Marknaden och efterfrågan för begagnade varor ökar för varje år.  Däremot har detta inte lett till ett minskat uttag av planetens resurser. Många produkter har potential att tas omhand på ett mer resurseffektivt sätt än i dagsläget. Textilier och elektronikprodukter är produkter som har hög klimatbelastning. Dessa produkter saknar idag ett lättillgängligt system för återanvändning som skulle bidra till minskad nyproduktion. I takt med befolkningsökning och förtätning av Stockholm krävs nya koncept för återvinning. För en positiv utveckling är det avgörande med lättillgängliga och allmänt kända insamlingssystem.     Detta examensarbete har utgångspunkt från FN:s tre hållbarhetsmål: ekologisk, social och ekonomisk hållbarhet och ska resultera i en konceptidé och en byggnad där konceptet tillämpas. Konceptet ska ge förslag utifrån Naturvårdsverkets och Stockholm stads rapporter och visa på hur återvinning kan integreras i bebyggda miljöer och svara mot dagens behov och samtidigt skapa en social och ekonomisk vinst.   Arbetet resulterade i förslagshandlingar genom litteraturstudier och projektering för en byggnad belägen i Rinkeby, en stadsdel i nordvästra Stockholm. Byggnaden projekteras bland annat utifrån verksamhetens ytbehov, Rinkebys behov och förutsättningar. Byggnadens estetik har formats utifrån idéen om en tydlig uppdelning mellan verksamheter som förstärks med fasadens utformning. Utöver detta ska byggnaden tillföra någonting positivt till sin omgivning, med till exempel växtväggar och cykelstation med lånecyklar.    Projektet visar på goda kvalitéer att en konceptbyggnad kan berika ett område med ekologisk, social och ekonomisk hållbarhet. / The market and demand for used products is increasing year on year. However, this has not decreased our usage of the planet’s resources. Many products have the potential to be recycled more effectively. The production of textiles and electronics has a significant negative effect on the climate. Such products lack an easy and intuitive system for reuse, which would reduce such negative effects. There is a demand for new concepts regarding reuse brought about by the increasing population and density of Stockholm. Demands for easy access and public knowledge about recycling are crucial for progress.   This report will focus on the sustainable goals established by the UN: ecological, social and economic sustainability and will propose a conceptual idea and a building where the concept will be applied. The concept will propose suggestions based on reports by Naturvårdsverket (Swedish Environmental Protection Agency) and the City of Stockholm, to show how recycling can be integrated into urban areas. This will provide a solution to today’s needs and also facilitate social and economic growth in the area.   The project has resulted in draft documents through literature studies and planning for a building situated in Rinkeby, a suburb northwest outside of Stockholm. The building will be planned in line with the building’s operational area requirements and pre-requisites. The building’s aesthetics are drawn from the idea of a pronounced separation between the operations, which will be amplified by the design of the facades. Additionally, it will contribute to the quality of its environment with the use of green walls and a bicycle station.   The project shows of positive qualities that a conceptual building can enrich a neighborhood through ecological, social and economical sustainability.

This study has been conducted on behalf of Vectura Consulting AB with the purpose to examine how different actors perceive the dimensions of sustainability and sustainable construction. The purpose is also to provide an understanding of existing barriers and opportunities for sustainable construction within the industry and exemplify with different directions for the actors in order to develop sustainability. The study has approach the research problem by using systems theory, developed by Checkland, to identify the relevant system. Other systems theories has been used as an theoretical framework in order to identify barriers and opportunities, which in this study are based on Hughes’s theory about reverse salients and salients. Interviews with a selection of different actors in the industry and prior research have in this study served as empirics and the perspective of the systems theory defines the necessary tools to be used. The study shows that no consistency prevails regarding the definition of sustainability among the actors. Although, the environmental aspect of sustainability is prioritized by a majority of the actors oppose to social and economic aspects. Furthermore, for some of the actors economy is governing while for others it is decisive. Sustainable construction is characterized by a long-term parallel process with incentives such as branding, recruiting, and optimized operations. Moreover, the study indicates a willingness among the actors to define the concept of sustainability in order to achieve an industry wide definition. Such a definition would be of benefit for simplifying procurement and developing sustainable construction. The study identified two barriers and two opportunities. The actors agrees on that the procurement regulations of the Swedish infrastructure authority “Trafikverket” in combination with contracts defined by multiple products, and the objectives of Trafikverket,  are the two main barriers for holding back the development of sustainability in the industry. However, Trafikverket’s goal to increase the number of contracts based on function is seen as an opportunity as it enables creativity and innovation and a possible side effect of sustainable development. In addition, side bids from different actors are considered as a driver that will accelerate Trafikverket’s work regarding sustainability and especially sustainable construction. Finally, the authors give examples of directions for the industry to enhance sustainable construction and by doing so the authors connect vision with practice.

