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This thesis explores the non-market values of ecosystem services in Penang's urban green spaces, addressing threats posed by urbanization. Utilizing non-market valuation techniques, this study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the contributions of urban green spaces to the local economy. The first topic assesses urban residents' preferences using the best-worst scaling method, highlighting air quality as crucial but revealing inconsistencies in preferences. The second topic applies the travel cost method to analyse visit preferences and behaviours, emphasizing the significance of incorporating time-related costs for understanding travel patterns. The third topic employs a discrete choice experiment to reveal trade-offs between green space characteristics and travel distance, emphasizing the high value placed on improved air quality. The fourth topic uses a Seemingly Unrelated Regression model to explore the impact of spatial data on willingness to pay, showing insights into how spatial characteristics influence preferences. The fifth topic employs a simulation framework to assess the economic benefits of attribute changes in Penang's urban green spaces, emphasizing increased consumer surplus with improvements. Overall, these findings contribute valuable insights into resident preferences, spatial influences, and economic implications, offering guidance for sustainable urban development to local policymakers.

Although Vietnam has undergone fundamental transformation since the economic reforms in the late 1980s, agriculture continues to play a pivotal role in the economy. Given the rising food demand and declining availability of farmland areas, improvements in rice technology are vital for Vietnam to maintain food security and export status. Despite the rising application of high-yielding varieties, rice productivity growth slowed down. The sustainable development of Vietnam agriculture is facing additional challenges due to changing climate which is expected to affect several aspects of agriculture. To date, there has been little insight into how Vietnam agriculture is likely to be impacted by these drivers. This thesis is among the first studies which provided robust estimates of the impacts of technology change and climate change on the Vietnam agrarian economy. Utilizing data from the Vietnam Access to Resources Household Surveys (VARHS) 2006 -2016, this thesis examined the major ongoing changes in Vietnam agriculture and likely impacts of these changes. Three specific relationships were examined: (1) The relationship between hybrid rice seeds and productivity; (2) the relationship between climate change and agricultural productivity; and (3) the relationship between changing climate and land use choice as an adaptation strategy and its likely impact on long-term food security. The literature on hybrid rice has reported superior productivity of hybrid rice seeds over inbred varieties. This is not supported by our panel stochastic frontier estimates pertaining to productivity impact assessment for Vietnam. Estimates of a large managerial gap indicate a handsome benefit from efforts to increase productivity. Vietnam is expected to be among the countries hardest-hit by climate change. However the panel Ricardian model suggests marginal impacts, even in the long run when the projected changes are more severe. Changing crops is an adaptation to climate change. The empiric

In the decade 2010-2019, international trade relationships started to show some new patterns with complex and fragile features. These patterns are attributed to various factors, including globally slower demand, greater participation in Global Value Chains (GVCs), and the application of non-tariff measures (NTMs). These factors considerably increase the difficulty of measuring and predicting future trade relationships at the sectoral and the firm level. In order to provide a practical and empirical contribution to the literature on international trade and policy, especially New Zealand trade policy, this thesis assesses the past performance, identifies the determinants, and predicts the future patterns of New Zealand trade relationships using emerging methodologies. It consists of five separate but interconnected studies, of which one is published, one is under review, and two are about to be submitted to academic journals for publication. The first study provides an overview of New Zealand’s participation in GVCs and identifies the key determinants of all OECD countries’ participation. It finds that New Zealand has limited participation in GVCs. Also, it observes that most underlying drivers considered have a diverse impact on the domestic and international component of GVCs. Specifically, GDP growth, R&D, tariffs, credit availability, corruption perception and port infrastructure are the most significant factors influencing OECD countries’ participation. The second, third and fourth studies assess New Zealand trade relationships by investigating the duration and survival of imports and exports in multiple sectors. Results from these studies can help uncover the past trade performance of New Zealand different agricultural products in details. A common empirical approach employed in these studies includes a decomposition of the observed trade relationships by sequence and an application of the discrete-time hazard model of survival analysis. To be more specific, the

