Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka och jämföra studie- och yrkesvägledares sätt att arbeta i småstadsskolor respektive storstadsskolor. Studien genomfördes i tre högstadieskolor i Stockholm läns förort och respektive tre högstadieskolor och en F-9 skola i liten stad och by Dalarnas län. Forskningsfrågor: Vi vill få svar på våra forskningsfrågor – hur arbetar studie- och yrkesvägledare med vägledning i småstad respektive storstad för att säkerhetsställa att verksamheten följer de nationella styrdokumenten som finns och vad är det som skiljer respondenternas arbetssätt. Metod: Som metod har vi valt en kvalitativ skriftlig enkät och innehållsanalys av kommunernas arbetsplaner. Genom att låta fyra studie- och yrkesvägledare besvara en enkät har vi fått en tydligare bild om hur det kan se ut i verkligheten. Resultat: Resultatet visar att det finns mer likheter än olikheter i studie- och yrkesvägledarnas arbetssätt och indikerade på vikten och behovet av djupare förståelse för vägledningsuppdraget i och för SYV:s roll i att uppnå den eftersträvade kvalité och likvärdighet. Slutsats: Med tanke på studiens storlek drar vi inga generaliserande slutsatser. Utifrån enkätstudien och den empirin vi fick från respondenterna kan vi dra slutsats att det är inte så markant skillnad om studie- och yrkesvägledare arbetar i småstad eller i storstad. Det som egentligen spelar roll är synen på uppdraget i sig och förståelsen från alla involverade parter i både storstads- och småstadsskolor. / Method: As a method, we have chosen a qualitative written questionnaire and content analysis of the municipal work plans. By having four study and career counselors answer a questionnaire, we have got a clearer picture of what it might look like in reality. Results: The results show that there are more similarities than differences in the study and career counselor’s working methods and indicated the importance and need for deeper understanding of the study and career counseling assignment and for their role in achieving the desired quality and equivalence. Conclusion: Given the size of the study, we do not make any generalizing conclusions. Based on the survey study and the empiricism we received from the respondents, we can conclude that it is not so significant difference if study and career counselors work in small towns or in big cities. What really matters is the vision of the mission itself and the understanding of all parties involved in both metropolitan and small-town schools.

This Bachelor’s Thesis discusses the Swedish artist and photographer Birger Gabriel Sjöberg. He was born in Varberg, Sweden in the year of 1835 and died 40 years later, in the year of 1875. During his short-lived life he accomplished creating both paintings and photographs connected to his hometown. These are now of value by culture-historical means. By answering question formulations regarding his living, education and esthetic production, the main purpose is to give a synoptic presentation of both his life and work. Since Sjöberg is not a part of the widely known context of art history, the thesis also strives to bring a light to a mostly unknown and unwritten artist. This study contains of two main parts, one biographical part, and one iconological part were a chosen number of his paintings and photographs are discussed. Throughout the iconological part, the works are analysed by means of Heinrich Wölfflin’s Principles of Art History. The introducing of the works is to give an overall apprehension about what he achieved concerning his creating in both work and private life.

The diploma thesis follows up the design of a senior-housing building in a small town called Velké Němčice. The design project was preceded by the creation of “Strategic Plan for the Sustainability and Possible Development of the Residency” in the form of a book publication based on analyzes, research of the area and discussion with the members of the city council. According to this publication several specific topics were created for more detailed elaboration. The solution of senior-housing belongs among the other goals of Velké Němčice town since as other small towns in Czech Republic they face the same problem of an aging population. As a part of a project there were selected various potential locations for senior-housing buildings and possible forms of these facilities were considered. The selected plot is located in the very center of the town nearby school, football field and also residential area. It was necessary to work with these aspects in order to achieve the best result both for seniors and for town residents. The building design is intended for self-sufficient seniors who still want to be part of social interaction both with town residents and with the younger generation. In a case of reduced mobility the apartments are designed in a way that can be easily modified and seniors do not need to move to another location. Common areas (indoor and outdoor) are used for recreation of all residents of the house including meetings with relatives and close friends. The outer part of the residency serves as a space where the process of socialization takes place the most. The pre-diploma thesis was developed in a group as a team-work and this cooperation also continued during the individual assignment of diploma theses. The common goal of all collaborators is to improve the environment of the town and life in it itself.

