This thesis is about some Swedish organizations that are connected to the labour movement and their actions to cope with the new hegemony around market liberalism. After the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 90-ties, the liberal order, meaning market economy and democracy reduced to the election of elites, has become totally domineering both in the western and in the former communist world. Even left wing oriented organizations have adopted their operations and activities accordingly, especially in their internal governing structure. The organizations that I have studied, mainly the Swedish Tenants organization at its local level of Stockholm, developed during the 70-ties and the 80-ties a participatorier member structure. The “Swedish model” of consensus/corporative decision-making and agreement, used by them on the national level for decades, was during that period introduced also on local and regional levels. In the 90-ties these organizations, according to earlier studies, have instead adapted a more costumer-oriented and elite-democratic way of operating and governing. These later changes could be seen as contradicting both the development of the 80-ties and the basic values of those organizations. My questions are therefore how these changes became possible and my aim is to study how the active members have contributed to this development. Using a constructionist theoretical perspective and discourse analysis, I am showing how this potential conflict between a participatory and an elite-democratic model can be reconciled by a discursive construction. The active members have in fact been able see these changes just as a modernization of their organization. From their point-of-view their organization still works in a participatory democratic way. My analysis shows how this ambiguousness and potential paradox became possible thru internal discourses and under influence from the liberal hegemony.

Aktuell forskning indikerar att antalet köpcenter växer för varje år som går, vilket grundar sig i att detaljhandelsindustrin under de senaste decennierna expanderat allt mer. Mycket av köpcentrens succé har att göra med dess bekvämlighetsfaktor, vilket resulterat i att denna detaljhandelsform snabbt hittat hem hos gemene man. Detta eftersom de erbjuder ett smidigt och effektivt shoppingalternativ jämfört med den klassiska gatan kantad av butiker. Dess placering tenderar även att vara lättillgänglig från både bostad och jobb vilket ökar attraktionsvärdet för köpcentret som i sin tur också har att göra med den ökande betydelsen av en välbalanserad hyresgästmix. Det vill säga den sammansättning av butiker som gallerian har. Butiker som i sin tur lever på de kunder som besöker köpcentret och som blivit allt svårare att locka till sig i dagens konkurrens, ledd av näthandeln. En förutsättning för att möjliggöra detta är att köpcentrumledningen försöker uppnå ett ömsesidigt samarbete med sina hyresgäster för att skapa synergieffekter mellan de olika delarna inom köpcentret. Detta lägger än mer tyngd på ledningen för ett köpcentrums relation till hyresgästerna. Därför syftar denna studie till att undersöka vilka faktorer som spelar in i affärsrelationen mellan köpcentrumledningen och hyresgästerna inom ett köpcenter och utröna hyresgästernas beroende av varandra. För att uppfylla syftet har en enkätundersökning genomförts. Denna har distribuerats till köpcentrena MittiCity och Galleria Duvan som båda är belägna i Karlstad. Resultatet från undersökningen indikerar att deltagarna värdesätter en levande kommunikation med centrumledningen och att de har möjlighet att vara med och påverka vid centrala beslut inom köpcentret. Däremot visar utfallet att respondenterna är oeniga när det gäller centrumledningens flexibilitet och strävan efter ett långsiktigt hyresförhållande. I fråga om hyresgästernas inbördes beroende av varandra pekar resultatet på att deltagarna ser värdet i att köpcentret innehar ankarhyresgäster. Dessutom framgår att de erfar att både deras egen butik och deras grannbutiker gynnas av de kunder som respektive butik attraherar. Däremot visar resultatet att merparten av respondenterna upplever det som negativt om grannbutikerna har snarlika produkter. / Current research indicates that the number of shopping centers is growing each year that passes, which in turn is based upon that the retail industry during recent decades has expanded without a foreseeable end in sight. Much of the shopping mall´s success has to do with its convenience factor. This has resulted in that this form of retail establishment quickly found a home among the general public. This is because they provide a convenient and efficient shopping alternative compared to the classic street based shops. Furthermore its location also tends to be easily accessible from both housing and jobs, which also increases the general appeal of the mall. Another factor that applies to mall appeal is the increasing importance of a balanced tenant mix. That is, the composition of the stores that occupies the mall. Store´s, which in turn depends on the customers who visits the mall. Attracting these customers has become a feat that has grown increasingly more difficult to do in today's competitive environment led by the expanding e-commerce. A prerequisite to achieve this is that mall management tries to accomplish mutual cooperation with their tenants in an effort to create synergy between the various components within the mall. This puts even more weight on the center management's relationship with the tenants. Therefore, this study aims to investigate which factors that is important in the relationship between mall management and tenants in a shopping center environment and also to ascertain tenant´s interdependence between each other. In order to fulfill this purpose a survey has been conducted. This has in turn been distributed to the shopping centers Mitticity and Galleria Duvan, both located in Karlstad. The results of the study indicate that participants value a vivid communication with the center management and that they have the opportunity to participate as well as influence the key decisions within the mall. However, the result also shows that respondents are divided when it comes to the center management's flexibility and the pursuit of a long-term tenancy. In the case of tenant´s interdependence, results indicate that the participants notice the value of anchor tenants and that they agree with that both their own store and neighboring shops benefit from the customers that each store attracts. However, the results show that the majority of respondents feel that it is negative if the neighboring store offers similar products as their own.

