Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om mänskliga rättigheter, närmare bestämt jämställdhet, inkludering och icke-diskriminering, implementeras av svenska myndigheter på lokal nivå. Uppsatsen är en fallstudie som undersöker hur Jönköpings Kommun arbetar med frågor om mänskliga rättigheter för att ge en bild av arbetet och samarbetet mellan regering och myndighet. Studien genomfördes med hjälp av semi strukturerade intervjuer med fyra representanter från statliga och kommunala myndigheter i Jönköping där vi träffat individer som arbetar med dessa delar. Resultatet visar att det grundläggande arbete myndigheterna bedriver inom området mänskliga rättigheter och den genomgripande effekten av detta arbete, vilket framgår av alla myndigheter i vår studie. I slutsatsen dras det att det finns rättighetsbaserat arbete hos de myndigheter, vilket antyder en motiverande aktivitet gentemot offentliga verksamheters arbetsplatser och mänskliga rättigheter. Arbetet har påvisat en struktur och strategi som påbörjar internationellt och rör sig mot det nationella och slutligen kommunala. / The purpose of this study is to investigate whether human rights, more specifically equality, inclusion, and non-discrimination, are implemented by Swedish authorities at the local level. The essay is a case study that examines how Jönköping municipality works with issues of human rights in the local government authorities in Sweden in practice to give a picture of the work and cooperation between the government and the authority. We have used qualitative methods and had interviews with four representatives from state and municipal authorities in Jönköping where we have met individuals who work with these parts. In our results, we have drawn attention to the basic work the authorities carry out in the area of human rights and the pervasive effect of this work, which is evident in all the authorities in our study. We have been able to conclude that there is rights-based work in the authorities we have worked with, which is in line with the principles, laws, and regulations that the Swedish state has worked on together with the authorities.

High-value, lootable natural resources drive, finance and sustain armed conflicts around the world. At the same time, these resources are crucial for livelihoods through artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in the very same contexts. Yet, little is known regarding how these resources should be managed in the wake of conflict to contribute to peacebuilding and prevent conflict recurrence. Drawing on the environmental peacebuilding and informal economies literature, this study argues that ASM formalization improves the quality and sustainability of livelihoods by empowering ASM communities. Using the method of structured focused comparison, the hypothesis is tested on two mining municipalities in Antioquia, Colombia. Data was gathered through interviews and secondary sources. The main finding is that while ASM formalization under certain conditions can contributeto sustainable livelihoods, this is only partly through community empowerment. Furthermore, the practice remains inaccessible to most artisanal and small-scale miners and can make them dependent on the goodwill of large-scale multinational mining companies. Thereby it ends up marginalizing many of the people it is meant to benefit.

Diploma thesis: Beliefs of actors in relation to preschool education at local level Author: Bc. Petra Kaplanová Abstract The aim of this thesis is to explore and compare beliefs of actors in relation with preschool education at local level and determine how they influence policy of preschool education. Used methodology is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. The most significant used theory is a system of beliefs from Paul A. Sabatiera which is a part of theory of avocational coalitions. Four different beliefs were revealed. The first belief called "pro alternatives" did not show deep core beliefs of actors. However, it was obvious that these actors sympathize with alternative education principles. Second belief "traditional collective" is based on conviction that children should have the same conditions for the beginning of their lives. The state education is the best what is for children offered. In the third belief "not interested" are actors convicted not to participate in any level of politics. They believe it can cause either trouble or it will not have any effects. The last belief "traditional individualistic" is characterized with a belief that state form of education is the best what can be provided to children. On contrary with belief "traditional collective" these actors are...

This master thesis is a case study that deals with the concept of multilevel governance and its applicability in the regulation of the modern trend in shared economy - the digital platform Airbnb. The base resource for the study is the territory of the capital city of Prague, where this phenomenon has a massive impact on the problems in legislative issues. The political debate on this agenda fills the headlines of media news and tends to lead to major changes or mobilization of the electorate in the upcoming years. The enormous rise of developing this service has put politics at all levels of government ahead of serious legislative and political challenges. Application of the Airbnb service example on our theory forms the core of the empirical part of the research. The aim of this thesis is to examine the importance and role of each individual level based on the concept of multilevel governance in relation to the regulation of the Airbnb phenomenon. The main part of the thesis is devoted for processing semi-structured interviews with the main representatives of each individual level, media monitoring and analysis of available resources. Based on research is obvious that the basic postulates of the multi-level governance approach can be considered as valid because they are displayed at all selected...

