| 1. |
- Anne, Ouma, 1963-
(författare)
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From Rural Gift to Urban Commodity : Traditional Medicinal Knowledge and Socio-spatial Transformation in the Eastern Lake Victoria Region
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- As we celebrate all the dynamic and dramatic improvements in human health care in the 21st century, life in much of Africa begins with and is sustained with the support of traditional medicinal knowledge. Research on traditional medicinal knowledge (TMK) is extensive, but rather few studies have been written about Traditional Healers' (THs') own perceptions about TMK and practices in relation to changing societal dynamics.The aim of this thesis is to examine how THs perceive on going socio-spatial transformation, including contemporary processes of urbanization, migration, commercialization and commodification of TMK, as well as changing dynamics of learning and knowledge systems between generations and genders and how these affect their medicinal healing practices in time and space.The thesis consists of four main empirical chapters, which derive from different data sources including literature, documentation review and qualitative interview material. The findings in this thesis can be summarised as follows: First that TMK today exists side by side with modern health systems, in what are seen as complex patterns of medical pluralism that provide evidence of an evolving role the TH plays in primary health care, in the rural and urban space. Youthful migrating population dynamics that are linked to historical processes, have effectively carved an emerging cross-sectoral role of the TH in the formal space.Secondly the developing legislation on IPR and ABS in parallel with the representation of an earlier official formal governance around TMK in Tanzania; and the difference in the sectors where TMK is anchored in the two contexts, could have paved way to some earlier collaborative mechanisms, that today provide space to enable a more natural engagement between formal and informal organizations involved in the governance of TMK in Tanzania. Thirdly, the practical ways in which TMK learning processes, which are characterized by learning systems in place, being sent and visiting sacred places that are lived by an apprentice over a number of years, have increasingly come under pressure. Fourthly the thesis shows approaches by THs, encouraging the youth to access conventional medicinal education followed by, or in parallel with TMK learned through traditional pedagogies employed by the THs themselves. The youth’s keen interest in learning TMK is seen to increase when they view improved livelihood possibilities due to the commercialization of medicinal plants. The future of TMK learning processes may be limited unless incentives are put in place for the youth regarding their future livelihoods. Fifth, gendered and generational dimensions suggest that older and some younger female THs reemphasize the values of the gift and TMK in a climate of increased commodification and commercialization of TMK, where TMK increasingly meets neoliberal processes, engaging an alternative paradigm than the gift economy, where a predominance of male TH’s in the urban space and places, increasingly define the diversification of the TMK livelihoods. The gift provided by a higher power and which is embedded in a particular cosmological view, to be used as a social service to help the community, is increasingly evolving as an emerging tested force in a changing ideological climate, with an increasing awareness of commodification, commercialization, IPR and ABS issues surrounding TMK. It implies awareness in relation to the increased benefits of commoditized and commercialized medicinal plant knowledge (which THs hold) for other individuals and institutions.The TH profession and TMK is seen as entering a contested IPR/ABS arena at a time when increasingly socio-spatial transformations are modifying its role from that of a gift to an owned commodity. However while the practice of TMK has changed over time and space, presenting new challenges as well as opportunities, it is also seen as a threat that anyone today can sell and market TMK products.
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| 2. |
- Eriksson, Rikard, 1979-
(författare)
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Labour mobility and plant performance : The influence of proximity, relatedness and agglomeration
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this thesis is to shed new light on the theorizations discussing the economic benefits of geographical clustering in a space economy increasingly characterized by globalization processes. This is made possible through the employment of a plant-perspective and a focus on how the relative fixity and mobility of labour influence plant performance throughout the entire Swedish economy. By means of the longitudinal micro database ASTRID, connecting attributes of individuals to features of plants and localities for the whole Swedish economy, the empirical findings indicate that both localization and urbanization economies produce significant labour market externalities and that such inter-plant linkages positively affect plant performance as compared to the partial effects of relative regional specialization and diversification. Moreover, it is also demonstrated that it is necessary both to distinguish how well the external skills retrieved via labour mobility match the existing knowledge base of plants and to determine the geographical dimension of such flows to verify the relative effect of labour market-induced externalities. Finally, it is demonstrated that whereas general urbanization is beneficial within close distance to the plant, the composition of economic activities is more influential at greater distances. In such cases the geographical dimension influences whether plants benefit from being located in similar or different local settings. In conclusion, it is argued that the circulation of labour skills, created and reproduced through the place-specific industrial setup, is crucial for understanding the mechanisms creating geographical variations in plant performance as compared to other regional conditions often proxied as relative specialization or diversification. This is because the relative fixity of labour tends to create place- and sector-specific skills which by means of their mobility in space are likely to facilitate the recombination of local skills, make the acquirement of non-local skills possible and secure sufficient affinity between economic actors by strengthening other dimensions of proximity – all aspects regarded as crucial to facilitate interactive learning processes and contribute to sustained regional growth.