Providing high-quality health care to everyone who needs it is a central objective for theSwedish health care system. One way in which this goal is broadly pursued is by allocatingresources that maximize the geographical coverage of ambulances, aiming at reducingambulance response times as much as possible, for as many as possible. However, in reality,emergencies tend to be concentrated in space and time. They are more likely to occur atparticular places and times, following people’s routine activities. Likewise, some groups aremore likely to require acute health care, implying that supply needs to be tailored to patientdemand. This thesis investigates the nature of emergency health care (EHC) services byassessing the temporal and the geographical distribution of ambulance services from a supplyand demand perspective using southern Sweden as a study area. Geographical informationsystem (GIS), spatial analysis and regression models underpin the methodology of the study.Findings indicate that there currently exist disparities in access to EHC services in Sweden,both between urban and rural areas and between sociodemographic groups. Depending on howaccessibility is measured, different spatial patterns emerge, suggesting that the current practiceof measuring response times should be complemented by alternative measures of accessibilityin an attempt to reduce inequities in access to ambulances between groups and places. Resultsalso indicate that the demand for EHC services varies both spatially and temporally, and thatdemographic and land use differences can be helpful in explaining such variations. The thesishighlights that currently employed EHC policy goals may entail unexpected inequities in theaccess to and supply of ambulances and, consequently, of EHC. As such, the study opens upfor a discussion on how useful quantitative measures can be in revealing group inequities inaccess to EHC. / Att erbjuda god tillgång till vård för hela befolkningen är ett centralt mål för det svenskavårdsystemet. Detta eftersträvas genom att resurser fördelas på ett sätt som maximerar dengeografiska täckningen av ambulanser, där målet är att minska ambulansers responstider såmycket som möjligt, för så många som möjligt. I verkligheten är akuta situationerkoncentrerade i både tid och rum. De uppstår på specifika platser, vid specifika tidpunkter ochreflekterar till viss del människors rutinmässiga rörelsemönster. Samtidigt löper vissa grupperstörre risk att drabbas av akuta sjukdomar eller skador, vilket insinuerar att tillhandahållandetav resurser behöver skräddarsys efter behov, snarare än populationsmängd. Den härlicentiatavhandlingen undersöker akutvården genom att analysera temporala och geografiskafördelningen av ambulansresurser utifrån ett tillgång- och efterfrågan-perspektiv i södraSverige. Metoderna som studierna baserades på innefattade användandet av geografiskainformationssystem (GIS), rumslig analys och regressionsmodeller. Resultaten indikerar attdet finns skillnader i tillgång till akutvård i Sverige, både mellan stad och landsbygd ochmellan sociodemografiska grupper. Beroende på hur tillgång mäts uppstår olika rumsligamönster av skillnader i tillgång, vilket pekar på att nuvarande sätt att mäta responstid bordekompletteras med alternativa mått. Detta skulle kunna bidra till att minska ojämlikheter itillgång till ambulansvård. Resultaten indikerar också att behov för akutvård varierar över tidoch rum, och att både demografiska variabler och olika typer av markanvändning kan bidratill att förklara sådana variationer. Den här avhandlingen visar på att nuvarande policymålinom akutvård kan leda till oväntad ojämlikhet vad gäller tillgång och efterfrågan tillambulans och, som en konsekvens, till akutvård generellt. Studierna öppnar således upp fören diskussion om hur användbara kvantitativa mått kan vara vad gäller att belysa ojämlikheteri tillgång till akutvård. / <p>QC220420</p>

School is compulsory for all children aged between 6 and 16 in Sweden. It is a second home for all children. School segregation is essentially a question of importance in today's society. School segregation shows that the crucial factors leading to school being divided is due to factors such as family background (ethnicity) and socio-economic situation. Therefore, it contradicts the social cohesion and quality that schools strive for. Thus, possibly resulting in schools not maintaining an equally consistent quality because in some school’s children perform better than others. Hence, in the teaching profession, we believe that the school's social cohesion and working methods have very important functions for creating quality in the presentation of the right knowledge and good community. Consequently, this is the reason why we chose to investigate further what research says about school segregation. School segregation is a relevant societal topic to raise in the teaching profession. In order to be able to counteract and know the conditions of the schools, one must have sufficient underlying knowledge about what it is that affects the school's quality. Thus, in this study we want to furthermore explain what school segregation research reports in Sweden. This research overview has managed to collect from search engines like Swepub, Libris and governmental websites as IFAU and Skolverket ten scientific reports on school segregation that have later been discussed further, and a conclusion has been drawn on the project work. The conclusion that we can draw from this research overview work is that there is a rich amount of information sources about school segregation which one can take part in. They are very similar in the form of the presentation about the causes of school segregation, as well as consequences that a larger project work can be very useful from.

