The aim of this thesis is to clarify the affect that preferential and Regional trade agreements have on the World Trade Organization (WTO), as being establisher of the international trading regime. The essay is an explanatory literature study, which strives to answer the following questions:Are Regional and preferential trade agreements a threat or a complement to the WTO?Is an undermining of the MFN principle weakening the WTO?How do Regional trade agreements made by the EU affect the future of the WTO?The empirical material is to be analyzed using an explanatory framework, which is based on neo-liberal instutionalism, theories on regime changes and a game theoretical approach, using prisoner?s dilemma. I will employ the EU-ACP relation, the Cotonou agreement to exemplify how an agreement of this kind can have an influence on multilateral trade. The result shows that preferential agreements do have an impact on the WTO, one that is fairly negative in scope.

This thesis focuses on the mass media cover of ?Smart textiles?. The Swedish?smart? textiles are developed in Borås and are a mix of ordinary textile and new technology.  I analyse the article with a text analysis method, looking at themes and the language?s propositions in focus. Context and the actors in the articles are also important in the analysis.Many women occur as developers of the new smart technical product, a field often knowed as a typical male subject.

European cities of today are under the challenge to find ways to stay competitive and flourish in a rapidly changing world, where the old patterns of centrality and periphery not necessarily holds true. New and improved communication networks, a changed political geography in Europe, and the globalisation of not only the financial and industrial markets but also to a certain extent the globalisation of people, have all led to great challenges for cities and regions.In a changed spatial reality the classic monocentric models are challenged by newer models of urbanisation. The polycentric urban region is one such model which has been used to describe urban regions like the Randstad in the Netherlands and the Rhein-Ruhr region in Germany. Regions which lack the single dominant central city of the monocentric models of old, and instead shows a high degree of more equal-sized and sometimes more specialised cities in Regional cooperation. The polycentric urban region is in that aspect a possible model for how other urbanised regions in Europe may act to be able to position themselves as attractive urban regions and Regional hubs in the European urban network.Polycentric urban regions are not a universal solution, though.

This bachelor?s thesis report aims to investigate the problems that exist with the ticketing systems ofthe various Regional public transportation authorities, specifically with regards to inexperiencedtravellers and cross-county travel.This is done in part through a comprehensive survey for all of Sweden where both the Regional publictransportation authorities and passengers were asked about their opinions, as well as a throughin-depth survey focused on the counties of Stockholm and Uppsala. The results of these surveys arethen compiled and analyzed to identify the biggest common problems.The tree biggest problems prove to be a complicated implementation, lack of availability and lack ofinformation. In order to improve the ticketing system it is therefore proposed to implement asimplified ticketing system, as well as improved accessibility and information.         .

We have a business proposal. Instead of the consumers visit the country side in order to purshase we are interested in starting a shop with only Regional produced products in the city. We have our base in a part of Sweden called Östergötland, therefore we have investigated the market for such a store in Östergötlands biggest city, called Linköping. The conclusion is that the store must sell food produced in the region. Another conlusion is that the store must be located near a bigger supermarket. Our main selling points are quality and that the food is produced in the near region.

Denna uppsats undersöker kommungemensam översiktsplanerings funktion som ett verktyg för Regional utveckling. Traditionell översiktsplanering sker inom en kommuns gränser för att peka ut önskad samhällsutveckling inom kommunen, men det finns idag exempel på kommuner som i ett försök att greppa komplexa kommunöverskridande frågor genomför delar av sin översiktsplanering tillsammans med närliggande funktionellt sammankopplade kommuner. Först i landet med denna typ av plansamarbete var Linköpings och Norrköpings kommun i Östergötland genom sin plan Gemensam översiktsplan för Linköping och Norrköping som vann laga kraft 2010. Utifrån exemplet Linköping och Norrköping diskuteras i uppsatsen kommungemensam översiktsplanering i förhållande till omkringliggande kommuner, dagens Regionala- och kommunala planeringssystem och analyserna ställs mot teorier kring bland annat Regionalisering samt storstäders betydelse för samhällsutveckling i en globaliserad värld.Genom textanalys av Linköping och Norrköpings gemensamma översiktsplan, samt intervjuer med nyckelpersoner inom översiktsplanering i de två kommunerna och regionförbundet Östsam har en kärnproblematik belysts i att Regionala grepp tas inom kommunal planering för större geografisk yta än vad kommunerna har rådighet över. Den gemensamma planen upplevs få en Regional betydelse genom en statusökning gentemot traditionella översiktsplaner och kan tolkas styra den Regionala utvecklingen genom att greppa frågor kring samhällsutveckling kopplat till städernas arbetsmarknadsregioner..

Det här examensarbetet har syftet till att undersöka hur integrerad trafik- och samhällsplanering kan bidra till ett mer hållbart transportsystem. I uppsatsen diskuteras olika hinder och barriärer som uppkommer i en integrerad planering. Examensarbetet är i huvudsak av kvalitativ karaktär. En litteraturstudie har genomförts om hur trafik- och samhällsplaneringen kan integreras. Det empiriska materialet består av en fallstudie genomfördes i Örebro regionen, i kommunerna Örebro, Kumla och Hallsberg.

