No description available.

Adequate housing is an important issue for any society; no one can ignore the importance of providing adequate housing for citizens in any country. Purchasing a home is a major investment; it takes a huge part of people’s income. Therefore, it is important to know what in the market is suitable for consumers, to categorise and analyse consumer preferences, and understand their changes in behaviour, looking at the differences in the demographics and the population segment in order to create a better home environment. However, solutions that are not consistent with consumer ambitions and self-concepts will not help to resolve the housing problem or provide satisfaction for consumers. Thus, it is important for policymakers to identify and understand both the consumers’ preferences and the housing problem in order to devise effective spatial policies to manage housing demand. Housing in Saudi is an interesting and strategically important issue, because of the low level of home ownership, and the fact that the available homes do not match consumer demand. It would be interesting to understand consumer preferences and be able to provide a model clarifying the important home variables, and also to identify the cultural, economic and demographic influences on home buying. This could help stakeholders such as the government, developers and consumers themselves plan suitable homes. This study combines inductive and deductive approaches to investigate the housing problem in Saudi and to identify a suitable model of consumer preferences. Firstly, literature reviews were used to identify theories and put forward the relevant home variables. Secondly, mixed methods were used in the study for data gathering sequentially, by doing quantitative questionnaires in Saudi Arabia (with 752 respondents in the consumer survey and 102 in the professional survey), and qualitative interviews. Moreover, the inferential analysis of the questionnaires clarifies the differences in the answers between the genders, the regions where respondents live, and their occupations, and shows significant difference in some variables. The final home preferences model has been designed by using inductive factor analysis. Furthermore, the result shows differences between the consumers and professionals’ views. As a final phase, the model was validated by conducting a focus group, from which some variables were added to the model.

Energy is one of the main and most important elements for achieving social and economic development throughout the world. Electricity is one of the most essential sources of energy. The importance stems from the role of electric power in fulfilling the main consumption needs for basic energy as one of the inputs to the production process. To date, the focus of the research in the field of the demand for electricity has been mainly on developed economies. Adding to the few studies carried out in the developing economies, this study has investigated the issue in the Libyan context. This study aimed to analyse and identify the determinants or factors affecting the demand for electricity in Libya during the period 1980-2010. The study focused on the use of ordinary least square techniques, test for co-integration and Granger Causality in constructing an empirical model of the demand function for electricity. Furthermore, there was a discussion on the external and internal determinants of projects that produce electricity in Libya as examined and analysed through a questionnaire and case study method. It also adopted a validation process achieved through focus group discussion to discuss and validate the proposed framework for the organisation of electricity. The regressions results showed that the variables the average real price of electricity demand, the real value of the imported electrical appliances, GDP, population, the temperature difference and the lagged electricity demand explained 99 per cent of the total variation in electricity demand. The price elasticity of demand and income elasticity of demand are inelastic, that means that the Libyan economy now consumes the highest amount of electricity, and electric energy in Libya is a real necessity. Noting that the price elasticity of demand and income elasticity of demand in the long run are greater than elasticities in the short run, this means that these variables have a significant impact on the long term. According to the proposed model, the average price of electricity and the population are significant determinants of electricity demand, therefore, it implies that individuals are likely to demand electricity when the prices of electric are low, this result is confirmed from the Granger Causality results, in which it was established that a bilateral causality also exists from real values of imported electrical appliances to electricity demand and from population to electricity demand. In regard to the supply side of electricity, the questionnaire results show that the internal determinants of electricity projects in Libya are electricity demand and political effects. The external determinants are recession, oil prices and development of other infrastructure. The development of other infrastructure was the most effective factor regarding the external determinants on the electricity projects in Libya, where the development in the residential sector has had a greater impact in increasing electricity projects during the last four decades. It is worth mentioning that the deregulation of the economy at the beginning of the nineties led to the development of the commercial sector and this in turn led to an increase in demand for electricity. The main outcome of the validation was that the proposed framework was found practical and provided a methodology for solutions that can be taken up by the electric sector and for the government to adopt regular mechanisms to deal with the consistent upsurge in the demand and provide the basis for stable supply of electricity. The four focus groups of participants believed that energy firms in Libya and the Libyan state should take action and integrate the proposed framework. The actions are: economic planning, socio-economic development policy, development of new power plants and the expansion of the existing capacity; and improved development of other infrastructure. The increased demand of electricity in Libya compels the government, the electricity company and the other sectors of the economy to come up with a sustainable framework to meet the energy demands of the country. As established in this research, the construction of new power projects is the only long-term solution that will address the present and future energy needs.

No description available.