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| 3. |
- Helgesson, Linda, 1973-
(författare)
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Getting Ready for Life : Life Strategies of Town Youth in Mozambique and Tanzania
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this dissertation is to explore how and under what conditions life strategies of young men and women unfold in the towns of Masasi in southern Tanzania and Montepuez in northern Mozambique. These towns are located in regions which in their national contexts are perceived as peripheral and rural. The thesis examines the life strategies of youth, with particular emphasis on livelihood, education and mobility. How the life strategies can be related to the representations of young people in national and local discourses, and how global processes are involved in young people’s daily lives are also examined. The fieldwork was conducted between 2002 and 2004 and the main part of the empirical material consists of structured and semi-structured interviews.Many young people are under substantial pressure to support themselves and their families, but a conflict exists between the expectations on youth to contribute to the household economy and their possibilities to do so. There is also a contradiction between being needed for labour and being trusted with responsibilities. Harsh economic conditions, combined with a weak position in terms of power, increase the vulnerability of young people in these places.Global processes influence young people’s lives, primarily expressed through changed patterns of consumption. However, there is a feeling of exclusion from globalisation in terms of work. Self-employment is promoted as a solution to poverty by the government and by various organisations, but young people contest this discourse and demand ‘real’ employment for themselves and for their children. Young people’s mobility experiences are mainly local due to a local social network and limited resources. Those with larger resources tend to be more mobile and the more privileged youth aspire to move to the larger cities or abroad. Agriculture is a complementary livelihood strategy, which implies that the rural economy still has an important function as a safety net within the urban landscape.
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| 4. |
- Hjort, Susanne, 1970-
(författare)
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Socio-economic differentiation and selective migration in rural and urban Sweden
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis is to analyse migration and socio-economic differentiation in rural and urban spaces: where people move, what the characteristics of migrants are and whether experiences of rural and urban space affect attitudes toward the local living environment and place attachment. The background consists of five themes discussing different aspects of socio-economic differentiation and selective migration, for example polarization and rural gentrification. Integrated in the five themes are summaries of the four papers. The first paper, The divided city? Socio-economic changes in Stockholm metropolitan area, 1970-1994, analyses the income distribution in the Stockholm metropolitan area using residential area statistics regarding income among residents. The results show that polarization and segregation has increased during the study period. The second paper, The attraction of the rural: Characteristics of rural migrants, analyses the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of migrants to the countryside in Sweden using individual register data. The results show that urban areas attract the young, the highly educated and those with high income while rural areas attract older migrants, the self employed and families, but when comparing rural areas, periurban countrysides were more attractive to those with high income and education than more remote areas. The third paper, Rural gentrification as a migration process: Evidence from Sweden, focuses on rural gentrification as a migration process and is based on an analysis of register data. The results show that rural gentrification in the remote countrysides of Sweden is of marginal importance. In the fourth paper, Place attachment and attitudes among young adults in rural/urban spaces, young adults’ (25-40 years of age) attitudes toward the rural/urban qualities of their local living environment and their place attachments are investigated using a survey. The results show that most people appreciate the environment they live in and they are also attached to this place. However, urban residents with a rural background seem less pleased with and are less attached to their present environment. In conclusion, migration selectivity works to reinforce both patterns of segregation and patterns of ageing. There is indication of both demographic and socio-economic polarization between and within rural and urban areas and this polarization is reinforced by selective migration flows. However, the results also indicate that rural areas are attractive living environments to many, particularly the periurban countryside and that there may be a rural migration potential among urban residents with a rural background.
