| 1. |
- Mälgand, Miina, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental awareness, the Transition Movement, and place : Den Selvforsynende Landsby, a Danish Transition initiative
- 2014
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Ingår i: Geoforum. - Kidlington : Elsevier. - 0016-7185 .- 1872-9398. ; 57, s. 40-47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Transition Movement, originating in Ireland and the United Kingdom, gathers and supports community-led actions to meet the global challenges of climate change, peak oil and energy descent. In our study we analysed a Transition Network project, a Danish village built from scratch by its inhabitants and named the Self Sufficient Village (SSV). Employing the theories of constructed landscapes and placeattachment, we studied how the Transition Movement ideology shaped the constructed landscape of thevillage and influenced the inhabitants' attachment. The research team, following the grounded theory approach, conducted a field study staying in SSV. We collected data with focus groups, individual interviews and participatory observations, taking part in daily life of the community. The analysis revealed three, intertwined themes which altogether create the constructed landscape of SSV. They were named Community, Ideology, and Individual impact, respectively. Our findings showed that the community and strong social ties were predominant factors in shaping place attachment. Transition ideology and environmental awareness, although less pronounced, still turned out to be vital for the feelings of belongingness and empowerment, resulting in a positive impact of the village on the local scale. Using our case study as an example we discuss the importance of environmental concern and place attachment for similar grass-root initiatives. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 2. |
- Thelin, Mikael, 1971-, et al.
(författare)
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The (ir)relevance of geography for school choice : Evidence from a Swedish choice experiment
- 2015
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Ingår i: Geoforum. - : Elsevier. - 0016-7185 .- 1872-9398. ; 67, s. 110-120
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The increased opportunity to choose one’s school of preference has been raised as a key factor in many countries to promote equal opportunities and a higher quality of education. This has been endorsed by policymakers who assume that students make well-informed rational choices and that students stress only academic quality when deciding which school to attend. If this is true, it will benefit schools of high academic quality, rendering improved school quality overall. To date, little research has examined the validity of these assumptions despite the profound effects they have had for changing the school systems in many countries. This article describes an experiment to investigate the relative importance of factors in school choice. The aim is to test the validity of the theoretical assumptions that guided the school choice reforms in Sweden. Specifically, we draw on experimental data from prospective upper secondary school students in Sweden to contrast the principal school quality attributes behind the policy change (knowledge reputation and program feasibility), with the presence of friends and geographical attributes such as distance, location and accessibility, while controlling for individual characteristics. The results have important policy implications as they show that geographical factors are highly relevant for school choice preferences. In contrast to the reforms’ intentions, geography appears to have become more important than ever before. The findings thus reveal significant flaws in the assumptions that motivated the school choice policy reform.
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