This research studies and documents the barriers to remote rural students' access of distance education support services offered by the centre for external studies at the University of Namibia The intent of the researcher is to investigate the question: What barriers do remote rural students face when accessing student support services offered by the CES-UNAM? The purpose of the study is to promote the growth of open and distance learning in the area of student support for students in the remote areas of Caprivi and Kavango regions in Namibia. The aim of the research is to provide evidence that open and distance learning students in remote rural areas face academic, administrative and logistics, personal and natural disasters as barriers as they study through the Centre for External Studies, University of Namibia. Six students were interviewed and studied over a period of two months. The students were followed to their places where interviews were held. Several written documents from students registering their grievances with CES-UNAM were requested from the office of the Director and were reviewed and analysed. The results thereof were recorded in thick verbatim as students personally engaged themselves in narrating the barriers that they face each day during their study periods. The results showed that Open and Distance Learning institutions in the world should practise and enhance sound academic, administration and logistics management systems to help students in remote rural areas. CES-UNAM has a challenge to ensure that students in remote rural areas are adequately supported. The researcher recommends that studies in the area of student support in should focus on their transactional, interactional and social contexts in order to enhance their opportunities to continue with their studies. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Distance Education)

Access and use of information facilitate the improvement of agriculture in rural areas. It is therefore important to ensure that adequate and appropriate information flows to the rural areas, and that farmers are able to utilise it. This study investigated the access and use of poultry management information in three rural districts of Tanzania, namely Iringa Rural, Morogoro Rural and Mvomero. The survey method, supplemented by methodological triangulation, was used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 360 poultry farmers in the selected rural communities. Sixteen focus group discussions were conducted, in which 160 farmers participated. Twenty-two information providers were interviewed. The SPSS® software was used to analyse quantitative data, while qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. The findings indicated that poultry farmers needed information on poultry disease control, poultry protection, shelter for poultry and poultry production. There was very low identification and prioritisation of farmers’ information needs by the information providers. Farmers accessed information that had a direct impact and was deemed relevant to their farming activities. It was revealed that farmers accessed information mainly from interpersonal sources. Likewise, farmers preferred interpersonal and informal sources to formal sources of information. The extension officers were considered to be the most effective information source, followed by family, friends, and neighbours. Various factors, such as lack of awareness, unavailability of extension officers and poor infrastructure, influenced access and use of poultry management information. It was concluded that most of the information providers were not aware of the farmers’ information needs, and as a result they were not in a position to disseminate relevant information. In addition, farmers were used to an oral culture, which means that they would probably continue to depend on interpersonal sources of information, regardless of the availability of formal channels and modern sources. The study recommended several measures, including the use of multiple sources of information and delivery of information in a variety of formats, in order to accommodate various categories of farmers. The study also suggested some areas for further research. Furthermore, a model for effective dissemination of poultry management information in rural areas was proposed. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

Vielen Siedlungen und Ortschaften sind in den letzten Jahrzehnten ihre charakteristischen Eigenarten genommen worden. Sie könnten heute eigentlich überall in Deutschland verortet sein, da sie ihre regionale Charakteristik und damit ihre raumbezogene Identität zu verlieren drohen bzw. bereits verloren haben. Ein wichtiger Bestandteil zur Bewahrung unserer charakteristischen Kulturlandschaft obliegt dem Erhalt der baulichen regionalen Eigenheiten, also dem Erhalt unserer gewachsenen „Baukultur“. Inwieweit ländliche Entwicklungsförderungen die Erhaltung und Weiterentwicklung ausgewogener baukulturellen Entwicklungen beeinflussen können, soll die vorliegende Arbeit analysieren. Sie definiert und beschreibt die wesentlichen Merkmale „Ländlicher Baukultur“. Weiterhin wird die Stellung ländlicher Baukultur im Laufe der Geschichte und der Gegenwart näher analysiert. Ein Hauptteil dieser Arbeit widmet sich der praxisnahen Untersuchung der ländlichen Entwicklungsförderung, kurz ILE, speziell dem Kapitels E (Bauliche Maßnahmen zur Umnutzung oder Wiedernutzung leerstehender oder ungenutzter ländlicher Gebäude). Das Ergebnis der Analyse sind konkrete Handlungsempfehlungen, welche den Förderungsprozess bezüglich der Bewahrung ländlicher Baukultur effizienter gestalten. Ebenso werden bereits bestehende Förderrichtlinien und Interessenvertreter ländlicher Baukultur vorgestellt. Der zweite Hauptbestandteil dieser Arbeit widmet sich abschließend allgemeineren Ideen und Handlungsempfehlungen zur Wahrung ländlicher Baukultur, welche im Rahmen einer umfangreichen Expertenbefragung zusammengetragen und analysiert wurden.

