scholarly journals HESS Opinions "Urgent water challenges are not sufficiently researched"

2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 905-912 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. van der Zaag ◽  
J. Gupta ◽  
L. P. Darvis

Abstract. In this opinion paper we submit that water experts conduct comparatively little research on the more urgent challenges facing the global community. Five specific biases are identified. First, research in the field of water and sanitation is heavily biased against sanitation. Second, research on food security is biased in favour of conventional irrigation and fails to address the problems and opportunities of rainfed agriculture. Third, insufficient water research is dedicated to developmental compared to environmental issues. Fourth, too little research is conducted on adaptation to climate change by developing countries. And finally, research on water governance has a fascination for conflict but too little eye for cooperation and meeting basic needs. This paper illustrates these biases with bibliometric indicators extracted from the ISI Web of Science. There is a stark mismatch between the global demand for knowledge and the supply of it. This mismatch is identified here as a problem that we water scientists must confront and resolve. We still lack a full understanding why this divergence between demand and supply occurs and persists; an understanding that is required to guide us towards aligning our research priorities to societal demands. The paper, however, makes some inferences. On the one hand, we should promote the global South to create its own research biases and allow it to develop alternative solutions. Simultaneously we would benefit from critical examination of our own research practice. Although this paper addresses a critical challenge it does not aim to be exhaustive or definitive. We merely identify the persistence of intransigent water problems as a valid research object in itself.

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 34-66
Author(s):  
Joyce Valdovinos

The provision of water services has traditionally been considered a responsibility of the state. During the late 1980s, the private sector emerged as a key actor in the provision of public services. Mexico City was no exception to this trend and public authorities awarded service contracts to four private consortia in 1993. Through consideration of this case study, two main questions arise: First, why do public authorities establish partnerships with the private sector? Second, what are the implications of these partnerships for water governance? This article focuses, on the one hand, on the conceptual debate of water as a public and/or private good, while identifying new trends and strategies carried out by private operators. On the other hand, it analyzes the role of the state and its relationships with other actors through a governance model characterized by partnerships and multilevel networks.Spanish La provisión del servicio del agua ha sido tradicionalmente considerada como una responsabilidad del Estado. A finales de la década de 1980, el sector privado emerge como un actor clave en el suministro de servicios públicos. La ciudad de México no escapa a esta tendencia y en 1993 las autoridades públicas firman contratos de servicios con cuatro consorcios privados. A través de este estudio de caso, dos preguntas son planteadas: ¿Por qué las autoridades públicas establecen partenariados con el sector privado? ¿Cuáles son las implicaciones de dichos partenariados en la gobernanza del agua? Este artículo aborda por una parte, el debate conceptual del agua como bien público y/o privado, identificando nuevas tendencias y estrategias de los operadores privados. Por otra parte, se analizan el rol y las relaciones del Estado con otros actores a través de un modelo de gobernanza, definido en términos de partenariados y redes multi-niveles.French Les services de l'eau ont été traditionnellement considérés comme une responsabilité de l'État. À la fin des années 1980, le secteur privé est apparu comme un acteur clé dans la fourniture de certains services publics. La ville de Mexico n'a pas échappé à cette tendance et en 1993, les autorités publiques ont signé des contrats de services avec quatre consortiums privés. À travers cette étude de cas, nous nous interrogerons sur deux aspects : pourquoi les autorités publiques établissentelles des partenariats avec le secteur privé ? Quelles sont les implications de ces partenariats sur la gouvernance de l'eau ? Cet article s'intéresse, d'une part, au débat conceptuel sur l'eau en tant que bien public et/ou privé, en identifiant les tendances nouvelles et les stratégies menées par les opérateurs privés. D'autre part y sont analysés le rôle de l'État et ses relations avec d'autres acteurs à travers un modèle de gouvernance, défini en termes de partenariats, et des réseaux multi-niveaux.


2021 ◽  
pp. 004947552110052
Author(s):  
Sandeep Moola ◽  
Deepti Beri ◽  
Abdul Salam ◽  
Jagnoor Jagnoor ◽  
Arun Teja ◽  
...  

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease of public health importance in India. A country-level evidence gap map was developed to identify gaps on epidemiology of leptospirosis. It is the first such on leptospirosis globally and on any single disease condition in India. The steps for development of evidence gap map were development of a framework to map evidence, retrieval of evidence, data extraction parameters and mapping of available evidence in evidence gap map framework. The prevalence evidence gap map consisted of 157 studies (102 in humans, 55 in animals, and 12 in both). The evidence gap map on risk factors had 120 studies (102 in humans, 11 in animals and 7 in both). There were inter-state differences in availability of research and disparity between animal and human research. Research on high-risk groups was limited and studies did not use the One Health approach to identify epidemiology, which can help understand the issue more comprehensively. The study demonstrates the potential of evidence gap maps to inform research priorities.


2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lincoln Dahlberg

Much communications research is in agreement about the failure of mass media to adequately facilitate a public sphere of open and reflexive debate necessary for strong democratic culture. In contrast , the internet's decentralised, two-way communication is seen by many commentators to be extending such debate. However, there is some ambivalence among critical theorists as to the future role of the internet in advancing the public sphere. On the one hand, the internet is providing the means fot the voicing of positions and identities excluded from the mass media. On the other hand, a number of problem are limiting the extensiveness and effetivness of this voicing. One of the most significant problems is the corporate colonisation of cyberspace, and subsequent marginalisation rational-critical communication. It is this problem that i will focus on in this article, with reference to examples from what I refer to as the 'New Zealand online public sphere'. I show how online corporate portals and media sites are gaining the most attention orientated to public communication, including news, information, and discussion. These sites generally support conservative discourse and consumer practices. The result is a marginalisation online of the very voices marginalised offline, and also of the critical-reflexive form of communication that makes for a strong public sphere. I conclude by noting that corporate colonisation is as yet only partial, and control of attention and media is highly contested by multiple 'alternative' discursive spaces online.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 97-109
Author(s):  
Laura Suchostawska ◽  

The article presents a study of selected sermons and hymns created by a fictional eco-religious cult called God’s Gardeners, which appear in Margaret Atwood’s novel The Year of the Flood. These texts are analyzed by means of Fauconnier and Turner’s theory of blending (conceptual integration). They are a mixture of different areas: the Bible and Christianity, on the one hand, and current environmental issues and science, on the other. The application of blending theory demonstrates how new interpretations of the Bible can be constructed as a result of blending two or more different input spaces to form a new story.


