Water insecurity is one of the biggest socio-environmental challenges of our time. As water gets scarce, already disempowered groups become further marginalized. Throughout the last decades “good” water governance has been presented by global institutions and organizations as a key concept to render water management more effective, sustainable and democratic. However, general theories of “good” governance have been criticized for being gender-blind and for failing to recognize how governance is adopted at a local level, leading to different outcomes for people based on their social identity. The aim of this thesis is to identify water governance arrangements in Caltongo, a peri-urban community in Mexico City, and analyze what outcomes these arrangements have for women. The thesis builds on a feminist political ecology framework that cuts through both theory and method. Empirical data is collected through semi-structured interviews with women and community leaders in Caltongo. The analysis builds on a model that uses three concepts to define governance: resources, mechanisms and outcomes. The results of this analysis show that the strategies that women in Caltongo draw from to access water are based around political involvement, cash payment for water services and social networks. The outcomes are different for different women depending on their ability to use these strategies.

Magister Educationis - MEd / The study explored the comparison of grade 8 to 10 urban and peri-urban learners' contexts preferences in mathematical literacy. There is currently a strong emphasis on the use of contexts for school mathematics. This has been also the case for South Africa when grade 10 learners have to make a choice between mathematics and mathematical literacy as one of their compulsory subjects for grade 10. This study focused more on the use of mathematics in real life situations. Data was collected by using questionnaires developed as part of the Relevance of School Mathematics Education (ROSME) project. The questionnaire dealt with contexts preferred by grade 10 learners from urban and peri-urban areas. The data were analysed using non-parametric statistical techniques. The findings radicate that there were contexts highly preferred by learners from both urban and peri-urban areas; least preferred by learners from both areas, highly preferred by learners from periurban areas but not by learners from urban areas and least preferred by learners from urban areas but not by those from peri-urban areas and vice versa. It is recommended that contexts highly preferred by learners should be incorporated in the learning experiences of learners. / South Africa

Master of Public Health - MPH / Background:cholera outbreaks have almost become a norm in Lusaka district with the onset of rains.The disease forms part of the preventable diarrhea diseases that have greatly contributed to the high morbidity and mortality rates especially in children under five. In an effort to mitigate the recurrence of cholera in the district of Lusaka, various strategies have been employed to resolve the crisis. However none have investigated the skill or capacity of the public health officers involved in health promotion and disease prevention,themselves. Therefore in this study, focus is turned on one of the integral officers in this public health arena who seem directly involved in preventive health, the Environmental Health Officers. The aim is to clarify their role and skills capacity with the hope of initiating a process of developing appropriate skills and therefore positively contribute to the fight to contain cholera outbreaks.Study Design:this is mainly a qualitative descriptive study that seeks to gain insight into the problem EHOs in Lusaka may be facing in averting cholera outbreaks by exploring in-depth, their attitudes, beliefs and values concerning their role and capacity with consideration to the training they receive to prepare them for their role. The sample was drawn from the EHO’s from 26 health centers under the jurisdiction of the Lusaka Urban District Health Management Team (LUDHMT).Data Collection:data was collected from the EHOs through focus group discussions to scrutinize how their knowledge and experience interact in their setting. Consequently, a few follow-up EHO interviews were done for further clarification of recorded data. Face to face, semistructured interviews were conducted with their supervisors as well as EHO trainers from the two local colleges concerned with EHO training. UWC, SOPH, mini-thesis, Hilary Chibiya, 2520505.May 2009 Analysis of Results:a qualitative approach to data analysis was employed which commenced during data collection through member checking to comparing, coding, categorizing and seeking meaningful interpretations of emerging themes.Discussion and Conclusion:while the EHOs’ perceive themselves essentially as promoters of environmental health,this study discovered that they dwell more on control measures in the matter of cholera out breaks. Even though they feel confident to contain an outbreak they expressed a lack in the level of skills they possessed to enable them to monitor, evaluate and consequently get rid of the all the factors that cause the disease to recur. Inevitably with this lack of self-assurance to eradicate cholera they seem resolved to focusing their resources to adequately prepare for the control of cholera than its prevention, instead. Very importantly, it was found that both policy development and training are to lagging behind the demands of the EHOs current role and their work is hindered by lack of funds specific to prevention activities complicated by an unhealthy donor dependency. There also is a need for all the key players in the environmental Health arena to appreciate the shift in the role of an EHO from the former traditional responsibilities because the incidence of cholera could keep recurring unless all these stakeholders could join forces in training and supporting the EHO appropriately.UWC, SOPH, mini-thesis, Hilary Chibiya, 2520505.May 2009

The rural-urban interface (RUI) is a complex landscape impacted by a variety of social and economic processes. Substantial U.S. agricultural production occurs at the RUI despite non-farm development pressure. Notably, at a time when U.S. farming is increasingly dominated by a shrinking number of large scale operations, RUI agricultural production occurs primarily on small and medium farms. Importantly, RUI farms exhibit greater diversity in terms of operator demographics, production type, and marketing channels, than their large-scale counterparts. A critical resource in the persistence of diverse RUI farms is Technical Assistance (TA). While TA is provided by a number of different institutional actors, the focus here is restricted to the Extension Service, United States Department of Agriculture backed Natural Resource Conservation Service and Soil and Water Conservation District programs, and nonprofit sector organizations whose mission is focused on supporting U.S. agriculture. Through an analysis of qualitative and quantitative data collected as part of a multi-state study, the goal of this work is twofold. In the first place, this work seeks to assess the utilization of the different sources of TA by farmers operating at the RUI. Subsequently, the work investigates the resulting attitudes farmers hold about the TA they use. As such, this analysis is intended to examine how TA contributes to the persistence of the diverse agriculture operating at the RUI and to explore possible ways in which these critical resources can be further enhanced in order to support RUI farms and farmers.