This report documents the growth of renting in Texas colonias, low-income informal settlements along the US-Mexico border. Historically, owner-occupied self-help and self-managed housing has been the norm in these settlements, so scholarly treatment of renting in colonias has been very limited. I begin with a literature review of housing development and housing policy in colonias, before turning, for comparison, to a discussion of renting in the US as well as in informal settlements in the developing world. Chapter 2 draws upon data from the US Census Bureau to describe the nature and extent of the colonia rental market in the six Texas counties with the largest colonia populations: my analysis reveals that renters now make up more than one in five colonia households. I expand on this discussion by examining differences between renter and owner households, paying particular attention to factors that make renters more vulnerable than owners. Chapter 3 employs a variety of regression models to identify the determinants of varying rental rates in colonias. The results suggest that larger, older, and more densely populated colonias have higher rates of renting. In Chapter 4, I utilize a mixed methods approach -- including household surveys, key informant interviews, and intensive case study interviews -- to a) better understand the tenure decisions of colonia renters and to place such decisions within a context of extreme socio-economic vulnerability and b) examine the factors that incentivize a turn toward renting among property owners. I conclude with a discussion of potential policy solutions to ensure that colonia rental accommodation remains affordable, accessible, and of sufficient quality. / text

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 107-111) Also available in print.

Thesis (M. Hous. M.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-126).

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 107-111).

Thesis (M.Hous.M.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-126). Also available in print.

Introduction: Lack of evidence-based information is an impediment to improve the food security and nutrition status of vulnerable tobacco tenant women and their children on smallholder farms in Malawi. Aim: To assess and describe the food accessibility and nutrition status of the tobacco tenant women of reproductive age and their under-five children on smallholder farms, as well as to determine and report correlational relationships amongst demographic and socio-economic factors, food accessibility measurements and nutrition status indicators. Design: Quantitative cross-sectional descriptive correlational study. Setting: Bwengu, Engucwini and Njuyu Extension Planning Areas, Mzimba North district, Malawi. Sample: 110 women of reproductive age sampled through a proportional systematic random sampling technique, and their 139 under-five children. The sample size was calculated using nQuery version 7 software based on 47% prevalence of malnutrition among under-five children in Malawi, estimated at 95% CI to the accuracy of 10%. Methodology: Data were captured through face-to-face interviews during the hunger season. Food accessibility was captured using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), Household Hunger Scale (HHS), Months of Adequate Household Food Provisioning (MAHFP) and Individual Dietary Diversity Scale (IDDS). Nutrition status was measured using anthropometry according to standard protocol. WHO Anthro software was used to compute Z-scores (W/A, H/A, W/H and BMI/A) for children, based on WHO standards. Microsoft Excel was used to calculate BMI for women, based on WHO cut-off points. Stata software was used to compute regression analyses to establish correlational relationships between independent and dependent variables. Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Pretoria, Natural and Agriculture Science Committee (Number EC151215- 028), as well as from the Mzuzu Agriculture Development Division in Malawi. Results: Mean age of the women was 27.3 ± 6 years and 28.8 ± 15 months for the children. The experience of food insecurity access was severe for 75% of the households. Nearly onefifth of households were severely hungry, and had adequate food for only about eight months of the year. The women and their children consumed a mean of two food groups in the previous 24 hours. For the women, 21% were malnourished. For the children, 20% were wasted, 31.3% were stunted and 34% were underweight. More male children were malnourished. For food accessibility measurements, the multivariable linear regression analysis was used. The significant factors influencing the severity of the experience of food insecurity access were loan access (P = 0.015) and household size (P = 0.000). For the prevalence of hunger, the significant factors were food security and nutrition training (P = 0.046), marital status (P = 0.045) and household size (P = 0.000). For the annual prevalence of hunger, the significant factors were labour (P = 0.038), income (P = 0.008) and household size (P = 0.001). For the dietary diversity, the significant factors were labour (P = 0.001), food security and nutrition decisions (P = 0.004), mother’s age (P = 0.033) and income (P = 0.000). Using the multivariable IV regression analysis, the significant factors influencing the BMI of the women were their age (P = 0.054), loan access (P = 0.004), HFIAS scores (P = 0.007) and HHS scores (P = 0.001). For the children’s weight-for-age, the significant factors were the mother’s BMI (P = 0.014), child’s sex (P = 0.005), assets (P = 0.014), mother’s age (P = 0.001) and child’s age (P = 0.015). Using the multivariable random-effects GLS regression analysis, the significant factors influencing the children’s height-for-age were the mother’s age (P = 0.004), child’s sex (P = 0.005), assets (P = 0.028) and HFIAS scores (P = 0.006). For the children’s weight-forheight, the significant factors were the mother’s BMI (P = 0.032), MAHFP scores (P = 0.029), child’s age (P = 0.008) and income (P = 0.001). For the children’s BMI-for-age, the significant factors were the mother’s BMI (P = 0.030), mother’s age (P = 0.029), income (P = 0.002) and assets (P = 0.047). Conclusion: The food accessibility and nutrition status of the tobacco tenant women and their children were seriously poor. The significant factors influencing food accessibility and nutrition status were loan access, household size, food security and nutrition training, marital status, labour, income, assets, food security and nutrition decisions, mother’s BMI, mother’s age, child’s age, child’s sex, HFIAS scores, HHS scores and MAHFP scores. The study findings offer clues to policy makers on where to direct interventions to improve food accessibility and nutrition status of the tobacco tenant women and their children in Malawi. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Human Nutrition / MSc / Unrestricted

