Mapping and valuing urban ecosystem services in the greater Kuala Lumpur metropolitan city

Unprecedented urban growth has placed increasing pressure on cities globally. The intensive land use changes that follow urban growth often result in the degradation of natural ecosystems, with adverse consequences for the wellbeing of urban populations as the potential delivery of ecosystem services diminishes. This thesis: 1) investigated the spatial distribution of urban ecosystem services in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2) tested the utilisation of two off-the-shelf ecosystem service valuation tools (SolVES and InVEST) in supporting urban planning, and 3) investigated the extent to which urban ecosystem services and urban biodiversity have been considered as part of sustainable development planning in Kuala Lumpur. Chapter One outlines the aim and scope of the thesis and sets out the research questions addressed in subsequent chapters. It also introduces key concepts and tools used in this thesis. Chapter Two provides a systematic review on the nature and extent of urban ecosystem services research in Southeast Asia in the last two decades. The chapter showed that while urban ecosystem services research in the region has burgeoned over the last five years, research is unequally distributed across Southeast Asia. The chapter found that research often assessed regulating and cultural urban ecosystem services at a landscape scale, though research on synergistic and tradeoff interactions between services were limited. It showed that research was biased towards more developed cities and countries in the region, which may overlook less-developed nations as well as rural and peri-urban regions and their unique preferences towards urban ecosystem services management. The chapter discusses challenges and considerations for urban ecosystem services research in Southeast Asia, given the region’s unique and diverse socioeconomic characteristics, and outlines knowledge gaps addressed in subsequent chapters in this thesis. Chapter Three provides a novel assessment of the distribution of social values for ecosystem services across the Greater Kuala Lumpur metropolitan area. A public participatory GIS survey and the SolVES tool were used to determine residents’ development preferences and perceptions of social values. The chapter reveals that the heterogenous spatial distribution of social values across urban and peri-urban areas was influenced by residents’ development preferences and sociodemographic characteristics. The non-spatial differences in residents’ characteristics and development preferences were found to manifest as larger differences in the spatial distribution of social values, leading to conflicts between groups with different development preferences. The work highlights locations where there is potential for land-use conflict with respect to future urban expansion, emphasising the need for further public engagement and the consideration of multiple perspectives in designing cities. Chapter Four presents a systematic method for integrating the outcomes of a multiple urban ecosystem services assessment to support green infrastructure development across urbanising landscapes. The chapter combines biophysical InVEST ecosystem service models with multicriteria suitability analysis to provide spatially explicit recommendations on targeted areas for five future green infrastructure strategies. The realised distribution of urban ecosystem services was high in seminatural areas and low in urban areas, highlighting the lack of green infrastructure in dense urban areas. The ecosystem services-based suitability analysis showed that some parts of the study area were suitable for the implementation of more than one type of green infrastructure strategy. The findings suggest that the selection of appropriate green infrastructure strategies must consider the varying degree of urban development in the study area and the implication of these strategies for local communities. Chapter Five investigates the extent to which ecosystem services and urban biodiversity were considered in sustainable urban development academic and policy literature in Malaysia. The literature review and content analysis indicated that academic literature and policy documents emphasised the aesthetic and cultural aspects of nature in urban design but rarely captured the full suite of ecosystem services found in cities. The chapter also identified several ecological knowledge gaps in academic literature and policy documents and calls for broader ecological perspectives in sustainable urban development research and policy initiatives. Recommendations are made for the adoption of stronger nature-based approaches through the incorporation of ecosystem services in urban planning. The chapter also highlights the need for critical assessments on the effectiveness of sustainable planning policies in the region, to ensure that sustainability initiatives are on track to meet their objectives. Chapter Six concludes this thesis by synthesising the contributions of the work and highlights challenges for future research in integrating urban ecosystem services to support planning of sustainable and resilient cities. The concept of urban ecosystem services investigated in this thesis will become increasingly important in planning sustainable cities globally, but more so in the Global South, where cities are growing rapidly and are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The research conducted in this thesis contributes to the limited and exigently needed body of urban ecosystem services knowledge in a tropical Global South city. The novel application of ecosystem service valuation tools and methods demonstrated in this thesis can be adapted for urban areas in Southeast Asia and other Global South regions to support the planning of resilient urban ecosystems

