The research in this paper takes an opportunity to examine the feasibility of developing properties in New Orleans, Louisiana which conform to the Passive House Standard. To date, New Orleans has yet to see a single building built to the energy-efficiency standard. This report begins by describing the concept, the history, and benefits of the Passive House Standard. The report uses the same certification definition of Passive House as Passive House International Standard (PHI). By framing the need for Passive House buildings in light of mounting global and regional consequences resulting from anthropogenic climate change, the report argues that Passive House is the best solution to turning the New Orleans built environment into a carbon-neutral zone and achieving many of the energy reduction commitments made by the Landrieu administration under the Climate Action Strategy for a Resilient New Orleans. The report then examines the feasibility of Passive House from a single-family perspective in one of New Orleans’ hottest neighborhoods, “The Irish Channel” and then overlays the barriers which are specifically hindering the investment logic of Passive House in New Orleans. It is shown that the barriers ultimately align to limit the financial attractiveness of Passive House investment to debt and equity investors as well as developers. Additionally, complications relating to the design, development and construction of Passive House structures are also identified as barriers unique to New Orleans. The final section of this analysis specifically considers how to overcome market barriers by applying opportunistic solutions which are unique to the New Orleans real estate development market. / 0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu

Labor market change in societies where an information economy is evolving, is a central area of concern for information society scholars today. While there has been considerable research conducted on cases of developed countries, research on labor market changes during a transition to an information economy outside of the advanced industrial economies is scarce. Thus, this dissertation proposes to examine the changes in wage, employment, and occupation structure that take place when an NIC, such as Taiwan, ushers in an information economy, and to explore the reasons behind these changes. This dissertation combined the historical, policy, and statistical analyses and concluded that the transformation from labor intensive manufacturing to an information intensive economy, as arranged by the Taiwanese government due to its own political and governing purposes, and also in the context of international political and economic circumstances, determined Taiwan’s economic resource arrangement, which resulted in an increasingly unbalanced labor market in terms of wage distribution, unemployment, and occupation structure. This transformation changed and shaped the structure of the labor market to benefit workers more skilled with information, more professional, having higher level knowledge and a higher level of education, while an increasing amount of white-collar and service workers began earning comparatively low wages. At the same time the demand for blue-collar and lower skill workers severely declined. Moreover, the total labor demand of information manufacturing and information intensive service is much less than that of traditional labor intensive manufacturing, resulting in Taiwan’s increasing unemployment problem. Among these processes, many different social, political, policy, and economic factors interacted and collectively determined this result. Among them, the role of the state in shaping Taiwan’s information economy in general and the labor market situation in particular did matter considerably. / text

The main objective of this thesis is to analyse if and to what extent changes in the labour market can be regarded as a factor influencing the risk of becoming a disabil­ity pensioner. Disability pension is a social security program operating in the nexus of work and welfare and is provided to people who, due to medical reasons, are limited in their work ability. The data material analysed consists of information about all individuals who received disability pension in 1988 (54 000) and 1993 (62 000) in Sweden. Samples fremi the non-pensioner population formed control- groups. The data collected covers mainly social and occupational background of the individuals. The first step in the analyses addressed the question of causes of disability pen­sion in general. This part showed that the causes must be seen in a multifactorial perspective. Individual, structural and institutional factors have significant impact on the relative risk of becoming a disability pensioner. An increased relative risk was associated with low educational background, immigration and broken marriages. However, the variables that had the strongest effect were age, health and position in the labour market i.e. social class and occupation. It became obvious that one im­portant mechanism explaining the impact of occupation was exposition of work environment conditions. The second step in the analyses focused on labour market change as a risk-factor. The results showed a negative correlation between employment change rates and disability pension. Individuals in occupations and industries with decreasing num­ber of emplyoees had an increased relative risk. It became clear that especially un­skilled workers and employees with a peripheral position were affected by this factor. This was especially true for women. The female labour market is to a large extent dependent on the public service sector and the reductions within this sector have resulted in an increased frequency of disability pensioning. To conclude, the study has shown that disability pension in Sweden is deeply embedded in the labour market and the occupational structure in Sweden. This can be explained both as a consequence of characteristics that accompany certain posi­tions at the labour market and as an effect of how the labour market develops. / digitalisering@umu