In the Real Estate market there are a large number of commercial properties with offices. As a company or business you are faced with many decisions when choosing your office space. This bachelor thesis examines the concept of architectural quality with focus on beauty and its value for office tenants. The ambition is to find out if beauty is a decisive factor in the selection of office and if there is a willingness to pay for it. The selected question is studied in a case study of Garnisonen where tenants, a property owner and an architect are interviewed, all with connection to the examination object. Garnisonen is well suited as a case study because it is Stockholm's largest office complex with buildings from three different architectural eras. Tenants in the survey represent all architectural styles and have different industry affiliation. As a theoretical framework a literature study is presented where the importance of beauty for the individual, the built environment and society are treated, and also how the office can be used for branding purposes. The interviewees’ views of beauty and their opinions on beauty at work in Garnisonen are presented in the results. To find out if there is a willingness to pay for beauty the respondents get to put a value on beauty based on rental changes given in per cent. The analysis links the results with the theory chapter. The conclusion interprets the analysis and discloses the willingness to pay for beauty in Garnisonen with the aspiration to give an indication of a more general view of the value of beauty. / På fastighetsmarknaden finns ett stort antal kommersiella fastigheter med kontor. Som företag eller verksamhet ställs man inför flera beslut vid val av kontorslokal. I det här kandidatarbetet undersöks begreppet arkitektonisk kvalitet med fokus på skönhet och dess värde för kontorshyresgästen. Syftet är att ta reda på om skönhet är en avgörande faktor vid val av lokal och om det finns en betalningsvilja för det. Den valda frågan studeras i en fallstudie av Garnisonen där hyresgäster, fastighetsägare och en arkitekt intervjuas, alla med anknytning till undersökningsobjektet. Garnisonen lämpar sig väl som fallstudie då det är Stockholms största kontorskomplex med byggnader från tre olika arkitektoniska tidsepoker. Hyresgästerna representerar samtliga arkitekturstilar och har olika branschtillhörighet. Som teoretiskt ramverk presenteras en litteraturstudie där betydelsen av skönhet för individen, den byggda miljön och samhället behandlas, därtill hur kontoret kan användas i varumärkesbyggande syfte för ett företag. I resultatet redovisas intervjuobjektens syn på skönhet och deras tankar kring skönhet på arbetsplatsen i Garnisonen. För att ta reda på om det finns en betalningsvilja för skönhet får respondenterna sätta ett värde på skönhet utifrån en hyresförändring angiven i procent. I analysen sammankopplas resultatet med teoriavsnittet. Slutsatsen tolkar analysen och behandlar betalningsviljan för skönhet i Garnisonen med viljan att ge en indikation om en mer allmän syn på värdet av skönhet.

Stakeholders play an important role for firm’s performance and survival. Being able to balance multiple stakeholder’s needs an interest simultaneously and at the same time achieve best value for provided services/products is often referred to "acting as an informed client". Real estate firms should be more involved with core stakeholders (their tenants) in order to improve their corporate social performance and productivity. Cluster theory distinguish how certain industries and firms can be interconnected, developing collaborations through geographical proximity. The effects are asymmetrical, dependent on the type cluster, the type of product/services and the firm’s included in the cluster. By combining stakeholder management and cluster theory, real estate firms are able to improve their knowledge regarding tenant’s interconnection and contribute to the development of already identified clusters within the Stockholm County. The aim of this thesis is to contribute to the ongoing research regarding stakeholder management, with the usage of cluster theory. A quantitative- and qualitative analysis is conducted, using a self-administered questionnaire. A total amount of 64 retail tenants (around 80% response rate) and 28 office tenants (around 12% response rate) participated in the study. Results from the quantitative- and qualitative analysis is triangulated with secondary data, aimed to improve the reliability of the results. Both retail- and office tenants were invited to the study and the correlation between the two targets groups was determined, aimed to measure office tenant’s perception regarding cluster externalities. Results from the analysis shows that industries like information and communication, business services and credit and insurance are considered to be clustered. The highest level of science base diversity is achieved by those industries, implying a strong presence of activities sharing a common knowledge base. Retail tenant’s value suitable products (question 3) and proximity to their costumer (question 6), while office tenants value personal contacts (question 24) and proximity to major transportation routes (question 10). In addition, retail tenants have a positive attitude towards cluster externalities, while office tenants have dived perceptions or simply ignores cluster externalities, explained by the insignificant correlation between their answers. The conclusion of the study is that further research is needed, using a more extensive qualitative analysis. A larger share of participants active within industries that are considered to be clustered will provide real estate firms with the knowledge of how to proceed with their stakeholder management. It is therefore considered that certain office tenants are dependent on cluster externalities and that real estate firms should actively engage in their business, acting as a "business in society". / Intressenter har en stor påverkan på ett företags utveckling och överlevnad. Att hitta en balans mellan att tillgodose olika intressenters intressen och behov, samtidigt som man utvinner högsta avkastning för genomförda produkter/tjänster, kallas "acting as an informed client". Fastighetsföretag bör vara mer involverade med sina nyckelintressenter, allt för att kunna förbättra sin produktivitet och sitt samhällsansvar. Klusterteori identifierar hur olika sektorer kan vara sammankopplade i form av samarbeten, något som uppkommit genom en geografisk koncentrering av olika företag. Effekterna från klustring är åtskilda och beror oftast på karaktären av klustret, vilken typ av produkter/tjänster som klustret erbjuder, samt vilka typer av företag som är inkluderade i klustret. Genom att kombinera klusterteori med intressenthantering, ges fastighetsföretag möjlighet att utveckla sin kunskap gällande intressenters sammankopplingar, något som kan komma att stärka den pågående utvecklingen av Stockholms olika kluster. Syftet med examensarbetet är att bidra till pågående forskning inom området för intressenthantering, med hjälp av klusterteori. En kvantitativ och kvalitativ studie har genomförts, den kvalitativa studien baseras på en enkät. Totalt deltog 64 butikshyresgäster (80% svarsfrekvens) och 28 kontorshyresgäster (12% svarsfrekvens) i studien. Resultatet från den kvantitativa och kvalitativa studien har triangulerats, med avsikt att öka reliabiliteten av studien. Både butiks-och kontorshyresgäster var inbjudna till att delta i studien och korrelationen mellan de två fokusgrupperna fastställdes, allt för att kunna mäta kontorshyresgästers förhållningssätt gentemot klustringseffekter. Resultatet från studien visar att sektorer så som information- och kommunikation, företagstjänster, kredit- och försäkringar anses vara klustrade. Det högsta värdet gällande grunden för kunskapsdiversifiering uppmättes av dessa sektorer, vilket i sin tur symboliserar att företag inom klusterna delar gemensamma kunskapsområden. Butikshyresgäster värderar faktorer så som, anpassade produkter (fråga 3) och närheten till sina kunder (fråga 6), medan kontorshyresgästerna värderar personliga kontakter (fråga 24) och närheten till snabba transportmöjligheter (fråga 10). Ytterligare så uppvisar butikshyresgäster ett intresse för klustringseffekter, medan kontorshyresgäster uppvisar ringa intresse eller olika intresse gällande klustringseffekter, vilket kan förklaras med den insignifikanta korrelationen mellan de två grupperna. Slutsatsen från examensarbetet är att mer kvalitativ forsning inom området är nödvändigt, för att kunna säkerställa huruvida kontorshyresgäster värderar klustringseffekter. Vidare ska ytterligare forskning fokusera på sektorer som anses vara klustrade inom Stockholmsområdet, allt för att kunna urskilja hur fastighetsföretagen ska kunna utveckla sin intressenthantering. Studien påvisar att det finns företag på Stockholmsmarknaden som använder sig av klustringseffekter och att fastighetsföretagen bör aktivt föra en dialog med dessa företag, för att kunna agera som ett "företag i samhället".