This thesis investigates the actual situation in the rural areas of Lithuania, one of the Central and Eastern European countries which, after the collapse of the Soviet regime, started a programme of land reform and today faces problems such as land fragmentation, land abandonment, lack of infrastructure, land conflicts, etc. Such problems affecting sustainable rural development can be solved by applying a land management instrument – land consolidation that has worked successfully for hundreds of years in Western European countries. Since 2000, Lithuania with the support of international land consolidation experts, has dealt with this instrument and supplemented that legal framework in 2004. Unfortunately this instrument still doesn’t assure results compared with Western European countries. In order to identify aspects influencing comprehensive results, an investigation of the legal frameworks regulating land consolidation in six selected European countries was performed by analysing scientific papers, legal acts and interviewing land consolidation experts. Seeking to obtain a comprehensive Lithuanian land consolidation process picture, a case study analysis was applied and interviews with participating land owners and land surveyors as well as the online questionnaire for municipal specialists were performed. Moreover, based on European expert’s practice reflected in the online questionnaire, criteria showing the potential for comprehensive land consolidation in Lithuania (at municipal and project area scale) were developed and techniques based on Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis offered. The most significant part of this thesis is a developed framework for how to reach sustainable rural areas (re)development through land consolidation in Lithuanian and other Central and Eastern European countries. Developed criteria showing the potential for comprehensive land consolidation and framework provides the main original contribution to new knowledge by benefiting policy makers, land management authorities, land surveyors, the academic and professional community and rural communities on both a national and international scale.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:24:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-03-29Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:10:29Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 laurenti_aem_me_prud.pdf: 6462920 bytes, checksum: 98e38fc443a82b549e051c33c290ee3c (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O presente trabalho apresenta a caracterização dos diferentes tipos de uso e ocupação da terra sobre as áreas de preservação permanente de nascentes e corpos d’água nas microbacias hidrográficas situadas na cidade de Ourinhos – SP e no seu entorno, a partir da comparação de fotografias aéreas dos anos de 1972 e 2006. As Áreas de Preservação Permanente (APP) de nascentes e cursos d’água foram definidas de acordo com as diretrizes legais contidas no Código Florestal lei n° 4.771/65, resoluções CONAMA 302/02; 303/02 e 369/06 relacionado aos parâmetro estabelecidos pelo Plano Diretor de Ourinhos e o Zoneamento Ambiental da cidade / This work presents the characterization of the use and occupation of land on the permanent preservation of springs and water bodies in watersheds located in the town of Ourinhos - SP and its surroundings, from the comparison of aerial photographs of the years 1972 and 2006. The Permanent Preservation Areas (APP) of springs and streams were defined according to legal guidelines contained in the Forest Code Law No. 4.771/65, CONAMA resolutions 302/02, 303/02 and 369/06 related to the parameter established by the Master Plan and Environmental Zoning Ourinhos city

<p> This exploratory and descriptive research intended to examine ways to engage a vulnerable young adult population in environmental and ecological education and in community planning and public participation processes. A goal was to understand how to be more inclusive in the decision-making process at the community level based on ethical principles prescribed within the practice of equity planning and environmental and social justice. Merging the methodologies of applied action learning and action research, nested case studies were developed. Three cases within environmental and ecological education encompassed community gardening, horticultural therapy, and community mapping. The three cases within community planning and participatory processes included participating in a general plan or comprehensive plan update, a federal public hearing, and applying to sit on a federal agency working group. This research found ways to invite uniquely abled people into public participation processes through adaptive surveys, novel meeting places, and engagement opportunities. A nexus exists between environmental education and understanding community such that vulnerable participants are able to become involved in public processes and participate at a level that demonstrates their ability to understand their community as well as their needs. Participating in experiential and informal learning, practicing and integrating skills, and demonstrating knowledge and abilities, uniquely abled participants were empowered toward building confidence in public speaking, sharing knowledge about themselves and their community, developing skills in self-reliance, and building social capital. Because of this vulnerable population&rsquo;s needs, they brought up problems and solutions that prompted other participants to realize they could also benefit from this population&rsquo;s input. Using GIS tools, limitations of public transportation were identified and now can be resolved through the planning process. As the participants became more involved at the community level, their interest in and knowledge of the environment increased. The systems of community participation and environmental immersion reinforced on the other much like a feedback loop, stabilizing an otherwise disconnected community, bringing about an equilibrium that provides an enriching and diverse environment where all its citizens are better connected and more equipped to live well in their environment. </p><p>

