scholarly journals Drinking water quality and trust : communities and risk information

Author(s):  
Caitlin J Burley

Ontario drinking water systems face increasing contamination risks due to over-taxed water systems. Canadian perceptions of drinking water, and trust in government, have declined as a result of Walkerton and other contamination episodes. Research in the field of trust, risk communication and risk perception has developed extensively in recent years. However, there is very little research regarding risk perception, communication and trust as it relates to drinking water. This study investigated drinking water perceptions, trust in drinking water authorities and communication needs of a small Ontario municipality with a positive drinking water history and good communication practices. The results indicated that the community members had positive perceptions about their source and drinking water. They had high levels of trust in their local government and low levels of trust in outside sources. Despite the high levels of trust in the local government, the residents displayed additional information needs; suggesting the presence of critical trust.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlin J Burley

Ontario drinking water systems face increasing contamination risks due to over-taxed water systems. Canadian perceptions of drinking water, and trust in government, have declined as a result of Walkerton and other contamination episodes. Research in the field of trust, risk communication and risk perception has developed extensively in recent years. However, there is very little research regarding risk perception, communication and trust as it relates to drinking water. This study investigated drinking water perceptions, trust in drinking water authorities and communication needs of a small Ontario municipality with a positive drinking water history and good communication practices. The results indicated that the community members had positive perceptions about their source and drinking water. They had high levels of trust in their local government and low levels of trust in outside sources. Despite the high levels of trust in the local government, the residents displayed additional information needs; suggesting the presence of critical trust.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosnani Hussin ◽  
Faridah Hashim

The communication needs of family members with a relative in the ICU,  needs of family members; prioritise those needs and who met those needs.  with earlier studies where family members placed hope and trusts on the health care givers as top priority. An important outcome of this study is the importance of good communication skills for nurses to relay information needs of family members with a critically ill person in the ICU. Keywords: family needs, information needs, communication. eISSN 2514-7528 © 2017 The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 92-96
Author(s):  
Wendy Pons ◽  
Andria Jones-Bitton ◽  
Steven Lam ◽  
Scott A. McEwen ◽  
Katarina Pintar ◽  
...  

Public health inspectors (PHIs) play an important role in enforcing the regulation and monitoring of approximately 9000 small noncommunity drinking water systems across Ontario. These small drinking water systems (SDWS) are diverse and face unique challenges. The purpose of this research was to explore PHIs’ insights and needs related to these SDWS in Ontario, Canada, to inform future policy and training initiatives to support safe drinking water. Data were collected through teleconference-conducted focus groups. Transcripts were analyzed and three major themes were found: the operator–PHI relationship, PHI training and information needs, and operational challenges. Overall, participants reported that they felt confident in their ability to inspect SDWSs. Main concerns to water safety were the technical ability of the water operator to manage their water supply and the impact of having a long time period between inspections of water systems. Future research should explore the cost-benefit of increasing inspection frequency in SDWSs and a variety of training and education initiatives for PHIs and operators of SDWSs.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew John PENDERY

There are some striking similarities between Legionnaire’s disease and COVID-19. Thesymptoms, age group and sex at risk are identical. The geographical distribution of both diseases is similar in Europe overall, and within the USA, France and Italy. The environmental distributions are also similar. However Legionnaire’s disease is caused by Legionella bacteria while COVID-19 is caused by the Corona virus. Whereas COVID-19 is contagious, Legionnaire’s disease is environmental. Legionella bacteria are commonly found in drinking water systems and near air conditioning cooling towers. Legionnaire’sdisease is caught by inhaling contaminated water droplets. The Legionella bacteria does not spread person to person and only causes disease if it enters the lungs.Could the Corona virus be making it easier for Legionella bacteria to enter the lungs?


HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 552e-552
Author(s):  
James L. Green

In 1997, the ASHS Board of Directors established ASHS HortBase as a Standing Committee of the Society. The ASHS HortBase Committee, a six-member Standing Committee and Chair, is charged to implement and maintain ASHS HortBase. The members of the ASHS HortBase Committee will be chair and chair-elect of the three HortBase Task Forces: 1) Finance and Marketing; 2) Standards—authoring, reviewing, and publishing; and 3) Technology. ASHS HortBase is a dispersed, dynamic horticultural information system (network) on the WWW comprised of peer—reviewed, concise, interlinked information modules to meet the information needs of instructors and students, gardeners and growers. A strong advantage and distinguishing characteristic of ASHS HortBase is our dynamic pool of potential authors, reviewers, and users (ASHS Extension, Industry, and Teaching membership) to continually evolve and update the peer-reviewed information in HortBase. We have the scholastic international standing to provide peer review and validation of the information and to recognition to the authors, coupled with the marketing to stimulate wide use of their information modules. ASHS HortBase is a dispersed system (dispersed development and server costs). The “dispersed cost” for information file development and updating and delivery on the respective authors' dispersed servers disperses the major costs of the HortBase information system. Additional information on ASHS HortBase and the papers presented at the 4-h Colloquium on HortBase at ASHS-97 can be found at http://[email protected] or contact me ([email protected], phone 541.737.5452, fax 541.737.3479).


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-111
Author(s):  
Stanislava Gardasevic

Purpose This paper presents the results of a qualitative study that involved students of an interdisciplinary PhD program. The study objective was to gather requirements to create a knowledge graph information system. The purpose of this study was to determine information-seeking practices and information needs of this community, to inform the functionalities of a proposed system, intended to help students with relevant resource discovery and decision-making. Design/methodology/approach The study design included semi-structured interviews with eight members of the community, followed by a website usability study with the same student participants. Findings Two main information-seeking styles are recognized and reported through user personas of international and domestic (USA) students. The findings show that the useful information resides within the community and not so much on the program website. Students rely on peer communication, although they report lack of opportunities to connect. Students’ information needs and information seeking are dependent on their progress through the program, as well as their motivation and the projected timeline. Practical implications Considering the current information needs and practices, a knowledge graph hosting both information on social networks and the knowledge produced by the activities of the community members would be useful. By recording data on their activities (for example, collaboration with professors and coursework), students would reveal further useful system functionalities and facilitate transfer of tacit knowledge. Originality/value Aside from the practical value of this research that is directly influencing the design of a system, it contributes to the body of knowledge on interdisciplinary PhD programs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 6851
Author(s):  
Neal Spicer ◽  
Brenda Parlee ◽  
Molly Chisaakay ◽  
Doug Lamalice

Many Indigenous communities across Canada suffer from the lack of access to clean drinking water; ensuring individuals and communities have safe water to drink either from their home or from their local environment requires the consideration of multiple factors including individual risk perception. In collaboration with local leaders, semi-structured interviews (n = 99) were conducted over a two-year period in the Dene Tha’ First Nation and Kátł’odeeche First Nation to unpack the issue of risk perception and its meaning to local community members. These local metrics of risk perception including smell, taste, safety, health fears and level of concern were then used to explore patterns in other data on drinking water consumption patterns and bottled water use. The results are consistent with previous research related to water insecurity and indicate that both communities consume more bottled water than the average Canadian. Results also varied by jurisdiction; those in Alberta indicated much higher levels of concern and a greater degree of bottled water consumption.


Author(s):  
Sasha Harris-Lovett ◽  
Kara L. Nelson ◽  
Paloma Beamer ◽  
Heather N. Bischel ◽  
Aaron Bivins ◽  
...  

Wastewater surveillance for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emerging approach to help identify the risk of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. This tool can contribute to public health surveillance at both community (wastewater treatment system) and institutional (e.g., colleges, prisons, and nursing homes) scales. This paper explores the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from initial wastewater surveillance efforts at colleges and university systems to inform future research, development and implementation. We present the experiences of 25 college and university systems in the United States that monitored campus wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 during the fall 2020 academic period. We describe the broad range of approaches, findings, resources, and impacts from these initial efforts. These institutions range in size, social and political geographies, and include both public and private institutions. Our analysis suggests that wastewater monitoring at colleges requires consideration of local information needs, sewage infrastructure, resources for sampling and analysis, college and community dynamics, approaches to interpretation and communication of results, and follow-up actions. Most colleges reported that a learning process of experimentation, evaluation, and adaptation was key to progress. This process requires ongoing collaboration among diverse stakeholders including decision-makers, researchers, faculty, facilities staff, students, and community members.


Author(s):  
Gabriel Pablo Lobo ◽  
Ashok Gadgil

Toxic levels of lead leaching from ageing water distribution infrastructure affect over 5,000 public drinking water systems in the US. Pipe replacement, the most effective solution to this problem, is...


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document