scholarly journals Why Do Some First Nations Communities Have Safe Water and Others Not? Socioeconomic Determinants of Drinking Water Risk

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon Brown ◽  
Renata Wachowiak-Smolíková ◽  
Nicholas D. Spence ◽  
Mark P. Wachowiak ◽  
Dan F. Walters

<p>Securing safe and adequate drinking water is an ongoing issue for many Canadian First Nations communities despite nearly 15 years of reports, studies, policy changes, financial commitments, and regulations. The federal drinking water evaluation scheme is narrowly scoped, ignoring community level social factors, which may play a role in access to safe water in First Nations. This research used the 2006 Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada First Nations Drinking Water System Risk Survey data and the Community Well-Being Index, including labour force, education, housing, and income, from the 2006 Census. Bivariate analysis was conducted using the Spearman’s correlation, Kendall’s tau correlation, and Pearson’s correlation. Multivariable analysis was conducted using an ordinal (proportional or cumulative odds) regression model. Results showed that the regression model was significant. Community socioeconomic indicators had no relationship with drinking water risk characterization in both the bivariate and multivariable models, with the sole exception of labour force, which had a significantly positive effect on drinking water risk rankings. Socioeconomic factors were not important in explaining access to safe drinking water in First Nations communities. Improvements in the quality of safe water data as well as an examination of other community processes are required to address this pressing policy issue.</p>

2020 ◽  
pp. 095001702090635
Author(s):  
Jennifer Prattley ◽  
Tarani Chandola

Continued employment in later life is important for economic well-being and health, and is a key policy issue. However, existing models of the determinants of extended working life do not provide a detailed account of coupled women’s early retirement patterns in the United Kingdom. This article uses data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing to show that partnered women aged between 50 and 59 do not adjust the timing of their labour force exit according to the level of pension wealth the couple has accrued. A retired or inactive spouse, caring obligations and poor health accelerate employment exit. Moreover, the odds of an involuntary exit from the labour force, where women have limited control or choice over the timing, are higher for women in lower pension wealth households than those in high wealth families, and among women with inactive rather than retired partners.


Author(s):  
Nicholas Spence ◽  
Dan Walters

Access to safe drinking water is a pressing social policy issue globally. Despite the milestones reached in this area of Canadian public health, marginalized and vulnerable populations, including those founded on racialized identity, such as First Nations, continue to be plagued by accessibility issues. This work sheds new perspective on the issue, arguing for a research and policy focus that is inclusive of risk perception. A model of risk perception of drinking water is developed and tested for First Nations on reserve in Canada using the 2001 Aboriginal Peoples Survey. It is shown that the analytical use of racialized identity advances understanding of risk perception and the environment (water). Moreover, a large degree of heterogeneity within the First Nation population across a number of social determinants of risk perception illustrates the shortcomings of framing the issue in a simplistic manner (First Nation population versus general population). Implications for risk research, including risk communication & management, and policy are provided.


2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob A. Burack ◽  
Gillian H. Klassen ◽  
Adrienne Blacklock ◽  
Johanna Querengesser ◽  
Alexandra D'Arrisso ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
NATALIIA TOLSTYKH

The article sheds light on various approaches that seek to determine how widespread poverty and life on a low income are in Ukraine nowadays. As a social phenomenon, poverty has traditionally been associated with destitution and living below the subsistence level set by the government. However, the author holds the view that life on a low income not only means living near or below the poverty line. There is another part of Ukraine’s population that should also be considered needy — those whose income is less than twice as the subsistence level, and most of them are also subject to socio-economic deprivation. Drawing upon the findings of a social survey conducted by the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine in 2019, the paper analyses the standard of living among different income groups. Particular attention is given to consumption patterns and social well-being of respondents in the lower income brackets. From the data, it can be inferred that living conditions of many Ukrainians are inadequate to sustain and develop human potential; furthermore, the low-income households have literally to struggle every day to make ends meet. The author brings into focus the main macroeconomic factors contributing to this situation and its adverse effect on the nation’s social potential. Some of the most common social consequences of living on a low income have been identified, such as limited consumption, a person’s dissatisfaction with life and his/her position in society. The above-mentioned survey also provides the estimates of how much the current subsistence level (with regard to Ukraine) should be. Having been made by different socio-demographic and occupational groups of Ukraine’s population, these estimates are a useful source of information — given that subsistence level is considered the basic social standard. According to the survey, all these figures are at variance with the official subsistence level, which is noticeably lower, and this indicates that the current subsistence level needs an upward revision. Today, the overall socio-economic situation in Ukraine is unfavourable for neoliberal economic reforms initiated by the government. Since these policies are primarily designed to reduce the role of state in managing the economy and implementing social welfare programmes, following this path will inevitably result in the entrenchment of mass poverty and in a major loss of Ukraine’s human potential, as well as labour force. The author argues that tackling the country’s chronic low income problem is only possible if a new strategy for socio-economic development is adopted, where social welfare is prioritised.


