Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Earth Science) / Sustainability of rural water supply systems is a major development challenge in most developing countries including Zimbabwe. This thesis aimed to analyse the sustainability of communally managed rural water supply systems in Zimbabwe. Specifically, it determined the factors influencing sustainability of water supply systems; investigated how the implementation of Community Based Management (CBM) is contributing to the sustainability of water supply systems; explored how multiple uses of water influence sustainability of water supply systems under CBM and determined how the principal factors influencing sustainability and the CBM implementation practices, can be incorporated at the different stages of the development of a water supply system. The study was done in Nyanga, Chivi and Gwanda districts. A total of 399 communally- managed water points were studied and 300 households participated in the study. Questionnaires were used to collect data from households and Water Point Committees (WPCs). Data was also collected using Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with a total of 33 key informants being drawn from the national, district and community levels.

This thesis aims to create a first draft of a value-driven business model describing a mobility service for areas outside cities, which uses self-driving vehicles. The methodology used to fulfil the aim is based on service design thinking. User studies are conducted using qualitative interviews to explore the mobility needs and behaviour in rural areas. This is then combined with a morphological analysis, which is used as a structuring method for creating new business model concepts for the mobility service. Finally, stakeholder interviews are conducted in order to revise the developed business model and to find out their opinions about the proposed mobility service. The resulting mobility service is a feeder-service that includes self-driving vehicles, operated by the public transport authority. The study shows that a concept with self-driving vehicles like this would meet the users' mobility needs. Regarding the implementation of the service, stakeholders involved have driving factors that could facilitate the implementation, such as cost savings, increased accessibility, rural development, and environmental aspects. However, some barriers are identified as well, that mainly concerns the sparse structure and long distances in rural areas, the dimension of the vehicle fleet, laws and regulations, but also the psychological barriers such as acceptance of the users to go from using their own car to utilize self-driving vehicles in a mobility service.

Sammanfattning Denna kvalitativa undersökning handlar om hur yrkesverksamma socionomer upplever arbetet med utsatta människor i mindre samhällen. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur det kan vara att jobba inom det sociala arbetet på mindre orter och de olika omständigheter, fördelar och utmaningar det kan innebära. Undersökningen genomfördes på sex socionomer i mindre kommuner för att ta reda på hur de upplever och uttrycker sitt arbete utifrån aspekter som etiska riktlinjer, sekretess, anonymitet och lokalkännedom. I studien användes tidigare forskning på området och de teoretiska utgångspunkter studien utgått ifrån är systemteori och ekosystemteori. Författarna av studien använde ett målinriktat urval för att få tag i intervjupersoner som arbetar i kommuner i Norr och Västerbotten med en befolkning från 2000 upp till 12 000 invånare. Kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer var den datainsamlingsmetod som användes i undersökningen. Intervjuerna analyserades därefter med tematisk analys. Slutsatsen från undersökningen visar att intervjupersonerna upplevde att det sociala arbetet i mindre samhällen kan ha vissa specifika egenskaper, fördelar och utmaningar till skillnad från arbetet i större städer. Aspekter som etik, sekretess, anonymitet och lokalkännedom kan vara svårare att förhålla sig till och de kan påverka arbetet och utövningen i mindre samhällen.

Este estudo foi realizado com o objetivo geral de compreender a situação biográfica de familiares de usuários de álcool residentes no meio rural e teve como objetivos específicos conhecer as expectativas dos familiares com o tratamento em uma unidade de internação psiquiátrica e descrever o típico da ação de familiares de usuários de álcool residentes no meio rural. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, com abordagem da sociologia fenomenológica. O local de estudo foi uma unidade de internação psiquiátrica de um hospital geral localizado no estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil. Os participantes foram 15 familiares de usuários de álcool internados neste serviço. A coleta das informações foi realizada por meio de entrevista semiestruturada, de agosto de 2015 a julho de 2016. Os resultados foram organizados a partir de cinco categorias concretas que constituíram os „motivos porque‟ expressos nas experiências vividas dos familiares com o usuário de álcool, disponíveis em seu estoque de conhecimentos, que compunham suas situações biográficas no momento em que ocorreu a pesquisa, e os „motivos para‟ referentes às suas expectativas com relação ao tratamento do alcoolista. As categorias que fazem referência aos „motivos porque‟ revelaram a repetição de um histórico de alcoolismo na família, o quadro clínico do alcoolista interferindo no relacionamento entre os membros da família e trazendo sintomas para todo o grupo familiar, e o cuidado dispensado ao alcoolista devido aos vínculos de afetividade, à responsabilidade sentida pelos laços familiares, à compreensão da situação vivenciada pelo alcoolista por também já ter passado por um tratamento para alcoolismo e ao fato de o alcoolista manter uma boa convivência social quando não estava sob o efeito do uso do álcool. As categorias manifestadas nos „motivos para‟ mostraram que os familiares esperavam que o alcoolista mantivesse a abstinência e faziam planos sobre os cuidados a serem tomados após o período de internação do alcoolista. Foram pensadas em várias possibilidades, que envolveram desde o acolhimento do alcoolista em seus lares a projetos voltados para uma perspectiva de controle ou que traduziam o receio de não terem condições de cuidar constantemente dele. As experiências ouvidas apontam para a necessidade de ampliação do cuidado visando ao suporte aos familiares de usuários de álcool residentes no meio rural por meio de um olhar que focalize o seu mundo da vida cotidiana. Destaca-se a importância de favorecer a participação da família no cuidado e de fortalecê-la para enfrentar as dificuldades que possam surgir nas interações familiares oriundas da dependência de álcool, contribuindo para relações face a face saudáveis. / This study was performed with the general objective of understanding the biographical situation of relatives of alcohol users living in rural areas and had as specific objectives to know the expectations of these relatives with the treatment in a psychiatric hospital facility and to describe the typical actions of relatives of alcohol users living in rural areas. This is a qualitative research, with an approach based on phenomenological sociology. The place of study was a psychiatric hospital facility of a general hospital situated in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The participants were 15 relatives of alcohol users admitted to this service. The information collection was done through semi-structured interviews, from August 2015 to July 2016. The results were organized from five concrete categories that made up the „reasons why‟ expressed in the lived experiences of the relatives with the alcohol user, available in their storage of knowledge, which comprised their biographical situations at the time of the research, and the „reasons for‟ regarding their expectations in relation to the treatment of the alcoholic. The categories that refer to the „reasons why‟ revealed a repetition of a history of alcoholism within the family, the clinical picture of the alcoholic interfering in the relationship among the family members and bringing symptoms to the whole family group, and the care given to the alcoholic due to the bonds of affection, the responsibility felt by the family ties, the understanding of the situation experienced by the alcoholic because he / she has already undergone a treatment for alcoholism and to the fact that the alcoholic managed to maintain a good social coexistence when he/she was not under the effect of the alcohol use. The categories manifested in the „reasons for‟ showed that the relatives expected that the alcoholic would maintain abstinence, and they made plans about the care actions to be taken after the period of admission of the alcoholic. Various possibilities were regarded, ranging from the welcoming of the alcoholic in their homes to projects oriented to a perspective of control or that reflected the fear of not being able to constantly care for him/her. The experiences heard through this survey highlight the need to broaden care actions with a view to supporting the relatives of alcohol users living in rural areas by means of a look focused on their world of everyday life. It is worth emphasizing the importance of fostering the family‟s participation in the care actions, as well as empowering it to deal with the difficulties that may arise in family interactions resulting from the alcohol addiction, thus contributing to healthy face-to-face relationships.

The main objective of this thesis is to determine the model assumptions (Western Bohemia region-Planá, Marianské Lázně and Tachov) for the establishment and existence of the phenomenon of "amenity migration". This finding will determine the main reasons why amenity migrants moving to this area and what is their involvement in local life.

Nowadays brownfields objects matter not only in major industrial cities, but also in small settlements and rural areas. Even there are abandonned and dilapidated agricultural areas, farms and other buildings as a result of declining employment rate in the primary sector, growing interest in the service sector or increasing import of agricultural production. Abandonned buildings induce a negative aesthetic appearance of the landscape and disrupt the quality of life of residents nearby.

Globalement, l'espace rural connaît une croissance démographique et de nouvelles dynamiques depuis 40 ans. Celles-ci ne sont cependant pas homogènes, et l'on peut encore parler de marginalité de certains territoires. Devant les enjeux actuels du tourisme pour les territoires, la question se pose de son rôle pour des territoires ruraux marginalisés. Comment évaluer l'impact que pourrait avoir le tourisme sur de tels territoires ? Au vu des liens identifiés par la littérature entre tourisme et développement rural, il apparaît nécessaire de recourir à un cadre théorique couplant approche territoriale et multidimensionnelle. En conséquence cette thèse mobilise à la fois les outils de l'économie territoriale et de l'approche par les capacités. L'approche par les capacités (AC) renouvelle la problématique des indicateurs et permet de prendre en compte la multiplicité des acteurs du territoire et du secteur touristique tout comme la complexité des liens. Il s'agit cependant d'un corpus théorique encore peu stabilisé qu'il est important de confronter aux données quantitatives et qualitatives. C'est pourquoi une méthodologie en deux étapes est expérimentée. La première mobilise des données secondaires (données de contexte). Dans cette première étape, l'objectif est double. Tout d'abord, identifier les territoires marginaux au sein de la région Rhône-Alpes. Ainsi, une structuration de l'espace rural est proposée (à travers la mise en œuvre d'une analyse en composantes principales) ainsi que des cartes d'aide à la décision politique. Dans une seconde étape, les résultats obtenus sont confrontés à des enquêtes de terrain réalisés auprès des acteurs des territoires. La mise en œuvre de cette méthode permet d'aboutir à différentes conclusions. D'une part sur le plan méthodologique, AC contribue à la construction d'un diagnostic à l'échelle des territoires. En effet, l'AC permet de s'interroger sur les dimensions importantes du développement sur les territoires, sur la construction d'indicateurs et enfin sur une nouvelle approche des dynamiques territoriales. D'autre part, le lien entre tourisme et développement rural est mis en évidence sous deux aspects. D'abord, son impact sur les grandes variables socio-économiques est minimisé à l'échelle des territoires ruraux marginaux. Cependant, il apparaît que le tourisme joue un rôle de catalyseur du développement local en renforçant le capital social des territoires ruraux analysés. Ainsi, une recommandation centrale peut être faite : pour favoriser le développement rural, le tourisme doit être accompagné. Le projet touristique devient alors en lui-même un catalyseur de développement local. / Since the mid-1970s, rural areas have experienced significant change. Beside traditional activities, new functions (chiefly housing and recreation) have emerged and become important. At the same time, society has experienced changes such as acknowledging environmental issues and a reduced working time. This context has brought about changes in tourism demand as well, and made rural areas more attractive destinations. However, rural change has not been homogenous. Therefore, the critical question regards the role of tourism in territorial dynamics and rural area revitalization. Given the links identified in the literature between tourism and rural development, it seems necessary to use a theoretical framework that relies on both a territorial approach and the capability approach. In this dissertation the notion of territorial capabilities is defined as opportunities that arise between individuals and their territory. To analyse the impact of tourism on marginal area capabilities, we used a mixed methods approach. First, secondary data and principal component analysis were used to analyse the relationship between synthetic indicators and create a typology of Rhône-Alpes rural areas. Second, this analysis was compared to a field survey based on semi-guided interviews with local stakeholders in three study areas. Two main conclusions may be drawn from this work. Firstly, we suggest that the capability approach can be used to perform regional diagnostics. Second, we stress that tourism can act as a catalyst for social capital in rural areas. Following this conclusion, we would recommend that if tourism is to foster rural development, it needs to be planned and managed by local authorities. Then, the tourism project itself truly becomes the catalyst of local development.

Este estudo foi realizado com o objetivo geral de compreender a situação biográfica de familiares de usuários de álcool residentes no meio rural e teve como objetivos específicos conhecer as expectativas dos familiares com o tratamento em uma unidade de internação psiquiátrica e descrever o típico da ação de familiares de usuários de álcool residentes no meio rural. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, com abordagem da sociologia fenomenológica. O local de estudo foi uma unidade de internação psiquiátrica de um hospital geral localizado no estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil. Os participantes foram 15 familiares de usuários de álcool internados neste serviço. A coleta das informações foi realizada por meio de entrevista semiestruturada, de agosto de 2015 a julho de 2016. Os resultados foram organizados a partir de cinco categorias concretas que constituíram os „motivos porque‟ expressos nas experiências vividas dos familiares com o usuário de álcool, disponíveis em seu estoque de conhecimentos, que compunham suas situações biográficas no momento em que ocorreu a pesquisa, e os „motivos para‟ referentes às suas expectativas com relação ao tratamento do alcoolista. As categorias que fazem referência aos „motivos porque‟ revelaram a repetição de um histórico de alcoolismo na família, o quadro clínico do alcoolista interferindo no relacionamento entre os membros da família e trazendo sintomas para todo o grupo familiar, e o cuidado dispensado ao alcoolista devido aos vínculos de afetividade, à responsabilidade sentida pelos laços familiares, à compreensão da situação vivenciada pelo alcoolista por também já ter passado por um tratamento para alcoolismo e ao fato de o alcoolista manter uma boa convivência social quando não estava sob o efeito do uso do álcool. As categorias manifestadas nos „motivos para‟ mostraram que os familiares esperavam que o alcoolista mantivesse a abstinência e faziam planos sobre os cuidados a serem tomados após o período de internação do alcoolista. Foram pensadas em várias possibilidades, que envolveram desde o acolhimento do alcoolista em seus lares a projetos voltados para uma perspectiva de controle ou que traduziam o receio de não terem condições de cuidar constantemente dele. As experiências ouvidas apontam para a necessidade de ampliação do cuidado visando ao suporte aos familiares de usuários de álcool residentes no meio rural por meio de um olhar que focalize o seu mundo da vida cotidiana. Destaca-se a importância de favorecer a participação da família no cuidado e de fortalecê-la para enfrentar as dificuldades que possam surgir nas interações familiares oriundas da dependência de álcool, contribuindo para relações face a face saudáveis. / This study was performed with the general objective of understanding the biographical situation of relatives of alcohol users living in rural areas and had as specific objectives to know the expectations of these relatives with the treatment in a psychiatric hospital facility and to describe the typical actions of relatives of alcohol users living in rural areas. This is a qualitative research, with an approach based on phenomenological sociology. The place of study was a psychiatric hospital facility of a general hospital situated in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The participants were 15 relatives of alcohol users admitted to this service. The information collection was done through semi-structured interviews, from August 2015 to July 2016. The results were organized from five concrete categories that made up the „reasons why‟ expressed in the lived experiences of the relatives with the alcohol user, available in their storage of knowledge, which comprised their biographical situations at the time of the research, and the „reasons for‟ regarding their expectations in relation to the treatment of the alcoholic. The categories that refer to the „reasons why‟ revealed a repetition of a history of alcoholism within the family, the clinical picture of the alcoholic interfering in the relationship among the family members and bringing symptoms to the whole family group, and the care given to the alcoholic due to the bonds of affection, the responsibility felt by the family ties, the understanding of the situation experienced by the alcoholic because he / she has already undergone a treatment for alcoholism and to the fact that the alcoholic managed to maintain a good social coexistence when he/she was not under the effect of the alcohol use. The categories manifested in the „reasons for‟ showed that the relatives expected that the alcoholic would maintain abstinence, and they made plans about the care actions to be taken after the period of admission of the alcoholic. Various possibilities were regarded, ranging from the welcoming of the alcoholic in their homes to projects oriented to a perspective of control or that reflected the fear of not being able to constantly care for him/her. The experiences heard through this survey highlight the need to broaden care actions with a view to supporting the relatives of alcohol users living in rural areas by means of a look focused on their world of everyday life. It is worth emphasizing the importance of fostering the family‟s participation in the care actions, as well as empowering it to deal with the difficulties that may arise in family interactions resulting from the alcohol addiction, thus contributing to healthy face-to-face relationships.

This Course Work deals with the measurement of noise levels arising from agricultural operations ZD Pluhuv Zdar and Agra and Deštná Here was done operational measuring of noise nuisance, affecting neighbouring communities of these companies. The noise can be attributed to tractors with trailers transporting hay and silage to stockrooms, also the biogas stations and sounds of other routine activities within vacinity of the company. The measured values show that the resulting noise exceeds the legal limits only in Destna. This was caused by noise from the site of repair workshops and the adjacent road. In Pluhuv Zdar the measured values of noise did not exceed the limits allowed by the law.

Les sociétés rurales sont caractérisées par des modes de vie et de déplacement quotidiens particulièrement dépendants du mode automobile, et la mobilité est, depuis longtemps déjà, un enjeu central des politiques publiques qui leur sont destinées. Les collectivités rurales sont prises dans une tension entre l'injonction à adopter des mobilités plus diversifiées, plus économes, et, en même temps, un climat d'incertitudes et des contraintes politiques et budgétaires qui freinent les choix de rupture. La thèse analyse les conditions d'émergence d'une offre de publique en faveur de l'électromobilité alors qu’une multitude de dispositifs encouragent l'introduction de voitures électriques, de vélos à assistance électrique et de bornes de recharge. Les acteurs ruraux s'en saisissent-ils pour autant ? Et de quelle manière ? La recherche questionne donc les modalités particulières du saisissement des instruments d’incitation liés à l’électromobilité dans les petites collectivités rurales et étudie la manière dont celles-ci acceptent, en la reformulant, cette injonction à la modernité et au changement. L'hypothèse centrale de cette thèse est que l'émergence de l'offre électromobile dans le monde rural fait l'objet d'une construction et d'une mise en forme conjointe, mais loin d'être consensuelle, entre le monde local (usagers, élus, opérateurs privés) et les acteurs extérieurs. En mobilisant une approche pluridisciplinaire, le déploiement très progressif de l’électromobilité est analysé dans le cadre d'une démarche de recherche menée dans la Manche et en Aveyron. Après une contextualisation de l’émergence des politiques électromobiles dans les deux territoires étudiés, la thèse montre comment ce nouveau champ de l'action publique permet aux élus ruraux d'adopter avec prudence et sans renier l'automobilité auxquels ils restent attachés, un nouveau référentiel de mobilité durable. L’électromobilité est une proposition saisie ou détournée, discutée et expérimentée avant d'être éventuellement intégrée à une stratégie territoriale en fonction des ressources et du rôle de l’acteur local. Ensuite, après avoir constaté la très grande diversité des thématiques qui introduisent l'offre politique de l’électromobilité dans les territoires ruraux, la thèse propose une typologie pour mieux comprendre le foisonnement de micro-projets électromobiles et les visées auxquelles est censé répondre du point de vue des élus. L’appropriation de l’électromobilité est engagée via une pragmatique locale par des acteurs à la recherche d’un nouveau modèle d’aménagement rural. Nous montrons, à travers quelques projets de plus grande envergure visant à déployer des bornes de recherche ou des véhicules à hydrogène, que le déploiement électromobile est aussi un objet de pouvoir. Dans deux départements marqués historiquement par la production électrique (l'une d'origine nucléaire, l'autre hydroélectrique) et donc par les proximités historiques de l'industriel et du monde politique local, la thèse montre le saisissement stratégique de l’électromobilité par des acteurs locaux, comme les syndicats départementaux d’énergie. Il s’agit de promouvoir un nouveau modèle économico-énergétique territorial tout en maintenant les proximités politico-industrielles de toujours. L'un des principaux résultats est le constat de l'écart entre l'apparence d'intense renouvellement que relaient les discours et la mise en scène de l'offre politique et le saupoudrage presque anecdotique des projets réels. Ces démarches semblent porter les ferments d’une réinvention économique, territoriale et sociale du monde rural très ambiguë. D'un côté, l'électromobilité est utilisée au profit de stratégies de conservation de rapports de pouvoir, même si certaines formes d'appropriation de l'électromobilité reconfigurent discrètement les cadres de production des politiques publiques d'aménagement rural, débouchant sur une image de la transition mobilitaire rurale plurielle, sinon divergente / Renewed mobility policies have been developed since the mid-2000s in French rural areas, which are particularly car dependent. Local authorities have chosen to offer alternatives to automotive mobility. This thesis analyzes the emergence of public electric mobility policies, while national or European incentives encourage their development (cars, bicycles, charging stations). Do rural actors seize these incentives? And how? This study questions therefore the particular ways in which the incentive mechanisms related to electromobility in small rural communities are taken advantage of and how local authorities consent to this encouragement to change. The main hypothesis of this research is that the emergence of e-mobility in rural territories is elaborated and shaped by both local stakeholders and external actors, not always in consensual ways. With a multidisciplinary approach, we study the gradual deployment of e-mobility in two French territories, the Manche department and the Aveyron department. This study is based on the monitoring of several projects, and on interviews of local stakeholders.Our results show how e-mobility is used by local stakeholders to negotiate the turn toward a more sustainable rural transportation network and to reconsider the automobility system. It is seized, discussed, tested or rejected and might be integrated into a territorial strategy, depending on the resources and on the role of local actors.E-mobility is undertaken in several ways. First, it is implanted in a diversity of local public policies (tourism, social inclusion, environment), within smaller projects such as electric bike rental or electric car sharing system. It emerges through practical initiatives which stakeholders come up with in search of new mobility systems for the territory.Secondly, we show that e-mobility is a strategic tool, in larger projects (hydrogen, charging stations) in order to promote an energy system for the territory. In two territories historically shaped by electrical production (nuclear power and hydroelectric power), we demonstrate that e-mobility represents a powerful tool in the context of an energy transition, as it enables stakeholders to secure their role within these territories.The movement toward this innovation is made in the continuity of the rural and local policies, targetting isues such as tourism or local economy, and in connection with the national energy policies of energy transition. Finally, we hypothesize that these projects can also lead to discontinuities, to a reinvention of the rural, toward a new energy network, and new mobilities.