What are the potentials and limitations of constructing a regional building culture in and around Bozeman, Montana? Starting with the theories of architectural regionalism, this thesis takes a pragmatic approach to synthesizing several topics—history, geography, technology, economy—and situating them within Bozeman’s specific context in order to assess the implications of constructing a regional building culture. This potential shift is viewed primarily as technological, but with the understanding that technology is not just objects but also a set of practices and knowledge embedded in the co-evolving structures of society. The main outcome of the research is therefore recommended points of action for builders, designers, and policymakers that would encourage the development of regional building practices, which are shown to have technological and economic benefits when compared with universal technologies. Limitations are discussed in terms of barriers to realizing these benefits, as well as possible problems and contradictions. To start, the various discourses of architectural regionalism are summarized to provide a theoretical footing. Next comes an overview of the history of Bozeman’s building culture, with an emphasis on how universal technologies and their related cultural assumptions have obscured the potential for regional building practices. This leads to the question of defining the region, which is taken up first in an analytical way, then more concretely by using geographic information systems (GIS) to map the region’s climate. Analysis of climatic variables suggests technological practices that could reduce consumption of fossil-fuel energy. These are discussed conjointly with a critique of regional materials and an assessment of how these regionally appropriate alternatives might emerge within conventional technological systems. The economic implications of regional technologies are discussed in terms of benefits and draw-backs. Finally, all these findings are put within the context of information gathered through interviews, which leads to concluding recommendations for action and critical reflections. / text

Thesis (M.S. in architecture)--Washington State University. / Includes bibliographical references.

"Academic dissertation to be publicly discussed ... Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Helsinki ... on the 9th of June 2006"--Added t.p. / Added t.p. inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. 228-241).

Thesis (M.M. (Public Policy))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Public and Development Management, 2013. / There have been integration efforts in Africa for the last four decades, similar to other continental efforts across the globe. Learning from the past failures of regional integration efforts in Africa, in the late 1960s and 1970s, the East African Community partner states came up with a new approach towards integrating the region, that is, people centered and private sector driven integration. The regional integration projects and programmes remain the top priority among the EAC partner states as the means to achieve sustainable development in the region. Nevertheless there are indications that EAC partner states are over ambitious in advancing regional integration. The major challenges of the EAC integration span issues such as policy coordination and harmonization, infrastructure development and intra-regional trade expansion, protocols and policy implementation, labour mobility. The purpose of the study was to appraise the progress of regional integration protocols and policies implementation at the national level of the EAC partner states. The study assessed the extent of regional cooperation and integration success since the EAC was revived in 1999, up to 2010, in three broad areas: (i) customs union, (ii) community external relations, and (iii) common market. The research used exploratory case study approach. The main findings of the research were that: (i) the customs union is a difficult stage for partner states to implement; (ii) Tanzania has argued that land matters are not part in the common market discussion; and (iii) the EAC partner states are skeptical of the EU’s motives in economic partnership agreement negotiations. The study also found that the EU’s motives are to obtain preferential trade arrangements both in the EAC and other emerging economies. The study recommends initiatives to create an enabling environment for the greater mutual understanding and substantial degree of trust on the scope of cooperation agreed upon, among the partner states as building for further integration in the region.

The recent demographic shift, sparked by a combination of political and environmental forces, towards urbanization in the Canadian Arctic has uprooted a tie to the land that largely defines Inuit cultural identity. The transition of Iqaluit from a seasonal camp to the capital city of Nunavut has been swift, forcing residents to find their place between tradition and modernity, land and city. Though the populations of Nunavut communities are predominantly Inuit, many Inuit maintain a rather negative view of urban spaces in the Arctic, identifying them as places where Inuit values and practices have been eclipsed by Qallunaat (“white people”) values. While Inuit identity weighs heavily on a connection to the land, the spatial organization of Iqaluit ignores the opportunistic proximity of the urban centre to Frobisher Bay. Similarly, individual buildings often are designed as though sunlight, wind, and snow did not exist. This follows a historical trend of poor and imported design in the Canadian Arctic; design which does not properly serve the needs and aspirations of its inhabitants. Architecture which fails to serve Iqaluit’s distinctiveness undermines the ambitions of the territory. The creation of Nunavut in 1999 was to be an expression of Inuit self-determination, yet the territory is unable to meet the needs of its 33,000 inhabitants. Nunavut remains fiscally dependent, with 92% of its annual revenue coming from the federal government. Due to a lack of infrastructure and training opportunities, agency for social and economic growth remains weak. By leveraging expanding natural resource based industries, Iqalungmiut – the people of Iqaluit – have the potential to shape a more economically autonomous future using their cultural and environmental resources. Understanding how infrastructure can support the visions Iqalungmiut maintain for their community is crucial in a place where shortsighted developments threaten a unique way of life. The thesis proposes an urban facility in Iqaluit to support and promote what is currently a primarily informal subsistence economy. Animal processing, food and craft production, and training are accommodated in this new building typology. The proposal, while enabling Iqalungmiut to participate more actively in the economy, also applies regional cultural and environmental processes in an attempt to avoid some of the mistakes of the past. A congruent soft system infrastructure is proposed to aid in the collection of raw materials across the region. Taking cue from Iqaluit’s vernacular, mobile structures respond to the seasonal rhythms of Nuna – the land – and its people. The design harnesses traditional activities through a range of economic scales to find new spatial and programmatic models for a place in transition.

¡@The economic reform and the Open Door Policy undertaken in Mainland China has been carried out for more than 20 years since 1978 by Deng Xiaoping. Mainland China has been advocating herself to the rest of the world, and the development of domestic regional integration is also taking place. The differences between the provinces and regions in China is basically very huge. And in the process of economic reform, decentralisation, the gradural withdraw of the central government from certain functions, all accelerate the cleavage of different regions. ¡@How do the provinces cooperate with each other? What is the key features in the process of economic integration? We distinguish two models in this article. One is regionalization, which refers to bottom-up process where the most important driving forces for economic regionalization come from markets, from private trade and investment flows, and from the policies and decesions of companies, rather than resulting from predetermined plans of national or local government. Here we exaime the triangle territory of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong and Macao. Conversely, regionalism is used here to refer to top-down process- the concious and deliberate attempts by national state to create formal mechanism for their economic good. Such regionalism is defined as political and intergovernmental project, and here we exaime the south-west provinces in Mainland Chind, thus the forces of intergration is mainly from the local government. Through the two cases, we highlight the uneven nature of regional economy, and the cases suggest that attempts to forster regional integration have been most successful when governments facilitate, rather than control.

Thesis (M.A. in Defense Analysis)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2009. / Thesis Advisor(s): Berger, Marcos (Mark T.) Second Reader: Greenshields, Brian. "December 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on January 26, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: United Nations, Security, Development, Nation-State, Regionalism, Regional Organizations, International Relations Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-82). Also available in print.

Inaug.-diss.--München. / Lebenslauf. "Verzeichnis der ... literatur": p. 4-6.

In the post-Cold War era, the Balkans came to exemplify the power of resurgent nationalisms freed from the straitjacket of bipolar stability. The break-up of the Yugoslav federation suggested that exclusivist ethno-national identities trumped the logic of political and economic integration. Yet, by the early 2000s, regional cooperation made significant inroads into South East Europe. This study addresses the puzzle of why the Balkan states have engaged in a number of multilateral schemes in fields such as military security, trade, infrastructure development, energy, despite the region's divisive historical legacies and political instability. The thesis explores the impact of three factors: regional interdependence denoting the socio-economic and political linkages which contribute to the convergence of Balkan states' material interests, external push referring to the policies for fostering regional cooperation adopted by key actors such as the EU, US, and NATO, and identity politics: the discourses on the borders, cultural make-up and history of a Balkan regional entity as well as the latter's relationship with constructs like Europe and the West. The thesis argues that external projection of power, rather than regional interdependence, accounted for the development and growth of Balkan regionalism. However, the push from outside was legitimised by Balkan collective identity built upon myths of belonging to and exclusion from 'civilised Europe'. Regionalism was not solely a reflection of the supply and demand for integrative frameworks, but amounted to a symbolic strategy for transforming the volatile Balkans into South East Europe by the adoption of the institutional norms and practices of international clubs such as the EU and NATO. The case of regional cooperation in South East Europe contributes to the debates about the politics of interest and the politics of identity in the field of International Relations, and raises questions about the nature of power in contemporary Europe and the international society.

The recent demographic shift, sparked by a combination of political and environmental forces, towards urbanization in the Canadian Arctic has uprooted a tie to the land that largely defines Inuit cultural identity. The transition of Iqaluit from a seasonal camp to the capital city of Nunavut has been swift, forcing residents to find their place between tradition and modernity, land and city. Though the populations of Nunavut communities are predominantly Inuit, many Inuit maintain a rather negative view of urban spaces in the Arctic, identifying them as places where Inuit values and practices have been eclipsed by Qallunaat (“white people”) values. While Inuit identity weighs heavily on a connection to the land, the spatial organization of Iqaluit ignores the opportunistic proximity of the urban centre to Frobisher Bay. Similarly, individual buildings often are designed as though sunlight, wind, and snow did not exist. This follows a historical trend of poor and imported design in the Canadian Arctic; design which does not properly serve the needs and aspirations of its inhabitants. Architecture which fails to serve Iqaluit’s distinctiveness undermines the ambitions of the territory. The creation of Nunavut in 1999 was to be an expression of Inuit self-determination, yet the territory is unable to meet the needs of its 33,000 inhabitants. Nunavut remains fiscally dependent, with 92% of its annual revenue coming from the federal government. Due to a lack of infrastructure and training opportunities, agency for social and economic growth remains weak. By leveraging expanding natural resource based industries, Iqalungmiut – the people of Iqaluit – have the potential to shape a more economically autonomous future using their cultural and environmental resources. Understanding how infrastructure can support the visions Iqalungmiut maintain for their community is crucial in a place where shortsighted developments threaten a unique way of life. The thesis proposes an urban facility in Iqaluit to support and promote what is currently a primarily informal subsistence economy. Animal processing, food and craft production, and training are accommodated in this new building typology. The proposal, while enabling Iqalungmiut to participate more actively in the economy, also applies regional cultural and environmental processes in an attempt to avoid some of the mistakes of the past. A congruent soft system infrastructure is proposed to aid in the collection of raw materials across the region. Taking cue from Iqaluit’s vernacular, mobile structures respond to the seasonal rhythms of Nuna – the land – and its people. The design harnesses traditional activities through a range of economic scales to find new spatial and programmatic models for a place in transition.