Search results for: rural and urban universities

Authors: Malihe Ahmadi

Abstract:

Nowadays, stress, tension and neural problems are among the most important concerns of the present age. The environment plays key role on improving mental health and reducing stress of citizens. Establishing balance and appropriate relationship between city and natural environment is of the most important approaches of present century. Type of approach and logical planning for urban green spaces as one of the basic sections of integration with nature, not only plays key role on quality and efficiency of comprehensive urban planning; but also it increases the system of distributing social activities and happiness and lively property of urban environments that leads to permanent urban development. The main purpose of recovering urban identity is considering culture, history and human life style in past. This is a documentary-library research that evaluates the historical properties of Iranian gardens in compliance with climate condition. Results of this research reveal that in addition to following Iranian gardens from common principles of land lot, structure of flowers and plants, water, specific buildings during different ages, the role of climate at different urban areas is among the basics of determining method of designing green spaces and different buildings located at diverse areas i.e. Iranian gardens are a space for merging natural and artificial elements that has inseparable connection with semantic principles and guarantees different functions. Some of the necessities of designing present urban gardens are including: recognition and recreation.

Keywords: historical gardens, climate, properties of Iranian gardens, Iran

Procedia PDF Downloads 397

Authors: Saima Shaikh, Andre Brown, Wallace Enegbuma

Abstract:

Earthquakes strike both developed and developing countries, causing tremendous damage and the loss of lives of millions of people, mainly due to the collapsing of buildings, particularly in poorer countries. Despite the socio-economic and technological restrictions, the poorer countries have adopted proven and established housing-strengthening techniques from affluent countries. Rural communities are aware of the earthquake-strengthening mechanisms for improving housing resilience, but owing to socio-economic and technological constraints, the seismic guidelines are rarely implemented, resulting in informal construction practice. Unregistered skilled laborers make substantial contributions to the informal construction sector, particularly in rural areas where knowledge is scarce. Laborers employ their local expertise in house construction; however, owing to a lack of seismic expertise in safe building procedures, the authorities' regulated seismic norms are not applied. From the perspective of seismic knowledge transformation in safe buildings practices, the study focuses on the feasibility of seismic guidelines implementation. The study firstly employs a literature review of massive-scale reconstruction after the 2005 earthquake in rural Pakistan. The 2005-earthquake damaged over 400,000 homes, killed 70,000 people and displaced 2.8 million people. The research subsequently corroborated the pragmatic approach using questionnaire field survey among the rural people in 2005-earthquake affected areas. Using the literature and the questionnaire survey, the research analyzing people's perspectives on technical acceptability, financial restrictions, and socioeconomic viability and examines the effectiveness of seismic knowledge transfer in safe buildings practices. The findings support the creation of a knowledge transfer framework in disaster mitigation and recovery planning, assisting rural communities and builders in minimising losses and improving response and recovery, as well as improving housing resilience and lowering vulnerabilities. Finally, certain conclusions are obtained in order to continue the resilience research. The research can be further applied in rural areas of developing countries having similar construction practices.

Keywords: earthquakes, knowledge transfer, resilience, informal construction practices

Procedia PDF Downloads 173

Authors: Y. K. Park, B. K. Kim, J. W. Lee, S. J. Lee

Abstract:

To assess the risk of the underground structures and surrounding ground, we collect basic data by the engineering method of measurement, exploration and surveys and, derive the risk through proper analysis and each assessment for urban railroad underground structures and surrounding ground including station inflow. Basic data are obtained by the fiber-optic sensors, MEMS sensors, water quantity/quality sensors, tunnel scanner, ground penetrating radar, light weight deflectometer, and are evaluated if they are more than the proper value or not. Based on these data, we analyze the risk level of urban railroad underground structures and surrounding ground. And we develop the risk management system to manage efficiently these data and to support a convenient interface environment at input/output of data.

Keywords: urban railroad, underground structures, ground subsidence, station inflow, risk

Procedia PDF Downloads 336

Authors: Sedigheh Kalantari, Yaping Huang

Abstract:

The historic area of cities has experienced different phases of transformation. The beginning of the twentieth century, modernism, and modern development changed the integrated pattern of change and the historic urban quarter were regarded as subject comprehensive redevelopment. In this respect, historic area of Iranian cities have not been safe from these changes and affected by widespread evolutions; in particular after Islamic Revolution eras (1978) cities have traveled through an evolution in conservation and development policies and practices. Moreover, moving toward a specific approach and specific attention paid to the regeneration of the historical urban centers in Iran has started since the 1990s. This reveals the great importance attached to the historical centers of cities. This paper is an approach to examine an experience on urban regeneration in Iran through a case study. The study relies on multiple source of evidence. The use of multiple sources of evidence can help substantially improve the validity and reliability of the research. The empirical core of this research, therefore, rests in the process of urban revitalization of the old square in Isfahan. Isfahan is one of the oldest city of Persia. The historic area of city encompasses a large number of valuable buildings and monuments. One of the cultural and historical region of Isfahan is Atiq Square (Old Square). It has been the backbone node of the city that in course of time has being ignored more and more and transformed negatively. The complex had suffered from insufficiencies especially with respect to social and spatial aspects. Therefore, reorganization of that complex as the main and most important urban center of Isfahan became an inevitable issue; So this paper except from reminding the value of such historic-cultural heritage and review of its transformation, focused on an experience of urban revitalization project in this heritage site. The outcome of this research shows that situated in different socio-economic political and historical contexts and in face of different urban regeneration issues, Iran have displayed significant differences in the way of urban regeneration.

Keywords: historic area, Iran, urban regeneration, revitalization

Procedia PDF Downloads 257

Authors: Y.S. Lea

Abstract:

This paper investigates the agricultural rituals in relation to the historical continuity of cultural ideology concerning the praxis of cultural sustenance of the indigenous Mayas. The praxis is delineated in two dimensions: 1) The ceremonial and quotidian rituals of the rural Q’eqchi’ Mayas in Lanquin, Guatemala; 2) The indigenous Maya resistance of 2014 against the legislation of the 'Law for the Protection of New Plant Varieties,' commonly known as 'the Monsanto Law' in Guatemala. Through the intersection of ideology in practice, the praxis of cultural sustenance is construed.

Keywords: Q'eqchi' Mayas, San Agustin Lanquin, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, Maya animism, Q’eqchi' deities, Tzuultaq'as

Procedia PDF Downloads 248

Authors: Tania Vazquez, Aida Huerta

Abstract:

Way to get our food has changed over the time, and it is a daily necessity. Nowadays we found a lot of problems involved with the economy, environment, and society, which affect the agrifood system. Some problems as construction of big cities and growing population have been increasing demand food directly. Due to the countryside are far away from the city, another alternative systems have come from, such as Urban Agriculture (UA). UA system offers food production into the cities, products with characteristics as quality, healthy and good prices, close to the customers, recycling culture and the promote environmental education. Last years in Mexico City urban gardens have taken strongly in various politic delegations. There are establishment’s public and private initiatives. Moreover, these places have had different issues like low income, many activities, few workers, low production, lack of training and advice, devaluation of your work and low sales, all these shortcomings generate the devaluation of their work. The aim of this paper is to evaluate a business plan in Mexico City´s urban gardens that contribute to ensuring economic, environmental and social sustainability; to adjust business plan for this places so that they reach viability over time. As a part of soft systems methodology developed of Peter Checkland, we interviewed owners of urban gardens and we found that recurring problem was lack planning manager activities and a master plan about their business. We evaluate the business plan based on “Ten principles in sustainable food value chain development” proposed for Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). With this study was possible measure, understand and improve performance of business plan in the three pillars of the sustainability in addition to this it allowed us to fit in with the needs of urban gardens.

Keywords: business plan, Mexico City, urban agriculture, urban gardens

Procedia PDF Downloads 395

Authors: Gideon Baffoe, Hirotaka Matsuda

Abstract:

Rural livelihood systems are known to be inherently vulnerable. Attempt to reduce vulnerability is linked to developing resilience to both internal and external shocks, thereby increasing the overall sustainability of livelihood systems. The shocks and stresses could be induced by natural processes such as the climate and/or by social dynamics such as institutional failure. In this wise, livelihood vulnerability is understood as a combined effect of biophysical, economic, and social processes. However, previous empirical studies on livelihood vulnerability in the context of rural areas across the globe have tended to focus more on climate-induced vulnerability assessment with few studies empirically partially considering the multiple dimensions of livelihood vulnerability. This has left a gap in our understanding of the subject. Using the Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI), this study aims to comprehensively assess the livelihood vulnerability level of rural households using Ehiamenkyene, a community in the forest zone of Eastern Ghana as a case study. Though the present study adopts the LVI approach, it differs from the original framework in two respects; (1) it introduces institutional influence into the framework and (2) it appreciates the gender differences in livelihood vulnerability. The study utilized empirical data collected from 110 households’ in the community. The overall study results show a high livelihood vulnerability situation in the community with male-headed households likely to be more vulnerable than their female counterparts. Out of the seven subcomponents assessed, only two (socio-demographic profile and livelihood strategies) recorded low vulnerability scores of less than 0.5 with the remaining five (health status, food security, water accessibility, institutional influence and natural disasters and climate variability) recording scores above 0.5, with institutional influence being the component with the highest impact score. The results suggest that to improve the livelihood conditions of the people; there is the need to prioritize issues related to the operations of both internal and external institutions, health status, food security, water and climate variability in the community.

Keywords: assessment, gender, livelihood, rural, vulnerability

Procedia PDF Downloads 489

Authors: N. Y. H. Konagano

Abstract:

Riverside population of Brazilian amazon suffers drinking water scarcity, seeking alternative water resources such as well and rivers, ordinary polluted. Although Amazon Region holds high annual river inflow and enough available of underground water, human activities have compromised the conservation of water resources. In addition, decentralized rural households make difficult to access of potable water. Main objective is to analyze quantitatively the potential of rainwater harvesting to human consumption at Marupaúba community, located in northeast of Amazon region, Brazil. Methods such as historical rainfall data series of municipality of Tomé-Açu at Pará state were obtained from Hydrological Information System of National Water Agency (ANA). Besides, Rippl method was used to calculate, mainly, volume of the reservoir based on difference of water demand and volume available through rainwater using as references two houses (CA I and CA II) as model of rainwater catchment and supply. Results presented that, from years 1984 to 2017, average annual precipitation was 2.607 mm, average maximum precipitation peak was 474 mm on March and average minimum peak on September was 44 mm. All months, of a year, surplus volume of water have presented in relation to demand, considering catchment area (CA) I = 134.4m² and demand volume =0.72 m³/month; and, CA II = 81.84 m² and demand volume = 0.48 m³/month. Based on results, it is concluded that it is feasible to use rainwater for the supply of the rural community Marupaúba, since the access of drinking water is a human right and the lack of this resource compromises health and daily life of human beings.

Keywords: Amazon Region, rainwater harvesting, rainwater resource, rural community

Procedia PDF Downloads 150

Authors: Wesal A. Maash

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to investigate Saudi students' knowledge of CT and their attitudes to it. The sample consisted of 121 students from 23 cities who are studying currently in UK universities with a mix of background variables (age, gender, and university level). A questionnaire was developed by the researcher to be used as the tool of the study. Its validity and reliability were established. The results revealed a negative correlation between knowledge of CT and the attitudes to it. It was also indicated that there exist statistically significant differences between the means of knowledge according to the university level, in favour of postgraduates. Moreover, no significant differences in the level of attitudes to CT were found according to age. Similarly, no significant differences in the knowledge of CT were found according to gender. Further, the attitudes to CT of Saudi students can be predicted based upon their university level. The findings suggest conducting further interpretive or mixed methods research with Saudi international students in order to understand the context in more depth.

Keywords: critical thinking, Saudi international students, knowledge of critical thinking, attitudes towards critical thinking

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: N. Nandan A. M. Nagaraj, L. Sanjeev Kumar

Abstract:

In the rapidly growing population, the requirement of electrical power is increasing day by day. In order to meet the needs, we need to generate the power using alternate method. In this paper, a presentable approach is developed by analysis and can be implemented by utilizing heat energy, which is generated in numerous ways in some of the rural areas in India. The thermoelectric generator unit will be developed by combing with control circuits and converts, which is used to light the LED lamps. The temperature difference which is available in the kitchens, especially the exhaust pipes/chimneys of wooden fire stoves, where more heat is dissipated into the atmosphere, can be utilized for electrical power generation. Hence, the temperature rise of surroundings atmosphere can be reduced.

Keywords: thermo electric generator, LED, converts, temperature

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Toslim Uddin Khan, Jesmin Akter, Mohiuddin Ahmed

Abstract:

Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) and personal health-care practice is a critical issue to prevent morbidity and other reproductive health complications among adolescent girls in Bangladesh. Inadequate access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities lead to unhealthy MHM practices that resulted in poor reproductive health outcomes. It is evident from different studies that superstitions and misconception are more common in rural communities that limit young girls’ access to and understanding of the menstrual hygiene and self care practices. The state-of-the-art approach of Social Marketing Company (SMC) is proved to be instrumental in delivering reinforcing health messages, making public health and hygiene products available at the door steps of the community through community mobilization programs in rural Bangladesh. School health program is one of the flagship interventions of SMC to equip adolescent girls and boys with correct knowledge of health and hygiene practices among themselves, their families and peers. In Bangladeshi culture, adolescent girls often feel shy to ask fathers or male family members about buying sanitary napkin from local pharmacy and they seem to be reluctant to seek help regarding their menstrual problems. A recent study reveals that 48% adolescent girls are using sanitary napkins while majority of them are unaware of menstrual hygiene practices in Bangladesh. Under school adolescent program, SMC organizes health education sessions for adolescent girls from grade seven to ten using enter-educate approach with special focus on sexual and reproductive health and menstrual hygiene issues including delaying marriage and first pregnancy. In addition, 2500 rural women entrepreneurs branded as community sales agents are also involved in disseminating health messages and selling priority health products including sanitary napkin at the household level. These women entrepreneurs are serving as a source of sustainable supply of the sanitary napkins for the rural adolescent girls and thereby they are earning profit margins on the sales they make. A recent study on the impact of adolescent program activities reveals that majority (71%) of the school adolescent girls are currently using sanitary napkins. Health education equips and empowers adolescent girls with accurate knowledge about menstrual hygiene practices and self-care as well. Therefore, engagement of female entrepreneurs in school adolescent health program at the community level is one of the promising ways to improve menstrual hygiene practices leading to increased use of sanitary napkin in rural and semi-rural communities in Bangladesh.

Keywords: school adolescent program, social marketing, women entrepreneurs, menstrual hygiene management

Procedia PDF Downloads 197

Authors: Meseret Habtamu, Mekuria Argaw

Abstract:

Urban forests can help to improve the microclimate and air quality. Urban forests in Addis Ababa are important sinks for GHGs as the number of vehicles and the traffic constrain is steadily increasing. The objective of this study was to characterize the vegetation types in selected public parks and to estimate the carbon stock potential of urban forests by assessing carbon in the above, below ground biomass, in the litter and soil. Species which vegetation samples were taken using a systematic transect sampling within value DBH ≥ 5cm were recorded to measure the above, the below ground biomass and the amount of C stored. Allometric models (Y= 34.4703 - 8.0671(DBH) + 0.6589(DBH2) were used to calculate the above ground and Below ground biomass (BGB) = AGB × 0.2 and sampling of soil and litter was based on quadrates. There were 5038 trees recorded from the selected study sites with DBH ≥ 5cm. Most of the Parks had large number of indigenous species, but the numbers of exotic trees are much larger than the indigenous trees. The mean above ground and below ground biomass is 305.7 ± 168.3 and 61.1± 33.7 respectively and the mean carbon in the above ground and below ground biomass is 143.3±74.2 and 28.1 ± 14.4 respectively. The mean CO2 in the above ground and below ground biomass is 525.9 ± 272.2 and 103.1 ± 52.9 respectively. The mean carbon in dead litter and soil carbon were 10.5 ± 2.4 and 69.2t ha-1 respectively. Urban trees reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) through sequestration which is important for climate change mitigation, they are also important for recreational, medicinal value and aesthetic and biodiversity conservation.

Keywords: biodiversity, carbon sequestration, climate change, urban forests

Procedia PDF Downloads 229

Authors: Abubakar Abdulkareem, Nasir Haruna Soba

Abstract:

This study investigates the non-utilization of AI tools for research and academic writing among academic staff in Nigerian universities using the perceived attribute of innovation theory by Rogers as a theoretical framework to guide the investigation. This study was framed in an interpretative research paradigm. A qualitative methodology and case study research design was adopted. Interviews were conducted with 20 academic staff. The study used a thematic analysis process to identify 115 narratives. The narratives are organized into five major categories and further collapsed into five theoretical constructs explaining the non-use of AI tools for research and academic writing. Findings from this study revealed some of the reasons for the non-utilization of AI tools for research and academic writing as lack of Awareness, perceived Complexity, trust and Reliability Concerns, cost and accessibility, ethical and Privacy concerns and, cultural and institutional factors, etc.

Keywords: non-utilization, AI tools, research and academic writing, academic staff

Procedia PDF Downloads 47

Authors: Su Nandar Tin, Wutjanun Muttitanon

Abstract:

The availability of free global and historical satellite imagery provides a valuable opportunity for mapping and monitoring the year by year for the built-up area, constantly and effectively. Land distribution guidelines and identification of changes are important in preparing and reviewing changes in the ground overview data. This study utilizes Landsat images for thirty years of information to acquire significant, and land spread data that are extremely valuable for urban arranging. This paper is mainly introducing to focus the basic of extracting built-up area for the city development area from the satellite images of LANDSAT 5,7,8 and Sentinel 2A from USGS in every five years. The purpose analyses the changing of the urban built-up area according to the year by year and to get the accuracy of mapping built-up and bare land areas in studying the trend of urban built-up changes the periods from 1990 to 2020. The GIS tools such as raster calculator and built-up area modelling are using in this study and then calculating the indices, which include enhanced built-up and bareness index (EBBI), Normalized difference Built-up index (NDBI), Urban index (UI), Built-up index (BUI) and Normalized difference bareness index (NDBAI) are used to get the high accuracy urban built-up area. Therefore, this study will point out a variable approach to automatically mapping typical enhanced built-up and bare land changes (EBBI) with simple indices and according to the outputs of indexes. Therefore, the percentage of the outputs of enhanced built-up and bareness index (EBBI) of the sentinel-2A can be realized with 48.4% of accuracy than the other index of Landsat images which are 15.6% in 1990 where there is increasing urban expansion area from 43.6% in 1990 to 92.5% in 2020 on the study area for last thirty years.

Keywords: built-up area, EBBI, NDBI, NDBAI, urban index

Procedia PDF Downloads 172

Authors: Muhammad Ameer Nawaz Akram

Abstract:

The 21st century has been revealed that many individuals around the world are living in urban settlements than in rural zones. The evolution of numerous cities in emerging and newly developed countries is accompanied by the rise of slums. The precise definition of a slum varies countries to countries, but the universal harmony is that slums are dilapidated settlements facing severe poverty and have lacked access to sanitation, water, electricity, good living styles, and land tenure. The slum settlements always vary in unique patterns within and among the countries and cities. The core objective of this study is the spatial identification and classification of slums in Gujrat city Pakistan from very high-resolution GeoEye-1 (0.41m) satellite imagery. Slums were first identified using GPS for sample site identification and ground-truthing; through this process, 425 slums were identified. Then Object-Oriented Analysis (OOA) was applied to classify slums on digital image. Spatial analysis softwares, e.g., ArcGIS 10.3, Erdas Imagine 9.3, and Envi 5.1, were used for processing data and performing the analysis. Results show that OOA provides up to 90% accuracy for the identification of slums. Jalal Cheema and Allah Ho colonies are severely affected by slum settlements. The ratio of criminal activities is also higher here than in other areas. Slums are increasing with the passage of time in urban areas, and they will be like a hazardous problem in coming future. So now, the executive bodies need to make effective policies and move towards the amelioration process of the city.

Keywords: slums, GPS, satellite imagery, object oriented analysis, zonal change detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Olubusayo Asikhia

Abstract:

The purpose of the study was to compare the incidence of indiscipline and guidance and counseling programmes among federal and state-owned tertiary institutions in Lagos State, Southwest, Nigeria. This study was borne out of persistent students’ revolt and unrest in Nigerian tertiary institutions with its concomitant breakdown of law and order, disruption of academic activities, closure of institutions and the disruption of lives and property among others. A sample of 300 students, 270 staff (including academic and non-academic, heads of disciplinary committees, deans of student affairs and counselors) from 6 federal and state-owned tertiary institutions were selected through stratified random sampling. Three structured questionnaires with reliability coefficients that range from 0.78 to 0.91 were used to collect data for the study. The data were tested at 0.05 level of significance and analyzed using descriptive, paired samples statistics and regression analysis. Findings from the four hypotheses generated for the study revealed that student indiscipline occurs more in state colleges of education and polytechnics than in their federal counterparts. It was also higher in federal universities than the state. The study also revealed a significant difference in the causes of indiscipline and assessment of guidance and counseling programmes in state and federal universities and no significant difference in state and federal colleges and polytechnics. It was recommended that the guidance and counseling department in tertiary institutions should create a well-structured program that will enable it to address issues of indiscipline among students and that counselors should use small-group counseling approach and student-focused interventions.

Keywords: colleges of education, guidance and counseling, indiscipline, polytechnics, students and universities

Procedia PDF Downloads 250

Authors: Samira Eskandari

Abstract:

The image of Tehran has been impacted in recent years due to poor urban management and fragmented governance. There is no cohesive urban beautification framework in Tehran to enforce builders take aesthetic factors seriously when design and construct new buildings. The existing guidelines merely provide people with recommendations, not regulations. Obviously, Tehran needs a more comprehensive and strict urban beautification framework to restore its image. The damaged image has impacted the city’s social, economic and environmental growth. This research aims to find and examine a solution by which the employment of urban beautification regulation would be guaranteed, and city image would be organized. The methodology is based on a qualitative approach associated with analytical methods, in-depth surveys and interviews with Tehran citizens, authorities and experts, and use of academic resources as well as simulation. As a result, one practical solution is to incorporate aesthetic guidelines into a survival-related framework like a seismic guideline. Tehran is a seismic site, and all the buildings in Tehran have to be retrofitted against earthquake during construction. Hence, by integrating seismic regulations and aesthetic disciplines, urban beautification will be somehow guaranteed. Besides, the seismic image can turn into Tehran’s brand and enhances city identity. This research is trying to increase the social, environmental, and economic interconnectedness between urban planning and seismic planning by the usage of landscape architecture methods. As a case study, the potential outcomes are simulated in Tajrish, a suburb located in the north of Tehran. The result is that, by the redefinition of the morphology of seismic retrofitting systems, used in the significant city image elements, and re-function them in accordance with the Iranian culture and traditions, the city image would become more harmonized and legible.

Keywords: earthquake, retrofitting systems, Tehran image, urban beautification

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Pradeep Peiris, Hasini Lecamwasam

Abstract:

The fluid, ambiguous, and often elusive existence of caste among the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka has inspired many scholarly endeavours. Originally, Sinhalese caste was organized according to the occupational functions assigned to various groups in society. Hence cultivators came to be known as Goyigama, washers Dobi, drummers Berava, smiths Navandanna and so on. During pre-colonial times the specialized services of various groups were deployed to build water reservoirs, cultivate the land, and/or sustain the Buddhist order by material means. However, as to how and why caste prevails today in Sinhalese society when labour is in ideal terms free to move where it wants, or in other words, occupation is no longer strictly determined or restricted by birth, is a question worth exploring. Hence this paper explores how, and perhaps more interestingly why, when the nexus between traditional occupations and caste status is fast disappearing, caste itself has managed to survive and continues to be salient in politics in Sri Lanka. In answer to this larger question, the paper looks at caste from three perspectives: 1) Buddhism, whose ethical project provides a justification of social stratifications that transcends economic bases 2) Capitalism that has reactivated and reproduced archaic relations in a process of 'accumulation by subordination', not only by reinforcing the marginality of peripheral caste groups, but also by exploiting caste divisions to hinder any realization of class interests and 3) Democracy whose supposed equalizing effect expected through its ‘one man–one vote’ approach has been subverted precisely by itself, whereby the aggregate ultimately comes down to how many such votes each ‘group’ in society has. This study draws from field work carried out in Dedigama (in the District of Kegalle, Central Province) and Kelaniya (in the District of Colombo, Western Province) in Sri Lanka over three years. The choice of field locations was encouraged by the need to capture rural and urban dynamics related to caste since caste is more apparently manifest in rural areas whose material conditions partially warrant its prevalence, whereas in urban areas it exists mostly in the ideological terrain. In building its analysis, the study has employed a combination of objectivist and subjectivist approaches to capture the material and ideological existence of caste and caste politics in Sinhalese society. Therefore, methods such as in-depth interviews, observation, and collection of demographical and interpretive data from secondary sources were used for this study. The paper has been situated in a critical theoretical framework of social inquiry in an attempt to question dominant assumptions regarding such meta-labels as ‘Capitalism’ and ‘Democracy’, and also the supposed emancipatory function of religion (focusing on Buddhism).

Keywords: Buddhism, capitalism, caste, democracy, Sri Lanka

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Jose L. Oliver, Taras Agryzkov, Leandro Tortosa, Jose F. Vicent, Javier Santacruz

Abstract:

This paper aims to demonstrate how a topological study of an urban street network can be used as a tool to be applied to some heritage conservation areas in a city. In the last decades, we find different kinds of approaches in the discipline of Architecture and Urbanism based in the so-called Sciences of Complexity. In this context, this paper uses mathematics from the Network Theory. Hence, it proposes a methodology based in obtaining information from a graph, which is created from a network of urban streets. Then, it is used an algorithm that establishes a ranking of importance of the nodes of that network, from its topological point of view. The results are applied to a heritage area in a particular city, confronting the data obtained from the mathematical model, with the ones from the field work in the case study. As a result of this process, we may conclude the necessity of implementing some actions in the area, and where those actions would be more effective for the whole heritage site.

Keywords: graphs, heritage cities, spatial analysis, urban networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 396

Authors: Baikuntha Prasad Acharya, Elizabeth Halpenny

Abstract:

Small tourism enterprises (STEs) are primary providers of services and attractions in many destinations of less developed countries; they are considered the lifeblood of tourism sector. Furthermore, in rural community destinations of such countries including Nepal, STEs are regarded as alternative tools for advancing economic and sociocultural transformations. Many families in rural Nepali destinations are venturing into small tourism entrepreneurship so that their poverty can be reduced and they can live a sustained life. Most these communities are utilizing their lifestyles and natural and cultural heritages as tourism attractions. This study aimed to understand the sustainability of the STEs in rural destinations by synthesizing observations from Ghalegaon and Ghandruk of the Annapurna Conservation Area in western Nepal. Ghalegaon has community-based homestays and Ghandruk has independently owned and operated small tourism businesses such as cafes, tea houses, lodges, guest houses, and hotels, etc. The community-based homestays of Ghalegaon are compared with the independently owned and operated STEs of Ghandruk. The data were collected through multiple sources: 1) survey of tourists (n=112) and households (n=191); 2) interviews (n=14) with the locals, 3) group discussions (n=10) with different local groups including that of regional tourism players, experts and policy makers, 4) observations, and 5) document analysis. The STEs of both communities were first analyzed by understanding their level of sustainability as businesses, and then were explored how they were impacting on respective communities’ sustainability. The survey indicators and guidelines for interviews and group discussions were adapted to the Nepalese context based on four pillars of sustainability: economic, social, cultural and environmental; an additional dimension of management was also included, particularly for the STEs. The findings have shown a weaker economic and management dimensions of Ghalegaon’s Homestay than that of Ghandruk’s STEs. Some interesting social complexities of rural tourism and entrepreneurship were also revealed. This study’s findings do not much resonate to what Nepal government’s current rural tourism strategies that have been envisioned and prioritized for, particularly that the rural homestay tourism opportunities enhance inclusiveness of women and other deprived communities by spreading the benefits to the grassroots level. The study has highlighted several important applied implications to the local tourism management committees, tourism operators and associations, and regional and national tourism authorities. Further studies are advisable in other similar contexts in Nepal and in other countries to see whether there are variances in the findings.

Keywords: Nepal, rural tourism communities, small tourism enterprises, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 335

Authors: Chen Xi, LIU Xuebin, Kuan Sinman, LI Haofeng, Huang Hongming, Zeng Chengyu, Lao Xuerui

Abstract:

Stray animals are on the rise in mainland China's cities. There are legal reasons for this, namely the lack of protection for domestic pets in mainland China, where only wildlife protection laws exist. At a social level, the ease with which families adopt pets and the lack of a social view of animal nature have led to the frequent abandonment and loss of stray animals. If left unmanaged, conflicts between humans and stray animals can also increase. This project provides an inexpensive and widely applicable management tool for urban management by collecting videos and pictures of stray animals captured by surveillance or transmitted by humans and using artificial intelligence technology (mainly using Yolov5 recognition technology) and recording and managing them in a database.

Keywords: urban planning, urban governance, artificial intelligence, convolutional neural network, machine vision

Procedia PDF Downloads 99

Authors: Yang Wenjuan, Xu Yilun

Abstract:

Based on the comparative analysis of the relevant evaluation methods of walking environment, this paper selects the combined evaluation method of macro urban morphology analysis and micro urban design quality survey, then investigates and analyzes the walking environment of three rail transit station area in Nanjing to explore the influence factor and internal relation of walkability of rail transit station area. Analysis shows that micro urban design factors have greater impact on the walkability of rail transit station area compared with macro urban morphology factors, the convenience is the key factor in the four aspects of convenience, security, identity and comfortability of the urban design factors, the convenience is not only affected by the block network form, but also related to the quality of the street space. The overall evaluation of walkability comes from the overlapping and regrouping of the walking environment at different levels, but some environmental factors play a leading role. The social attributes of pedestrians also partly influence their walking perception and evaluation.

