Search results for: tirana municipality

Authors: Valdir Moura, Raniele dos Anjos de Souza, Fernando Gomes de Souza, Jose Vagner da Silva, Jerry Adriani Johann

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The estimate of the Area of Land to be planted with annual crops and its stratification by the municipality are important variables in crop forecast. Nowadays in Brazil, these information’s are obtained by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and published under the report Assessment of the Agricultural Production. Due to the high cloud cover in the main crop growing season (October to March) it is difficult to acquire good orbital images. Thus, one alternative is to work with remote sensing data from dates before the crop growing season. This work presents the use of multitemporal Landsat data gathered on July and September (before the summer growing season) in order to estimate the area of land to be planted with summer crops in an area of São Paulo State, Brazil. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and digital image processing techniques were applied for the treatment of the available data. Supervised and non-supervised classifications were used for data in digital number and reflectance formats and the multitemporal Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) images. The objective was to discriminate the tracts with higher probability to become planted with summer crops. Classification accuracies were evaluated using a sampling system developed basically for this study region. The estimated areas were corrected using the error matrix derived from these evaluations. The classification techniques presented an excellent level according to the kappa index. The proportion of crops stratified by municipalities was derived by a field work during the crop growing season. These proportion coefficients were applied onto the area of land to be planted with summer crops (derived from Landsat data). Thus, it was possible to derive the area of each summer crop by the municipality. The discrepancies between official statistics and our results were attributed to the sampling and the stratification procedures. Nevertheless, this methodology can be improved in order to provide good crop area estimates using remote sensing data, despite the cloud cover during the growing season.

Keywords: area intended for summer culture, estimated area planted, agriculture, Landsat, planting schedule

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Authors: Eliane Cristina De Carvalho Mendoza Meza

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The Brazilian Federal Constitution from 1988 innovated with decentralized management, sharing the decision process among the federal government, states, and municipality (federalism). This innovation gave the opportunity to the civil society participates in the public policy agenda, including the municipal one; the state recognized that new actors were needed now it has been one more actor and not the only one. It was in this context that the woman’s Policy Secretaries were created in the three levels of government: federal, state and municipal. It intend to reduce the historical and social differences between men and women, especially in the poorest municipalities, working in a network basis with other secretaries, governmental institutions and non-governmental organizations to promote actions that can result in benefits and empowerment for women. In addition, they promote actions to protect them from domestic violence and to help them to learn how generate income. It was not a calm process, women have been fighting for their rights since the 1970s and despite the gender equality was recognized in the Federal Constitution of 1988, just in 2013 it was possible to see a real growth in the creation of municipal Women’s Policy Secretary. In 2009, just 6.5% of the cities in Brazil had implemented the Secretary; in 2013, it was 11%. The municipality realized that the gender issue was in reality a public problem, so the municipal agenda incorporated it and transformed in public policy, creating the municipal Women’s Policy Secretary. The introduction of a gender policy in Brazilian municipalities shows us that the female citizens are treated as political subjects and it is the first step to try to compensate inequality between men and women in the local level. It becomes more important when the Brazilian federalism is analyzed. In Brazil, the federal government controls the municipalities’ budgets to implement federal public policies and others federal interests, so having a public policy of gender approved by the actors in the local government with so little freedom to manage is something very important. It is necessary mark some points: taking a gender policy to the poorest cities is a form to protect all citizens with no distinction, men and women, as recommended in the Federal Constitution; not all problems in a city center in the municipal agenda, this only happens when a problem is perceived as an issue, it means the women situation was perceived as important, so that it became a public policy; at least, the gender public policy intend to emancipate and contemplate the empowerment of women.

Keywords: federalism, gender, municipal agenda, social participation

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Authors: Lucia Ceccherini Nelli, Alessandra Donato

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The ABITA Master course of the University of Florence offered by the Department of Architecture covers nearly all the energy-relevant issues that can arise in public and private companies and sectors. The main purpose of the Master course, active since 2003, is to analyse the energy consumption of building technologies, components, and structures at the conceptual design stage, so it could be very helpful, for designers, when making decisions related to the selection of the most suitable design alternatives and for the materials choice that will be used in an energy-efficient building. The training course provides a solid basis for increasing the knowledge and skills of energy managers and is developed with an emphasis on practical experiences related to the knowledge through case studies, measurements, and verification of energy-efficient solutions in buildings, in the industry and in the cities. The main objectives are: i)To raise the professional standards of those engaged in energy auditing, ii) To improve the practice of energy auditors by encouraging energy auditing professionals in a continuing education program of professional development, iii) Implement in the use of instrumentations for the typical measurements, iv) To propose an integrated methodology that links energy analysis tools with green building certification systems. This methodology will be applied at the early design stage of a project’s life. The final output of the practical training is to achieve an elevated professionalism in the study of environmental design and Energy management in buildings. The results are the redaction of line guides instruction for the energy refurbishment of Public schools in Florence. The school heritage of the Municipality of Florence requires interventions for the control of energy performance, as old construction buildings are often made without taking into account the necessary envelope performance. For this reason, every year, the Master's course aims to study groups of public schools to enable the Municipality to carry out energy redevelopment interventions on the existing building heritage. The future challenges of the education and training program are related to follow-up activities, the development of interactive tools and the curriculum's customization to meet the constantly growing needs of energy experts from industry.

