scholarly journals Floristic analysis of domestic gardens in the Tlokwe City Municipality, South Africa

Bothalia ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Lubbe ◽  
S. J. Siebert ◽  
S. S. Cilliers
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Ecosystems ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Indigenous Species ◽  
North West ◽  
Domestic Gardens ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
The Developed Countries

This paper is a first attempt to describe the flora of domestic gardens from an urban environment in South Africa. A total of 835 plant species of 501 genera in 145 families was recorded from 100 gardens in a 54.9 km2 area of the Tlokwe City Municipality [Potchefstroom], North-West Province. A substantial number of alien species (580) were recorded, but also many indigenous species (255) that included South African endemics (61) and protected species on the National Red Data List (18). A number of the alien species that were commonly cultivated are declared invasive plants in South Africa (88). Most of the cultivated indigenous taxa originated from the southeastern provinces of South Africa. This study provides new knowledge on the often overlooked biodiversity of urban areas in a developing, mega-diverse country. Most studies of a similar nature were conducted in the developed countries of Europe and are of limited use in the development of management plans of urban ecosystems in southern Africa.

scholarly journals Identifying Functional Factor for Developing the Community Centre in Kuala Lumpur

2015 ◽  
Vol 747 ◽  
pp. 141-144
Author(s):  
Nastaran Jafari ◽  
Nangkula Utaberta
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Kuala Lumpur ◽  
Depth Interview ◽  
The Developed Countries ◽  
Professional Expert ◽  
Community Facilities ◽  
Community Centre

Malaysian community centres in city like the developed countries is too bear the responsibility of providing community facilities to the urban mass. Community centre is one of the main social facilities with the purpose of facilitating community interaction and finally, contributing community development in urban areas. The study frames by in-depth interview with the deputy director of urban design, building department and professional expert in urban design project. this study assessed approaches that participations can use to evaluate critical factors for developing the community centres.A city like Kuala Lumpur, wherescarcity of spaces for community gathering and interaction is severe, it is urgent to resolve theproblems and enhance the potentials for ensuring effective and multipurpose uses of thecommunity centres. This research approaches that community centre can be a pole of community development.

WOODY PLANTS VITALITY OF URBAN AREAS AND PROSPECTS OF THEIR GREENERY

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-34
Author(s):  
N Glibovytska ◽  
Yaroslav Adamenko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Woody Plants ◽  
Urban Ecosystems ◽  
Anthropogenic Pollution ◽  
Ecological Condition ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressure ◽  
Indigenous Species ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Resistant Species ◽  
Crown Defoliation

The problem of trees selection in urban green spaces has been reviewed. Vitality of the dominant representatives of the most spread woody plants types used in urban areas landscaping has been analyzed. The advantages of native tree species usage under exotic species in cities greenery, which has been in higher phytomeliorative ability of indigenous species, their adaptability to environmental conditions and effective use of available resources, have been found. The criteria for assessing the vitality of plants at different levels of biosystem organization have been accented; key parameters of adapted species protective processes and destructive parameters of unstable species in stressful growing conditions have been highlighted. The most informative indicators of woody plants life condition in urban areas have been morphologic - square, weight and linear parameters of vegetative and generative organs, necrosis, diseases and pests damages presence, the level of dechromation and crown defoliation and physiological - content and ratio of photosynthetic pigments, metabolic composition of leaves, acidity level and buffer stability of leave 's internal environment. The use of resistant to anthropogenic pollution species of Salix L. genus as effective phytoremediants of technologically-transformed ecosystems has been proposed. Sensitive to environmental contamination Populus L. and Pinus L. species have been not recommended for planting in urban areas. However, they can be used as informative bioindicators of environmental ecological condition. Middle resistant species of Betula L., Acer L., Aesculus L., Tilia L. and Pinus L. genus have been recommended to implementation in urban ecosystems greening of recreation areas - parks and squares. Sustainability of the trees genera analyzed in terms of anthropogenic pressure has increased in the following range: Aesculus L. → Pinus L. → Populus L. → Tilia L. → Betula L. → Acer L. → Salix L.