The research aim is to understand how the competitive intelligence (CI) process in large-scale Swiss telecom companies contributes to management decision-making. Studying CI activities of the Swiss large-scale telecom firms (Swisscom, Sunrise, Orange/Salt, Cablecom) in a dynamic European context offers useful insight into the critical challenges that service firms now face when developing intelligence in disruptive market contexts where aggressive competitive behaviour is evident. In considering CI theory, this study has reviewed perspectives drawn from research on the CI process, studies on knowledge management and work on systems thinking. In extending the predominant modular view of CI to include elements of systems thinking, this study has added to our academic understanding of CI at firm level. An Integrative CI Activities framework was developed that enables a more holistic perspective of CI to be adopted, taking account of operational, organisational and strategic perspectives. A diagram representing the range of CI analysis methodologies has also been generated, that differentiates between internal/external orientation and static/dynamic forms of CI analysis. Such frameworks can be used by CI researchers in other market contexts. The methodology for this study drew on a pragmatist philosophy, using a case study strategy that adopted mixed methods in data collection, including semi-structured depth interviews with top CI Analysts in each firm. Findings have shown differences in the scope of CI Activities that link to stages of CI development (developing, developed) and variation between headquarters-centred and firm-centred approaches to CI planning and implementation. The adoption of query based, flexible analysis approaches in firm-centred settings differ from more structured CI analysis techniques in headquarters-based firms. Evidence from this study suggests that networked communication, strong feedback mechanisms and the adoption of more flexible CI analyst roles link to more effective CI processes and to greater potential for direct CI contribution to decision-making. Key contributions emerge through the three lenses of analysis adopted (operational, organisational and strategic); in terms of operational CI processes, the study identifies a complex integrated system at work in firms that implement CI effectively. In studying the link between organisational structure and CI analysis, the study has mapped organisational support patterns and how they shape the CI process at firm level. With respect to the strategic lens, following a detailed worked study of predictive analysis in one case firm, findings have identified adaptiveness in CI design as essential to address disruptive market change. Managerial consideration include a need for a) greater flexibility in CI implementation at firm level to adapt to turbulent markets, b) acknowledgement of the importance of the CI analyst role further and c) more dynamic CI content to be generated by CI analysts.

Bakgrund: Sedan internet uppfanns 1990 har samhället digitaliserats. I modern tid innebär det att människor kan göra nästan allt med hjälp av en smartphone eller dator, bland annat handla konsumentprodukter via en e-handel. De senaste åren har e-handeln i Sverige ökat och allt fler företag har implementerat e-handel som komplement till sina fysiska butiker. Vid en implementering av e-handel är det många faktorer som påverkas och förändras i företag. Studien kommer därför undersöka hur företag upplever förändringarna som sker på ett marknadsmässigt, organisatoriskt och ett logistiskt plan. Syfte: Studien syftar till att undersöka och förklara vilka förändringar företag upplever vid skiftet att gå från “Bricks” till “Bricks and Clicks” på olika plan; marknadsmässigt, organisatoriskt och logistiskt. Studien syftar även till att studera vad förändringarna kan leda till i form av möjligheter och utmaningar för företag och om förändringarna är gynnsamma i förhållande till hur de upplever att framtiden för e-handeln och fysiska butiker ser ut. Genomförande: Studien är en tentativ flerfallsstudie med kvalitativ karaktär. Empiri har samlats in från sju detaljhandelsbolag som upplevt övergången från “Bricks” till “Bricks and Clicks” och som valts ut genom en målinriktad urvalsprocess. Slutsats: Studien resulterar i att företag inom detaljhandeln som går från “Bricks” till “Bricks and Clicks” upplever flertalet förändringar på ett marknadsmässigt, organisatoriskt respektive logistiskt plan. Förändringarna har i sin tur gett upphov till möjligheter och utmaningar beroende på företagets förutsättningar där faktorer som storlek och resurser har en inverkan. En majoritet av förändringarna skulle gynna företaget inför framtiden om de scenarion som presenteras i den teoretiska referensramen och empirikapitlet blir verklighet. / Background: Ever since the internet was invented in 1990, society has been digitized. In modern days, people can do almost anything using a smartphone or a computer, including shopping for consumer products via e-commerce. In recent years, e-commerce in Sweden has increased and many retail companies have implemented e-commerce as a complement to their physical stores. When implementing e-commerce, there are many factors that are affected and changed in companies. This study will therefore provide an understanding on how companies experience the changes that occur on a market, organizational and logistic basis. Purpose: The study aims to explain what changes retail companies experience when transitioning from “Bricks” to “Bricks and Clicks” within different areas; market, organization and logistics. The purpose is also to understand what opportunities and challenges these changes might result in. Further, the aim is to study if the perceived changes will benefit the companies in the future. Completion: The study is a tentative, multiple case study characterized by a qualitative approach. The empirical data has been collected from seven retail companies that have experienced the transition from “Bricks” to “Bricks and Clicks” and have been selected through a target-oriented selection process. Conclusion: The study results in several perceived changes within the areas market, organization and logistics for retail companies that transfer from “Bricks” to “Bricks and Clicks”. The changes has led to opportunities and challenges depending on the preconditions of the companies where factors such as size and resources can affect the outcome. A majority of the changes would benefit the company in the presented future scenarios.