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| 5. |
- Hjälm, Anna, 1977-
(författare)
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A family landscape : On the geographical distances between elderly parents and adult children in Sweden
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- With a background in the ageing of the population and the new challenges facing individuals, families and the welfare state, the aim of this thesis is to analyse the changing family landscape and the geographical distances between elderly parents and adult children. The thesis consists of four empirical studies derived from three different sources of data: In the first paper (Paper I), historical population data is combined with modern register data for two Swedish regions. In the second and third papers, individual-level register data covering the entire Swedish population serves as the empirical starting point. The fourth paper leaves the registers aside and builds upon interviews. Paper I provides an introduction and historical background to the question of intergenerational geographical proximity and distance. The paper analyses intergenerational distances and seeks to compare and discuss the significance of the variations. It is shown that concerning extreme proximity a great decrease has occurred over 200 years, however when it comes to having kin within reach the decrease is less dramatic, and that now, just as then, a majority of elderly parents have an adult child within reach. The article concludes that even though geographical distances between generations vary over time and space, no clear linear trend towards intergenerational geographical separation can be established. In Paper II we analyse some features and trends in intergenerational distances in Sweden. We find that 10% of all elderly parents have at least one child living very close and that a majority, 85%, have an adult child within reach. The study shows no clear trend towards increasing intergenerational separation, but suggests that periods of intense societal restructuring, such urbanisation, can lead to spells of increased intergenerational separation on an aggregated level. Paper III investigates whether, and to what extent, elderly parents and adult children move close to each other. We find that even though the older generation makes up a smaller share of the moves made, when they do move they are more likely to move closer to an adult child. Further, having more than one relative at a destination adds to the attraction, and that older elderly are less likely to move close to a child than younger elderly. One interpretation is that young-old parents serve as a resource for their adult children, while older elderly are more influenced by the need for welfare state based assistance. The last paper, IV, returns to the elderly parents living very close to an adult child. In interviews with 14 elderly the aim of the paper is to gain new understanding about the interaction between intergenerational proximity, assistance and the meaning of being close. Some of the issues raised in the paper relate to migration histories, reciprocity and independence.
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| 6. |
- Jonsson, Gunilla, 1967-
(författare)
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Rotad, rotlös, rastlös : Ung mobilitet i tid och rum
- 2003
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of this thesis is to survey and analyse young peoples’ geographical movements, and illustrate the similarities and differences that exist between different individuals.. The aim of the thesis is also to examine and discuss youth’s attitudes and motivation for different forms of geographical mobility. The youth focused on in this project reside in Norrland. The first phase, Mapping of the Geographical Movement of Youth, was carried out through the use of a questionnaire, sent to graduating students in upper secondary school. The second phase, Umeå Students Abroad, was carried out by interviewing Umeå students who had either completed or were about to begin a period of foreign exchange. The third phase, Emigrants from Sweden, is based on statistics acquired from Sweden Statistics’ (SCB) and from the TOPSWING database. Home: The starting point of this thesis is the conception of “home”. The choice of path to take in life, and where students wanted to live in the future had significance for how they examined the choice between moving and staying; and the role of the home town in a longer perspective as to how the students viewed Umeå. Away: It is not just the place that a person comes from that says something about who she is, but also the place where she is going and the way in which she takes herself there. Many of the upper secondary school students that took part in the questionnaire had been abroad one or more times. Furthermore, many of the students would like to travel abroad again. At the same time, it can be said that there are also young people that do not have extensive experiences in travelling to other countries. Somewhere between home and away: The study shows that students may have very different views of their time abroad. The Tourist Student is one who chooses his/her destination in order to fulfil certain criteria and then mainly stays in the university town, “taking one day at a time.” He or she does not have a thought-out strategy for how the stay abroad should be carried out. The Travelling Student is the student who searches for a particular destination and later also has the ambition to get to know the country and the people that live there. The travelling student can be said to have a thought-out strategy for how to make the most out of his or her time in a foreign country. When away becomes home – or when home becomes home again: The interview study shows that to live abroad or to live in Sweden acquired a different meaning if you had a family. To have a family gives rise to a reason why one may choose to move back to Sweden. On the other hand there were also students for whom the home country was not important. A large portion of those who emigrated from Sweden during the study period moved back again. For those with a college or university education, a few years abroad can be a part of their choice of life path. It is something that one wants and from a career prospective, possibly should do. Rooted, rootless or restless young? The rooted are those who mainly live their entire lives in one place. The rootless represent a mobile life, where there is no home base, instead they create new ones as life passes. I would like to characterise most of the young people that in one way or another is featured in my study as restless. The restless combine, in different ways, the characteristics of both the rooted and the rootless. They are not unwilling to move, within the country, as well as to other countries, but they are at the same time rooted in their home town or in their home country.