The dissertation Rapprochement from below? German-French town twinning from 1950 to 2000 is a historiographic study that focuses on town twinning as a specific aspect of German-French co-operation in the second half of the 20th century. The topic is analysed in a wider German-French context and based on statistical data as well as archive sources. The main objective of the study is to evaluate the impact of high-level bilateral relations on German-French town twinning, identify the motivation of its supporters and compare German-French town twinning in the West-German and East-German federal states. Additionally, the localisation of town twins was studied for the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany.

This thesis focuses on the topic of active citizenship in democratic societies. An emphasis is placed on the clarification of the role of the citizen as an engaged participant in the political process at the local level. This issue is contextualized within the theory of democracy, which legitimacy is fulfilled by the citizen participation. The empirical part is devoted to the research of the citizen participation in the Dutch city of Utrecht, where the way of cooperation between citizens and public officers was investigated in the process of public policy making. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the form and the contribution of the civic participation in Utrecht. Keywords democracy, democracy at the local level, participatory democracy, citizen, participation, codecision, cooperation, relationship between the citizen and the politician, level of participation

This thesis focuses on the topic of active citizenship in democratic societies. An emphasis is placed on the clarification of the role of the citizen as an engaged actor who has the right to influence political processes and decision-making at the local level. Democracy is seen from a variety of angles in the theoretical part, particular attention is given to participatory democracy and deliberation. The practical part is devoted to the research that was carried out in the Dutch city Utrecht, where the specific tools used for engaging citizens in policy- making were investigated together with motivations of public officials as well as citizens to support civic participation. This thesis attempts to provide a picture of the functioning of democratic principles in Utrecht with reference to an example of good practice. Keywords democracy, democracy at the local level, participatory democracy, citizenship, participation, deliberation, tools of civic participation, civic participation, political participation

Climate change impose a major challenge to the world. About 23% of the world’s energy-related CO2 emissions derive from transportation. Urban freight transport has been increasing because of a growing demand for goods. Cities need to manage freight transportation to decrease its climate change impact. The purpose of this study is to investigate what the cities Gothenburg, Copenhagen, and Turku need in order to manage urban freight transport and what measures the cities have adapted to reduce the CO2 emissions deriving from urban freight transport. The study aims to reflect upon how the elements included in the practice of municipal freight transport management relate to the sustainable mobility paradigm and identify measures to decrease climate change impact and reach sustainable mobility. Social practice theory guided the analysis, where meanings, materials, and competences was searched for in the empirical material. Data was collected through a document analysis and interviews with employees at the cities’ administrations. The results showed that the reasons for managing freight is to reduce environmental and negative social impacts, ensure good ease of passage for freight transportation, strengthen the economy and create jobs, and avoid conflicting goals and find joint solutions. Needed materials are funding, guidelines, and personnel resources. Needed competences include taking a systems perspective, understanding the private sector, engaging in cooperation, seeking and managing funding, transport planning, and procurement and planning of the own municipal freight transportation. The need and behaviour that steers the freight transportation seem to be excluded from the freight transport management practice. This is the need for goods and its connected consumption behaviour. The cities’ adapted measures to reduce the climate change impact from freight transportation focus on technological and logistical improvements. The freight transport management practice includes features that are in line with the sustainable mobility paradigm as well as features that are not. To strengthen sustainable mobility, the inclusion of stakeholders when managing freight transport could be expanded to inhabitants and persons with competence in environmental and social aspects. / Klimatförändringar innebär en stor utmaning för världen. Ungefär 23% av världens energirelaterade CO2-utsläpp härstammar från transportsektorn. Urbana godstransporter fortsätter öka som ett resultat av en ökande efterfrågan på varor. Städer behöver hantera godstransportflöden för att minska klimatpåverkan från dem. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vad städerna Göteborg, Köpenhamn och Åbo behöver för att hantera godstransporter och vilka åtgärder de har antagit för att minska CO2-utsläppen från dem. Studiens mål är att reflektera kring hur elementen i den kommunala godstransportshanteringspraktiken förhåller sig till det hållbara mobilitetsparadigmet och identifiera möjliga åtgärder för att minska klimatpåverkan och nå hållbar mobilitet.   Social praktikteori guidade analysen där betydelser, material och kompetenser identifierades från det empiriska materialet. Data insamlades genom dokumentanalys samt genom intervjuer med anställda vid städerna. Resultatet visar att anledningarna till att hantera godstransporter är att minska miljöpåverkan, minska negativ social påverkan, säkerställa god framkomlighet för godstransporterna, stärka ekonomin och skapa jobb samt undvika målkonflikter och hitta gemensamma lösningar. Material som behövs inkluderar finansiering, riktlinjer samt personella resurser. Kompetenser som behövs är systemperspektiv, förståelse för den privata sektorn, söka och hantera finansiering, samarbetsförmåga, transportplanering samt upphandling och planering av stadens egna interna godstransporter. Behovet och beteendet som styr godstransporterna verkar vara exkluderat från praktiken. Detta är behovet av varor samt konsumtionsbeteendet som är kopplat till det. Åtgärderna som städerna har antagit för att minska klimatpåverkan från godstransporter fokuserar på tekniska och logistiska lösningar. Själva praktiken innehåller både drag som är i linje med det hållbara mobilitetsparadigmet och drag som inte är det. Den hållbara mobiliteten skulle stärkas ifall deltagandet breddas så att privatpersoner och personer med kompetens inom miljö och sociala aspekter också inkluderas i godstransporthanteringen.

