Water Access in the Fight Against Poverty

Rural poverty in underdeveloped countries is a critical issue. A fair amount of literature exists examining the conditions of pro-poor tourism development, as well as different ways to fight it. However, in some cases, and because of the existence of a limiting factor, a potential incompatibility between tourist development and other strategies can emerge, as well as the need to compare relative efficiency. An example of this potential conflict is the one posed by tourist development and the Multiple Use of Water Services strategy (MUS) to alleviate rural poverty. In this case, the limiting constraint is access to water. This paper analyses the impacts, direct and indirect, on poverty levels, of tourist development and MUS. the authors examine the Quindío Region in Colombia, where the MUS strategy is being implemented and where an ambitious tourist development plan may open social conflict regarding water supply. The results of this analysis shows that, even if the MUS strategy has a greater positive impact on poverty alleviation, in terms of income and employment generated per unit of water, its water footprint, contrary to expectations, is much higher than the one corresponding to the tourist sector. This may jeopardize its future development, calling for a more balanced approach.

Application of Methodologies for Environmental Flow Determination in an Andean and a Mediterranean Basin

The demand for sustainable water management has promoted the development of methodologies for estimating environmental flows (EF). In this paper, the EF in an Andean river (Pance, Colombia) for conservation and a Mediterranean river (Wadi-Zomar, Palestine) for restoration purposes is made. Different methodologies are applied given the objectives for each river. The authors used hydrological indices proposed for watersheds with different water regimes and adaptations and validations were made to the local context. These methods allow for estimating the EF at various points in the river and the assessment of disruption scenarios for decision-making. In the Wadi Zomar River, three sampling points were selected. The water samples were then examined for the presence of pathogens. No one indicator or simple hydrological parameter is entirely suitable for all environmental systems and pathogens. In the base flow conditions, the amount of pollutant load varied temporally according to the amount of load from point sources along the Wadi, and spatially with distance from the same sources. Significant variation was observed in response to the hydrological behavior of the catchment. The assessment for the water quality in the Zomar reflects a potentially serious threat to the environment. The results emphasize the need for regulating the seepage effluent from industries and sewage system along the stream.

Employee Behavioral Intentions in Adopting Information Technology

This study investigates the impact of perceived information technology (IT) beliefs on behavioural intention to use IT. The study is based on a national sample of 18 organisations from the private hotel industry in Greece, and on data obtained from 215 employees. The statistical method employed is structural equation modelling. The findings of the study suggest that employee attitudes positively and fully mediate the relationship between perceived IT beliefs and behavioural intention to use IT. Furthermore, it suggests that this relationship is influenced by individual factors such as task-technology fit, self-efficacy, individual contingencies, and social factors such as subjective norm. Finally, the study argues that women, younger people, well-educated employees, and people with managerial experience are keen in adopting new technologies in the hotel industry in Greece.

Reflections on Mode 3, the Co-Evolution of Knowledge and Innovation Systems and How it Relates to Sustainable Development

This paper is interested in raising the question to which extent the epistemological implications of the Mode 3 concept coincide with the respective knowledge understanding. The argumentation focuses on the article from David F. J. Campbell and Elias G. “Mode 3” and “Quadruple Helix”: Toward a 21st Century Fractal Innovation Ecosystem (2009) and aims to illuminate it from a theoretical perspective. The starting point is the elaborated basic understanding of knowledge as well as the interpretation of knowledge production.

The Best Desalination Technology for the Persian Gulf

One in six people worldwide do not have access to safe freshwater. The world has been divided into 3 areas: Scarce, Stressed and Sufficiently available potable water by World Health Organization (WHO). The countries around Persian Gulf in the Middle East are in Scarcity area. Desalination solution has been proved as the primary response to water scarcity. This region ranks among the world’s top ten desalinating countries, namely, in descending order: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar. There are some key parameters in selecting different technologies for desalination, including temperature. The temperature can be quite low in some countries such as Australia, while it is rather high in Persian Gulf. Total dissolved Solid (TDS) which is representative of salinity is a critical factor, similar to temperature, in selecting the desalination technology. The value encountered in Persian Gulf is extremely high as compared to the normal range of sea water salinity. The three principal desalination technologies used all over the world are multi-stage flash (MSF), reverse osmosis (RO), and multi-effect distillation (MED). This study looks at the different aspects of development such as costs, capabilities and state-of-the-art technologies. A comparative analysis of these technologies is presented and the best technology from financial and technical point of view is introduced and discussed.