The Unite the Right Rally and Charlottesville City Schools: The Transformation of a Crisis

Educational leaders at all levels must be prepared to address crises and their aftermaths. The conventional wisdom on crises and their management suggests that while crisis can originate from myriad sources, they largely proceed according to predictable stages. Our study draws from traditional and more critical literature on crisis and crisis management to understand the case the 2017 Unite the Right rally and its impact on Charlottesville City Schools. Specifically, we unpack the unfolding nature of the crisis and the district superintendent’s leadership through each phase of the crisis. We use the notion of paracrisis and crisis of challenge to understand how an acute and traumatic experience for the school community evolved into a crisis that challenged the legitimacy of the school district for its history of policy and practices that sustained institutionally racist practices for decades. Our findings illustrate how the process of crisis transformation occurred, and more importantly, how the superintendent’s approach to leadership also changed to meet the new demands of the evolving crisis. These findings raise important questions and implications for how educational leaders might think about the crises they face, and the crisis management plans that guide that work

La influencia de los juguetes bélicos, en el comportamiento de niños de edad preescolar.

Promover la no utilización de juguetes bélicos, en niños de edad preescolar. Contribuir a minimizar la agresividad, emplear formas diferentes de juegos sin violencia, estimular a los niños a la práctica de valores. Promover normas de respeto para la convivencia social, crear una cultura de paz, en los niños preescolares. Se hizo hincapié en la información sobre los juguetes bélicos, primeramente a los padres, por la incidencia que tienen directamente en la formación del carácter de sus hijos, conjuntamente con la participación de los docentes durante la investigación. Fortaleciendo a los niños para que se contribuyan a formar un país con menos violencia. Previo a la realización de la investigación, se plantearon las interrogantes: ¿Los juguetes bélicos propician la agresividad en niños preescolares? ¿Los niños en edad preescolar tienen conocimiento sobre los juguetes bélicos? ¿Existe uso constante de juguetes bélicos en niños preescolares? La población con la que se trabajó fueron niños preescolares de 04 a 06 años, la muestra fue de tipo intencional bajo los siguientes criterios de inclusión: 22 niños y niñas de edad pre escolar, referidos por maestros y padres por presentar conductas agresivas, se trabajó con aquellos niños que durante la observación presentan conductas agresivas durante el juego. También se trabajó con los padres de los 22 niños, del “Colegio Cristiano Pueblo de Dios” a través de las técnicas de: técnica de juego abierto, pautas de observación, asimismo entrevistas a padres de los niños, se realizaron sesiones de juego abierto con juguete bélico y sin el juguete. El trabajo de campo se realizó durante los meses de septiembre y octubre 2014, tomando en cuenta unidades de análisis como: influencia: efecto, consecuencia o cambio que produce una cosa en otra; juego: procesos de desarrollo, que relacionan el desarrollo de los estadios cognitivos con el desarrollo de la actividad lúdica: que surgen a lo largo del desarrollo infantil; juguetes bélicos: serie de juguetes que a través de su forma o concepto de juego proponen simbolizan y plantean una forma determinada de solucionar un conflicto a través de la agresividad y la violencia; comportamiento: conducta: maneras de actuar; educación preescolar: ciclo de estudios previos a la educación primaria obligatoria establecida en muchas partes del mundo hispanoamericano,; valores: son principios que permiten orientar el comportamiento en función de la realización personal. Se concluye que en la formación de los niños, en relación a los valores, la no utilización de juguetes bélicos, debe mantenerse constantemente para fomentar una convivencia pacífica en el entorno social del niño. Si se informa y educa el cambio tendrá mayor impacto en la comunidad

Mapping and valuing urban ecosystem services in the greater Kuala Lumpur metropolitan city

