Search

This study advances methods of measuring access to water by providing a framework that can be operationalized by practitioners to inform decision and policy making. A modified WPI was developed and deployed in India, with results indicating significant differences between WPI and many indicator scores both between and within administrative territories. Spatial analyses identified significant clustering of WPI and indicator scores, indicating that scores are not randomly distributed. Three weight schemes were applied, two of which were informed by local stakeholders. The weight schemes highlighted the subjectivity of weighting and importance of including local populations in water development and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a modified water poverty index that captures several waterscape attributes to better understand complex issues surrounding water. Household surveys (n= 300), water quality tests (n= 375) and qualitative methods were deployed to examine 14 post-tsunami settlements in Nagapattinam and Karaikal Districts (India) through the lens of water. Data were used to develop a contextualized, participant-driven water poverty index to measure water poverty at several scales. Statistical tests revealed significant differences between the two districts (p≤ .0001) and between rural and urban areas within each district (p≤ .0001). Three weight schemes (one dictated entirely by research participants) produced analogous outcomes though predicated on different indicator arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Dengue has become an increasingly significant risk to global health. With up to 400 million cases annually, dengue constitutes the fastest growing vector-borne disease globally. In the western hemisphere, dengue, and more recently chikungunya and Zika, exist throughout much of Latin America. These diseases are spread by Aedes mosquitoes, which have been present in the region for centuries. While perceptions of mosquitoborne disease have been studied in Latin America, such qualitative literature on Costa Rica is relatively scarce. Therefore, this study uses qualitative methods to critically investigate the prevention of Aedes mosquito-borne diseases in Puntarenas and San José, Costa Rica. Specifically, this study examines local perceptions of policies and programs to combat Aedes mosquitoes and their associated diseases. Data were collected via household interviews (n=80); semi-structured interviews with public health officials, researchers, nonprofit organizations, and community leaders (n=22); and a focus group discussion in each of two study areas (Puntarenas and San José). Results are presented as place-specific narratives on mosquito and disease control among at-risk communities. Varying degrees of local knowledge on mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases exist both within and across the study areas. These differences include conflicting perceptions of mosquito control tech niques (e.g., fumigation, education campaigns) as well as disease source, habitat, and risk. Local narratives may inform public health actors on the perspectives of communities who confront, cope with, and manage issues of mosquito-borne disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Point-of-use water treatment has received widespread application in the developing world to help mitigate waterborne infectious disease. This study examines the efficacy of a combined filter and chemical disinfection technology in removing bacterial contaminants, and more specifically changes in its performance resulting from seasonal weather variability. During a 12-month field trial in Chennai, India, mean log-reductions were 1.51 forE. coliand 1.67 for total coliforms, and the highest concentration of indicator bacteria in treated water samples were found during the monsoon season. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences in the microbial load of indicator organisms (coliforms andE. coli) between seasons, storage time since treatment (TST), and samples with and without chlorine residuals. Findings indicate that the bacteriological quality of drinking water treated in the home is determined by a complex interaction of environmental and sociological conditions. Moreover, while the effect of disinfection was independent of season, the impact of storage TST on water quality was found to be seasonally dependent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the impact of natural disasters on women in Bangladesh. Emphasis is given to topics such as the role of gender and social variables in gaps in mortality, the relationship between gender inequality and risk, and gender-based segregation practices that restrict female mobility in disasters.

This article scrutinizes the boiling of water in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, India. Boiling, as it is commonly practiced, improves water quality, but its full potential is not being realized. Thus, the objective is to refine the method in practice, promote acceptability, and foster the scalability of boiling and household water treatment (HWT) writ large. The study is based on bacteriological samples from 300 households and 80 public standposts, 14 focus group discussions (FGDs), and 74 household interviews. Collectively, the data fashion both an empirical and ethnographic understanding of boiling. The rate and efficacy of boiling, barriers to and caveats of its adoption, and recommendations for augmenting its practice are detailed. While boiling is scientifically proven to eliminate bacteria, data demonstrate that pragmatics inhibit their total destruction. Furthermore, data and the literature indicate that a range of cultural, economic, and ancillary health factors challenge the uptake of boiling. Fieldwork and resultant knowledge arrive at strategies for overcoming these impediments. The article concludes with recommendations for selecting, introducing, and scaling up HWT mechanisms. A place-based approach that can be sustained over the long-term is espoused, and prolonged exposure by the interveners coupled with meaningful participation of the target population is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural hazard risk assessment generally focuses on a single hazard type, such as earthquakes, landslides, or floods. This emphasis tends to consider physical processes in isolation. However, most locations are simultaneously at risk to multiple, interacting hazards that generate cascading effects or synergies. Although scholars have proposed a multi-hazard risk framework based on probabilities, the quality and quantity of data required for such an approach are often unavailable in developing countries. Using geospatial and socioeconomic data, this study represents a first step in assessing multi-hazard risk in the city of Dharan, Nepal. Three hazards—landslides, floods, and earthquakes—were considered for an integrated hazard assessment using statistical methods and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). We employed a Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI) to create a vulnerability map of the study area, which was then combined with a multi-hazard hazard map to produce a total risk map. Our results indicate that eastern Dharan along the Seuti River and southwestern Dharan on the left bank of the Sardu River are at high risk to multiple hazards. Central Dharan and the hills in the western portion of the city are categorized as low risk areas. Data limitations, such as availability and spatial resolution, did not allow for dynamic modeling; however, our results identified the spatial extent of low to high risk areas, which can inform future disaster planning. For example, the methodology and results of this study could assist in the development of disaster risk reduction programs and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paris' successful bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics arises in the midst of a grand rethinking of the politics of regional and local development in the Île-de-France region. Paris 2024 also emerges at a time when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is struggling to find cities willing to host the Olympics and has introduced a series of reforms to help recruit and motivate potential bid cities to consider how an Olympic project might be integrated into existing patterns of urban development. This exploratory research examines the blending of the Grand Paris regional development project and the 2024 Olympic ambition. Incorporating results from semi-structured interviews with seven key informants who possess specialized knowledge and are involved with governance mechanisms of the Île-de-France region and urban megaevent development, we explore how the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are being leveraged to facilitate metropolitan transformation. In the highly fragmented institutional setting of the Île-de-France region, negotiating site locations for Olympic facilities and establishing legacy or heritage objectives for the Olympic Games has important implications for the development of an institutional framework for metropolitan governance. • Project-based governance transformation • The use of mega-events to foster a vision of metropolitan consensus in a capitalist democratic context • The leveraging of the Olympic bidding and hosting process to produce institutional change • International Olympic Committee's Agenda 2020 and the potential to inform territorial dynamics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]