Keywords: expert in energy, energy auditing, public buildings, thermal analysis

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Authors: Samira Ghizellaoui, Manel Boumagoura

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The municipality of Constantine in eastern Algeria draws water from the Hamma groundwater source. The high fouling capacity is due to the high content of bicarbonate (442 mg/L) and calcium (136 mg/L). This work focuses on the use of three new green inhibitors for reducing calcium carbonate scale formation: gallic acid, quercetin and alginate, and on the comparison between them. These inhibitors have proven to be green antiscalants because they have no impact on the environment. Electrochemical methods (chronoamperometry and impedancemetry) were used to evaluate their performance. According to the study, these inhibitors are excellent green chemical inhibitors of scaling, and the best inhibitor is quercetin because it gave a good result with a lower concentration (2mg/L) compared to others inhibitors.

Keywords: scaling, green inhibitor, chronoamperometry, impedancemetry

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Authors: Katia C. Bortoletto, Maria Isabel C. de Freitas, Rodrigo B. N. de Oliveira

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The environmental vulnerability studies are essential for priority actions to the reduction of disasters risk. The aim of this study is to analyze the socio-environmental vulnerability obtained through a Census survey, followed by both a statistical analysis (PCA/SPSS/IBM) and a spatial analysis by GIS (ArcGis/ESRI), taking as a case study the Municipality of Caraguatatuba-SP, Brazil. In the municipal development plan analysis the emphasis was given to the Special Zone of Social Interest (ZEIS), the Urban Expansion Zone (ZEU) and the Environmental Protection Zone (ZPA). For the mapping of the social and environmental vulnerabilities of the study area the exposure of people (criticality) and of the place (support capacity) facing disaster risk were obtained from the 2010 Census from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Considering the criticality, the variables of greater influence were related to literate persons responsible for the household and literate persons with 5 or more years of age; persons with 60 years or more of age and income of the person responsible for the household. In the Support Capacity analysis, the predominant influence was on the good household infrastructure in districts with low population density and also the presence of neighborhoods with little urban infrastructure and inadequate housing. The results of the comparative analysis show that the areas with high and very high vulnerability classes cover the classes of the ZEIS and the ZPA, whose zoning includes: Areas occupied by low-income population, presence of children and young people, irregular occupations and land suitable to urbanization but underutilized. The presence of zones of urban sprawl (ZEU) in areas of high to very high socio-environmental vulnerability reflects the inadequate use of the urban land in relation to the spatial distribution of the population and the territorial infrastructure, which favors the increase of disaster risk. It can be concluded that the study allowed observing the convergence between the vulnerability analysis and the classified areas in urban zoning. The occupation of areas unsuitable for housing due to its characteristics of risk was confirmed, thus concluding that the methodologies applied are agile instruments to subsidize actions to the reduction disasters risk.

Keywords: socio-environmental vulnerability, urban zoning, reduction disasters risk, methodologies

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Authors: Daisuke Sagiya, Ren Kamioka

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South Africa has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) on 30th November 2007. In line with this, the Department of Social Development (DSD) revised the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (WPRPD), and the Cabinet approved it on 9th December 2015. The South African government is striving towards the elimination of poverty and inequality in line with UNCRPD and WPRPD. However, there are minimal programmes and services that have been provided to persons with disabilities in the rural community. In order to address current discriminative practices, disunity and limited self-representation in rural community, DSD in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is implementing the 'Project for the Promotion of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and Disability Mainstreaming' from May 2016 to May 2020. The project is targeting rural community as the project sites, namely 1) Collins Chabane municipality, Vhembe district, Limpopo and 2) Maluti-a-Phofung municipality, Thabo Mofutsanyana district, Free State. The project aims at developing good practices on Community-Based Inclusive Development (CBID) at the project sites which will be documented as a guideline and applied in other provinces in South Africa and neighbouring countries (Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique). In cooperation with provincial and district DSD and local government, the project is currently implementing various community activities, for example: Establishment of Self-Help Group (SHG) of persons with disabilities and Peer Counselling in the villages, and will conduct Disability Equality Training (DET) and accessibility workshop in order to enhance the CBID in the project sites. In order to universalise good practices on CBID, the authors will explain lessons learned from the project by utilising the theories of disability and development studies and community psychology such as social model of disability, twin-track approach, empowerment theory, sense of community, helper therapy principle, etc. And the authors conclude that in order to realise social participation of persons with disabilities in rural community, CBID is a strong tool and persons with disabilities must play central roles in all spheres of CBID activities.