Cette thèse de doctorat tente de répondre à la question de recherche suivante :comment ont évolués les variations spatiales des comportements de fécondité en Europe depuis un demi-siècle ?Elle s’emploie donc plus à décrire les variations spatiales de la fécondité qu’à analyser comment et pourquoi la fécondité européenne à évoluée pendant cette période. Si cette question est principalement descriptive elle abordera toute fois des questionnements interprétatifs des variations spatiales observées. En effet décrire comment les variations spatiales ont évoluées mène indirectement à se demander pourquoi de telles évolutions ont eu lieu. Cette thèse adopte une méthodologie géographique, inductive, évolutive et à des échelles spatiales multiples, ce qui la distingue de la plupart des études qui abordent un sujet démographique. Elle recoure à plusieurs bases de données originales, certaines à la fois transversales, chronologiques, infranationales et couvrant un large espace transnational. Cela a imposé un important travail de récolte et prétraitement des données, mais confère aux résultats une originalité qui contribue à une meilleure compréhension globale de la fécondité en Europe, de ses variations spatiales et de ses évolutions récentes.Le corps de cette thèse est organisé en quatre chapitres ayant chacun fait l’objet d’une publication (soumise :chapitre 3, acceptée :chapitre 2, ou publiée :chapitre 4 et 5). Les deux premiers articles explorent chacun une des deux principales dimensions des comportements de fécondité que sont l’intensité (chapitre 2) et le calendrier de la fécondité (chapitre 3). Ils s’intéressent aux évolutions de ces dimensions sur environs un demi-siècle en Europe en utilisant principalement des données au niveau régional NUTS-2. Le quatrième chapitre considère ces deux dimensions de manière simultanée et s’intéresse aux différences spatiales locales (à une échelle équivalente au niveau communale en Belgique). Le cinquième chapitre considère les variations intra-urbaines à Bruxelles, en considérant à la fois les différences entre groupes sociaux et entre espaces, ce qui permet d’évaluer l’impact des variables contextuelles par rapport à l’influence de la composition de la population. En conclusion cette thèse expose les variations spatiales des comportements de fécondité en Europe ainsi que leurs évolutions depuis la seconde moitié du vingtième siècle. Elle propose aussi un ensemble de déterminants utile à l’interprétation les variations spatiales de la fécondité. Ces déterminants sont tantôt matériels tantôt du ressort des études abordant une position épistémologique plus post-matérialiste. L’approche géographique de cette thèse pousse à considérer ces deux ensembles de facteurs et à les structurer selon leur rayon d’action, soit l’échelle spatiale à laquelle ils influencent les comportements de fécondité. Il ressort que l’articulation de ces différents facteurs exerçant leur influence à des échelles différentes constitue un contexte géographique déterminant en partie les actions individuelles de la fécondité. / Option Géographie du Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished