The aim of the thesis is to describe and analyse socio-economic changes in northern Sweden. Focus is on the period 1985-2000. Population development, restructuring of economic activities, political and cultural changes are related to a theoretical discussion on the transformation of sparsely populated areas as an outcome of multi-dimensional and interrelated processes. Besides an introductory and concluding section, the thesis contains four papers. The first paper deals with forestry's changed role in the local economy of four municipalities located in the inland areas of upper Norrland. The changes within forestry have been driven by adaptation to global competition and rapid technical development. Even though timber production has increased in some of the municipalities, job losses have greatly reduced the importance of forestry in the local economies. Many employees have left forestry for work in other branches, unemployment or retirement However, relatively few have moved from the area. A multiplier model was employed in order to analyse the impact on the local economy. The second paper deals with population changes in the six northernmost counties. During the 1990s, most municipalities and rural areas in northern Sweden have experienced renewed depopulation. At the same time, some rural areas have shown significant population growth. Three types of rural areas with population growth have been identified. Firstly, there are rural areas within daily commuting distance from regional centres. Secondly, there is a group of rural areas, mainly a number of mountain villages close to the border with Norway, which has benefited from the tourist industry. Finally, there are a few rural areas characterised by attractive residential environments and leisure housing. The third paper is based on a classification of 500 residential areas and villages in the county of Västerbotten into seven types of housing environments. In this way, the county is broken down into a mosaic of housing environments characterised by very different prerequisites for consumption and economic development A complex and dispersed pattern of disadvantaged residential areas all over the county indicates the difficulty in treating counties and municipalities as homogeneous regions. In the fourth paper, focus is on young peoples' attitudes towards staying in or moving to small communities within a local labour market region in northern Sweden. The study is based on telephone interviews with 400 young men and women in the Umeå region. Half the interviewees lived in the university city of Umeå while the others were residents in five rural municipalities surrounding Umeå. In general, the males and females aged 19-25 had a much more positive attitude towards living in rural communities than did those aged 15-18. Nevertheless, only half of the young people already living in the rural municipalities wanted to stay there. Among the young people living in the city, slightly less than 50% showed an interest in moving to the surrounding rural areas, mainly the countryside within commuting distance from the city. The connection between higher education and out-migration of young people from rural areas is also highlighted. / <p>Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Univ., 2002</p> / digitalisering@umu

With its point of departure of increasing numbers of people being engaged in commuting, the aim of this thesis is to reveal prerequisites for and consequences of long-distance commuting in Sweden for the individual and his or her partner. Special attention has been given to prerequisites for long-distance commuting in sparsely populated areas, and to social consequences related to long-distance commuting in terms of gender differences in commuting patterns, earnings and separation. The thesis is based on four empirical studies, presented in different papers. Two studies draw on individual longitudinal register data on all Swedish long-distance commuters living with a partner. The other two focus on commuting behaviour in sparsely populated areas, one based on individual register data and the other on a survey. Long-distance commuting (&gt;30 kilometres) has become an increasingly common mobility strategy among Swedish workers and their households. Results from the thesis show that 11 percent of Swedish workers are long-distance commuters and about half of them live in a relationship. Among these couples many are families with children, indicating the importance of social ties in households’ decisions on where to work and live. Most long-distance commuters are men, and it is also likely that long-distance commuters have a high education level and are employed in the private sector. For the majority, long-distance commuting gives higher earnings; however, men benefit economically more than women do. As long-distance commuting reduces available family time, the non-commuting spouse often takes on a larger share of household commitments. The thesis shows that men’s long-distance commuting may therefore serve to reproduce and reinforce traditional gender roles on the labour market and within households. On the other hand, women’s long-distance commuting can lead to more equalitarian relationships on the labour market and within households. For the majority of couples it seems as if long-distance commuting becomes more than a temporary mobility strategy, while for some couples it does not work out very well. Separation rates are found to be higher among long-distance commuters compared to other couples; especially the first years of commuting seem to be the most challenging. It is suggested that coping strategies are important to make the consequences of long-distance commuting easier to handle and adjust to in the daily life puzzle. For those unable to handle these consequences, long-distance commuting is not a sustainable mobility strategy and can even end a relationship. The extent of long-distance commuting is low in sparsely populated areas, and those who do long-distance commute are mainly men. Most people work and live within the same locality and do not accept longer commuting times than do those in densely populated areas. In this thesis it is argued that facilitating car commuting in the more sparsely populated areas of Sweden can be more economically and socially sustainable, for the individual commuters as well as for society, than encouraging commuting by public transportation.

Bakgrund: I Sverige avlider cirka 90 000 personer per år, där 80 procent beräknas varit i palliativt skede. Utifrån tidigare forskning visade det sig att majoriteten vill dö i hemmet. Detta kräver stor kunskap av distriktssköterskan för att kunna ge bästa möjliga lindrande behandling för den enskilde patienten. Motiv: Det finns relativt få studier som beskriver distriktssköterskors erfarenheter av vård i livets slutskede i hemmet, och än färre inom glesbygden. Det är av vikt att få ökad kunskap om utmaningar och möjligheter vid vård i livets slutskede i glesbygden. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att belysa distriktssköterskors erfarenheter av att vårda patienter i livets slutskede inom kommunal hemsjukvård i glesbygd. Metod: En kvalitativ studie där åtta distriktssköterskor inom kommunal hemsjukvård i glesbygd i Sveriges norra inland deltog. Data samlades in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer och analyserades med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Resultatet presenteras under tre teman med tillhörande subteman. Dessa teman är; strävar efter att ge patienten en god död i hemmet, behov av stöd från organisationen, specialister och arbetsgruppen samt stöder och involverar anhöriga. Konklusion: En slutsats är att det skapar svårigheter att bedriva en jämlik vård för patienter som bor på glesbygden jämfört med patienter som bor nära eller i en tätort. Distriktssköterskorna gör allt de kan för att ge patienten en god död i hemmet, trots att det finns svårigheter. Det visar också att anhöriga samt andra professioner har en betydande roll för att kunna utföra en så bra vård som möjligt. Denna studie kan förhoppningsvis ge ökad kunskap om svårigheter och möjligheter att möjliggöra en god död i hemmet i glesbygden. / Background: In Sweden about 90,000 people die each year, where 80 percent is estimated to be palliative. Previous research shows that the majority want to die at home. This requires a great deal of knowledge from the district nurse to be able to provide the best possible palliative care for the individual patient. Motive: There are relatively few studies that describe district nurses' experiences of palliative care at home, and even fewer in sparsely populated areas. It is important to survey the challenges and opportunities in caring for people in the final stages of life in sparsely populated areas. Aim: The purpose of this study was to highlight district nurses' experience of caring for end of life patients in community home health care in rural areas. Methods: A qualitative study in which eight district nurses in municipal home care for sparsely populated areas in northern Sweden inland participated. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using content analysis. Result: The results are presented under three themes with associated subthemes. These themes are; striving to give the patient a good death in the home, the need for support from the organization, specialists and the working group and supporting and involving relatives. Conclusion: One conclusion is that it creates difficulties in providing equal care forpatients living in sparsely populated areas compared with patients living near or in anurban area. The district nurses do everything they can to give the patient a good death at home, even though there are difficulties. It also shows that relatives and other professionals have a role to play in providing the best possible care. This study can hopefully provide increased knowledge about difficulties and opportunities to put a good death in the home in sparsely populated areas.