The concept sharing economy (collaborative economy or collaborative consumption) has recently gained attention in several cities over the world, with its promotion offering a prospective new path to sustainable development. In current research, most scholars cover global initiatives or initiatives in larger cities, but very few to none of them seem to have investigated the situation and potential in smaller cities. This empirical study therefore investigates both existing initiatives and work with collaborative consumption as well as the future potential and possible challenges for further promotion in a small town context, using Norrtälje town in Sweden as a case study for exploring the topic. In this study, a sharing economy is defined as a socio-economic system enabling consumers to gain access to commonly under-utilized physical assets in collaborative practices of sharing, borrowing, bartering, swapping, renting, redistributing, buying second-hand, repairing and rebuilding goods, instead of consuming new goods and/or owning privately, taking place either via online platforms or through physical infrastructure, possibly in exchange for financial compensation. A mixed method approach, including both qualitative and quantitative methods, was used in this study. The data collection included semi-structured interviews with both sharing economy initiators and the Norrtälje municipality Sustainability strategist, an online survey shared with residents in Norrtälje, as well a qualitative desk-based study. The collected results were then analysed though the lens of a formed theoretical framework, covering the themes of conditions for success and important stakeholders in a sharing economy context, as well as drivers for starting or using these initiatives and possible environmental, social and economic benefits of implementing a sharing economy. The findings showed that 11 initiatives currently exist in Norrtälje, and that the Norrtälje residents generally are very positive towards using sharing economy services. Further, it was found that the municipality is not actively working with collaborative consumption, but has been, and still is, involved in a few sharing economy activities. The findings of this study contribute to discussions on the actual role of the municipality in a sharing economy context, suggesting that the involvement of the municipality indeed is very important in regards to sharing economy initiatives, but that it is unclear from a municipal perspective whether it is actually included in the role of the municipality to promote and work with sharing economy initiatives. The results from this study suggests that the future for sharing economy initiatives in Norrtälje town looks bright. However, some challenges were found in relation to the promotion of a sharing economy in a small town context, including the current political situation not prioritising municipal involvement, the economic situation of the municipality not being able to prioritise municipal involvement, difficulties in understanding the concept among those who work for the municipality, negative mindsets among municipal workers, and lack of funding to existing and possible future initiatives. These challenges might have to be overcome in order for sharing economy initiatives to be able to grow and thrive. Further, this study found that it is believed from a small town municipal perspective it most likely is easier for a larger city to work with sharing economy initiatives, while on the contrary existing scholars suggest that the small town context might indeed be more beneficial for these types of initiatives.

The Master's thesis consists of an introduction, three sections, a conclusion, an appendix and a bibliography. The object of the research is the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) system as an instrument for the economic development of a region and a small town. The theoretical and methodological section describes the basis of formation of the public-private partnership (PPP) mechanism, reveals the essence and content of the PPP concept, as well as its classification. The second section includes an analysis of the development of partnership between the state and business in the Sverdlovsk region, as well as an analysis of the current PPP situation in Russia. The third section is devoted to the analysis and improvement of public-private partnership mechanisms as an effective form of interaction between government and business in the region and the small town. The total number of pages of the Master's thesis - 105. The work contains 5 tables, 6 figures, 1 appendix. / Магистерская диссертация состоит из введения, трех разделов, заключения, приложения и библиографического списка. В теоретическом и методическом разделе дается характеристика и основы формирования механизма государственно-частного партнерства (далее ГЧП), раскрыта сущность и содержание понятия ГЧП, а также их классификация. Второй раздел работы включает в себя анализ развития партнерства государства и бизнеса на территории Свердловской области, а также анализ современного состояния ГЧП в России. Третий раздел посвящен анализу и совершенствованию механизмов государственно-частного партнерства как эффективной формы взаимодействия власти и бизнеса в регионе и малом городе. Основные понятия, рассматриваемые в работе: государственно- частное партнерство, малый город России, механизмы государственно-частного партнерства. Общее количество страниц магистерской диссертации (без приложений) – 105. Работа содержит 5 таблиц, 6 рисунков, 1 приложение.

This thesis is the first qualitative study of parental involvement in education regarding students in one key township high school in an undeveloped small town in southern China. This thesis aims to examine parental expectations and strategies in the voices of parents. To achieve this goal, this thesis examines the social class of the interviewed parents while considering place. It explores the distinctions in the shared thoughts embodied in life stories as parents perceive or articulate their identities and interests with the parents’ lived experiences, particularly with schooling, occupational careers, and their place identities in cities, towns, and villages. Using concepts of cultural production and penetration, defined by Paul Willis, “penetration” pertains to parents’ insights into the use of education in reflection of parents’ embodied experience and social conditions, while “cultural production” refers to the outcome of collective parental practices and a meaning-making process regarding parental involvement in education. Oral history interviews were conducted with ten families (five fathers and five mothers). This research argues that parents can be divided into two groups based on the distinction of identities of interests in schooling, occupational career, and place of identity, with one group having long-term employment and the other having short-term jobs. Therefore, two sets of parental expectations are conceptualized through penetrations: onward mobility from the periphery to the center and upward mobility from a short-term to a long-term job. Finally, all parents produce the culture of “it depends on himself/ herself” regarding parental involvement in education and conduct four types of parental strategies considering parents’ social class and children’s grades parents perceive: position, trust, ambivalence, and distance.

No description available.