Author(s):  
Ye-Sho Chen ◽  
Chuanlan Liu ◽  
Qingfeng Zeng ◽  
Renato F. L. Azevedo

Franchising as a global growth strategy, especially in emerging markets, is gaining its popularity. For example, the U.S. Commercial Service estimated that China, having over 2,600 brands with 200,000 franchised retail stores in over 80 sectors, is now the largest franchise market in the world. The popularity of franchising continues to increase, as we witness an emergence of a new e-business model, Netchising, which is the combination power of the Internet for global demand-and-supply processes and the international franchising arrangement for local responsiveness. The essence of franchising lies in managing the good relationship between the franchisor and the franchisee. In this paper, we showed how e-business and analytics strategy plays an important role in growing and nurturing such a good relationship. Specifically, we discussed: managing the franchisor/franchisee relationship, harnessing the e-business strategy with aligning the e-business strategy with application service providers, an attention-based framework for franchisee training and how big data and business analytics can be used to implement the attention-based framework.


Author(s):  
Ye-Sho Chen

Franchising has been a popular approach to growing a business. Its popularity continues to increase, as we witness an emergence of a new business model Netchising, combining the Internet for global demand-and-supply processes and the international franchising arrangement for local responsiveness. In this paper, we show that building up a good “family” relationship between the franchisor and the franchisee is the real essence of franchising, and proven working knowledge is the foundation of the “family” relationship. Specifically, we discuss the process of how to make business analytics “meaningful” in franchising: business challenges, data foundation, analytics implementation, insights, execution and measurements, distributed knowledge, and innovation.


Author(s):  
Ye-Sho Chen

Franchising has been a popular approach to growing a business. Its popularity continues to increase, as we witness an emergence of a new business model, Netchising, combining the internet for global demand-and-supply processes and the international franchising arrangement for local responsiveness. In this chapter, the authors show that building up a good “family” relationship between the franchisor and the franchisee is the real essence of franchising, and proven working knowledge is the foundation of the “family” relationship. Specifically, they discuss the process of how to make business analytics “meaningful” in franchising: business challenges, data foundation, analytics implementation, insights, execution and measurements, distributed knowledge, and innovation.


2022 ◽  
pp. 793-811
Author(s):  
Ye-Sho Chen

Franchising has been popular as a strategy for businesses to grow and innovate. It is even more so in today's business need of developing digital solutions for sustainability. In responding to United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, using franchise innovation to replicate proven sustainable solutions in other parts of the world is an effective approach to scaling up solutions to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. The essence of a successful franchise innovation lies in managing the good relationship between the franchisor and the franchisee. In this paper, we show that digital business solutions for sustainability play an important role in growing and nurturing such a good relationship. Specifically, we discuss that franchise innovation via Netchising, combining the digital power of the Internet for global demand-and-supply processes and the international franchising arrangement with local business solutions for sustainability, is an entrepreneurial approach to communities' development where economic and social aspects are mutually supportive.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 3496
Author(s):  
Chenhui Wu ◽  
Maosen Ju ◽  
Longfei Wang ◽  
Xiangyi Gu ◽  
Cuiling Jiang

The River Chief System (RCS) is an effective measure for China to solve complex water problems and maintain the health of rivers and lakes. It is an institutional innovation to improve the water governance system and ensure national water security. Guiding and encouraging the public to participate in the construction of the RCS can promote the improvement of the level of social governance. The RCS is an effective supplement and supervision to the performance of the river chief and related departments, which can effectively promote the transformation of the RCS from nominal to practical and efficient. This study summarizes the innovative models and practical effects of, and public participation in, the RCS, analyzes the prominent problems, and proposes some measures to maximize the influence of public participation. The study provides insights on how to ensure the long-term operation of the RCS, a reference for countries around the world as a suitable solution for the sustainable management of water environments.


Water Policy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 794-815 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Grecksch

Successful adaptation to climate change requires flexible adaptation strategies which consider regional ecological, economic and social circumstances. Coastal zones are considered to be significantly vulnerable to climate change impacts. The projected impacts of climate change in the metropolitan region of Bremen–Oldenburg, Germany (a coastal area), are, for example, rising sea level, salt water intrusion, temporary groundwater scarcity in the summer and increased (heavy) rainfalls. This paper uses an existing framework, the Adaptive Capacity Wheel (ACW), complemented by two additional dimensions: adaptation motivation and adaptation belief. The objectives were first, to assess the adaptive capacity of water governance in the study region, and second, to show how the ACW can be used as an approach and a communication tool with stakeholders to identify strengths and weaknesses. Based on this, a further objective was to discover what lessons and recommendations can be drawn that could help water experts and stakeholders in the future. The results show a high adaptive capacity and that the addition of the psychological dimensions was valuable. However, it is important to look closely at each dimension assessed by the ACW. The key recommendations are: to improve public participation; to ensure better coordination; to raise awareness; and to reduce the lack of political will to overcome adaptation barriers.


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