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| 7. |
- Khouangvichit, Damdouane, 1957-
(författare)
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Socio-Economic Transformation and Gender Relations in Lao PDR
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this study is to examine socio-economic transformation and gender relations in Lao PDR after the adoption of economic liberalization by the Lao government in the late 1980s. Against a background of general socio-economic transformation in Laos the main focus of the study is on the local level, with emphasis on how people in their everyday lives have engaged with and handled the changes. The application of economic liberalization shaped new conditions for people in local communities, and various livelihoods strategies were adopted under the new circumstances. The study examines gender relations, livelihoods and actors of change in two different contexts of globalization. The first context is the case of foreign direct investment in the Sepone mine, the largest gold-copper mine in the country located in Vilabury district, Savannakhet province. Five villages located close to the mine and directly affected by the operation were chosen as research site. The second case is the context of international tourism development in the small town of Vang Vieng, situated halfway between Vientiane Capital and the world heritage town of Luangprabang. The purpose with the two case studies is to examine how changes take place in different places of the same country under the same political direction and development policy. The study is inspired by theories of space and place and the view that phenomena are place-based and different places are constituted by different socio-spatial relations. The findings show that profound changes took place both in the economic and social-cultural spheres, including in gender relations. The two contexts experienced different processes of changes: in the context of Vilabury district, the transformation was produced through top-down development and created a dependency pattern where new social inequalities and social stratification emerged through unequal access to the new resources of the villagers. In the context of Vang Vieng and the expansion of international tourism, the development process proceeded more through a bottom-up pattern; the villagers perceived they were important actors of development, had more equal access to resources and could define livelihood strategies by themselves.
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| 8. |
- Lundholm, Emma, 1975-
(författare)
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New motives for migration? : On interregional mobility in the nordic context
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The subject of this thesis is migrants’ motives and the outcomes of interregional migration, as well as how the propensity for interregional migration has changed for different groups over the past three decades. The background consists of a discussion on the role of the labour market in long-distance migration decisions and a discussion on how social and economic change affect the context in which migration decisions are made. The thesis consists of four empirical studies presented in four separate papers. The studies derive from two sources of data. Papers I and II are based on a Nordic survey, while Papers III and IV draw from Swedish population register data. Paper I focuses on migrants’ perceptions of the migration decision, motives, voluntariness, attitudes and values, based on a survey. The conclusion of this paper is that employment is by no means a dominating motive from the migrant’s perspective. Additionally, very few migrants explicitly express a sense of being forced to migrate against their will. Paper II is also based on the survey and examines the migrants’ perceptions of the outcome of migration in economic and non-economic terms. This paper further supports the view that employment and income gain are in most cases subordinate in the migration decision from the individual migrants’ point of view. Paper III is a register study comparing the composition of interregional migrants in Sweden during the period 1970-2001. In this study, it becomes evident that the increase in migration rates in the 1990’s was an effect of increased migration among young people. Compared to 1970, increasingly more people migrated during a time in life when they were not yet established on the labour market and had no family. Paper IV is also a register study comparing the effect of commuting potential on migration propensity in Sweden during the period 1970-2001. This paper concludes that increased commuting should be interpreted as a result of, rather than an explanation for, long-distance migration reluctance. Migration literature suggests that long-distance migration is primarily labour-market induced. This is evident in the sense that long-distance migration requires a new job in a new locality for those who are in the labour force, but this study show that this does not necessarily mean that employment is the main motive in the migrant’s mind; the trigger is usually something else, often related to social relationships. The pattern of interregional migration has changed over time. Compared to the 1970’s, more people now migrate at a time when they are not established on the labour market, and other considerations besides employment are thus more relevant. An important explanation for the current immobility among families and employed persons is attributed to the increase in dual-career households during the period studied. This has changed the aggregated migration behaviour everywhere, regardless of commuting potential, but enhanced constraints for interregional migration in this group could be seen as an explanation for the observed increase in commuting.
