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<p>Our study deals with the concept of regional trade blocs or open borders </p><p>(Nordic Region) and their impact on the Marketing Mix Strategies of the firm. The </p><p>purpose of our study is to analyze the regionalization concept as company point </p><p>of view and then its impact on the marketing mix strategies of a company </p><p>operating in Nordic Region. To get the appropriate data for this, we studied a </p><p>telecommunication company based in Norway and operating in Denmark and </p><p>Sweden as well. We adopted the inductive approach and case study method, </p><p>and our study is based on our research findings, on the basis of which we </p><p>developed our own model. The model discusses certain variables and factors </p><p>which influence the marketing mix decisions of the company. </p><p>The study results show that company felt the reality of open market and </p><p>trying to get the advantages of this opportunity by modifying or reorganizing its </p><p>marketing mix strategies according to the open market conditions. Innovation and </p><p>product development according to the customer demands in different markets </p><p>forced the company to take attention about their product line and product </p><p>components. Competition in local and regional market forced the company and </p><p>they based their price strategy on competition so competition became a driving </p><p>force for the company’s price strategy. Open borders gave a number of </p><p>alternatives to position the products and Telenor is using different distribution </p><p>channels which vary from market to market and country to country. Company </p><p>adopted trans-border strategy for the easiness of their end consumers and used </p><p>different brand names in different markets but with single logo at all.</p>

Our study deals with the concept of regional trade blocs or open borders (Nordic Region) and their impact on the Marketing Mix Strategies of the firm. The purpose of our study is to analyze the regionalization concept as company point of view and then its impact on the marketing mix strategies of a company operating in Nordic Region. To get the appropriate data for this, we studied a telecommunication company based in Norway and operating in Denmark and Sweden as well. We adopted the inductive approach and case study method, and our study is based on our research findings, on the basis of which we developed our own model. The model discusses certain variables and factors which influence the marketing mix decisions of the company. The study results show that company felt the reality of open market and trying to get the advantages of this opportunity by modifying or reorganizing its marketing mix strategies according to the open market conditions. Innovation and product development according to the customer demands in different markets forced the company to take attention about their product line and product components. Competition in local and regional market forced the company and they based their price strategy on competition so competition became a driving force for the company’s price strategy. Open borders gave a number of alternatives to position the products and Telenor is using different distribution channels which vary from market to market and country to country. Company adopted trans-border strategy for the easiness of their end consumers and used different brand names in different markets but with single logo at all.

Depuis le début du 20ème siècle, la région fut une occupation constante pour le pouvoir central au Maroc. L'appréhender nécessite une analyse à la fois synchronique et diachronique. La régionalisation est, au Maroc, un processus long et lent, traversant plusieurs périodes et connaissant diverses réformes. A l'heure actuelle, elle représente un échelon important dans le processus de décentralisation et un acteur majeur de développement. Néanmoins, une lecture approfondie de la législation instituant la région fait apparaître un certain nombre d'insuffisances. Elle manque tant de cohérence dans le contenu que de cohésion dans les textes de loi. Des imperfections qui semblent difficile à corriger, alors qu'il se profile à l'horizon une réforme – en gestation – dont le but est, justement, de refonder les bases juridiques de cette institution. / From the beginning of the 20th century, the region was a constant activity occupation for the central power in Morocco. To apprehend it we need a synchronic and diachronic analysis. Moreover, in Morocco, the regionalization is a long and slow process crossing several periods and also discerning various reforms. Nowadays, it represents an important point in the process of decentralization and as well a main actor of development. Nevertheless, a deepened reading of the legislation instituting the region creates a certain number of inadequacies. It misses so many coherences in the contents as cohesion in the law's texts. Imperfections which seem difficult to correct while it is outlined on the horizon a reform - in gestation – aiming the refondement of the legal bases of this institution.

The aim of this study is to identify the political motives behind the aspiration of the Swedish government to transform 21 counties into 6-9 regions by the year 2023. Two regions were successfully formed in the late 1990’s, yet today little interest is shown by the rest of the country to follow in their footsteps. Despite this, the government shows persistence in its aim to create greater uniformity in how Sweden is geographically divided. A categorization of the motives will indicate whether the new regions will have an administrative, functional or cultural emphasis.      The method is an analysis of ideas of two official reports of the Swedish government. By applying four dimensions as the analytical tool, I can conclude that the main motive is more efficiency in public administration. To some extent a demand for more regional democracy and better legal security also prompts the reform. The theoretical frame of the study consists of three types of regionalism. The analysis shows that a combination of region building and old regionalism explains the priorities that seem to shape more clear administrative and symmetrical regions.

Dans un contexte international où la faiblesse relative de la superpuissance américaine a permis l'émergence de nouveaux acteurs étatiques qui commencent à modifier l'ordre mondial occidental, les processus d'intégration comme ceux d'Amérique du Sud peuvent être interprétés comme un moyen d'acquérir l'autonomie face aux puissances du monde. Mais jusqu'à présent les efforts des pays pour s'intégrer ont été infructueux. Les divergences entre gouvernements de la région et l'inexistence d'une véritable volonté politique de cession de souveraineté auprès des organismes supranationaux ont remis en cause la faisabilité d'organismes existants comme le Mercosur ou la Communauté Andine. Cependant, malgré plusieurs échecs d'essais d'intégration régionale en Amérique Latine, le pouvoir accru des pays émergents dans l'actuel monde unimultipolaire donne la possibilité d'initier un processus de régionalisation sous l'hégémonie du Brésil. L'hégémonie brésilienne est en train de forger une nouvelle configuration géopolitique en Amérique du Sud, par l'intermédiaire institutionnel de l'Unasur. Cet organisme régional est un reflet de la volonté du Brésil de s'insérer de manière complètement autonome dans le système international, créant ainsi progressivement l'un des pôles de puissance qui donneront sa forme au siècle actuel. / In an international context where the American superpower relative weakness has allowed new state actors to emerge and modify the western world order, the integration processes such as the ones occurring in South-America can be interpreted as a way of becoming independent before the world powers. But until now, the countries efforts to fit in have been unsuccessful. Differences of opinion between regional governments, as well as a lack of real political will of sovereignty cession to supranational organizations, challenged the feasibility of existing organizations such as Mercosur or Andean Community. However, despite various failures of regional integration in South America, the emerging countries increased power in the current unimultipolar world, which makes possible a new regionalization process under Brazilian hegemony. This hegemony is actually creating a new geopolitical configuration in South America, through the Unasur. That regional organism reflects the Brazil's desire to integrate itself in the international system in a completely autonomous way by creating, progressively, one of the determining power poles of this new century.

Factors of education in Africa and their regional differentiation Abstract Education is one of the primary driving forces of development and its importance in the poor countries is undoubtable. The aim of the diploma thesis is to identify the most significant factors affecting education in African states and to analyse them by using of the additional sources and data. The theoretical part points out the complexity in the education and introduces selected approaches in the education studies. The empirical part consists of the research of summary reports by UNDP (MDGs) and UNESCO (EFA) for countries with available reports in English; and analysis of particular factors connected of discussion with another scientific publications. These factors were classified on the basis of literature, to macro and micro factors first, subsequently according to the meaning. The most mentioned factors in the summary reports were school factors (school expenditures, teacher quality), political and economic factors (poverty) or sociocultural factors (women status). According to the conducted research it is obvious that the complex perspective of this issue and including as much factors as possible is essential. The variation coefficient was set for the possibility to find regional differentiation for particular groups of people...

