In view of the current global scenario, which highlighted the importance of sustainable development and sustaining natural resources, the theme selected for the 2nd Regional ECOMOD 2007 Conference was indeed appropriate. This conference has generated overwhelming interest and I am sure the participants have focussed diligently on the serious issues concerning important environmental issues and steps needed to be taken towards a sustainable development and management of our natural resources and environment. As governments in the Asian region introduce new initiatives and development policies to rejuvenate and protect their environment and natural resources, it is imperative that universities and research institutions play a fundamental role in ensuring that the objectives of these policies are realized. Such institutions can complement government proposals by embarking on research that is relevant and valuable to the needs of respective nations and pursuing extensive research so that the outcome and technology generated can be transferred effectively to the end users. This concerted effort by all the researchers from different fields to improve and manage our natural resources should be lauded. I strongly believe that this conference is an extraordinary testimony to our capacity building at regional and local levels. I believe USM has something interesting to share with all of you in this area. Finally, on behalf of the Organizing Committee, I hope readers will find this book of proceedings useful, informative and stimulating.

Cities have a metabolism that requires energy, food, materials and water to be supplied and waste products to be removed. If cities are to remain the engines of economic growth they also require an input of knowledge as well as commodities. This fuels innovation and the skills that lead to economic success. With economic success comes the input of people and investment that require new buildings and the conservation of existing buildings. This, in turn, requires an input of both building materials and the knowledge of manufacturing and assembling them efficiently and effectively. This book reviews these aspects of development from an academic point of view and covers a wide area of professional expertise including planning, tourism, architecture, structural engineering, project management, air and water quality, conservation, landscape design, waste management and many other issues that impact on urbanism in Malaysia.

As one of the major contributors to the environmental problems that lead to global warming, the construction industry must mend its ways. It now must be geared towards achieving sustainability. Sustainability consists of three main pillars, namely the environmental, economic and social pillars. There is a need for a sustainability assessment framework that integrates environmental, economic and social factors within the Malaysian construction industry. Its major thrust is an attempt to balance the use of resources between the present and future generations. This book discusses all relevant materials regarding the achievement of sustainability in the construction industry. The book should be a basis for future works or research in some of the areas discussed and should provide a specific reading for students at postgraduate and undergraduate levels. Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia

There is a dearth of literature on environmental communication within the non-western world. The few existing ones are scattered and not easily available.Thus, there is a dire need to document research and literature in the field. The opportunity arose at the 2009 International Conference on Communication and Environment held in Penang, Malaysia. The international conference with the theme “Transformation for a Sustainable Tomorrow”, organised by the School of Communication, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), attracted scholars, practitioners and activists from around the world to listen and deliberate on various aspects of communication and environment. The post-conference review resulted in the selection of 24 papers to be compiled into this edited volume. The escalating degradation of environment locally and globally was the main concern that prompted discussions on how sustainability can be advocated. The development process in many countries, economic activities and political decisions on issues such as deforestation for timber logging, rapid urbanisation, pertinently points out that environmental degradation and any communication on environmental change has to be grounded and located within the wider context of social, politics and economics of the society. Communication and environmental communication for that matter have also to be understood within these wider contexts. Many would agree that a constant and consistent flow of information communicated through different channels to different stakeholders at the right time and destinations can help raise awareness and consciousness of environmental problems, protection and preservation. This vital information can enable the public and stakeholders to make informed choices, and take actions whenever possible. A lack of communication and information will inordinately exacerbate the situation of environmental degradation. This book thus highlights how the environment is being treated in the media, communicated to the society and impacted nations. The chapters are grouped into the following sections: Theoretical and conceptual issues; Media content and the environment; Politics, communication and the environment; Corporate social and environmental responsibility; and Citizen participation, human rights and the environment. The editors acknowledge the excellent contributions of all the authors and are indebted to the members of the review panel, the external reviewer, USM Publications Committee and staff of Universiti Sains Malaysia Press for their help in ensuring the quality of this volume. Most importantly, we express our gratitude to USM for providing the financial support for the international conference and making it possible to publish this book. The Editors January 2012 Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia

As the higher education landscape is ever evolving, sustainability continues to be an essential concern. This publication covers existing sustainability matters ranging from internationalisation and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to university social responsibility. The main contribution of this book is to reveal the efforts and issues of internationalisation of higher education for sustainable tomorrow from global perspectives. Since the institutions educate current and future decision makers, the play a key role in building more sustainable entities and creating new paradigms. The articles are written by a number of experts with various backgrounds in higher education that give global perspective on the issues of sustainability. Specific country studies give a timely review on the substantial growth of higher education institutions in certain parts of the world. This publication provides invaluable knowledge and skills to guide the reader in designing appropriate frameworks in critical problem solving of current higher education issues.

This volume presents a selection of articles aimed at introducing the field of local knowledge to a local and international audience. Based upon the theme “Retracing Tradition for a Sustainable Future,” the articles detail local practices that reflect local wisdom in various domains of knowledge such as literature, architecture, water management, tourism, dance and drama. This collection of articles embodies an important, tangible initiative by Universiti Sains Malaysia Local Knowledge Secretariat to identify and retrace indigenous local knowledge, besides documenting and conserving local wisdom for future generations. It presents an important resource for researchers and students interested in exploring the under-researched area of local knowledge and indigenous science in the Malaysian context.

In this new era, changes and innovations that happen in the construction industry force the industry players to increasingly seek knowledge to enhance their firm and project competitiveness. Small as well as large industry players has no exceptions from identifying their strategy for business survival and success. To accommodate those needs, this book presents the new management approaches that could be learned and applied in managing firms and projects. The book goes on to explore the strategic management and project management approaches of business and project entities in construction. Knowledge and ideas discussed in this book were contributed by scholars who are closely involved with research in the industry. Having read their ideas, improving performance would be a significant contribution of this book to the existing and future industry players in construction. Being simultaneously dependent upon each other, this book sees the need to incorporate the various approaches in managing projects and businesses in the construction industry. There will be no doubt, by understanding and practising the approaches, the competitiveness of the industry will be improved.