Sustainable urban development is emerging out as tool to tackle climate change with a big difference mark. With cities acting as emitters of huge chunks of GHG gases, voices from all corners are intensifying pressure to mend the current urban development model and help find a solution. Several UN conferences fuelled the debate to include local people living in cities and held them accountable for their living behaviour towards the natural environment, and help change the existing unsustainable living patterns or practices which already exist in society. Since, it is the humans for whom these technological solutions have been provided, therefore, it becomes important how the humans themselves thinks while adapting or rejecting any sustainable solutions in their daily lives. The role of spatial planning becomes important here, because it involves all round planning which influences their daily living behaviour, considering individual as the ‘bearer’ of its ‘final outcome’. This thesis will help explore human dimensions in the sustainability debate, thoroughly arguing the factors humans consider in their daily lives, while making a new choice between sustainable and unsustainable practices which is introduced by the spatial planning around them. The study also helps to understand that regardless of individual negotiations, how residents motivated to adapt sustainable measures in their lives. This is being done by undertaking two theoretical viewpoints, the social-practice theory and the structure-agency theory.  Social-practice theory helped understand how daily living practices of the residents in Hammarby Sjöstad are related with spatial planning. This relationship between practices and spatial planning involves several rounds of negotiations between individuals and their existing daily routines, before a final choice is made. This second concept is understood through structure-agency theory. The case under study for this thesis is Hammarby Sjöstad, a district located in the south of Stockholm city in Sweden, which is being projected as a model for sustainable urban development. The data for the study was collected through qualitative research method, conducting interviews of the residents in Hammarby Sjöstad. The interviews conducted for the study found out that public transport, waste recycling and open spaces emerged as one of the most effective and efficient spatial planning in Hammarby Sjöstad, according to the respondents. The study also highlights individual cases where respondents have given specific reasons for making particular decisions, highlighting the individual negotiations.

This qualitative case study was completed at a rural medium-sized Texas community college and sought to understand how advisors and program coordinators made sense of the 60X30TX policy as it was implemented at their institution. The theoretical framework included community college, the Completion Agenda, structure-agency, and sensemaking. Each community college has its own culture shaped from its history, open access, policies, employees, and students. But the community college is influenced by the state with its mandates and policies, which results in a structure-agency relationship in which the state defines and sets higher education goals, while the community college strives to meet those goals in the way it determines best. The Completion Agenda has influenced state policies shifting the focus of higher education from access to access and completion. The state policy is a catalyst for change at the institution, but change cannot exist without sensemaking. As change occurs, people begin to interpret it based on the environment and their individual and group experiences. Sensemaking becomes central to the theoretical framework with the community college, the structure-agency relationship, and the Completion Agenda. Interviews with 12 people identified four themes: culture of completion, rebuilding advising, dual credit, and Pathways program impact. Participants embraced the completion goal of 60X30TX since it mapped to the college's mission and goals. Advising was reinvented to focus on the student holistically. Dual credit and the Pathways program were strategies of 60X30TX and were reflected at ACC. Both had benefits to the students, but also had consequences.

The main aim of the study was to investigate change of programmes of study at University of the Western Cape (UWC). This involved examining the extent, nature and possible range of factors which shape change of programmes. The factors influencing choice to study at UWC and choice of programmes formed the background for understanding the link between choice and change of programmes. The study focused on first-time entering undergraduates in selected faculties: Arts, Economics and Management Sciences (EMS) and Community and Health Sciences (CHS). The progression “pathways” of these students were tracked from first year of enrolment in 2001 to 2004. The findings of the longitudinal data showed that the percentage of students who changed their programmes in the Faculty of Arts and in CHS was very minimal. In total 5% changed their programmes in CHS in three-year programmes while in four-year programmes only 2% changed their programmes. In the Faculty of Arts in three-year and four-year programmes change of programmes ranged from 6% to 10%. The significant change of programmes of study happened in EMS which also had the highest enrolments. In total 18% of the students changed their programmes. It appeared from the statistical data that failure and academic exclusion could be associated with change of programmes of study. Other factors such as financial problems, poor grouping of courses, exploring and changing to preferred programmes as well came out from the interviews as major influences of change of programmes.

The main aim of the study was to investigate change of programmes of study at University of the Western Cape (UWC). This involved examining the extent, nature and possible range of factors which shape change of programmes. The factors influencing choice to study at UWC and choice of programmes formed the background for understanding the link between choice and change of programmes. The study focused on first-time entering undergraduates in selected faculties: Arts, Economics and Management Sciences (EMS) and Community and Health Sciences (CHS). The progression “pathways” of these students were tracked from first year of enrolment in 2001 to 2004. The findings of the longitudinal data showed that the percentage of students who changed their programmes in the Faculty of Arts and in CHS was very minimal. In total 5% changed their programmes in CHS in three-year programmes while in four-year programmes only 2% changed their programmes. In the Faculty of Arts in three-year and four-year programmes change of programmes ranged from 6% to 10%. The significant change of programmes of study happened in EMS which also had the highest enrolments. In total 18% of the students changed their programmes. It appeared from the statistical data that failure and academic exclusion could be associated with change of programmes of study. Other factors such as financial problems, poor grouping of courses, exploring and changing to preferred programmes as well came out from the interviews as major influences of change of programmes.

The thesis looks into the under-researched phenomenon of ‘stasis’ that can be observed in many emerging tourist destinations in the world. Stasis—defined here as non-growth—has been essentially addressed in the tourism literature from the perspective of operational constraints. However, in this thesis it is argued that such an approach neglects to consider these constraints as outcomes of deeply sedimented and chronically reproduced structural properties. In other words, the study attempts to gain an understanding of why operational constraints fail to receive response in destinations experiencing stasis. With its focus on stasis rather than on change, the study adopts an innovative approach to tourism development, intending in this way to add to destination development theories.Accordingly, the examination of the research problem is integrated into the general reflection on the development of tourist areas, composing the theoretical background of the study. Moreover, two important methodological decisions are made with the aim to better grasp the dynamics of tourism development within stasis. A first decision is to dissociate the quantitative aspects of destination development from the qualitative ones, introducing two distinctive constructs named destination growth and destination shaping. A second decision is to address the research question from a strategic relational approach to structure and agency. The use of a structure-agency approach is decisive in appraising the extent to which structural constraints affect tourism stakeholders’ actions. The phenomenon is explored empirically from a critical theory perspective and a qualitative approach based on a single case study. The case under scrutiny is Gabon, a politically stable destination with acknowledged tourism assets and a tourism strategy adopted in the past decade. Gabon is examined essentially for its function as internal leisure travel destination. The analysis thus includes both domestic and international tourism, but limits itself to leisure travel. The study results indicate that, in the case of Gabon, structural properties and their rigidity explained a great deal of operational constraints and their continuity over time. However, and while structural properties adversely affect destination development, including growth, tourism initiatives are still able to emerge. These tourism initiatives are varied in that they are undertaken by different types of actors, they have different goals and take different forms. Yet, very few of these tourism stakeholders are in a position to modify the country’s structural properties due to a high centrality of social control. In such context, destination growth is primarily determined by the vested interest of a small circle of agents with social power. In conclusion, a country’s structural properties need to be regarded as spatialized and temporalized tendencies having a selective effect on actors but cannot fully explain action, hence destination development. In turn, action is intended—and strategic—but results do not necessarily match initial intentions. This implies that tourism development cannot be apprehended through the sole actions of tourism stakeholders, but need a combined analysis of the interrelationships between structure and agency. / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Magister Educationis - MEd / The main aim of the study was to investigate change of programmes of study at University of the Western Cape (UWC). This involved examining the extent, nature and possible range of factors which shape change of programmes. The factors influencing choice to study at UWC and choice of programmes formed the background for understanding the link between choice and change of programmes. The study focused on first-time entering undergraduates in selected faculties: Arts, Economics and Management Sciences (EMS) and Community and Health Sciences (CHS). The progression “pathways†of these students were tracked from first year of enrolment in 2001 to 2004. The findings of the longitudinal data showed that the percentage of students who changed their programmes in the Faculty of Arts and in CHS was very minimal. In total 5% changed their programmes in CHS in three-year programmes while in four-year programmes only 2% changed their programmes. In the Faculty of Arts in three-year and four-year programmes change of programmes ranged from 6% to 10%. The significant change of programmes of study happened in EMS which also had the highest enrolments. In total 18% of the students changed their programmes. It appeared from the statistical data that failure and academic exclusion could be associated with change of programmes of study. Other factors such as financial problems, poor grouping of courses, exploring and changing to preferred programmes as well came out from the interviews as major influences of change of programmes. / South Africa

<p>The aim of this thesis is to describe and understand the introduction of entrepreneurship and enterprise projects in primary and secondary schools in the North of Sweden and to identify and analyse the driving forces and actors behind this process. In particular the influence and significance of education policy at supranational, national and subnational level for the introduction of entrepreneurship and enterprise in education are analysed. The main questions of the study have been:</p><p>• How and why have entrepreneurship and enterprise education come to the schools in the northern region of Sweden, in particular within the framework of the PRIO1 project?</p><p>• How were important stakeholders involved at the subnational level and how did they reason and act in relation to the introduction of entrepreneurship and enterprise in the schools?</p><p>• How are the concepts of entrepreneurship and enterprise education presented in policy documents at different policy levels?</p><p>The study wants to report on changes in education policy during recent years. Especially the emergence of international policy convergence and new forms of governance are among the factors that are considered. Drawing on a conceptual framework of structure and agency, the analyses in the empirical studies are informed by a combination of theoretical fields. Important contributions are rendered from the education policy literature. The first method consists of a policy study of documents produced by organisations at different levels (supranational, national and subnational). The purpose of this analysis is to capture the ideas and arguments that have been used but also to understand the context and driving forces for the introduction of entrepreneurship and enterprise in education. Starting from the supranational level, the analysis focuses mainly on two organisations, OECD and EU. These organisations were chosen because they are widely regarded as leading organisations in setting the supranational policy agenda for education. The document study consists of a selection of OECD documents that have been released during the period 1970 - 2006, as well as a selection of EU documents. The EU documents cover the last 15 years. Attention is paid to several documents at the national and subnational level as well. The second method is an interview study. The interview study aims to focus on some of the key stakeholders (agents/actors) that have been participating in the formation (initiation, financing and realisation) of a county wide project “PRIO1”, Priority Enterprise in Västerbotten, in the North of Sweden. In order to understand why and how these actors at the subnational level have become involved in the process, there exists a need to hear their arguments. The document study shows that there is interplay between the different levels, but intertextual aspects have also become visible. The policy drive and policy scope show the concatenation but also the complexity of the policy development. Education is increasingly related to economic policies, in particular through labour market policies. Although the concepts of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise have developed within the economic sector, they are penetrating the education and training systems of many countries. From the results presented in this study, it seems that lifelong learning has become the guiding principle for the amalgamation of education and the world of work, while learning is no longer equated with just schooling. The opening of the school towards the surrounding world is a characteristic development in all this, but it is also a process that certainly is stipulated by agencies and actors at different levels, as is shown in this study. The interviews with some stakeholders at the subnational level show that the promotion of entrepreneurship and enterprise in education is related to arguments for economic and societal development. The interviews also reveal some of the “bottom-up” aspects of the policy process. One of the important results of this study is that the education policy studies have to include the level beyond the national borders. The interplay between the different policy-levels (supranational, national and subnational) needs more attention in order to understand the transformation of the education system.</p>

The university habitus is not comprised of neutral structures but carries with it a history of privileging certain ways of doing, learning and being. Students who identify as Aboriginal draw from a number of identities at the University that become more or less relevant depending on the context. In this narrative study, seven students who identify as Aboriginal are interviewed about their experiences at the University of Saskatchewan. As a result of these interviews, a perspective of the university takes shape where Aboriginal culture welcomes and comforts students in a supporting role but does not always seem relevant in an academic context. Connections to others and to oneself can impact a student’s engagement in classroom curricula and stereotypes about Aboriginal peoples and grades play an important role in shaping the experiences of students who identify as Aboriginal at university, their definition of success and even their decision to attend university. The “narrative of struggle” can influence students’ choices to frame themselves either in relation to a non-Aboriginal reference group or question why Aboriginal educational success is framed in terms of exceptional individual cases rather than as a group norm. While students’ experiences at the university vary, their purpose for attending university is closely connected to their identities both now and their hopes for creating a better self in the future.

This thesis focuses on the Soviets after the October Revolution, between 1917 and 1932, in which architecture was seen as the crucial aparatus to transform the society. Within this framework it approaches to social condensers which were perceived as architectural foresights and buildings that aim to transform the society and promote a new, collective way of life and relocates the (social) structure and agency dichotomy in architecture. Furthermore the effort of the creative individual (agent) to preserve his inner-domain is searched through the workers&#039 / club designs of two important architects Konstantin Melnikov and Ivan Leonidov, and furthermore trying to understand on which principles they established their architecture. Whereas the conclusion includes a critical evaluation on &quot / halkevleri&quot / (people&#039 / s houses) as having similar social premises within the scope of the general framework of the study.

The aim of this thesis is to describe and understand the introduction of entrepreneurship and enterprise projects in primary and secondary schools in the North of Sweden and to identify and analyse the driving forces and actors behind this process. In particular the influence and significance of education policy at supranational, national and subnational level for the introduction of entrepreneurship and enterprise in education are analysed. The main questions of the study have been: • How and why have entrepreneurship and enterprise education come to the schools in the northern region of Sweden, in particular within the framework of the PRIO1 project? • How were important stakeholders involved at the subnational level and how did they reason and act in relation to the introduction of entrepreneurship and enterprise in the schools? • How are the concepts of entrepreneurship and enterprise education presented in policy documents at different policy levels? The study wants to report on changes in education policy during recent years. Especially the emergence of international policy convergence and new forms of governance are among the factors that are considered. Drawing on a conceptual framework of structure and agency, the analyses in the empirical studies are informed by a combination of theoretical fields. Important contributions are rendered from the education policy literature. The first method consists of a policy study of documents produced by organisations at different levels (supranational, national and subnational). The purpose of this analysis is to capture the ideas and arguments that have been used but also to understand the context and driving forces for the introduction of entrepreneurship and enterprise in education. Starting from the supranational level, the analysis focuses mainly on two organisations, OECD and EU. These organisations were chosen because they are widely regarded as leading organisations in setting the supranational policy agenda for education. The document study consists of a selection of OECD documents that have been released during the period 1970 - 2006, as well as a selection of EU documents. The EU documents cover the last 15 years. Attention is paid to several documents at the national and subnational level as well. The second method is an interview study. The interview study aims to focus on some of the key stakeholders (agents/actors) that have been participating in the formation (initiation, financing and realisation) of a county wide project “PRIO1”, Priority Enterprise in Västerbotten, in the North of Sweden. In order to understand why and how these actors at the subnational level have become involved in the process, there exists a need to hear their arguments. The document study shows that there is interplay between the different levels, but intertextual aspects have also become visible. The policy drive and policy scope show the concatenation but also the complexity of the policy development. Education is increasingly related to economic policies, in particular through labour market policies. Although the concepts of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise have developed within the economic sector, they are penetrating the education and training systems of many countries. From the results presented in this study, it seems that lifelong learning has become the guiding principle for the amalgamation of education and the world of work, while learning is no longer equated with just schooling. The opening of the school towards the surrounding world is a characteristic development in all this, but it is also a process that certainly is stipulated by agencies and actors at different levels, as is shown in this study. The interviews with some stakeholders at the subnational level show that the promotion of entrepreneurship and enterprise in education is related to arguments for economic and societal development. The interviews also reveal some of the “bottom-up” aspects of the policy process. One of the important results of this study is that the education policy studies have to include the level beyond the national borders. The interplay between the different policy-levels (supranational, national and subnational) needs more attention in order to understand the transformation of the education system.