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abstract: De facto potable reuse (DFR) occurs when surface water sources at drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) contain treated effluents from upstream wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Contaminants of emerging concerns (CECs) originate from treated effluents (e.g., unregulated disinfection by-products, pathogenic microorganisms as Cryptosporidium oocyst, Giardia cyst, and Norovirus) can be present in surface water and pose human health risks linked to CECs. Previously developed De facto Reuse Incidence in our Nations Consumable Supply (DRINCS) model predicted DFR for the national largest DWTPs that serve >10,000 people (N = 2,056 SW intakes at 1,210 DWTPs). The dissertation aims to quantify DFR at all surface water intakes for smaller DWTPs serving ≤10,000 people across the United States and develop a programmed ArcGIS tool for proximity analysis between upstream WWTPs and DWTPs. The tested hypothesis is whether DWTPs serving ≤10,000 people are more likely to be impacted by DFR than larger systems serving > 10,000 people.The original DRINCS model was expanded to include all smaller DWTPs (N = 6,045 SW intakes at 3,984 DWTPs) in the U.S. First, results for Texas predicted that two-thirds of all SW intakes were impacted by at least one WWTP upstream. The level of DFR at SW intakes in Texas ranged between 1% to 20% under average flow and exceeded 90% during mild droughts. Smaller DWTPs in Texas had a higher frequency of DFR than larger systems while < 10% of these DWTPs employed advanced technology (AT) capable of removing CECs. Second, nationally over 40% of surface water intakes at all DWTPs were impacted by DFR under average flow (2,917 of 6,826). Smaller DWTPs had a higher frequency (1,504 and 1,413, respectively) of being impacted by upstream WWTP discharges than larger DWTPs. Third, the difference in DFR levels at smaller versus larger DWTPs was statistically unclear (t-test, p = 0.274). Smaller communities could have high risks to CECs as they rely on surface water from lower-order streams impacted by DFR. Furthermore, smaller DWTPs lack more than twice as advanced unit processes as larger DWTPs with 52.1% and 23%, respectively. DFR levels for DWTPs serving > 10,000 people were statistically higher on mid-size order streams (3, 5, and 8) than those for smaller DWTPs. Finally, DWTPs serving > 10,000 people could pose risks to a population impacted by DFR > 1% as 40 times as those served by smaller DWTPs with 71 million and 1.7 million people, respectively. The total exposed population to risks of CECs served by DWTPs impacted by upstream WWTP discharges (DFR >10%) was estimated at 12.3 million people in the United States. Future studies can use DRINCS results to conduct an epidemiological risk assessment for impacted communities and identify communities that would benefit from advanced technology to remove CECs. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering 2020

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The increasing evidence of chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) in water bodies is causing major concern around the world because of their toxicological effects upon humans and aquatic organisms. The release of wastewater to the aquatic environment is most likely to introduce some trace levels of organic contaminants, some of which may be toxic, carcinogenic, or endocrine disruptors, as well as, persistent in the environment. These compounds are often persistent but not regularly monitored because they are mostly still excluded from environmental legislation. Their fate and persistence in the environment are not well understood

Conventional wastewater treatment plants are able to reduce contaminant loads within regulations but do not take into account emerging contaminants. Antibiotic resistance genes and antibiotic resistant bacteria have been shown to survive wastewater treatment and remain detectable in effluents. The safety of treated wastewaters is crucial, otherwise unregulated and unmitigated emerging contaminants pose risks to public health and impede wastewater reuse. This dissertation aimed to further understanding of emerging microbial threats, and tested two natural and low-cost tools for their mitigation: sunlight, and bacteriophages. A wastewater bacterial isolate, named E. coli PI-7, which is highly antibiotic resistant, carries the novel antibiotic resistance gene New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase NDM-1 gene, and displays pathogenic traits, was chosen to model responses to the treatments. Results found that solar irradiation was able to achieve a 5-log reduction in E. coli PI-7 numbers within 12 hours of exposure. However, the results also emphasized the risks from emerging microbial contaminants since E. coli PI-7, when compared with a non-pathogenic strain E. coli DSM1103 that has less antibiotic resistance, showed longer survival under solar irradiation. In certain instances, E. coli PI-7 persisted for over 6 hours before starting to inactivate, exhibited complex stress resistance gene responses, and activated many of its concerning pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance traits. However, upon solar irradiation, gene expression results obtained from both E. coli strains also showed increased susceptibility to bacteriophages. Hence, bacteriophages were coupled with solar irradiation as an additional mitigation strategy. Results using the coupled treatment found reduced cell-wall and extracellular matrix production in E. coli PI-7. DNA repair and other cellular defense functions like oxidative stress responses were also impeded, rendering E. coli PI-7 more susceptible to both stressors and successfully hastening the onset of its inactivation. Overall, the dissertation is built upon the need to develop strategies to further mitigate risks associated with emerging microbial contaminants. Solar irradiation and bacteriophages demonstrate potential as natural and low-cost mitigation strategies. Sunlight was able to achieve significant log-reductions in tested E. coli numbers within a day’s exposure. Bacteriophages were able to overwhelm E. coli PI-7’s capacity to resist solar inactivation while not affecting the indigenous microbiota.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(経済学) / 甲第22682号 / 経博第618号 / 新制||経||293(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院経済学研究科経済学専攻 / (主査)教授 柴田 章久, 准教授 高橋 修平, 教授 佐々木 啓明, 教授 敦賀 貴之(大阪大学) / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Economics / Kyoto University / DGAM

With a growing population and continuous accumulation of pollutants, water resources worldwide are quickly being depleted. Drastic improvements need to be made in both water conservation and treatment. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been developed to go above and beyond the capabilities of traditional wastewater treatment facilities to eliminate emerging contaminants from our water systems. AOPs increase the generation of hydroxyl radicals (•OH) in oxidation reactions, which are less selective and more reactive than other oxidants, such as ozone, so they are more effective at degrading persistent compounds. This study explored an AOP that utilizes ozonated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to generate •OH; past research has proven the success of this method of water treatment, showing a significant decrease in the effluent concentration of the tested compounds. However, these previous studies used a batch system with an initial aliquot of ozone, which would not be a feasible option in a commercial application. This research compares results from a semi-batch system with a continuous injection of ozone to these previous batch system studies to determine if continuous ozonation improves •OH generation capability, contaminant degradation, and the associated reaction kinetics. Results from batch studies had shown limitations to both •OH generation and contaminant degradation which were suspected to be due to ozone degradation; however, these results suggest that ozone availability is in fact not a limiting factor to •OH or contaminant degradation, and another mechanism must be at play. Further, to advance the AOP toward a commercially feasible design, a continuous flow-through system with a MWCNT embedded membrane was explored. The continuous system achieved 80% contaminant degradation in some cases, however, with varying retention times and efficiencies over time, the results were inconclusive and additional experimentation is required.

Despite a comprehensive research of South Africa’s power status, the available literature does not provide a satisfactory explanation of whether South Africa is an emerging power or not. Countries in the Global South with a vigorous economic growth are often offhandedly assigned an emerging power status. Since power is built on more than economics, more specific indicators of how to measure South Africa’s power status need to be applied, in order to draw legitimate conclusions about whether it is an emerging power or not, which this study aims to do. When South Africa’s power status is identified, the observance of changes in international power distribution and understanding of powerful states’ influence on the international arena may increase. It may also be easier to predict how their power statuses can favour or disfavour other countries. This investigation is conducted through a qualitative text analysis and a single case study with a deductive approach. South Africa’s power status is analysed through the glasses of the analytical framework of Sven Biscop and Thomas Renard’s “seven dimensions of power”. The findings suggest that South Africa is an emerging power, since the country succeeds in five out of seven dimensions of power, and partly succeeds in two dimensions, but has also made a great progress in most power dimensions.