Keywords: community-based inclusive development, disability mainstreaming, empowerment of persons with disabilities, self-help group

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Authors: Nik Smits, Stijn Goeminne

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Despite the extensive literature on the relation between crime and migration, not much is known about how crime affects the tax capacity of local communities. This paper empirically investigates whether the Flemish local income tax base yield is sensitive to changes in the local crime level. The underlying assumptions are threefold. In a Tiebout world, rational voters holding the local government accountable for the safety of its citizens, move out when the local level of security gets too much alienated from what they want it to be (first assumption). If migration is due to crime, then the more wealthy citizens are expected to move first (second assumption). Looking for a place elsewhere implies transaction costs, which the more wealthy citizens are more likely to be able to pay. As a consequence, the average income per capita and so the income distribution will be affected, which in turn, will influence the local income tax base yield (third assumption). The decreasing average income per capita, if not compensated by increasing earnings by the citizens that are staying or by the new citizens entering the locality, must result in a decreasing local income tax base yield. In the absence of a higher level governments’ compensation, decreasing local tax revenues could prove to be disastrous for a crime-ridden municipality. When communities do not succeed in forcing back the number of offences, this can be the onset of a cumulative process of urban deterioration. A spatial panel data model containing several proxies for the local level of crime in 306 Flemish municipalities covering the period 2000-2014 is used to test the relation between crime and the local income tax base yield. In addition to this direct relation, the underlying assumptions are investigated as well. Preliminary results show a modest, but positive relation between local violent crime rates and the efflux of citizens, persistent up until a 2 year lag. This positive effect is dampened by possible increasing crime rates in neighboring municipalities. The change in violent crimes -and to a lesser extent- thefts and extortions reduce the influx of citizens with a one year lag. Again this effect is diminished by external effects from neighboring municipalities, meaning that increasing crime rates in neighboring municipalities (especially violent crimes) have a positive effect on the local influx of citizens. Crime also has a depressing effect on the average income per capita within a municipality, whereas increasing crime rates in neighboring municipalities increase it. Notwithstanding the previous results, crime does not seem to significantly affect the local tax base yield. The results suggest that the depressing effect of crime on the income basis has to be compensated by a limited, but a wealthier influx of new citizens.

Keywords: crime, local taxes, migration, Tiebout mobility

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Authors: Klementina Puto, Ermelinda Nexhipi, Evi Llaka

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Dairy by-products are a fairly good environment for microorganisms due to their composition for their growth. Microbial populations have a significant impact in the production of cheese, butter, yogurt, etc. in terms of their organoleptic quality and at the same time some also cause their breakdown. In this paper, the microbiological contamination of soft cheese, butter and yogurt produced in the country (domestic) and imported is assessed, as an indicator of hygiene with impact on public health. The study was extended during September 2018-June 2019 and was divided into three periods, September-December, January-March, and April-June. During this study, a total of 120 samples were analyzed, of which 60 samples of cheese and butter locally produced, and 60 samples of imported soft cheese and butter productions. The microbial indicators analyzed are Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli. Analyzes have been conducted at the Food Safety Laboratory (FSIV) in Tirana in accordance with EU Regulation 2073/2005. Sampling was performed according to the specific international standards for these products (ISO 6887 and ISO 8261). Sampling and transport of samples were done under sterile conditions. Also, coding of samples was done to preserve the anonymity of subjects. After the analysis, the country's soft cheese products compared to imports were more contaminated with S. aureus and E. coli. Meanwhile, the imported butter samples that were analyzed, resulted within norms compared to domestic ones. Based on the results, it was concluded that the microbial quality of samples of cheese, butter and yogurt analyzed remains a real problem for hygiene in Albania. The study will also serve business operators in Albania to improve their work to ensure good hygiene on the basis of the HACCP plan and to provide a guarantee of consumer health.

Keywords: consumer, health, dairy, by-products, microbial

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Authors: Evangelos Baltas, Elissavet Feloni, Dimitrios Karpouzos

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A crucial issue in hydrologic design is the sizing of structures and flood-control works in areas with limited data. This research work highlights the significant variation in probable maximum flood (PMF) for a design hyetograph, using different theoretical functions of rainfall-runoff transformation. The analysis focuses on seven subbasins with different characteristics in the municipality of Florina, northern Greece. This area is a semi-agricultural one which hosts important activities, such as the operation of one of the greatest fields of lignite for power generation in Greece. Results illustrate the notable variation in estimations among the methodologies used for the examined subbasins.