Les recompositions à l’œuvre sur les territoires ruraux décrivent une mosaïque de situations soulignant l’importance du rôle des dispositifs de coordination pour expliquer les trajectoires vertueuses ou de déclin. Mais, paradoxalement, les modalités d’intervention publique apparaissent de plus en plus difficiles, soulignant le caractère crucial de la question de la gouvernance territoriale. C’est l’objet de cette thèse, qui traite du rôle joué par la gouvernance territoriale dans le développement territorial, et des dynamiques de changement des dispositifs institutionnels qui composent la gouvernance territoriale. La première partie pose les termes du débat actuel sur les questions de gouvernance territoriale et sa place dans les processus de développement, et présente les principales conceptions et grilles analytiques de la littérature sur cette notion, avant de proposer une grille de lecture originale mobilisée dans des chapitres suivants. La seconde partie met l’accent sur deux dimensions majeures de la gouvernance territoriale, la place des conflits et des processus de négociation, et les mécanismes de changement institutionnel. Enfin, la troisième partie, traite de l’influence des formes de gouvernance sur les modalités de valorisation des ressources territoriales. Les réflexions portent plus précisément sur l’implication des acteurs dans la mise en œuvre des dispositifs de gestion des biens publics à partir de l’exemple des productions sous indication géographique, et sur le rôle des initiatives privées et associatives comme contributrices à la gouvernance des territoires ruraux, illustrées ici par la stratégie des coopératives agricoles. / The reorganization at work in rural areas describes a mosaic of situations stressing the important role of coordination mechanisms to explain territorial virtuous trajectories and situations of decline. But, as a paradox, public interventions appear more and more difficult to define and settle, emphasizing territorial governance as a core issue. This is the subject of this thesis, which deals with this issue through two questions: the role of territorial governance in territorial development, and the forms and changes in institutions devices as part of territorial governance. The first part addresses the terms of the current debate on territorial governance issues and their role in the development process, and presents the main concepts and analytical grids of the literature on this concept, before clearing an analytical grid mobilized in the following chapters. The second part focuses on two major dimensions of territorial governance, the role of conflict and negotiation processes and innovation in institutional devices. The third part deals with the influence of forms of governance on the valuation methods of territorial resources. Reflections relate specifically to the involvement of stakeholders in the implementation of management systems of public goods on illustrated by the example of geographical indication devices, and the role of private and community initiatives as contributing to the governance of rural areas, illustrated by the strategy of agricultural cooperatives.

« L'École au centre de la vie de la " communauté " ». La politique éducative sud-africaine a fait de ce slogan un moteur pour remédier aux inégalités scolaires héritées de l'apartheid au moyen de la gestion décentralisée des écoles. Mais comment répondre à cette injonction dans un pays où la notion de « communauté » est associée à la politique d'apartheid et où, à l'ère démocratique, les clivages sociaux et spatiaux restent forts ? Cette recherche déconstruit d'abord la notion de « communauté » et propose une analyse sous l'angle du lien social pour la dissocier de son contenu idéologique. À partir de l'étude ethnographique d'une bourgade rurale du KwaZulu-Natal, « racialement » et socialement mixte, elle explore les liens sociaux à l’œuvre. Après avoir mis en évidence l'existence d'un quasi-marché scolaire, la thèse montre, à travers les stratégies des écoles et les pratiques des parents, comment l'École vient consolider, maintenir ou fragiliser le lien social et œuvrer ou pas à « faire communauté ». / "Schools as centres of community life". The South African educational policy has used this motto as a driving force to reduce educational inequalities inherited from the apartheid era by decentralising governance at school level. In a country where the idea of "community" is linked to apartheid and where social and spatial cleavages remain strong in the democratic era, to what extent is it possible to achieve this goal? This research first deconstructs the notion of "community" and presents an analysis structured around the notion of social link, thus dissociating the concept of "community" from its ideological content. Based on an ethnographic study conducted in a "racially" and socially mixed rural town in KwaZulu-Natal, this research explores the social links at work. The thesis first reveals the emergence of a quasi-market situation among schools and then looks at schools' strategies and parental practices to show how the school system strengthens, maintains or weakens the social link and contributes or not to "fostering a sense of community".

« Le rural n’existe plus », annoncent certains chercheurs au vu de l’urbanisation généralisée des territoires ou de la disparition des spécificités sociologique ou économique des campagnes. Pourtant, le « rural » est encore présent dans les discours politiques, dans les représentations des ménages, dans la littérature scientifique actuelle. Qu’est-ce que le rural aujourd’hui ? A partir d’une approche compréhensive et inductive, notre recherche analyse les déterminants permettant de comprendre les pratiques spatiales, les relations sociales ou les formes d’appartenance territoriale des ménages ; elle met en évidence l’influence sur les modes d’habiter ruraux du territoire et du profil des ménages. La thèse aborde également la question de l’évolution du dynamisme démographique et économique des territoires ruraux dans un contexte de durcissement probable des conditions de mobilité des ménages. Elle s’intéresse aux marges de manoeuvre des populations rurales, au potentiel d’évolution de leurs pratiques de mobilité vers des pratiques moins dépendantes de la voiture. A partir d’une expérimentation de recherche-action elle met en évidence le rôle du levier « accompagnement personnalisé » et apporte des éléments prescriptifs en faveur de politiques globales de mobilité. / What is rural today? Based on a comprehensive and inductive approach of the rural households’ ways of living, our research shows the influence of the rural area’s features and of the households’ profile (in particular their spatial origin, their seniority in the area and their life project) on their daily practices. They are underlain by easy and cheap car-mobility, which could evolve as a result of three phenomena (rarefaction of fossil energy; stronger injunctions to sustainable development; public policies that incite to develop only the territories that are served by public transport). Our research evaluates the households’ leeway in terms of mobility practices and their potential for transition towards more sustainable practices. Thanks to the analysis of an action-research project we highlight the role of a lever of “personalized accompaniment” in terms of behavioral evolution and propose some prescriptive elements in favor of global mobility policies.