This doctoral thesis seeks to answer the question what factors influence Trade Union representation? Using a case study design, the researcher uses documentary analysis and elite, semi-structured interviews, to evaluate the knowledge and experiences of union representatives, both nationally and workplace based, working in the MoD sector of Unite. This study of a relatively under-researched part of the public sector, demonstrates that for union representation to be effective: the union needs to be recognised for the purpose of collective bargaining; members need access to shop stewards and full time officials; clear structures need to be in place, demonstrating how the union should function; and the union needs to be able to protect and further the interests of its members. It is concluded that in the MoD sector of Unite this does not happen, meaning that representation is not effective. This research highlights a need for greater appreciation of the complexities of the super or conglomerate type unions that have emerged in response to union decline. It demonstrates, in particular, the need for the seminal work of Turner (1962) to be systematically updated and for further research to be carried out into the influence of factions on union government. The contemporary relevance of this research relates to the dramatic cuts to facility time that it analyses, alongside the government’s privatisation policies, providing empirical evidence of the difficulties that could be faced by British trade unions, if the Trade Union Reform Bill, going through parliament at the time of writing, is passed into law. The MoD Employee Relations review can be seen as a test bed for the Bill’s components on the restriction of trade union facility time in the public sector, and this thesis is, therefore, timely.

Tax represents a significant cost to shareholders as well as to the firm, and it is generally expected tax aggressiveness are preferred. However, this argument ignores potential non-tax costs that could be associated with tax aggressiveness, especially those arising from agency problems and asymmetric information. This study aims to investigate the influence of corporate governance on taxaggressiveness of listed Chinese firms by adopting an agency perspective of the firm based upon the nexus of institutional arrangements in place in China. An innovation of this study is making use of available income tax reconciliation data to examine the determinants and effects of tax planning activities conducted by Chinese listed firms. We hand-collected a sample of 229 publicly-listed firms over the 2006-2012 period (1080 firm-year observations). This study advances a new, refined method of separating company book-tax differences (BTDs) into a 'normal' component of BTDs that arises as a result of divergence between Chinese GAAP and tax rules, and an 'abnormal' BTD component which is presumed to arise a result of earning management and tax planning. When using the refined decomposition of tax liability to examine the effects of corporate governance variables, we find that firms with political connectionsthrough controlling shareholder and through the state ownership are more tax aggressive than other firms. Our results suggest that political connectionsare a significant determinant of abnormal book-tax differences and their impacts should be accounted for in ‘relationship-based’ economies. In addition, incentive compensation appears to be another significant determinant of tax aggressiveness. In particular, we find that increase in managerial cash compensation tend to reduce the level of tax aggressiveness in a manner consistent with the optimal contracting view, which contribute to our overall understanding of the role of incentive compensation that plays in motivating managers' efforts. The empirical findings have direct policy implications for shareholders and tax administration in controlling and monitoring firms’ tax planning activities.

Engaging and formulating stronger working relationships within public, private and political organizations is a complex, fluid and challenging task for individuals in all positions, especially those in positions of authority and leadership. This research focuses on the engagement of people as a ‘wicked’ problem amongst middle to senior managers and some political figures. This problem is particularly apparent when individuals work across silos, in partnerships, within blame cultures, and through periods of challenge and change, especially in relation to budget cuts and constant restructuring. Using Grounded Theory (Charmaz, 2012; Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Strauss and Corbin, 1994), the empirical data collated for the Warwick Commission on Elected Mayors and City Leadership (2012)1 was initially used. This initial data set provided insights and what Glaser and Strauss (1968) call ‘hunches’ into the issue of politically engaging with the citizen, producing several examples where city leaders had engaged innovatively with the citizen. To build on these ‘hunches’ further research was conducted during facilitated sessions in leadership development, identifying conversations with middle to senior managers around engaging teams, employees and partners. Three specific cases were identified and researched to examine why some organizations are failing in engaging their employees, identifying and highlighting some of the barriers preventing learning, dissent and effective change. These three cases of disorganization were compared and contrasted against three further empirical cases of organization where engagement, relationships, learning and dissent are acceptable and encouraged. Focusing on studying ‘the space between’ leaders and followers ‘to advance knowledge of relational leadership’ engaging ‘across disciplines and perspectives (Uhl-Bien, 2012: xiv - xv), the research question being addressed is ‘how can the complex, iterative processes of relationships help re-engage individual actors in a collective to tackle challenges?’ Upon analysis of the data and the literature from various disciplines (including Leadership Studies, Social Movements and Collective Identity, and Communication Studies), a heuristic framework ‘Beyond the Collective’ was constructed. Using the work of Ganz (2010) around ‘Public Narrative’ and his practical experiences working with social movements, the framework expands on his use of storytelling to understand how a collective of individuals can grapple with their problems by using New Beginnings, to Build Common Purpose for Action and Collectively Learn for the future.