Creating and evidencing a Sustainable Commuting Index for London, United Kingdom

Objective: The purpose of this research is two-fold: firstly, to understand daily journey-to-work commuting behaviour in London and link this to environmental and health impact, and secondly to devise a replicable framework through which areas can be rated based on low carbon and active travel with this information then used support policy implementation for more sustainable commuting. Method: A composite index is proposed combining data on commuting patterns and carbon footprints of respective transport means to rank each district based on current performance and related environmental and health impacts. The research is evidenced on the city of London, United Kingdom, but is designed such that it could be readily applied elsewhere. Results: The outcome implies a strong distance decay effect whereby active travel is most pronounced in central districts and less so on the city fringes, Westminster and City of London score most favourably with Havering performing worst. Similarly, the central districts also have a lower carbon footprint. Discussion: The product of this research is not only a replicable and transferable framework to measure sustainable commuting given its high political importance but also a means to support decision-making and the implementation of policies to improve opportunities for low carbon and active travel and the directly related impacts on human health and the environment

Global sustainable city-regions: Stockholm, Berlin, Kolkata, Abu Dhabi/Masdar, Bengaluru, Malawi, Belfast, Hong Kong, Seoul, Helsinki, & Scotland

This policy report, entitled ‘Global Sustainable City-Regions,’ covers the work developed by the lecturer, Dr Igor Calzada, MBA, FeRSA, as the editor of the publica- tion and students of the second edition of the Master course MSc in Leadership for Global Sustainable Cities from September to December 2016. Specifically, this policy report follows a two-sequential-module structure: • The first module, entitled ‘Global Cities: Sustainability and Society,’ consists of six methodological units. • Thereafter, the second module, entitled ‘Public Policy, Governance and Strategic Change in Cities,’ consists of five methodological units. The policy report focuses on three urban global issues in a comparative basis. The MSc was developed in a team-based dynamic by applying qualitative action research methodologies to understand and interpret each case and to benchmark and contrast with other cases that addressed the same global urban issue. The cases were selected jointly by the lecturer and the students in a dynamic process in order to achieve a suitable selection of cases that would allow them to: • arrange groups around one specific global urban issue, • compare cases around the same specific urban issue, and • produce a full case study by applying the two-sequential-module methodology. • Transformative Smart Cities: In recent years, the smart city paradigm has gained traction in urban policy and governance. Underlying the smart city discourse is the techno-utopian belief that the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is imperative to confront the challenges of urbanization and sustainable development. Although, little has been researched about the differences between this paradigm and its consequences in the Global South and in the Global North. In addition to this, since the smart city as a buzzword has conquered policy agendas worldwide, a transformational push is occurring in some innovative cities and regions worldwide. This urban issue called ‘Transformative Smart Cities’ is explained comparatively through five cases as follows: Stockholm, Kolkata, Masdar, Bengaluru, and Seoul. • Changing Social Innovation: Urban issues are usually complex and interconnected phenomena. Poverty, political conflicts, environmental awareness, mobility and transport mechanisms, geopolitical path-dependence, ethno-political unrest, digital connectivity and self-determination could be researched from the social innovation changing perspective. The capacity to think across and between as well as within the thematic factors is crucial. Likewise, a clear understanding of the way in which different disciplines can contribute to a step change in delivery against these changing challenges is therefore required. Ultimately, an awareness of the underlying factors and contexts (including social, political, economic, cultural, technological and historial), interdependencies, synergies, tensions and trade-offs that promote, obstruct or even reverse delivery against social innovation, both individually and collectively are key to understand changing dynamics in city-regions. This urban issue called ‘Changing Social Innovation’ is explained comparatively through six cases as follows: Berlin, Belfast, Malawi, Hong Kong, Helsinki, and Glasgow

Global sustainable city-regions: Stockholm, Berlin, Kolkata, Abu Dhabi/Masdar, Bengaluru, Malawi, Belfast, Hong Kong, Seoul, Helsinki, & Scotland

This policy report, entitled ‘Global Sustainable City-Regions,’ covers the work developed by the lecturer, Dr Igor Calzada, MBA, FeRSA, as the editor of the publica- tion and students of the second edition of the Master course MSc in Leadership for Global Sustainable Cities from September to December 2016. Specifically, this policy report follows a two-sequential-module structure: • The first module, entitled ‘Global Cities: Sustainability and Society,’ consists of six methodological units. • Thereafter, the second module, entitled ‘Public Policy, Governance and Strategic Change in Cities,’ consists of five methodological units. The policy report focuses on three urban global issues in a comparative basis. The MSc was developed in a team-based dynamic by applying qualitative action research methodologies to understand and interpret each case and to benchmark and contrast with other cases that addressed the same global urban issue. The cases were selected jointly by the lecturer and the students in a dynamic process in order to achieve a suitable selection of cases that would allow them to: • arrange groups around one specific global urban issue, • compare cases around the same specific urban issue, and • produce a full case study by applying the two-sequential-module methodology. • Transformative Smart Cities: In recent years, the smart city paradigm has gained traction in urban policy and governance. Underlying the smart city discourse is the techno-utopian belief that the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is imperative to confront the challenges of urbanization and sustainable development. Although, little has been researched about the differences between this paradigm and its consequences in the Global South and in the Global North. In addition to this, since the smart city as a buzzword has conquered policy agendas worldwide, a transformational push is occurring in some innovative cities and regions worldwide. This urban issue called ‘Transformative Smart Cities’ is explained comparatively through five cases as follows: Stockholm, Kolkata, Masdar, Bengaluru, and Seoul. • Changing Social Innovation: Urban issues are usually complex and interconnected phenomena. Poverty, political conflicts, environmental awareness, mobility and transport mechanisms, geopolitical path-dependence, ethno-political unrest, digital connectivity and self-determination could be researched from the social innovation changing perspective. The capacity to think across and between as well as within the thematic factors is crucial. Likewise, a clear understanding of the way in which different disciplines can contribute to a step change in delivery against these changing challenges is therefore required. Ultimately, an awareness of the underlying factors and contexts (including social, political, economic, cultural, technological and historial), interdependencies, synergies, tensions and trade-offs that promote, obstruct or even reverse delivery against social innovation, both individually and collectively are key to understand changing dynamics in city-regions. This urban issue called ‘Changing Social Innovation’ is explained comparatively through six cases as follows: Berlin, Belfast, Malawi, Hong Kong, Helsinki, and Glasgow

Effects of methylphenidate on attention in Wistar rats treated with the neurotoxin N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine (DSP4)

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of the neurotoxin N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine (DSP4) on attention in rats as measured using the 5-choice-serial-reaction-time task (5CSRTT) and to investigate whether methylphenidate has effects on DSP4-treated rats. Methylphenidate is a noradrenaline and dopamine reuptake inhibitor and commonly used in the pharmacological treatment of individuals with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Wistar rats were trained in the 5CSRTT and treated with one of three doses of DSP4 or saline. Following the DSP4 treatment rats were injected with three doses of methylphenidate or saline and again tested in the 5CSRTT. The treatment with DSP4 caused a significant decline of performance in the number of correct responses and a decrease in response accuracy. A reduction in activity could also be observed. Whether or not the cognitive impairments are due to attention deficits or changes in explorative behaviour or activity remains to be investigated. The treatment with methylphenidate had no beneficial effect on the rats’ performance regardless of the DSP4 treatment. In the group without DSP4 treatment, methylphenidate led to a reduction in response accuracy and bidirectional effects in regard to parameters related to attention. These findings support the role of noradrenaline in modulating attention and call for further investigations concerning the effects of methylphenidate on attentional processes in rats