Municipal Utilities: An Overview  Of Rate Models, Sustainability And  The Effects On Affordability

Municipalities are faced with escalating costs, harder to find resources, and increasing regulatory restrictions in an effort to maintain public utilities. To complicate this situation, communities must address a growing number of individuals who are unable to pay their utility bill. This study is a review of several water utilities in Florida to determine how typical municipal utilities approaches affordability. Factors affecting utilities such as sustainability, rate models, and regulations are examined to the present methodology for an average municipality in addressing the increasing important issue of affordability. This research is a continuation of a longitudinal study to determine how municipalities address increasing costs to maintain their utility while considering those in the community who are less fortunate and cannot continue to absorb the higher costs of water and wastewater.

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Future Directions in Instrumentation, Control and Automation in the Water and Wastewater Industry

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1993.0640 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 28 (11-12) ◽

pp. 9-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Troy D. Vassos

Keyword(s):

Control Strategies ◽

Treatment Plant ◽

Dynamic Modelling ◽

Simulation Software ◽

Plant Performance ◽

Limiting Factors ◽

Time Data ◽

Training Environment ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Water And Wastewater

The need to optimize treatment plant performance and to meet increasingly stringent effluent criteria are two key factors affecting future development of instrumentation, control and automation (ICA) applications in the water and wastewater industry. Two case studies are presented which highlight the need for dynamic modelling and simulation software to assist operations staff in developing effective instrumentation control strategies, and to provide a training environment for the evaluation of such strategies. One of the limiting factors to date in realizing the potential benefits of ICA has been the inability to adequately interpret the large number of existing instrumentation inputs available at treatment facilities. The number of inputs can exceed the number of control loops by up to three orders of magnitude. The integration of dynamic modelling and expert system software is seen to facilitate the interpretation of real-time data, allowing both quantitative (instrumented) and qualitative (operator input) information to be integrated for process control. Improvements in sensor reliability and performance, and the development of biological monitoring sensors and control algorithms are also discussed.

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Studies of factors affecting stability and efficiency of anion exchanger

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/202017703020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 177 ◽

pp. 03020

Author(s):

Nigora Mukhtarova ◽

Bakhodir Aliev ◽

Sadritdin Turabdzhanov ◽

Latofat Rakhimova

Keyword(s):

Ion Exchange ◽

Anion Exchanger ◽

Analytical Data ◽

Polycondensation Reaction ◽

Water And Wastewater Treatment ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Exchange Processes ◽

Physicochemical Factors ◽

Swelling Capacity ◽

Water And Wastewater

Various industries such as mining and the chemical industry are one of the most used ion exchange processes for water and wastewater treatment. The first section of this work presents the mechanism of the polycondensation reaction to obtain the polymer matrix of anion exchanger. Elemental analytical data conformed that anion exchanger holds 34,99% of nitrogen atoms and 44,47% oxygen atoms in the structure. In addition to the synthesis of the anion exchanger, physicochemical factors have a significant effect. The temperature of reactions for a certain time using a Lewis catalyst, the choice of the optimal solvent for improving swelling capacity of the starting monomers, due to their advantages as effective materials at a low price, are described in the second section. The information in the last section of the paper is devoted to the sorption properties and the ion-exchange processes in where the obtained anion exchanger was studied and used.

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Factors Influencing Reversion to Normal Cognition and Progression to Dementia in Elderly with Mild Cognitive Impairment: Analysis of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Journal of Korean Gerontological Nursing ◽

10.17079/jkgn.2021.23.3.297 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 297-310

Author(s):

Sujin Eom ◽

Ju-Young Ha

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Activities Of Daily Living ◽

Daily Living ◽

Study Data ◽

Social Activities ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Instrumental Activities ◽

