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Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1946.

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1946.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Indiana University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 280-293).

The research underpinning this work took place in the context of two rural water and sanitation projects carried out in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The focus of study was on the way engineers can make water and sanitation projects more sustainable. In particular, emphasis was placed on the broad range of non-technical factors engineers need to incorporate into the design of water and sanitation systems and the processes they need to follow in order to achieve this, looking specifically at the implications of community participation for design process, project management and health and safety management. The current high failure rate of rural water and sanitation projects provided the impetus for carrying out this work. There is an urgent need to improve engineering ability to provide vital life-saving infrastructure in developing countries as this infrastructure is a pre-requisite for poverty reduction. A critical realist perspective framed the research to allow socially constructed realities to be combined with scientific and technical facts, and to allow inquiry in a ‘real world’ scenario where variables cannot be controlled individually. The research questions were explored through the author’s involvement in two community development projects involving water and sanitation system implementation. The key methods employed were interview, both informal and group, observation and reflection. The contribution to knowledge made by this investigation is an increased understanding of the relevance of social and cultural context for engineers engaged in rural water and sanitation infrastructure provision through exploration of these issues in a particular context. Also examined are health and safety aspects of rural water and sanitation projects where the community participate in construction. Whilst health and safety had been explored in a developing country context there is a lack of previous work looking at these issues in a community self-construction context. It was found that a broad range of factors need to be considered in the engineering design of water and sanitation systems if projects are to have a chance of being sustainable in the long term. In order to understand and design appropriately for the context of rural projects with direct community involvement it is necessary to adapt the engineering process to incorporate community participation fully into the design and construction of water and sanitation facilities. Where communities are involved in construction particular issues arise with regards to health and safety management; many of the issues originate in the socio-cultural context and motivations for community members to engage in hazardous construction activities need to be understood and considered to properly manage the construction process. To truly incorporate the ideas of local communities into engineering design, engineers need a greater awareness of the assumptions they hold arising from their scientific outlook. Further research is required in different contexts in order to more clearly define the boundaries of the findings of this study and begin to overcome the limitations of the case study method. However, this research contributes to understanding how engineers can improve their designs of water and sanitation infrastructure and the processes they use to create more sustainable projects by looking at these issues in one particular context. This contribution adds to understanding of how a lack of access to water and sanitation infrastructure in rural regions of developing countries can be overcome, which is ultimately necessary to meet the Millennium Development Goals and as a pre-requisite to reducing poverty in the developing world.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / "Sanitation is dignity" as the state has proclaimed while water is life. Yet to date, there are families and communities that are still dreaming that one day their dignity will be restored and they will have access to proper toilets, clean water that are within close proximity including proper houses. In the 24th year of democracy, people in South Africa are still protesting and challenging government to address the inequalities of the past and reset the agenda of change. These persistent protests are about basic needs and service delivery, but increasingly protestors are invoking the concept of relative needs, dignity and human rights and taking protests to the powerful and wealthy. In fact, the idea of the state as sacrosanct has been deflated since protestors throw poo at state officials and vandalise state infrastructure. The “poo wars” that broke out in 2012 with poo dumped at the airport and government buildings continued with the dumping of excrement on the Rhodes statue at UCT shows that the poor can sometimes set the agenda of change and force politicians to listen. Among the defensive responses raised by authorities is that people put their shacks on private land or pieces of land that are not suitable for housing (wetlands). Politically, there are complex issues in the Western Cape, both the Province and the City of Cape Town Metro are Democratic Alliance (DA) run whilst national government is ruled by the African National Congress (ANC). The majority of townships residents are ANC supporters with a few DA Proportional Representative (PR) councillors. This study looks at a qualitative exploration of the complexities in agenda-setting and participation processes in sanitation services in Site C, Khayelitsha between 2010-2013.Residents see agenda setting and engagements as unilateral, as this study found. It is designed into six chapters. The study was designed in a manner that it would reflect the knowledge and understanding the notion of consultation, community participation in decision-making, agenda-setting and implementation of projects or programmes by the people of Khayelitsha-Site C, Councillors, Shopstewards and officials of the City of Cape Town. Over 20 interviews were completed. A key finding is that by taking poo out of its usual place, taking it out of the private into the public domain and to the rich and by invading their space, the issues of the poor are no longer confined to ghetto townships. Boundaries between state and civil society have become porous. Cape Town’s poor residents using portable toilets commonly known as "pota-pota", and also the temporary toilets commonly known as ‘Mshengu’ have argued that these interim services are not only poorly maintained and dirty but are vastly inferior compared to white areas.