Au cours des dernières décennies, le commerce de détail a connu de profondesévolutions. Elles ont largement marqué l’organisation des espaces urbains, et plus largementdes territoires qu’ils polarisent. Cette thèse de doctorat se propose d’aborder la question ducommerce de détail dans un type d’espace urbain particulier que sont les petites villes, enprenant l’exemple de celles du Centre-est de la France. Dans le cadre des mutations dusystème commercial et des territoires sur lesquels il s’inscrit, nous avons posé laproblématique de l’adaptation des petites villes aux changements provoqués par les Secondeet Troisième Révolutions commerciales. Après avoir démontré que les petites villes, en dépitde certaines originalités liées à leur taille et à leur positionnement dans la hiérarchie urbaine,ont parfaitement été intégrées dans les dynamiques récentes de la fonction commerciale et descomportements d’achat, nous avons vu que cette adaptation varie fortement en fonction duprofil démographique, fonctionnel et situationnel des petites villes. La diversité des cas defigure nous a alors amené à nous pencher sur le question du rôle des acteurs publics et privésdans les stratégies locales d’aménagement et de développement commercial, et à laconclusion de la nécessité de coordonner les politiques d’aménagement et de développementcommercial avec celles portant sur les autres éléments du système urbain de la petite ville,afin de renforcer leur efficacité. / During the last decades, retail trade has known some important evolutions. Theyhave left a mark on the urban spaces’ organization, and moreover on the territories polarizedby the towns. This thesis aims to study the issue of the retail trade in a particular type of urbanspace that is the small town, taking the example of the Centre-East of France. Within theframework of the mutations of the commercial system and its territories, we have posed theproblematic of the adaptation of small towns to the changes generated by the Second and theThird Commercial Revolutions. After demonstrating that small towns, despite someoriginalities explained by their size and their position in the urban hierarchy, have beenclearly integrated in the recent dynamics of the commercial function and the customers’behaviour, we have seen that this adaptation vary according to the demographic, functionaland situational profile of the small towns. The diversity of the cases brought us to the issue ofthe role of public and private actors in the local strategies of commercial planning anddevelopment. Our reflection took us to the conclusion of a necessary coordination of retailplanning and development policies with the ones which deal with the other elements of thesmall town’s urban system, in order to improve their efficiency.

Scholarship has firmly established that the short story cycle is well-suited to representations of community. This study considers eight North American examples of the genre: four by Canadian authors Stephen Leacock, Duncan Campbell Scott, George Elliott, and Alice Munro; and four by American authors Sarah Orne Jewett, Sherwood Anderson, John Cheever, and Joyce Carol Oates. My original idea was to discover whether there were significant differences between the Canadian and American cycles, but ultimately I became far more interested in the way that all of the cycles address community formation and disintegration. The focus of each cycle is a small community, whether a small town, a village, or a suburb. In all of the examples, the authors address the small community as the focus of anxiety, concern, criticism, and praise, with special attention to the way in which, despite its manifold failings, the small community continues to inspire longings for the ideal home and source of identity. The narrative feature that ultimately provided the critical framework for the study is the recurring presence of the metropolis in all of the eight cycles. The city, set on the horizons of these small communities, consistently provides a backdrop against which author and characters seem to measure and understand their lives. Always an influence (whether for good or bad), the city’s presence is constructed as the other against which the small community’s identity is formulated and understood. The relationship between small community and city led me to an investigation into the mythology of the small community, a mythology that sets the small community in opposition to the city, portraying the former as the keeper of virtue and the latter as the disseminator of vice. The cycles themselves, as I increasingly discovered, challenge the mythology by identifying how the small community depends, in large part, on the city for self-understanding. The small community, however, as an idea, and a mythic ideal, is never dismissed as obsolete or irrelevant.

Scholarship has firmly established that the short story cycle is well-suited to representations of community. This study considers eight North American examples of the genre: four by Canadian authors Stephen Leacock, Duncan Campbell Scott, George Elliott, and Alice Munro; and four by American authors Sarah Orne Jewett, Sherwood Anderson, John Cheever, and Joyce Carol Oates. My original idea was to discover whether there were significant differences between the Canadian and American cycles, but ultimately I became far more interested in the way that all of the cycles address community formation and disintegration. The focus of each cycle is a small community, whether a small town, a village, or a suburb. In all of the examples, the authors address the small community as the focus of anxiety, concern, criticism, and praise, with special attention to the way in which, despite its manifold failings, the small community continues to inspire longings for the ideal home and source of identity. The narrative feature that ultimately provided the critical framework for the study is the recurring presence of the metropolis in all of the eight cycles. The city, set on the horizons of these small communities, consistently provides a backdrop against which author and characters seem to measure and understand their lives. Always an influence (whether for good or bad), the city’s presence is constructed as the other against which the small community’s identity is formulated and understood. The relationship between small community and city led me to an investigation into the mythology of the small community, a mythology that sets the small community in opposition to the city, portraying the former as the keeper of virtue and the latter as the disseminator of vice. The cycles themselves, as I increasingly discovered, challenge the mythology by identifying how the small community depends, in large part, on the city for self-understanding. The small community, however, as an idea, and a mythic ideal, is never dismissed as obsolete or irrelevant.