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| 9. |
- Olofsson, Jenny, 1978-
(författare)
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Go West : East European migrants in Sweden
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Many people have migrated between East and West Europe in recent decades. The daily life of these migrants is crucial not only for the migrants themselves but also for the development of future migration. The aim of this thesis is to explore the interaction between migration motives, integration, social networks and migration, and how this affects international migration processes in general. This is done using migration between Sweden on the one hand and Russia, Poland and the Baltic States on the other as a case study.The thesis consists of three empirical studies which derive from different sources of data: the first (Paper I) draws on individual Swedish register data while the second and third are based upon a questionnaire survey. Paper I explores aspects of transnational social spaces in the context of migration from the non-Baltic former Soviet republics to Sweden before and after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. The results of this paper show rather limited migration and a lack of a more developed transnational social space. This is partly due to weak integration on the labour market, a high degree of intermarriage, no existing migrant community and limited return migration. The following two papers (II, III) focus on migrants from Russia, Poland and the Baltic States to Sweden after 1990. Paper II analyses migration motives and the outcome of the migration decision, and reveals significant gender differences in the motives for migrating and in how men and women adapt in their new country of living. While men mainly came for economic reasons, the majority of women came for intermarriage in Sweden; however, the migration motives have changed over time towards more economic ones. The final paper (III) shows significant gender differences in the migrants’ perceived sense of belonging in Sweden. Women report a stronger sense of belonging than their male counterparts, and while men’s sense of belonging is mainly affected by duration of stay in Sweden, language proficiency and citizenship, women’s sense of belonging is shown to be mostly affected by local social networks. In sum, the results in this thesis show that migration systems and transnational social spaces between Sweden and the respective countries have not yet emerged. This is partly due to the specific migrant composition and integration that characterize this migration process. The immigrants mainly function as weak bridgeheads, and do not facilitate the development of any further migration. However, with a changing migration flow, including migrants with different motives and migration agendas, future migrants can be stronger bridgeheads and facilitate further development of migration systems and transnational social spaces.
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| 10. |
- Phouxay, Kabmanivanh, 1959-
(författare)
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Patterns of migration and socio-economic change in Lao PDR
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of the thesis is to investigate patterns and consequences of internal and international migration in Laos during the period 1985-2005 on both a macro-and a micro-level. The thesis focuses on the influences of socio-economic change and government policies on inter-regional and rural-urban migration as well as on crossborder migration from Laos to Thailand. The study also examines the effects of migration and industrial factory work on gender relations during economic transition and consequences of undocumented migration to Thailand. The background consists of a discussion on socio-economic change within the country and on government policies influencing migration patterns, as well as on how socio-economic change, urbanization and industrialization in the region affect internal and international migration in Laos. The thesis consists of three empirical studies which derive from different sources of data; the first is based on Population Censuses in 1995 and 2005 and the second and the third draw from empirical surveys in 2004-2005 and 2006. Paper I focuses on how socioeconomic factors and government policies influence migration patterns in Laos. The paper found that the interregional migration rate decreased in the later census period. This was due to significantly higher rural-rural migration in the earlier period, which in turn was influenced by various types of government policies. Papers II and III are based on micro surveys; paper II focuses on an urban industrial area in Vientiane Capital and explores the current feminization of rural-urban migrations during economic transition with specific focus on the effects of industrial work on gender roles and status of women as industrial workers. Industrial work was seen by the women as temporary jobs for saving money, for sending remittances, and for either returning home or moving to other jobs in Vientiane or Thailand. Paper III is based on surveys in three provinces, and deals with undocumented migration from Laos to Thailand and its consequences. Different income levels, existing social networks, similar language and socio-cultural backgrounds were determinants of cross-border migrations. The study found that migrants who had contacts with informal brokers were highly exposed to risks of human trafficking and violence.
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