Keywords: rail transit station area, walkability, evaluation, influence factors

Procedia PDF Downloads 295

Authors: Ugyen Phuntsho

Abstract:

A popular and entrenched custom as a form of courtship has been practicing in Bhutan from long time back. This custom is widely being practiced in the villages of eastern and central Bhutan. This long-practiced custom is known by different terms in Bhutan, but it is popularly known to the foreigners as ‘night hunting’. This unique form of courtship custom involves the boy visiting the girl’s house stealthily under the cover of darkness without any pre-appointment. It is still perceived as a serving norms of courtship in the villages in central Bhutan. For many years this practice of night hunting has been in the spotlight of debate as a harmless culture but as sexual violence against women. However, this study examined the changing perception on the night hunting as a form of courtship custom or sexual coercion to women by employing the in-depth interview with 42 participants (21 females and 9 males from 3 different villages, 5 females and 7 males from urban areas) in central Bhutan. Moreover, the study investigated the gender inequality linked with the practice of night hunting in the rural areas of central Bhutan. The study revealed the changing perception on night hunting as more of sexual coercion taking place during night hunting than merely tolerating it as traditional form of practice of courtship. The finding of this study revealed unlike the past; this practice serves minimal social purpose in the society as the social changes with the development of socioeconomic of the people. However, the practice of night hunting is still prevalent at the villages, and it is known that the social power, single and widow women, valuing of village endogamy practices and the popular notion of pride of promiscuous amongst the men have attributed in sexual coercion and in ultimate victimization of the women. Furthermore, the study revealed the gender inequality linked with night hunting thus significantly increasing the vulnerability of rural women to other forms of violence in the society.

Keywords: courtship, custom, men, night hunting, practice, sexual coercion, women, violence

Procedia PDF Downloads 246

Authors: Kaowen Grace Chang

Abstract:

Urban green spaces play an important role in promoting wellbeing through the sense of relaxation for urban residents. Among many designing factors, what the principal ones that could effectively influence people’s sense of relaxation? And, what are the relationship between the sense of relaxation and those factors? Regarding those questions, there is still little evidence for sufficient support. Therefore, the purpose of this study, based on individual responses to environmental information, is to investigate the landscape factors that relate to well-being through the sense of relaxation in mixed-use urban environments. We conducted the experimental design and model construction utilizing choice-based conjoint analysis to test the factors of plant arrangement pattern, plant trimming condition, the distance to visible automobile, the number of landmark objects, and the depth of view. Through the operation of balanced fractional orthogonal design, the goal is to know the relationship between the sense of relaxation and different designs. In a result, the three factors of plant trimming condition, the distance to visible automobile, and the depth of view shed are significantly effective to the sense of relaxation. The stronger magnitude of maintenance and trimming, the further distance to visible automobiles, and deeper view shed that allow the users to see further scenes could significantly promote green space users’ sense of relaxation in urban green spaces.

Keywords: urban green space, landscape planning and design, sense of relaxation, choice model

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: Heide Imai

Abstract:

Contemporary cities, especially in Japan, have reached an indescribable complexity and excessive, global investments blur formal, rooted structures. Modern urban agglomerations blindly trust a macro understanding, whereas everyday activities which portray the human degree of living space are being suppressed and erased. The paper will draw upon the approach ‘Micro-Urbanism’ which focus on the sensitive and indigenous side of contemporary cities, which in fact can hold the authentic qualities of a city. Related to this approach is the term ‘Micro-Culture’ which is used to clarify the inner realities of the everyday living space on the example of the Japanese urban backstreet. The paper identifies an example of a ‘micro-zone’ in terms of ‘street space’, originally embedded in the landscape of the Japanese city. And although the approach ‘Micro-Urbanism’ is more complex, the understanding of the term can be tackled by a social analysis of the street, as shown on the backstreet called roji and closely linked examples of ‘situated’ urban rituals like (1) urban festivities, (2) local markets/ street vendors and (3) artistic, intellectual tactics. Likewise, the paper offers insights in a ‘community of streets’ which boundaries are specially shaped by cultural activity and social networks.

Keywords: urban rituals, community, streets as micro-zone, everyday space

Procedia PDF Downloads 311

Authors: Robson C. Santos, David D. Oliveira, Matheus M. Reis, Gerson G. Cunha, Marcos A. C. Moreira

Abstract:

The project demonstrates the construction of a solar power generation, integrated inverter equipment to a "Grid-Tie" by converting direct current generated by solar panels, into alternating current, the same parameters of frequency and voltage concessionaire distribution network. The energy generated is quantified by smart metering module that transmits the information in specified periods of time to a microcontroller via GSM modem. The modem provides the measured data on the internet, using networks and cellular antennas. The monitoring, fault detection and maintenance are performed by a supervisory station. Employed board types, best inverter selection and studies about control equipment and devices have been described. The article covers and explores the global trend of implementing smart distribution electrical energy networks and the incentive to use solar renewable energy. There is the possibility of the excess energy produced by the system be purchased by the local power utility. This project was implemented in residences in the rural community of the municipality of Cabo Frio/RJ. Data could be seen through daily measurements during the month of November 2013.

