentive program indirectly because of the lack of member control and the co-operative values ​​permeate their daily decisions. The present study concludes that there is not only one optimal incentive program that suits all organisations, and it should be adapted to the behavior that management wants to promote. We have therefore concluded that it’s important to reward a behavior that leads to a good result rather than simply rewarding good results.

Sammanfattning Bakgrund Att minska matsvinnet är en viktig del i arbetet mot att nå en hållbar utveckling. Utsläpp av växthusgaser och övergödning sker i alla produktionsled i livsmedelskedjan från producent till konsument och utgör en negativ klimatpåverkan. Livsmedelsbutiker har en betydelsefull roll eftersom de hanterar stora mängder varor och tillhandahåller mat till många hushåll. Forskning finns om typ och omfattning av matsvinn slänger men få studier har belyst hur chefer och personal i livsmedelsbutik upplever och tänker kring ämnet. Syfte Syftet var att undersöka upplevelser och tankar kring matsvinn hos butikschefer samt anställda i livsmedelsbutiker. Metod Studien genomfördes som en kvalitativ studie där butikschefer och anställda vid åtta livsmedelsbutiker intervjuades. Datamaterialet transkriberades och analyserades därefter med kvalitativ innehållsanalys enligt Graneheim och Lundman. Resultat  Matsvinn sågs som ett problemområde som deltagarna upplevde svårt att motverka. De beskrev det som ett etiskt dilemma när fullgod mat kastas och det samtidigt finns svält och en miljö som belastas. Det fanns faktorer utanför livsmedelsbutikernas kontroll som gjorde arbetet med matsvinn besvärligt. Ekonomi var enligt deltagarna betydande för livsmedelsbutikers överlevnad och de upplevde minskat svinn som en möjlighet till att spara pengar. Andra betydelsefulla faktorer för att motverka matsvinnet hos livsmedelsbutikerna var rätt hantering och goda rutiner. Kunskap upplevdes bidra till att minska matsvinn och därför ansåg deltagarna att den borde öka hos både anställda och kunder. Tanken om samarbete med producenter upplevdes som god men däremot svårt gällande konkurrenter.   Slutsats Denna studie har påvisat att matsvinn är ett komplext ämne eftersom det samexisterar med svält och miljöpåfrestningar. Det är bra om livsmedelsbutiker ändrar sina attityder gällande samarbete för att möjliggöra gemensamma åtgärder mot matsvinn. Möjligheten att tjäna pengar driver butikerna till handling. Livsmedelsbutikerna bör utforma bättre och rakare direktiv till personal och kunder för en bättre hantering och minskat matsvinn. / Abstract Background Reducing the amount of food waste is an important factor in achieving sustainable development. Grocery stores play important roles since they handle large amounts of groceries and provide food for numerous households. Studies concerning what and which amounts grocery stores throw away exist. However, few studies have examined how personnel in grocery stores experience and think about the subject.  Objective The aim was to examine managers and employee’s experiences and thoughts about food waste at grocery stores. Method The study was conducted as a qualitative study where interviews with managers and employees at eight grocery stores were carried out. The data material was transcribed and analyzed with content analysis according to Graneheim and Lundman. Results Food waste was seen as a problem area that participants believed was difficult to avert. They described it like an ethical dilemma when food is thrown and at the same time people are starving and the environment is affected. There are external factors that affect the stores, and thus can make working with food waste difficult. The financial matter was an important factor for the survival of supermarkets and it was found that the participants’ main reason for reducing food waste was the opportunity to save money. Other factors to reduce food waste were proper handling and good routines. Adequate knowledge was something that contributed to lower food waste and therefore participants found it should increase in both staff and customers. The idea of​​cooperationwith producersperceived asgoodbutdifficultcurrentcompetitors. Conclusion This study has shown that food waste is a complex issue as it coexists with starvation and environmental stress. Grocery stores ought to change their attitudes regarding cooperation to enable joint actions against food waste. The possibility to save money drives the participants to act. The best way to minimize food waste is to educate personnel and to make more precise orders based on the actual demand.

Food labels are imperative in consumers‟ decision-making process of packaged food products as they communicate important information such as expiry dates, nutrition information and information about allergies to the consumer. Especially during a first-time purchase, consumers rely on food labels to assist them in making their product choice easier. In the heterogeneous context of South Africa, consumers‟ product needs vary and one may assume that consumer needs in terms of food label information differ. Although food labelling is regulated in South Africa, it is still important that consumers are satisfied with labels due to their significant communicative function. However, to the knowledge of the author, little previous research exists on South African consumers‟ satisfaction with food labels. Therefore, this study aimed to explore and describe consumers‟ satisfaction with food labels based on a typical in-store encounter. The confirmation/disconfirmation paradigm had been used as theoretical foundation in this study and consumers‟ expectations and performance judgement of food labels were therefore explored and compared within the confirmation/disconfirmation paradigm. This study furthermore aimed to explore the influence of food labels on consumers‟ product choice as well as to determine the influence of demographic characteristics on consumers‟ expectations and performance judgement of food labels. Lastly, this study aimed to make recommendations to food regulators and manufacturers on how existing food labels could be improved in order to enhance consumer satisfaction. Based on the literature, satisfaction with food labels might be influenced by the information on food labels such as ingredient lists, expiry dates and nutrition information as well as attributes of food labels such as the readability, understandability, credibility and adequacy. Exploratory factor analysis used in the present study indicated that the information on food labels can be classified as either primary (ingredient list, expiry date, health and nutrition information, information about allergies and quality guarantee) or secondary (name of manufacturer, well-known logos or symbols, country of origin or geographical region, usage instructions and number of servings). A quantitative research method by means of a survey approach was used in this study over a period of three weeks. A total of 400 self-administered questionnaires were distributed at office buildings and business premises in the urban Gauteng Province in September 2010 by means of a non-probability sampling method. A total of 279 useful questionnaires were retrieved and data analysis was performed by Statistical Consultations Services of the North-West University using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). Results show that respondents were only partially satisfied with food labels as they were satisfied with secondary information, but dissatisfied with primary information as well as with label attributes. The results furthermore show that primary information tended to be more likely to influence respondents‟ product choice than secondary information. In addition, results show that demographics had little influence on respondents‟ expectations and performance judgement of food labels. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations can be made to regulators and manufacturers on how consumer satisfaction with existing food labels can be improved. Recommendations include the improvement of the overall readability, understandability, credibility as well as adequacy of food labels. Especially primary information and the way it gets portrayed should be considered for improvement to increase consumer satisfaction. / Thesis (M. Consumer Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011

