The socio-economic changes and the population growth concentrated in cities in the U.S. have resulted in increasing interest in urban life that combines living, shopping and work in one centralized location. This type of area, called a mixed-use development, meets the needs of changing American lifestyles. To build successful retail businesses in the mixed-use developments, more information must be identified concerning key retail success factors. Based upon this need, this study examined the town center mixed-use development through case studies. The scope ofthe study included identifying successful town center mixed-use developments in the U.S., identifying locations for each case study analysis, conducting surveys of retailers, consumers and property managers, and analyzing results for consistent responses. The consistent responses by retailer, consumer, and property manager perceptions of store attributes and SWOT analyses were used to determine key success factors. These key success factors were separated into development attributes, store attributes, and target consumer attributes. Although the key success factors are simple in nature, the data from all three respondent groups unite to validate and add emphasis to the review of related literature. lltilizing these key success factors can assist in differentiating the town center and individual stores front the competition and in creating a desirable environment where customers return frequently. The model can be used in the development, planning and implementation strategies for future town center mixed-use developments.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Open University. BLDSC no. DXN081871.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A. (Pastoral Studies)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (M.A. (Pastoral Studies)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

The aspiration of this work was a call for justice for the Sons of Freedom Doukhobors - past, present and future. Sharing a Sons of Freedom identity, I worked within heritage; a heritage with deep cultural and spiritual roots that has encountered and responded to injustices through resistance and eventual assimilation into Canadian society. Justice as the primary motivation of this study is contingent upon hospitality or in the same breath deconstruction, derived from the work of Jacques Derrida and John Caputo. Hospitality is the theoretical, ethical and methodological pulse of this study and made possible a collective re-contextualizing of identity. Hospitality is an open and excessive welcome principled upon unconditional inclusion yet faced with an inevitable interplay of exclusion in all inclusion. The parameters of this study situated within the context of a Sons of Freedom heritage determined the welcome - although broad - was also specific and conditional. Working within an ethic of hospitality involved working with others in co-created relational spaces. Being in shared spaces generated memories, stories, songs and perspectives impassioned by sadness, anger, hope, ideas and intentions to sustain and keep identity on the move. The role of researcher and participant, or host and guest, was often disrupted as the roles became interchangeable. The blurred roles fostered spaces of sharing, trust, care and a sense of togetherness that “We are in this together.” Walking-alongside became a creative site for mobilizing counter narratives and critical interpretations to re-represent identity and on-going becoming. Justice, key to deconstruction and to this study, opened up the possibility of claiming identity as opposed to escaping or being burdened with an identity laden with stigma and shame. / Graduate / 0344 / 0998 / ahnab@shaw.ca

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The research examined the nature of behaviour in relation to the motivations and aspirations of small business owners. The work provides a more comprehensive understanding of business owners' behaviours and their reasons for being in business. The thesis analyses the philosophical assumptions underlying theories and previous ideas on entrepreneurship. It shows that such assumptions guide and/or restrict the process of knowledge construction in the subject. One contribution that the work provides is to develop theoretical frameworks, based on the principles of Social Constructionism, which are used to guide the methodology and field research. The field research, which involved benchmark case studies and critical incident interviews with restaurant business owners, explores and codes narrative data examining behaviours related to entrepreneurship. The results show that the interviewees' reasons for being in business have an important impact on their behavioural strategies. This affects the way they socially construct and relate to their external environment. The thesis is concluded by the presentation of an integrated typology that builds on and adds to existing knowledge in the subject area. The work thus provides a better understanding of small businesses and may better inform business support and enterprise policy.

The link between heritage and hospitality dates back hundreds of years. However, there are no firm rules that manage this old relationship. The research tackles the concept of ‘heritage hospitality’ as a new concept; which represents a managed heritage-hospitality link through the application of traditional heritage and traditional hospitality in hotels. This study addresses the relationship between heritage and hospitality at selected hotels in Siwa oasis in Egypt. Relationships between indigenous peoples and hotels, heritage and hospitality, hotels and heritage tourism, the possibility of applying the ‘heritage hospitality’ concept and the present status of heritage application in Siwan hotels were explored to achieve the research goal of providing a balance between commercialization and authenticity in hospitality. Field observations, a questionnaire survey, key informant interviews, and a focus group discussion were conducted in Siwa from October 2, 2010 to October 21, 2010. The present status of heritage application in Siwan hotels has been documented in this study. Although Siwa oasis is rich in both cultural and natural heritage, Siwan hotels utilize only one aspect of the cultural heritage: tangible cultural heritage. Thus, Siwan hotel operators may invest more in quality heritage presentation in order to contribute to the preservation of Siwan heritage and to earn more money. Authenticity is important to the enhancement of the link between heritage and hospitality. However, it is necessary to combine both old and modern practices in a balanced approach. This research contributes to practice and to conceptual and empirical understanding of heritage-hospitality nexus and, hopefully, will inspire more research on balancing authenticity and commercialization in hotels, particularly in developing countries like Egypt.

The White Lady (WL) is a mobile fast food takeaway eatery. The WL has been trading in Auckland City’s central business district for almost fifty years. The WL opens in the early evening and remains open until the early morning hours. At closing, the WL is towed to a storage area where it remains until this process is repeated. This daily pattern has occurred since the WL opened in 1948. Because of its longevity, the WL, and many of its stakeholders have experienced ongoing change as Auckland City has grown, and competition within fast food has increased. Thus, for many stakeholders, the WL is representative of their lives, a mirror of their reality and life experiences. Obviously, these realities and experiences are different for different stakeholders. In this thesis, I examine the contested “White Lady” (WL): the perceptions and the social meanings that its stakeholder groups attribute to it. This thesis illuminates differences and similarities within stakeholder viewpoints and in doing so defines that pie carts like the WL are a valid part of New Zealand’s culinary and social cultures Ultimately, this thesis provides a platform of knowledge from which stakeholders and others can come to understand and know the differing and similar views that other stakeholder groups hold. With this in mind, this research ranges in scope from the examination of city administration to the symbolism associated with the (WL) by some of its stakeholders. Therefore, this research is founded within socio-historic constructs: the history of fast food and, the similarities that this history holds to today’s WL operation. The contextualisation of hospitality within “three domains” (Lashley, 2004, p.13) aids in defining the WL as well as recognising the competitive growth of New Zealand’s fast food industry. This research suggests that fast food growth and subsequent competition have had negative impacts upon many small fast food outlets including the WL. viii The growth of fast food has facilitated a “slow food” (Jones, Shears, Hiller Comfort and Lowell, 2003, p. 298) movement. This movement coupled with the hierarchy of food typologies, adds a Saussurian overlay and sociological discourse to this work. This overlay clarifies for the reader Bourdieu’s (1984) position that all food is reflective of class status. Within postmodernist constructs and the rise of the individual, (and the consequent opportunity to hear ‘voices from the margins’), movement within class and individuality within New Zealand’s wider culture has occurred. Social change therefore, has facilitated some of the issues within WL contestation. In highlighting Bourdieu’s (1984) concept, the “binary opposition” (Levi-Strauss, 1981, as cited in Adamenko, 2007, p.27) inherent within food hierarchies and, as often expressed within the media, is examined. This examination reveals that while the media inform, this information often contributes to the polarisation of opinion that facilitates the formation of contested viewpoints by WL stakeholders. It is against a backdrop of compliance need, the absence of an official street trading policy, the differing views of stakeholders, and the intensification of competition in fast food, coupled with a lacuna in the knowledge base of younger Auckland residents regarding the WL that this research finds its voice.