The aim of this study was to examine whether having a precarious economic situation had an influence on the level of anxiety and depression in full-time psychology students at university level. The research also include potential differences between male and female students. Method: 140 students filled out a questionnaire including standard questions from the HADS to be able to analyse the experienced level of anxiety and/or depression in relation to gender, having a part-time job and receiving economic support from parents. Results: female gender and not receiving any economic support from parents seem to have a significant effect on the experience of both anxiety and depression. Conclusion: gender and economic struggles seem to have an impact on anxiety and depression in university students although further research on a larger population is necessary to increase the power of these results.

Tourism is today the world’s largest industry and an important economic development tool in many developing countries. However tourism sometimes causes social complications, often due to social- and economic gaps that lead to tensions between tourists and local residents. At small island destinations spatial confinement and isolation contribute to the risk of these tensions to occur, which may then ruin the destination’s image. This study examines the relationship between tourists and local residents at the small island Koh Tao, which is a popular tourist destination in Thailand. The aim is to identify possible tensions and to examine why these tensions may occur. The research material is collected through an ethnographic study, including participant observations and informal interviews. The result of the study shows an overall positive relationship between the tourists and local residents, where the tourism industry’s economic contribution to the host community is an important factor fortheir positive attitude towards tourism. A few social- and economic gaps are identified, however these do not seem to be the cause of any notable tensions. Yet, sometimes tensions do occur and are then most often related to cultural- and linguistic misunderstandings. The essay discusses how these misunderstandings could be prevented through increased knowledge and also proposes an illustrating model. Finally, suggestions for future research regarding the usage of tourism as a development tool are proposed. / Minor Field Studies

Introduction The innovation systems literature has provided a useful framework to analyse the linkages of firms and other organisations with both domestic and foreign actors. Although the concept of innovation systems was originally developed at the national level (Freeman, 1982; Nelson & Winter, 1982; Lundvall, 1985; Nelson, 1988, etc), the literature has expanded rapidly over the years. Since its origins innovation systems have been defined at different levels. National, regional, local, sectoral and technological systems of innovation now constituted alternative units of analysis to better understand the processes of creation, diffusion and use of knowledge. These different views, rather than conflicting, tend to complement each other and depend on the attributed boundaries to the system subject of analysis. This paper proposes that the reciprocal interaction between regional economic poles within the developing regions can be studied by employing systems of innovation perspective. The application of the systems of innovation perspective serves as a window to explore the quality of interactions in economic, education, productive activities and institutions. The importance of the regional dimension in stimulating the innovation capability and competitiveness of firms and regions has been examined by many authors (Asheim et al., 2003: Cooke, 2003, Wolfe, 2003, Isaksen, 2002, Malmberg and Maskell, 2002). The regional dimension is acquiring more relevance as the interactions between actors within the region become more intense. In the context of Africa, for example, the emergence of South Africa as an economic outlier in the region has created new challenges both opportunities and dangers for the rest of Africa. This paper suggests that a systems‟ of innovation perspective might be useful to examine how South Africa, as a regional pole in Africa, interacts with the region by sharing knowledge, learning and capacity building.

The first coal-fired power plant in Sri Lanka was successfully connected to the national grid in year 2011. The proposal of implementing coal-fired power plants in Sri Lanka has been appearing in power sector master plans since year 1985. It was delayed for many years, mainly due to public protests and indecision of the political leadership of the country. This research analyzes the social and economic barriers faced during the implementation stage. Operation of the plant in terms of system inertia, reliability and stability is discussed. This is the single largest power sector investment in Sri Lanka and returns on the investment were analyzed in this study. As this is the first coal-fired power plant in Sri Lanka, success of this project will create the platform for the public acceptance of future coal-fired power plants. There were some technical failures during the initial years of operation of the plant, and now it records a higher reliability. Furthermore, it is important to summarize the lessons learnt after implementing this project. Future plans of the utility, energy policy of the country and the political agenda of a country should reflect the experience with this project. This is a good example that teaches the lesson; projects which require to be implemented in the national interest should not be postponed or cancelled due to the protest by small groups of people perceived to be affected by the project. It is highlighted that system stability is improved in many cases due to the increase of power system inertia, to which this power plant makes the largest contribution. System inertia is improved in six out of nine scenarios, which were analyzed in this study. Economic benefits gained by the power plant were examined and the study proves that this power plant will have a significant positive effect on the national economy. Loss incurred delaying the project was calculated and it proves the importance of this project.