Keywords: rainfall, runoff, hydrologic design, PMF

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Authors: Vahid Ayan, Joshua R Omer, Alireza Khavandi, Mukesh C Limbachiya

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In Iran, utilization of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) aggregate has become a common practice in pavement rehabilitation during the last ten years. Such developments in highway engineering have necessitated several studies to clarify the technical and environmental feasibility of other alternative materials in road rehabilitation and maintenance. The use of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) in asphalt pavements is one of the major goals of municipality of Tehran. Nevertheless little research has been done to examine the potential benefits of local RCA. The objective of this study is laboratory investigation of incorporating RCA into RAP for use in unbound subbase application. Laboratory investigation showed that 50%RCA+50%RAP is both technically and economically appropriate for subbase use.

Keywords: Roads & highways, Sustainability, Recycling & reuse of materials

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Authors: Hiroaki Sumi, Kiichiro Hayashi

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Now, the use of renewable energy power generation has been advanced. In this paper, we compared the expansion support policy of photovoltaic power generation which was researched using The internet and the amount of resource for photovoltaic power generation which was estimated using the NEDO formula in the municipality level in Hokkaido and Aichi Prefecture, Japan. This paper will contribute to grasp the current situation especially about the policy. As a result, there were municipalities which seemed to be no consideration of the amount of resources. We think it would need to consider the suitability between the policies and resources.

Keywords: photovoltaic power generation, dissemination and support policy, amount of resources, Japan

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Authors: Meral Yucel, Vildan Ok

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This study indicates the wind effects of 49-storey height four towers on a high-density urban area-consisting of 10-12 storey height buildings called Goztepe in Istanbul, Turkey. For this purpose, four towers and close environments are modeled in 1/500 scale for wind tunnel test. Three neighboring buildings are chosen to find out the pressure coefficient changes on the surfaces of the buildings according to the construction order of these four towers and wind directions. Results were compared with the 'TS 498 Wind Standard of Tall Buildings in Istanbul' which is prepared by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in 2009.

Keywords: high rise buildings, pressure coefficients, wind tunnel experiments, wind standard of tall buildings

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Authors: Ana Paula S. A. Correa, Allan K. R. Galardo, Luana A. Lima, Talita F. Sobral, Josiane N. Muller, Jessica F. S. Barroso, Nercy V. R. Furtado, Ednaldo C. Rêgo., Jose B. P. Lima

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Malaria is a public health problem in the Brazilian Legal Amazon. Among the integrated approaches for anopheline control, the Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) remains one of the main tools in the basic strategy applied in the Amazonian States, where the National Malaria Control Program currently uses one of the insecticides from the pyrethroid class, the Etofenprox WP. Understanding the residual efficacy of insecticides on different surfaces is essential to determine the spray cycles, in order to maintain a rational use and to avoid product waste. The aim of this study was to evaluate the residual efficacy of Etofenprox - VECTRON ® 20 WP on surfaces of Unplastered Cement (UC) and Unpainted Wood (UW) on panels, in field, and in semi-field evaluation of Brazil’s Amapa State. The evaluation criteria used was the cone bioassay test, following the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended method, using plastic cones and female mosquitos of Anopheles sp. The tests were carried out in laboratory panels, semi-field evaluation in a “test house” built in the Macapa municipality, and in the field in 20 houses, being ten houses per surface type (UC and UW), in an endemic malaria area in Mazagão’s municipality. The residual efficacy was measured from March to September 2017, starting one day after the spraying, repeated monthly for a period of six months. The UW surface presented higher residual efficacy than the UC. In fact, the UW presented a residual efficacy of the insecticide throughout the period of this study with a mortality rate above 80% in the panels (= 95%), in the "test house" (= 86%) and in field houses ( = 87%). On the UC surface it was observed a mortality decreased in all the tests performed, with a mortality rate of 45, 47 and 29% on panels, semi-field and in field, respectively; however, the residual efficacy ≥ 80% only occurred in the first evaluation after the 24-hour spraying bioassay in the "test house". Thus, only the UW surface meets the specifications of the World Health Organization Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES) regarding the duration of effective action (three to six months). To sum up, the insecticide residual efficacy presented variability on the different surfaces where it was sprayed. Although the IRS with Etofenprox WP was efficient on UW surfaces, and it can be used in spraying cycles at 4-month intervals, it is important to consider the diversity of houses in the Brazilian Legal Amazon, in order to implement alternatives for vector control, including the evaluation of new products or different formulations types for insecticides.

Keywords: Anopheles, vector control, insecticide, bioassay

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Authors: Ali Abdi Kordani, Hamid Bigdelirad, Sid Mohammad Boroomandrad

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Operating Urban Bus Transit System is a phenomenon that has a major role in transporting passengers in cities. There are many factors involved in planning and operating an Urban Bus Transit System, one of which is selecting optimized number of stops and scheduling of bus fleet departure. In this paper, we tried to introduce desirable methodology to select number of stops and schedule properly. Selecting the right number of stops causes convenience in accessibility and reduction in travel time and finally increase in public preference of this transportation mode. The achieved results revealed that number of stops must reduce from 33 to 25. Also according to scheduling and conducted economic analysis, the number of buses must decrease from 17 to 11 to have the most appropriate status for the Bus Organization.