<p>Предмет истраживања дисертације је друштвена група младих из руралних заједница, односно, анализа особености живота младих у селу и проблема са којима се сусрећу као чиниоцима њихове социјалне изопштености. Предмет истраживања проучаван је у контексту глобалних модернизацијских друштвених процеса и односа, уз уважавање локалних специфичности.&nbsp;<br />Основни циљ истраживања је утврђивање друштвеног положаја младих у локалној сеоској заједници, али и глобалном друштву чија је та заједница део, стицање увида у (не)постојање свести младих у селу о сопственом друштвеном положају, проблемима са којима се сусрећу као и могућностима за самоорганизовање и активирање у локалној сеоској заједници. Специфични циљ истраживања је идентификација индикатора и објашњење условљености социјалне изопштености младих у руралним заједницама и објашњење њихове међусобне повезаности. Тиме се анализира социјална изопштеност која представља један од узрока, али и одраз друштвеног положаја младих у руралним заједницама. Под социјалном изопштеношћу подразумева се неједнак приступ институцијама и услугама и/или онемогућеност остварења социјалне партиципације у групи или заједници и остварења грађанских права.<br />У дисертацији се полази од неколико основних претпоставки. Полазна претпоставка је да млади у руралним заједницама имају ограничене шансе за остварење бројних животних потреба у свом окружењу што их ставља у неповољнију позицију у односу на младе из градских средина. Истовремено је то један од основних разлога због којих млади људи напуштају сеоску заједницу у којој су одрастали (немају услова да у свом окружењу адекватно задовоље животне потребе као што су образовање, здравствене услуге, комуналне услуге, приступ тржишту рада и могућност избора радног места, културне потребе и др.). Дакле, претпоставка је да је социјална изопштеност младих у селу резиденцијално условљена као и да утиче на њихове миграционе тенденције.</p><p>Истраживање друштвеног положаја младих у руралним заједницама и димензија њихове социјалне изопштености обухвата теоријски и емпиријски део. Основу емпиријског дела истраживања чини полустандардизовани интервју са младима из руралних заједница на узорку од 500 испитаника, старости 18-29 година из 10 сеоских насеља на подручју АП Војводине.<br />Анализа резултата добијених емпиријским истраживањем, показује да на ризик од социјалне изопштености младих у руралним подручјима највише утичу образовање, незапосленост, породични ресурси, материјална депривација, незадовољство и ниска социјална партиципација.<br />Потврђено је да образовне структуре утичу на репродукцију неједнакости и акумулацију културног капитала. Материјални положај породице испитаника показао се статистички значајним за доношење одлуке о образовању, односно потврђено је да образовне структуре младих зависе од социоекономског капитала породице, односно, да нижи материјални статус носи веће предиспозиције за социјалну изопштеност као и значај културног капитала родитеља на одлуке младих везане за образовање.<br />Резултати истраживања показују да испитаници као највећи проблем младих људи на селу перципирају немогућност запослења, на другом месту проблем неусловности за реализацију друштвеног живота, а на трећем, проблем безвољности, неамбициозности и незаинтересованости младих. Незапослени из узорком обухваћених села имају повећан ризик од социјалног искључивања с обзиром на то да су у највећем броју случајева незапослени дуже од две године. При том изражавају спремност на миграције према урбаним средиштима. У њиховим локалним заједницама смета им малограђанштина, примитивизам и менталитет људи. Већина младих који су учествовали у истраживању сматрају да је положај младих у селу лошији од друштвеног положаја који имају млади у граду. Сматрају да млади у руралним заједницама имају мање могућности у свакодневном животу, мање могућности за запослење и лошије услове за реализацију друштвеног живота. У највећем броју случајева нису задовољни тиме како друштво решава проблеме младих људи на селу. Међутим, ма колико били незадовољни тренутним стањем и решавањем питања младих у друштву, испитаници нису показали велику спремност за социјални активизам и партиципацију у решавању проблема. Показало се да су испитаници са вишим степеном образовања спремнији на друштвени ангажман. Сматрају да би боља могућност запослења, као и стимулисање пољопривреде и обезбеђивање бољих услова живота у сеоским заједницама, утицало на смањење одласка младих из села у градове.<br />У анализи резултата истраживања у свим кључним показатељима социјалне изопштености утврђене су статистички значајне и јаке везе са сеоским насељима из којих испитаници потичу, чиме је потврђена резиденцијална условљеност социјалне изопштености. Притом се показало да је економска развијеност општине којој сеоско насеље припада&nbsp; и његов територијални положај значајнији него величина насеља.</p> / <p>Predmet istraživanja disertacije je društvena grupa mladih iz ruralnih zajednica, odnosno, analiza osobenosti života mladih u selu i problema sa kojima se susreću kao činiocima njihove socijalne izopštenosti. Predmet istraživanja proučavan je u kontekstu globalnih modernizacijskih društvenih procesa i odnosa, uz uvažavanje lokalnih specifičnosti.&nbsp;<br />Osnovni cilj istraživanja je utvrđivanje društvenog položaja mladih u lokalnoj seoskoj zajednici, ali i globalnom društvu čija je ta zajednica deo, sticanje uvida u (ne)postojanje svesti mladih u selu o sopstvenom društvenom položaju, problemima sa kojima se susreću kao i mogućnostima za samoorganizovanje i aktiviranje u lokalnoj seoskoj zajednici. Specifični cilj istraživanja je identifikacija indikatora i objašnjenje uslovljenosti socijalne izopštenosti mladih u ruralnim zajednicama i objašnjenje njihove međusobne povezanosti. Time se analizira socijalna izopštenost koja predstavlja jedan od uzroka, ali i odraz društvenog položaja mladih u ruralnim zajednicama. Pod socijalnom izopštenošću podrazumeva se nejednak pristup institucijama i uslugama i/ili onemogućenost ostvarenja socijalne participacije u grupi ili zajednici i ostvarenja građanskih prava.