In the last decade there has been a substantial increase of new migrants into large cities in Việt Nam, changing the social, cultural, and political fabric of Hồ Chí Minh City. Rapid urbanization and land use changes in Hồ Chí Minh City have occurred alongside mass internal migration. The movement of people has become an important piece in the 1986 economic reforms of đổi mới and a main focus of Vietnamese public policy from the late 1990s until today. With the influx of new actors comes a new set of social interactions and negotiations between people in daily life that are embedded within a broader socio-economic framework. New liberal policies on internal migration have spurred great mass internal migration into cities which has several implications for not only the entire country, but specific to this research, for the social dynamics of how Bình Trị Ðông ward is managing the influx of migrants. Not only did this field research seek to explore the social relationships and integration among migrants living on the urban fringe but the issue of local governance and infrastructure provisions in the form of migrant housing is central to this research. In short, this thesis asks: what are the social experiences of migrants living in Bình Trị Ðông? What is the role of local government, if any, in managing the social and cultural changes among migrants? My research finds that migrants are each striving towards their own individual goals of economic gains, treating Bình Trị Ðông as a temporary living space, thus preventing a strong sense of community and social bonds from flourishing. Meanwhile, more equitable planning policies of prioritizing the needs of ordinary citizens over economic development signal a shift in local development policies. Yet the government’s shift towards greater participation has not necessarily changed the lived experiences of residents. Migrants here are oriented towards their own goals thus stunting interpersonal relationships and deepening social segregation, leading one to question what ties, if any, unite people in this neighborhood. / Arts, Faculty of / Asian Research, Institute of / Graduate

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(地球環境学) / 甲第22104号 / 地環博第190号 / 新制||地環||37(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院地球環境学舎地球環境学専攻 / (主査)教授 西前 出, 教授 小林 広英, 准教授 鬼塚 健一郎 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Global Environmental Studies / Kyoto University / DGAM

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / This research examines the ways in which the rapid commoditisation of land in Ghana’s peri-urban areas is transforming local customary tenure systems. The research focuses on two selected research sites in Ghana’s peri-urban Kumasi, namely Aburaso and Kromoase. Rapid urbanisation has resulted in an increase in demand for housing land. Consequently, wealthy migrants are moving to peri-urban areas in search of relatively affordable residential land. This has accelerated the commoditisation of customary land in most peri-urban areas of Ghana. Customary forms of tenure are increasingly being converted into individual or private systems of land ownership. Evidence from this study shows that traditional authorities are increasingly alienating customary land without the consent of their subjects. The commoditisation of customary land in Aburaso and Kromoase has resulted in the decline of agrarian production as agricultural land is parcelled out to wealthy outsiders.

Bwaise III in Kampala, Uganda is a densely populated informal settlement with a shallow groundwater table and inadequate basic services. High risk of groundwater contamination will bring health problem to the local residents. In this study, a large dimension (300 m in length) 2D model was developed to depict the hydrogeological condition and to examine the response to different rainfall infiltration rate on the groundwater table. The boundary condition of the drainage system plays an important role in modeling the groundwater flow. The simulation results show that water in the drain will flow into the aquifer when the drain is full, otherwise the drain will act as a sink for ground water. Advective transport of phosphorus results in no pollutants reaching or percolating into the drain. The integration of phosphorous concentra-tion flowing out of Domain 3 (pollutant inlet) corresponds to the infiltration rate and the plume moves faster during the wet season which brings in more phosphorous compared with the dry season. With sorption, all the phosphorus was adsorbed within the top soil. A simplified 3D model was set up to illustrate the flow field. Additional simulation can be undertaken within this 3D frame for more realistic calculation and consistent prediction.

No description available.

This thesis assesses sanitation realities experienced by peri-urban slum dwellers in Chennai, India, to investigate whether rapid economic growth translates into pervasive safe sanitation, otherwise a threat to human security. This is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of ‘leaving no one behind’. The empirical methodology consists of qualitative comparative case studies approached through rapid appraisal. At least 5 interviews at each of the 10 different slum settlement locations within the Chennai Metropolitan area were conducted. Both the locations and the settlers were conveniently sampled. The settlements were chosen as they mostly lay in a rapidly urbanizing area. The selection of interviewee was determined by availability, yet leaning towards women who are more vulnerable when lacking safe sanitation facilities, and who are the primary caregivers in the household. The research found that out of the 10 settlements visited, 5 habitually practiced open defecation, as no sanitation facilities were available. Hence some settlers were restricted in their freedom to be safe from emotional or physical harm: threatened by dangerous pathogens released into the environment, and insecurities due to lack of privacy. Conceptually the thesis applies an understanding of how affecting influences in individual history and living environment impact upon an individual’s conscious mind, connecting the capability approach to consciousness research. The thesis argues how settlers, overlooked by public services, and subjected to the dangerous and humiliating practice of open defecation, are faced with mental health issues and a diminished likelihood to productively engage, and exercise agency for human growth.