Keywords: number of optimized stops, organizing bus system, scheduling, urban transit

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Authors: Marilyn S. Painagan

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This general objective of the study was to apply the AquaCrop model to the conditions in the municipality of Carmen, North Cotabato in terms of predicting corn yields in this area and determine the influence of rainfall and soil depth on simulated yield. The study revealed wide disparity in monthly yields as a consequence of similarly varying monthly rainfall magnitudes. It also found out that simulated yield varies with the depth of soil, which in this case was clay loam, the predominant soil in the study area. The model was found to be easy to use even with limited data and shows a vast potential for various farming and policy applications, such as formulation of a cropping calendar.

Keywords: aquacrop, evapotranspiration, crop modelling, crop simulation

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Authors: E. Baltas, E. Feloni, G. Bariamis

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The operation of a network of hydrometeorological-hydrometric stations is basic infrastructure for the management of water resources, as well as, for flood protection. The assessment of water resources potential led to the necessity of adoption management practices including a multi-criteria analysis for the optimum design of the region’s station network. This research work aims at the optimisation of a new/existing network, using GIS methods. The planning of optimum network stations is based on the guidelines of international organizations such as World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The uniform spatial distribution of the stations, the drainage basin for the hydrometric stations and criteria concerning the low terrain slope, the accessibility to the stations and proximity to hydrological interest sites, were taken into consideration for its development. The abovementioned methodology has been implemented for two different areas the Florina municipality and the Argolis area in Greece, and comparison of the results has been conducted.

Keywords: GIS, hydrometeorological, hydrometric, network, optimisation

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Authors: Luana Guerra, Silvio C. Sampaio, Vladimir Pavan Margarido, Ralpho R. Reis

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Brazil is the world's largest consumer of pesticides. The excessive use of these compounds has negative impacts on animal and human life, the environment, and food security. Bees, crucial for pollination, are exposed to pesticides during the collection of nectar and pollen, posing risks to their health and the food chain, including honey contamination. Aquatic sediments are also affected, impacting water quality and the microbiota. Therefore, the analysis of aquatic sediments and bee honey is essential to identify environmental contamination and monitor ecosystems. The aim of this study was to use samples of honey from honeybees (Apis mellifera) and aquatic sediment as bioindicators of environmental contamination by pesticides and their relationship with agricultural use in the surrounding areas. The sample collections of sediment and honey were carried out in two stages. The first stage was conducted in the Bituruna municipality region in the second half of the year 2022, and the second stage took place in the regions of Laranjeiras do Sul, Quedas do Iguaçu, and Nova Laranjeiras in the first half of the year 2023. In total, 10 collection points were selected, with 5 points in the first stage and 5 points in the second stage, where one sediment sample and one honey sample were collected for each point, totaling 20 samples. The honey and sediment samples were analyzed at the Laboratory of the Paraná Institute of Technology, with ten samples of honey and ten samples of sediment. The selected extraction method was QuEChERS, and the analysis of the components present in the sample was performed using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The pesticides Azoxystrobin, Epoxiconazole, Boscalid, Carbendazim, Haloxifope, Fomesafen, Fipronil, Chlorantraniliprole, Imidacloprid, and Bifenthrin were detected in the sediment samples from the study area in Laranjeiras do Sul, Paraná, with Carbendazim being the compound with the highest concentration (0.47 mg/kg). The honey samples obtained from the apiaries showed satisfactory results, as they did not show any detection or quantification of the analyzed pesticides, except for Point 9, which had the fungicide tebuconazole but with a concentration Keywords: contamination, water research, agrochemicals, beekeeping activity

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Authors: Oliver Fuo

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One of the central features of post-apartheid constitutional reform was the establishment of local government as a distinct sphere of government in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Local government, constituted by about 279 wall-to-wall municipalities, have legislative and executive powers vested in democratically elected municipal councils to govern areas within their jurisdiction subject only to limits imposed by the Constitution. In addition, unlike the past where municipalities merely played a service delivery role, they are now mandated to realise an expanded developmental mandate – pursue social justice and sustainable development; contribute, together with national and provincial government, to the realisation of socio-economic rights entrenched in the Bill of Rights; and facilitate public participation in local governance. In order to finance their developmental programmes, municipalities receive equitable allocations from national government and have legal powers to generate additional finances by charging rates on property and imposing surcharges on services provided. In addition to its general obligation to foster public participation in local governance, the law requires municipalities to facilitate public participation in their budgeting processes. This requirement is generally consistent with recent trends in local government democratic reforms which call for inclusive budget planning and implementation whereby citizens, civil society and NGOs participate in the allocation of resources. This trend is best captured in the concept of participatory budgeting. This paper specifically analyses the legal and policy framework for participatory budgeting at the local government level in South Africa. Using Borbet South Africa (Pty) Ltd and Others v Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality 2014 (5) SA 256 (ECP) as an example, this paper argues that the legal framework for participatory budgeting creates an illusory right for citizens to participate in municipal budgeting processes. This challenge is further compounded by the barrenness of the jurisprudence of courts that interpret the obligation of municipalities in this regard. It is submitted that the wording of s 27(4) of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) 53 of 2003 - which expressly stipulates that non-compliance by a municipality with a provision relating to the budget process or a provision in any legislation relating to the approval of a budget-related policy, does not affect the validity of an annual or adjustments budget – is problematic as it seems to trivialise the obligation to facilitate public participation in budgeting processes. It is submitted that where this provision is abused by municipal officials, this could lead to the sidelining of the real interests of communities in local budgets. This research is based on a critical and integrated review of primary and secondary sources of law.

