title: Dynamics of land use and land cover changes in China

authors: Deng, Xiangzheng

subjects: Land Use

abstract: A key contribution of environmental economics to policy making has been to provide empirical indicators of sustainable economic development. An economy is (weakly) sustainable if it saves more than the combined depreciation of its stocks of natural capital and produced capital. Thus, these indicators allow trade-offs where, for example, natural capital might be depreciated in order to build up other forms of capital, such as in the built environment or in the form of human capital. As an application of this general idea, this thesis focuses on the trade-offs between ecosystem services, provided by natural capital, and certain land use and land cover changes (LUCC) in China. With better understanding of these trade-offs, this thesis contributes to optimum management for sustaining ecosystem services and supporting socio-economic development.
The three case study areas are Hebei, Qinghai and Shandong provinces. I study trade-offs between landscape diversity and crop production, between grassland quality and livestock production, and between net primary productivity (NPP, a measure of the energy that enters ecosystems) and urbanization. After reviewing trade-off analyses of ecosystem services for sustainable land-use management (Chapter 2), the case studies are presented, with two chapters on Hebei, one on Qinghai, and three on Shandong. These chapters have econometric models for monitoring and assessing LUCC-induced ecosystem service changes, to enable quantitative analysis of the mechanisms available for policy-oriented optimum land-use management.
The case study areas each have different policy interventions that are designed to preserve or restore natural capital. For example, Hebei has ecological restoration programs, such as the Green for Grain program, that are implemented in an attempt to conserve landscape diversity. Qinghai province has policies of enhancing ecological restoration for grassland conservation, in order to improve livestock production. Shandong province has enforced a prime cropland preservation policy in order to ensure high cropland productivity. Collectively, the case studies add to the literature on the use of sustainable land-use management strategies, while helping to illustrate some of the trade-offs that are central to environmental economics. 
The results highlight issues created by conversion of cultivated land to urban use, in both Hebei and Shandong. In Qinghai province, grassland degradation, livestock production and farmers’ income interact and affect LUCC and changes in ecosystem services. Restorative interventions, such as nature reserves, seem to have a positive effect on NPP, as a measure of ecosystem productivity. On the other hand, in Shandong province there is relatively low land productivity, as measured by the NPP, in regions covered by built-up area. While this thesis does not calculate a value for the produced capital and human capital in built-up areas, the reduction in the value of natural capital as a result of urbanization highlights the potential trade-offs and the need for careful measurement to help whether China is on a sustainable development path. In summary, the research in this thesis examines various land-use practices and management regimes for conserving ecosystem services, and contributes to the literature on how management of land use change and land cover change can influence ecosystem services in rapidly urbanizing China.

text: Dynamics of land use and land cover changes in China A key contribution of environmental economics to policy making has been to provide empirical indicators of sustainable economic development. An economy is (weakly) sustainable if it saves more than the combined depreciation of its stocks of natural capital and produced capital. Thus, these indicators allow trade-offs where, for example, natural capital might be depreciated in order to build up other forms of capital, such as in the built environment or in the form of human capital. As an application of this general idea, this thesis focuses on the trade-offs between ecosystem services, provided by natural capital, and certain land use and land cover changes (LUCC) in China. With better understanding of these trade-offs, this thesis contributes to optimum management for sustaining ecosystem services and supporting socio-economic development.
The three case study areas are Hebei, Qinghai and Shandong provinces. I study trade-offs between landscape diversity and crop production, between grassland quality and livestock production, and between net primary productivity (NPP, a measure of the energy that enters ecosystems) and urbanization. After reviewing trade-off analyses of ecosystem services for sustainable land-use management (Chapter 2), the case studies are presented, with two chapters on Hebei, one on Qinghai, and three on Shandong. These chapters have econometric models for monitoring and assessing LUCC-induced ecosystem service changes, to enable quantitative analysis of the mechanisms available for policy-oriented optimum land-use management.
The case study areas each have different policy interventions that are designed to preserve or restore natural capital. For example, Hebei has ecological restoration programs, such as the Green for Grain program, that are implemented in an attempt to conserve landscape diversity. Qinghai province has policies of enhancing ecological restoration for grassland conservation, in order to improve livestock production. Shandong province has enforced a prime cropland preservation policy in order to ensure high cropland productivity. Collectively, the case studies add to the literature on the use of sustainable land-use management strategies, while helping to illustrate some of the trade-offs that are central to environmental economics. 
The results highlight issues created by conversion of cultivated land to urban use, in both Hebei and Shandong. In Qinghai province, grassland degradation, livestock production and farmers’ income interact and affect LUCC and changes in ecosystem services. Restorative interventions, such as nature reserves, seem to have a positive effect on NPP, as a measure of ecosystem productivity. On the other hand, in Shandong province there is relatively low land productivity, as measured by the NPP, in regions covered by built-up area. While this thesis does not calculate a value for the produced capital and human capital in built-up areas, the reduction in the value of natural capital as a result of urbanization highlights the potential trade-offs and the need for careful measurement to help whether China is on a sustainable development path. In summary, the research in this thesis examines various land-use practices and management regimes for conserving ecosystem services, and contributes to the literature on how management of land use change and land cover change can influence ecosystem services in rapidly urbanizing China.