Bakgrund: Prostatacancer är idag den vanligaste cancerformen i Sverige ochvanligaste cancerrelaterade dödsorsaken. Personer med prostatacancer påverkas i sinsexuella hälsa på ett multifaktoriellt sätt av cancerbehandlingen och dess biverkningar.Motiv: Boende i glesbygden kan ha olika förutsättningar till jämlik vård.Glesbygdsperspektivet är inte väl utforskat när det gäller sexuell hälsa vidprostatacancer utan fokus ligger på behandlingsutfallet och dess biverkningar.Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur personer med prostatacancerboende på Gotland respektive i Norrbotten skattar sin sexuella hälsa med hjälp av ettfrågeformulär som är specifikt för prostatacancer.Metod: En deskriptiv, komparativ enkätstudie med kvantitativ ansats genomfördesdär totalt 30 konsekutivt inkluderade patienter från Norrbotten och Gotland besvaradeprostatacancerspecifika enkäten EORTC QLQ-PR25.Resultat: Områdena urinvägssymtom, hormonbehandlingsrelaterade symtom ochsexuell aktivitet visade högre andel förekomst av besvär. Respondenterna skattade lågtintresse för sex och stor påverkan på manlighet. Gotland hade sämre utfall i de flestaanalyserade delområden och frågor; särskilt stor skillnad finns i användning avinkontinensskydd, sexuell aktivitet och sexuell funktion.Konklusion: Sexuell hälsa är för prostatacancerpatienter en problematik som är mernyanserad än erektil funktion, exempelvis i respondentgruppen spelade variabler somintresse för sex och upplevelse av manlighet stor roll. Tillgång till vård är viktig förpatienterna och gruppens skattningsresultat hade kunnat vara annorlunda omboenderegionerna hade gett bättre förutsättningar. Studien antyder också att det finnsen skillnad mellan Norrbotten och Gotland, vilket kan bero på bakomliggande variablerkopplade till regionerna, exempelvis att Gotland har en betydligt högre incidens avprostatacancer och en högre andel äldre än Norrbotten. Gotland har en lägretätortsgrad och nästan lika lång körsträcka per bil och år som Norrbotten som är 31gånger större till yta, men fynden är ändå överraskande.Svaret till fynden kan inte förklaras i denna studie men framtida forskning som belyserglesbygdperspektivet rekommenderas. / Background: Prostate cancer is currently the most common form of cancer inSweden and the most common cancer-related cause of death. Individuals withprostate cancer are affected in their sexual health in a multifactorial way by thecancer treatment and its side effects.Motive: Residents in sparsely populated areas may have different conditions forequal care. The sparsely populates area perspective is not well explored when itcomes to sexual health in prostate cancer, with the focus being on the treatmentoutcome and its side effects.Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate how people with prostate cancerliving on Gotland and Norrbotten rate their sexual health using a questionnairespecific to prostate cancer.Methods: A descriptive, comparative questionnaire study with a quantitativeapproach was conducted where a total of 30 consecutively included patients fromNorrbotten and Gotland answered the prostate cancer-specific questionnaire EORTCQLQ-PR25.Results: The areas urinary tract symptoms, hormone treatment-related symptomsand sexual activity showed a higher prevalence of complaints. The respondentsestimated a low interest in sex and a high impact on masculinity. Gotland had worseoutcomes in most analyzed sub-areas and questions; a particularly large difference isfound in the use of incontinence aid, sexual activity and sexual function.Conclusion: Sexual health is for prostate cancer patients a problem that is morenuanced than erectile function, for example in the respondent group variables such asinterest in sex and experience of masculinity played a significant role. Access to careis important for patients, and the group's estimation results could have been differentif the residential regions had provided better conditions. The study also suggests thatthere is a difference between Norrbotten and Gotland, which may be due tounderlying variables related to the regions, for example that Gotland has asignificantly higher incidence of prostate cancer and a higher proportion of elderlypeople than Norrbotten. Gotland has a lower density of urban areas and almost thesame mileage per car per year as Norrbotten, which is 31 times larger in surface area,but the findings are still surprising.Those findings cannot be explained in this study, but future research that highlightsthe sparsely populated perspective is recommended.

Denna studie lyfter fram lågstadieelevers språkliga repertoar i en glesbygdskommun med enstark anknytning till den samiska kulturen. Studien utgår från en fenomenologisk teori, ochtvå datainsamlingsmetoder som har använts i studien är visuella språkliga porträtt ochsemistrukturerade gruppintervjuer. Datainsamlingen genomfördes med två olika tredjeklassarepå två olika skolor. Språkporträtt är en kreativ arbetsprocess som inte har använts tidigare föratt ta reda på hur lågstadieelevers språkliga repertoar ser ut. Studiens resultat sammanfattar attspråk och icketraditionella språk har stor betydelse för elevernas språkliga repertoar. Vidarevisar resultaten att samiska är betydelsefullt för eleverna i årskurs tre, eftersom 18 av 26språkporträtt inkluderade något av de samiska språken, och språken fick ta stor plats påelevernas språkporträtt. Detta visar på hur viktigt språket är för eleverna. Resultatet ärbetydelsefullt eftersom en liknande studie inte representeras i aktuell forskning. Således bidrarstudien med en viktig röst när det gäller elevers språkliga repertoarer och deras erfarenheterav de samiska språken. / This study highlights the linguistic repertoire of primary school students in a rural municipalitywith a strong connection to Sami culture. The study is based on a phenomenological theory, andtwo data collection methods employed in the study are visual linguistic portraits and semistructured group interviews. The data collection was conducted with two different third-gradestudents from two different schools. Language portraits represent a creative work process thathas not been previously used to explore the linguistic repertoire of primary school students. Thestudy's findings summarize that language and non-traditional languages hold significantimportance for the students' linguistic repertoire. Furthermore, the results demonstrate thesignificance of Sami language for the third-grade students, as 18 out of 26 language portraitsincluded one of the Sami languages, and these languages occupied a prominent place in thestudents' language portraits. This highlights the importance of language for the students. Thesignificance of these findings lies in the fact that a similar study is not represented in currentresearch. Thus, the study contributes an important voice in understanding the linguisticrepertoires of students and their experiences with the Sami languages.

The distribution of the population has multiple implications on regional development and planning. In-migration is frequently seen as the only possible solution in order to rejuvenate the population and stimulate regional development in sparsely populated regions. A population increase results in greater tax revenues, meaning that local authorities can plan for their inhabitants and expenditures in a more sufficient way. In addition, certain professionals are needed in order to support essential local services such as schools and hospitals. Place marketing with the intention of attracting in-movers has become increasingly popular, especially for rural, sparsely populated Swedish municipalities. Still, the outcome from place marketing efforts are dubious and in addition, migration has a temporal aspect and individual migration propensity usually fluctuates over time. This begs the question – how long do in-movers stay? Is there potential for long lasting development in sparsely populated regions connected to in-movers or is it temporary? This study focuses on the duration of time until an in-mover re-migrates from Region 8 in northern Sweden and which socioeconomic and demographic factors that influences the out- migration. This is studied by applying an event history method with discrete-time logistic regressions. The study follows individuals in working age that moved to any of nine specified municipalities in Västerbotten and Norrbotten County, sometime between 2000 and 2011. Questions posed for the study is: i) On average, how long did people who moved to Region 8 between the years 2000-2011 stay in the region? ii) What are the socioeconomic and demographic factors that influence the out-migration from the region? iii) Do the influencing factors differ between women and men? The results show that the time perspective matters as the risk of moving out was highest in the initial years and that it declines with time. 30 % of the sampled in-movers had moved out again within the time of observation, and on average the in-movers stayed for nine years. The regression results indicated that the factors that had the greatest influence on the out- migration was unemployment, being between 20-26 years old, high education, having and unemployed partner, and having children below school age. Women had a slightly lower likelihood of moving out compared to men, and the most prominent influential factor to outmigration that varied between women and men was unemployment.

There are more people in rural areas today that will relocate to a bigger city and the urban areas are increasing towards this negative development. Cities will be overcrowded in the future, meanwhile the population in sparsely populated areas decreases. In sparsely populated areas, there are fewer possibilities in work and education, there is also limited access to service and public transportation.  This study focuses on social sustainable physical environment in sparsely populated areas. The purpose of this project is to produce a proposal on a design of a new residential area in urban areas with social sustainability aspects. The study focuses exclusively on the physical environment and how it can further social sustainability for the residents.  Because of the fact that more people relocate to bigger cities, the council of Bengtsfors wants to change this negative process. For the benefit of the citizens, Bengtsfors needs more and better public meeting areas but also more possibilities regarding work and education. By making Bengtsfors a more appealing place, the chance of people staying increases. As part of the study a survey was made, where the citizens of Bengtsfors county got the chance to make their voices heard by answering questions. Interviews with people working for the council and the company Fridh &amp; Hell bygg AB were also made. The result of the survey and the interviews showed that public places and green areas were important, this was then implemented in the final proposal of the design.

This study will present an analysis regarding regions effect on crime in rural areas. Thefour regional crime prevention organizations: police, the Swedish National Council forCrime Prevention (BRÅ), the county administrative board (länsstyrelse) and regions(regioner), all have a direct or indirect relation with handling crime in rural areas and/orhow it can be prevented. Through the lens of regional crime prevention, using previousresearch and interviews, the study tries to create the first reflections regarding howcrime prevention efforts in rural areas can be presented in the region’s context.Region’s new assignments, finalized in 2019, has had a distinct impact on all parts ofregional politics in Sweden. The inquisitive nature of the study is a telling sign that thisis uncharted ground in the Swedish context, and maybe the rest of Scandinavia andEurope. Because of this, the study creates an effort in explaining parts of regional crimeprevention in a rural context to consider the regions’ place within it.The study presents crime-related issues in rural areas, how the region’s processes forregional development function and a discussion regarding motivations surroundingcrime preventions place within regional development and regions. The study formulatesan attempt at a new framework of holistic dependency for crime in rural areas. Thisframework is dependent on four different recommendations, the topics of which canbe relevant for continued analysis and development regarding handling crime in ruralareas in the regional context. The four recommendations for rural crime prevention inthe regional context are: 1. Clarify whether the regional development strategy can include crime preventioninterventions based on identified crime prevention themes in regionaldevelopment, especially themes around more effective use of civil society as acrime prevention actor. 2. Investigate whether specific regions can change their responsibilities towards thestate to create better strategies based on their unique characteristics. 3. Clarify the crime prevention networks which regions take part in and how theycan be better used to prevent crime in Norrland's sparsely populated areas. 4. Interview all regional development directors and coordinators to develop thecase study presented / Denna studie kommer att presentera en analys av regioners effekt på brottslighet pålandsbygden. De fyra regionala brottsförebyggande organisationerna: polis,Brottsförebyggande Rådet (BRÅ), Länsstyrelsen och Regioner, har alla en direkt ellerindirekt relation till hantering av brottslighet på landsbygden och/eller hur det kanförebyggas. Genom att undersöka regionala brottsförebyggande åtgärder och tidigareforskning, försöker studien skapa de första reflektionerna kring hur brottsförebyggandeinsatser på landsbygden kan genomföras i regionala sammanhang.Regionens nya uppdrag, slutförda 2019, har haft en tydlig inverkan på alla delar avregionalpolitiken i Sverige. Studiens undersökande karaktär är ett talande tecken på attdetta är okänd mark i svenska sammanhang och kanske resten av Skandinavien ochEuropa. På grund av detta skapar studien ett försök att förklara delar av regionalbrottsförebyggande i ett landsbygdssammanhang för att överväga regionernas platsinom dessa sammanhang.Studien presenterar brottsrelaterade frågor i landsbygd, hur regionens processer förregional utveckling fungerar och en diskussion om motivationer kringbrottsförebyggande åtgärder förekommer inom regional utveckling och regioner.Studien formulerar ett försök till ett nytt ramverk av holistiskt beroende för brottslighetpå landsbygden. Detta ramverk sammanställs av fyra olika rekommendationer, varsämnen anses vara relevanta för fortsatt analys och utveckling när det gäller hantering avbrottslighet på landsbygden i regionala sammanhang. De fyra rekommendationerna förförebyggande av brottslighet på landsbygden i regionala sammanhang är: 1. Klargöra ifall den regionala utvecklingsstrategin kan inkluderabrottsförebyggande arbete baserat på identifierade brottsförebyggande teman iregional utveckling, speciellt teman kring effektivare användning avcivilsamhället som en brottsförebyggande aktör. 2. Utreda ifall specifika regioner kan förändra sitt uppdrag gentemot stat för attbättre kunna skapa strategier utefter sina unika egenskaper. 3. Klargöra de brottsförebyggande nätverk vilket regioner tar del av och hur de kanbättre användas för att förebygga brott i Norrlands glesbygd. 4. Intervjua alla regionala utvecklingsdirektörer och samordnare för att utvecklafallstudien som presenterats.

Some earlier studies have explored the peripheralization of sparsely populated municipalities and the urban-rural divide, both in Sweden and abroad. However, few studies have explored if central actors in the Swedish crisis management system puts these municipalities in their peripheralization according to the ones who conduct the crisis management in the sparsely populated municipalities. Therefore, this study aims to help fill that knowledge gap by capturing the attitudes and experiences from the ones working with crisis preparedness in those municipalities, regarding the handbooks and the other support the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency offers. The study is conducted by semi-structured interviews with those who work with crisis preparedness on a municipal level, in sparsely populated regions. After the interviews a narrative method, together with analysis tools from Michael Foucault’s theories about power dynamics is applied. Although many good things were said about the handbooks, the results presented two narratives. The first about the peripheralization of the rural areas and the other about an understanding of the urban perspective. An application of the analysis tools made it clear that power dynamics where visible in the narratives. The urban areas have the power to create norms and exclude the rural perspective, while at the same time making it fair and reasonable according to the ones who are affected by it. Which clearly illustrates the power dynamics at play.