Human activities lead to the emission of carbon and carbon equivalents into the atmosphere which leads to climate change. Some of the negative impacts of climate change include increased frequency of flooding and drought. These lead to loss of soil and crucial soil nutrients which affects agricultural production leading to food insecurity, increased poverty, and may have a significant impact on the quality of life. The majority of Africa’s population are smallholder rain-dependent farmers. Their success depends on actual rainfall (amount and distribution) whose variability is projected to increase due to climate change. As the impact of climate change is felt, the inhabitants’ activities may further exacerbate land degradation through unsustainable agricultural practices. To escape from these adverse impacts requires investment. To this end, climate finance has been offering funds for investments in climate-smart agricultural projects. This has the possibility of enhancing Africa’s adaptive capacity, food security and economic growth. This thesis estimates weather-related yield risk in agriculture and the possible use of climate finance instruments for risk weather management. First, the global climate finance landscape was reviewed. This provided an overview of the available financing mechanisms, the sources of climate finance and the overall distribution of the finances across the various regions and sectors. It also highlighted the opportunities and challenges faced by climate finance investments as well as the innovative approaches that have been adopted to tap the available climate risk finance. Upon establishing the current climate finance landscape and the approaches adopted for climate risk management in agriculture, this study estimated the probable risk in Kenya's agriculture as a result of weather events such as drought. To achieve this, the national annual maize yield data from 1961 to 2014 was utilised. The yield variation was calculated by comparing th

Member governance can be characterised as the voice and influence that members have in their cooperative. The voice is related to the tangible control mechanisms available to cooperative members, and the influence ingredient is more often the intangible relational aspect of a member’s connection. There are layers of governance that build on each other to form the foundation of cooperative members rights or voice and influence; these include Cooperative Principles, Cooperative Law, and the Cooperative Constitutional Document. The collective aim is to mitigate many of the known cooperative governance challenges. Notwithstanding all the theoretical layers of governance, the actual members’ perceptions and the reality of their participation in their cooperative can affect the quality of member governance in a cooperative. The cooperative principles are the foundational ingredient for member-organisation governance. In many regions, the principles are applied in the creation of cooperative law. In some regions countries base their legislation fully or partially on the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) set of seven principles; other regions engage with a different set of principles such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) set of three principles, while in other countries the link between cooperative law and cooperative principles is less visible. An examination of which principles are employed in constructing the legislation that governs cooperatives in a particular region is crucial as it provides us with a base for analysis. Cooperative law differs from country to country, with some cooperative law being comprehensive while other countries cooperative laws are not well defined. The answer as to which approach is more effective is examined in this thesis. Similarly, cooperative law usually forms the foundation that mandates provisions in the originating document, the cooperative constitution. The purpose of the constitution is to protect the righ

The future of marketing, looking out as far as 2050, is envisioned in this thesis. According to a world-renowned futurist, one theory is the end of marketing as we know it. Another describes the discipline as entirely controlled by artificial intelligence, without the need for direct human interaction, while others foresee a healthy balance between humans and machines. The future of employment will therefore have a significant impact on marketing practice, as automation and machine learning may sharply reduce the need for ‘human marketers’. Despite existing research into the future, the future of marketing is largely overlooked by researchers. Exponential technological advancements are on the horizon, giving rise to the concept of the Singularity. The future is complex, perhaps chaotic, and futures studies are increasingly used in academia, business, and government as a means of coping with uncertainty. Marketing is the practice of identifying the needs of consumers, creating and communicating value, engaging with the right audience, and ultimately, increasing sales and profitability. While these goals are likely to endure, the means at which these are achieved are constantly evolving. This is of interest to those in business, especially due to the marketing potential of current innovations, for example Big Data, machine learning, augmented reality, blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and more. This thesis asks, to what extent will these concepts impact the future of marketing? Further, how will the discipline evolve over the next thirty years, and what are the implications for marketing professionals today? This discovery-oriented thesis utilises qualitative research methods, including personal interviews and comparative analysis, in a grounded theory approach. These proved applicable as new in-depth information was gained beyond what is known to the researcher, and the discussions were broad – but bounded – using moderately scheduled interviews. Twelve