A Hybrid Style of E-Learning in MBA Education Across Borders

This paper outlines a real-life example of a course taught jointly by the MBA-IB program at the University of Tsukuba in Tokyo, Japan and the Master in Management program (ESC) at the Grenoble Ecole de Management in Grenoble, France using a hybrid style of e-learning that was aimed at increasing communication and collaboration among instructors and students. The qualitative analysis of this experience found that the variables that most significantly affected the development and outcome of the course were the unique goals, resources and student profiles of each university, the blending of synchronous and asynchronous instruction, the exchange of instructors to promote face-to-face instruction, and the use of a didactic and experiential approach to cross-cultural learning. Such cross-cultural course connecting distant groups working together toward the resolution of a common problem can become a stepping stone toward the promotion of sustainable development.

The Evaluation of the Implementation of Sustainability Norms

Since the Brundtland report the world is still struggling to solve the riddle of sustainability. If there is no “blueprint” for implementing sustainable development, the practical meaning has to emerge out of an interactive process of social dialogue and reflection. Sustainability therefore goes through a constant process of redefinition and interpretation. This question of values and different approaches to implementation becomes particularly important when decision-making and the evaluation of the implementation is taking place in different fora. According to the dominant paradigm the policy process is a linear exercise of problem solving, i.e., the problem is identified, data for the problem analysis is collected and according advice is given to the policy-maker to enable his decision, which is then implemented. The implementation is evaluated by experts who determine the merit, worth or value of the result of this process, thus deciding upon its effectiveness. Against this dominant view, the authors hold that the purpose of evaluation and policy analysis is more than simply “client-oriented” advice, but should be rather about democratic dialogue and critique. Building on the methods of practical deliberation a model for evaluating sustainable development is built using the example of forest policy.

The Semi-Aquatic Theory

This article presents the semi-aquatic theory motivated to provide an explanation for why or how did language of the modern humans develop? Key propositions of this theory are early hominids went through a semi-aquatic evolutionary phase and that this semi-aquatic environment exposed the early hominids to frequent visual reflections of their own image, thus transforming a “potential sense of self” to an “active sense of self”, which supported the language development of early hominids. In the epilog of this article, the semi-aquatic theory is being framed and assessed in context of a broader discussion that receives analytical input from “Conceptualized Evolution” and social ecology. Conceptualized Evolution distinguishes between “possible worlds of evolution” and “real worlds of evolution”. However, Conceptualized Evolution stresses that based on “theoretical” (theoretically designed) examples of evolution, even if they never existed empirically, much could be learned for an understanding of our real world. The semi-aquatic theory qualifies at least as a conceptually possible scenario of evolution.

The Idea of a Green New Deal in a Quintuple Helix Model of Knowledge, Know-How and Innovation

The climate change and the financial and economical crises are posing new challenges to the quality of democracies. This article is about the discussion of a correlation between a potential Green New Deal project and the scientific innovation model of a Quintuple Helix in advanced democracies to demonstrate that the sought for knowledge, sustainability, and green development can imply an excess in quality of democracies. Conclusion of the discussion is that the social and scientific subsystems of a democracy must, as part of a new deal, take over new tasks. At the same time, a new scientific cooperation and exchange system between advanced democracies should be implemented on an international level.

The Effect of Business Characteristics on the Methods of Knowledge Protections

Intellectual property (IP) protection has been suggested to be essential in protecting innovation in product-dominant companies. However, with the development of service industries, the ineffectiveness in IP protection becomes manifest. Meanwhile, other knowledge protecting methods enable companies to maintain their competency without formal protection. This study examines the effectiveness of different means of knowledge protection. Specifically, business is classified according to companies’ offering nature, serving mode and consider about their business hardware. The effectiveness of protection methods is analyzed among these business types. Interviews were conducted with senior managers of 39 companies in China and Singapore. It is demonstrated that the choice of knowledge protecting method does not depend mainly on whether a company provides products or services, but on how the company produces and provides its offerings. It is found that the core competency of companies largely affects their attitude on whether to protect their offerings. It is found that in weak appropriability regimes, companies apply for patents not for their knowledge protection function, but for other benefits, such as getting awards or tax reductions, and improving reputation among customers.