This book contributes to efforts in furthering the democratization and development processes in the Philippines by examining the decentralization efforts in Metro Manila. It explores existing as well as proposed development models for governance with focus on the effective and efficient delivery of social services, bringing forth growth with equity through development efforts, and addressing national-local concerns to promote political and socio-economic stability in the country. In doing so, the book examines the strong and weak governance points in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, and identifies areas for reform.

This text addresses the Philippines’ historical and contemporary reproductive politics, offering a timely insight into the rich reproductive lives of Filipinos. It critically explores stories of sexuality, religiosity, and reproductive livelihoods during the immediate aftermath of the passing of the ‘Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act’ of 2012 after more than fifteen years of opposition by the Philippine Catholic Church. Commonly called the “RH Law”, it aims to provide public access to reproductive and family planning services for Filipino women and men, especially those from poorer communities who often experience unwanted pregnancies, complications from illegal abortions, and exacerbated economic hardship. This book explores the intimate and urban after-effects of globalization, and how they shape the “reproductive dilemmas” of Filipinos in Metropolitan “Metro” Manila. It constructs a balanced portrait of the country’s reproductive politics within Metro Manila’s rapidly changing terrains, showing how “reproductive dilemmas” are produced within a context that is at once fraught by conservative religious discourse and also rapidly globalizing, and where aspects of intimate lives have become both transnational and fragmented.

Both public and private schools in the Philippines are using information technology (IT) as a tool to improve teaching and learning. While both government and private sector initiatives indicate national commitment to IT in education, there is little up-to-date information on how extensively the Philippines are using computers and for what purposes. The researcher s goals were to determine the extent to which Metro Manila public and private schools used IT and to determine how these results compared with analogous data on schools in other developing and developed countries. The researcher gathered data with mail-in questionnaires adapted from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), onsite visits, and follow-up telephone interviews. The researcher also compared her results with those from IEA-surveyed countries. The researcher determined that actual uses of IT did not meet schools curricular goals. Although school officials wanted IT to individualize instruction, promote active learning, and improve student achievement, in actual practice, schools used computers to teach computer literacy, productivity tools, and programming. In terms of infrastructure, the researcher found that schools in Metro Manila had the poorest student-to-computer ratio in comparison to schools in IEA-surveyed countries. Metro Manila students access to peripherals was also poor. Software selections were limited to productivity tools. Students in Metro Manila primary schools, like their counterparts in IEA-surveyed countries, had limited Internet access. A comparison of results from public and private schools revealed that public and private schools shared many educational goals regarding the use of IT. However, the realization of these goals was uneven. Private schools had been using computers for a greater number of years than public schools. Private schools had lower student-to-computer and student-to-printer ratios. They also had greater Internet access. Furthermore, private schools tended to expose their students to computers at practically all educational levels. The study provided baseline data that was not previously available. The researcher identifies the need for similar studies with greater geographic scope or of a longitudinal nature, deeper investigations of curricular gaps or policy issues, and the development of instructional software for Filipino-specific subject areas.

Urban flooding is an increasing challenge today to the expanding cities and towns of developing countries. This Handbook is a state-of-the art, user-friendly operational guide that shows decision makers and specialists how to effectively manage the risk of floods in rapidly urbanizing settings ? and within the context of a changing climate.

Stephen Hamnett and Dean Forbes have brought together some of the region’s most distinguished urbanists to explore the planning history and recent development of Pacific Asia’s major cities. They show how globalization, and the competition to achieve global city status, has had a profound effect on all these cities. But how resilient are these cities to the risks that they face? How can they manage continuing pressures for development and growth while reducing their vulnerability to a range of potential crises? And, given the tradition of top-down, centralized, state-directed planning which drove the economic growth of many of these cities in the last century, what prospects are there of them becoming more inclusive and sensitive to the diverse needs of their populations and to the importance of culture, heritage and local places in creating liveable cities?

Urban microclimates cannot be explained solely on the basis of scientific phenomena, but are also affected materially and spatially by the city’s local architecture. The layout, design, and facade construction of buildings have a major impact on wind and temperature conditions. For this reason, architecture and urban design that have an effect on microclimates must be investigated in their social and cultural contexts. The publication uses international case studies to explain these relationships. The focus is on manifestations of urban microclimates in an architectural and urban design context. The places investigated are located in France, Italy, the USA, New Zealand, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Burkina Faso.

Conferences: Management, Economics, Business and Marketing (IAC-MEBM) Global Education, Teaching and Learning (IAC-GETL) Transport, Logistics, Tourism and Sport Science (IAC-TLTS)