<br />U disertaciji se polazi od nekoliko osnovnih pretpostavki. Polazna pretpostavka je da mladi u ruralnim zajednicama imaju ograničene šanse za ostvarenje brojnih životnih potreba u svom okruženju što ih stavlja u nepovoljniju poziciju u odnosu na mlade iz gradskih sredina. Istovremeno je to jedan od osnovnih razloga zbog kojih mladi ljudi napuštaju seosku zajednicu u kojoj su odrastali (nemaju uslova da u svom okruženju adekvatno zadovolje životne potrebe kao što su obrazovanje, zdravstvene usluge, komunalne usluge, pristup tržištu rada i mogućnost izbora radnog mesta, kulturne potrebe i dr.). Dakle, pretpostavka je da je socijalna izopštenost mladih u selu rezidencijalno uslovljena kao i da utiče na njihove migracione tendencije.</p><p>Istraživanje društvenog položaja mladih u ruralnim zajednicama i dimenzija njihove socijalne izopštenosti obuhvata teorijski i empirijski deo. Osnovu empirijskog dela istraživanja čini polustandardizovani intervju sa mladima iz ruralnih zajednica na uzorku od 500 ispitanika, starosti 18-29 godina iz 10 seoskih naselja na području AP Vojvodine.<br />Analiza rezultata dobijenih empirijskim istraživanjem, pokazuje da na rizik od socijalne izopštenosti mladih u ruralnim područjima najviše utiču obrazovanje, nezaposlenost, porodični resursi, materijalna deprivacija, nezadovoljstvo i niska socijalna participacija.<br />Potvrđeno je da obrazovne strukture utiču na reprodukciju nejednakosti i akumulaciju kulturnog kapitala. Materijalni položaj porodice ispitanika pokazao se statistički značajnim za donošenje odluke o obrazovanju, odnosno potvrđeno je da obrazovne strukture mladih zavise od socioekonomskog kapitala porodice, odnosno, da niži materijalni status nosi veće predispozicije za socijalnu izopštenost kao i značaj kulturnog kapitala roditelja na odluke mladih vezane za obrazovanje.<br />Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da ispitanici kao najveći problem mladih ljudi na selu percipiraju nemogućnost zaposlenja, na drugom mestu problem neuslovnosti za realizaciju društvenog života, a na trećem, problem bezvoljnosti, neambicioznosti i nezainteresovanosti mladih. Nezaposleni iz uzorkom obuhvaćenih sela imaju povećan rizik od socijalnog isključivanja s obzirom na to da su u najvećem broju slučajeva nezaposleni duže od dve godine. Pri tom izražavaju spremnost na migracije prema urbanim središtima. U njihovim lokalnim zajednicama smeta im malograđanština, primitivizam i mentalitet ljudi. Većina mladih koji su učestvovali u istraživanju smatraju da je položaj mladih u selu lošiji od društvenog položaja koji imaju mladi u gradu. Smatraju da mladi u ruralnim zajednicama imaju manje mogućnosti u svakodnevnom životu, manje mogućnosti za zaposlenje i lošije uslove za realizaciju društvenog života. U najvećem broju slučajeva nisu zadovoljni time kako društvo rešava probleme mladih ljudi na selu. Međutim, ma koliko bili nezadovoljni trenutnim stanjem i rešavanjem pitanja mladih u društvu, ispitanici nisu pokazali veliku spremnost za socijalni aktivizam i participaciju u rešavanju problema. Pokazalo se da su ispitanici sa višim stepenom obrazovanja spremniji na društveni angažman. Smatraju da bi bolja mogućnost zaposlenja, kao i stimulisanje poljoprivrede i obezbeđivanje boljih uslova života u seoskim zajednicama, uticalo na smanjenje odlaska mladih iz sela u gradove.<br />U analizi rezultata istraživanja u svim ključnim pokazateljima socijalne izopštenosti utvrđene su statistički značajne i jake veze sa seoskim naseljima iz kojih ispitanici potiču, čime je potvrđena rezidencijalna uslovljenost socijalne izopštenosti. Pritom se pokazalo da je ekonomska razvijenost opštine kojoj seosko naselje pripada&nbsp; i njegov teritorijalni položaj značajniji nego veličina naselja.</p> / <p>The subject of the research in this thesis is a social group of young people from rural communities. More specifically, this is an analysis of the characteristics of the lives of rural youth and problems they encounter as factors of their social exclusion. The subject of the research was studied in the context of global modernization social processes and relationships, while respecting local specificities.<br />The main goal of the research was to determine the social position of young people in their local rural community, but also in the global society which this community belongs to, to gain insight into whether or not the youth is aware of their own social position, the problems they encounter and the possibilities for self-organization and activation in the local village community. The specific goal of the research was to determine the indicators and the explanation what social exclusion of rural youth depends on and to explain how these are interconnected. In this way, the thesis analyzes social exclusion, as one of the causes, but also one of the reflections of the social position of young people in rural communities. Social exclusion means that people have unequal access to institutions and services and/or are unable to socially participate in a group or community and enjoy civil rights.<br />The thesis starts from several basic assumptions. The starting assumption is that young people in rural communities have limited opportunities for meeting a number of their needs, which places them in a less favorable situation compared to young people in urban areas. At the same time, this is one of the main reasons why young people leave rural communities in which they grew up (they have no conditions to adequately meet their needs such as education, health services, utility services, access to the labor market and the possibility of choosing a job, cultural needs, etc.). Therefore, the presumption is that social exclusion of young people in villages depends on their place of residence, which also affects their migration tendencies.</p><p>Studying of the social position of young people in rural communities and the dimensions of their social exclusion includes both the theoretical and empirical aspects. The basis of the empirical part of the research is a semi-standardized interview with young people from rural communities on a sample of 500 respondents, aged 18-29, from 10 villages on the territory of AP Vojvodina.<br />The analysis of the results obtained by the empirical research shows that the risk of social exclusion among rural youth is mostly affected by education, unemployment, family resources, material deprivation, dissatisfaction and low social participation.<br />It was confirmed that educational structures affect the reproduction of inequalities and accumulation of cultural capital. The material status of a respondent&#39;s family proved to be statistically significant for making decisions about education, i.e. it was confirmed that the educational structures of young people depend on their family&rsquo;s socioeconomic capital. In other words, lower material status implies higher predisposition for social exclusion, while their parents&rsquo; cultural capital is important for making decisions related to education.<br />The results of the research show that, according to the respondents, the main problem of rural youth is that they cannot find a job. It is followed by the problem that young people lack the conditions to enjoy good social lives, while the third problem is young people&rsquo;s dejection, lack of ambition and lack of interests. The unemployed young people from the studied villages have an increased risk of social exclusion, since in most cases they have been unemployed for more than two years. At the same time, they express readiness to migrate to urban centers. They are bothered by provinciality, primitivism and mentality of the people in their local communities. Most of the young people who participated in the research believe that the position of young people in villages is worse than the social position of young people in the cities. They are of the opinion that young people in rural communities have fewer opportunities in their everyday lives, fewer employment opportunities and worse conditions to enjoy good social life. In most cases, they are not satisfied with how society deals with the problems of young people in the villages. However, regardless of their dissatisfaction with the current situation and with the ways of dealing with these problems, the respondents did not show great readiness for social activism and participation in problem solving. It was found that the respondents with a higher level of education are more willing to engage in social activities. They think that providing better job opportunities, stimulating agriculture and providing better living conditions in rural communities would lead to a decrease in the outflow of young people from rural to urban areas.<br />The analysis of the research results showed that in all key indicators of social exclusion there were statistically significant and strong links with rural settlements from which the respondents come from, which confirmed that social exclusion depends on the place of residence. It also proved that the economic development of the municipality which the village belongs to and its territorial position is more important than the size of the settlement.</p>

Notre thèse aborde la conjonction entre trois thématiques que les recherches et les acteurs de terrain excluent souvent mutuellement : les jeunes, le milieu rural, les pratiques culturelles et de loisir. Notre problématique est de comprendre comment les pratiques culturelles des jeunes ruraux d'une part, et la recomposition des territoires ruraux au Sud du Brésil d'autre part, s'influencent réciproquement. Les premières sont entendues comme la partie culturelle des pratiques développées par les jeunes durant leur temps libre et la seconde recouvre l'ensemble des éléments permettant d'évoquer une ressignification et une requalification profonde des territoires ruraux. Trois hypothèses sont testées : 1/ les pratiques culturelles sont mobilisées dans les expériences des jeunes ruraux comme une réponse à une crise multifactorielle des milieux ruraux ; 2/ chaque configuration spatiale et profil territorial influe sur les représentations, les moyens et les formes d'action des jeunes ; 3/ les territoires ruraux sud-brésiliens connaissent un processus de recomposition, dans lequel les rôles socio-économiques, culturels, politiques et symboliques des territoires ruraux sont modifiés par les usages de la jeunesse, en particulier par leurs pratiques culturelles.Leur migration vers les villes étant une préoccupation constante des acteurs locaux et des observateurs, les jeunes de 18 à 28 ans, qui sont restés ou allés vivre en milieu rural, sont l'objet principal de ce travail. La façon dont ces jeunes mettent en place et mobilisent leurs pratiques culturelles avec les contraintes imposées par les territoires ruraux sud-brésiliens choisis (manque d'infrastructures culturelles, difficultés pour la mobilité, pressions sociales, conflits de génération, problématique du genre), permet de comprendre comment elles influencent et sont influencées par les recompositions en cours sur ces mêmes territoires. Le