The focus on this essay is derived from an international and national dialogue for sustainable development. The recommendation from international level has been to find solutions for governments to implement strategies for sustainable development between local and Regional level. This initiative is to improve and stimulate the dialogue between the local inhabitants, officials, entrepreneurs and stakeholders in the communities together with the authorities on the Regional level. The purpose is to share knowledge and find ways to learn about the natural systems and how to co-operate in the work of preserving the natural resources and developing different processes for a sustainable development. Many scientists? today stress the importance that ecosystem resilience is promoted by biodiversity conservation and that we need to find solutions for local ecosystem management practices.This essay aims to find theoretical approaches and perspectives that can be used in a wider framework to study co-operative processes between the local (agent) and Regional (structure) level.

Kultursatsningar motiveras idag samhällsekonomiskt med kulturens positiva externa effekter i form av kulturturism, multiplikatoreffekter och förbättringar av en regions image. Den här uppsatsen vill infoga ett nytt perspektiv i diskussionen om kulturens samhällsekonomiska nytta genom att lyfta fram den kreativitetshöjande potential som finns i de olika konstnärliga uttrycksformerna som musik, teater, litteratur, bildkonst, dans, o.s.v. En kreativ förmåga att komma på nya idéer har alltid varit viktig för att en ekonomi ska utvecklas. Enligt nya rön ifrån Richard Florida, professor i Regional ekonomisk utveckling vid Carnegie Mellon University i Pittsburgh, så står vi dock vid ett nytt ekonomiskt strukturskifte där kreativiteten kommer att spela en alltmer avgörande roll för den ekonomiska tillväxten. Uppsatsens hypotes är att aktiv ?kulturkonsumtion? kan öka kreativitetsnivån hos individer och att kultursatsningar på det sättet bidrar till den Regionala ekonomiska tillväxten.

The relationship between free trade and the environment is often considered conflicting and the debates surrounding it are infected. My thesis deal with this conflict and how environmental concerns are integrated in three Regional free trade agreements, North American Free Trade Agreement, The common market of the southern cone (MERCOSUR) and Southern African Development Community (SADC). I point out how the organizations differ from each other in this respect and I present a possible explanation to why they differ. The explanation is founded on the theory of the environmental Kuznets curve and that environmental concerns will depend on which level of development the member states in the organizations have. To judge and rank the organizations I have composed a model based on a pre-existing description of the trade and environment conflict.

Recent years there has been discussed how the critical situation in the housing market threatens the Stockholm region's growth. The thesis objective is to examine whether there is a scientific link between the lack of housing supply and growth. The thesis also intends to identify solutions for increased housing construction, for instance by examining the conditions for a greater Regional perspective and influence on the region's housing supply. The thesis empirical study is based on semi-structured interviews with representatives from the Government, municipalities and the housing industry.In Sweden, research on the relationship between housing shortages and growth has not been conducted to that extent it can be said to exist scientific evidence regarding the growth threat. However, in Britain and the U.S, empirical studies show that a lack of housing supply has hindered growth through negative impact on countries' gross domestic product.

The aim of this study is to try to explain the process using both an actor driven perspective as well as a structural perspective examining the reasons why the County Council of Värmland wants to merge with Region Västra Götaland. The answers to the following research questions are sought to shed light on the problem: What constrained the discretion of  the political actors in the choice of region to merge with? Which role did  different political actors play? Does the study provide Game Theory, from Rational Choice theory,  and Path Dependency, from Historic Institutionalism, a new perspective and strength especially  when bringing them together? The study is limited to two policy areas, health care and Regional development policy. The structural background is drawn upon the Annual Report 2008 of the County Council Värmland, the Regional Development Program and Regional Transport Infrastructure Plan 2010-2021 by Region Värmland. The chronological order of decisions and events is drawn upon protocols from various Regional political organs all linked to the municipal of Värmland and the correspondence between the officials of Värmland?s municipal and the Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency of the State.

Recent years there has been discussed how the critical situation in the housing market threatens the Stockholm region's growth. The thesis objective is to examine whether there is a scientific link between the lack of housing supply and growth. The thesis also intends to identify solutions for increased housing construction, for instance by examining the conditions for a greater Regional perspective and influence on the region's housing supply. The thesis empirical study is based on semi-structured interviews with representatives from the Government, municipalities and the housing industry.In Sweden, research on the relationship between housing shortages and growth has not been conducted to that extent it can be said to exist scientific evidence regarding the growth threat. However, in Britain and the U.S, empirical studies show that a lack of housing supply has hindered growth through negative impact on countries' gross domestic product.

Att bevarandet av biologisk mångfald är en grundpelare för att nå en hållbar utveckling enades världens länder om i Konventionen om biologisk mångfald (CBD) som upprättades under toppmötet i Rio de Janeiro 1992. I konventionen förespråkas den s.k. ekosystemansatsen (EA), vilket är en strategi som innebär en helhetssyn på ekosystem. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka i vilken grad EA tillämpas på nationell och Regional nivå. Frågan är också om EA är en bra utgångspunkt för att upprätthålla biologisk mångfald på landskapsnivå samt vad som kan öka tillämpningen av EA på Regional nivå.

Recent years there has been discussed how the critical situation in the housing market threatens the Stockholm region's growth. The thesis objective is to examine whether there is a scientific link between the lack of housing supply and growth. The thesis also intends to identify solutions for increased housing construction, for instance by examining the conditions for a greater Regional perspective and influence on the region's housing supply. The thesis empirical study is based on semi-structured interviews with representatives from the Government, municipalities and the housing industry.In Sweden, research on the relationship between housing shortages and growth has not been conducted to that extent it can be said to exist scientific evidence regarding the growth threat. However, in Britain and the U.S, empirical studies show that a lack of housing supply has hindered growth through negative impact on countries' gross domestic product.