year: 2018

title: How Spirituality Shapes the Formation of Entrepreneurial Venture: The Case of Malay Muslim Entrepreneurs

authors: Sidek, Farhana

subjects: Entrepreneurship

abstract: Studies have shown that spirituality in the workplace can positively impact the performance of individuals, work units, and organisations. What once was thought to be just a short-lived trend has now grown into an established field of study. The establishment of the special interest group for Management, Spirituality, and Religion by the Academy of Management for instance shows that spirituality is more than just a passing fad. While research on spirituality and management continue to flourish, one particular area of study that has been given less attention to spirituality is entrepreneurship. Spirituality is less likely to be considered by the traditional entrepreneurship literature in driving the behaviours of entrepreneurs. Rather, the current literature has focused on wealth creation as the entrepreneur’s driving force. Hence, researchers have turned to various approaches such as economics, personality psychology, and strategy in attempt to understand the relationship between entrepreneurs and new venture creation, which have been less successful in dealing with the more micro question of ‘how’ and ‘why’. This warrants for new approaches that can explain the relationship between the entrepreneur and new venture formation, which spirituality can offer. The purpose of this study is to examine and understand the phenomenon of entrepreneurial venture creation from the perspective of Muslim entrepreneurs. As the second largest religion in the world, Islam is often subject to stereotyping and misunderstanding due to its approximately 1.6 billion followers globally with wide ranging levels of religious commitment and practice. The complexity of the relationship between religious values and cultural values further complicates the explanation of the behaviours of Muslim entrepreneurs. In addition to the sparsity of research on the diversity and forms of values and spirituality in organisations, most spirituality studies are currently based on the Western value systems; hence the need for non-western value systems based studies. 

The overarching research question for this study is: “How does spirituality shape the formation of entrepreneurial venture?”. Three sub-questions were developed to support this important research question, that are: 1) what are the key sources of entrepreneurial opportunity for Muslim entrepreneurs? 2) how do Muslim entrepreneurs understand entrepreneurial opportunity? 3) how are the Islamic spiritual values manifested in the Muslim entrepreneurs’ process of venture formation? Using an interpretive paradigm, qualitative research was conducted, whereby 15 entrepreneurs were interviewed using narrative interview questions. Stories on how these entrepreneurs started their ventures were analysed. Findings revealed that the Muslim entrepreneurs sourced their entrepreneurial opportunities from two types of gaps. While missing products or services in the market prompted the first type of gap, the second type of gap was due to the difference between the entrepreneurs’ expectations (that are guided by their knowledge on the Shariah) and the reality. These two gaps led the entrepreneurs to embark on three different paths of process of venture creation, that are 1) accidentally found opportunity, 2) actively seeking for opportunity, and 3) spiritually-driven opportunity. In realising the opportunities that they discovered or created, the Muslim entrepreneurs manifested five important Islamic spiritual values: fardhu kifayah (communal obligation), wasatiyyah (balanced), barakah (blessings), amanah (trust), and dakwah (the call of joining the good and forbidding the bad). 

This study extends understanding of entrepreneurial behaviour involved in the process of venture formation by presenting an empirical evidence-based framework. This framework incorporates sources that trigger entrepreneurial opportunities, the micro and macro processes that entrepreneurs experienced in creating their ventures, and the dimensions of spirituality that are manifested in realising the opportunities. Secondly, this study informs the role of spirituality in the process of entrepreneurial venture creation in sourcing, evaluating, and enacting the opportunities. This study can benefits the educators and entrepreneurs as it highlights the potential of non-economic rationality in driving entrepreneurial behaviours that lead to venture creation.

text: How Spirituality Shapes the Formation of Entrepreneurial Venture: The Case of Malay Muslim Entrepreneurs Studies have shown that spirituality in the workplace can positively impact the performance of individuals, work units, and organisations. What once was thought to be just a short-lived trend has now grown into an established field of study. The establishment of the special interest group for Management, Spirituality, and Religion by the Academy of Management for instance shows that spirituality is more than just a passing fad. While research on spirituality and management continue to flourish, one particular area of study that has been given less attention to spirituality is entrepreneurship. Spirituality is less likely to be considered by the traditional entrepreneurship literature in driving the behaviours of entrepreneurs. Rather, the current literature has focused on wealth creation as the entrepreneur’s driving force. Hence, researchers have turned to various approaches such as economics, personality psychology, and strategy in attempt to understand the relationship between entrepreneurs and new venture creation, which have been less successful in dealing with the more micro question of ‘how’ and ‘why’. This warrants for new approaches that can explain the relationship between the entrepreneur and new venture formation, which spirituality can offer. The purpose of this study is to examine and understand the phenomenon of entrepreneurial venture creation from the perspective of Muslim entrepreneurs. As the second largest religion in the world, Islam is often subject to stereotyping and misunderstanding due to its approximately 1.6 billion followers globally with wide ranging levels of religious commitment and practice. The complexity of the relationship between religious values and cultural values further complicates the explanation of the behaviours of Muslim entrepreneurs. In addition to the sparsity of research on the diversity and forms of values and spirituality in organisations, most spirituality studies are currently based on the Western value systems; hence the need for non-western value systems based studies. 

The overarching research question for this study is: “How does spirituality shape the formation of entrepreneurial venture?”. Three sub-questions were developed to support this important research question, that are: 1) what are the key sources of entrepreneurial opportunity for Muslim entrepreneurs? 2) how do Muslim entrepreneurs understand entrepreneurial opportunity? 3) how are the Islamic spiritual values manifested in the Muslim entrepreneurs’ process of venture formation? Using an interpretive paradigm, qualitative research was conducted, whereby 15 entrepreneurs were interviewed using narrative interview questions. Stories on how these entrepreneurs started their ventures were analysed. Findings revealed that the Muslim entrepreneurs sourced their entrepreneurial opportunities from two types of gaps. While missing products or services in the market prompted the first type of gap, the second type of gap was due to the difference between the entrepreneurs’ expectations (that are guided by their knowledge on the Shariah) and the reality. These two gaps led the entrepreneurs to embark on three different paths of process of venture creation, that are 1) accidentally found opportunity, 2) actively seeking for opportunity, and 3) spiritually-driven opportunity. In realising the opportunities that they discovered or created, the Muslim entrepreneurs manifested five important Islamic spiritual values: fardhu kifayah (communal obligation), wasatiyyah (balanced), barakah (blessings), amanah (trust), and dakwah (the call of joining the good and forbidding the bad). 

This study extends understanding of entrepreneurial behaviour involved in the process of venture formation by presenting an empirical evidence-based framework. This framework incorporates sources that trigger entrepreneurial opportunities, the micro and macro processes that entrepreneurs experienced in creating their ventures, and the dimensions of spirituality that are manifested in realising the opportunities. Secondly, this study informs the role of spirituality in the process of entrepreneurial venture creation in sourcing, evaluating, and enacting the opportunities. This study can benefits the educators and entrepreneurs as it highlights the potential of non-economic rationality in driving entrepreneurial behaviours that lead to venture creation.