Keywords: courts and jurisprudence, local government law, participatory budgeting, South Africa

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Authors: Efe Mary Isike

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The variety of relationships between migrants and host communities is an enduring theme of migration studies. On one extreme, there are numerous examples of hostility towards ‘strangers’ who are either ejected from society or denied access to jobs, housing, education, healthcare and other aspects of normal life. More moderate treatments of those identified as different include expectations of assimilation in which host communities expect socially marginalized groups to conform to norms that they define. Both exclusion and assimilation attempt to manage the problem of difference by removing it. South Africa experienced great influx of African immigrants who worked in mines and farms under harsh and exploitative conditions before and after the institutionalization of apartheid. Although these labour migrants contributed a great deal to the economic development of South Africa, they were not given citizenship status. The formal democratization in 1994 came with dreams and expectations of a more inclusive South Africa, where black South Africans hoped to maximize their potential in a more free, fair and equal society. In the same vein, it also opened spaces for an influx of especially African immigrants into the country which set the stage for a new form of contest for belonging between South African citizens and African migrant settlers. One major manifestation of this contest was the violent xenophobic attacks against African immigrants which predate that of May 2008 and has continued with lower intensity across the country since then. While it is doubtless possible to find abundant evidence of antagonism in the relations between South Africans and African immigrants, the purpose of this study is to investigate the everyday realities of migrants in ordinary places who interact with a variety of people through their livelihood activities, marriages and social relationships, moving around towns and cities, in their residential areas, in faith-based organizations and other elements of everyday life. Rather than assuming all relations are hostile, this study intends to look at the breadth of everyday relationships within a specific context. Based on the foregoing, the main task of this study is to holistically examine and explain the nature of interactions between African migrants and South African citizens by analysing the social network ties that connect them in the specific case of Umhlathuze municipality. It will also investigate the variety of networks that exists between African migrants and South Africans and examine the nature of the linkages in the various networks identified between these two groups in Umhlathuze Municipality. Apart from a review of relevant literature, policies and other official documents, this paper will employ a purposive sample survey and in-depth interview of African immigrants and South Africans within their networks in selected suburbs in KwaZulu-Natal.

Keywords: migration, networks, development, host communities

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Authors: Fhumulani R. Ramukhwatho, Roelien du Plessis, Suzan H. H. Oelofse

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There are a growing number of scientific papers, journals and reports on household food waste, the reason being that food waste has become a significant global issue that is costing billions of Rands in resources. To reduce food waste in a sustainable manner, it requires an understanding of the generation of food waste. This paper assesses household food wastage in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (CTMM). A total of 210 interviewed participants using face-to-face interviews based on a structured questionnaire and the actual weighing of households’ food wasted was quantified using a weighing kitchen scale. Fifty-nine percent of respondents agreed that they wasted food, while 41% thought they did not waste food at all. Households wasted an average total of 6 kg of food waste per week per household. The study concluded that households buy and prepare more food that ends up wasted.

Keywords: assessment, developing country, food waste, household

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Authors: Elaine Lima Da Fonseca, Eliomar Pereira Da Silva Filho