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.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1871
Author(s):  
Alejandra María Corona-Romero ◽  
María Fernanda Bernal-Orozco ◽  
Gabriela Alejandra Grover-Baltazar ◽  
Barbara Vizmanos

Childhood obesity and children being overweight has increased recently; although they are multi-causal problems, an unhealthy diet is a critical component. In Mexico, drinking water consumption in children from 9 to 18 years only reaches 30% of total fluid consumption. The aim of our study was to describe the social representations (SR) of drinking water in school-children and parents of two schools in Zapopan, Mexico. Associative free listing was used as an information gathering technique. Schoolchildren aged 8 to 12 years (n = 50) and parents (n = 23) from two elementary schools were selected by a convenience sampling from April to June 2015. A similarity analysis was performed using the co-occurrence index; with this, a similarity graph was obtained. Prototypical analysis was performed to explore the structure of the SR. Three dimensions were described in the children’s SR: a functional dimension related to health and nutrition, a practical dimension that describes the instruments used for its consumption, and a theoretical dimension that specifies the characteristics of water and its relationship with nature. In the parents’ SR, a functional dimension was also found; another dimension was described regarding the integral well-being that drinking water provides. A practical dimension describes the features related to its consumption. The investigation describes the structure of the water SR, which help to contextualize and explain the actions of schoolchildren and their parents regarding drinking water consumption.


2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas F. Clasen ◽  
Andrew Bastable

Paired water samples were collected and analysed for thermotolerant coliforms (TTC) from 20 sources (17 developed or rehabilitated by Oxfam and 3 others) and from the stored household water supplies of 100 households (5 from each source) in 13 towns and villages in the Kailahun District of Sierra Leone. In addition, the female head of the 85 households drawing water from Oxfam improved sources was interviewed and information recorded on demographics, hygiene instruction and practices, sanitation facilities and water collection and storage practices. At the non-improved sources, the arithmetic mean TTC load was 407/100 ml at the point of distribution, rising to a mean count of 882/100 ml at the household level. Water from the improved sources met WHO guidelines, with no faecal contamination. At the household level, however, even this safe water was subject to frequent and extensive faecal contamination; 92.9% of stored household samples contained some level of TTC, 76.5% contained more than the 10 TTC per 100 ml threshold set by the Sphere Project for emergency conditions. The arithmetic mean TTC count for all samples from the sampled households was 244 TTC per 100 ml (geometric mean was 77). These results are consistent with other studies that demonstrate substantial levels of faecal contamination of even safe water during collection, storage and access in the home. They point to the need to extend drinking water quality beyond the point of distribution to the point of consumption. The options for such extended protection, including improved collection and storage methods and household-based water treatment, are discussed.


Author(s):  
Antonio Tintori ◽  
Giulia Ciancimino ◽  
Giorgio Giovanelli ◽  
Loredana Cerbara

Background: The study of adolescents’ behaviours and attitudes is crucial to define interventions for the containment of deviance and social discomfort. New ways of social interaction are crystallising violent behaviours which are moving more than ever on a virtual sphere. Bullying and cyberbullying share a common behavioural matrix that has been outlined through specific environmental and individual characteristics. Methods: A survey carried out in Italy in 2019 on a statistical sample of 3273 students highlighted the influence of several social and individual variables on deviant phenomena. Risk and protective factors in relation to the probability of involvement in bullying and cyberbullying have been shown through a bivariate analysis and a binary logistic regression model. Results: The study shows that presence of stereotypes and social prejudices, tolerance to violence and high levels of self-esteem have resulted as the main risk factors. On the other hand, low levels of tolerance related to the consumption of alcohol and drugs, high levels of trust towards family and friends and being female have been identified as protective factors. Conclusions: This research confirms the validity of several theories on bullying and cyberbullying phenomena. Furthermore, it identifies specific risk and protective factors and their influence on deviant behaviours, with a focus on environmental characteristics which appear as the key field of work to enhance adolescents’ well-being.


2021 ◽  
pp. 2455328X2110325
Author(s):  
Yogendra Musahar

The recent incident, the gang rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman in Hathras, a small village in Uttar Pradesh of India, once again sparks a debate on links between sexual violence and castes in India. This article aims to examine the links between sexual violence and castes in India. This study utilizes the national representative National Family Health Survey 4 (NFHS-4, 2015–16) data. A bivariate analysis was carried out to analyse the data. A binary logistic regression model was applied to predict the effect of explanatory variables, viz. type of place of residence, years of schooling complete, economic status in terms of wealth index and finally castes on predicted variable, i.e. sexual violence. The binary regression model indicates that there were links between sexual violence and castes. For secured and dignified life of women, caste-based sexual violence must be annihilated.


1988 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-315
Author(s):  
Robert E. Frykenberg

Every schoolboy and schoolgirl in India, figuratively speaking, is taught the Myth of Macaulay's Minute. According to this myth, attitudes of lofty condescension towards India's peoples and their inferior cultures, combined with practical needs for a cheap labour force to supply the manpower requirements of an enormous bureaucratic machine, prompted alien rulers to impose an English language educational system upon the subcontinent and, thereby, to neglect and stifle the natural growth of indigenous educational institutions. Moreover, in its more extreme forms, this myth assumes that these rulers were also either racially arrogant or wilfully ignorant, or both. Finally, this myth assumes that the disastrous consequences of this “colonialist” fiat were a major factor inhibiting the progress and well-being of a large proportion of India's peoples.


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