En marknadsförändring innebär utmaningar för de företag som verkar på marknaden, eftersom de då måste anpassa sig till nya marknadsförhållanden, ny konkurrenssituation och liknande. Denna studie har haft som syfte att undersöka vilka utmaningar företag upplever när de utvecklar sina affärsmodeller. Detta har undersökts genom att läsa på om teori kring ämnet och intervjuer med representanter från elmarknaden i Sverige. Teorin visade att flera olika koncept kan kopplas samman till en övergripande bild där en förändring är katalysatorn. Fyra aspekter kring utmaningar kunde tas fram baserat på tidigare forskning, dessa är: (1) organisationen är inte van vid förändringsledning; (2) organisation är van vid förändringsledning; (3) ledningen vet inte hur de ska påbörja arbetet med BMI; och (4) ledningen vet hur de ska påbörja arbetet med BMI. Resultatet från intervjuerna visade att litteraturen återspeglas i verkligheten, då informanterna beskrev flera koncept från litteraturen. Informanternas organisationer kunde placeras i de aspekter som tagits fram, och baserat på tidigare forskning kunde hanteringsförslag på dessa utmaningar tas fram, några av dessa som informanterna redan applicerat (men ännu inte fullt ut). / A market change comes with challenges for the organisations which operate on that market, since they must adjust to the new market conditions, a new competitive situation and such. The purpose of this study was to examine which challenges organisations experience when they develop their business models. This was performed by doing a literature review as well as interviews with representatives from the electric market in Sweden. The result from the literature review showed that multiple concepts can be connected to form an encompassing view with the change as the catalyst. Four aspects regarding challenges could be developed based on previous research: (1) he organisation is not used to change management; (2) the organisation is used to change management; (3) management does not know how to start working with BMI; and (4) management knows how to start working with BMI. The result from the interviews showed that the literature was reflected in reality, since the informants described several concepts from the literature. The informants’ organisations could be placed in the aspects which had been developed and based on previous research suggestions of how to handle these challenges could be developed, some of which the informants had already applied (but not fully, yet).

The need for ancillary services is on the rise due to the increasing share of weather-dependent power sources in the electric power system. This master thesis focuses on the Swedish FCR-D Up market. It is a national balancing market for transmission system operator’s procurement of the ancillary service called FCR-D Up, that is the up-regulating frequency containment reserve in case of system disturbances. The FCR-D Up market is undergoing significant changes to adapt to the changing electric power system, which may affect the current market dominance of hydropower suppliers due to the emergence of new suppliers and regulatory changes by the Swedish transmission system operator. This master thesis establishes a conceptual qualitative market development system model for price formation on the FCR-D Up market. The research question addressed is: "What FCR-D Up market developments and regulatory market changes on the supply and demand side respectively are expected in Sweden in the upcoming years, 2024-2026, and how will they affect the market prices?" The research was based on the theoretical concepts of system modeling and price formation, using Soft Systems Methodology. Data was collected from various sources and analysed using CATWOE analysis, Casual Loop Diagram, as well as supply and demand curve model theory. It was concluded that price-influencing market development and regulatory changes are focused on the supply side of the market. These include the market entry of new suppliers, transition to marginal pricing, new technical requirements for market participation and increasing value stacking opportunities for FCR-D Up suppliers on Nord Pool’s electricity markets and the other balancing markets. / Behovet av stödtjänster ökar på grund av den ökande andelen väderberoende kraftkällor i elkraftsystemet. Denna masteruppsats fokuserar på den svenska FCR-D Upp-marknaden. Det är en nationell balansmarknad för transmissionsnätsoperatörens upphandling av den stödtjänst som kallas FCR-D Upp, som är den uppreglerande frekvenskontrollreserven vid störningar i systemet. FCR-D Uppmarknaden genomgår betydande förändringar för att anpassas till det föränderliga elkraftsystemet, vilket kan påverka den nuvarande marknadsdominansen av vattenkraftsleverantörer på grund av tillkomst av nya leverantörer och regulativa marknadsförändringar av transmissionsnätsoperatören. Denna masteruppsats etablerar en konceptuell kvalitativ systemmodell för marknadsutveckling avseende prisbildning på FCR-D Upp-marknaden. Forskningsfrågan är: "Vilken utveckling av FCR-D Upp-marknaden och vilka regulatoriska marknadsförändringar på utbuds- respektive efterfrågesidan förväntas i Sverige under de kommande åren, 2024-2026, och hur kommer de att påverka marknadspriset?". Arbetet baserades på teoretiska koncept kring systemmodellering och prisbildning, med fokus på Soft Systems Methodology. Data samlades in från olika källor och analyserades med hjälp av CATWOE-analys, Casual Loop Diagram samt modellteori för utbuds- och efterfrågekurvor. Slutsatsen var att prisinfluerande marknadsutvecklingar och regulatoriska marknadsförändringar är inriktade på marknadens utbudssida. Det handlar bland annat om nya leverantörers inträde på marknaden, övergången till marginalprissättning, nya tekniska krav för marknadsdeltagande och ökande möjligheter till värdestapling för FCR-D Upp leverantörerpå Nord Pools elmarknader och de andra balansmarknaderna.