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The modeling of areas susceptible to soil loss by hydro erosive processes consists of a simplified instrument of reality with the purpose of predicting future behaviors from the observation and interaction of a set of geoenvironmental factors. The models of potential areas for soil loss will be obtained through binary logistic regression, artificial neural networks, and support vector machines. The choice of the municipality of Colorado do Oeste in the south of the western Amazon is due to soil degradation due to anthropogenic activities, such as agriculture, road construction, overgrazing, deforestation, and environmental and socioeconomic configurations. Initially, a soil erosion inventory map constructed through various field investigations will be designed, including the use of remotely piloted aircraft, orbital imagery, and the PLANAFLORO/RO database. 100 sampling units with the presence of erosion will be selected based on the assumptions indicated in the literature, and, to complement the dichotomous analysis, 100 units with no erosion will be randomly designated. The next step will be the selection of the predictive parameters that exert, jointly, directly, or indirectly, some influence on the mechanism of occurrence of soil erosion events. The chosen predictors are altitude, declivity, aspect or orientation of the slope, curvature of the slope, composite topographic index, flow power index, lineament density, normalized difference vegetation index, drainage density, lithology, soil type, erosivity, and ground surface temperature. After evaluating the relative contribution of each predictor variable, the erosion susceptibility model will be applied to the municipality of Colorado do Oeste - Rondônia through the SPSS Statistic 26 software. Evaluation of the model will occur through the determination of the values of the R² of Cox & Snell and the R² of Nagelkerke, Hosmer and Lemeshow Test, Log Likelihood Value, and Wald Test, in addition to analysis of the Confounding Matrix, ROC Curve and Accumulated Gain according to the model specification. The validation of the synthesis map resulting from both models of the potential risk of soil erosion will occur by means of Kappa indices, accuracy, and sensitivity, as well as by field verification of the classes of susceptibility to erosion using drone photogrammetry. Thus, it is expected to obtain the mapping of the following classes of susceptibility to erosion very low, low, moderate, very high, and high, which may constitute a screening tool to identify areas where more detailed investigations need to be carried out, applying more efficient social resources.

Keywords: modeling, susceptibility to erosion, artificial intelligence, Amazon

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Authors: M. Otrusinova, E. Pastuszkova

Abstract:

The article is addressing the currently ongoing reform processes of transforming the public finance accounting based on cash flow principle to accrual principle. The presented analysis concerns the issues associated with the introduction of the state accounting from the perspective of municipal employees in compiling the opinions of financial experts in conditions of the Czech Republic. The aim of this paper is to present outcomes of analysis focused on currently discussed topics which are related to introducing the accrual principle into accounting of selected entities, especially municipalities and municipality-funded institutions. The output of the paper consists of comparing the application of the accrual principle in the financial reporting of municipalities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In conclusion and based on the survey, respondents from Slovak municipalities that have already adopted the accrual accounting principle show better opinion than Czech municipalities.

Keywords: accrual principle, accounting, accounting reform, Czech Republic, municipalities, public finance

Procedia PDF Downloads 238

Authors: Ghazaleh Monazami Tehrani, Zhamak Monazami Tehrani, Raziyeh Hadavand

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Optimal site selection for temporary housing is one of the most important issues in crisis management. In this research, district six of Tehran city with high frequency and geographical distribution of earthquakes has been selected as a case study for positioning temporary housing after a probable earthquake. For achieving this goal this study tries to identify and evaluate distribution of location according to some standards such as compatible and incompatible urban land uses with utility of GIS and AHP. The results of this study show the most susceptible parts of this region in the center. According to the maps, north eastern part of Kordestan, Shaheed Gomnam intersection possesses the highest pixels value in terms of areal extent, therefore these places are recommended as an optimum site location for construction of emergency evacuation base.

Keywords: optimal site selection, temporary housing , crisis management, AHP, GIS

Procedia PDF Downloads 236

Authors: Xinglu Nie, Feifei Tang, Chuntao Wei, Zhimin Ruan, Qianhong Zhu

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Current method of manual-style inspection can not fully meet the requirement of the urban rail transit security in China. In this paper, an intelligent inspection method using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is utilized. A series of orthophoto of rail transit monitored area was collected by UAV, image correction and registration were operated among multi-phase images, then the change detection was used to detect the changes, judging the engineering activities and human activities that may become potential threats to the security of urban rail. Not only qualitative judgment, but also quantitative judgment of changes in the security control area can be provided by this method, which improves the objectives and efficiency of the patrol results. The No.6 line of Chongqing Municipality was taken as an example to verify the validation of this method.

Keywords: rail transit, control of protected areas, intelligent inspection, UAV, change detection

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Authors: Faraz Nikpour Arani, Shahin Haghi Navand

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After Two years of operation, the “Nahj Al Balaghe” riverside park, redesigning research was ordered by second region of Tehran municipality, the goal was to construct the first cultural tourism center in city of Tehran. After Pathological and analytical studies of existing situation, that made by field work research’s and interviews, the main problems was identified as lack of thematic design and some physical problems that reduced the activity and livability ratio of the park. The main approach of this project was thematic physical redesign and redefinition of activities in order to the “Nahj Al Balaghe’s” ideas, cultural days in “shamsi calendar”, the “7 artistic dimensions” and “four classical elements”. This paper is the abstraction of a full research that was done by writers.

Keywords: thematic redesign, Nah Al Balaghe riverside park, cultural tourism center, Tehran

Procedia PDF Downloads 617

Authors: Jiri Palecek, Radmila Hajkova, Alena Oulehlova, Hana Malachova

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The increase of emergency incidents and crisis situations requires proactive crisis management of authorities and for its solution. Application business continuity management systems help the crisis management authorities quickly and responsibly react to events and to plan more effectively and efficiently powers and resources. The main goal of this article is describing Military Continuity Management System (MCMS) based on the principles of Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) for dealing with floods in the territory of the selected municipalities. There are explained steps of loading, running and evaluating activities in the software application MCMS. Software MCMS provides complete control over the tasks, contribute a comprehensive and responsible approach solutions to solution floods in the municipality.

Keywords: business continuity management, floods plan, flood activity, level of flood activity

Procedia PDF Downloads 258

Authors: Sivilai Jayankura

Abstract:

The objective is to study the behaviors, lifestyles and consumption of the student of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. This paper is survey research by using a questionnaire to collect the data with students of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University for 385 sampling, random coincidence sampling has been provide. Data analysis by descriptive statistics include the distribution, frequency, percentage, average, and standard deviation. The result found that the majority of students are female, and spend their time with their own ideas, like socializing with friends and shopping at the shopping mall, see the movie at the theaters and at the night time will enjoy with their mobile phone and found they long for the quality-price and also brand name regarding the dress. The media and promotion is a key factor impact to the decision to purchase the product and service with mobile phones will be good business to expand business channel also.

Keywords: consumption of teenager, internet, lifestyle behavior, Suan Sunundha Rajabhat University

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Elkington Sibusiso Mnguni

Abstract:

The Mokolo-Crocodile Water Augmentation Project (MCWAP) is located in the Limpopo Province in the northern-western part of South Africa. Its purpose is to increase water supply by 30 million cubic meters per year to meet current and future demand for users, including power stations, mining houses, and the local municipality in the Lephalale area. This paper documents the planning and implementation aspects of the MCWAP infrastructure project. The study will add to the body of knowledge with respect to bulk water infrastructure development in water-scarce regions. The method used to gather and collate relevant data and information was the desktop study. The key finding was that the project was successfully completed in 2015 using conventional project management and construction methods. The project is currently being operated and maintained by the National Department of Water and Sanitation.

Keywords: construction, contract management, infrastructure project, project management

Procedia PDF Downloads 280

Authors: Jiri Dufek

Abstract:

The national model of the Czech Republic has been modified in a detailed way to get detailed travel demand in the municipality level (cities, villages over 300 inhabitants). As a technique for this detailed modelling, three-dimensional procedure for calibrating gravity models, was used. Besides of zone production and attraction, which is usual in gravity models, the next additional parameter for trip distribution was introduced. Usually it is called by “third dimension”. In the model, this parameter is a demand between regions. The distribution procedure involved calculation of appropriate skim matrices and its multiplication by three coefficients obtained by iterative balancing of production, attraction and third dimension. This type of trip distribution was processed in R-project and the results were used in the Czech Republic transport model, created in PTV Vision. This process generated more precise results in local level od the model (towns, villages)

Keywords: trip distribution, three dimension, transport model, municipalities

Procedia PDF Downloads 102

Authors: Lata Shakya, Toshio Otsuki, Saori Imoto, Bijaya Krishna Shrestha, Umesh Bahadur Malla

Abstract:

2015 Gorkha Nepal earthquake have damaged the human settlements in 14 districts of Nepal. Historic core areas of three principal cities namely Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur including numerous traditional ‘newari’ settlements in the peripheral areas have been either collapsed or severely damaged. Despite Government of Nepal and (international) non-government organisations’ attempt towards disaster risk management through the preparation of policies and guidelines and implementation of community-based activities, the recent ‘Gorkha’ earthquake has demonstrated the inadequate preparedness, poor implementation of a legal instrument, resource constraints, and managerial weakness. However, the social capital through community based institutions, self-help attitude, and community bond has helped a lot not only in rescue and relief operation but also in a post-disaster temporary shelter living thereby exhibiting the resilient power of the local community. Conducting a detailed case study of ‘Kaminani’ community with 42 houses at ward no. 16 of Bhaktapur municipality, this paper analyses the local community’s response and activities on the Gorkha earthquake in rescue and relief operation as well as in post disaster work. Leadership, the existence of internal/external aid, physical and human support are also analyzed. Social resource and networking are also explained through critical review of the existing community organisation and their activities. The research methodology includes literature review, field survey, and interview with community leaders and residents based on a semi-structured questionnaire. The study reveals that community carried their recovery process in four different phases: (i) management of emergency evacuation, (ii) constructing community owed temporary shelter for individuals, (iii) demolishing upper floors of the damaged houses, and (iv) planning for collaborative housing reconstruction. As territorial based organization, religion based agency and aim based institution exist in the survey area from pre-disaster time, it can be assumed that the community activists including leaders are well experienced to create aim-based group and manage teamwork to deal with various issues and problems collaboratively. Physical and human support including partial financial aid from external source as a result of community leader’s personal networking is extended to the community members. Thus, human/social resource and personal/social network play a crucial role in the recovery process. And to build such social capital, community should have potential from pre-disaster time.

Keywords: Gorkha Nepal earthquake, local community, recovery process, social resource, social network

Procedia PDF Downloads 235