Unprecedented urban growth has placed increasing pressure on cities globally. The intensive land use changes that follow urban growth often result in the degradation of natural ecosystems, with adverse consequences for the wellbeing of urban populations as the potential delivery of ecosystem services diminishes. This thesis: 1) investigated the spatial distribution of urban ecosystem services in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2) tested the utilisation of two off-the-shelf ecosystem service valuation tools (SolVES and InVEST) in supporting urban planning, and 3) investigated the extent to which urban ecosystem services and urban biodiversity have been considered as part of sustainable development planning in Kuala Lumpur. Chapter One outlines the aim and scope of the thesis and sets out the research questions addressed in subsequent chapters. It also introduces key concepts and tools used in this thesis. Chapter Two provides a systematic review on the nature and extent of urban ecosystem services research in Southeast Asia in the last two decades. The chapter showed that while urban ecosystem services research in the region has burgeoned over the last five years, research is unequally distributed across Southeast Asia. The chapter found that research often assessed regulating and cultural urban ecosystem services at a landscape scale, though research on synergistic and tradeoff interactions between services were limited. It showed that research was biased towards more developed cities and countries in the region, which may overlook less-developed nations as well as rural and peri-urban regions and their unique preferences towards urban ecosystem services management. The chapter discusses challenges and considerations for urban ecosystem services research in Southeast Asia, given the region’s unique and diverse socioeconomic characteristics, and outlines knowledge gaps addressed in subsequent chapters in this thesis. Chapter Three provides a novel assessment of the distribution of social values for ecosystem services across the Greater Kuala Lumpur metropolitan area. A public participatory GIS survey and the SolVES tool were used to determine residents’ development preferences and perceptions of social values. The chapter reveals that the heterogenous spatial distribution of social values across urban and peri-urban areas was influenced by residents’ development preferences and sociodemographic characteristics. The non-spatial differences in residents’ characteristics and development preferences were found to manifest as larger differences in the spatial distribution of social values, leading to conflicts between groups with different development preferences. The work highlights locations where there is potential for land-use conflict with respect to future urban expansion, emphasising the need for further public engagement and the consideration of multiple perspectives in designing cities. Chapter Four presents a systematic method for integrating the outcomes of a multiple urban ecosystem services assessment to support green infrastructure development across urbanising landscapes. The chapter combines biophysical InVEST ecosystem service models with multicriteria suitability analysis to provide spatially explicit recommendations on targeted areas for five future green infrastructure strategies. The realised distribution of urban ecosystem services was high in seminatural areas and low in urban areas, highlighting the lack of green infrastructure in dense urban areas. The ecosystem services-based suitability analysis showed that some parts of the study area were suitable for the implementation of more than one type of green infrastructure strategy. The findings suggest that the selection of appropriate green infrastructure strategies must consider the varying degree of urban development in the study area and the implication of these strategies for local communities. Chapter Five investigates the extent to which ecosystem services and urban biodiversity were considered in sustainable urban development academic and policy literature in Malaysia. The literature review and content analysis indicated that academic literature and policy documents emphasised the aesthetic and cultural aspects of nature in urban design but rarely captured the full suite of ecosystem services found in cities. The chapter also identified several ecological knowledge gaps in academic literature and policy documents and calls for broader ecological perspectives in sustainable urban development research and policy initiatives. Recommendations are made for the adoption of stronger nature-based approaches through the incorporation of ecosystem services in urban planning. The chapter also highlights the need for critical assessments on the effectiveness of sustainable planning policies in the region, to ensure that sustainability initiatives are on track to meet their objectives. Chapter Six concludes this thesis by synthesising the contributions of the work and highlights challenges for future research in integrating urban ecosystem services to support planning of sustainable and resilient cities. The concept of urban ecosystem services investigated in this thesis will become increasingly important in planning sustainable cities globally, but more so in the Global South, where cities are growing rapidly and are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The research conducted in this thesis contributes to the limited and exigently needed body of urban ecosystem services knowledge in a tropical Global South city. The novel application of ecosystem service valuation tools and methods demonstrated in this thesis can be adapted for urban areas in Southeast Asia and other Global South regions to support the planning of resilient urban ecosystems

A Narrative Review of the Lesser Known Medications for Treatment of Restless Legs Syndrome and Pathogenetic Implications for Their Use

