Title: Territorial identities and fusions- regional identity by interregional fusions Level: Final assignment for Bachelors Degree in Social Science with specialization in Urban and Regional Planning. Major subject: Geography. Author: Mladen Krajisnik Supervisor: Carl-Johan Nordblom Date: 2009 May Intention: The main focus of this study is to verify the existence, or nonexistence, of local and regional identities. Considering the result regarding regional identities, this thesis will continue on to clarify if these identities are to be seemed as a threat or resource during fusions, and if so, how can one best manage these different identities.Method: Only secondary data has been used in this study. I've botanized amongst the literature that processes fusions, impact of culture, identities, regions, territory. Continuing on, the collected empirical resources have been compared to my theory, from which an analysis was able to be spawned and conclusions were drawn.Result & Conclusions: The thesis confirms different regional identities, although it does not treat the subject regarding the inner strength of regions comparing to one another.

The aim of the study was to examine individuals' experiences of participating in 5 week mindfulness program as a tool for job seekers. Qualitative methods were used to inter­view three students and two mindfulness educators. The informants were asked to an­swer questions about their experiences of having participated or practiced mindfulness in the project. The results showed that all respondents experienced the project as positive. The partici­pants describe that the project helped them to get out and meet other people and with routines in their life. The par­ticipants also said that unemployment caused alienation and they felt themselves to have poorer health when they were unemployed.

Essay in political science, D-level, by Samanta Pudic´, spring semester 2009. Tutor: AlfSundin. ?Implementation of a job guarantee for young people. - A study on the struggleagainst unemployment at the municipal level?The purpose of this dissertation is to examine if municipalities could affect theimplementation of labour market policy measures to reduce unemployment among youngpeople.

I have conducted a review on four countries in Scandinavia and the goal was to create a better understanding about what has caused homelessness in this countries. The result shows that the causes of homelessness can be explained by a variety of reasons. The most common causes of homelessness were related to mental illness and drug abuse. There where also other causes of homelessness, which was considered normal in Scandinavia. Examples of other causes were eviction, unemployment, housing policy, housing shortage, payment of debts, separations and family problems..

Since the 2006 election, the debate surrounding the Swedish labour market policy has intensified. There has been a discussion about a need for change towards a more flexible labour market. An example of this is on the other side of the strait, in neighbouring Denmark. Their flexicurity model, ?the golden triangle?, is characterized by a flexible labour market, generous unemployment benefits and active labour market policies.

ABSTRACTCan Danish experience explain why Sverigedemokraterna had a higher support among voters in Skåne, than among other Swedish voters?Essay in Political Science, C-levelAuthor: Jenny WoodTutor: Gregg Bucken-KnappAutumn 2006/ Spring 2007The key question of this essay concerns the outcome of Sweden?s latest election. When all the votes where counted, the county of Skåne showed an exceptionally high support for the right wing nationalist party Sverigedemokraterna. Why then, did Sverigedemokraterna have a higher support among voters in Skåne (as part of the larger and transnational Öresund region), than among other Swedish voters? My hypothesis is the following: the regional interaction within Öresund has not only had positive effects concerning the values that the people of Skåne hold.

The aim of this study was to examine the view that officials involved in youth unemployment have on the significance of collaboration between organizations working with unemployed youth. The study was based on nine qualitative interviews with officials from PES offices and from municipalities such as job coaches. The results were analyzed based on qualitative content analysis. The analysis led to two different themes: conditions and the individual. In the analysis two different theories were used, new institutionalism and Lipsky's theory about street-level bureaucrats.

The purpose of this study was to examine what participants in the third phase (fas 3) of the Swedish unemployment program, Jobb- och utvecklingsgarantin, think about their situation, what they think about the program and if they feel stigmatized due to their unemployment. The data for the study was collected at one of the organizers of the program, which provides an introduction program for the participants. A qualitative method was used and the data was collected through six semi-structured interviews. The results were analyzed using Antonovskys theory of Sense of Coherence (SOC). The conclusions of the study were that the participants felt support from the staff at the organizer.

