In a developing oil-based economy like Libya the availability of finance is largely affected by the availability of oil revenues which are subjected to disturbances and shocks. Therefore, the decision to save and invest a certain ratio of the country's aggregate output is, to large extent, determined (and affected) by the shocks in the oil markets rather than the requirements of economic development. In this study an attempt is made to determine the optimal rate of saving and investment, both defined as a ratio of the aggregate output, according to the requirements of economic development. For this purpose, a neo-classical Ramsey-type model for Libya is constructed and applied to obtain theoretically and empirically the optimal saving and investment rate during the period (1965-1991). The results reveal that Libya was investing over the optimal level during the oil boom of 1970s and less than the optimal level during the oil crisis of 1980s. In addition, an econometric investigation of the determinants of actual investment by sector (agriculture, non-oil industry, and services) is carried out in order to shed lights on how possible it is for Libya to adjust actual investment towards its optimal level. It is found that, as expected, the most important factor which can be used in this respect is the oil revenues or, generally, the availability of finance. In addition, the study reveals that investment in agriculture is associated, during the period of study, with a very low marginal productivity of capital whereas marginal productivity was higher in both non-oil industry and services. Finally, the study investigates also the future potential saving and investment rates and concludes that the economy, which has already reached its steady state, can be pushed out towards further growth if the economy can be able to increase the level of per worker human capital, proxied by the secondary school enrolment as a percentage of population. / Secretariat of Higher Education in Libya and Libyan Interests Section in London

This dissertation employ applied microeconomics techniques with a specific emphasis on behavioral dynamics within the realms of energy and environmental economics. In Chapter one, we investigates the impact of outdoor temperature on productivity in the service sector, using data from the India Human Development Survey. Our findings suggest a precisely estimated zero effect on interview duration, ruling out significant productivity impacts. In Chapter two, we employs a conditional demand analysis on a Canadian electricity consumer data set, highlighting the effectiveness of local heat pumps and thermostat setbacks for electricity savings. Results also reveal trends favoring newer homes in electricity consumption decline. In Chapter three, I study the causal relationship of spatial peer effects from Canada's largest home energy efficiency retrofit program on energy consumption. My results show that close neighbors to energy efficiency retrofitted homes experience a significant reduction in monthly natural gas and electricity consumption. Moreover, visible retrofits, such as windows and doors, significantly impact peer energy savings compared to less visible retrofits.

Contributors from the mid 20th century up to now have developed and refined virtual assistants, taking the technology from a set of rules to assistants driven by Artificial Intelligence. Today, virtual assistants can provide value in organisation and support a sustainable society by conducting basic and repetitive tasks, and help reduce inequalities caused by biased advisors on sensitive topics. Despite its prosperity, current research somewhat lack focus on the evaluation of virtual assistants in industrial applications. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate virtual assistants from a technical, economical and organisational perspective, in order to understand their performance and value in an industrial environment. This has been done in collaboration with IBM and a client company which prefers to remain anonymous in this report. In this company, two IBM Watson Assistants are under development; one for the IT Service Desk, and one for the Ethics & Compliance department. To cover all aspects of the virtual assistants’ performance, quantitative and qualitative methods were used by conducting user testings and surveys. In this process, discussions have been conducted with IBM experts and employees of the firm for which the practical implementation has been studied, to gain a general and specific understanding from different perspectives. From this paper, the following can be concluded. First, technological performance can be described using quantitative metrics such as coverage, confidence, precision and helpfulness, and should be complemented using qualitative measures such as user satisfaction and perceived user understanding. Second, specific technological performance is relative and the technical limitations as well as it’s maturity should be used as a complement to the evaluation of the assistants. Third, identified organisational benefits include: • reduced time-to-resolution, • reduced handling time, • all-hour-support, • scalability and • user understanding Conclusions specific for the use cases show that an assistant implemented in a narrower use case, that is the Ethics & Compliance assistant, easier can be implemented and performs relatively well also in less developed environments. A broader use case, such as the IT assistant, requires more effort to perform at a high level but may be even more beneficial than in the narrow use case once sufficiently refined. / Från mitten av 1900-talet har virtuella assistenter utvecklats och förfinats