| 11. |
- Andersson, Ida, 1982-
(författare)
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Geographies of Place Branding : Researching through small and medium sized cities
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Place branding is commonly conceptualized with a focus on big cities, such as London, New York and Singapore, building from concepts and models from mainstream branding theory. In contrast to such conceptualizations, this thesis focuses on place branding in small and medium-sized cities. The present thesis aims to study place branding from a geographical perspective. It starts with debates theoretical and empirical understandings of place branding; what it is and how it is affecting the places where it is introduced. The thesis develops and argues for a perspective of territoriality and relationality to place branding discussing concepts, methods and empirical approaches to carry out place branding research using geographical perspectives. Empirically, this thesis focuses on in-depth studies of place branding in small and medium-sized cities in Sweden. By analyzing the development of place branding over the course of time, nuances and aspects of both territorial and relational origin emerge, situating place branding practices within a wider spatial contextualization. Four individual papers are presented, which taken together contribute to the aim of the thesis. Paper 1 introduces the place branding research field in geography and how it has developed; Paper 2 investigates the phenomena of flagship buildings located in small cities and towns; Paper 3 discusses the relationship between policy tourism and place branding; and Paper 4 analyzes how local environmental policies are affected by green place branding. The thesis demonstrates the complex and continuously interchangeable spatial structures and place contexts that create and re-produce the geographies of place branding. Here, research models and methodological examples are presented to illustrate how place branding can be studied from a geographical perspective and thus improve theoretical understandings of place branding.
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| 12. |
- Biddulph, Robin, 1965
(författare)
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Social enterprise and inclusive tourism. Five cases in Siem Reap, Cambodi
- 2017
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Ingår i: Tourism Geographies. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1461-6688 .- 1470-1340. ; , s. 1-20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In recent decades, social enterprise has emerged from a variety of traditions and contexts to occupy a prominent position in relation to social change. Proponents argue that people with a business orientation are uniquely equipped to identify social problems, develop solutions and to scale these up. Muhammad Yunus and the non-collateralized loans of the Grameen Bank are held to exemplify this potential. Meanwhile, mass tourism destinations are increasingly found in less developed countries, placing relatively wealthy tourists in close proximity to poor people. One response to this has been a proliferation of social enterprises within the tourism industry. This paper investigates the potentials and limitations of social entrepreneurship to achieve inclusive tourism through an analysis of five established and highly regarded social enterprises in Siem Reap. The enterprises have created worthwhile new opportunities for poor and marginalized people and contributed substantially to revitalizing elements of Cambodian culture. Beyond these significant successes, their capacity to generate broader inclusiveness in either the tourism sector or the Cambodian economy, generally, appears limited. Continued social benefits are, furthermore, contingent on the commercial success of the enterprises, in a sector which is highly competitive and volatile, with even successful, well-run businesses never entirely secure.
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| 13. |
- Bienkowska, Dzamila, 1978-, et al.
(författare)
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Brain circulation and flexible adjustment : labour mobility as a cluster advantage
- 2011
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Ingår i: Geografiska Annaler. Series B, Human Geography. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0435-3684 .- 1468-0467. ; 93:1, s. 21-39
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article explores the role of labour mobility as a potential cluster advantage. We review the theoretical arguments as for how and why labour mobility could enhance the dynamism and performance of clusters of similar and related firms. A combination of quantitative and qualitative data from two information and communication technology (ICT) clusters is used to answer two research questions: (1) What is the role of mobility enhancing (or restricting) institutions in clusters? (2) In what ways does labour mobility contribute to knowledge transfer within clusters? The two ICT clusters studied in the article generally seem to have higher levels of mobility, compared to the labour market at large. Although it is regarded as beneficial in theory, most cluster firms try to restrict mobility of workers since they fear the risk and costs of losing staff. Labour mobility is also rarely viewed as a viable way to increase the knowledge bases or contact networks of firms. However, when firms need to recruit the clustered labour markets seem to benefit them by facilitating the use of informal recruitment processes. By way of conclusion it is suggested that cluster firms might be under-investing in mobility and that innovative institutional solutions could help realize clusters’ mobility potential.
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| 14. |
-
Bulletin of Geography. Socio-Economic Series (Volume 33)
- 2016
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Ingår i: Bulletin of Geography. Socio-Economic Series (De Gruyter). - 1732-4254 .- 1732-4254. ; 33:33, s. 1-143
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The editorial task included procurement, administration and processing of 10 articles from 19 authors as follows: (1) Therese Brolin - Conceptualizations of "results" in Swedish policy for development cooperation from the 1960s to the 2000s; (2) Waldemar Cudny, Marcel Horňák - The tourist function in a car factory Audi Forum Ingolstadt example; (3) Sanette L.A. Ferreira, Gesina W. Van Zyl - Catering for large numbers of tourists: the McDonaldization of casual dining in Kruger National Park; (4) Zbigniew Głąbiński - Analysing the tourism activity of seniors by applying the method of participant observation; (5) Kristina N. Lindström, Mia Larson - Community-based tourism in practice: evidence from three coastal communities in Bohuslän, Sweden; (6) Jana Masárová, Eva Ivanová - Road infrastructure in the regions of the Slovak Republic and Poland; (7) Muhammad Miandad, Syed Nawaz-ul-Huda, Farkhunda Burke, Muhammad Azam, Imran Khan - Escalation of tuberculosis notification: an analysis of associated social factors; (8) Iwona Pomianek, Mariola Chrzanowska - A spatial comparison of semi-urban and rural gminas in Poland in terms of their level of socio-economic development using Hellwig's method; (9) Marie Stenseke - The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and the challenge of integrating social sciences and humanities; (10) Agnieszka Szczepańska - Urbanization processes related to the development of residential functions in gminas adjacent to the city of Olsztyn.
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| 15. |
- Choplin, Armelle, et al.
(författare)
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Titling the desert: Land formalization and tenure (in)security in Nouakchott (Mauritania)
- 2017
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Ingår i: Habitat International. - : Elsevier BV. - 0197-3975. ; 64, s. 49-58
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Drawing on empirical ethnographic research conducted in three resettled areas in Nouakchott (Mauritania), our paper aims to enrich the debate on land formalization, attempting to understand the effects of slum upgrading programs and the titling process. In a context of securing land tenure as upheld by international institutions, the paper questions the implementation of these titling programs, which aim to deliver secure tenure and, more broadly, achieve economic development. It appeals for an analysis of how poor people react to titling policies in a context of highly complex relationships between formal and informal land status. Our case studies show that formal deeds do not necessarily lead to secure tenure. For the impoverished households who have withstood resettlements, these titling practices can be seen as a way to improve their livelihoods or, on the contrary, as breeding grounds for new forms of vulnerability. Moreover, these elements can also be perceived as triggers for encroachments between the State and the law and, at times, a reason to claim new rights.
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| 16. |
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| 17. |
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Degraded and restituted towns in Poland: Origins, development, problems : Miasta zdegradowane i restytuowane w Polsce. Geneza, rozwój, problemy
- 2015
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Samlingsverk (redaktörskap) (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- One of the less known problems in settlement geography is the issue of so-called degraded and restituted towns. This lack of reconnaissance, however, is perhaps less the result of the towns’ scarcity than their specificity of being ‘awarded’ or ‘deprived of’ an urban label by means of strictly socio-political actions. Degraded and restituted towns, hence, are spatial units made ‘urban’ or ‘rural’ instantaneously, irrespective of their de facto state along what is widely considered a gradual path of (de)urbanization. Instead, they become compartmentalized into two constructed spatial categories that have survived the onslaught of material transformations and philosophical repositioning through different whims of time. While ‘rural’ and ‘urban’ are conceptual binaries that certainly need to be treated with caution, their cultural salience may cause tangible consequences within national administrative systems that abide by a formalized rural-urban distinction. This issue becomes particularly important for settlements that clearly transcend any imagined rural-urban divide, i.e. those, whose material and immaterial characteristics seem counterfactual to their assigned category. It is also crucial in formal practices designed to avert such counterfactualities, but whose ran-domness of approach more creates confusion than helps straighten out a historical concoction. Both processes, nonetheless, lend ‘urbanity’ and ‘rurality’ a resonance of objectivity, justifying their use as guides for a host of developmental endeavors, despite subverting a much more intricate reality. Degraded and restituted towns are direct derivatives of this. Drawing on the above-mentioned irreconcilabilities, the aim of this book is to present and scrutinize degraded and restituted towns through the example of Poland, where these towns occupy a special niche. For one, Poland, due to its chequered and variegated history, is home to a conspicuously large number of degraded (831) and restituted (236) towns; for another, Poland’s relentlessness of formalizing ‘urbanity’ as a category of statistical, political and cultural guidance has a direct bearing on the lives of the towns’ residents. Realizing the intricacy of degraded and restituted towns in the face of commonplace ru-ral-urban ideations, the editors and the 17 contributing Authors of this book have made an effort to capture the towns’ complexity with special foci on their shrouded origins, developmental specificity and incurred problems. Owing to the involvement of researchers from different scientific disciplines and subdisciplines, the undertaken project has helped elucidate the problem from multiple perspectives: spatial, social, demographic, economic, environmental, historical, architectural, cultural, legal and philosophical. Allocated into 17 chapters, not only have the presented interpretations allowed for a first interdisciplinary synthesis on the topic, but they also helped outline some prospective directions for future research. Moreover, collecting materials of such diversity into an amalgamated whole has helped identify specific discourses that enwrap the concept of “urbanity” when seen through its oscillations within formal contexts, and to which degraded and restituted towns serve as expendable game pieces. By combining knowledge arrived at through ontologically and epistemologically different approaches, the incremental contribution of this book as a whole could be summarized in two attainments: a) extending theoretical frameworks used to study degraded and restituted towns in terms of definition, conceptualization and assessing predispositions for future de-velopment on account of their spatial, legal, socio-economic and historical charac-teristics; b) initiating an anticipated discussion on a number of important and current topics re-lated to the practices of degradation and restitution that have not received adequate attention, e.g., the urbanity-vs.-rurality paradox, the changeability of human settlement forms vs. the consequences of rigid spatial categorizations; the role of various actors in shaping the socio-economic reality under the guise of an ossified binary; or identifying spatio-conceptual conflicts as future challenges for local, regional and national policy.
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| 18. |
- Dymitrow, Mirek, et al.
(författare)
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Degradation and restitution: Understanding the concept of urbanity through its oscillations within formal contexts : Degradacja i restytucja jako pryzmaty pojęcia miejskości w kontekście jego formalnoprawnej zmienności
- 2015
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Ingår i: Krzysztofik, R., & Dymitrow, M. (Eds.): Degraded and restituted towns in Poland: Origins, development, problems / Miasta zdegradowane i restytuowane w Polsce. Geneza, rozwój, problemy. - Göteborg : University of Gothenburg. - 9186472763
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this concluding chapter, our aim is to outline the state-of-the-art within the deliberated topic in order to identify challenges for future research. Firstly, reminiscent of George Orwell’s aphorism “who controls the past controls the future”, we stress the importance of research into the origins of degraded and restituted towns in order to understand the socio-economic context that has shaped their current situation. It is important to separate myth from accounts based on first-hand archival documentation and compelling historiographical deduction. This is particularly true of narratives embracing issues of justice, democracy and power, as often is the case with the rural-urban discourse in Poland. Secondly, the concepts of urbanity and rurality are often accompanied by stories of demise and success; in other words, they are not value-free. As of now, there is still a dearth of studies that would look into how degradation and restitution actually affect socio-economic change and steer development into certain – desired or undesired – outcomes. In order to avoid creating artificial problems, we need to better isolate the linkage between development and the spatial label it purportedly embodies. Thirdly, linear accounts of social phenomena may be convenient but seldom provide an appropriate abstraction. We must not unreflectively accept the transition “from urban to rural” and “from rural to urban” as propitious just because it has been sanctioned by a governmental decree. More in-depth empirical studies on the problems both degradation and restitution may incur are needed, particularly case-based research dedicated to the perceptions of those closest to the effects of cultural convictions and normative perspectives brought on by the rural-urban distinction. In conclusion, degradation and restitution are not one-dimensional concepts. As the plurality of topics undertaken in this book shows, the concepts can be handled in a multitude of ways. As each comes with its own variety of ontological commitments, theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches, the results differ. But they all have one thing in common: they contribute to a deeper understanding of the often taken-for-granted concept of urbanity. Urbanity is complex, transient and indefinable and therefore increasingly elusive. In that light, understanding urbanity as it emerges, evolves, consolidates, ruptures and finally reconstitutes itself through the practices of degradation and restitution makes an invaluable asset to multifaceted production of knowledge on various social processes and their inseparable geographical contexts.
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| 19. |
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| 20. |
- Gustafsson, Jennie
(författare)
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Renovations as an investment strategy : circumscribing the right to housing in Sweden
- 2021
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Ingår i: Housing Studies. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0267-3037 .- 1466-1810. ; , s. 1-22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is an emergent field of writings on financialized landlords’ undertaking of apartment renovations as an investment strategy and its effect on housing inequalities. Seldom do these studies contextualize these tendencies within countries’ specific housing policy traditions. Therefore, through a qualitative case study in a neighbourhood in Sweden, this paper aims to uncover how private landlords undertake renovations as an investment strategy and its effect on tenants and, in turn, on the hybrid character of a universal housing system. It finds that renovations enable landlords to extract value from the built environment while tenants experience rising rents, a lack of information, poor property maintenance, and apprehension. Hence, I argue that renovations represent an investment strategy that serves to undermine the traditional social right to housing within a universal housing policy context. The paper thus furthers knowledge on how the situatedness of financialization tendencies entails their translation through and transformation of housing systems.
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