Keywords: rural residence, supervisory, smart grid, solar energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 593

Authors: P. Priya Madhuri, J. Kamini, S. C. Jayanthi

Abstract:

Assessment of land use and transportation networks is essential for sustainable urban growth, urban planning, efficient public transportation systems, and reducing traffic congestion. The study focuses on land use, population density, and their correlation with the road network for future development. The scope of the study covers inventory and assessment of the road network dataset (line) at the city, zonal, or ward level, which is extracted from very high-resolution satellite data (spatial resolution < 0.5 m) at 1:4000 map scale and ground truth verification. Road network assessment is carried out by computing various indices that measure road coverage and connectivity. In this study, an assessment of the road network is carried out for the study region at the municipal and ward levels. In order to identify gaps, road coverage and connectivity were associated with urban land use, built-up area, and population density in the study area. Ward-wise road connectivity and coverage maps have been prepared. To assess the relationship between road network metrics, correlation analysis is applied. The study's conclusions are extremely beneficial for effective road network planning and detecting gaps in the road network at the ward level in association with urban land use, existing built-up, and population.

Keywords: road connectivity, road coverage, road network, urban land use, transportation analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 33

Authors: R. Vidhya, M. Navamuniyammal M. Sivakumar, S. Reeta

Abstract:

The unplanned urbanization affects the environment due to pollution, conditions of the atmosphere, decreased vegetation and the pervious and impervious soil surface. Considered to be a cumulative effect of all these impacts is the Urban Heat Island. In this paper, the urban heat island effect is studied for the Chennai city, TamilNadu, South India using satellite remote sensing data. LANDSAT 8 OLI and TIRS DATA acquired on 9th September 2014 were used to Land Surface Temperature (LST) map, vegetation fraction map, Impervious surface fraction, Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Normalized Difference Building Index (NDBI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) map. The relationship among LST, Vegetation fraction, NDBI, NDWI, and NDVI was calculated. The Chennai city’s Urban Heat Island effect is significant, and the results indicate LST has strong negative correlation with the vegetation present and positive correlation with NDBI. The vegetation is the main factor to control urban heat island effect issues in urban area like Chennai City. This study will help in developing measures to land use planning to reduce the heat effects in urban area based on remote sensing derivatives.

Keywords: land surface temperature, brightness temperature, emissivity, vegetation index

Procedia PDF Downloads 274

Authors: Marianna De Almeida

Abstract:

Greek secondary education is a highly selective system with regard to the access of students to Greek universities. Since access from elementary to lower secondary education and afterward to upper secondary education is rather liberal and almost free of selective mechanisms, the basic selection process comes after graduating from upper secondary school into play when students go through a highly selective process for university entry. This structure is responsible for the experience of extreme stress on the part of the candidates during a period of at least two years before the entrance examination leading to a radical change in students' everyday life routines. Instead of the school being an important agent for academic and psychological support, it seems that other agents, such as the informal private preparatory school and the student's families, take on the supportive role.

Keywords: stress, entrance examinations, family support, secondary education

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Silvija Šiljeg, Ivan Marić, Ante Šiljeg

Abstract:

The accessibility of urban green spaces (UGS) is an integral element in the quality of life. Due to rapid urbanization, UGS studies have become a key element in urban planning. The potential benefits of space for its inhabitants are frequently analysed. A functional transport network system and the optimal spatial distribution of urban green surfaces are the prerequisites for maintaining the environmental equilibrium of the urban landscape. An accessibility analysis was conducted as part of the Urban Green Belts Project (UGB). The development of a GIS database for Zadar was the first step in generating the UGS accessibility indicator. Data were collected using the supervised classification method of multispectral LANDSAT images and manual vectorization of digital orthophoto images (DOF). An analysis of UGS accessibility according to the ANGst standard was conducted in the first phase of research. The accessibility indicator was generated on the basis of seven objective measurements, which included average UGS surface per capita and accessibility according to six functional levels of green surfaces. The generated indicator was compared with subjective measurements obtained by conducting a survey (718 respondents) within statistical units. The collected data reflected individual assessments and subjective evaluations of UGS accessibility. This study highlighted the importance of using objective and subjective measures in the process of understanding the accessibility of urban green surfaces. It may be concluded that when evaluating UGS accessibility, residents emphasize the immediate residential environment, ignoring higher UGS functional levels. It was also concluded that large areas of UGS within a city do not necessarily generate similar satisfaction with accessibility. The heterogeneity of output results may serve as guidelines for the further development of a functional UGS city network.

Keywords: urban green spaces (UGS), accessibility indicator, subjective and objective measurements, Zadar

Procedia PDF Downloads 259