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / A pesquisa, que culminou com esta tese, foi desenvolvida junto ao NÃcleo CurrÃculo e Ensino, da Faculdade de EducaÃÃo, da Universidade Federal do CearÃ. Objetivou-se com este trabalho investigar a abordagem do conceito de regiÃo, por professores, dos anos finais do Ensino Fundamental. A pesquisa foi realizada em trÃs escolas da Rede Municipal de Ensino de Teresina-PI, com a participaÃÃo de cinco professores de Geografia. A referÃncia teÃrica basilar para o trabalho adveio de trÃs vertentes: 1Â) A Teoria Curricular, expressa na contribuiÃÃo de Bourdieu (1987; 1989; 1996; 1998; 1999). 2Â) Estudos de autores-geÃgrafos que discutem o ensino de Geografia e o conceito de regiÃo, destacando-se: Gomes (2000), Haesbaert (1999; 2002; 2004), Santos (1978; 1985; 1997; 2002), Lacoste (1988; 1989), Lencioni (2003), CorrÃa (1987; 2001), Silva (1999; 2003). 3Â) A abordagem teÃrica sobre as formaÃÃes de professores e saberes docentes, destacando-se Tardif (2002), Tardif e Lessard (2005), Therrien (1994; 2000). A pesquisa encaminhou-se por uma metodologia de cunho qualitativo, por possibilitar um contato estreito com as escolas objeto da investigaÃÃo, sendo objetivada, principalmente, atravÃs da observaÃÃo de aulas e de realizaÃÃo de entrevistas com os professores, ao longo do ano de 2005. Os dados obtidos por meio dessas tÃcnicas foram analisados com o auxÃlio do software nudist, concebido para o tratamento de dados nÃo-estruturados, comuns à pesquisa qualitativa. Tomou-se como referÃncia teÃrica da metodologia os trabalhos de Ludke e Andrà (1986), Trivinos (1992), Minayo (1994), Richardson (1999) Bogdan e Biklen (1994) e Alves-Mazzoti (2000). A anÃlise dos dados revelou que os professores, prioritariamente, ainda conceituam a regiÃo segundo um ponto de vista tradicional, fortemente vinculado à abordagem do livro didÃtico. A incursÃo analÃtica pelos livros didÃticos detectou que seus os autores nÃo focalizam a regiÃo de forma explÃcita, mas de maneira tÃmida no encarte destinado aos professores. Constatou-se que o conceito de regionalizaÃÃo adquiriu proeminÃncia em relaÃÃo ao de regiÃo, ora sendo superpostos em determinados momentos, ora tendo significados semelhantes. A fim de compreender com mais abrangÃncia a prÃtica pedagÃgica do professor, foram consideradas outras modalidades de conteÃdos, os procedimentos e atitudes. Acerca desses conteÃdos, a anÃlise mostrou que eram abordados de forma menos sistemÃtica do que os conceitos, nÃo recebendo a mesma atenÃÃo, tanto na fase preparatÃria das aulas, quanto durante as aulas, refletindo dificuldades no planejamento das atividades. Quanto aos mÃtodos de ensino empregados, evidenciou-se o predomÃnio de aulas expositivas, com o uso do livro didÃtico e com poucas variaÃÃes, aparecendo, em segundo plano, o trabalho em grupo, a elaboraÃÃo conjunta e o estudo independente. / The research, that resulted in this thesis, was developed in the curriculum and teaching nucleus, of the Faculty of education, of the Universidade Federal do CearÃ. This thesis aimed at approaching the concept of region spread by teachers of the last primary schooling classes. The research took place in three municipal schools of Teresina-PI, with the participation of five Geography teachers. The theoretical reference, that supports this thesis, comes from three sources: the curricular theory, a contribution of Bourdieu (1987, 1989, 1996, 1998, 1999); studies of Geography authors that discuss the Geography teaching and the concept of region, such as: Gomes (2000), Haesbaert (1999, 2002, 2004), Santos (1978,1985, 1997, 2002), Lacoste (1988, 1989), Lencioni (2003), CorrÃa (1987, 2001), Silva (1999, 2003); and the theoretical approaching to the background and knowledge of the teachers, with the support of Tardif (2002), Tardif e Lessard (2005), Therrien (1994, 2000). The qualitative methodology was the most suitable one for approaching the goal of this thesis, with the help of lesson observations and of interviews with the teachers, during the year of 2005. The data, obtained with these techniques, were analyzed with the help of software nudist, designed for the treatment of non-structured data, peculiar to qualitative research. The methodological theoretical references were the works of Ludke e Andrà (1986), Trivinos (1992), Minayo (1994), Richardson (1999) Bogdan e Biklen (1994) e Alves-Mazzoti (2000). The analysis of the data revealed that, with priority, the teachers still work with the traditional concept of region, strongly linked with the didactical book. The examination of the didactical books showed that their authors do not deal with the concept of region clearly, but only unremarkably in the booklet for the teachers. At the end this research, it was verified that sometimes the concept of regionalization obtained prominence in relationship to the concept of region, sometimes both concepts were used interchangeably, sometimes both terms were used with the same meaning. In order to understand the pedagogical practice in wide way, other modalities of contents, procedure and attitudes were contemplated. About these contents, the analysis revealed that they were approached less systematically than the concepts, not receiving the treatment as in preparatory phase of the lessons as during the lessons, indicating to have trouble planning activities. As for the applied teaching methods, it was revealed that there was predominance of expositive lessons, with the use of didactical book and with little variation, appearing, in second place, the teamwork, the collective elaboration and the independent study

Immigrant regionalization initiatives that encourage new immigrants to settle outside of metropolitan centres are increasingly common in Canada and often proposed as an aid to revitalize growth in smaller centres. This thesis considers the potential implications of such initiatives on the settlement experiences of immigrants who move to smaller cities. The research is based on interviews with service providers and immigrants in Northern British Columbia. Immigrant respondents described their experiences settling into the small city of Prince George, and service providers from Prince George, Fort St. John and Terrace reflected on their communities’ ability to welcome newcomers. Results revealed the flexible approaches to settlement that immigrants employed to feel more comfortable in relatively isolated and culturally homogenous cities and towns. Findings also emphasized the pressing need to consider the socio-economic and cultural geographies of the welcoming town or city. Both sets of respondents were also asked to give meaning to the term integration. The results of this query showed that service providers were more able to put meaning to integration than where new immigrants, despite the fact that service providers saw themselves as less active than immigrants in the process of integration. Service providers often approached the term conceptually, and gave definitions bound up with ideologies of multiculturalism, acceptance and tolerance. The usefulness of the term for immigrant respondents was very limited. Similar to the concept of regionalization, integration is an interesting idea that requires more grounded research. This thesis helps explore a new area and challenges some generalizations about immigrant settlement and community identity that are often made about places seemingly far away.

An outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in Canada would result in the closing of borders to trade in meat and livestock between Canada and the US. The loss of export market access would result in losses to Canadian producers and negatively affect Canada’s reputation as a trading partner. Under a Regionalization Policy, trade could be allowed from disease-free regions of Canada during an outbreak. This would allow a limited amount of trade to continue and mitigate the losses to producers in uninfected areas. This thesis examined scenarios that involve various degrees of regionalization to determine the effects on producers, consumers and taxpayers. A partial- equilibrium model is used to determine the impact on economic welfare under each scenario and comparisons are made to help evaluate the relative outcomes of policies towards regionalization.