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This thesis studies the learning process between foreign and local knowledge in a community of organic farmers by the name Atitlán Organics in Tzununa, rural Guatemala. Foreign settlers with formal education and contemporary farming experience work alongside indigenous local Guatemalan farmers in this community, which also takes on international volunteer workers. These people of various background and differing intentions cooperate to develop the community and its business of organic food production while learning from each other. The foreigners bring global theories that relate to farming such as permaculture designs and scientific knowledge while the Guatemalans know the local land and how to work with it. This thesis outlines the learning process between these different competencies and presents a nuanced discussion on how these types of knowledge exchange can be beneficial for the people and the community. Diverse competencies can complement each other and enhance collaborative work but limitations can also occur due to difficulties of understanding other socio-cultural contexts, while risks of neo-colonial tendencies and western knowledge hegemony lure in these situations. The discussion in this thesis highlights the importance of mutual consciousness about this process in the community and what that can be done to enhance collaborative learning while avoiding such risks.

The purpose of this thesis is to shed new light on the theorizations discussing the economic benefits of geographical clustering in a space economy increasingly characterized by globalization processes. This is made possible through the employment of a plant-perspective and a focus on how the relative fixity and mobility of labour influence plant performance throughout the entire Swedish economy.  By means of the longitudinal micro database ASTRID, connecting attributes of individuals to features of plants and localities for the whole Swedish economy, the empirical findings indicate that both localization and urbanization economies produce significant labour market externalities and that such inter-plant linkages positively affect plant performance as compared to the partial effects of relative regional specialization and diversification. Moreover, it is also demonstrated that it is necessary both to distinguish how well the external skills retrieved via labour mobility match the existing knowledge base of plants and to determine the geographical dimension of such flows to verify the relative effect of labour market-induced externalities. Finally, it is demonstrated that whereas general urbanization is beneficial within close distance to the plant, the composition of economic activities is more influential at greater distances. In such cases the geographical dimension influences whether plants benefit from being located in similar or different local settings.  In conclusion, it is argued that the circulation of labour skills, created and reproduced through the place-specific industrial setup, is crucial for understanding the mechanisms creating geographical variations in plant performance as compared to other regional conditions often proxied as relative specialization or diversification. This is because the relative fixity of labour tends to create place- and sector-specific skills which by means of their mobility in space are likely to facilitate the recombination of local skills, make the acquirement of non-local skills possible and secure sufficient affinity between economic actors by strengthening other dimensions of proximity – all aspects regarded as crucial to facilitate interactive learning processes and contribute to sustained regional growth.

The Madrid City Council’s efforts to invite citizens to decision making are being examined through the eyes of six young inhabitants, aged 18-30. Their views on sustainability and experiences of participating in the city development are gained through qualitative, semi-structured interviews. The interviewed citizens find sustainability important, but their definitions are not in accordance with the polysemic way sustainability is being conceived and discussed theoretically. It also differs from their experience of how the government defines it. The findings are filtered through the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development, urban planning, and citizen engagement. While expressing a low trust in the institutions, the citizens seem to believe that the city takes the public’s opinions into account, but to a low extent. Possible explanations to the perspectives provided by the interviewees and the current situation of low participation rate among young inhabitants are presented. Strategies for how the Madrid City Council could increase the participation rate among young citizens are then suggested, such as increased governmental transparency, increased focus on projects related to sustainability, and improved education about sustainability.

