The dissertation explores the financial ramifications of US military base closure on local community real estate property values. The dissertation examines an area that has not received sufficient research. Previous works on military base closure by Bradshaw, Kroll, Corley, Kirshenbaum and Harlan (1995); Dardia, McCarty, Malkin, and Vernez, (1996); Hooker and Knetter (2001) and Krizan (1998) examine more generalized economic factors such as employment and macroeconomic activity. More recent published dissertation work by authors Hall (1998) and Poppert (2002) have provided interesting explanatory hypotheses to assist municipal and state leaders in crafting working plans to assist communities where base closure occurs. This dissertation intends to look into the effects on real estate property values in the wake of military base closures. The dissertation expands the study of base closure effects into a relatively new area on the fluctuation of real estate property values. An enhanced understanding of how military base closures affect real estate values will have implications for real estate investors, developers, city and county government planners, and budget directors from local school districts to state government.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and increase the understanding of a present function of today´s public library in a societal context. My aim is to examine how the role of the public library is discussed in Swedish media between 2012 – 2019. I want to get a broader understanding of the public library as a physical place and a space, through the theoretical frameworks of Raber´s ideological model. The theoretical frameworks are used in this study to examine these questions: How is the public library as a room discussed in present Swedish media? The functions of the public library of today is many, how is the different themes actualized in the library as a meeting place? What consequences does the debate contribute regarded to the picture of the public library and is it connected to the work for the legitimacy of the public library? The research field within Library and Information Science (LIS) is interdisciplinary with many references to social science theories. My qualitative study of content analysis builds upon theories of generating social capital. The aspect of the library as a space for inclusiveness and belongingness is a subject that is clearly stated in my study. My conclusion is that Raber´s social strategy is the dominant curse in the debate of the functions of the Swedish public libraries in present media. The legitimacy within the function as the hegemonic literacy discourse meets the legitimacy of the library as an open meeting place in my study.

En el presente trabajo de investigación se analiza y estima el impacto económico y social del servicio de transporte público masivo El Metropolitano que utiliza como infraestructura el Corredor Segregado de Alta Capacidad – Cosac I. Este sistema se ha constituido como el principal medio de transporte de la ciudad de Lima por atributos como: la formalidad de su servicio, la infraestructura que ofrece, su modernidad, la rapidez, entre otros aspectos que se desarrollan en las siguientes páginas. El documento está dividido en ocho capítulos. El primero está referido a los fundamentos teóricos de la investigación, el segundo contiene una breve descripción de la realidad del transporte urbano de pasajeros y de los sistemas de transporte que existen en Lima Metropolitana, la oferta actual y en este marco, se contextualiza la problemática detectada en cuanto a la informalidad, falta de regulación, baja calidad del servicio e infraestructura para la movilidad urbana en la ciudad. El tercer capítulo desarrolla la finalidad, los objetivos, justificación y alcance de la investigación. El cuarto capítulo aborda los supuestos, la hipótesis, variables e indicadores que pretendemos comprobar. Seguidamente, en el quinto capítulo se describe la metodología utilizada para realizar esta investigación y, en el sexto capítulo se presentan los resultados obtenidos de las encuestas, así como su respectiva interpretación. Por último, en el capítulo séptimo se exponen las conclusiones de la investigación realizada y en el octavo, se plasman las recomendaciones que corresponden, que esperamos sean consideradas como aporte a la gestión pública en materia de transporte. / This document of investigation measured and analyzed the economic and social impact of mass public transport service so-called “El Metropolitano” which uses as infrastructure the High Capacity Segregated Roadway  – COSAC I. This system has been established as the main means of transport of the city of Lima by attributes such as: the formality of its service, the infrastructure it offers, modernity, speed  among other aspects  that are further developed on the next chapters. The document is divided into eight chapters. The first, is related to the theoretical foundations of the research; the second chapter contains a brief description of the reality of urban passenger transport and of the transportation systems that exist in