This thesis examines the confluence between pan-Islamist politics, neo-liberalism and urban development in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. After tracing a history of the Islamic revival in Bosnia, I examine the results of neo-liberal policy in post-war Bosnia, particularly regarding the promises of neo-liberal institutions and think tanks that privatization and inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) would de-politicize the economy and strip ethno-religious nationalist elites of their power over state-owned firms. By analyzing three prominent new urban developments in Sarajevo, all financed by FDI from the Islamic world and brought about by the privatization of urban real-estate, I show how neo-liberal policy has had unintended outcomes in Sarajevo that contradict the assertions of policy makers. In examining urban change, I bring out the role played by the city in mediating between both elites and citizens, and between the seemingly contradictory projects of pan-Islamism and neo-liberalism.

This thesis examines the confluence between pan-Islamist politics, neo-liberalism and urban development in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. After tracing a history of the Islamic revival in Bosnia, I examine the results of neo-liberal policy in post-war Bosnia, particularly regarding the promises of neo-liberal institutions and think tanks that privatization and inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) would de-politicize the economy and strip ethno-religious nationalist elites of their power over state-owned firms. By analyzing three prominent new urban developments in Sarajevo, all financed by FDI from the Islamic world and brought about by the privatization of urban real-estate, I show how neo-liberal policy has had unintended outcomes in Sarajevo that contradict the assertions of policy makers. In examining urban change, I bring out the role played by the city in mediating between both elites and citizens, and between the seemingly contradictory projects of pan-Islamism and neo-liberalism.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between wealth, wealth inequality and health. The study has a cross-national focus and employs a political economy perspective, which addresses the macro-political determinants of health. The dissertation is comprised of two sets of analyses. In Part 1, logistic regression analyses confirm that wealth, whether measured as home ownership, the value of the home, or net worth, is a significant predictor of self-rated health in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany. The relationship between wealth and self-rated health is weakest in Germany. Case studies of the three countries indicate that this weaker relationship may be linked to more generous welfare state provisions in Germany. In Part 2, bivariate analyses reveal that wealth inequality, whether measured as the Gini coefficient or the share of wealth held by the richest 10% of the population, is related to poorer population health outcomes in developed countries. Both unweighted and weighted correlations are strong and significant, even after controlling for a variety of potential macro-level confounders. The results are strongest for female life expectancy and infant mortality. In-depth analysis of the countries with the most equitable distribution of wealth and the best health outcomes reveals several themes: high rates of home ownership, relatively generous pensions, stronger regulatory frameworks, taxation of wealth, increased social expenditures in recent years, and social cohesion. The results of this dissertation suggest that wealth is an axis of inequality that deserves far more attention from sociologists, particularly in relation to population health. Relying on income alone to describe inequality and form public policy is inadequate for understanding and addressing the economic and health circumstances of individuals and families. The inclusion of wealth in sociological studies of health disparities will result in a more accurate picture of social stratification, and will result in better informed social policy. Finally, the use of a political economy framework allows us to better understand, and potentially change, the political and economic processes through which the distribution of both wealth and health occurs.

Foreign policy analysis stands at the crossroads of different issues and academic disciplines, including political economy and international relations. In this study, the foreign policies of Greece and Spain are analysed in the period between 1945 and the early 1990s, in the context of the world-system approach in which foreign policy is considered a part of the interaction between a single world-economy and multiple political structures (nation states). In other words, this is a study of the political economy of foreign policy. The foreign policies of Greece and Spain are analysed in the context of the world and national levels of the organisation of power and production. In this general context, the two countries are defined as the interesting but debatable category of semiperiphery states in the world-system hierarchy of states. The analysis of Greece and Spain shows that the foreign policies of both countries were strongly affected by their semiperipheral development patterns during both the "expansion-hegemonic rise" and "contraction-hegemonic decline" periods of the world-economy. The study examines the relative impact of national and international structural factors, the distribution of wealth and power, the state, external and internal economic and power elites on the foreign policies of Greece and Spain. The examination demonstrates the effect of their semiperipheral status on their foreign policy. The main theoretical contention of the study is that the world-system analysis and the concept of "semiperiphery" provide a useful framework for the study of the political economy of the foreign policies of middle income countries.

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