M. Tech. (Department of Marketing, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / It is evident that social media has become a fundamental instrument in society and has revolutionised the way society interacts and conducts business. More than 75 percent of the South African Generation Y population are active users of various social media platforms and the collective topics that are discussed include the status quo, entertainment, sports and other various issues that affect society as an integrated whole. However, many challenges are associated with social media concerning the affordability and accessibility of the internet. Consequently, it makes it a challenge for organisations to utilise social media as a reliable marketing instrument. Therefore, the study seeks to examine the effect of social media marketing dimensions on consumer attitudes and adoption among Generation Y consumers. The sample consisted of 285 self-reporting social media active users located in the Southern Gauteng region of South Africa. The study adhered to a quantitative approach and a snowball sampling method, whereby data were collected using a paper and pencil based self-administered questionnaire in 2019. A positivist research philosophy was followed whereby hypotheses where formulated for the study. In addition, formal procedure regarding research ethics were observed during empirical data collection and the questionnaire was also tested for reliability as well as validity. A pilot study preceded the main data collection survey processes. The collected data was analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and regression models. The results of the study indicated significant positive relationships for the three dimensions of social media marketing, namely in-formativeness (β= +0.302; t= 6.030; p<0.01), source credibility (β= +0.171; t= 2.767; p<0.01), perceived enjoyment (β=+0.169; t=2.956; p<0.00) and Generation Y consumer’s attitude. The fourth dimension being social identity, did not yield a statistically significant relationship in the regression model (β= 0.017; t= 0.256; p=0.01). Furthermore, significant positive relationships were also observed between consumer attitudes and the adoption of social media marketing (β= + 0.276; t-value= 4.841; p<0.01) among Generation Y consumers. As such, insight acquired from this study will assist both marketing academics as well as practitioners in comprehending Generation Y consumers’ perceptions on adoption and attitudes in relation to the adoption of social media as a marketing instrument. Based on the results, recommendations assert that, among others, marketing practitioners should effectively adopt social media as a marketing platform to communicate their marketing efforts and initiatives. Furthermore, marketers should integrate their marketing initiatives and strategies with the 4th industrial revolution. In addition, limitations, future research avenues are identified, and contributions of this study are discussed.

This paper is a study upon a global vision of a sustainable future, to local implementation of environmentally effective solutions, in contemporary urban planning projects. The purpose was to illuminate a gap between the global rationality of sustainability and local rationality of sustainability and to identify the effect it has on sustainable outcomes. To do so, I did qualitative research on the Lynetteholm development project and analyzed the data using document – and critical discourse analysis. My research was guided by the theory of ecological modernization, their perspectives upon sustainable solutions within the capitalist-liberal democratic society, and urban regime theory, which provided an insight into the concept of scale in environmental politics. Through an in-depth analysis of the presented motivation and prime drivers behind the Lynetteholm project proposal and the impact it has on sustainable outcomes, I have found that the local vision of sustainability is constructed by hegemonic narratives of prosperous urbanity, that is equalized with growth, progress, and profit. I have identified economic growth as the prime driver of developing Lynetteholm and concluded that it has a significant impact on sustainable outcomes, as economic growth is not compatible with sustainable development, without political interference. In addition, the gap between global and local rationality of sustainability in urban planning lies in the process of redelegating the responsibility to implement sustainable practices and secure an environmentally beneficial outcome. The issue is that despite much expertise and knowledge of the field, planners and politicians continue to address socio-ecologic impacts isolated and reject the cumulative effects, which inevitably retains the sustainable transformation from taking place.

The Rights of Nature is a relatively new approach to sustainable development, promoting that current environmental legislation is insufficient to protect Nature from human harm. The Rights of Nature movements emphases the importance of recognizing other living entities in our legal system. Ecuador was the first country in the world to incorporate the Rights of Nature into its Constitution in 2008. Based on semi-structured interviews, this study aims to investigate the awareness of the Rights of Nature among the inhabitants of the Equatorian small-town of Esperie and how they perceive and relate to the Rights of Nature in practice and whether the implementation has brought about any changes in their lives and community. The central findings of the study demonstrate that the majority of the respondents are aware of the Rights of Nature, also led to changes in society but also in respondents' lives and environment. The results also revealed various challenges that have arisen in the implementation of the Rights of Nature in practice and Due to stricter environmental laws and pressure from the people, the authorities have started to take measures to protect and respect Nature.