Lima Metropolitana, the existing transport offer and within that framework, the problematic detected in terms of informality, lack of regulation and low quality of service and infrastructure for urban mobility in the city. The third chapter develops the purpose, objectives, justification and scope of investigation. The fourth chapter addresses the assumptions, hypotheses, variables and indicators that we intend to verify. Next, the fifth chapter describes the methodology used to carry out this research and, in the sixth chapter the surveys outcome are presented along with the interpretation. Finally, in the seventh chapter, the conclusions of the research carried out are presented and in the eighth, the corresponding recommendations are presented, which can be a contribution to public management in the area of ​​transportation. / Trabajo de investigación

The purpose of this study was to highlight and bring out the main environmental,economic and social impacts of the fast developing Jatropha industry in Zambia. Thestudy addressed key issues related with the Jatropha cultivation, processing and use of bio-diesel and its by-products. Each of the stages of Jatropha cultivation, conversiontechnology and the ultimate use of bio-diesel, glycerine and seedcake were related to the environmental, economic and social impacts. Jatropha based bio-diesel production in Zambia has potential to stimulate ruraldevelopment, promote agriculture and also helps to diversify Zambia’s economy. The Jatropha industry has potential to create more jobs than the fossil fuel sector. Locally produced bio-diesel would reduce reliance on imported fossil oil, which is more susceptible to external interruptions, ultimately improving on security of supply.Glycerine and the seedcake have both commercial and economic value within oroutside the country. The environmental impacts among others include reduced end-ofpipeemissions, soil conservation benefits and ability to minimize desertification. Key social impacts resulting from the Jatropha industry cannot be traced easily asactual experiences are yet to be seen and assessed. The issues of threat to foodsecurity and poverty reduction among the poor rural farmers require more time and amulti-disciplinary approach. The actual positive or negative impacts are projectionsthat depend on a variety of parameters and factors that may not follow a linear scale.The use of fertilizer may disadvantage rural farmers, while use of irrigation wouldequally impact negatively on them. Intercropping is beneficial to small scale farmers in the initial years, but may not be feasible later on. Pro-poor policies and promoting a reliable Jatropha feedstock are some of the waysthat will ensure a vibrant and competitive Jatropha industry in Zambia. Research anddevelopment should be promoted, well co-ordinated and encouraged so that up to date information is made available for informed decisions as the industry expands. / <p>www.ima.kth.se</p>

Construction of municipal utility complexes has to support continuing population growth, economic development, and a widespread of social interest in environmental preservation. Municipalities face challenges in designing, constructing, and operating environmentally sustainable utility complexes, and their primary goal in developing such a complex is to minimize the environmental impact resulting from energy production and waste treatment (both liquid and solid), management, and disposal. However, decision and policy makers lack a system of systems approach that takes into account multiple interdependent systems comprised of the functional system (infrastructure, facilities, operations within the complex…), the economic system, the social/cultural system, and the environmental system (environmental impact on air, water, soil…). This research proposes a decision support system (DSS) with a new methodology using Vensim software and system dynamics methodology to assess the sustainability of a municipal utility complex system. This DSS incorporates 1) multiple interdependent systems, 2) multiple sustainability/performance indices, and 3) composite sustainability index. Engineers, managers, and researchers should benefit from a system of systems perspective, and from the application of a sustainability assessment method that is developed to provide an environmentally-conscious design, construction and management. Although a municipal utility complex is built with synergistic opportunities for integration of processes of a wastewater treatment plant, a resource recovery facility (aka waste-to-energy (WTE) or incineration facility), a material recycling facility (MRF), and a landfill; engineers tend to use the traditional sustainability assessment methods only to assess the life cycle (LCA) of each system's process over time. They might not necessarily incorporate an assessment based on system dynamics of the functional, economic, environmental, and social/cultural systems. Data from a case study is utilized in this dissertation based on the municipal utility complex in Pasco County in the western region of the State of Florida, USA.