Normal Cognition

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify factors affecting reversion to normal cognition and progression to dementia from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) after 2 years.Methods: We analyzed data from the 6th and 7th “Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA)”. A total of 773 participants aged 65 years and above classified as having MCI according to the Korean Mini-Mental State Examination in the 6th survey were included in the study. Data were analyzed by SPSS 26.0 software using x2 test, t-test, Mann-Whitney test and logistic regression analysis.Results: Of all the participants, 30.5% reverted to normal cognition, 48.5% remained with MCI, and 21.0% progressed to dementia. Factors such as young age (odds ratio [OR]=0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.94~0.99), the absence of diabetes (OR=1.49, 95% CI: 1.01~2.19), and frequent neighbor networks “at least once or twice a month” (OR=2.35, 95% CI: 1.26~4.37), and “at least once a week” (OR=1.63, 95% CI: 1.03~2.56) compared to “never or less than 6 times a year” significantly associated with reversion to normal cognition. Meanwhile, factors such as old age (OR=1.09, 95% CI: 1.05~1.12), low level of perceived socioeconomic status (reference. above middle) (OR=1.59, 95% CI: 1.05~2.41), low levels of instrumental activities of daily living (OR=1.17, 95% CI: 1.05~1.32), and a small number of social activities (OR=0.70, 95% CI: 0.51~0.96) significantly associated with dementia progression.Conclusion: The study indicates the necessity of follow-up research for developing interventions that could aid individuals in reverting to normal cognitive function by managing diabetes or encouraging interaction with neighbors and preventing the progression to dementia by improving Instrumental Activities of Daily Living levels or encouraging participation in social activities.

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Propagation Model of Panic Buying Under the Sudden Epidemic

Frontiers in Public Health ◽

10.3389/fpubh.2021.675687 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Peihua Fu ◽

Bailu Jing ◽

Tinggui Chen ◽

Chonghuan Xu ◽

Jianjun Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Online Social Networks ◽

Group Behavior ◽

Propagation Model ◽

Release Time ◽

External Information ◽

Buying Behavior ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Proposed Model ◽

Huge Impact ◽

Number Of Individuals

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 at the end of 2019 has had a huge impact on people's lives all over the world, and the overwhelmingly negative information about the epidemic has made people panic for the future. This kind of panic spreads and develops through online social networks, and further spreads to the offline environment, which triggers panic buying behavior and has a serious impact on social stability. In order to quantitatively study this behavior, a two-layer propagation model of panic buying behavior under the sudden epidemic is constructed. The model first analyzes the formation process of individual panic from a micro perspective, and then combines the Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) Model to simulate the spread of group behavior. Then, through simulation experiments, the main factors affecting the spread of panic buying behavior are discussed. The experimental results show that: (1) the dissipating speed of individual panics is related to the number of interactions and there is a threshold. When the number of individuals involved in interacting is equal to this threshold, the panic of the group dissipates the fastest, while the dissipation speed is slower when it is far from the threshold; (2) The reasonable external information release time will affect the occurrence of the second panic buying, meaning providing information about the availability of supplies when an escalation of epidemic is announced will help prevent a second panic buying. In addition, when the first panic buying is about to end, if the scale of the second panic buying is to be suppressed, it is better to release positive information after the end of the first panic buying, rather than ahead of the end; and (3) Higher conformity among people escalates panic, resulting in panic buying. Finally, two cases are used to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed model.

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Early Research Findings from Journeys Home: Longitudinal Study of Factors Affecting Housing Stability

Australian Economic Review ◽

10.1111/1467-8462.12215 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 50 (2) ◽

pp. 214-219 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

David C. Ribar

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Early Research ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Housing Stability ◽

Research Findings

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An Examination of Global Municipal Government Privacy and Security Policies

Public Sector Reform Using Information Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-839-2.ch006 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 102-114

Author(s):

Aroon Manoharan ◽

Marc Fudge

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Security Policy ◽

Municipal Government ◽

Security Policies ◽

The Internet ◽

Privacy And Security ◽

Security Practices ◽

The World ◽

Research Findings ◽

Number Of Individuals

This chapter highlights the research findings of a longitudinal study of online privacy and security practices among global municipalities conducted in 2005 and 2007. As cities worldwide implement sophisticated e-government platforms to increasingly provide services online, many barriers still inhibit the adoption of such strategies by the citizen users, and one such factor is the availability of a comprehensive privacy policy. The survey examines cities throughout the world based upon their population size, the total number of individuals using the Internet, and the percentage of individuals using the Internet. Specifically, we examined if the website has a privacy or security policy, does the website utilize digital signatures and if the website has a policy addressing the use of cookies to track users. Overall, results indicate that cities are increasingly emphasizing on privacy and security policies with major improvements in 2007, along with significant changes in the top ranking cities in when compared to the 2005 study.

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Importance of Knowledge Management at Water Utilities

Public Works Management & Policy ◽

10.1177/1087724x19870813 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1087724X1987081

Author(s):

Sirpa K. Sandelin ◽

Jarmo J. Hukka ◽

Tapio S. Katko

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Management ◽

Knowledge Sharing ◽

Tacit Knowledge ◽

Qualitative Inquiry ◽

Water Utilities ◽

Property Value ◽

Operational Environment ◽

Semistructured Interviews ◽

Water And Wastewater ◽

Further Development

Water utilities face continuous challenges with the changes of operational environment, aging personnel, and related tacit knowledge of employees. This article explores knowledge management at one Finnish utility and points out knowledge sharing in daily tasks. It highlights how employees interpret knowledge and tacit knowledge and their sharing. Qualitative inquiry was used. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 61 employees (65% of personnel) in 2004 and 33 in 2013 (47%). Knowledge management was regarded as a personal, individually controlled property. Value was one obstacle to the unwillingness to share knowledge and tacit knowledge. Positive change between 2004 and 2013 was seen in the interpretation of tacit knowledge: being something that is recorded in your own head only. Tacit knowledge was daily shared with the closest coworkers. As a strategic asset, knowledge should be managed at water and wastewater utilities as further development needs crucial understanding of previous procedures and practices.

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An integrated approach for solving urban water and wastewater crises in the Arabian Gulf States

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2005.0282 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 52 (9) ◽

pp. 33-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

M. Nouh

Keyword(s):

Environmental Impact ◽

Arabian Gulf ◽

Integrated Approach ◽

Urban Drainage ◽

Urban Water ◽

Economic Aspects ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Gulf States ◽

Water And Wastewater ◽

Main Factors

Various environmental and economic aspects of urban water and wastewater crises in a number of the Arabian Gulf States are discussed. An integrated approach, which considers simultaneously the problems of urban waters (shortage of water supply and problems associated with urban drainage) and those in connection with wastewater (i.e. environmental impact) is proposed. The feasible link between the main factors affecting these problems and the anticipated results encourage the implementation of the proposed approach. The conclusions suggest immediate municipal legislation.

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Longitudinal Study on Construction Organization’s BIM Acceptance

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app10155358 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (15) ◽

pp. 5358

Author(s):

Seulki Lee ◽

Jungho Yu

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Information Modeling ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Construction Sites ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Construction Organizations ◽

Building Information ◽

Construction Organization ◽

Acceptance Model

The Korean domestic market is focused on the introduction of BIM (Building Information Modeling) owing to an influx of investment due to increased interest and mandatory application of BIM. However, the rate of BIM introduction is high, while BIM user proficiency is low. Against these problems, the authors proposed an acceptance model for BIM in construction organizations in 2012. As the number of BIM application cases increases and the number of BIM-trained users increases as time goes on, BIM users’ positive perception of BIM values are expected to increase, which may change the BIM acceptance mechanism. Therefore, we conducted a longitudinal study of the 2012 BIM acceptance model against 2019 data to estimate changes in factors affecting BIM acceptance attitudes as well as the mechanism of the relationships between factors over time spent using the technology. To generalize the results, the respondents were spread across construction sites. The data obtained 119 samples from a sample of experienced users of BIM. We used AMOS 21.0 for hypothesis testing of structural equation modeling (SEM), and the 2019 BIM acceptance model was compared against the 2012 acceptance model using an independent sample t-test. As a result, it was confirmed that the 2012 BIM acceptance model is still suitable for describing the BIM acceptance mechanism of the construction organization, and there was a difference between the 2012 model and the 2019 model. This seems to have changed the mechanism of BIM acceptance by being change perception of BIM users as time goes on. The results of this study can be used to establish a BIM activation strategy for each BIM acceptance stage and are expected to be applicable to establishing a BIM activation strategy for construction organizations or countries with similar BIM acceptance stage.

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