Seed-Oriented Local Community Detection Based on Influence Spreading

In recent years,local community detection algorithms have developed rapidly because of their nearly linear computing time and the convenience of obtaining the local information of real-world networks.However,there are still some issues that need to be further studied.First,there is no local community detection algorithm dedicated to detecting a seed-oriented local community,that is,the local community with the seed as the core.The second and third issues are that the quality of local communities detected by the previous local community detection algorithms are largely dependent on the position of the seed and predefined parameters,respectively.To solve the existing problems,we propose a seed-oriented local community detection algorithm,named SOLCD,that is based on influence spreading.First,we propose a novel measure of node influence named k-core centrality that is based on the k-core value of adjacent nodes.Second,we obtain the seed-oriented local community,which is composed of the may-members and the must-member chain of the seed,by detecting the influence scope of the seed.The may-members and the must-members of the seed are determined by judging the influence relationship between the node and the seed.Five state-of-art algorithms are compared to SOLCD on six real-world networks and three groups of artificial networks.The experimental results show that SOLCD can achieve a high-quality seed-oriented local community for various real-world networks and artificial networks with different parameters.In addition,when taking nodes with different influence as seeds,SOLCD can stably obtain high-quality seed-oriented local communities.

Factors That Influence Local Community Participation in Tourism in Murchison Falls Conservation Area

Community＇s participation is fundamental in understanding the factors that influence their access to and utilization of tourism resources. It is a plausible way of involving local communities in the planning and management of the available resources for their sustainability. This study examined the socio-economic characteristics of the households in Murchison Falls Conservation Area to understand how they influence their participation in tourism and eventually enhance household welfare. Using household survey and key informant interviews, data were collected on demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and analyzed using Binomial Logit Regression in order to show the factors that influence participation of households in tourism. It was found that the households＇ characteristics significantly influenced their participation. In particular, level of education （r = 0.824）, engagement in farm labor （r = 0.651）, provision of services to the tourists （r = 0.841）, income （r = 0.83） and landholding （r = 0.689） significantly influenced households＇ participation in tourism. On the other hand, age （r = 0.59） and period of residence （r = 0.430） did not significantly influence the households＇ participation in tourism. These results suggest that a clear understanding of the households＇ socio-economic characteristics is a vital step in engaging them meaningfully in tourism activities meant to enhance their livelihoods. Equally important is the need for tourism managers and local government leaders to consider these characteristics when designing policies and strategies to enhance community involvement and management of tourism at a conservation area level.

The Impacts of Flood and Local Communities’ Coping Strategies along the River Gambia

Flood disasters as Climate change hazards are common in developing countries, particularly in communities along the river Gambia. Local communities, for instance, had their local coping strategies that enabled them to stay in their communities even amid these ordeals, and climate change disaster threats. This work strives to understand flood impacts and the local peoples’ adaptation or coping strategies along the River Gambia basin. A community-based cross-sectional research study of 422 research participants of which 294 are males (69.7%) and females 128 (30.3%), and a focus group discussion of 10 groups which comprised 5 female groups and 5 male groups respectively found that 98.6% of the households experienced floods in their community, and 70.6% experienced flood in their houses, 2.1% have impending flood information and 88.4% do not know evacuation centres. The majority of the households had some local coping strategies, but they acknowledged their insufficient effectiveness. The result also shows that the impact of floods on farmlands, roads, buildings, and livestock was greatly felt. Coping strategies such as sandbags, raised elevations, contour bonds, dikes, and buildings on highlands were all found to be common mechanisms the local people used. The study opines that floods affect communities, but the effects vary depending on individual assets.

Spatial Development of Local Bantik Community in Malalayang, Indonesia

The Proximity between the central business district and the settlement has led to many changes in the local Bantik community. These include changes in the function of settlements, population size, location of residence, and the movement of local culture. This study aims to examine the spatial changes that occur in local neighborhoods with a focus on the Bantik tribal community in Malalayang. Data were obtained from a series of field observations, questionnaires and structured interviews. This study conducted a series of analyses on spatial patterns, sociocultural factors and urban policy. The results show that the dynamic changes are natural and hard to avoid, since they are related to the community＇s needs and development of the city. In order to face the changes, adjustments in the values of the local community towards the settlement terms and conditions are necessary. In addition, an increase in internal resources for those local communities is needed.

