THE BRANDING POTENTIAL OF BUCHAREST. STRATEGY AND SUCCESS FACTORS

Bucharest is still looking for its identity. Reported in the national brand – that is still in an incipient phase, it can play two roles: whether as ingredient for the country brand, the capital becoming an element included on the list of values promoted at national level, or as a landmark, for defining and subsequently for improving the country brand. The unexploited potential must be capitalized in the future by using urban branding and marketing steps adapted to the local specificity.brand, city, urban image, branding strategy, strategic vision.

The Utility of Geographic Information System GIS in Transport Data Integration for Economic Development : Evidence from Ibadan, Nigeria

This study sets out to assess the capability of Geographic Information System GIS in Transport Data Integration for Economic development in Ibadan Nigeria The study entails an analysis of transport data need and an assessment of their relevance in economic planning This need is set against the background of large body of data involved in transportation planning and management The Methodology entails some processes such as data integration data standardization and spatial referencing and interfacing The study shows the importance of referencing of socio-economic data and location referencing in economic planning to assist in economic development Arc GIS programme is employed for integrating data such as demand data i e demographic data land use data economic data and travel supply data such as road networks and related facilitie

Ethno-Religious Violence and Neighbourhood Facilities Provision: Evidence From Jos, Nigeria

Neighbourhood facilities could be seen as auxiliary or ancillary infrastructural utilities and services that are essential part of residential accommodation. The value or worth of housing accommodation is being determined and assessed by looking at the nearby, surrounding and adjoining community public facilities, utilities and services that enhance and improve quality of life of the residents of such area. As a result of the persisting crises and violence that are witnessed in Jos metropolis, neighbourhood facilities were greatly affected. The provision, availability and maintenance of such community infrastructures in Jos are negatively affected and curtailed by the ongoing chaos. The study is aimed at examining the effect of sectarian violence and civil unrest on the provision, availability and maintenance of community facilities, utilities and services in Jos. Proportionate and stratified random sampling techniques were employed so as to generate the sample upon which the questionnaires would be administered. The study adopted different tools of analysis which include: tables, graphs, charts and discussions. The findings revealed that ethno-religious violence influence the provision, availability and maintenance of existing neighbourhood facilities in the study area. The implication of the study lies in the fact that neighbourhood facilities in the areas that are considered as safe zones were found to be in good state of repair as opposed to the unsafe zones. Therefore, the values of residential properties would rise in areas that are violent free and vice versa. The study recommends that neighbourhood facilities should be provided in all the areas affected by the crisis. The government should provide security in all the unsafe areas in order to prevent against vandalizing of the neighbourhood facilities. Keywords: Ethno-religious Violence, Neighbourhood Facilities, Property Values, Services and Utilitie

Awareness and attitude of primary school teachers in Kano metropolis, Nigeria towards pupils with learning disabilities, how effective is the school health programme?

Teachers have central role in identification and management of children with learning disabilities. Objectives: Ten years after drafting the national guidelines for implementation of school health programme in Nigeria, this study assessed awareness and attitude of primary school teachers in Kano metropolis towards children with learning disabilities as proxy for the effectiveness of school health programme. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to study a random sample of 186 primary school teachers in Kano. Data was collected with the aid of a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire, and analyzed using IBM SPSSStatistics for Windows, version 22. Result: The mean age of the teachers was 32.8 ± 7.8 years. Majority had post-secondary school education 170(91.9%) and had worked for an average of 7.5 ± 6.8 years. About half 98(53.0%) were aware of a link between lack of academic progression in children and some probable medical condition(s), but none of them knew the characteristics of learning disabilities. About one-quarter of the teachers 52(28.1%) had negative attitude towards pupils with learning disability. Teaching in a large class was the only factor that emerged as the independent predictor of the teachers' positive attitude towardsstudents with learning disabilities. Conclusion: Majority of the teachers had positive attitude towards pupils with learning disabilities but none of them could identify the features of such children. Ministries of health and education should work closely with development partners and interested researchers to resuscitate the school health programme

Spatial Dynamic Modeling and Urban Land Use Transformation:

Assessing the economic impacts of urban land use transformation has become complex and acrimonious. Although community planners are beginning to comprehend the economic trade-offs inherent in transforming the urban fringe, they find it increasingly difficult to analyze and assess the trade-offs expediently and in ways that can influence local decisionmaking. New and sophisticated spatial modeling techniques are now being applied to urban systems that can quickly assess the probable spatial outcomes of given communal policies. Applying an economic impact assessment to the probable spatial patterns can provide to planners the tools needed to quickly assess scenarios for policy formation that will ultimately help inform decision makers. This paper focuses on the theoretical underpinnings and practical application of an economic impact analysis submodel developed within the Land use Evolution and Impact Assessment Modeling (LEAM) environment. The conceptual framework of LEAM is described, followed by an application of the model to the assessment of the cost of urban sprawl in Kane County, Illinois. The results show the effectiveness of spatially explicit modeling from a theoretical and a practical point of view. The agent-based approach of spatial dynamic modeling with a high spatial resolution allows for discerning the macro-level implications of micro-level behaviors. These phenomena are highlighted in the economic submodel in the discussion of the implications of land use change decisions on individual and communal costs; low-density development patterns favoring individual behaviors at the expense of the broader community.

Addiction At the Biennale of Venice

In this paper we analyse the socio-economic characteristics (e.g. age, gender, education, nationality) associated with the probability of subscribing to an art review, among visitors of the Visual Arts Biennale of Venice taking into account the heterogeneity of the data. The analysis uses a data set from a questionnaire given in Venice in 2003 to ascertain the key characteristics of the Biennale visitors, (Bernardi, Pizzi and Vecco, 2004). A Bayesian random parameter logit model is used with Gibbs sampling to verify the hypothesis that subscribing to an art review given that the individual visits the Biennale, defines addiction to visual arts. This model outperforms the standard logit model since it takes into account the unobserved heterogeneity of the sample data. Some policy implications are presented.Culture, Biennale of Venice, Mixed Logit model, and policy implications.