La presente investigación aporta a la literatura económica sobre inclusión financiera. La importancia de su estudio radica en las implicancias de esta variable sobre el crecimiento económico y la reducción de la pobreza, ya que brinda mayores oportunidades a las personas para decidir sobre sus finanzas. La principal contribución es analizar la relación que existe entre la inclusión financiera y sus principales determinantes en economías emergentes de América Latina elegidas por el ranking 2019 de economías emergentes del MSCI, siendo estas: Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, México y Perú. Asimismo, determinar las principales barreras que se perciben como razones para ser excluidos del sistema financiero. De esta manera, mediante el proceso de especificación se determinó un modelo Probit como la mejor representación; y, con el proceso de estimación de este (utilizando los datos del Global Findex Data en conjunto con Gallup), se llegó a la conclusión que las principales variables que influyen para que una persona pueda aumentar la probabilidad de ser incluido financieramente son: el género de una persona, la edad, los ingresos, el nivel de educación alcanzado y el país de origen del encuestado. Mientras que, las principales barreras para ser excluido financieramente son: que un familiar tenga una cuenta financiera y la desconfianza que se tiene hacia el sistema financiero. / This research contributes to the economic literature on financial inclusion. The importance of its study lies in the implications of this variable on economic growth and poverty reduction, as it gives people greater opportunities to decide on their finances. The main contribution of this research is to analyze the relationship between financial inclusion and its key determinants in Emerging Economies of Latin America chosen by the 2019 ranking of MSCI emerging markets, being the following countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Furthermore, determining the main barriers that are perceived as reasons to influence the probability to be part of financial exclusion. Thus, by means of the specification process, a Probit model was determined as the best representation; and, with the process of estimating this using the Global Findex Data in conjunction with Gallup, it was concluded that the main variables that have influence to be part of financial inclusion are: the gender of a person, age, income, level of education attained and the country of origin of the respondent. While the main barriers to being excluded financially are: a family member has a financial account and the distrust of the financial system. / Trabajo de investigación

In the past decade, the financial industry has been criticized to lack a faster digital transformation to provide more efficient services, where FinTech (a neologism generated from the contraction of “(Fin)ancial” and “(Tech)nology”) start-ups or fintechs represent a paradigm shift to reinvent the industry. FinTech is gaining attention in multiple academic disciplines, however, it was found that it has been neglected from the international business discipline to understand the internationalization process of fintechs. Furthermore, as the financial industry is an important cornerstone to foster economic growth and social welfare, particularly in the context of Latin American emerging countries, lack of studies in this context also motivated the development of this thesis. The purpose of this study is to accommodate FinTech in the international business discipline drawing from network theory and born-digital firms’ characteristics, emphasizing on core activities within the digital value chain to analyze the internationalization process and identify the main challenges. A conceptual framework was developed to analyze the internationalization process of Ecuadorian fintechs and the challenges faced. The research has a qualitative approach, employing multiple case studies strategy, where semi-structured interviews with founders and senior managers of four Ecuadorian fintechs were conducted. Empirical findings showed that despite having a high digital value chain and take advantage of internet technologies to internationalize faster, Ecuadorian fintechs followed a gradual regional expansion within Latin American countries and their internationalization process was mostly network-driven. Furthermore, besides the most prominent internationalization challenges such as liabilities of outsidership (LoO) and institutional regulations, additional resource-related internationalization challenges were found such as funding, skilled IT talents and innovation, which raise the importance to emphasize in such challenges for further research.

A shift in economic power from the developed world to emerging markets has seen the BRICS countries becoming the new growth centre of the world. In 2010, half of the total global foreign direct investment (FDI) flows went to emerging economies. A large portion of these FDI flows goes to the manufacturing industry with a quarter of the global GDP being generated by the production processes of multinational manufacturing enterprises (MMEs). The challenge for the BRICS countries will be to sustain their trend in FDI inflow. Previous studies on this topic focused on the determinants of FDI at country level as opposed to an industry specific focus. The outcome of this study assists MMEs in their entering decisions and policy makers in developing policies that create an enabling environment that will attract foreign capital.This research analyses the BRICS countries as potential destinations for FDI in the manufacturing industry. The analyses followed a three phased approach. The first phase identified the potential determinants of FDI to the manufacturing industry of the BRICS countries. The second phase either validated or disproved investor perceptions about the factors that would impact on the performance of an investment. In the third and final phase of the analysis, the competitiveness of the BRICS countries in attracting FDI to the manufacturing industry was assessed.The analysis of the three hypotheses contributed to the overarching theme of evaluating the BRICS countries as potential destinations for MMEs. The outcome of the analysis highlights that countries are unique and that investor perceptions about a country’s conditions and how this will impact on the performance of an investment are not always valid. In the overall analysis of the BRICS countries as potential destinations for FDI, the majority of the BRICS countries, with the exception of South Africa, are found to be competitive destinations for attracting FDI to the manufacturing industry. On the basis of the outcome of the analysis and the methodology followed in this study, a general model that can be used in future FDI research is suggested. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted