The study is an exploration and analysis of regional economic development programs and policies in the Maritimes from the start of Confederation to the present day. The study revolves around three major time periods in Canadian history and their influence on the Maritime region. By viewing the Maritimes as one region that has the comparative advantage to compete with the rest of Canada, the study asks the following question: why, after 140 years, have regional development programs failed in leading to sustained prosperity for the entire Maritime region? The study concludes that the Federal government needs to create changes in its regional development programs by implementing new policies to break the cycle of poverty.

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In the 21st century, tourism has become a very popular and important industry all over the world. The success of tourism lies in the sound infrastructure of the scenic spots and, more importantly, in the unique cultures behind different localities. According to the statistics published by the World Tourism Organization (WTO), 37% of tourism abroad is related to culture and this ¡§cultural tourism¡¨ is experiencing a 10% annual increase. Cultural tourism has undoubtedly become a new trend in invigorating regional development. In the long run, culture-based tourist activities may be the only activities that can attract and keep tourists. The Kaohsiung and Pingtung districts are well-known for their natural resources, beautiful landscapes, and cultural backgrounds, all of which have been intertwined in creating this unique community. Through competition, complementarity, and finally cooperation, these districts have become an inseparable whole. The continued integration of the cultural resources among these districts can further promote cultural tourism and greatly benefit the regional development in these districts. The purpose of this dissertation is mainly to analyze the developmental processes and cultural resources in the Kaohsiung and Pingtung districts. Based on the SWOT approach adopted in several foreign cases, the internal as well as external factors involved in the environment and resources related to cultural tourism were investigated. Also, informed by the Delphi approach, viable strategies were recommended for the future development in the cultural tourism industry in these districts. The strategies proposed in this dissertation include (a) development of strategic alliances between public and private sectors; (b) establishment of cooperative as well as compensatory mechanisms in relation to cultural tourism; (c) synergetic marketing of cultural activities; (d) organization of relevant administrative departments in relation to cultural tourism; (e) designing of thematic cultural tourism packages; (f) synergetic marketing of scenic spots with similar cultural tourism attractions; (g) integration of cultural activities as well as development of communities that value art appreciation.

In recent years, MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Convention and Exhibition) industry has sparked the market all over the world. Its enormous economic marginal benefits have been supposed to form a strategic industry to inspire local economic growth and to make up the lost of traditional industry. In order to develop the ¡§South and North Dual Core¡¨ policy as well as to carry out regional market, Taiwanese government has input tremendous investment to construct ¡§Kaohsiung World Trade Center and Convention Center,¡¨ which will be completed in 2010 on schedule. This study is to analyze the key factors to bring MICE industry to success by case studies of Hannover, Chicago and Shanghai city plan. It also follows the mechanisms of Delphi approach and TOWs Matrix were applied to obtain the opinions from professionals, which then to be concluded into five strategies: 1.Environment strategy 2.Public Administration strategy 3.Operation and Management strategy 4.The Third Sector strategy, and 5.Human Resource Cultivation strategy The results of this study wish to be good reference for Kaohsiung City, Kaohsiung and Ping-tung Countries to initiate development policy in MICE industry.

Using some scientific methods to analyse the development of Kaoshiung area and then plan the future of the Kaoshiung area.

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Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Innovation drives sustainable regional development is the thesis that was tested in this inquiry, using literature reviews, case studies and field research interviews. Case study regions include all of the regions of Italy and the UK, the Nelson Region of New Zealand and the Hunter Region of NSW, Australia. Interviews were only conducted in the Hunter Region. The literature reviews revealed deep conceptual inadequacies. Sustainable regional development has leapfrogged a settled understanding of sustainability/sustainable development and regions/regional development. The former is a complex and incoherent normative field, yet managed through metric paradigms. The latter reflects politico-economic boundaries that may neither subsist nor reflect social and natural environmental functioning. The case study regions, particularly those of the UK, suggest innovation offers a possible solution to the conceptual inadequacies. They demonstrate how novel approaches to sustainability/sustainable development and regions/regional development can be progressed, despite incomplete or unsettled understanding. Sustainable regional development is best viewed as measurable human actions across environmental, social and economic fronts over time (sustainable development), directed at a normative goal (sustainability), in some spatial context (region). Sustainable regional development is manageable, despite the conceptual difficulties involved, by working with what one has (requiring capability development) and identifying what works (the basis of 'learning regions'). The Italian case study is used as a partial illustration. But the highly particularised literature on innovation did not illuminate the pathway connecting know-how in sustainable regional development to its successful diffusion. That pathway, dubbed The Innovation Opportunity, was, however, illuminated by the work of a philosopher, Ernst Bloch. Two additional thresholds beyond that of possibility (know-how) were revealed: progress (needing leadership) and probability (needing communication). The Innovation Opportunity, although developed specifically for sustainable regional development, is proposed as a generic innovation model. To test the relevance of this conclusion in a region, face-to-face field research interviews of Hunter Region leaders were conducted on regional challenges (candidates for innovation) and the roles of universities (innovation seedbeds) in addressing sustainable regional development. The upshot was a variety of useful insights suppportive of the overall thesis and the conclusion that this regional university may require better leadership and communication to relate more meaningfully to its region as to innovation for sustainable regional development. The thesis is proven, if both innovation and sustainability have been correctly understood. Opportunities for further research include validation of The Innovation Opportunity, improved communication of normative goals (e.g. sustainability), and understanding informal economies as indivisible components of sustainable regional development. Additional specific research opportunities in the Hunter Region were also identified.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Innovation drives sustainable regional development is the thesis that was tested in this inquiry, using literature reviews, case studies and field research interviews. Case study regions include all of the regions of Italy and the UK, the Nelson Region of New Zealand and the Hunter Region of NSW, Australia. Interviews were only conducted in the Hunter Region. The literature reviews revealed deep conceptual inadequacies. Sustainable regional development has leapfrogged a settled understanding of sustainability/sustainable development and regions/regional development. The former is a complex and incoherent normative field, yet managed through metric paradigms. The latter reflects politico-economic boundaries that may neither subsist nor reflect social and natural environmental functioning. The case study regions, particularly those of the UK, suggest innovation offers a possible solution to the conceptual inadequacies. They demonstrate how novel approaches to sustainability/sustainable development and regions/regional development can be progressed, despite incomplete or unsettled understanding. Sustainable regional development is best viewed as measurable human actions across environmental, social and economic fronts over time (sustainable development), directed at a normative goal (sustainability), in some spatial context (region). Sustainable regional development is manageable, despite the conceptual difficulties involved, by working with what one has (requiring capability development) and identifying what works (the basis of 'learning regions'). The Italian case study is used as a partial illustration. But the highly particularised literature on innovation did not illuminate the pathway connecting know-how in sustainable regional development to its successful diffusion. That pathway, dubbed The Innovation Opportunity, was, however, illuminated by the work of a philosopher, Ernst Bloch. Two additional thresholds beyond that of possibility (know-how) were revealed: progress (needing leadership) and probability (needing communication). The Innovation Opportunity, although developed specifically for sustainable regional development, is proposed as a generic innovation model. To test the relevance of this conclusion in a region, face-to-face field research interviews of Hunter Region leaders were conducted on regional challenges (candidates for innovation) and the roles of universities (innovation seedbeds) in addressing sustainable regional development. The upshot was a variety of useful insights suppportive of the overall thesis and the conclusion that this regional university may require better leadership and communication to relate more meaningfully to its region as to innovation for sustainable regional development. The thesis is proven, if both innovation and sustainability have been correctly understood. Opportunities for further research include validation of The Innovation Opportunity, improved communication of normative goals (e.g. sustainability), and understanding informal economies as indivisible components of sustainable regional development. Additional specific research opportunities in the Hunter Region were also identified.

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