där teknologin gått från en mängd regler till assistenter drivna av artificiell intelligens. Idag kan virtuella assistenter tillföra värde till organisationer och bidra till ett hållbart samhälle bland annat genom att utföra enkla och återkommande uppgifter samt minska ojämlikheter orsakad av partiska rådgivare i känsliga frågor. Trots framgången har nuvarande forskning inte fokuserat på evalueringen av virtuella assistenter i industriella sammanhang. Syftet med denna rapport är att utvärdera virtuella assistenter från ett tekniskt, ekonomiskt och organisationellt perspektiv för att förstå dess prestation i industriella miljöer. Arbetet har genomförts i samarbete med IBM och en av deras kunder som föredrar att förbli anonyma. I detta företag är två IBM Watson Assistant under utveckling; en för deras IT Service Desk och en för deras avdelning för Ethics & Compliance. I studien har både kvantitativa och kvalitativa metoder använts, däribland användartestning och frågeformulär, för att inkludera alla aspekter av de virtuella assistenternas prestation. I denna process har diskussioner förts med experter inom IBM samt medarbetare på företaget för vilket den praktiska implementationen studerats för att få en förståelse för både generell och specifik kunskap ur olika perspektiv. I denna rapport kan följande slutsatser dras. Ett, den tekniska prestationen kan bestämmas med kvantitativa mätetal så som täckning (coverage), säkerhet (confidence), precision och hjälpsamhet (helpfulness), och kompletteras med kvalitativa mätetal som användarnöjdhet och upplevd förståelse för användaren. Två, specifik teknisk prestation är relativ och de tekniska  begränsningarna samt mognad bör användas som komplement till utvärderingen av assistenterna. Tre, identifierade organisationsfördelar inkluderar: • reducerad time-to-resolution, • reducerad hanteringstid, • support ¨öppen dygnet runt, • skalbarhet, och • användarförståelse Slutsatserna i de specifika fallen visar att en virtuell assistent som implementeras inom ett smalare område, som en assistent för Ethics & compliance, enklare kan implementeras samt presterar relativt bra även i en mindre utvecklad miljö. Bredare områden, som en assistent för IT-support, kräver mer arbete för att prestera på en hög nivå men kan vara ännu mer värdefull än assistenten i det smala området när den blivit tillräckligt utvecklad.

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Residential buildings are one of the main stakeholders to electricity consumption. As there is fast-paced technological advancement in electricity conservation, the residential buildings infrastructure has become very electricity-efficient in Sweden. However, there is still room for improvement with regards to electricity conservation via behavioral change. Meaning, residents have the potential to reduce household electricity consumption by developing a conservative behavior. The road to such a behavioral development is not straightforward. According to literature, behavioral change is influenced by different beliefs and norms. There also exists a global trend that fewer and fewer people are able to name a single neighbor, and it is aptly called “Globally Connected yet Locally Isolated”. In this master thesis the strategy to achieve electricity conservation is based upon local social cohesion, and the awareness of electricity, at Malvinas – a student residence at the campus of KTH Royal Institute of Technology. The study is carried out at LocalLife – a local social networking service for sustainable communities – implementing a mixed methodology of surveys and interviews. 8 LocalLife users are studied in detail. The result incorporates the most suitable features from the relevant topics that could enable long term change and retainment of users. The results showed that the participants: 1) indicated an increased energy awareness; 2) reported an improvement in local community-life; 3) felt motivated to change behavior to facilitate saving electricity. / I detta examensarbete görs en omfattande analys med hjälp av kvalitativa och kvantitativa metoder för att undersöka ifall användandet av LocalLife – en lokal social nätverkstjänst som pilot-testas vid Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan – har förbättrat användarnas beteende och attityder kring hushållselsförbrukning samt hjälpt till att förbättra det lokala samhällslivet. Bostadshus ger upphov till en betydande del av världens energiförbrukning. På grund av den snabba tekniska utvecklingen har byggnaderna blivit mycket mer energieffektiva i Sverige på senare tid. Det finns dock fortfarande förbättringspotential när det gäller att spara el genom att ändra de boendes konsumtionsbeteende. Att få till en sådan beteendeförändring är dock inte enkelt. Enligt litteraturen påverkas beteendet av uppfattningar och normer. Det finns dessutom en global trend där allt färre människor lär känna sina grannar, kallad “globalt uppkopplad men lokalt isolerad”. Denna uppsats studerar därför en strategi att spara el som går ut på lokal sammanhållning och ökad kunskap om elanvändning hos de boende i studentlägenheterna på Malvinas väg på KTH campus. Studien utförs bland användare av LocalLife, ett lokalt socialt nätverk för hållbara stadsdelar – genom att blanda metoder såsom enkäter och intervjuer. Åtta LocalLife- användare studeras i detalj. Resultatet presenterar de mest lämpliga delarna från de relevanta ämnena som kan möjliggöra en bestående beteendeförändring öka chansen för att behålla användarna. Resultaten visar att deltagarna: 1) visade på en ökad energimedvetenhet; 2) upplevde en förbättring av det lokala samhällslivet; 3) kände sig motiverade att ändra sitt beteende för att spara el.