Background: There are several well-known treatments for Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), including dopamine agonists (pramipexole, ropinirole, rotigotine), anticonvulsants (gabapentin and its analogs, pregabalin), oral or intravenous iron, opioids and benzodiazepines. However, in clinical practice, treatment is sometimes limited due to incomplete response or side effects and it is necessary to be aware of other treatment options for RLS, which is the purpose of this review. Methods: We performed a narrative review detailing all of the lesser known pharmacological treatment literature on RLS. The review purposefully excludes well-established, well-known treatments for RLS which are widely accepted as treatments for RLS in evidence-based reviews. We also have emphasized the pathogenetic implications for RLS of the successful use of these lesser known agents. Results: Alternative pharmacological agents include clonidine which reduces adrenergic transmission, adenosinergic agents such as dipyridamole, glutamate AMPA receptor blocking agents such as perampanel, glutamate NMDA receptor blocking agents such as amantadine and ketamine, various anticonvulsants (carbamazepine/oxcarbazepine, lamotrigine, topiramate, valproic acid, levetiracetam), anti-inflammatory agents such as steroids, as well as cannabis. Bupropion is also a good choice for the treatment of co-existent depression in RLS because of its pro-dopaminergic properties. Discussion: Clinicians should first follow evidence-based review recommendations for the treatment of RLS but when the clinical response is either incomplete or side effects are intolerable other options can be considered. We neither recommend nor discourage the use of these options, but leave it up to the clinician to make their own choices based upon the benefit and side effect profiles of each medication

Costeo en base a la capacidad normal de las maquinarias agrícolas para la mejora en la toma de decisiones gerenciales en las empresas agroindustriales de Ascope, 2022

El presente trabajo de investigación titulado “COSTEO EN BASE A LA CAPACIDAD NORMAL DE LAS MAQUINARIAS AGRÍCOLAS PARA LA MEJORA EN LA TOMA DE DECISIONES GERENCIALES EN LAS EMPRESAS AGROINDUSTRIALES DE ASCOPE, 2022”, tiene como finalidad determinar cómo el método de costeo en base a la capacidad normal de las maquinarias agrícolas mejora la toma de decisiones gerenciales en las empresas agroindustriales de Ascope, 2022. La investigación realizada es de tipo aplicativo, de enfoque explicativo, de diseño cuasi - experimental de grupo único pre test, post test. La población son los reportes de costeo de las maquinarias agrícolas de las empresas agroindustriales de Ascope del año 2022, la muestra son los reportes de costeo de dos empresas que conforman la población. Se recolectó información relevante, asimismo, se pudo conocer el método de costeo basado en la capacidad normal de las maquinarias agrícolas, que consiste en distribuir los costos indirectos fijos en relación con las horas esperadas de trabajo de la máquina, que reporta, además de las horas efectiva de trabajo, los tiempos muertos, para llegar al total de horas esperadas de trabajo. Con la aplicación del método de costeo propuesto, se logra cuantificar las horas ociosas, así como tener un reporte de los motivos por el cual se encuentran inoperativas cada maquinaria, que permite a las gerencias actuar sobre ellas para reducirlas y/o eliminarlas. Finalmente, se determinó que la aplicación del método de costeo según la capacidad normal de las maquinarias agrícolas mejora la toma de decisiones en las etapas de preparación, decisión y seguimiento.This research paper entitled “COSTING BASED ON THE NORMAL CAPACITY OF AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF GENERATIONAL DECISION MAKING IN AGROINDUSTRIAL COMPANIES OF ASCOPE” aims to determine to what extent the method of costing based on the normal capacity of agricultural machinery contributes to the improvement in management decisión making of agribusiness enterprises of companies. The research carried out is of applicative type, of explanatory approach, of quasiexperimental delusion of single group pre-test, post-test. The population is the reports of costs of agricultural machinery of the agribusiness companies of Ascope of the year 2022, the sample is the reports of costs of two companies that make up the population. Relevant information was collected, also it was possible to know the costing method based on the normal capacity of agricultural machinery, which consists in distributing fixed indirect costs based on the expected hours of the machine, which reports, in addition to the effective hours of work, the dead times, to reach the total expected hours of work. With the application of the proposed costing method, it is possible to quantify idle hours, as well as having a report of the reasons why each machinery is inoperative, which allows managers to act on them to reduce and / or eliminate them. Finally, it was determined that the application of the costing method according to the normal capacity of agricultural machinery improves decision-making in the preparation, decision and monitoring stages.Tesi

