This dissertation provides the first known examples of finite co-volume Kleinian groups which have co- final towers of finite index subgroups with positive rank gradient. We prove that if the fundamental group of an orientable finite volume hyperbolic 3-manifold has fi nite index in the reflection group of a right-angled ideal polyhedron in H^3 then it has a co-fi nal tower of fi nite sheeted covers with positive rank gradient. The manifolds we provide are also known to have co- final towers of covers with zero rank gradient. We also prove that the reflection groups of compact right-angled hyperbolic polyhedra satisfying mild conditions have co-fi nal towers of fi nite sheeted covers with positive rank gradient. / text

The costs of acquiring parcels by condemnation are usually significantly higher than those for property acquired by negotiation, suggesting that Right-of-Way (R/W) acquisition costs may best be described by two different regression equations. This paper develops a switching regression model of acquisition cost to simultaneously predict the probability of whether a parcel will go to condemnation rather than be acquired via negotiation and the corresponding acquisition costs under these two regimes. The error terms of the selection equation and the two cost equations follow a trivariate normal distribution to reflect correlations across unobserved factors (such as a land owner's tenacity or a site's view value). When this model is calibrated using data on properties acquired across the state of Texas for transportation projects between 2008 and 2011, results suggest that R/W appraisers and staff should pay special attention to commercially used parcels in urban areas involving a partial taking with a relatively small remainder. Comparison of cost estimates between the two regimes (condemnation vs. negotiation) suggests that condemned parcels will have, on average, 78% higher acquisition costs across the 1,710 acquired properties and 51% greater price variation. These results suggest that it is much more costly to acquire a property and more difficult to accurately predict its costs if it cannot be acquired via negotiation. The application of model estimates to an example corridor highlights the value of simulation to capture all modeling uncertainties. This two-regime model is further extended to a three-category multinomial endogenous switching, allowing for differential cost estimates across negotiation-deed, administrative settlement, and condemnation contexts. A model of acquisition time -- from the agency's initial-offer date to its final possession date is also developed, to examine the effects of condemnation on acquisition duration. The results suggest that condemnation proceedings add approximately 7 to 8 months, on average, to parcel acquisitions by the Texas Department of Transportation. Taken together, such switching models for condemnation versus negotiated settlement highlight the benefits of avoiding condemnation proceedings in R/W acquisition. Estimation results illuminate the relative importance of various parcel and owner attributes, impacting the nature and cost of acquisition, and enhancing opportunities for R/W staff to identify more contentious properties and establish more reliable budget estimates. / text

This dissertation is a collection of three essays that study the market for consumer information. The first chapter studies the role of information intermediaries and their impact on consumer privacy. The second chapter presents an analysis of signaling in credit and insurance markets through default and repayment decisions. The third chapter studies some special topics such the manipulation of credit histories by fake borrowing or deletion of records. It also identifies a learning mechanism through which uninformed consumers can endogenously learn the link between credit market behavior and insurance market outcomes. / text

As the demand for center city living in the US has grown, housing has been used to revitalize neighborhoods and contribute to the tax base of the city. I investigate the ways that change, fostered and shaped in part by federal and local housing and planning policies, affects low income neighborhoods undergoing redevelopment at the level of “community.” To study these issues I study the Washington, DC neighborhoods of Columbia Heights: In less than ten years, this neighborhood was transformed by planning and housing policies from a primarily low-income, isolated neighborhood to a truly mixed income neighborhood housing residents of varied ethnicities and income levels. Using an ethnographic approach, I interviewed residents, policy makers, agency staff, advocates, and housing developers; conducted archival research on planning documents, newspapers, blogs, neighborhood list-servs, and public hearing proceedings; and observed - both directly and as a participant – in public parks, commercial establishments, public hearings, community, tenant and organizational meetings, and at rallies and town halls. My findings suggest that the District of Columbia, neighborhood groups, housing advocates, and developers instituted some of the best practices in urban planning and housing policy, which led to a mixed income neighborhood with a focus on dense, mixed-use and multi-modal transit oriented development. However, in spite of – or perhaps because of – dramatic changes in the concentration of poverty, through the combination of the preservation of existing affordable housing and the addition of higher income new residents, low income residents’ sense of community, political power and access to amenities changed significantly. Moreover, the focus on place and physical amenities that has been a hallmark of large scale redevelopment has implicitly devalued less tangible elements of neighborhood life related to use-value, community cohesion, and culture. Further, the implied benefits of mixed income communities for low income households, combined with the narrative of urban decline and rebirth that echoes across American cities have combined to justify the social, political and physical displacement of existing residents. / text

