Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-99). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-01-26Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:29:52Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 silva_ofm_me_bauru.pdf: 12447613 bytes, checksum: ba3a131fba9263548b4a422dcf4fdee7 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Como alternativa às contemporâneas práticas que norteiam a sociedade capitalista e industrializada de consumo, as corporações encontram no desenvolvimento sustentável - movimento originado por conta do eminente conhecimento dos efeitos devastadores da atuação humana no planeta - uma motivação para que se efetuasse uma significativa alteração no direcionamento das práticas estabelecidas, objetivando o surgimento de pilares de uma nova fase, onde os paradigmas são outros: no lugar do esgotamento dos recursos naturais do planeta, agora a temática primordial tem o foco na sustentabilidade. Diversos modelos de sistemas de medição de desempenho foram desenvolvidos para promover uma visão balanceada do mercado, a identificação das demandas das partes interessadas e a tradução dessas demandas em medidas internas coerentes e capazes de serem transmitidas para toda a organização, visando ao atendimento dos objetivos empresariais. Entretanto, enquanto estes modelos foram propostos e implantados, surgiram novas demandas apoiadas no conceito do desenvolvimento sustentável, estimulando o surgimento de novos pensamentos para o sistema de manufatura. Diante desse cenário, emerge o conceito de Manufatura Sustentável em busca do desenvolvimento sustentável na produção industrial. O objetivo desta dissertação foi estruturar o pensamento da Manufatura Sustentável em uma empresa gráfica, por meio da realização de levantamento bibliográfico e da construção de estudo de campo, ampliando o conhecimento acerca do tema. Foi utilizado o método de pesquisa-ação, o que permitiu a interação e a avaliação do tema frente a pontos considerados pela literatura. A estruturação do pensamento da Manufatura Sustentável trouxe resultados nas dimensões: social, ambiental e econômica... / As an alternative to the current practices which guide the capitalist and industrialized society of consumption, the sustainable development trend originated by the eminent knowledge of the devastating effects of human acting on the planet - a motivation to make it a significant change in the direction of established practices, aiming at the emergence of pillars of a new phase, where the paradigms are different: instead of depletion of natural resources of the planet, now the theme has the primary focus on sustainability. Several models of performance measurement systems were developed to promote a balanced view of the market, identification of the stakeholders demands and the translation of these demands into coherent internal measures and capable of being transmitted to the whole organization, aiming at business goals. However, while these models have been proposed and implemented, new demands emerged supported by the concept of sustainable development, encouraging the emergence of new thinking for manufacturing system. Against this backdrop, the emerging concept of Sustainable Manufacturing in pursuit of sustainable development in industrial production. The goal of this thesis was to structure the thinking of the sustainable manufacturing in a printing company, by performing a literature review and the construction field study, expanding the knowledge about the subject. The method of action research was used, which allowed the interaction and evaluate the topic in front of the points considered in the literature. The thinking of Sustainable Manufacturing brought results social, environmental and economical dimensions for the company, and the formatting of the results in the Sustainability Report has promoted a process of transparent communication between the company and its stakeholders. The results... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-01-31Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:54:27Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 alvarenga_rp_me_bauru.pdf: 837333 bytes, checksum: ac5469ac2bd6e056e8f8870ad5acbd97 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Este trabalho faz uma análise sobre a problemática ambiental envolvida com a produção agrícola de milho de uma grande unidade produtiva localizada no município de Cristalina - GO. Atualmente, as principais características do perfil agrícola deste município são: oitavo maior produtor de milho do Brasil, maior município com área irrigaga da América Latina, um fod municípios brasileiros que mais colhe milho por hectare e um grande consumidor de tecnologia voltada à agricultura. Utiliza como método para essa análise uma abordagem simplificada de condução de uma Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida (ACV) para avaliar o panorama ambiental associado à produção agrícola do milho. Tal ACV é desenvolvida ao se levar em consideração tanto o processo agrícola de produção do grão de milho, como também uma das etapas de reprodução da semente deste grão em solo agrícola. Para isso, utiliza quatro categorias de impacto. O consumo de recursos renováveis e de recursos não renováveis envolvidos no ciclo de vida analisado são avaliados quantitativamente. Já os graus de periculosidade ambiental e de toxidade associado a cada agrotóxico consumido são avaliados semi-quantitativamente. Assim, as principais conclusões deste estudo são: processo de produção do grão de milho responde por mais impactos que que o processo de produção da semente deste grão no ciclo de vida analisado, metodologia simplificada de ACV pode ser um importante instrumento de avaliação ambiental, mesmo que ainda existam algumas ineficiências metodológicas com relação a ferramenta ACV / This work is an analysis of the environment issue involved with the agricultural production of corn in a farm located in the town of Cristalina - GO. Currently, the main features of this agriucultural city are: the eighth producer of corn in Brazil, the largest with the irrigated area in Latin America, one of Brazil's municipalities to reap more corn per hectare and a large consumer-oriented technology to agriculture. Used as method for this analysis a simplified approach of conduction of a Life Cicle Assessment (LCA) to asses the environmental outlook associated with agricultural production of corn. This LCA developed by considerating both the process of agricultural production of corn, but also one of the steps to reproduce the seed of grain in agricultural soil. It uses four categories of impact. The consumption of renewable and nonrenewable resources involved in this life cycle analysis are avaluated quantitatively. The degree of toxicity and envivonment hazards associated with each pesticide consumed are assessed almost quantatively. Thus, the main conclusions of this study are: the production process of corn has more impact that the process of seed production process of corn has more impact than the process of production in the life cycle analyzed simplified methodology of LCA can be an important tool for environmental assessment, even there are still some inefficiencies with respect to methodological tool LCA

Magister Legum - LLM / Despite some gains in economic reforms and international commitments, Ethiopia still maintains the position of one of the poorest countries in the world in the 21st century with very little power to influence the allocation of resources in the world market. The development problems in many of the sub-Saharan regions are confined within the country including the difficulty to keep up with rapid increase in the number of primary school enrollments, which has led to a situation of compromised quality; high child mortality and HIV/AIDS, which poses additional challenges to the poor health facilities, gender and regional inequalities and sustainable debt burden. Making matters worse, Ethiopia's political instability, civil war, recurring of drought, and economic mismanagement ties the country to a severe poverty cycle.. Ethiopia has made important economic, social and political reforms with the support of the World bank and other multilateral institutions, to pave the way for the country to face the challenges posed by globalization. However, these reforms have not been sustained by effective implementation. The response to overcome the problems has also been slow to see rapid growth. In this research paper, the writer explores the challenges regarding Ethiopia's poverty from perspective of the World Bank. The research examines the theoretical and conceptual underpinning of the World Bank's general mandate and objectives on poverty reduction, using Ethiopia as a case study. / South Africa

No abstract available. / Dissertation (M Inst Agrar ( Sustainable Ecological Management))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Zoology and Entomology / unrestricted

The purpose of the study was to investigate how the co-operatives can be used to uplift the standard of living in the rural, with specific reference to Dutywa villages of Ngcingwane, Mangati and Mbewuleni. In other words is ‘how do we make co-operatives work’. The overall purpose of the study was to investigate whether co-operatives have contributed to positive change in the socio-economic conditions in the three villages of Dutywa. The research further analyzes the performance of the co-operatives in terms of their leadership and management structures. The research was also to find out what the challenges are and what are the gaps associated with the performance of the co-operatives. The research was also to look at how the support from different government departments and other government agencies are used to enhance the co-operatives governance. Lastly, the research was to find the best model for co-operative development and what needs to be done to enhance the capacity of the co-operatives. In the study that was carried out, four different approaches were used. The research was based on action research which involved a range of instruments like questionnaires, focus group interviews, conversation and observation. Both comparative and qualitative research frameworks were used for different purposes and at different times. Comparative approach is used when the three co-operatives are compared to each other. Differences on governance and administrative issues on governance such as capital, market and the impact thereafter is reported on. The research assumption was that co-operative development is a viable tool for economic development of the rural areas. This can help many South Africans and many communities come out of poverty. However, there are 6 limitations that are caused by the inability of government to co-ordinate co-operative development. Despite the role that co-operatives play in South Africa, co-operatives still experience a number of challenges. These challenges are, amongst others, lack of access to finance, lack of access to market, lack of business skills, lack of infrastructural facilities and lack of knowledge about the co-operative. In view of the challenges facing the co-operatives, the government instituted a number of state departments and parastatals for funding and other necessary support. These are DTI, DEDEA (in the Eastern Cape), ECDC, SEDA, Department of Labour and municipalities. The objectives of these support institutions are to provide necessary support needed by co-operatives and to ensure that co-operative development is sustainable. The findings of this study suggest that co-operatives play a vital role in the socio-economic development of the rural villages. Co-operatives create self-employment and sometimes employment through temporary employment offered; provide space and time for socialization and lastly co-operative members are sometimes through their produce able to provide basic foodstuffs to the family. In view of the socio-economic benefits of the co-operatives in rural villages of Dutywa, it is highly recommended that various support programmes that are already there within the departments should be enhanced. Assistance to co-operatives should not only be limited to government funding for co-operatives but more concentration should be on finding market for their products.

M.Sc. / The social and environmental effects of inequitable development programmes inherited by South Africa’s new dispensation are aggravated by a substantial housing backlog. Tenure security and slow land release for development has motivated land invasions and the development of informal settlements. Subsequent environmental degradation in affected areas is mainly due to the lack of basic infrastructure and services including energy supply, water, sanitation, and waste management facilities. The Housing Act of 1997 has provided the means for developing housing delivery and township upgrade programmes aimed at addressing such problems. In light of South Africa’s Constitution (1996), the National Environmental Management Act (1998) and the Habitat Agenda (1996), the importance of environmentally sensitive and sustainable housing developments has been highlighted. However, socio-political pressure to address the housing backlog may demand a compromise in sustainability criteria over the long term, in order to achieve the shorter-term transformation targets. Within the context of South Africa’s transformation objectives, a question has developed about the extent to which low-cost townships are meeting sustainability criteria. This dissertation contributes towards answering the above question; three housing projects in Gauteng were selected and reviewed. For each project, the ecological risks, social sensitivity, economic stability, and available technology were analysed. The analysis indicated that in all three cases, the projects did not meet all defined sustainability criteria, concluding that under current conditions they are unlikely to be sustainable over the long-term. Factors that influenced the projects’ sustainability potential included the geographical location of each project, compliance with landuse development objectives, the township approval process, views of interested and affected parties, ecological sensitivity, and availability of resources and infrastructure. In order to improve housing delivery, the study further concluded that the process for housing and service provision should be more efficient, low-cost developments should be adequately addressed in landuse development strategies, improved communication between role-players and stakeholders including government departments is required, and alternative and affordable technologies should be considered, with the associated training and awareness for sustainable environmental management.

Men's and women's time-use in relation to wellbeing is well-investigated and understood within the context of the developed world. There has been limited research into the gendered experiences of time-use and three dimensional (3D) wellbeing in rural communities of sub-Saharan Africa and particularly so in semi-arid areas. As a result, failure to appreciate how time-use and wellbeing are experienced by the rural population in semi-arid areas impedes a full understanding of how rural inhabitants spend their time and how this makes them worse off or better off in different aspects of their wellbeing. This subsequently challenges the appropriateness of efforts to improve the lived experience of rural inhabitants. The study aimed to make a contribution to the knowledge gap on time-use and wellbeing by assessing how time-use relates to the experiences of material, subjective and relational aspects of wellbeing in a semi-arid area. It hypothesised that if men and women who are household-heads spend their time-use differently this has implications on their experiences of material, subjective and relational wellbeing. The study adopted a quantitative approach to primary data collection, analysis and interpretation of results. A questionnaire survey consisting of 93 randomly selected male and female headed households was conducted using stratified sampling techniques. Data was analysed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS software including regression analysis and statistical tests (Mann Witney U test) from which descriptive and statistical results were presented in tables and graphs following regression analysis. The study yielded several findings including the importance of personal care for improved subjective wellbeing despite the trade-off with material wellbeing; the importance of age and social grants for ensuring a better experience of material wellbeing; the importance of social connections particularly for widows and widowers; as well as the significance of time spent on leisure and work-outside for improving relational wellbeing. In addition, women's disproportionally high time spent on domestic work leaves them feeling subjectively worse-off while the persistence of traditional gender role division seems to have a determining effect on the time-use and wellbeing experiences of household-heads in the study area. Overall, the study highlights time-use related opportunities and constraints for improving the wellbeing of rural inhabitants in Onesi, Namibia.