scholarly journals Phylogenetic Diversity of Urban Floras in the Central Urals

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyona S. Tretyakova ◽  
Basil N. Yakimov ◽  
Pavel V. Kondratkov ◽  
Nickolay Yu. Grudanov ◽  
Marc W. Cadotte
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Phylogenetic Diversity ◽  
Indigenous Species ◽  
Phylogenetic Distance ◽  
Full Spectrum ◽  
Modern Cities ◽  
Urban Floras ◽  
Central Urals

Modern cities harbor a high diversity of plants, and urban floras are significantly different from non-urban floras especially when considering the proportion of alien species found in cities. However, it is not clear whether urban areas disproportionately select for species from relatively few evolutionary lineages or provide opportunities for species across the full spectrum of plant lineages. Here, we examined the taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of the floras in four cities (Yekaterinburg, Kamensk-Uralsky, Krasnoufimsk, and Turinsk) in the understudied region of Central Urals (Russian Federation). We classified native species into indigenous and apophytic species, namely, those that are sensitive to anthropogenic disturbance and those that have expanded their range with human activity, respectively. Alien species were classified into archaeophytes and neophytes according to when they were introduced (i.e., before or after than 1800). Phylogenetic diversity was quantified using Faith’s index to reflect total evolutionary history in urban areas and mean phylogenetic distance (MPD) to reflect species dissimilarity. Phylogenetic diversity of native species was higher than that for alien species, and the standardized effect size (SES) of MPD for natives was positive, reflecting their general dissimilarity from one another, while it was very negative for aliens, showing that they were phylogenetically clustered. However, among natives, apophytes were significantly clustered, while indigenous species were overdispersed. For the aliens, MPD was higher for archaeophytes compared to neophytes, though both groups were significantly clustered. These results show that urbanization leads to a non-random selection of plants. Apophytes and alien plants were composed of closely related species, reflecting similar ecological traits and are likely to be pre-adapted to the environmentally altered and highly disturbed urban environment.

scholarly journals Level of job satisfaction amongst nurses in the North-West Province, South Africa: Post occupational specific dispensation

Curationis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sisinyana H. Khunou ◽  
Mashudu Davhana-Maselesele
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Nursing Assistants ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
North West Province

Background: Job satisfaction and burnout have been recurring problems amongst nurses in the Republic of South Africa (RSA). As a result, nurses are still leaving the rural public sector in search of lucrative work at the urban and private sectors and in developed countries. Accordingly, Occupational Specific Dispensation (OSD) was introduced as a strategy to ircumvent the problem. However, since the implementation of OSD in 2007, there have been no studies conducted regarding the level of job satisfaction amongst nurses after the implementation of OSD in the North-West Province, especially because each province has its own challenges that are unique to the area.Objectives: The study had two objectives: to describe the level of job satisfaction amongstprofessional and other category nurses (OCNs) at a public hospital in the North-West Provinceand describe the perceptions of nurses about OSD and their intention to continue working inthe hospital.Method: A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional design was used. Stratified random sampling was used to select a sample of 92 professional nurses (PNs), 90 enrolled nurses and enrolled nursing assistants (Nursing Act 2005), which made a total of 182 participants. For the purpose of the study, the enrolled nurses and enrolled nursing assistants were referred to as OCNs. Data were collected using the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire–short form and OSD statements and analysed with Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS, version 18).Results: The majority of PNs (79.3%, n = 73) and OCNs (86.7%, n = 77) were dissatisfied with the working conditions and salary: PNs (80.4%, n = 74) and OCNs (87.8%, n = 79). The nurses mostly discredited the current state of the OSD implementation. Majority of the PNs (84%, n = 77) and OCNs (91%, n = 82) disagreed with the statement that ‘level of job satisfaction has improved after the implementation of OSD’.Conclusions: The National Department of Health should consider a holistic approach to address all work-related conditions for nurses in order to curb the attrition rates. Policy makers and unions should urgently review OSD for all categories of nurses.

scholarly journals The credit consumption pattern in South Africa: A trend analysis

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-204
Author(s):  
Ashley Teedzwi Mutezo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Interest Rates ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Disposable Income ◽  
Consumption Pattern ◽  
Household Debt ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Short Run ◽  
The Developed Countries ◽  
The Relationship

While the developed countries witnessed a significant contraction in credit consumption in response to the financial crisis in 2008, South Africa’s household debt continues to be on the increase. This article is based on empirical research on the relationship between household debt and disposable income, net wealth, interest rates and inflation for the period between 1975 and 2013. Using regression analyses, the study examines the linkage between household debt and consumption spending in South Africa to capture the short-run and long-run dynamics. The results show that there is a significant relationship between household debt and disposable income, net wealth and inflation. Further tests indicate that there is a bidirectional causality running from economic growth to household debt and vice versa. However, it is revealed that there is no direct relationship between household debt and lending rates

The Social Context of Occupational Disease: Asbestos and South Africa

1981 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonny Myers
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
State Inspection ◽  
The State ◽  
Organized Labor ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Developed Countries

General issues of industrial health are raised in relation to the production of asbestos and asbestos-related diseases in South Africa. A historical analysis of these diseases and their control in Britain demonstrates some general problems of occupational diseases with long incubation periods and their implications for capital and labor. In order to understand the role of the research establishment, an attempt is made to situate the state in the conflict between capital and labor. The terms and weapons of this ideological arena are investigated. The South African situation is then discussed. Its evident weaknesses—the lack of statutory limits on exposure, capital's responsibility for monitoring exposure and health, the inefficiency of the state inspection, and the meagerness and racial disparities in compensation—are related to the weakness of organized labor. These weaknesses are linked to the movement of certain industrial processes, finally acknowledged as unsafe by most academic research, away from the developed countries. In these countries, the strength of labor and environmental organizations has caused a decline in capitalist productivity.

Analysis of system innovation in urban water infrastructure systems: an agent-based modelling approach

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Kotz ◽  
H. Hiessl
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Water Infrastructure ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Infrastructure Systems ◽  
Infrastructure System ◽  
The Developed Countries ◽  
Industrialised Countries ◽  
Innovation Processes

The conventional urban water infrastructure concept, as it is implemented in industrialised countries as well as in urban areas in developing countries face increasing problems not only caused by investments required, but also by major problems with respect to retrofitting, upgrading and inflexibility with respect to future developments. Identifying alternative approaches to provide urban water services and finding ways to make a transition from the technological trajectory of the conventional urban water infrastructure system to more sustainable ones is of interest for both the developing and the developed countries. The paper describes essential aspects associated with innovation processes in urban water infrastructure systems and presents an agent-based model to simulate these innovation processes. Additionally, first simulation results are presented.

IDENTIFYING THE FACTORS INHIBITING RESEARCH ON URBAN FREIGHT TRANSPORT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: REVIEW OF STUDIES IN INDIA

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Bhavesh Dhonde ◽  
Chetan Patel
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Freight Transport ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Urban Freight ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Urban Freight Transport ◽  
The Developed Countries

Most of the cities in developing countries are found to have non-uniform distribution of urban space, complex land use patterns, mixed traffic conditions, extensive use of non-motorized vehicles and lack of traffic discipline. In comparision to the developed countries, it is more complicated to manage urban freight transport in developing countries due to the lack of sufficient infrastructure, wide socio-economic gaps between urban and non-urban areas and haphazard peripheral developments. Therefore the methods and strategies used to manage urban freight transport in developed countries cannot be directly used for cities in developing countries. It is necessary to devise distinctive solutions to improve the efficieny of urban freight transport in these cities, which may otherwise, inhibit the economic growth of these cities as well as hamper the overall momentum of country’s GDP growth gathered over decades. In recent years some studies focussing on urban freight transport are carried out in India, China and Brazil. This paper reviews urban freight studies carried out for Indian cities. India, world’s second most populous country to China, has 39 cities with a million plus population. Most of its cities are facing problems like congestion and air quality degradation due to inefficient freight movement practices. Review of urban freight studies is carried out based on different parameters influencing efficiency of freight movement. Various challenges and limitations faced by the researchers and administrators are discussed. Based on the review results, suggestions and future scope for research in different aspects of urban freight are presented in the paper.