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

Det kan idag vid förvärv av aktiebolag uppkomma situationer där rekvisiten för både ogiltighet, enligt avtalslagen, och hävning, enligt köplagen, är uppfyllda. Frågan blir då huruvida part har en möjlighet att välja vilket institut denne vill använda sig av för att försöka få rättelse för det fel denne anser är begånget. I stort handlar frågan om kampen mellan generell avtalsrätt och speciell avtalsrätt. Kan en sökande part välja mellan två olika ersättningsanspråk eller är ett val redan förutbestämt? Frågan kan tyckas vara av marginell vikt då de till synes kan ses som två väldigt lika institut. Valet kan dock resultera i enorma skillnader när det kommer till det potentiella ersättningsanspråket. Hävningsinstitutet ersätter vanligtvis det positiva kontraktsintresset medan ogiltighetsinstitutet, via utomobligatoriska ersättningsregler, endast ämnar att ersätta det negativa intresset. Beroende på hur förhandlingarna och det aktuella förvärvet har gått till kan de olika ersättningsanspråken erbjuda fundamentalt olika ersättningar. Det har historiskt sett hävdats att part inte skall få välja mellan anspråken bland annat enbart på grunden att det ena är mer lönsamt än det andra. Författaren kommer dock till slutsatsen att det, i de fall det uppstår en valmöjlighet mellan instituten, alltid föreligger ett så klandervärt beteende från den svarande parten att det inte finns någon anledning för rättsordningen att skydda denne genom att begränsa den sökandes, och förfördelade partens, ersättningsanspråk. / When acquiring a limited company, situations can arise where the prerequisites of both invalidity, under the Swedish Contracts Act, and cancellation, under the Swedish Sale of Goods Act, are met. The question then arises whether the party has an option which regulation they wish to use in order to seek damages for the wrong he believes has been committed. Can an applicant party choose between the two different claims or is it pre-determined? The question may seem to be of marginal importance as they can be seen as two very similar regulations. However, the choice could result in substantial differences in damages. The cancellation regulation generally reward positive contractual liability, while the invalidity regulation, through law of tort, only intends to replace the negative interest. Depending on how the negotiations and the acquisition has proceeded, the different principals of liability can offer fundamentally different compensation. It has historically been argued that parties should not be allowed to choose between claims based solely on the basis that one is more profitable than the other. The author, however, concludes that, in cases where there is a choice between the regulations, it always exists such a fraudulent behavior by the defendant that there is no reason for the legal system to protect them by restricting the aggrieved party’s compensation claim.

This thesis analyses the ideology of the Radical right-wing Populist Party, Sweden Democrats. The aim of the study is to see if and how the ideology of the Sweden Democrats has changed through its years of activity, by comparing the party in three periods. The focus in the analysis is put on the party's view on the Swedish national identity and on multiculturalism. The reason for analyzing the party's view on these two concepts is due to the fact that they can be seen as corner stones in a racist ideology. An explanation of the concepts will be presented in the theory chapter, which is later used in the analysis of the party. The study shows that the ideology of the Sweden Democrats has changed very little throughout its years of activity in terms of their view on the national identity and the multicultural idea. This as a result has led to a similar amount of change in the arguments that can be seen as racist, by the party.

Parking, a seemingly mundane topic, have a huge impact on peoples right to the city. This thesis aims to explore the effects of the regulatory space created by parking norms and policies within the urban landscape. Parking is in this thesis identified as an active form, drawing from the work of Keller Easterling. Being controlled and regulated at the municipal level, parking is a question of local politics. This opens up possibilities for reorganizing parking as a tool for planning and place-making. By rewiring the organization of parking, from an individual property into a cooperative infrastructure, parking becomes a platform for generating local communities in the mid-sized Swedish city.

Extreme right-wing political parties and movements are growing in number and size all over Europe and in their tail, an increased political focus on immigration and its pros and cons. Sweden is no exception to the European trend and the Swedish extreme right-wing political party, Sverigedemokraterna, became the third largest political party in the latest elections for the Swedish parliament in 2014. The objective of this study is to contribute to the current debate on rising right-wing party affiliation through an analysis of the reasons for extreme right-wing voting behavior of immigrants in Sweden. Through a case-study based on six in-depth interviews with immigrants voting for Sverigedemokraterna, the study looks into issues regarding social group identification as the issue of identification with or repudiation of the ‘outgroup’ appears, from previously conducted research, to be a key issue. An analysis of policy documents of Sverigedemokraterna, previously conducted research and finally an interview conducted by a Swedish anti-racist organization is also included in the case-study. The study shows that the reasons behind immigrant extreme right-wing voting behavior present substantial similarities with other highly represented groups of extreme right-wing voters in that voting is, in line with Realistic Conflict Theory, encouraged by a perceived socio-economic threat emanating from an identified ‘outgroup’. Further, the study validates the assumption of ‘in-’ and ‘outgroup’ identification as being a key issue in determining motives behind extreme right-wing voting. The key explanatory factor of the voting behavior of the studied group indeed shows to be the rejection of an identification with a homogenous group of ‘immigrants’. Finally, the study shows that the rejection of an identification with a homogenous group of ‘immigrants’, removes the theoretical base for assuming that immigrants should be expected to show favorable attitudes towards the group of immigrants in general.

Thesis (DTech. degree in Computer Science and Data Processing: Software Development.)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2012. / Based on the fundamental assumption that individuals view their privacy differently, this study attempts to find a solution on how to protect the personal information of an individual stored in a relational database system against privacy violations. Secondly, to determine how the Hippocratic principles can be effectively applied to give individuals better control over their personal information, while at the same time allowing the organisation to process its transactions on the same personalised information. In answering these problems, the study established a set of extended principles to which the collection and the use of personal data should strictly hold.