Since the advent of the Internet, the number of individuals and organisations using tools such as the World Wide Web and cell phones has increased, and is continuing to grow at a rapid pace. Social media has provoked fundamentally different ways of doing business, and organisations rapidly had to get on this social media bandwagon to stay up to date with the latest market trends and ahead of the competition. Although social media is already broadly used among South African businesses, the perception regarding the use of social media as a promotional mix element has not been investigated sufficiently in South Africa. The primary purpose of this study was therefore to determine the perception of star-graded accommodation establishments, operating in the Western Cape province of South Africa, regarding the use of social media as a promotional mix element. A broad and in-depth literature review was conducted on the use of social media and social media as a probable promotional mix element. An empirical study was conducted, in which data was collected from star-graded accommodation establishments operating in the Western Cape by means of a web-based (computer-assisted) self-administered questionnaire. A quantitative approach was followed in order to satisfy the research objectives of this study. The results of this research study indicate that social media is perceived to be an instrumental marketing element in star-graded accommodation establishments and can indeed be considered an element of the promotional mix. / Business Management / MCOM (Business Management)

Since the advent of the Internet, the number of individuals and organisations using tools such as the World Wide Web and cell phones has increased, and is continuing to grow at a rapid pace. Social media has provoked fundamentally different ways of doing business, and organisations rapidly had to get on this social media bandwagon to stay up to date with the latest market trends and ahead of the competition. Although social media is already broadly used among South African businesses, the perception regarding the use of social media as a promotional mix element has not been investigated sufficiently in South Africa. The primary purpose of this study was therefore to determine the perception of star-graded accommodation establishments, operating in the Western Cape province of South Africa, regarding the use of social media as a promotional mix element. A broad and in-depth literature review was conducted on the use of social media and social media as a probable promotional mix element. An empirical study was conducted, in which data was collected from star-graded accommodation establishments operating in the Western Cape by means of a web-based (computer-assisted) self-administered questionnaire. A quantitative approach was followed in order to satisfy the research objectives of this study. The results of this research study indicate that social media is perceived to be an instrumental marketing element in star-graded accommodation establishments and can indeed be considered an element of the promotional mix. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

This study examined how online social networking (OSN) leads to increased communication and collaboration across inter-firm boundaries. This online social networking behaviour represents significant opportunities to firms in the form of improved problem-solving, increased collaborative innovation and enhanced engagement with stakeholders. There are also risks inherent in the widespread use of OSNs, such as the loss of control over information flows to individuals outside the organization, potential damage to the reputation of brands and organizations, and loss of productivity due to excessive usage of OSNs during work hours. In particular, this study sought to test four research propositions, specifically, that usage of one particular OSN, LinkedIn (LI), results in: 1) an increased number of inter-firm connections; 2) an improved ability to communicate across inter-firm boundaries; 3) greater access to problem solving or innovation collaborators; 4) increased organizational problem solving or innovation ability. The study methodology involved both quantitative and qualitative research. The quantitative portion of the study involved survey research among over 500 LinkedIn (LI) users to determine changes they reported in various dimensions related to inter-firm relationship-forming, information-sharing and collaborative problem solving since using LI. The sampling approach was purposive and the sample frame consisted of the researcher’s own extended LI network, and an effort was also made to make the survey link available to all LI members through public posting in the site’s Q&A section. Though no individual or group was systematically excluded from the opportunity to take the survey, some limitations are inherent in the approach taken. The survey respondents were self-selecting, which makes it difficult to confirm that the sample is reflective of all LI users. Also, the use of the researcher’s own LI network as a key source of survey respondents may have biased the study toward more open networkers, since the researcher’s network was built up over time by practicing open networking behaviours. As a result, the sample may tend to under-represent more closed or restrictive networkers. Notwithstanding these limitations, no one particular group of respondents was excluded from the opportunity to take the survey, and the resulting data suggests that there were significant numbers of respondents who considered themselves closed networkers. Also, the spread of respondents by geographic area, occupation and age was found to resemble published statistics from LI on its user base, so it appears that the data is reasonably reflective of the LI user base, though this would be difficult to verify or measure. Qualitative research was also undertaken among senior managers at companies that have embraced the use of OSNs by staff to determine their experiences along similar dimensions. The findings from the quantitative survey showed that users of LI have experienced an increased number of social connections with individuals as a result of using LI, and that these connections are often with people in other organizations, including competitors and customers. Survey respondents also reported that they have been able to draw upon their LI networks in order to solve problems and be more innovative in their work. Analysis of the qualitative research yielded a list of suggested best practices that could be adopted by firms wishing to harness the collaborative power of OSNs. These suggested best practices have been grouped under the areas of strategy, listening, communication, guidelines, training, diffusion and measurement. Some suggested areas for future research included: the role of performance measurement and reward systems in managing OSN usage behaviour; the organizational risks of centralized versus decentralized control of messaging via OSNs; the role of training in the effective deployment of OSNs in an organizational context; and the organizational risk of increased connectedness with competitors resulting from OSN relationships. / Business Management / D.B.L.