Sud du Brésil possède une agriculture familiale forte, ainsi l'image et les fonctions attribuées aux espaces ruraux y ont rapidement évolué au cours des dernières décennies. Dans le même temps, si les pays développés misent sur la culture pour redéfinir leurs capitales et anciens bassins industriels, le rôle de la culture dans les espaces ruraux et agricoles, a fortiori ceux des pays émergents, est négligé. Pourtant, ces derniers se trouvent actuellement devant des choix de société incluant une recomposition des territoires ruraux, que les jeunes rencontrés envisagent comme des espaces de possible.Ce travail de géographie utilise principalement des méthodes de géographie sociale rurale (entretiens, cartographie des données) liées à celles de la sociologie qualitative (récits de vie, observation participante). D'un point de vue du terrain, la démarche comparative permet d'aborder la question de l'influence de certaines caractéristiques du territoire sur notre problématique, avec trois terrains différents, bien que tous situés dans la région Sud du Brésil (Rio Grande do Sul et Santa Catarina). La diversité ainsi que l'unité de problématique qui traverse ces trois territoires permet d'élaborer une typologie reliant les échelles d'appartenances des jeunes et la façon dont ils mobilisent les pratiques culturelles pour les alimenter. Ils ont tous dans leurs parcours de vie été confrontés au départ en ville, mais sont là et s'investissent dans la vie sociale de leurs communautés car elle est la raison de leur choix. Les pratiques culturelles qu'ils développent (théâtre, musique, danse, bals activités traditionnelles, telles que rodéos ou olympiades rurales), leur permettent de s'identifier à une ruralité toujours recomposée, recréée parfois, réinventée souvent. Les actions des mouvements sociaux, des politiques publiques, du secteur privé ou des associations dans ce domaine ont pour objectif de mobiliser les jeunes à des fins diverses. Les jeunes, quant à eux,souhaitent simplement mettre en place des alternatives pour s'approprier leurs lieux ... / This essay intends to point out the conjunction between three thematic areas that the research studies and the actors on the ground would both exclude : young people, rural area, hobbies and cultural practices. Our issue is to understand how both cultural practices of rural youth and the recomposition of rural territories in southern Brasil affect each other. The first are to be understood as the cultural component of young people practices in their spare time and the second covers all the elements leading to a resignification and a deep requalification of rural territories. Three assumptions are tested : 1/ cultural practices are used in the rural youth’s experiences as an answer to a multifactorial crisis of rural areas ; 2/ each spatial configuration and territorial profile influence the representations, the means and courses of action of the young people ; 3/ rural areas of southern Brasil are facing a process of recomposition in which socio-economic, cultural, political and symbolic parts of rural areas are changed by the customs of the young people, in particular by their cultural practices. Their migration to the cities being a constant concern of local players and observers, this work will focus on the young people from 18 to 28 years old who rather stayed or who went to live somewhere else in a rural area. The way in which these young people are setting up their cultural practices with the constraints imposed by rural areas of southern Brasil of their choice – lack of cultural infrastructure, difficulties in mobility, social pressure, generation conflicts, gender issues - provide a means for understanding how these constraints influence and are influenced by the recompositions in progress in these territories. Southern Brasil has a strong family farming and the image and fonctions attributed to rural areas have been evolving rapidly the last few decades. At the same time, if the developed countries are setting their sights on culture to redefine their capital cities and old industrial areas, the role of culture in rural and farming areas – especially those of emerging countries- is neglected. Yet, the latter are faced with societal choices which include a recomposition of rural areas targeted by the young people interviewed. This geographic work mainly uses social-rural geography methods - semi-structured interviews ; mapping data – linked to sociology methods – life stories, participant observation. From the field point of view, the comparative process brings us the essential question of the influence of some characteristics of the area on our issue. The focus was on three different fields – although all located in the southern region of Brasil being Rio Grande Do Sul and Santa Catarina. The diversity but also the common issue that are facing these three territories enable to create a typology bringing together the affiliation scales of young people and how they use cultural practices to nurture them. At different moments in their lives, they were all confronted with the option of moving to a city but they stayed here and play a part in the social life of their communities so important in their choice to stay. The cultural practices they develop -acting, playing music, dancing, balls, traditional activities such as rodeos or rural Olympiad – lead them to identify themselves to a rurality constantly recomposed, sometimes recreated, often reinvented. The actions of social mouvements, public policies, private sector, or associations in this field have the common goal of engaging the youth for multiple purposes. And as for young people, they simply wish to introduce alternatives to take over their living areas.