In most developing countries, forest resources are a major source of livelihood for forest dwellers. Forests provide fuel wood, farm products, meat, timber and plants of high medicinal value, including Prunus africana. The collection of medicinal plants is also an important source of cash income for some forest communities, and widely relied on to cure illnesses (Poffenberger, 1993). Because of this, the poor forest dwellers in particular are forced to exert pressure on their surrounding environment to make ends meet. Indiscriminate exploitation of forest resources has cost some forest dwellers dearly as they are now experiencing marked reduction of wildlife, forest cover, soil fertility and most importantly water supply, which is a key to life. Prunus africana has a very high economic and medicinal value locally as well as internationally. The exploitation of this species is a very profitable activity in most parts of Africa where it occurs, including the Mount Cameroon region. In recent years, most youths and young men in the Mount Cameroon region have seemingly become less interested in their usual income generating activities (farming, hunting, etc.) because of reduced productivity and have taken up Prunus harvesting as their major source of income. Increase in demand for this species by the French pharmaceutical company (Plantecam), weak institutional capacity to control exploitation, uncontrolled access into the forest, scramble for diminished stock by legal and illegal exploiters, destruction of wild stock by unsustainable practices, and insufficient regeneration of the species in the past have almost driven this species to extinction in certain parts of Cameroon and made it severely threatened in others. Prunus africana is presently threatened with extinction in the entire Mount Cameroon region. In response to this, the Mount Cameroon Project (MCP) and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MINEF) helped some communities (Bokwoango and Mapanja) in the Mount Cameroon region to form Prunus africana harvesters’ unions with the aim of preserving the resource and improving the socio-economic benefits. The principal aim of the Bokwoango Prunus africana harvesters’ union is to ensure sustainable exploitation of Prunus africana while saving money for important development projects for individual members, their families and the entire community. This piece of work highlights the different facets of Prunus africana management in Cameroon in general and the Bokwoango community in particular. The study examines the socio-economic impact of Prunus africana management in the Bokwoango community and shows specifically the management role played by the Bokwoango Prunus africana harvesters’ union to reduce the rate of exploitation of Prunus africana and also to ensure benefit sharing of the earnings from sales of Prunus bark. It at the same time brings out the constraints encountered by harvesters as well as the opportunities that can make the union become more viable to the socio-economic development of the Bokwoango community. Results of this study show that for the short period that the Bokwoango Prunus africana harvesters’ union has existed, the socio-economic changes in this community are encouraging if one compares the present situation with that before the formation of the union. Most importantly, there has been increased awareness on the great need to conserve not only the threatened Prunus africana species but also other threatened plant and animal species in the region through sustainable hunting, harvesting and regeneration. Some proposals are made for efficient natural resource management and improvements on livelihood through alternative income generating activities. The study ends with recommendations for policy and institutional reforms as well as suggestions for further research in sustainable management of Prunus africana.

<p>There are two central themes to this thesis. Firstly, it shows how the adoption of people-centered and greening development paradigms, designed to improve mainstream development problems of the late 20^th century, continue to produce unsatisfactory and unsustainable results for intended beneficiaries in the 21^st century. Secondly, it shows how the “intended beneficiaries” use their experiences and their knowledge of the development processes to analyze, explain and voice why it has not worked for them. Their <em>local knowledge</em> illustrates how beneficiaries continue to remain on the “outside” or peripheral to development instead of being equal partners as the people-centered discourse claims.</p> <p>This thesis reviews the development of the Wadi Rum Protected Area (WRPA) in southern Jordan. This development fostered both conservation and tourism projects to assist members of the seven local Bedouin communities or clans whose historical rangelands constitute the protected area. Four significant development decisions and projects are examined to better understand how this development functioned. Many Bedouin commentaries and those of some non-Bedouin involved in the projects provide social, economic and environmental assessments of the protected area's progress over a ten year continuum. What emerges is a nuanced awareness of how the WRPA has not achieved its stated goals or the benefits promised to the Bedouin, but did support other developers', lenders' and government objectives. Bedouin knowledge also highlights how “development” has contributed to a near dissolution of their control over what had been their tourism industry, how it has usurped their control of their lands and villages, how the project has created greater divisiveness between and within the clans and how it has come to support the growth of tourism over environmental protection. In general, the development of the Wadi Rum Protected Area has not achieved its people-centered and green goals.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

La situación problemática por la que actualmente atravesamos a causa de la pandemia producida por el virus de la Covid-19 afectó la economía peruana, por lo que el sector financiero tuvo gran impacto en los créditos proporcionados a los clientes, por ende, se cree conveniente plantear una solución. Considerando que, la Superintendencia de Banca y Seguros emite resoluciones para la cancelación a través de las Reprogramación de Créditos, concediendo facilidades a los clientes, no obstante, ocasionó un desarreglo en los ingresos de las entidades financieras. En este caso, Edpyme Alternativa será el objeto de análisis para dar respuesta a la siguiente interrogante: ¿De qué manera la reprogramación de créditos constituye contingencia tributaria para Edpyme Alternativa? En relación al objetivo, la presente investigación busca determinar si las reprogramaciones de créditos anteriormente mencionadas, originan contingencias tributarias a causa de los ingresos revertidos como diferidos, ya que estos son registrados al momento de pago, por lo tanto, conllevan a un análisis reglamentado y explícito. Cabe recalcar que, para este análisis se tendrán en cuenta las operaciones de créditos por reprogramación, asimismo, la muestra utilizada fue cotizada por la Superintendencia de Banca y Seguros. Para finalizar, se elaboraron las conclusiones considerando los objetivos planteados, para posteriormente proponer recomendaciones a fin de mejorar las declaraciones del Impuesto a la Renta. / The problematic situation that we are currently going through due to the pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus affected the Peruvian economy, so the financial sector had a great impact on the credits provided to customers, therefore, it is considered convenient to propose a solution. Considering that, the Superintendency of Banking and Insurance issues resolutions for cancellation through credit rescheduling, granting facilities to customers, however, it caused a disruption in the income of financial institutions. In this case, Edpyme Alternativa will be the object of analysis to answer the following question: How does the rescheduling of credits constitute a tax contingency for Edpyme Alternativa? In relation to the objective, the present investigation seeks to determine if the rescheduling of credits mentioned above, originate tax contingencies due to the income reverted as deferred, since these are registered at the time of payment, therefore, they lead to a regulated and explicit analysis. It should be noted that, for this analysis, credit operations by reprogramming will be taken into account, and the sample used was quoted by the Superintendency of Banking and Insurance. Finally, the conclusions were drawn up considering the objectives set, to subsequently propose recommendations in order to improve the Income Tax returns.

The accelerating pace of growth of aquaculture in sub-Saharan Africa has received much positive appraisal because of the potential of the industry to contribute to economic development and food security by providing jobs and animal protein. Adoption of best management practices (BMPs) holds the potential to ameliorate the related environmental impacts of aquaculture, such as in the amounts of nutrients and sediment that will enter natural water bodies from earthen pond effluents. The goals of this study were to characterize adoption of aquaculture BMPs on small-scale, pond-based farms in Ghana, and to assess selected economic, social, and environmental outcomes of BMP adoption. Two BMPs: 1) water reuse, and 2) commercial floating feeds, were investigated for adoption by pond-based fish farmers in Ghana. I conducted my study in Ghana using on-farm experiments involving intensive monitoring of water quality and growth