Exploring Driving Forces of Avian Diversity in a Subtropical Asian City.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Wei Huang ◽  
Yi-Lei Hsu ◽  
Hui Xian Lau ◽  
Jerome Chie-Jen Ko
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Bird Diversity ◽  
Median Income ◽  
Avian Diversity ◽  
Open Government Data ◽  
Landscape Ecological ◽  
Different Levels

<p>Global urbanization has led to biodiversity decline. Although some case studies reveal rich biodiversity in cities, we still know little about the underlying factors that shape biodiversity at different levels of urbanization. This study statistically analyzes the relationships between environmental, socio-economic and landscape-ecological factors with avian diversity along the rural-urban gradient of Taipei, Taiwan. We use stepwise regression to explore factors that are correlated to variation of bird diversity. First, based on a citizen-science based breeding bird survey in Taiwan (BBS Taiwan), we identify avian richness at different levels of urbanization, using population density as a proxy. Then we correct median income, proportion of tertiary education attainment, precipitation and temperature data from open government data of Taiwan. Finally, we quantify landscape structures using landscape metrics. The results indicate that landscape-ecological factors, such as cohesion of forest, the edge length between building and wetland and area size of building, etc. are correlated with avian richness. On the other hand, socio-economic factors, such as median income and education level are not correlated with avian diversity. Our results reveal that the luxury effect, which describes the positive influence of wealth on urban biodiversity, may not be influential at a subtropical compact city in Asia. On the contrary, we suggest an eco-friendly landscape design that creates a landscape mosaic with scattered trees or wetlands can lead to a network of ecological stepping stones through urban areas for improving bird diversity.</p>

scholarly journals Comparative Study of the Field Performances of Pressure-Grouted Micropiles Using Gravity and Packers

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 6736
Author(s):  
Ong Heo ◽  
Yeowon Yoon ◽  
Jinung Do
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Field Performance ◽  
Underground Space ◽  
Creep Tests ◽  
Deep Foundation ◽  
Installation Depth ◽  
Pressure Grouting ◽  
The One

When underground space requires excavation in areas below the water table, the foundation system suffers from buoyancy, which leads to the uplifting of the superstructure. A deep foundation system can be used; however, in cases where a hard layer is encountered, high driving forces and corresponding noises cause civil complaints in urban areas. Micropiles can be an effective alternative option, due to their high performance despite a short installation depth. Pressurized grouting is used with a packer to induce higher interfacial properties between micropile and soil. In this study, the field performance of micropiles installed using gravitational grouting or pressure-grouted using either a geotextile packer or rubber packer was comparatively evaluated by tension and creep tests. Micropiles were installed using pressure grouting in weak and fractured zones. As results, the pressure-grouted micropiles showed more stable and stronger behaviors than ones installed using the gravitational grouting. Moreover, the pressure-grouted micropile installed using the rubber packer showed better performance than the one using the geotextile packer.

Factors that affect entomophagical practices in Ghana

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.J. Anankware ◽  
E.A. Osekre ◽  
D. Obeng-Ofori ◽  
C.M. Khamala
Keyword(s):  
Social Factors ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Insect Species ◽  
Edible Insects ◽  
The Social ◽  
Gender Education ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Religious Reasons

This study evaluated the social and ecological factors that affect entomophagy in Ghana with a view to instigate the initiation of programmes for the use of insects for human and poultry nutrition in Africa. Two thousand questionnaires were administered to randomly selected respondents in all the ten regions of Ghana. With regards to social factors, entomophagy was found to be influenced by age, gender, education and occupation. Entomophagy is practiced across all age groups and gender in Ghana. Proportionally, 90, 78 and 74% of the aged (60+), middle aged (31-50) and the youth (18-30), respectively, were observed to consume various insect species. Ecologically, entomophagy was more pronounced in rural than urban areas. Over 87% of respondents who consume edible insects acquire them through harvesting/trapping. Four insect species were identified as feed for animals. The majority (81.6%) of the respondents consume insects as a source of protein, 9.6% for cultural reasons, 5.6% for medicinal values and 3.0 and 0.2%, respectively, for recreational and religious reasons. Gender has the least influence on entomophagy. Considering the economic, ecological and nutritional importance of edible insects in traditional Ghanaian foods, attention should be given to sustainable environmental harvesting practices.

scholarly journals Determinants of Access and Equity in Tertiary Education: The Case of Indonesia

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1&2) ◽  
pp. 3-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiichi Ogawa ◽  
Kosuke Iimura
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Family Background ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Rand Corporation ◽  
Demand Side ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Indonesia Family Life Survey

How does an individual choose to pursue tertiary education in Indonesia in an era of mass tertiary education? What factors affect this decision? In thisarticle, we analyze the determinants of access to tertiary education in Indonesia from the demand side using household survey data. We also examine theimpact of regional and family background factors on inequity of access to tertiary education. In order to analyze the demand side factors for tertiaryeducation, we use a multi-nominal logit model to examine what factors influence an individual’s decision to pursue a sarjana (bachelor’s) program,diploma program, or work after s/he graduates from high school. The data used is from the fourth Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS4) which wasconducted by the RAND Corporation and others between 2007 and 2008. Key findings of the analysis are as follows: (1) the education level of the head ofhousehold and family income per household member have significant positive effects on the choice of pursuing tertiary education; (2) in urban areas, theeducation level of household spouse and students’ test scores in high school are positively significant; (3) living in urban areas per se does not have acorrelation with entry into tertiary education; (4) access to bachelor’s programs for urban residents is most likely affected by the family backgroundfactors; (5) holding everything else constant, the tendency is for females to enroll in diploma programs, but not for bachelor’s programs.

La qualitŕ della vita a Roma: fattori ambientali, socio-economici e psico-sociali

2009 ◽  
pp. 102-136
Author(s):  
Manila Bonciani
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
The Social ◽  
Individual Quality Of Life ◽  
Different Levels

- This contribution lies in the opening between the interest of social research for a deeper understanding of phenomena tied to the quality of life, and the need to intervene in public health as well as identify priority areas of action for the promotion of peoples' health and quality of life. The pilot study carried out in Rome in fact aimed to test a survey instrument on the quality of life from a health perspective. It analyzed the interaction between the environmental dimension, the social-economical and the psychosociological ones and their impact on the quality of life of people who live in urban areas. The purpose of this first contribution is to consider what might influence the promotion of wellbeing, in relation to different levels of human action (macro, meso and micro). The results underline a prominent influence of the psycho-sociological dimension on the perception of individual quality of life and a less substantial influence of the socio-economical one. The absence of a relation with the macro factor, which ecological data of the Municipalities of Rome characterizes as an element of urbanization of the territory, needs further investigation. This can be obtained through a sample survey that guarantees the representativeness of the Roman population.

Increased frequency of Eurasian double jets linked to summer heat extremes in Europe

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efi Rousi ◽  
Kai Kornhuber ◽  
Goratz Beobide Arsuaga ◽  
Fei Luo ◽  
Dim Coumou
Keyword(s):  
Zonal Wind ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Self Organizing Maps ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
The North ◽  
Heat Extremes ◽  
Different Levels

<p>Persistent summer extremes, such as heatwaves and droughts, can have considerable impacts on nature and societies. There is evidence that weather persistence has increased in Europe over the past decades, in association to changes in atmosphere dynamics, but uncertainties remain and the driving forces are not yet well understood. </p><p>Particularly for Europe, the jet stream may affect surface weather significantly by modulating the North Atlantic storm tracks. Here, we examine the hypothesis that high-latitude warming and decreased westerlies in summer result in more double jets, consisting of two distinct maxima of the zonal wind in the upper troposphere, over the Eurasian sector. Previous work has shown that such double jet states are related to persistent blocking-like circulation in the mid-latitudes. </p><p>We adapt a dynamical perspective of heat extreme trends by looking at large scale circulation and in particular, changes in the zonal mean zonal wind in different levels of the upper troposphere. We define clusters of jet states with the use of Self-Organizing Maps and analyze their characteristics. We find an increase in frequency and persistence of a cluster of double jet states for the period 1979-2019 during July-August (in ERA5 reanalysis data). Those states are linked to increased surface temperature and more frequent heatwaves compared to climatology over western, central, and northern Europe. Significant positive double jet anomalies are found to be dominant in the days preceding and/or coinciding with some of the most intense historical heatwaves in Europe, such as those of 2003 and 2018. A linear regression analysis shows that the increase in frequency and persistence of double jet states may explain part of the strong upward trend in heat extremes over these European regions.</p>

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Urban Parks and Their Driving Forces in Xi'an, China from 1949 to 2015

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 112-115
Author(s):  
Xuhui Wang ◽  
Kewei Liu ◽  
Kai Wang ◽  
Jian Gong ◽  
Yanjun Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Urban Parks ◽  
Spatiotemporal Dynamics ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Space Planning ◽  
Suburban Areas ◽  
Human Wellbeing ◽  
Average Size

Urban parks play a key role in recreational activities, public health, and ecosystem services in urban areas. Using GIS and Fragstats, this study investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics of urban parks in Xi'an, China from 1949 to 2015 and the corresponding driving forces. The results show that the number and area of parks in Xi'an increased constantly during this period, especially from 2000 to 2015. Up to 2015, small green spaces, usually adjacent to streets, occupied the largest proportion among all types of parks. Archaeological parks were the largest in total area, but wetland parks were leading in average size of a single park. The density of parks was negatively correlated with their distance to the Clock Tower at the center of Xi'an. The dynamics of urban parks in highly urbanized areas were significantly different from that of their counterparts in suburban areas. Driving forces such as urban planning, urbanization and green space policies, and milestone events in the city's development jointly had a great effect on the distribution of parks in Xi'an. The research outcomes will support the upcoming Green Space Planning of Xi'an and benefit the pursuit of sustainability and human wellbeing.

scholarly journals The Managerial Dimension of Open Data Success: Focusing on the Open Data Initiatives in Korean Local Governments

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim ◽  
Eom
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Technological Determinism ◽  
The Public ◽  
Open Government Data ◽  
Government Data ◽  
Public And Private Sector ◽  
Resource Based Theory

Open government data (open data) initiatives have been at the forefront of the strategy to make more transparent, responsive, and accountable government, and thereby lead to open innovation across the public and private sector. Governments around the world often understand that open data is disclosing their data to the public as much as possible and that open data success is the result of a data and technology-related endeavor rather than the result of organizational, institutional, and environmental attributes. According to the resource-based theory, however, managerial capability to mobilize tangible and intangible resources and deploy them in adequate places or processes under the leadership of capable leaders during the information technology (IT) project is a core factor leading to organizational performance such as open data success. In this vein, this study aims to analyze managerial factors as drivers and challenges of open data success from the resource-based theory. Findings illustrate that managerial factors are the driving forces that often boost or hinder open data success when institutional, socio-economic, and demographic factors are controlled. Discussion illustrates theoretical and practical implications for the managerial factors as drivers and challenges of open data success in terms of the comparison between technological determinism and the socio-technical perspective.

scholarly journals Grammatical Intricacy in EFL Textbooks

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinh To
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Linguistic Complexity ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Lexical Density ◽  
English Textbooks ◽  
Different Levels

Grammatical intricacy is an important concept in charactering complexity of language (Halliday, 2008). However, this concept has not yet been fully investigated in the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language (TEFL), particular in English as a foreign language (EFL) textbooks in higher education. This paper aims to examine grammatical intricacy across textbook levels in a book series used in tertiary education in the Vietnamese context. This is part of a larger research project looking at linguistic complexity of English textbooks in the TEFL setting. The research employed Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) as the main theoretical framework and Halliday’s method as a measure of grammatical intricacy to look at how this language feature was used in reading comprehension texts in four textbooks at different levels including elementary, pre-intermediate, inter-mediate and upper-intermediate. The findings revealed that grammatical intricacy increased in accordance with the book levels. Particularly, the mean scores of grammatical intricacy showed a gradual increase from the elementary to the intermediate book level; though they were not different significantly and the upper-intermediate textbook did not show the topmost grammatical complexity. These findings suggest that the use of grammatical intricacy in the investigated textbooks was appropriate for EFL learners across levels; however, the use of other linguistic features such as lexical density and nominalisation may potentially impact the use of simple clauses in the textbooks at a higher level. Thus, further investigations are recommended to fully explore the complexity of textbook language.      

scholarly journals Innovation and Development through Local Creative Industries: The Goldsmith Center in Caserta – Tarì

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Mario Mustilli ◽  
Filomena Izzo ◽  
Domenico Graziano
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Creative Industries ◽  
Fuel Quality ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Business Sectors ◽  
Innovative Techniques

Creative industries are one of the main productive factors that fuel quality and competition; driving forces of the Italian economy. Creative industries are leading the economic growth all over the world through their techniques, among which are Co-creation and Design Thinking. New business models are being developed which are having positive effects on other business sectors and on the urban areas where they are located.This research analyzes whether creative industries in the Goldsmith Center in Caserta (Tarì) are adopting the same innovative techniques (esp. Co-creation and Design Thinking) and if they are able to contribute to the territorial economic development.Interviews were carried out to determine the awareness of the innovative techniques (Co-creation and Design Thinking) and their potential.The results of the research indicate some confusion on the innovative techniques – Co-creation and Design Thinking – but there is a general consensus on the advantages, with positive effects on the local and/or regional business communities.The results, in short, show that the craftsmanship of the goldsmiths in Caserta, or rather, the creative sector in question, can have some positive effects even on other business sectors in the province of Caserta and, therefore, on local development.

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