Academic literature on the topic 'Social sciences -> social sciences -> regional studies'

<p>Regionalism is a concept of extensive proportions and as such is complex to define. This phenomenon becomes much clearer by studying it from different perspectives. This paper focuses on regional political parties and description of their political ideas. The goal of this paper is to examine and compare regional political parties in two Swedish regions: Norrbotten and Skåne. By studying two biggest regional parties in these regions, namely Norrbottensparti and Skånepartiet, I will try to get an insight into the regional politics, as well as illustrate regionalism and its meaning. My primary intention is to examine how these two regional parties experience their regions and what they consider of importance in regional development. By studying these regional parties and their opinion/apprehension about regional politics and their ideological/political affiliation, I will try to illustrate an ideological dimension of regionalism. My intention is to point out differences and similarities between politics of these regional parties, as well as to illustrate approach to the regionalism and its meaning.</p>

<p>Denna C-uppsats syftar till att nå förståelse kring de betingelser som möjliggör strategisk samverkan för kompetensförsörjning. Formen för samverkan är ett nätverk. Studien har sin utgångspunkt i politiska dokument, på olika nivåer, som betonar vikten av mer lärande. En region har skapat ett nätverk, där förhoppningarna är att skapa mer lärande och att regionen därigenom har tillräckligt med kompetens för att vara självbärande ekonomiskt sett, vilket också är det globala målet med lärandet. Det ses som en lösning, av flera, som ska kunna hålla vår välfärd på samma nivå som nu. Det innebär också att lärandet inte längre bara betraktas som individorienterat, utan också samhällsorienterat. </p><p>Studien har genomförts med hjälp av halvstrukturerade intervjuer där informanterna representerar olika yrkeskategorier inom samma nätverk.</p><p>Resultatet visar att det finns en mångfald av indikatorer som både möjliggör och hindrar samverkan. Av de faktorer som möjliggör samverkan finns goda relationer som nyckelord. Det som kan hindra samverkan är bland annat personligheter och strukturproblem. Studien visar också att ett nätverk mycket väl kan tjäna som medel för att strategiskt kompetensförsörja en region. Viktiga incitament är bland annat att det finns ett klart och uppnåeligt mål som alla i nätverket varit med och tagit fram och att representanterna i nätverket har stark tilltro till nätverkets arbete och uppnåelsemål, då det visat sig att stödet och intresset från det egna företaget kan vara dåligt.</p>

<p>I Sverige har det pågått en fyra decennier lång regiondebatt om hur den regionala förvaltningen ska organiseras. Denna debatt har resulterat i ett beslut om en försöksverksamhet med regionalt självstyre i fyra län från 1 juli 1997 till 31 december 2002. I den regionala försöksverksamheten som ytterligare har förlängts till 2006 ingår Kalmar, Gotland, Skåne och Västra Götaland. De två sistnämnda regionerna är mitt undersökningsmål. Syftet med denna uppsats är att lyfta fram de väsentliga faktorer/element som kan relateras till och förknippas med regional identitet. Fokus för min uppsats ligger på svenska regioner och regiondebatt.Den regionala identiteten har uppmärksammats av många forskare och debattörer eftersom den ses som en förutsättning för en regional kontinuitet och framgångsrik utveckling. En hel del politiska debatter ägnar sig antingen åt att tona ned eller lyfta fram den regionala identitetens betydelse för den nationella statens framtida roll och status. Mitt undersökningsområde är regionerna Skåne och Västra Götaland och uppsatsens fokus ligger på den regionala identiteten.</p>

In the past decades, exacerbating regional disparities in the European Union as well as the newly joined Eastern European states have led to a growing interest in examining the spatial embeddedness of development. Hungary, a small and very monocentric country, has experienced rapid growth in the region of its capital city and its surrounding, whereas formerly lagging regions continued to fall behind. This thesis examines growing regional disparities in Hungary in order to provide a more comprehensive overview of the phenomenon and synthesise a growing body of both Hungarian and international literature based on their relevance for Hungary. As regional disparities rarely form an explicit research subject, the first aim of this thesis was to establish a suitable method for a comprehensive national level analysis. Within a mixed methodological framework, three theoretical perspectives on regional development were selected to analyse and reveal structural disparities, which were set in contrast with GDP levels of regions. On the one hand, the method proved to be useful to establish a refined rank order of the regions based on their approximated level and speed of development. On the other hand, the three different perspectives revealed structural strength and weaknesses underlying general development level of regions. The results did confirm the multiple advantages of the most developed regions, as well as the complex disadvantage of the most backward regions. Based on this experience a further increase in disparity levels can be expected in Hungary. Regions between the two extremes showed more heterogeneous outcomes across the perspectives, revealing very different development path and structural problems behind the performance level of these regions. Taken together, these findings support the heightening need of decentralization in Hungary, in order to tackle growing regional disparities and establish policy responses at a regional level.

Planning and managing outdoor recreational resources at larger spatial scales, conceptualized as a regional approach to recreation planning and management, is studied. Considering and understanding the role of spatial scale has been beneficial to the field of ecology; however, the importance of spatial scale has rarely been considered in the recreation resource management literature. A regional approach to planning and management is differentiated from a site-specific approach as managers and planners must consider the implications of management actions or policies at a larger spatial scale than a single park, recreation area, lake, or reservoir. For this study, the provision of boating opportunities at Utah lakes and reservoirs is considered. Multiple data collection techniques, both quantitative and qualitative, were applied in this study. Additionally, two distinct groups of respondents participated: (1) park managers and their staff; and (2) boaters (individuals who own boats registered in Utah). Data were collected at three different spatial scales: (1) lake or reservoir level (site); regional level; and (3) state level. Multiple analytical approaches were used to ascertain both groups' perspectives towards a variety of topics important to recreation management including content analysis and cluster analysis, as well as considering experience use history. The results suggest implementing a regional approach is more complicated and inclusive than providing a wide range of recreational opportunities. The organizational capacity of the managing agencies, along with their ability to cooperate with other governmental and private organizations, is also important. Also, considering larger spatial scales increases an agency's options to address various challenges such as conflict, displacement, recreation succession, and homogenization and sub-optimization. As such, when prescriptive decisions about where various recreational opportunities ought to be provided, management problems and issues and agency capacity should also be considered. This dissertation also provides a model for conducting regional analyses.

Asking the question "can regional and community web portals become sustainable?" demands a foray into many different disciplines. Sociology, education, business, strategic and knowledge management, organisational theory, relationship management and current technological trends and capabilities are some of the areas on which community projects, such us the development of communities on-line, are founded.

Regional säkerhetskomplex-teori är en central del av Köpenhamnsskolan, och den beskriver säkerhet som något som sker framför allt på en regional analysnivå. Teorin kan beskrivas som en blandning mellan neorealism och konstruktivism, sett ur ett regionalistiskt perspektiv.I den här uppsatsen försöker jag ta reda på vad den här teorin tillför till förståelsen av säkerhetspolitik, utöver vad vi lär oss av konventionell neorealistisk eller liberal teori. Detta gör jag genom två fallstudier där de olika teorierna jämförs med varandra och deras förklaringskraft studeras. Min ena fallstudie handlar om Europa, den andra om den post-sovjetiska sfären med fokus på Ryssland. Jag drar slutsatsen att regional säkerhetskomplex-teori har både för- och nackdelar jämfört med dominerande teorier. Dess styrka är förmågan att omfatta flera olika regioner i världen trots att deras säkerhetsdynamik skiljer sig markant från varandra. Teorin lämnar också utrymme för icke-statliga aktörer och icke-militära aspekter av säkerhet. Vidare så ger den oss ett komplext samspel mellan olika analysnivåer.Bland teorins svagheter finns en brist på kausalitet, otydliga konstruktivistiska variabler, samt problem med att beskriva överlappningar mellan olika regioner.<br>Regional security complex theory is a centerpiece of the Copenhagen school, and it primarily describes security on a regional level-of-analysis. The theory can be described as mixture of neorealism and constructivism, all seen from a regionalist point-of-view. The purpose of this thesis is to find out what this theory contributes to the understanding of security, apart from what conventional theory, such as neorealism and liberalism, teaches us. I will try to accomplish this thru two case studies where different theories are compared to each other and their explanatory power is studied. One of my case studies is on Europe, the other on the post-soviet sphere, focused on Russia. I conclude that regional security complex theory has both pros and cons. Its strength lies in the ability to encompass regions all over the world, despite the significant differences in their respective security dynamics. The theory also leaves space for non-state actors and non-military aspects of security. Further more, it describes a complex interplay of different levels-of-analysis.The weaknesses of the theory include a lack of causality, unclear constructivist variables, as well as an inability to describe regional overlapping.

<p> The overarching goal of this thesis is to explore and assess infrastructure-environment-health interactions in Indian cities, addressing social factors such as wealth and literacy, as well as the provision of multiple infrastructures. </p><p> Five main studies are conducted. First, exploration of Delhi all-cause mortality data and survey of local experts on associations between infrastructures, environment, and health outcomes. Key findings include: a) that 50% of deaths in Delhi are reported with cause not classified (demonstrating the need for bottom-up study to supplement hospital data) and b) that ~19% of classified deaths by cause in Delhi, India could be related to infrastructure or infrastructure-related environmental factors. </p><p> Second, review of epidemiology studies relating health outcomes to infrastructure and pollution exposure in Indian and Asian cities is conducted to help identify initial evidence and gaps for infrastructure-related health effects and quantification of differential risk based on social factors (e.g. low socio-economic status (SES)). </p><p> Third, top-down analyses using national survey of under age-five mortality rates (U5MR) by multiple infrastructure conditions are studied while addressing confounding social factors. A key finding is that the relative risk for under-five mortality rates are 860% higher in Urban India for those lacking multiple basic infrastructure provisions relative to improved conditions for low SES condition and limited literacy households. These analyses demonstrates limited literacy household sensitivity and importance of considering multiple infrastructures together over single infrastructure improvements. </p><p> Fourth, bottom-up comparative community study helps characterize infrastructure, environment, extreme weather conditions and local sustainability priorities. A key finding was that households deprived of infrastructure provisions would prioritize that first over pollution or extreme weather conditions. In addition, both low SES communities studied were different in their coverage of all infrastructures except cooking fuels. In the high SES area, infrastructure conditions were ranked as a highest priority (e.g. drainage) with pollution and climate-related extreme weather events still higher priorities than low SES areas, which selected water supply, parks and open space, and drainage as highest priorities. Multiple dimensions of access to healthcare conditions in the same neighborhoods were explored next with findings indicating the two low SES areas to have similar travel costs to reach care and different abilities to pay for care. The high SES area also had higher accessibility to care yet with quality of care less acceptable relative to low SES areas that had issues with wait times, affordability, and access- suggesting future study should address such factors and effects on health outcomes. </p><p> Finally, data availability, needs, and challenges are explored for computing health benefits of multiple infrastructure interventions, while also identifying preliminary intervention scenarios and who may benefit more or less by age, gender, and SES. </p><p> These efforts offer a preliminary approach to helping prioritize future decision-making in Asian cities by demonstrating initial methods that can be useful for modeling risks and interactions between infrastructure provisions, environment, and health.</p>

Denna masteruppsats undersöker vilka intressen det är som formar den regionala utvecklingsplaneringen utifrån ett perspektiv av regionförstoring och hållbar mobilitet. Globaliseringen har resulterat i att konkurrensen om förutsättande faktorer för en ekonomisk tillväxt idag sker mellan regioner. Regioner har således genom den regionala utvecklingsplaneringen identifierats till att vara nyckelaktörer för att erhålla ekonomisk tillväxt. En strategi för detta är regionförstoring då en utvidgad geografisk funktionalitet stärker den regionala konkurrenskraften gentemot andra regioner. Parallellt har regioner identifierats till att vara nyckelaktörer för en omställning till ett hållbart mobilitetsparadigm vilket står i konflikt med det ökade transportarbetet som orsakas av regionförstoring. Detta innebär att avvägningar behöver göras inom den regionala utvecklingsplaneringen. Utifrån hur regioner uttrycker och hanterar den konflikterande relationen mellan regionförstoring och hållbar mobilitet syftar studien till att undersöka vilka intressen det är som styr den regionala utvecklingsplaneringen och då även formar hur samhället utvecklas. Genom strategi- och policydokument som är vägledande för regional utveckling har den regionala utvecklingsplaneringen i Region Jönköpings län, Region Örebro län och Region Östergötland studerats. Slutsatserna påvisar hur kombinationen av den regionala utvecklingsplaneringsprocessens begränsade utrymme för medborgardeltagande och betydelsen som det regionala näringslivet tilldelas för att säkra regionens konkurrenskraft och överlevnad har resulterat i att näringslivets intressen konsekvent tillgodoses inom den regionala utvecklingsplaneringen. Studiens slutsatser stärker befintlig forskning om hur en tillväxtorienterad utveckling riskerar att cementera strukturer som ekologiskt påfrestande transportvanor, de traditionella könsrollerna och socioekonomisk segregation. Avslutningsvis påvisas även studiens slutsatser ett behov av att nyansera barnperspektivet inom den regionala utvecklingsplaneringen då även barnperspektivet har utformats efter näringslivets intressen.

For sustainable development of Blekinge to be carved out in a strategic manner,steps taken need to be coordinated in the right direction(i.e. towards meeting basic principles of socio-ecological sustainability).One part of this project looks into the various steps that could be taken to reach sustainability at a principle level.The other part looks at the importance of mutual cooperation among various stakeholders within the region.We look at current steps been taken and the potential for cooperation in the region. Our study reveals that many opportunities exist, both for strategic steps towards sustainability and for ways Blekinge organizations could cooperate to achieve them.We found that opportunities exist in the areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency,transportation and regional cooperation.In particular,this study identified significant opportunities to expand networks of cooperation in Blekinge.For instance, expansion of advocacy groups, expansion of railway and cooperation for alternative fuels among organizations and municipalities are all opportunities.