This thesis explores the contributive role of architecture to the prosperity of a place. The research addresses the challenges and opportunities that rural regions face today by analyzing the general factors of marginalized rural communities through the lens of a specific community in mainland Portugal. A new approach for maintaining an authentic character, and a “sense of place” is presented which defends rural space as a genuinely experiential realm. The thesis proposes the design of a modern day treatment and research centre in the rural town of Manteigas, situated on one of the largest glacier valleys in Europe in the heart of the Serra da Estrela mountain range. Once alive with all the quaint characteristics that typify an idyllic rural identity, this town now faces a steep population decrease. Situated in the centre of the Zêzere glacial valley overlooking the town, the design accepts and interprets the natural geology of the site, harnessing the therapeutic thermal waters that continue to flow from the glacier line of the valley. The new centre represents not just a place for leisure and relaxation, but also an investigative laboratory for modern day natural healing therapies. The town of Manteigas is situated within three very distinct landscapes: a fertile landscape, a socio-cultural landscape, and a landscape of health and wellness. The design intervention responds to all these conditions and is dependent on each in its operation. This thesis is a proposal for a sustainable cycle of local and regional rejuvenation that will not be easily broken. The design proposal aims to build an infrastructure that will revive the identity of the community as a place of study and implementation of natural healing. The proposed design will also act as a catalyst to fuel future development and stimulate the local and regional economies.

Die historischen Stadtzentren (Downtowns) ländlicher Kleinstädte in den USA unterlagen in den letzten Jahrzehnten des 20. Jahrhunderts einem allgemeinen ökonomischen Niedergang und verloren ihre ursprünglich zentrale Funktion, primäre Einzelhandelsstandorte einer Stadt und ihres Umlands zu sein. Ursachen dafür sind vor allem in der Entstehung attraktiver Einzelhandelsstandorte am Stadtrand zu suchen. Ein genereller ökonomischer Aufschwung der Stadtzentren konnte trotz vielfältiger Bemühungen um eine Revitalisierung bisher nicht erreicht werden. Allerdings bestehen Anzeichen eines in erster Linie qualitativen Wandels und einer Spezialisierung ihrer Einzelhandelsfunktion. Auf der Grundlage des Forschungsstands wird in der vorliegenden Arbeit der Einzelhandel in Stadtzentren ländlicher Kleinstädte untersucht. Dadurch soll der in der Literatur angedeutete, aber weder vertiefend beschriebene noch beurteilte Wandel umfassend charakterisiert werden. Folgende Ziel- und Aufgabenstellungen sind damit verbunden: Erstens sollen der Einzelhandel in den Stadtzentren beschrieben und Typen des Einzelhandels abgeleitet werden. Zweitens geht es um die Kennzeichnung von Einflussfaktoren der Entwicklung unter Herausstellung des Wirkens von Stakeholdern. Drittens sollen Schlussfolgerungen zum funktionalen und strukturellen Wandel der Stadtzentren gezogen werden. Im Besonderen wird die Entwicklung des Arts and Crafts Einzelhandels berücksichtigt, der ein im weiteren Sinne kunsthandwerklich orientiertes Warensortiment mit dekorativem Charakter vorhält. Aus Voruntersuchungen kann von einer hohen Bedeutung dieses Einzelhandelssegments ausgegangen werden. Die konzeptionellen Grundlagen dieser Arbeit werden durch die Diskussion standorttheoretischer Ansätze sowie durch die Analyse der Literatur zur Entwicklung des Einzelhandels und der Stadtzentren in den USA gelegt. Daraus werden Annahmen zur Entwicklung des Einzelhandels und der Stadtzentren als Ausgangspunkte der empirischen Untersuchung abgeleitet. Diese besteht aus drei Teilen. Erstens wird eine auf ganz Ohio bezogene Untersuchung zur Lage des Einzelhandels in ländlichen Kleinstädten durchgeführt. Zweitens geht es um die Analyse des Downtown-Einzelhandels in ausgewählten Städten Ohios. Drittens werden im Rahmen von Fallstudien die Strukturen und Einflussfaktoren der Entwicklung zweier Stadtzentren untersucht. Die Methoden der Datenerhebung umfassen Kartierungen, leitfadengestützte Experteninterviews, teilstandardisierte Befragungen von Händlern sowie Dokumenten- und Datenanalysen. Im Hinblick auf den Downtown-Einzelhandel ist festzuhalten, dass (1) kleine Betriebsformen vorherrschen und Filialen von Mehrbetriebsunternehmen weitgehend fehlen, (2) Anzeichen der weiteren Ausdünnung traditionell in Downtown ansässiger Branchen bestehen, (3) zahlreiche Kleinstbetriebe mit geringwertigem Warensortiment (marginal business) vorkommen, (4) der Anteil des spezialisierten Einzelhandels hoch, aber ein weiteres Wachstum unsicher ist und (5) sich der Arts and Crafts Einzelhandel in den Stadtzentren konzentriert. Aus der Untersuchung von mehr als 100 Betrieben werden neun Typen des Einzelhandels in den Stadtzentren abgeleitet. Die Typenbildung erfolgt zunächst anhand der Sortimentsbreite sowie der Zugehörigkeit zum Arts and Crafts bzw. sonstigen Einzelhandel. Darüber hinaus werden Merkmale des Qualitätsniveaus (Low Quality Stores), der Absatzwege (Delivery Stores), der ökonomischen Rationalität (Self-Realization Stores) und der Betriebsgröße (Downtown Anchor Stores) als Vergleichsdimensionen herangezogen. Im Resultat der Untersuchung von Einflussfaktoren der Einzelhandelsentwicklung können als grundlegend benannt werden: (1) die entscheidende Bedeutung lokaler Faktoren, (2) die bestimmende Funktion des Wettbewerbs als Barriere der Entwicklung, (3) die hohe Bedeutung von Kostenfaktoren und der Kostenminimierung, (4) die grundsätzliche Präferenz der Konsumenten für Standorte mit größerer Angebotsvielfalt und (5) die dezidierte Rolle von Stakeholdern. Die letzte Aussage wird durch die Beschreibung und Beurteilung besonderer Entwicklungsfaktoren weiter untersetzt. Dazu zählen die Tätigkeit von Downtown-Managern, das Wirken privater Investoren sowie das Engagement der kommunalen Politik und Verwaltung für die Entwicklung der Stadtzentren. Schlussfolgerungen zum strukturellen und funktionalen Wandel der Stadtzentren als Einzelhandelsstandorte betreffen (1) die Gefahr der wirtschaftlichen Marginalisierung der Stadtzentren, (2) die Bestätigung einer fortgeschrittenen Standortspezialisierung, (3) die Funktion des Stadtzentrums als „Experimentierfeld“ für den nicht-filialisierten Einzelhandel mit lokalem Ursprung, (4) die Ausrichtung physischer Strukturen an historischen Vorbildern und (5) die weitgehende Stabilität soziokultureller Funktionen von Downtown. Die Untersuchungsergebnisse zu Einzelhandelstypen und Einflussfaktoren werden schließlich aufgegriffen, um stabilisierende und destabilisierende Effekte für die Standortentwicklung zu beurteilen. / Historic town centers (downtowns) of rural small cities in the U.S. underwent a process of economic downgrading in the later decades of the 20th century. In consequence, they lost their originally central function as being the primary retail location of a small town and its surroundings. Reasons for this development, particularly, can be found in the emergence of attractive shopping centers at the suburban edge. In spite of manifold revitalization activities, a true and overall economic recovery of downtown cannot be stated. However, there are signs of further change in downtown, mainly linked to qualitative transitions and to the specialization of its retail functions. On the basis of the current state of research this dissertation aims at a comprehensive analysis of downtown retail in rural small cities. Potential developments and changes that have only been mentioned in the literature will be characterized in detail. Three objectives and tasks are connected to this statement: First, the downtown retail shall be described in detail and types of retail businesses shall be derived. Second, impact factors shall be identified, specifically considering impacts of stakeholder activities. Third, conclusions shall be drawn with regard to the functional and structural change of downtown as a retail location. Special attention of this dissertation is connected to the emergence and possible growth of arts and crafts retail businesses selling goods with mainly decorative character. This interest originates from previous research, naming the importance of arts and crafts retail as a possible growth segment of downtown retail. The conceptual foundation of this dissertation contains a discussion on location theory as well as analyses of empiric and further theoretic studies on the development of retail and downtowns in the U.S. In a preliminary conclusion, assumptions are drawn as starting points for the empiric part of this study. The empiric research contains: first, a survey on the location of retail businesses in rural and exurban small cities throughout Ohio; second, an analysis of downtown retail in several chosen small cities in Ohio; and third, an examination of detailed case studies on the structures and development factors of two Ohio small city downtowns. Methods of data collection contain mapping, expert interviews, semi-structured surveys of retail businesses, and data analysis. From the characterization of downtown retail it can be concluded that there are: (1) high percentages of small retail formats in downtown and almost no chain stores, (2) clear indications of further decreasing “traditional” downtown trade-lines, (3) high percentages of very small “marginal businesses” with assortments of lower value, (4) high percentages of specialized retail stores but without considerable signs of further growth, and (5) concentrations of arts and crafts shops in downtown. Furthermore, nine different types of downtown retail businesses can be derived from an investigation of more than 100 stores. For this purpose, downtown businesses are rated by the range of products they offer and by their belonging to arts and crafts or other retail sectors. In addition, further dimensions lead to special types of downtown retail considering specific characteristics of retail stores such as the quality level (“low quality store”), the means of distribution (“delivery store”), questions of economic rationality (“self-realization store”) and the size of a store (“downtown anchor store”). The analysis of impact factors identifies the importance of: (1) local factors against non-local factors causing differences among downtowns, (2) competition as a barrier for downtown retail development, (3) cost factors and the minimization of costs for downtown stores, (4) the consumers’ general preferences for larger locations with a wider range of supplies, and of (5) stakeholder activities as being decisive for downtown development. The latter fact receives further attention in this research by assessing specific constellations of stakeholder activities. Among them are the effects of downtown manager action, the impact of private investors, and the commitment of local administration and politics to downtown. Conclusions on the structural and functional change of downtown as commercial location pertain to (1) the danger of marginalization of downtown’s economic role, (2) the affirmation of an advanced specialization of downtown locations, (3) the incubator or laboratory function of downtown for locally-based retail, (4) the orientation of physical structures towards historic ideals, and (5) the widely stable situation of socio-cultural functions of downtown. Finally, the types of downtown retail and impact factors that have been generated in this dissertation are subject to further assessments. They are rated with regard to potential effects on the stabilization or destabilization of downtown’s role as a commercial location.