To deal with the adverse impacts of climate change, index-based or parametric insurance has been recognized as an adaptation technique to compensate farmers for economic losses from extreme weather events. The insurance can be either private or sovereign. African Risk Capacity Insurance (ARC Ltd) offers the latter to African countries against drought events through contingency planning, risk pooling and transfer facilities. While the ARC insurance initiative seems promising, the current approaches used to estimate risk and determine premiums do not consider the change in risk from anthropogenic climate change. As the frequency of extreme weather events changes, the price of insurance premiums is likely to rise. Representing a cutting-edge science from weather to impact attribution, this study links attribution modelling with parametric insurance modelling to quantify how the probability of drought events has changed due to human influence on the climate system and translates the impacts into actual costs. To quantify this change, global climate models consisting of both factual and counterfactual world (with and without human forcing of climate, respectively) experiments were post-processed and used as rainfall inputs into an insurance risk modelling software, Africa RiskView. Estimated response costs needed for drought assistance in a world with and without climate change were calculated in Malawi, Zimbabwe, Senegal and Mauritania for the last 30 years. The empirical cumulative distribution function plots show that the distributions of models that represent the counterfactual natural world estimate lesser drought-affected population and lower response costs for assistance than those of the factual world distributions. The results suggest that climate change is likely to increase the price of insurance premiums. Therefore, there is a need for blended financing models that integrate international climate funds generated on a responsibility-based approach to cater for the added cost brought in by climate change.

Local governments are increasingly responding to climate change by developing formal institutions for adaptation. However, given the relative novelty of the adaptation planning field, there is insufficient practice-related research to inform these processes. The aim of this dissertation is therefore to assess the factors and actors that affect climate adaptation planning at the municipal level. Whilst numerous studies have identified the barriers to and opportunities for adaptation, less is known about what the underlying institutional, political and social conditions are that cause these factors to arise. This dissertation adopts a placebased perspective to comparatively analyse the adaptation planning processes that were undertaken in the Bergrivier, Drakenstein and Eden Municipalities between 2012 -2013, under sponsorship from the Western Cape Government's Climate Change Municipal Support Programme (CCMSP). The CCMSP upholds an ethos of participation and multistakeholder engagement, and the theoretical concepts of knowledge co-production and collaborative governance are therefore drawn on as a framing device to guide the analysis. The results highlight the various factors that can inhibit the success of collaborative adaptation planning in municipalities, as well as the multiple opportunities that exist to overcome or avoid these barriers. The barriers that emerged most strongly included: the prioritisation of local socio-economic development needs, restricted financial and human capacity resources, information and time constraints, an absence of mandatory legislation, a lack of political will to prioritise adaptation, limited cross-sectoral integration, poor representation and continuity at multi-stakeholder workshops, unclear employee roles within an organisation, strong power dynamics and misrepresented perceptions around compound environmental, climate change and development issues. The most prominent opportunities that were found for overcoming these barriers included: sound leadership from driven local champions, locating champions in departments other than, or in addition to, environmental departments, the presence of political will and support for the adaptation agenda, drawing on and/or building relationships and networks to co-explore and co-produce knowledge and policy, embracing experimentation and innovation, using informal communication channels, finding alternative devices through which to frame climate change and mainstreaming adaptation into overall municipal planning. Whilst some of the barriers and opportunities that were identified were common across the three case studies, others were specifically related to causes internal to the municipal environment and were thus highly context-specific. In light of these findings, the dissertation concludes that future municipal adaptation planning processes should focus on addressing the need for strong political will and effective local leadership, remain cognizant of the municipal context, call attention to the invisible factors that influence municipal climate governance, capitalize on opportunities for partnership-building, view adaptation as an iterative process rather than an end-point and embrace a flexible, 'learning by doing' approach.