scholarly journals Prevalence of hypertension and its association with stress, Indian diabetes risk score and obesity in rural population of Meerut

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-66
Author(s):  
Manish Garg ◽  
Rahul Bansal ◽  
Monika Gupta ◽  
Chhavi Kiran Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Risk Score ◽  
Rural Population ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Diabetes Risk ◽  
Anthropometric Measurement ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Developed Countries ◽  
Diabetes Risk Score

Background: The prevalence pattern of hypertension in developing countries is different from that in the developed countries. In India, community surveys have documented that between three and six decades, prevalence of hypertension has increased by about 30 times among urban dwellers and by about 10 times among the rural inhabitants. Many studies on hypertension are available from urban areas but there are less studies among the rural population. Aim & objectives: To determine the prevalence & corelates of hypertension among the adults in rural population of Meerut. Settings and Design: community based cross-sectional study conducted in rural Meerut. Materials and Methods: 150 participants were selected by systematic random sampling. Data was collected using a pre designed, structured schedule, including blood pressure and anthropometric measurement of participants. Results: The prevalence of hypertension came out to be 33.3%.  In rural population high Indian Diabetes Risk Score (IDRS), higher Body Mass Index (BMI), increased Waist Hip Ratio (WHR), Truncal obesity and disturbed sleep were significantly associated with hypertension, Conclusions: a high prevalence of hypertension was seen in this rural area which requires intervention at primary health care level for its prevention.

Helminth composition and prevalence of indigenous and invasive synanthropic murid rodents in urban areas of Gauteng Province, South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 92 (4) ◽  
pp. 445-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.S. Julius ◽  
E.V. Schwan ◽  
C.T. Chimimba
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Hymenolepis Diminuta ◽  
Rodent Species ◽  
Infection Prevalence ◽  
Nippostrongylus Brasiliensis ◽  
Indigenous Species ◽  
Gauteng Province ◽  
Syphacia Obvelata ◽  
Mastomys Coucha

AbstractAlthough synanthropic rodents such as the indigenous species, Mastomys coucha, and the invasive species, Rattus norvegicus, R. rattus and R. tanezumi, are well-known to be hosts to various micro- and macroparasites, their helminth parasite fauna is poorly studied in South Africa. In an attempt to remedy the situation, the aim of the present study was to investigate the helminth fauna of these sympatric rodent species, which were obtained from the informal settlements of Alexandra, Tembisa, Diepsloot and residential suburbs of Pretoria and Hammanskraal, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Helminths were recovered from the urinary bladder, liver and gastrointestinal tract and were identified morphologically and molecularly. The recovered nematodes were all rodent-specific and included Aspiculuris tetraptera, Eucoleus sp., Heterakis spumosa, Mastophorus muris, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, Protospirura sp., Strongyloides ratti, Syphacia obvelata, Syphacia muris, Trichuris sp. and Trichosomoides crassicauda. Syphacia obvelata, a commensal nematode of laboratory rodents, was recovered from indigenous M. coucha. Strobilar stages of cestodes recovered included Hymenolepis diminuta, Hymenolepis nana and Inermicapsifer madagascariensis. Recovered metacestodes were strobilocerci of Hydatigera taeniaeformis from all three invasive Rattus species and coenurostrobilocerci of Hydatigera parva from M. coucha. An acanthocephalan, Moniliformis moniliformis, was recovered from R. rattus only. All rodent species examined showed high helminth infection prevalence (≥70%) with equal or higher nematode than cestode prevalence. Mastomys coucha, however, showed significantly lower cestode prevalence than Rattus species where they co-occur. Interspecific transmission of helminths likely occurs between invasive and indigenous rodents, and these rodents harbour several helminths that have zoonotic implications.

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