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Depopulation is a well-known phenomenon in peripheral rural regions. The most identified problems are based on structural weaknesses in terms of decreasing business activities and a lack of public infrastructure. In such regions population is mainly older causing major changes in social infrastructure. For instance many schools and kindergartens close down for lack of demand, which hinders young families to migrate to such regions. The result is typically a negative cumulative process of loss of population, loss of jobs, loss of infrastructure, further outmigration. It is an enormous challenge for such regions to overcome this vicious circle. Regional identity can be seen as an important factor to overcome such structural weaknesses. The paper will discuss the concept of regional identity in order to define the term and how it is embedded in regional development theory. The empirical analysis is presenting results focusing on regional identity coming out of a qualitative data analysis and a postal survey. We designed a regional identity index, which measures the intensity of personal and social relationships of both in-migrants and out-migrants.

This thesis has examined and compared physical accessibility to primary care facilities, or health centers, in two rural regions, one located in Sweden, and one located in Norway. The study areas are Västerbotten county in Sweden, and Nordland county in Norway. The analysis has been conducted via a service area analysis in ArcGIS, where the relative distance in terms of travel time to the health center determines accessibility. Good accessibility is defined as less than an hour of total travel time, including the return journey. Overall, accessibility is good in both study areas with around 95% of the population having good accessibility, while a vast majority of people live within five minutes one way to the nearest health center. However, there is a difference between the two study areas, where the Västerbotten population generally has better accessibility than their Norwegian counterpart. These differences are despite the fact that Nordland has almost double the amount of health centers that Västerbotten has. Overall, these differences appear to primarily be due to differences in population pattern, which in turn can be seen as a part of the difference in regional policy between the two countries, although it is hard to pinpoint the full effect that regional policy has on primary care accessibility.

In this educational study, Caucasian and minority learners’ grade point averages and overall academic success were examined at learning institutions. Several minorities experienced problems with completing college courses at universities and community colleges. Individuals from various racial backgrounds had school enrollment issues compared to Caucasian students without these same issues. This analysis revealed factors that contributed to these learners’ decreased academic attainment. For this study, racial groups were the focus along with their need to improve their impoverished conditions. Minority students needed more educational services such as peer tutoring and academic counseling. These services offered learners the opportunity to expand their educational knowledge and support system (Cohen & Brawer, 2003; Engstrom & Tinto, 2008; Lotkowski, Robbins, & Noeth, 2004). Also, rural and non-rural community colleges and universities were emphasized in this research analysis. In rural areas, minorities had a difficult way of life compared to non-rural regions. For example, Hispanics in a rural community in Ellis, Iowa experienced lower wages. Within Ellis, Iowa, Hispanics had limited employment growth and college degrees (Carr & Kefalas, 2009). Also, this research focused on Caucasian and minority learners’ who attended a junior college. Mississippi’s community colleges were assessed for students’ academic performances. In this examination, the one-way analysis of variance was selected to analyze the minority and Caucasian groups’ statistical data. In addition, the Welch, Post Hoc, and Tukey HSD tests were used to examine the racial groups in this educational study. For this study, only data from Mississippi State University was used for academic purposes. These learners were from 15 different Mississippi community colleges and the students transferred to Mississippi State University. In this study, the minorities and Caucasians transferred to Mississippi State University in the fall semester of 2011. Learners’ first semester cumulative grade point averages were analyzed. Comparing Caucasians with African Americans and Caucasians with Hispanics showed significant differences between their statistical scores. This study ended with suggestions to further evaluate minorities’ grade point averages and social economic status. Recommendations included: college incentives for low income students and single parents. These students needed to attend educational programs such as learning workshops.

The principal aim of my dissertation was to specify and find out the sense of culturological aspects, which appeal on the development and stabilization of rural regions, to find the areas, where the culturological aspects could contribute to keep folks in the country and find the ways how to improve the satisfaction of folks with country life. I have tried to find the specific cultural symbols and dominant cultural dimensions of certain communities, which are the significant self-recognizable element of society. Our research was realized by standard questionnaire inquiry in Čkyně and Doudleby and by CSDT (Colour Semantic Differential Test). CSDT was used to get more complete information about communities of Čkyně and Doudleby and their dominant cultural dimensions. The results could be resumed into following. The problem, why people leave the countryside, is not based mainly on insufficient services and facilities. We can demonstrate it on Čkyně. However Čkyně has better public utilities than Doudleby, its inhabitants (especially the new arrivals and their children) are not satisfied as the inhabitants in Doudleby and they are likely to leave Čkyně in the future. Doudleby is the village with strong and still celebrated traditions. New arrivals are hearty welcome between the olds and they also participate on the local cultural life. The main contribution of my dissertation should have been the finding the influence of cultural traditions on stabilization the rural regions. Strong traditions join people together and improve social relations in the village. Traditions are the roots of folks that prevent them from leaving the countryside.

Economy professor Kjell Nordström argued at the Nordic Business forum Sweden, that regions such as Värmland would turn into wastelands in the aftermath of digitalization and urbanization. Digitalization has rapidly changed service provision effecting the provider-user interaction and service options available. To stay competitive, a sustainability report on the region recommends local actors to find common goals to enhance the value-proposition providing advantages not offered by larger elsewhere controlled or e-commerce actors. Previous studies regarding value co-creation conclude that due to macro level influences such as digitalization, a systemic approach is vital. Hence, this thesis uses a service ecosystem, approach addressing the problem and research inquiries regarding relationship market influence in and among various levels and relationship construction for mutual member goals capturing value. The aim of this thesis is to explore how actors can increase their resilience towards macro level influences. The empirical data was gathered through conducting a qualitative exploratory case study using non-probability sampling to map the service ecosystem around a resilient actor. The data collection comprised of field observation, a brief document analysis and seven semi-structured interviews. Five interviews with different actors supported by two interviews with key customers. The data was processed and thematically analyzed through coding and grouping. Findings was then compared to the theoretical framework and discussed in relation to the background and problem. The study concluded that actors were unable of making an impact individually and essentially need goal alignment for institutional change. However, depending on actor size, type, level of digitalization, and market aim, the importance varies. Actors primarily targeting a regional market were considered dependent on goal alignment and institutional change for resilience. By accomplishing collective goals ecosystem members indirectly achieve individual goals increasing competitiveness, enhancing the business climate. Through institutional change members counteract and restructure the ecosystem adjusting to macro level changes affecting the meso and micro interaction creating resilience.

International development practitioners are highly optimistic that mobile phones can improve the lives of the inhabitants of remote rural areas in developing countries with an underdeveloped transportation infrastructure. However, the instrumental role of telecommunication is unclear in contexts where residents’ information-sharing networks are strongly geographically constrained by their limited mobility. Empirical research on the interactions between telecommunication and travel in rural areas of developing countries is lacking. This study analyses physical and virtual contact patterns within 1270 instrumental information-sharing relationships reported by the inhabitants of the Pulau Panggung and Sumber Rejo rural subdistricts of Indonesia. In 2013, we implemented an exogenous mobility intervention. In 2014, we administered a network survey in 16 randomly selected farming groups to map local residents’ egocentric and sociocentric physical and virtual travel networks. By comparing the observed networks with simulated random networks, analysing the relationship characteristics and their history, and performing a regression analysis with fixed effects, we examine the complementarity and substitution between telecommunication and travel in the creation and maintenance of social networks. By examining the effects of the exogenous intervention, we can explain the mechanisms underlying the uncovered associations. The results suggest path dependency between physical and virtual travel in remote rural areas. The implication for transportation policy is that physical mobility is a precondition for the creation of virtual information-sharing links. Instrumental communication relationships that do not socially require regular physical co-presence can be partially substituted by virtual travel only after virtual links have been created through physical mobility. Therefore, in contrast with general expectations, mobile telephony in remote rural regions is more practical if the transportation infrastructure is adequately developed. The paper concludes with a discussion of the potential contribution of the sociocentric network perspective to transportation research.

A large variety of Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) to degrade trace organic compounds during water treatment have been studied on a lab scale in the past. This paper presents the combination of inline electrolytic chlorine generation (ECl2) with low pressure UV reactors (UV/ECl2) in order to allow the operation of a chlorine-based AOP without the need for any chlorine dosing. Lab studies showed that from a Free Available Chlorine (FAC) concentration range between 1 and 18 mg/L produced by ECl2 up to 84% can be photolyzed to form, among others, hydroxyl radicals (OH) with an UV energy input of 0.48 kWh/m3. This ratio could be increased to 97% by doubling the UV energy input to 0.96 kWh/m3 and was constant throughout the tested FAC range. Also the achieved radical yield of 64% did not change along the given FAC concentration range and no dependence between pH 6 and pH 8 could be found, largely simplifying the operation of a pilot scale system in drinking water treatment. Whereas with ECl2 alone only 5% of benzotriazoles could be degraded, the combination with UV improved the degradation to 89%. Similar results were achieved for 4-methylbenzotriazole, 5-methylbenzotriazole and iomeprol. Oxipurinol and gabapentin were readily degraded by ECl2 alone. The trihalomethanes values were maintained below the Germany drinking water standard of 50 µg/L, provided residual chlorine concentrations are kept within the permissible limits. The here presented treatment approach is promising for decentralized treatment application but requires further optimization in order to reduce its energy requirements.:Introduction Methodology Results and Discussion Conclusions Author Contributions Funding Conflicts of Interest Appendix A References

Presented diploma paper defines the phenomenon of school of rural renewal through four case studies that illustrate different approaches to this institution, and through their comparison. The empirical research is based on a theory development including definition of key words; rural areas, rural problems and rural renewal being among them. Analyzing interviews with the schools' representatives together with documentation study lead to conducting four examples of schools of rural renewal presenting four strategies for rural renewal. Despite having different approaches to the same topic, they correspond in several characteristics: they are a municipality project, they share the common idea of introducing further education to the regional politics and the target group is defined as the municipality officers. Major development of the phenomenon of schools of rural renewal was experienced in 1990's, when they meant a large contribution to the rural stakeholders' acquirements and capacity building. Keywords Schools of rural renewal, rural renewal program, rural renewal, rural development, rural areas, countryside