The subject of this dissertation is the architectural history of big-box stores on Southern Vancouver Island since their arrival in 1992. It examines the architecture and cultural significance of stores located in the Regional District of Nanaimo, the Cowichan Valley Regional District, and the Capital Regional District. This study hypothesizes that big-box stores are, in terms of their architecture, retailing formats, and consumption practices, central locations and vehicles for the reproduction of capitalist social relations. In the postmodern or Late Capitalist era. these relations have emphasized consumption over production, and have exerted a deep influence on everyday life and political economy in urban Canada. This study interprets the architectural and social spaces of New Retail Formats (NRFs) through a Marxist perspective, and uses the inter-disciplinary methods of vernacular architecture studies and architectural-geography. I have evaluated the big-box store in terms of typology, distribution, and social operation. I have also placed them in the context of North American architectural history, especially in relation to shopping centres. I argue that big-box stores produce, consume, and reproduce distinctive forms of social space, which I have named "value space". Value space is the set of social and spatial relationships found within big-box stores that are shaped by both retailers and consumers, and which are focused on low-priced commodities. Value space is a contemporary and clear example of what Karl Marx and Henri Lefebvre each identified as key to capitalism's survival: the reproduction of the relations of production and consumption. In the same way that factory relationships also shape life beyond the factory, the value space of big-box stores is also produced, consumed, and reproduced in other social and professional practices, such as urban planning and municipal politics. The aims of my study were: to document the history of this new architectural type; to explain the place of big-box store development in municipal political economy; and, to examine the role of big-box stores in the reproduction of capitalist urban space on Southern Vancouver Island. In doing so, I argue that big-box stores are engines and symbols of urban development that foster increased consumption, support the socio-economic status quo, and refashion natural and social environments in accordance with the values of capitalism. I believe big-box stores are the architectural subject of greatest contemporary importance on Southern Vancouver Island. Few other buildings types today generate similar feelings - for and against - as do big-box stores. They are at once a building type, a retail format, and a symbol of contemporary urban development. Their importance comes from their size, from the scale of their operations, and from their impacts on municipal politics, urban planning, transportation infrastructure, regional ecosystems, and community life. The retailing and consumption practices they house, facilitate and manage contain the seeds of, or needs for, future consumption. This makes NRFs economic and symbolic centres for the reproduction of the relations of production and consumption.

The retail landscape has changed significantly since the mid 20th century, evolving from a city centre focus through strip malls, shopping centres, shopping malls, mega-malls, big box stores, and to the newest form of retailing - the lifestyle commercial centres. One constant through this evolution has been the permissive role of land use regulations in shaping the form and location of retailing. At issue is whether local governments, and in particular land use planners, have abandoned a holistic approach to evaluating the public good and instead focused solely on the economic benefits gained from new development. This study offers a new approach to understanding the "boxed in" relationship between the retail landscape and the public good: that is, boxed in by the form of available retailing, by the paradoxical lack of choice brought on by an obsessive belief in "larger is better", and by permissive decision-making that focuses too strongly on the economic benefits of more and larger retail stores. A case study of the retail landscape of Nanaimo, British Columbia is included to illustrate a practical example of this relationship. Drawing on primary research on the impact of shopping locations on individuals combined with in-depth interviews and archival research, the retail landscape is examined. The intended outcome of this research is to challenge local governments, and in particular land use planners, to more fully consider the question of the public good when evaluating land use proposals.

In this thesis, the optimal location for a large format, organic food retail store is determined using the Huff Model in Montreal, Canada. The Huff Model has been widely used in marketing analysis to determine the optimal location in a variety of contexts. First, the study used Statistics Canada 2001 food expenditure data for Montreal to generate a double log linear food expenditure model for Montreal consumers. Variance Inflation Factors were calculated to test if there were multicollinearity problems, and a Breusch-Pagen test was done to test for heteroskedasticity. Neither of the results showed any statistical problems. Second, AC Nielson survey results were used to facilitate the organic food expenditure calculation process. Third, the travel distance from all census tracts in Montreal to the candidate store locations were calculated using the Manhattan distance calculator (McLafferty and Grady, 2005). Finally, the Huff Model was used to calculate an attractiveness index for each candidate location. The conclusion from the results of the empirical analysis was that, among the 45 candidate locations, which are scattered all across Montreal, 5445 de Gaspe gained the highest attractiveness index. This location is situated close to relatively affluent and highly populated areas of the city, and is also very accessible. Not only is this just a few blocks from two metro stations, and close to city bus routes, it is also adjacent to several major streets such as Saint-Laurent to the west, Saint-Denis to the east, Rosemont to the north and Saint-Joseph to the south. This thesis has provided a new application of the Huff model, which could be used in various markets, and has provided an interesting combination of models from the field of Economic Geography, and Agricultural Economics.