The Knowledge about the Potential Health Risks of Illegal Bushmeat Activities among Local Communities Adjacent to Western Nyerere National Park, Tanzania

Establishing knowledge of local communities regarding the potential health risks of illegal bushmeat hunting and its related practices is among the essential means to developing effective conservation and public health programs. To reveal the understanding of the local people regarding the potential health risks of bushmeat consumption and handling of wildlife products, we used a semi-structured questionnaire to survey 261 households in eight villages located adjacent to the western part of Nyerere National Park. Also, we interviewed eight key informants, including conservation personnel and veterinary officers, in the study area. The proportion of local people who were unaware that handling of wildlife products and bushmeat consumption were risky behaviours towards acquiring zoonotic diseases was slightly higher (57%) than the proportion of respondents who were aware of the likely risks of zoonotic diseases from the practices. After all, the majority (83%) of local people admitted having come into contact with wildlife products, while over 70% reported having consumed bushmeat. We found that local communities living closer to the park boundaries (<15 km) have a higher likelihood of contacting wildlife products, and that community members who have lived in the area for more than ten years have experienced more contact with wildlife products than immigrants. Moreover, the age of inhabitants and length of stay were found to be the most significant factors in determining the likelihood of bushmeat consumption. Most people seemed to prefer bushmeat to domestic meat, arguing that bushmeat is far more flavorful, tender, not tainted with chemicals, and has less fat, making it safer. Our study demonstrated that local communities participate in risky practices without contemplating the health consequences that could emerge should a zoonotic disease outbreak occur. Among other strategies, we recommended conservation and public health institutions to increase awareness campaigns on the possible health risks of zoonotic diseases associated with wildlife.

Post-war Sustainability-Driven School Buildings: A Review of the Literature

The Safe Schools Declaration of 2015 is an inter-governmental political agreement signed by several countries designed to protect the schooling of the school-aged population during armed conflicts.Yet,in countries where civil war erupted,schools were demolished.Several school-aged children were either forcibly recruited by governments or coerced by rebel groups to serve in armed fights.As a result,several children were deprived of their education and have remained suffering from deep psychological scars.The central question of the study is:What kind of sustainability-driven school buildings can be initiated in countries that are now enduring peace so that the learning environments are more comfortable and improve the well-being of the war-impacted children and school employees?After reviewing the literature,a strategic conceptual framework that incorporated the synergistic relationship between economic,social,and environmental aspects of sustainability was initiated to map out sustainable school buildings.In short,the conceptual framework proposed to construct school buildings in some of the war-affected developing countries includes assembling cost-efficiency and eco-effectiveness inputs,using renewable energy sources powered by natural sunlight,collecting rainwater in mud cisterns,reducing emissions of carbon oxides,and empowering the local community to be the main actors to design sustainable buildings during the preconstruction,construction,and post-construction stages to serve as learning spaces for the war-affected occupants and their neighborhoods.

β-diversity Patterns of Plant Community in Fragmented Habitat in a Degenerated Meadow in Songnen Plain,China

A number of isolated islands of Leymus chinensis ＋ herbosa community were investigated in fragmented habitat islands, by Braun-Blanquet field survey approach, in a degenerated meadow in the Songnen Plain, China in 2007. These islands were classified as large, medium, and small scales on the basis of the island area （100-1000m2, large island; 50-100m2, middle island; 10-50m2, small island）. Each scale of the investigation involved eight islands. The responses ofβ-diversity patterns of plant taxon to the habitat fragmentation at local community and metacommunity levels were analyzed on different scales of 24 isolated islands. The results indicated that at the local community level, there were 57 species belonging to 20 families and 49 genera in large islands, 49 species belonging to 16 families and 40 genera in middle islands, and 27 species belonging to eight families and 23 genera in small islands, β-diversity indexes for species, genus and family in large, middle, and small islands varied greatly, and the highest value of the indexes was not noted in the largest island. However, the average of the data obtained at the three scales showed that across large islands, Whittaker indexes were low and Bray-Curtis similarity indexes were high, while across small islands, Whittaker indexes were high and Bray-Curtis similarity indexes were low. At the metacommunity level, Whittaker indexes for species and genus showed a great significantly negative double logarithmic correlation （p〈0.01） with the island area, whereas the Bray-Curtis indexes for species, genus and family showed a great significantly positive double logarithmic correlation （p〈0.01） with the island area. At both local community and metacommunity levels, tumovers of species and genus could respond more sensitively to spatial changes of plant diversity patterns than that of family. Hence, the species and the genus could be used for the analysis offl-diversity patterns of plant community.

Perception and Attitudes of Local Communities Towards Wild Elephant-related Problems and Conservation in Xishuangbanna,Southwestern China

The problem of wild elephants, or human-elephant conflict (HEC), influences the daily life of local communities and hinders the conservation of wild elephants.The perception and attitudes of local communities who inhabited the frontiers between human activities and wild elephant movement are important to the mitigation of the HEC and conservation of wild elephants. To analyze the perception and attitudes of local communities, the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) was used in the investigation of 423 interviewees from 22 villages in Xishuangbanna from July 2009 to February 2010. The results indicated that local communities had their views on the elephant-related problems. In field survey, we found that 66.5% of interviewees were willing to support, participate in, and assist in the conservation of wild elephants;33.5% of interviewees were opposed or indifferent to such conservation, because their livelihoods and even their lives were endangered by wild elephants. These views and attitudes were influenced by local communities′perception of HEC, education level, gender and self-interest. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the diverse views among local communities and balance profits and costs in addressing HEC.

Community＇s Perceptions on Their Own Environment toward Disaster Mitigation and Prevention： A Case Study of Menteng Atas - Jakarta, Indonesia

Menteng Atas is a sub district （Kelurahan） in Southern Jakarta - Indonesia, under the district （Kecamatan） of Setiabudi. As a common crowded settlement in urban area, this location facing multi problems related to physical environment. Built environment with very high density and not well-arranged of fronts and position, also do not meet standards of healthy construction and environment are the main problems of Menteng Atas that brings to disasters such as flooding and fire. This paper explored how members of Menteng Atas community perceive their everyday surroundings within the context of an environment that has rapidly changed, primarily due to urban development. This paper also discuss how far they aware about their environment, the disasters prevention, and what they wants for the future of their environment. The study was start from the inside of the local community. Symbolic communication varies from one situation to the next were founded by studying the accounts, explanations, and social action that are meaningful to a group of people. This paper is trying to present and identify perception of host community on their own environment especially related to disasters prevention, and end up with some recommendations to achieve sustainable housing and settlement at this area.

Evaluating the Relationship between National Park Management and Local Communities’ Perceptions Based on Survey, a Case of Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda

A sustainable management of national park requires collaboration between park staff, NGOs, local organizations and stakeholders, and government intervention. This collaboration promotes community-based welfare and inspires a sense of responsibility, thus promoting more benefits than conflicts. A survey administered to residents surrounding Nyungwe National Park was used to evaluate the relationship between Nyungwe National Park management and local communities. The residents acknowledged a positive attitude towards participating in conservation organizations where there was involvement, while a negative response revealed weak community mobilization. The community’s opinions about protection and tourism progression noted weak conflict resolution, but a positive attitude towards tourism activities in the area since they believed employment was likely as a result. In addition, the residents asked for support from government investments and stakeholders to develop the local private sector, and asked to be involved during the planning process. Approaches including the design of coordination mechanisms and integrated conservation and developments projects are suggested to promote a management structure leading to community involvement in conservation and tourism activities. This will increase visitor numbers and contribute to economic development not only in the region but also in the whole country. Empirical studies along with the factors shaping tourism and conservation activities should be considered as the basis for sustainable decision and policy making for sustainable management, and will contribute to government, stakeholders and park manager collaborations at Nyungwe national park.

Community participation in cultural heritage and environmental policy formulation in Botswana

Cultural heritage does not have direct economic benefits. However, if properly managed it can stimulate social cohesions, improving the environment and have beneficial economic spin offs for the local communities. This paper discusses the role of communities in the formulation of the policies concerning their local environment. It argues that community engagement by policy makers is important in giving legitimacy and ownership of the policies. Furthermore, this paper discusses the potential of cultural heritage in diversifying the economy in Botswana. This paper recommends for the re-assessment of the relationship between the state and local communities which is critical in resuscitating the seemingly ailing community business organizations. In conclusion, it argues for the sustainable management of cultural heritage as a social and economic resource in the next 50 years of Botswana's independence.

Forest cover change and its effects on the livelihood of the dependent local people:the case of Sesheke district of Zambia

Objective-To investigate forest cover change in Masese Local Forest Reserve and its effects on the livelihoods of the dependent communities;to establish the occurrence of forest cover change in Masese Local Forest Reserve;to determine the extent of forest cover change in Masese from 1990to 2005;to determine the tree species that have been affected by forest cover change in Masese; and to assess the effects of forest cover change on the livelihoods of the dependent communities. Methods-Interviews and questionnaire were conducted with a proportion of 36households from Maondo and 84households from Mulimambango settlements.Scenes of landsat images of 1990,2000, 2005and Earth Google image for Masese were used for map analysis.Also remote sensing was used to analyze landsat images and Google image to detect forest and non-forest classes.Results and Conclusion-Forest cover change has adverse implication on the provision of wood forest products and nonwood forest products to the dependent local communities.The declining status of dominant Baikiaea Forest that has exploitable species for building materials and fuel wood has affected the livelihoods of the dependent local communities.There is also increased cost and shortage of fire wood and building materials due to deforestation in Masese Forest Reserve.

Living （on） Archaeological Sites in Turkey： Engagement of Local Communities into Decision Making Process

Archeological sites have been considered as ＂dead＂ sites consisted from building remain buried into ground in modern heritage management doctrines for a long period. Thus their conservation policies are mainly shaped according to this Western perspective. After the spread of international doctrines in conservation of cultural heritage to other parts of the world, it was realized that some archaeological sites were more than group building remains. They were pilgrim sites for the local communities continuously for centuries onwards. Even in some cases, they have traditional management systems to take care for the site. This has raised the awareness about the gaps in modern heritage conservation approaches. International organizations have mentioned about the involvement of local groups in heritage management systems considering their traditional and cultural association with the cultural site. This has provided shifting of conservation approaches from conventional approaches towards living heritage approach in such delicate cultural heritage sites. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the historic generation of policies towards local communities living on archaeological sites in Turkey comparing the policies between living （on） archaeological sites and living archaeological sites approach.

Contribution of Sumalindo Company:In Managing Forest Resources with Local Communities:Mahakam Ulu-East Kalimantan

The role of HPH(Forest Logging Concession)in developing rural communities is very significant.SLJ(Sumalindo Lestari Jaya)as HPH company has an important contribution in empowering local communities,especially in opening land transportation in the interior and helping to build agriculture and gardens.The existence of Sumalindo company participates in developing forest resource management with local communities,among others,increasing livelihoods,maintaining and developing biodiversity conservation and maintaining climate change.These efforts are in accordance with the regulations of the KLHK(Ministry of Environment and Forestry),that every HPH holder is required(mandatory)to obtain a certificate of“PHAPL”(Sustainable Production Natural Forest Management)and an“eco label”from the Indonesian Eco Label Institute.Besides,it is recommended that the holders of HPH concessions and HTI(Industrial Timber Plantations)have an FSC(Forest Stewardship Council)certificate from the EU(European Union),and must meet three indicator elements,namely economic,social and ecological in SFM(Sustainable Forest Management).This article examines three critical questions that show the role of Sumalindo Company in economic,ecological and social development and managing forest resources with the community as follows:(1)The role of Sumalindo company contributes to the development of road infrastructure in the interior;(2)The role of Sumalindo in improving livelihoods and economic and social empowerment of local communities;(3)The role of Sumalindo with local communities in managing forest resources,including maintaining and developing biodiversity conservation and maintaining climate change.

Opinion of Stakeholders on the Management of Ecotourism in the Benue National Park of the North Region of Cameroon

Local communities living around protected areas stand high chance of benefiting from economic development and livelihood improvement through ecotourism if well planned. The objective of this study was to contribute to the understanding of stakeholders’ opinions on the valorization of ecotourism in order to propose alternative sustainable strategies. The study used a research method based on purposive sampling. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to 125 household heads and 10 stakeholders were also interviewed with a question guide. The results were inputted into a student statistical package (SPSS) version 16. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square was used to compare means. The results revealed that the test of dependence (Chi2) between the variables showed a significant difference at (p < 0.05). 51.9% of the respondent in ZIC 5 said that ecotourism has increased employment while respondents in the other sectors (ZIC 1, 4 and 9) who make up 76% of the respondents said ecotourism-related jobs in the park are seasonal and not frequent. Regarding the dependence of local communities on the park’s resources, 25% of ZIC 5 is highly dependent on the park, whereas, in the other sectors, only 18% are dependent on the park for their household income. This result is explained by the inaccessibility of local communities to the parks. The results of the impacts of ecotourism on the livelihoods of communities in localities reflect a general feeling of dissatisfaction with 88.8% of respondents manifesting their dissatisfaction with park authorities. Thus, 87.2% of respondents think that ecotourism does not bring significant economic benefits to the host communities. If ecotourism was planned, the benefits that accrue from activity could boost the economy of the area and support the conservation of the park, which so far remains insignificant. However, the strategy for enhancing ecotourism should be a participatory approach.

Distributed Energy and Reserve Scheduling in Local Energy Communities Using L-BFGS Optimization

Encouraging citizens to invest in small-scale renewable resources is crucial for transitioning towards a sustainable and clean energy system.Local energy communities(LECs)are expected to play a vital role in this context.However,energy scheduling in LECs presents various challenges,including the preservation of customer privacy,adherence to distribution network constraints,and the management of computational burdens.This paper introduces a novel approach for energy scheduling in renewable-based LECs using a decentralized optimization method.The proposed approach uses the Limitedmemory Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno(L-BFGS)method,significantly reducing the computational effort required for solving the mixed integer programming(MIP)problem.It incorporates network constraints,evaluates energy losses,and enables community participants to provide ancillary services like a regulation reserve to the grid utility.To assess its robustness and efficiency,the proposed approach is tested on an 84-bus radial distribution network.Results indicate that the proposed distributed approach not only matches the accuracy of the corresponding centralized model but also exhibits scalability and preserves participant privacy.