year: 2016

title: Exploring female art-making through reflective practice: A multi-dimensional cultural, spiritual and embodied experience

authors: Bright, Deborah Ann

subjects: female

abstract: This thesis explores some of the many elements and influences of lived experience that are present in acts of art-making. Reflective practice in art-making adds the intentional and purposive act of reflective learning to the experience of art-making. In an academic context the challenge arises for a researcher to adequately represent the breadth and richness of the lived experiences of reflective practice in artmaking. This breadth and richness may embrace elements of art production and influences including gender, culture, spirituality, creativity, creative processes, embodied knowing, the place of conversations and learning as a result of facilitated reflective practice. Adequate representation is particularly vital because art-makers may communicate best through non-verbal means, including embodied knowing and their artmaking, rather than through words. Flexibility of approach and representation is even more important when the art-maker participants engage in various art-making areas and identify themselves as part of indigenous, dominant and/or non-dominant cultures within Aotearoa New Zealand. In this thesis, by applying a feminist participatory approach, informed by kaupapa Maori, I affirmed that the lived experiences of reflective practice in art-making can be adequately represented in a thesis. By such means, I sought to empower the participants, including myself, by providing a process through which they might increase confidence in their own art-making practices and professional artistry. This approach was necessary because no single or even double blending of worldviews can embrace such a range of variables. However, an interweaving of feminist and participatory, informed by indigenous peoples’ worldviews, provides the scope for such a study in terms of fundamental beliefs, ways of knowing, values, issues of power, methodologies and methods. The ways of knowing include collaborative, constructed, cultural, embodied, experiential, indigenous, presentational, propositional, spiritual and subjective and writing as a way of knowing; such a range was vital to this thesis. As artmaker co-participant, I was able to engage in conversation with the other art-makers as facilitator of their reflective practice in art-making and to represent their lived experiences of reflective practice in art-making through verbal and non-verbal means and art-making, in ways that were comfortable culturally to all participants. ii I represent and discuss my findings through formal academic writing, personal narrative and a DVD. The DVD includes a video montage and an image narrative that contribute to the discussion on embodied knowing (Chapter 7), a video of my own dance work, which contributes to the discussion on creativity and visual images (Chapter 6), and a copy of a poster referred to at various times in the findings and discussion chapters. Finally, I conclude that a feminist participatory approach, informed by indigenous peoples’ worldviews and including facilitated reflective practice, may have application to other fields of research and practice including other areas of the arts, teaching, sport and leisure and in the wider field of social sciences.

text: Exploring female art-making through reflective practice: A multi-dimensional cultural, spiritual and embodied experience This thesis explores some of the many elements and influences of lived experience that are present in acts of art-making. Reflective practice in art-making adds the intentional and purposive act of reflective learning to the experience of art-making. In an academic context the challenge arises for a researcher to adequately represent the breadth and richness of the lived experiences of reflective practice in artmaking. This breadth and richness may embrace elements of art production and influences including gender, culture, spirituality, creativity, creative processes, embodied knowing, the place of conversations and learning as a result of facilitated reflective practice. Adequate representation is particularly vital because art-makers may communicate best through non-verbal means, including embodied knowing and their artmaking, rather than through words. Flexibility of approach and representation is even more important when the art-maker participants engage in various art-making areas and identify themselves as part of indigenous, dominant and/or non-dominant cultures within Aotearoa New Zealand. In this thesis, by applying a feminist participatory approach, informed by kaupapa Maori, I affirmed that the lived experiences of reflective practice in art-making can be adequately represented in a thesis. By such means, I sought to empower the participants, including myself, by providing a process through which they might increase confidence in their own art-making practices and professional artistry. This approach was necessary because no single or even double blending of worldviews can embrace such a range of variables. However, an interweaving of feminist and participatory, informed by indigenous peoples’ worldviews, provides the scope for such a study in terms of fundamental beliefs, ways of knowing, values, issues of power, methodologies and methods. The ways of knowing include collaborative, constructed, cultural, embodied, experiential, indigenous, presentational, propositional, spiritual and subjective and writing as a way of knowing; such a range was vital to this thesis. As artmaker co-participant, I was able to engage in conversation with the other art-makers as facilitator of their reflective practice in art-making and to represent their lived experiences of reflective practice in art-making through verbal and non-verbal means and art-making, in ways that were comfortable culturally to all participants. ii I represent and discuss my findings through formal academic writing, personal narrative and a DVD. The DVD includes a video montage and an image narrative that contribute to the discussion on embodied knowing (Chapter 7), a video of my own dance work, which contributes to the discussion on creativity and visual images (Chapter 6), and a copy of a poster referred to at various times in the findings and discussion chapters. Finally, I conclude that a feminist participatory approach, informed by indigenous peoples’ worldviews and including facilitated reflective practice, may have application to other fields of research and practice including other areas of the arts, teaching, sport and leisure and in the wider field of social sciences.

year: 2010