of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) over two production cycles. Additionally, I administered a baseline survey to 393 (and a follow-up survey to 160) fish farmers. I determined the best model for modelling farmed Nile tilapia growth with multi-model inference based on Akaike information criterion (AIC), the profitability of adopting BMPs with stochastic enterprise budgets and, social welfare impact with the Economic-Surplus model. I used a Markov model to predict the equilibrium rate of adoption of the two BMPs and determined the impact of BMP adoption on the reduction of pollutant loading with the Minimum-Data method of the Tradeoffs Analysis (TOA-MD). My results showed that the logistic model is a better alternative to the von Bertalanffy model for modelling the growth of Oreochromis niloticus under pond aquaculture conditions. There were no significant differences in fish weight between the water re-use BMP and the use of new water. Adoption of the commercial floating feed BMP resulted in a 100% increase in fish final weight and yield, and in higher profitability, compared to the sinking feed type. Probability of making a profit was highest (72%) in the scenario with commercial feed and self-financing. Net present values (NPV) of about US$ 11 million and US$ 375 million could be obtained from the adoption of commercial floating feed and Genetically-Improved Farm Tilapia (GIFT) strain, respectively, in Ghana. Hence, any innovation that has a significant impact on fish yield also will have a significant impact on mean NPV and social welfare. However, I identified a number of potential negative ecological and genetic impacts exist from introducing the GIFT strain into Africa from Asia. Although considered low-intensity production systems, nutrients and solids in study ponds were found to be higher than levels expected in intensive culture ponds by wide margins. Pond water quality was significantly higher with commercial floating feed. The water-reuse BMP also prevented pollutants from leaving ponds altogether for the number of cycles for which pond water was reused, especially if associated BMPs such as rainfall capture and avoidance of water exchange are observed. Significant reductions in the loading of all water quality variables (nitrogen, phosphorus, solids, and BOD5) could be achieved with the adoption of the recommended feed type in Ghana. Adoption of the water reuse BMP has the potential to cause pollution reductions of 200% - 3,200% above that from the floating feed BMP. The strongest influence on the combined adoption of these BMPs were from : farmer's awareness of the feed BMP, perceived necessity and relative profitability of the water reuse BMP, and farmer's years of experience. A combination of central media (workshops), demonstrations, and lateral diffusion was found to be the most effective channel for disseminating these BMPs. Maximum adoption rate of the feed BMPs was estimated to be 38% - 58%. Also, US$ 6,000/year and US$12,000/year need to be paid per 0.6 ha pond surface area to push adoption of the feed BMP to 50% and 70%, respectively. Hence, to ensure the successful adoption of aquaculture BMPs, I recommend that regular well-planned workshops be organized to create awareness and a conducive atmosphere to target farmers at multiple stages of the innovation decision process. Incentives and effective dissemination will encourage the adoption of these and other environmental BMPs. Feed costs need to be lowered in order to encourage the adoption of commercial floating feed in Ghana. Future analyses could quantify the differences in production costs between using the two water types, to reveal the possible higher relative profitability of pond water reuse over draining ponds after each production cycle. Also, African governments are advised to commission rigorous baseline and ecological risk analyses before adoption of the GIFT strain. Improvements in management practices and infrastructure could increase the yield and profitability of the local strains even if genetically-improved strains are not introduced. / Ph. D.

The transition towards sustainable energy in the construction machinery sector is gaining momentum due to the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and operational costs. Despite the benefits of electric construction machinery, challenges such as high initial investment costs, infrastructure requirements, and the practicality of battery swapping systems hinder widespread adoption. Understanding the economic feasibility and practical implications of implementing battery swapping in different construction scenarios is crucial for facilitating this transition. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by conducting a detailed Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis for various energy sources —diesel, built-in batteries, and battery swapping systems — in two distinct construction settings: Big Quarry and Small Construction site. It provides a comparative evaluation of these options, highlighting the economic and environmental benefits of battery swapping. A comprehensive TCO analysis was performed, encompassing costs related to machine purchase, fuel/electricity consumption, maintenance, and infrastructure. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to identify critical cost drivers and assess the impact of fluctuating fuel and battery prices on the overall cost-effectiveness of each energy solution.  The findings indicate that battery swapping is the most cost-effective option across both construction sites, offering substantial savings compared to diesel and built-in batteries. Sensitivity analyses further showed that even with increased battery costs, electric machinery maintained stable economic performance, underscoring its viability as a sustainable alternative.