This dissertation explores the idea of inducing grid peak demand curtailment by turning commercial buildings into interactive assets for building owners during the demand control period. The work presented here is useful for both ab initio design of new sites and for existing or retrofitted sites. An analytical hierarchy process (AHP)-based framework is developed to curtail the thermal load effectively across a group of commercial buildings. It gives an insight into the amount of peak demand reduction possible for each building, subject to indoor thermal comfort constraints as per ASHRAE standards. Furthermore, the detailed operation of buildings in communion with the electric grid is illustrated through case studies. This analysis forms an outline for the assessment of transactive energy opportunities for commercial buildings in distribution system operations and lays the foundation for a seamless building-to-grid integration framework. The contribution of this dissertation is fourfold – (a) an efficient method of developing high-fidelity physics-based building energy models for understanding the realistic operation of commercial buildings, (b) identification of minimal dataset to achieve a target accuracy for the building energy models (c) quantification of building peak demand reduction potential and corresponding energy savings across a stipulated range of thermostat setpoint temperatures and (d) AHP-based demand curtailment scheme. By careful modeling, it is shown that commercial building models developed using this methodology are both accurate and robust. As a result, the proposed approach can be extended to other commercial buildings of diverse characteristics, independent of the location. The methodology presented here takes a holistic approach towards building energy modeling by accounting for several building parameters and interactions between them. In addition, parametric analysis is done to identify a useful minimal dataset required to achieve a specified accuracy for the building energy models. This thesis describes the concept of commercial buildings as interactive assets in a transactive grid environment and the idea behind its working. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation titled "An Expert-based Approach for Grid Peak Demand Curtailment using HVAC Thermostat Setpoint Interventions in Commercial Buildings" tackles two important challenges in the energy management domain: –electric grid peak demand curtailment and energy savings in commercial buildings. The distinguishing feature of the proposed solution lies in addressing these challenges solely through demand-side management (DSM) strategies, which include HVAC thermostat setpoint interventions and lighting control. We present a methodology for developing highly accurate building energy models that serve as digital twins of actual buildings. These digital replicas can be used to quantify the impact of various interventions and reflect the realistic operation of commercial buildings across varied conditions. This enables building owners to control demand intelligently and transact energy effectively in the electricity market. The development of Internet of Things (IoT) market and advanced technologies such as smart meters and smart thermostats allows for the design of novel strategies that address traditional challenges faced by electric grid operators. This dissertation elaborates on how smart buildings can leverage IoT-based solutions to participate in the electricity market during demand control periods. We also developed an expert opinion-based demand curtailment allocation scheme resulting in grid peak demand reduction. The numerical results obtained reinforce the effectiveness of the proposed solution across varied climatic conditions.

Unga vuxnas möjlighet att etablera sig på bostadsmarknaden i Sverige har länge varit enutmaning. Trots implementering av flera åtgärder fortsätter unga att möta hinder för attkomma in på den ägda bostadsmarknaden. Denna studie undersöker potentiella fördelar ochutmaningar med höjt bolånetak och incitament för bosparande för att underlättaförstagångsköpares tillträde till bostadsmarknaden. Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ metod, då denna ansågs bäst lämpad för att uppnåstudiens syfte genom att erhålla djupgående insikter. Fyra semistrukturerade intervjuergenomfördes med personer i betydande arbetsroller, inklusive en boendeekonom, enprivatekonom, en gruppledare i civilutskottet samt en privatrådgivare. Från det empiriskamaterialet framkommer att ett höjt bolånetak ses som en kortsiktig lösning för att ge ungatillgång till bostadsmarknaden utan stora kontantinsatser. Detta kan dock leda till ökadebostadspriser och skuldsättning på lång sikt. Incitament för bosparande, exempelvis enBSU-liknande modell, har potential att locka unga att spara till sin första bostad och främjaen sparande kultur. Trots detta kvarstår utmaningar i modellens utformning och den erbjuderingen omedelbar lösning utan snarare adresserar utmaningarna på lång sikt. Slutsatserna pekar på behovet av att integrera flera åtgärder för att adressera utmaningarna påbostadsmarknaden. En kombination av åtgärder krävs för att möjliggöra ungas tillträde på etthållbart sätt, samtidigt som både kortsiktiga och långsiktiga konsekvenser beaktas. Studienvisar att både höjt bolånetak och incitament för bosparande har för- och nackdelar för ungaförstagångsköpare. Höjt bolånetak kan ge kortfristig hjälp men leda till högre skuldsättning,medan bosparande kan främja en sparkultur men kräver noggrann utformning för att varaeffektiv. Det är viktigt att integrera finansiell kunskap och föräldrainflytande för att främjahållbart sparande. Kombinationen av flera åtgärder, inklusive bostadsbyggandeåtgärder, äravgörande för att adressera utmaningarna på bostadsmarknaden på ett hållbart sätt. / The opportunity for young adults to establish themselves in the housing market in Swedenhas long been a challenge. Despite the implementation of several measures, young peoplecontinue to face obstacles in accessing the owner-occupied housing market. This studyexamines the potential benefits and challenges of raised mortgage caps and incentives forhousing savings to facilitate first-time buyers' entry into the housing market. The study was conducted using a qualitative method, as this approach was deemed mostsuitable for achieving the study's objective through gaining in-depth insights. Foursemi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals in significant professional roles,including a housing economist, a personal finance advisor, a group leader in the CivilCommittee, and a personal advisor. From the empirical material, it emerged that raising themortgage cap is seen as a short-term solution to provide young people with access to thehousing market without requiring large down payments. However, this may lead to increasedhousing prices and indebtedness in the long run. Incentives for housing savings, such as aBSU-like model, have the potential to encourage young people to save for their first homeand promote a culture of saving. Nevertheless, challenges persist in the model's design, and itoffers no immediate solution but rather addresses challenges in the long term. The findings underscore the need to integrate multiple measures to address housing marketchallenges. A combination of measures is required to enable young people's access in asustainable manner, while considering both short-term and long-term consequences. Thestudy demonstrates that both raised mortgage caps and incentives for housing savings havepros and cons for young first-time buyers. Raised mortgage caps may provide short-termassistance but lead to increased indebtedness, whereas housing savings may promote aculture of saving but require careful design to be effective. It is crucial to integrate financialliteracy and parental influence to promote sustainable saving. The combination of severalmeasures, including housing construction initiatives, is critical to addressing housing marketchallenges sustainably.

No / Lean principles emerged in the Japanese manufacturing industry after the Second World War. Lean management focuses on improving product quality while eliminating waste—primarily through process redesign and the integration of employees, management, suppliers and customers into the quality management process. The NHS is under significant pressure to improve productivity while maintaining or improving service quality, at the same time as service demand increases. The Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) programme’s primary concern is to ensure that financial resources are used to bring maximum benefit and quality of care to patients (Department of Health, 2010). Lean management could therefore offer a panacea for the NHS, although its applicability to the health service sector is contested. This article investigates whether lean management is merely a fad or whether it could alleviate the pressure the NHS faces. While specific clinical processes may easily adopt lean processes and practices, healthcare organisations will need a paradigm shift in their management philosophy to adopt lean more widely. The promise of lean management remains elusive but could be harnessed by willing organisations.

Energieffektivisering börjar bli ett eftersträvande mål runtom i världen. Detta grundar sig i att energiförbrukningen för byggnader uppgår till ca 40 % globalt, en siffra som man vill få ner. Men att uppnå en energieffektiv byggnad är inte lätt. Detta kan göras på många och olika sätt. Ett av dem är att energieffektivisera fönstren, som är en byggnads svagaste punkt pga dess höga U-värde. Val av fönster är inte lätt, och det finns ett flertal alternativ att välja bland. I kalla klimat som Sverige söker man fönster med lågt U-värde och högt g-värde, samt en hög avskärmningsfaktor. I varmare länder vill man också ha ett lågt U-värde hos fönster men fokusen ligger främst på en låg avskärmningsfaktor. Syftet med uppsatsen var att hitta de mest energieffektiva fönstren, oavsett kostnad, för byggnader som befinner sig i länder med kallare klimat. Det var också av vikt att få veta lönsamheten för fönstren i fråga, därför har även kostnadsfrågor belysts. Metodvalen var informationssökning i olika databaser och litteratur samt att olika företag inom fönsterbranschen kontaktades, vilket ledde till att relevant och önskvärd information erhölls. Därefter fortskred arbetet genom kalkyleringar för energibalansen och lönsamheten. Vacuumfönster, aerogelfönster samt kromogena fönster hör till framtida fönster som kan tillföra positiva inverkan på energibalansen för byggnader. Men dessa fönster är i nuläget inte helt färdigutvecklade, fast har potential att bli världsledande. Vacuumfönster och kromogena fönster är i nuläget bättre lämpade för varmare klimat. Lyckas man komma längre med deras nutida utveckling är det inte omöjligt att anpassa de för kallare klimat. Aerogelfönster ger mest energibesparing vid byte av fönster, men pga vissa optiska egenskaper och komplicerad tillverkning av produkten är den i nuläget inte optimal vid ett fönsterbyte. De framtida fönstren är ej heller ekonomiskt försvarbara, det finns i dagsläget kommersiella energieffektiva fönster som är billigare att införskaffa och ger ett ansenligt bra resultat för en byggnads energibalans. / Energy optimization is starting to be a pursued worldwide main goal. This is based on the global energy consumption that occurs in buildings, which is about 40 percent. There is no doubt that this value needs to be lowered. But to achieve an energy efficient building is not easy. Although, this can be done in many and different ways. One of them is to optimize the windows, which is a buildings weakest point due to its high U-value.The choice of windows can be a harsh decision, there’s plenty of windows to choose among. In heating dominated climates, as the one in Sweden, it is necessary to choose windows with low U-values and high g-values, also a high solar heat gain coefficient/shading coefficient is required. A window with a low U-value is also important in cooling dominated climates but the main focus is instead on a low shading coefficient, which is not the case in this thesis. The purpose is to find the most energy efficient window that lowers the need for active heating in buildings, and also reveal and discuss the cost issues for the chosen windows.By searching in scientific databases and contacting companies active in the window industry the desired information was obtained. Calculations including the energy balance and present value were made, which gave an indication of the profitability for the different windows. Vacuum, aerogel and chromogenic window are examples of future windows which can have a positive impact on the energy balance in buildings. Yet these windows are currently not fully developed, but have potential to be highly valuable types of windows. Vacuum and chromogenic windows are better suited for cooling dominated climates. However if the development succeed where a big progress will be made it will not be impossible to suit them for heating dominated climates too. Aerogel windows have the best impact on the energy savings when replacing windows, but due to some optical attributes and a complicated manufacturing of the product aerogel windows are currently not an optimal choice for window replacement. The future windows isn’t either economically viable. For now, there are other commercially energy efficient windows that are cheaper to purchase. They also show an acceptable good result on the energy balance for a building.

Thesis (M.Pharm. (Pharmacy Practice))---North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.