La desnutrición y el bajo rendimiento escolar en niños de Educación Básica del Ecuador

Malnutrition translates as the lack of nutrients essential for the physical and mental development of an individual. One of the organs most affected by food deficiency is brain tissue, so nutrition is essential in the first years of a person's life. In Ecuador, malnutrition is a problem that affects the integral development of minors. This work aims at a literary review by collecting information that evidences the relationship between malnutrition and school performance of children in Ecuador. For this, the meta-analysis of 63 articles published in different scientific journals was used. In addition, a hermeneutic analysis of the following constructs was performed: factors of integral development of childhood, child malnutrition and school performance. It is concluded that malnutrition is one of the factors that affects the health and intellectual development of minors in Ecuador, therefore, it affects the academic performance of students, sometimes leading to student dropout; therefore, the competent authorities must focus on an immediate solution to this problem that is affecting children in Ecuador.    La desnutrición se traduce como la falta de nutrientes esenciales para el desarrollo físico y mental de un individuo. Uno de los órganos más afectados por la deficiencia de alimentos es el tejido cerebral, por ello la nutrición es esencial en los primeros años de vida de una persona. En el Ecuador la desnutrición es una problemática que afecta el desarrollo integral de los menores. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo la revisión literaria mediante la recopilación de información que evidencie la relación entre la desnutrición y el rendimiento escolar de la niñez en Ecuador. Para ello se acudió al metaanálisis de 63 artículos publicados en diferentes revistas científicas. Además, se realizó un análisis hermenéutico de los siguientes constructos: factores de desarrollo integral de la niñez, desnutrición infantil y rendimiento escolar. Se concluye que la desnutrición es uno de los factores que afecta la salud y el desarrollo intelectual de los menores en el Ecuador, por ende, afecta el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes, llevando en ocasiones a la deserción estudiantil; por lo tanto, las autoridades competentes deben enfocarse en una solución inmediata a esta problemática que está afectando a los niños en el Ecuador

Experiencias de agricultura circular en Cataluña: dos casos de estudio

La economía circular está tomando impulso como estrategia para afrontar la sostenibilidad ambiental. Su implementación en el sector agrario plantea muchos retos entre los que destaca el ámbito en el que encuadrar las actuaciones. En estas líneas nos ocuparemos de dos experiencias de alcance muy diferente

Genetic Susceptibility and Head Injury as Risk Factors for Alzheimer's Disease among Community-Dwelling Elderly Persons and Their First-Degree Relatives

We performed a community-based study to investigate the relationship of genetic susceptibility and head injury to Alzheimer's disease(AD) in 138 patients with AD and 193 healthy elderly control subjects. Data concerning presence or absence of dementia and certain exposures were also obtained from 799 first-degree relatives of the patients and 1,238 first-degree relatives of the control subjects. Adjusting for age, gender, and other risk factors, the odds ratio for AD associated with head injury was 3.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4–9.7). The association was highest for head injuries that occurred after age 70. The risk of AD was higher in first-degree relatives of patients with onset prior to age 70 than in relatives of control subjects (risk ratio [RR] = 2.5; 95% CI, 1.1–5.6). The risk was not increased for relatives of patients with onset of AD at age 70 or older. Compared with relatives without head injury, the risk of AD was increased among both head-injured relatives of patients (RR = 5.9; 95% CI, 2.3–14.8) and head-injured relatives of control subjects (RR = 6.9; 95% CI, 2.5–18.9). Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that severe head injury and genetic susceptibility are associated with AD. Both associations concur with current concepts regarding the role of amyloid in AD. Although we regard head injury, like genetic susceptibility, to be a putative risk factor for AD, the temporal relationship between head injury and AD warrants further investigation