<p>Turistindustrien vokser fra år til år. Samtidig øker konkurransen om de reisende, både i Norge og i resten av verden. Budor har primært sitt marked i Norge, og det er mange krevende oppgaver som venter, både når det gjelder markedsføring, innovasjon og annen utvikling. Det er de siste kategoriene vi har konsentrert oss om i denne vitenskaplige avhandlingen. Vi undersøker om forutsetningene ligger til rette for at Budor skal henge med i kampen om markedsandeler i framtida. Dette har vi gjort både ved å se på generelle og demografiske utviklingstrekk ved marked og befolkning, vi har sett konkret på reiselivsnæringa og hyttebygging. Vi har undersøkt hva som er trender og utviklingstendenser i reiselivet, og hva Budor kan levere i forhold til dette. Vi har sett på Triple Helixsamarbeidet som en drivkraft for innovasjon som Løiten Almenning bør benytte seg av, og til slutt har vi undersøkt og analysert det kreative klimaet og forutsetningene for innovasjon i organisasjonen bak Budor; Løiten Almenning.</p><p>Vi mener Budor har gode naturmessige forutsetninger for kreativitet og innovasjon, men for å få til dette kreves samarbeid og nettverksbygging, bl a med myndighetene, virkemiddelapparatet, FoU og destinasjonsselskapene, samt ikke minst tro på egne muligheter. Vi har lansert begrepet kvalitetsturisme!</p> / <p>The tourist industry is growing every year, together with the increasing competition among the travellers, both in Norway and in the rest of the world. The market for destination Budor is primarily Norway, and there are many important challenges waiting, both concerning marketing and innovation. Here we want to focus on the last mentioned item; innovation. We want to investigate if Budor has the appropriate conditions in order to continue competing for future costumers.</p><p>We have done this by looking at both general and demographic developmental features connected to market and population, and we have especially been looking to the tourist industry and the building of Second homes.</p><p>We have been investigating what kind of movements and innovations we see in the tourist business, and what Budor can do to meet these. We have been looking to Triple Helix theories as a power for innovations that Løiten Almenning could use, and finally we have investigated and analysed the creative climate and conditions for innovations in the organisation behind Budor; Løiten Almenning.</p><p>Our opinion is that destination Budor has splendid natural conditions for both creativity and innovation. But, to cope with this you need cooperation and building of network together with national authorities, governmental business support apparatus i.e “Innovasjon Norge”, “FoU” and destination companies, and you need to believe in yourself and your own possibilities.</p>

