The Role of Psychological Ownership in Community-based Piped Water Supply Infrastructure in Nepal and India

Psychological ownership, the feeling that something is mine, is a diverse social construct on the individual level with a measurable core dimension of possessiveness. It can be fostered through participative elements in combination with behaviour change interventions. The concept originally stems from the organizational context, where antecedents leading to, and consequences of psychological ownership were vastly researched. Initial evidence of the application of the construct to shared targets such as the environment or common-pool resources, for instance community-based water infrastructure, yielded promising results. However, causal evidence is scarce and a holistic adaptation of the construct, tests of theory-based interventions concerning the routes, validation of the measurement scale, and a systematic investigation of the consequences of psychological ownership are lacking. This dissertation presents findings from two community development programmes in Nepal and India, where psychological ownership for community-based water infrastructure was the subject of the research. Our results are in-line with existing evidence from the organizational context and applications in other domains. First, we found qualitative evidence for the importance of the construct in the specific context of Nepal and India, and we validated the measurement for individual psychological ownership. Second, we found that interventions should be targeting the three routes substantially, e.g. by participatory activities. Community participation can be seen as a means of implementation and therefore needs to be combined with individual-level behaviour change and embedded in institutional interventions to cause greater psychological ownership. Third, the results show that psychological ownership fosters behavioural determinants and organizational citizenship behaviour, but not the functionality of safe water supply infrastructure. This body of work provides various connecting factors for future research. Apart from changes towards an enabling environment, it is important to disentangle complex interaction of stakeholders. There is a need for experts to take care of key infrastructure. In turn, psychological ownership plays an important role in the acceptance, use and sustainability of community-based safe water supply

Learning from safety science : a way forward for studying cybersecurity incidents in organizations

In the aftermath of cybersecurity incidents within organizations, explanations of their causes often revolve around isolated technical or human events such as an Advanced Persistent Threat or a “bad click by an employee.” These explanations serve to identify the responsible parties and inform efforts to improve security measures. However, safety science researchers have long been aware that explaining incidents in socio-technical systems and determining the role of humans and technology in incidents is not an objective procedure but rather an act of social constructivism: what you look for is what you find, and what you find is what you fix. For example, the search for a technical “root cause” of an incident might likely result in a technical fix, while from a sociological perspective, cultural issues might be blamed for the same incident and subsequently lead to the improvement of the security culture. Starting from the insights of safety science, this paper aims to extract lessons on what general explanations for cybersecurity incidents can be identified and what methods can be used to study causes of cybersecurity incidents in organizations. We provide a framework that allows researchers and practitioners to proactively select models and methods for the investigation of cybersecurity incidents

Quantities and qualities of fecal sludge : experiences from field implementation with a Volaser in 7 countries during a pandemic

Reasonable estimates for quantities and qualities (Q&Q) of fecal sludge that accumulate in onsite sanitation containments are fundamental for the design of appropriate management and treatment solutions, from community to city-scale. There are increasing attempts to improve Q&Q estimates, but current approaches are still at a conceptual level, and are not yet standardized with confirmed statistical relationships. To reach this level, we will need consistent approaches for planning, measuring, and global collaborations. Hence, the objectives of this study were: (1) to assess and compare Q&Q of fecal sludge from seven cities and communities, and explore statistical relationships that could be used to increase accuracy of Q&Q estimations; (2) to test and launch the Volaser device for measuring in situ volumes of fecal sludge; and (3) to capture lessons learned from field implementation with collaborators in seven countries during a global pandemic when no international travel was possible. The study took place in Ghana, India, Lebanon, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zambia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Q&Qs were measured in 204 containments with a Volaser, laboratory analysis, and questionnaire. Results indicate that there are differences in Total Solids (TS) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) in fecal sludge based on containment type, toilet type, source, and whether there is a water connection on the premises. Based on the results of this study, together with previously published open-source data, an empirical relationship for Volatile Solids (VS) and TS of 0.49 (R2 = 0.88) was established using 1,206 data points. For COD/TS, no significant relationship was observed. Developing such empirical relationships will be useful for planning and modeling approaches. An external evaluation was conducted to evaluate overall project management, Volaser technology transfer, and effects of collaborating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Success factors for collaborating with new and existing partners without face-to-face meetings included laboratory capacity and experience with analytical methods, study objectives that were relevant for the partner and locality, and a strong quality assurance plan to ensure comparability of results. The lessons learned can be taken forward as ways to reduce carbon footprint, and contribute to resilient, inclusive development research projects

The role of psychological ownership in community-based piped water supply infrastructure in Nepal and India

Psychological ownership, the feeling that something is mine, is a diverse social construct on the individual level with a measurable core dimension of possessiveness. It can be fostered through participative elements in combination with behaviour change interventions. The concept originally stems from the organizational context, where antecedents leading to, and consequences of psychological ownership were vastly researched. Initial evidence of the application of the construct to shared targets such as the environment or common-pool resources, for instance community-based water infrastructure, yielded promising results. However, causal evidence is scarce and a holistic adaptation of the construct, tests of theory-based interventions concerning the routes, validation of the measurement scale, and a systematic investigation of the consequences of psychological ownership are lacking. This dissertation presents findings from two community development programmes in Nepal and India, where psychological ownership for community-based water infrastructure was the subject of the research. Our results are in-line with existing evidence from the organizational context and applications in other domains. First, we found qualitative evidence for the importance of the construct in the specific context of Nepal and India, and we validated the measurement for individual psychological ownership. Second, we found that interventions should be targeting the three routes substantially, e.g. by participatory activities. Community participation can be seen as a means of implementation and therefore needs to be combined with individual-level behaviour change and embedded in institutional interventions to cause greater psychological ownership. Third, the results show that psychological ownership fosters behavioural determinants and organizational citizenship behaviour, but not the functionality of safe water supply infrastructure. This body of work provides various connecting factors for future research. Apart from changes towards an enabling environment, it is important to disentangle complex interaction of stakeholders. There is a need for experts to take care of key infrastructure. In turn, psychological ownership plays an important role in the acceptance, use and sustainability of community-based safe water supply

Psychological Ownership and Habits for Long-Lasting Safe Water Infrastructure

Safe water technologies often become dysfunctional quickly after installation. This could be due to the technology or social and behavioural factors. Project PACT investigates how the sense of ownership impacts the longevity of rural piped water supply schemes

The Role of Psychological Ownership in Safe Water Management: A Mixed-Methods Study in Nepal

Long-term management and use of community-based safe water systems are essential to reduce water-related health risks in rural areas. Water sector professionals frequently cite water users’ sense of ownership for the water system as essential for its continuity. This study aims to provide the first insight into users’ understanding of psychological ownership, as well as generalizable data, regarding safe water management in rural Nepal. In this convergent mixed-methods study, we conducted 22 qualitative and 493 quantitative interviews with community members in five districts of Nepal, where spring-fed piped water supplies were previously implemented through a demand-led, participatory planning approach. We analyzed the qualitative data by thematic analysis and modeled quantitative routes to and consequences of psychological ownership in generalized estimating equations. Findings from qualitative and quantitative analyses converged to show that community members’ decision-making, investment of labor and money, and knowledge about the water system were associated with greater psychological ownership. Psychological ownership was related to greater acceptance and responsibility for maintenance and use, as well as greater confidence in functionality of the water system, but not to its actual functionality. The results highlight the potential of psychological ownership and community participation for the longevity of community-based safe water infrastructure

Recherches sur l’epyllion à l’époque hellénistique et au-delà

Ce volume de la revue Aitia est constitué de la réunion de deux rencontres organisées à l’ENS de Lyon en septembre 2012 et à l’Université Roma Tre en mai 2013 sur l'epyllion et plus particulièrement sur les rapports entre l'epyllion et le mythe. Il est constitué de 16 contributions sur cette forme poétique problématique qu’est l’epyllion, auquel s’ajoute une contribution marginale et deux comptes rendus. This volume of the on-line journal Aitia consists of the proceedings of two meetings held at ENS of Lyon in September 2012 and at the Roma Tre University in May 2013 on the Epyllion and more specifically on the relationship between Epyllion and myth. It consists of 16 contributions on this problematic poetic form of the Epyllion, plus a marginal contribution and two reviews. Questo volume della rivista Aitia consiste nell'unione di due incontri presso ENS de Lyon (settembre 2012) e l'Università Roma Tre (maggio 2013) sull' epillio e in particolare sul rapporto tra epillio e mito. Si compone di 16 contributi su questa forma poetica che è l'epillio, oltre a un contributo marginale e due relazioni