This thesis aims at analyzing the impact of water on economic growth and economic development. We explore different topics that are directly linked to the availability of water, which directly influence economic growth and development. The thesis consists of four studies. The first study models the effect of water utilization and water pollution on economic growth. The second study is based upon reflections on the fixed effects model and makes the distinction between the impact of the mean of a variable X and deviations from that mean on another variable Y. To date it has tended to be assumed that these impacts are the same; we argue that this is not always the case that countries can to an extent adjust to a specific water environment. However having adjusted they face problems when the water environment deviates from the mean. In the third study we explore the effect of different socio economic factors such as labour productivity, agricultural inputs, population density, water resources per land, and variables such as the trade regime, on water withdrawal for the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. A specific focus is on the interactions between these two sectors. This study is new in its content and its theme of the work. We argue that many global trends will put increasing pressures on agricultural and non-agricultural water use. But there is also potential for increased efficiency in this use. The fourth study tries to fill the gap in the literature that deals with development aid for water and sanitation. We explore the impact of aid and aid volatility on safe access to water and sanitation, using a newly available OECD/DAC data base. Specifically, we analyse both the recipient countries and the donors to determine the role of aid in affecting safe access to water and sanitation.

Thesis (M.Sc.(Epidemiology))--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Also available online.

For decades the problems of access to and sustained use of water and sanitation (WATSAN) technologies in developing countries has dominated the political agendas of international organisations and governments. Despite the significant investments made and the apparent appropriateness of technologies transferred, the effective implementation and sustained use of WATSAN technologies remains a chimera. More importantly, improving access to water and sanitation does not necessarily guarantee the longevity of those systems transferred. Lessons from past interventions suggest that the success of WATSAN interventions depends on the ability of ensuring users‟ broad acceptance of the technologies and sustained used after donor assistance ends. Yet, in the academic literature users‟ feedback and experiences in the post-implementation stage of technologies has received scarce attention. Against this background, this thesis aims to contribute to understanding the dynamics involved in the process of WATSAN technology adoption and sustained use in developing countries by reporting the design and evaluation of a diagnostic post- implementation tool, called RECAP, to address and investigate the problem. This research employs a multiple case study approach to evaluate users‟ post-implementation experience of WATSAN technologies in South Africa and Indonesia. Semi-structured interviews with technology users as well as in depth interviews with local governments and health clinics were conducted in three case studies. By comparing and contrasting technology intended performance and users‟ experiences in the post-implementation stage this study aims to identify potential challenges to technology sustained used. Conclusions relate to the existence of discrepancies between performance and experience, manifested in the post-implementation stage, which suggest the necessity to develop evolving mechanisms to routinely assess users‟ feedbacks of the technologies and assist them with appropriate interventions. Further conclusions relate to the validity, reliability and flexibility of a post-implementation diagnostic tool in investigating user experiences, diagnosing emerging challenges and suggesting remedial intervention to contribute to sustained technology use.

The investment needs of the water and sanitation sector and the financing constraints facing many developing countries were important catalysts for the promotion of private investment during the 1990s. Towards the end of the decade however, the flow of private capital began to decline primarily due to the poor performance of some investments and difficulties encountered during these transactions. Regardless, private investment is still considered an important financial resource for the sector which has resulted in considerable attention in addressing governance, economic and socio-political factors which can discourage investment. The aim of the research is to develop a strategic framework for attracting private investment to the Caribbean water and sanitation sector. Using a multiple-case study approach, the research examines the phenomenon of private investment in the water and sanitation sectors in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago by assessing the environment for private investment and determining the specific drivers and deterrents to this type of investment. The implications of small size in the Caribbean context for institutional requirements to support private investment in the sector are also examined. Primary data for the research are obtained from public officials involved in the management, operation and regulation of the sector, local and international private service providers and local financial institutions through interviews and survey questionnaires. Documents are used to contextualise, corroborate and augment the research. The research found that in addition to traditional strategic and financial criteria in terms of provisions of the operating environment and investment performance, behaviour-related factors such as interest in job security, recognition and comfort were also important to the investment decision in the sector. Investors' perceptions of the utility were also found to be a statistically significant determinant of investment. Besides emphasising the importance of creating a conducive environment for investment, the research highlighted a need to simultaneously focus on generating specific investment opportunities to build investor confidence. The most important consequence of small size to negatively impact on creating conducive conditions for investment was the effect of limited professional capacity on institutional arrangements in the sector. Accordingly, sharing professional expertise to address capacity constraints emerged as the most feasible opportunity for regional cooperation to improve the environment for private investment in the sector.