The formation of sovereign states in regional blocks has become an essential feature in the world system. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate which motives and driving forces that affect the creation of projects of regional integration outside Europe and the Western World. By choosing the Latin American project of integration ALBA (the Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas) as a case of regional integration outside Europe and the Western World, the study investigates the motives expressed by the most prominent actors of the project, Venezuela and Cuba. ALBA is chosen as a representative and a unique case and through the consumption of the gramscian and the realist approaches, the essay defines two motives that affect the creation of projects of regional integration. As a way of investigating the actors? motives, the paper studies political statements, especially those of the Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, and official positions expressed in central documents and declarations.

The purpose of this thesis is to critically investigate how to understand the regional transformations that are occurring in Sweden and Denmark. At a higher level of abstraction the results can be generalised to a wider context and I have found that there is an ideological hegemony that explains the regional transformation. Nation states are reterritorialising due to a changing world where global capital is becoming increasingly flexible and competition between states, regions and municipalities is needed to adjust. By using Sandberg's model of structural reforms I have shown that the differences between Sweden's and Denmark's reterritorialisation are due to differences in national political culture and existing administrative systems. In fact these two structural reforms are based on the same regionalist ideology as a reaction to the changing global economy.To investigate the regional transformations I have carried out an idea and ideology analysis on the recent Swedish proposal from Ansvarskommittén, Strukturkommissionen in Denmark and the proposal by the Danish government which was carried out in 2007.

This thesis examines the Swedish labour market with a focus on the immigrant part off the population. There are big differences between the immigrant and particular non-European immigrant part off the population and native Swedes. In the first part off this thesis I will show that immigrants in Sweden have a higher rate of unemployment, lower rate off employment, lower wage incomes, higher risk off unemployment and are overrepresented in low skilled, low status jobs. Even when controlling for different factors such as education level, knowledge in the Swedish language, age etc. a big gap remains.

Sweden has for years been struggling with high youth unemployment. The problem is also a hot topic of discussion among experts and politicians, often leading to different proposals to solve the problem. The government chose in 2006 to do something about youth unemployment by lowering payroll taxes for employees up to 25 years. But many experts and studies show that the effects failed to materialize.This study will try to find out if the government subsidies have given any effect on the youth unenployment either by new jobs created or by movement in the labor force. I will use a regression model with an dependent, "difference in difference" variable where the change in the number of employed young people are compared to the change in the number of employed in the subsequent age group.The results show that subsidies are not given any positive effect on the youth employment rate in relation to the subsequent age group..

The following essay aims at the interplay between regional och municipal growth work, and theway cultural heritage is used in growth work strategies. The main issue has been whether theregional strategies are followed up in the municipal strategies, which has been investigated bymeans of question which impact the region?s strategies has at the local level.The essay draws upon an instrumental perspective on cultural heritage and cultural environment,here defined as instruments in the national development and growth efforts. Three publicationsthat highlights potential roles of cultural heritage and cultural environment to act as instrumentsin the regional and municipal development and growth efforts has thereby been selected astheoretical models. These roles has further been summarized in a tabular form as a schematicdivision of main themes with sub-categories, used as a framework for deciphering the regionaland municipal strategies.A content analysis of available strategies at both regional and local levels have been used as amethod for investigating the issue, where the role of cultural heritage and cultural environment(as defined in the schematic table) has guided the reading.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) promotes the Ecosystem Approach (EA). In this thesis it is analyzed how the EA approach could be applied to regional management of coastal areas in Sweden. The aim of this report is to compare management for preserving biodiversity on a landscape level in two regional coastal areas in Uppsala and Västra Götaland respectively. In Uppsala, one of the plans consists of a previous nature reserve and in Västra Götaland, a Regional landscape strategy has been established. The ecosystem approach is used as a theoretical framework in this thesis.

The Regional Forestry Board in Värmland- Örebro needs increased knowledge on silviculture in broad- leaved forests. This thesis is an inventory of naturally regenerated broad leaved forests, and the results from the inventory have been compared with The Regional Forestry Board?s demands on regeneration results. The result of this inventory was that the regenerated sites were suitable for broad leaved trees, but only half the number of the stands fulfilled the demands of regeneration results of The Regional Forestry Board, mainly because of gaps in the stands. The gaps in the stands were mainly caused by lack of soil preparation and seed trees..