<p>I vårt arbete har vi undersökt sambandet mellan företagens kreativa klimat och personalrörlighet.</p><p>Genomgång har även gjorts av olika teorier kring ledarskapets påverkan på företagets kreativa klimat. Den svenska arbetsrättslagstiftningens påverkan på personalrörlighet har behandlats både i ett nationellt perspektiv och i en internationell jämförelse.</p><p>Vi har genomfört en enkätundersökning på 196 företag i Värmland, där vi undersökt sambandet mellan personalrörlighet och det kreativa klimatet i de företagen. Vårt urval bestod av företag som extremt mycket ökat respektive minskat antal anställda under 2005, samt de företag som hade en extremt låg förändring av antalet anställda under samma år.</p><p>Delar av Ekvalls undersökningsinstrument (CCQ) har använts i enkäten, med fokus på de klimatdimensioner som verkar främjande för radikala innovationer.</p><p>Materialet redovisas för respektive klimatdimension: frihet, debatt, risk och livfullhet. En geografisk uppdelning har även gjorts för östra Värmland, västra Värmland samt Karlstadregionen. Resultatet är även redovisat per bransch.</p><p>Avslutningsvis diskuterar vi resultatet och sättet att genomföra undersökningen. Vi påpekar däri vikten av att förstå att det är företagsledningarna som har svarat på enkäten och inte de anställda. Det är alltså ledningens uppfattning om det kreativa klimatet i företaget som speglas i resultatet. De viktigaste slutsatserna vi kan dra efter analys av resultatet är att:</p><p>Det upplevda kreativa klimatet bland företagens ledningsgrupper tycks öka då företagen kraftigt ökar antalet anställda. Företag som kommit ur sina svårigheter uppvisar också positiva resultat.</p><p>Däremot tycks det kreativa klimatet vara på en något lägre nivå i företag med endast blygsamma förändringar av antalet anställda.</p><p>Ledningsgrupperna i de värmländska företagen upplever sig som återhållsamma avseende risktagande, dvs:</p><p>organisationens benägenhet att tolerera osäkerhet, att ta tillvara uppdykande tillfällen, att handla snabbt, att ta tillvara på uppdykande tillfällen och att prova hellre än utreda.</p><p>De företag med endast små förändringar av antalet anställda, vågar ta större risker. De företag som kraftigt minskar antalet anställda är de som är minst riskbenägna. Företagen som kraftigt ökar antalet anställda uppvisar en riskbenägenhet som ligger mellan dessa två företagsgrupper.</p><p>Den stora majoriteten av de värmländska företagen riskerar att stagnera klimatmässigt. För att bibehålla och öka sin konkurrenskraft, måste de därför vidta andra åtgärder för att öka och stärka sina kreativa klimat, exempelvis genom en ökad intern rörlighet och ett aktivt och långsiktigt samarbete med universitetet och företag som bidrar till att förbättra det kreativa klimatet.</p><p>Avslutningsvis vill vi uppmana företagen i Värmland att börja våga anställa företagens viktigaste resurs, människorna, för att därigenom förbättra företagens kreativa klimat. På detta sätt stärks det värmländska näringslivets innovationskraft, och därmed en av framtidens viktigaste förutsättningar för Hållbar Värmländsk Växtkraft.</p> / <p>In this thesis we have investigated the influence of personnel mobility on the creative climate of the organization.</p><p>Swedish labour law and its influence on employee mobility has been studied both in a national as well as an international perspective.</p><p>We have conducted a survey of 196 companies in Värmland, in which we studied the relation of employee mobility and their creative climate. We choose to study companies that have increased or decreased their number of employees to a very large degree during 2005, and those companies that made very small changes of their number of employees during the same year.</p><p>We have used parts of professor Ekvall’s Creative Climate Questionnaire instrument, CCQ, focusing on the dimensions of creative climate which primarily tend to benefit radical innovations.</p><p>In the thesis, we have focussed on the dimensions concerning freedom, debate, risk, and liveliness. We divided the result geographically, as well as by type of business.</p><p>It is important to be aware that the questionnaire has been answered by the management of the companies, and not the employees.</p><p>The most important conclusions of this thesis are:</p><p>The creative climate seems to benefit from a great increase in the number of employees. Companies that have improved their business from a low level, at which they had to drastically reduce the number of employees, also show signs of improved creative climate. It also seems that the creative climate of those companies that have had only marginal changes of their number of employees is somewhat lower than the others.</p><p>The company management of the companies in Värmland, who reduced their number of employees drastically during 2005, describe themselves as not too keen on taking risks, which in this context concerns the readiness of organizations in tolerating uncertainties.</p><p>Risk taking companies act prompt and quickly on emerging possibilities, arising opportunities are taken and concrete experimentation is preferred to detailed investigation and analysis.</p><p>The companies with only small changes of their number of employees show higher degrees of risk taking, than those with higher numbers of personnel mobility. The companies that have drastically increased the number of employees seem to be in between the other two company groups.</p><p>The great majority of companies in Värmland risk facing creative climate stagnation. In order to maintain and improve their company competitive abilities, the companies need to take measures to improve their creative climate, for example by increasing their internal employee mobility, and by developing an active cooperation with the university and other actors that contribute to improve the creative climate.</p>

<p>The aim with my research is to illuminate the meaning of IKEAs settle in Haparanda, for the region Haparanda-Tornio, its economic growth and its inhabitants. The research has been carried out only through qualitative methods. Some interviews with a range of people from varying companies have been conducted.</p><p>Haparanda is a smaller Swedish city situated in the north, on the border to Finland and to a city called Tornio. These two cities, Haparanda and Tornio, has realised they are stronger in pairs, so they initiated cooperation across the border. Haparanda-Tornio is not a region of historically welfare and well-being. At least on the Swedish side, high numbers of unemployment, absence from work and many youngsters leaving the region because of pore prospects for the future, dominates. In this case, something very different happened when IKEA, one of Sweden’s most famous home furnishing companies, chose to settle their new store in Haparanda.</p><p>The settle of IKEA was a joyful message for the region and for the city of Haparanda in particular. A lot of other Swedish companies are now settling in the city as an effect of IKEAs arrival. It is surprising, though, that IKEA chose Haparanda, because of its low number of inhabitants and its geographical position. But, the increasing welfare in the region, satisfactory communication opportunities and the status on the Russian market, are probably factors behind the settle. Also, the Swedish and Finnish membership in the European Union gives them advantages on trading over the borders. Further, the settle in Haparanda give the company access to high number of consumers in four countries. The personal involvement of IKEAs founder, Mr Kamprad, states how exciting and unique this project is.</p><p>IKEA has become a symbol for the positive development in the region. More people may be offered employment since the municipality believe 1000-1500 new jobs could be the result of IKEA, and other companies settle. The effects on the inhabitants can be described as more opportunities to personal development and a higher well-being, a more shaded life. The region may become central to four countries, not only in consumption, but also in meetings and trade for example. But, the status of the region may grow stronger on the expense of other regions in the north. The language question could also be of high importance again. This is because the majority of the companies are settling on the Swedish side which gives the only Finnish-speaking population limited access to the new jobs.</p><p>The previous critiques to the region may soften, but new could rise. For example a greater load on the environment is inevitable, but also a social and cultural development that could change Haparanda and Tornio essentially.</p>

Tourism has become a major part of today's society and has been seen as a human privilege. The expansion of tourism makes travel more accessible to more people. Still, people with a disability can face difficulties when traveling for the purpose of tourism. Information becomes important to accomplish accessible tourism for everyone, but the problem in various tourism disciplines occurs with the lack of knowledge about people with disabilities.  Tourism has different disciplines. Transportation is one of the basics of making tourism accessible around the world. Transportation has a major impact on tourism development but also in tourist experiences. If the transportation mode is not accessible, it can be a negative experience for people with a disability and can affect the entire journey and their willingness to attempt further trips. Disability is a broad definition and it is important to understand that different disabilities require different needs and that everyone is individual. This study analyzes how hearing loss affects travelers and the understanding of; (1) What may be needed to assist people with hearing impairments when traveling; (2) How does traveling affect people with hearing impairment when they do not have accessibility? The method is a qualitative method with in-depth interviews because this study wants to understand and reflect participants’ experiences when traveling with a hearing impairment.

The purpose of the study is to highlight and investigate lack of basic services on city tourism in Bamenda from a national and an international stakeholders’ perspective. The study also aims to explore potential solutions and suggest improvements that can make Bamenda more competitive as a tourist destination. Basic services focused on has been insecurity, infrastructure shortage and unskilled personnel on tourism sub industries, electricity outages and unstable internet supply. To understand the scope of, the problem, a qualitative method approach was used whereby thirty-seven persons were interviewed. The respondents were adult males and females between the age range 38- 50 who have years of working experience and academic background that ranged from bachelor’s degree to Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D). The study identified government negligence in providing needed infrastructure and services as some of the biggest setbacks to the smooth functioning of the tourism industry in Bamenda. It was surprisingly realized that Bamenda has a diverse culture capable of attracting many international tourists as well as a very dynamic population. Additionally, it was noted that there is a devastating crisis of identity in the Cameroons that has brought tourism to near zero.

The tourism industry is today the most powerful driver of economic growth and development. Globalization plays a big role in diminishing traveling barriers across the globe, which has led to increased competition between destinations to identify themselves and delineate how they want to be perceived by tourists. In this case, developing a clear destination brand identity is paramount for success. Tourism destinations are complex; they are multidimensional and so are their consumer needs and stakeholders interests. The focal point of this research was on destination branding; it is crucial to have all the stakeholders on board. Consequently, a destination brand has to reflect the authentic identity of the destination hence differentiating it from its competitors. The purpose of the research was to explore stakeholders’ practices in destination branding, their attitude, experiences and expectations of branding Mombasa. The research was based on qualitative method where primary data was gathered through face to face interviews with the tourism stakeholders in Mombasa, and data collected was analysed using content analysis. The key findings include; lack of unity among stakeholders, Mombasa has not been branded, inadequate funds for branding Mombasa, and need for product diversification. The research concludes by suggesting step by step approach for branding the destination.