Assessment of Man-made and Natural Hazards in the Surroundings of Hydropower Projects under Construction in the Beas Valley of Northwestern Himalaya

Mountain ecosystem, on the earth, has plenty of natural resources. In Himachal Pradesh all the rivers are snowfed and therefore rich in water resources. These resources have been supporting enough for the generation of electricity through introducing hydropower projects since the last decade However, every developmental activity has its own negative impacts on the surrounding environment. Due to the fragile nature of topography and delicacy of ecology of the Himalaya, it results in lot of disturbances because of high degree of human interferences like construction of major hydropower projects. The increased extent of geological hazards, such as landslides, rock fall and soil erosion, have mainly due to alike developmental interventions in the natural ecosystem. So understanding and analysing such impacts of the hydropower projects have mainly been on the environment in various forms but natural hazards have been frequent ones. The present study, therefore, focuses mainly on the Parbati Stage II （800 MW） and the Parbati Stage III （520 MW） hydropower projects; both of which fall within the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. Based on the perception survey of the local communities, the existing land use pattern, status of total acquired land of the residents by hydropower projects, frequent natural hazards and resultant loss to the local communities due to upcoming construction of hydropower projects surrounding to the Parbati Stage II and III have been analysed in the paper. Also, the preventive measures to mitigate these adverse impacts have been suggested to strengthen these projects in eco-friendly manner in the mountain context.

People and Parks in Kenya： Toward Co-Existence？ The Case of Saiwa Swamp and Kakamega Forest Natural Areas

Over the years, protected areas have largely been associated with tourism activities where the global meets the local. Indeed, it is widely acknowledged that ＂parks are for people and forever＂. This implies that conservation areas must serve different and divergent interest groups for posterity. Moreover, amidst the proposal to manage natural resources at a local level, it should be appreciated that the local people have continuously been alienated. This paper discusses the conservation areas of Kakamega Forest and Saiwa Swamp in Western Kenya. Through questionnaire interviews with the local communities and natural area managers, it investigates the link among the local communities, protected areas, and tourism as envisaged in the Ecotourism Kenya motto. It concludes that sometimes tourism can be so close to the local people yet so far. Thus, for this linkage to occur, tourists should be fascinated by the cultural aspect （if provided by the local people） and that the local people should seize the opportunity to benefit from such visits.

District Policy---Social Practice Through Internal and External Discourses： How the Implementation of a Single Regional Political Instrument Is Perceived, Understood and Communicated

This paper focuses on how the implementation of a single regional political instrument is perceived, understood and communicated. Designed as a regional political instrument, the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications started a pilot project： ＂Driver education as a part of upper secondary school in district Norway＂. The focal point in this paper is to explore how the professional participants understand and interpret the project as a regional political instrument in order to maintain the local community, identity and local belonging. The theoretical approach is based on Giddens＇s actor/structure theory, while the analysis based on discourse analysis, in the analysis we separated the arguments used in the professional discourse. We detected different categories of argument in the discourses among the professionals. In addition to the professional discourse, we became aware of a personal discourse. In both discourses the political instrument was perceived to be important in order to maintain the local community, create equality and maintain local identity and a sense of belonging.

Gendered Perceptions of Climate Variability and Change among Lo­cal Communities Living around Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda

Climate change affects both men and women which,in turn,shapes their varied and contrasting perceptions of climate variability and change.This paper examined the gendered perceptions of climate variability and change among local communities in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.The objectives are threefold:-identify climatic shocks faced by the local communities;examine the perceptions of men and women of climate variability and change;and to compare their perceptions with empirical meteorological data.This study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods,with data collected from 215 respondents using survey,interviews and focused group discussions.From the findings,indicators of climate variability and change included reduced flooding events,occurrence of human diseases,increasing crop pests and diseases,dry spells and intensity of rains.There was increasing significant temperatures while rainfall was declining.Both male and female significantly associated with increasing temperatures and reduced flooding events.While climatic shocks affected both males and females,the impact was more pronounced depending on distinct livelihood activities and roles and responsibilities undertaken.The study concluded that people’s perceptions of climate change should be taken on by the government and integrated in the national climate programs that support people’s livelihoods and survival mechanisms.