The dissertation investigates how non-profit organisations (NPOs) can function more efficiently by sharing resources and services. The design responds with the strategy of service integration, by transforming the facilities of POPUP, a single NPO, into a shared services hub for multiple NPOs. POPUP is a People Upliftment Programme in Salvokop, Pretoria, and serves the under-privileged communities of Pretoria with skills development courses. The dissertation aims to create restorative environments for these students and explores the theoretical approaches of regenerative design, biophilic design and restorative environmental design. The premise of the investigation is that humanity has an inherent inclination towards nature and that a healthy human-nature connection enables the healing process. Furthermore, the dissertation follows a contextual approach that responds to the railway heritage significance of Salvokop, the urban condition of disconnection from the Central Business District, as well as the self-restoration of the natural landscape. The study seeks to regenerate the human-nature connection, a manifestation of the connection between the current natural landscape and the urban condition. In this way, restorative environments are created that contribute to the regeneration of people. / Dissertation MArch(Prof)--University of Pretoria, 2014 / Architecture / MArch(Prof) / Unrestricted

This thesis deals with the representation of the natural environment in branding the Czech Republic on the domestic and global market. The aim was to find out how the visual and textual content of CzechTourism information and promotional materials contributes to this and how the representation of nature characterizes the Czech Republic as a cultural tourism destination. The evaluation was based on qualitative analysis. Textual content was analysed using the grounded theory method, selected photographs were subjected to semiotic analysis. The result shows that the Czech Republic is presented through CzechTourism brochures as a country that is a harmonious combination of natural treasures and historical monuments. The Czech Republic seems to be a tourist destination, after a visit to which a change of personality occurs: not only does one's physical and emotional state improve, but also one reflects on a number of issues such as the perception of spiritual values, awareness of oneself as a Czech citizen (for local residents), gaining new knowledge about the history of the Czech state (for foreign tourists). This work can serve as a basis for further research, e.g. building a country's brand through CzechTourism's social media presence. It would also be interesting to find out whether the content of...

影響農地價格之因素，隨著市場條件之差異，如土地使用管制或農地政策而有所不同。歸納我國過去有關農地價格研究之文獻，對於東部農地市場之研究較少，且鮮少探討自然景觀因素對於農地價格之影響。對於東部農地價格之研究，可能遺漏重要的影響因素。因此本研究探討影響花蓮縣農地價格之因素，且加入自然景觀作為研究變數，以觀察自然景觀對於花蓮縣農地價格之影響。又農業發展條例於民國89年修正後，准許農民在其自有農地興建農舍。故本研究將農地樣本分為得興建農舍及不得興建農舍之農地，進一步比較自然景觀對農地價格之影響於兩者之間有無差異。由於本研究選取之農地，為其興建之農舍皆得作為民宿使用之樣本，因此，本研究加入衡量市場對於民宿需求之變數，探討市場對於民宿之需求，是否加深自然景觀對於農地價格之影響。 　　本研究以民國101年8月至103年12月花蓮縣非都市農地實價登錄資料作為研究樣本，透過線性迴歸模型，探討包括自然景觀因素在內之各項因素對於花蓮縣農地價格之影響。實證結果觀察到：對於花蓮縣農地市場，農地是否得興建農舍為自然景觀是否會影響農地價格之主因，且自然景觀對於農地價格之影響，受到市場對於民宿之需求而有所差異。基於上述，本研究研究結論如下：一、自然景觀因素影響花蓮「得興建農舍」之農地價格，但不影響「不得興建農舍」之農地價格。二、農舍作為民宿使用機率變高時，將加深自然景觀之價格效果。 / Factors that affect the price of the farmland vary in different market conditions, such as land use regulation or farmland policy. Previous studies on farmland prices is found to have paid little attention to farmland market in eastern Taiwan, and rarely discuss the amenity of natural landscape that might also affect the price of farmland. Lack of studies may lead to ignore the important factors of farmland price in eastern Taiwan. This study discusses the factors that affect the price of farmland in Hualien County, and adds the natural landscape as the independent variables so as to observe how natural landscape affect the farmland price in Hualien County. After Agricultural Development Act amended in 2000, farmers are allowed to construct individual farmhouses on their own farmland. Therefore, we split the data into farmland in which construction of farmhouse is allowed and farmland otherwise. Furthermore, we compare the difference between two types of farmland. Because the farmland where the farmhouses are allowed to construct are also permitted to operate the Bed and Breakfast, we also add the independent variables of the market demand for the Bed and Breakfast. In so doing, we are able to investigate whether the market demand for the Bed and Breakfast increases the natural landscape that affect the price of farmland. We choose the non-urban farmland price registration data from August 2012 to December 2014 in Hualien County. The linear regression model is used to analyze how various factors including natural landscape affect the farmland price in Hualien County. Based on the empirical results, three conclusions are arrived at below: First, factors of natural landscape only affect the price of farmland which allow for construction of farmhouses, but not affect the price of farmland where construction of farmhouses are forbidden. Second, farmhouses that are permitted to operate the Bed and Breakfast will increase the price effect of natural landscape.

Pour des raisons patrimoniales autant que pour les services qu'elle rend à l'humanité, il apparaît nécessaire de soutenir la diversité des organismes vivants et, pour cela, de connaître leur utilisation des milieux dans les paysages ruraux. En particulier, des travaux récents soutiennent un modèle de colonisation cyclique qui énonce qu'une partie des espèces circulant dans les milieux cultivés en été trouvent un abri propice à l'hivernation dans les milieux semi-naturels. Notre but était ici de mettre au jour les facteurs locaux et paysagers déterminant la répartition spatiale et la structure des assemblages de Carabidae dans un paysage rural des coteaux de Gascogne. Les patrons de répartition des Carabidae, obtenus à deux échelles spatiales différentes, celle du paysage et celle de la parcelle, et à deux moments clés de la vie de ces insectes, la période durant laquelle ils sont actifs (circulants) et la période d'hivernation, ont été interprétés en termes de processus écologiques grâce à la prise en compte des traits biologiques et écologiques des espèces de Carabidae. Les résultats montrent que le type de milieu a un effet structurant majeur sur les assemblages de Carabidae circulants comme hivernants, comparable aux effets des conditions environnementales locales et paysagères réunies. Par ailleurs, les effets de lisière sur les Carabidae circulants, au niveau des interfaces entre les bois et les cultures, sont limités à quelques mètres ou quelques dizaines de mètres. Concernant les Carabidae hivernants, nous avons noté de manière surprenante que leur densité était de deux à six fois plus élevée dans les marges (cultivées) des cultures que dans les milieux semi-naturels. De plus, nous n'avons noté aucun contraste de répartition spatiale entre les Carabidae hivernants et les Carabidae circulants, quels que soient les espèces ou les groupes fonctionnels considérés. Ceci indique donc que les marges des cultures sont des milieux d’hivernation très importants dans le contexte considéré et que si un mouvement de colonisation cyclique existe pour les Carabidae des cultures, il doit se dérouler entre leur zone intérieure et leur marge. L'ensemble de nos résultats soutient l'idée que si l'agencement spatial des milieux seminaturels dans le paysage est important pour promouvoir les populations de Carabidae auxiliaires dans les cultures, la gestion des cultures elles-mêmes, et notamment de leurs marges, est également de première importance. / Supporting biodiversity is an ethical as well as a practical issue since it provides numerous ecosystem services. In that purpose, it is necessary to determine how organisms use the different habitats in rural landscapes. In this view, recent studies suggest that a number of arthropods cyclically colonise cultures, where they feed and reproduce, and semi-natural areas, where they overwinter. We aimed to determine the local and landscape determinants of spatial distribution and structure of ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) assemblages in a rural landscape of south-western France. We studied spatial distribution patterns of ground beetles at landscape and habitat scales, and at two key periods of their life, that when they are active, and winter. We then considered biological and ecological traits to deduce from these spatial patterns ecological processes affecting ground beetles. Our results show that habitat type has a major effect on species assemblages of active (circulating) as well as overwintering ground beetles, equivalent to that of local conditions and landscape context combined. Edge effects on circulating ground beetles at the woodlot-filed interface were limited to a few meters or a few dozen of meters in both habitats. Amazingly, we found that the density of overwintering ground beetles was two-to six-fold higher in crop margins than in semi-natural habitats. Moreover, we failed to show any difference between the spatial distribution of overwintering ground beetles and circulating ground beetles, whatever the species or functional group considered. Crop margins are thus major overwintering sites in the context studied and cyclic colonisation of ground beetles in crops, if real, may take place between the inner zone and the margins of crops. These results suggest that, in addition to spatial arrangement of semi-natural habitats, crop management, and in particular management of crop margins, is important to promote ground beetles and their beneficial effects on crop protection in agro-forested landscapes.

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