The management of hazardous and toxic waste projects in Asia (especially that related to intractable chemicals) has had a less than acceptable performance profile during the last 20 years. There have been numerous documented cases of management and systems failures in intractable chemical recovery projects, despite the establishment of global conventions designed to avoid such problems. A research programme was undertaken with the aim of producing a management model for companies to help prevent such failures in the future. The research began in the field with an exploration of management culture and its impact on project management. This involved multiple visits to five Asian countries and interviewing people involved in intractable waste management at both strategic and operational levels and reviewing project records. Personnel in government departments, particularly the "competent authority", were interviewed to gain insights into the applied management culture within the five countries studied. The various international conventions or regulations regarding hazardous waste and its management, were researched for their interdependence and effectiveness. The research concentrated on the "Management Plans" or "Environmental Management Systems" that reside within these conventions in order to establish a benchmark of expectation concerning standards of management and organisation that would be required of a member state to discharge its obligations under the conventions. This work involved the author attending several meetings and conferences of the parties to the UNEP Basel Convention, as well as attendance at many Technical Working Groups over several years. Complexity theory and uncertainty theory, along with emergent theory and innovation adoption theory were researched. The outcome of this research clearly suggested that a multidimensional matrix-based approach could be successful in providing companies with a strategic management model that, if applied, could

Drinking water quality is a matter of concern in New Zealand. The quality of many New Zealand water supplies has been unsatisfactory as shown by the grading conducted since 1960 by the former Board of Health. In 1991, a quarter of the supplies surveyed failed to meet the Department of Health's microbiological standards. Since 1992, the Ministry of Health has undertaken a programme to improve water quality management. Hence, the achievement of high quality of drinking water requires the implementation of some form of quality management system (QMS) (e.g. Total Quality Management and its models i.e. ISO 9000 / ISO 14000 Standards, Quality Awards). This thesis examines the managerial practices related to the supply of drinking water in water utilities within the Waikato Region and the role of Total Quality Management (TQM) and its models (i.e. ISO 9000 Series Standards, ISO 14000 Series Standards, and the different Quality Awards like The Deming Prize and the Malcolm Baldrige Award and its New Zealand equivalent the National Business Excellence Award) (Refer to Chapter One, Section 1.6 Definition of Terms Used in Research). The use of QMS is now an established part of management practice in most water utilities in New Zealand, having been introduced since 1995 as part of the reforms to public water supply management. The thesis uses case studies to gain an in-depth understanding of quality management practices in the water utilities, the perceptions of water quality managers in relation to the adoption and adaptation of quality management systems. This is a descriptive and interpretive study of the existing quality systems in water supply organizations of the different Territorial Local Authorities of the Waikato Region. The aim is to unravel the managerial practices as a means of answering the research's four sub-research questions: 1) What perceptions do water utilities managers have about quality management in general and TQM in particular? 2) To what extent are TQM

The reliability of illicit drug markets has important implications for any proposed legalization or decriminalization of illicit drugs. The level of violence and cheating in the illicit drugs market will define the magnitude of the social benefits from the legalization and regulation of the illicit market. The reliability of the illicit drugs market also has important implications for any decriminalisation of drugs. A common criticism of decriminalisation is it leaves a ‘harmful’ illicit market intact (see Drug Policy Forum Trust, 1998). If the illicit market is actually relatively reliable, policy makers are able to respond to any public demand for lighter penalties for drug use without any major concern about the role the illicit market plays in violence and crime. This thesis uses property rights economics to model the level of cheating between exchange parties in retail illicit drug transactions. Illicit drug transactions are generally assumed to be unreliable because exchange parties cannot call on the police and courts to enforce the terms of transactions. The reliability of illicit drug transactions is essentially a problem of social cooperation in the absence of third party enforcement. The scope of the model is restricted to exchange parties during retail drug transactions. It does not explain all the cheating and violence which might occur in an illicit drugs market. The model therefore can only partially address the drug control policy issues related to the reliability of illicit drug markets. The decision to cheat on a retail illicit drug transaction is initially modelled as a two person prisoners dilemma game. The “ongoing interaction” solution to the prisoners dilemma is adapted to retail illicit drug transactions by introducing search costs. The decision to cheat involves comparing the expected one-off benefit of cheating with the search costs of locating a new exchange partner. The one-off benefit of cheating is constrained by the low financial value