Water point sustainability and the unintended impacts of community management in Malawi

This paper reports the findings of a mixed methods study of 679 randomly sampled water points in four districts in Malawi. The study a) tested the influence of ten proximate determinants of water point functionality, and b) critically examined the social, economic and political dynamics underlying these factors, especially the community management model. The data shows that the key influences on sustainability are water point type and installation quality (technical factors) and availability of funds, skills, and incidence of theft (management factors). Misuse of funds by water point committees emerges as a particular problem. These results are driven by the way that community management structures interact with socially embedded institutions and power dynamics. The findings challenge the assumptions of efficiency and empowerment that underpin the community management model, and show that in fact it frequently generates conflict and reproduces inequality at community level

Environmental and diagenotic studies of the Cleveland ironstone formation of north east Yorkshire.

PhD ThesisThe Cleveland Ironstone Formation of North-East Yorkshire.N. E. R. C. post graduate studentshi

Policy review of the means of implementation targets and indicators for the sustainable development goal for water and sanitation

The Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by the Member States of the United Nations in September 2016, contain both ‘Outcome’ and ‘Means of Implementation’ targets. However, there is generally weak evidence linking the Means of Implementation to outcomes, they are imperfectly conceptualised and inconsistently formulated, and tracking their largely qualitative indicators will be difficult. In this paper, we analyse and critique the Means of Implementation targets of the Sustainable Development Goal on water and sanitation (SDG6). Improvements are recommended that would reflect: the considerable investment needed to attain SDG6; the important role of the state, including government leadership and planning; the utility of disaggregating financial and capacity-building assistance; and the need for people to realise their rights to information, voice and remedy. Recommendations are also made for relevant indicators, including indicators that are applicable to governments in both aid-providing and aid-receiving countries

Can 'functionlaity' save the community management model of rural water supply?

As attention increasingly turns to the sustainability of rural water supplies - and not simply overall levels of coverage or access - water point functionality has become a core concern for development practitioners and national governments, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Within the long-enduring Community-Based Management (CBM) model this has resulted in increased scrutiny of the “functionality” of the local water point committee (WPC) or similar community management organisation. This paper reviews the literature written from both practice-focused and critical-academic perspectives and identifies three areas that pose challenges to our understanding of water point functionality as it relates to CBM. These concern the relative neglect of (i) the local institutional and socio-economic landscape, (ii) broader governance processes and power dynamics, and (iii) the socio-technical interface. By examining these three areas, the paper engages with the specific issue of WPC functionality, whilst also considering broader issues relating to the framing of problems in development and the methodological and disciplinary ways that these are addressed. Furthermore, by focusing on community management of rural water points, the paper lays the ground for a more substantial critique of the continuing persistence of the CBM model as a central development strategy

Proceedings of the Fourth Caldwell Conference, St. Catherines Island, Georgia, March 27-29, 2009.

391 p. : ill. (chiefly col.), maps (chiefly col.) ; 26 cm. "Issued March 23, 2011."This edited volume addresses the geoarchaeology of St. Catherines Island (Georgia). The field of geoarchaeology has typically been defined as either geology pursued within an archaeological framework or (sometimes the reverse) as archaeology framed with the help of geological methodology. Either way, the formalized objectives of geoarchaeology define a broad range of pursuits, from placing archaeological sites into relative and absolute temporal context through the application of stratigraphic principles and absolute dating techniques, to understanding the natural processes of site formation, to reconstructing the landscapes that existed around a site or group of sites at the time of occupation. The editors of this volume have generally followed the lead of G.R. Rapp and C.L. Hill (2006, Geoarchaeology : the earth-science approach to archaeological interpretation) by stressing the importance of multiple viewpoints and methodologies in applying geoscience techniques to evaluate the archaeological record. In the broadest sense, then, Geoarchaeology of St. Catherines Island applies multiple earth science concepts, techniques, or knowledge bases to the known archaeological record and the processes that created that record. This volume consists of 16 papers presenting the newest research on the stratigraphic and geomorphological evolution of the St. Catherines Island landscape. Of particular interest are presentations addressing the relative timing and nature of sedimentation, paleobiology, sea level change, stream capture, hydrology, and erosional patterning evident on St. Catherines Island (and to some degree the rest of the Georgia Bight). These papers were initially presented at the Fourth Caldwell Conference, cosponsored by the American Museum of Natural History and the St. Catherines Island Foundation, held on St. Catherines Island (Georgia), March 27-29, 2009. Table of contents: Why this archaeologist cares about geoarchaeology : some pasts and futures of St. Catherines Island / David Hurst Thomas -- Evolution of late Pleistocene-Holocene climates and environments of St. Catherines Island and the Georgia Bight / Fredrick J. Rich, Anthony Vega, and Frank J. Vento -- Geoarchaeological research at St. Catherines Island : defining the geological foundation / Gale A. Bishop, Brian K. Meyer, R. Kelly Vance, and Fredrick J. Rich -- Development of a late Pleistocene-Holocene genetic stratigraphic framework for St. Catherines Island : archaeological implications / Frank J. Vento and Patty A. Stahlman -- Ichnological diagnosis of ancient storm-washover fans, Yellow Banks Bluff, St. Catherines Island / Anthony J. Martin and Andrew K. Rindsberg -- Quaternary vegetation and depositional history of St. Catherines Island / Fredrick J. Rich and Robert K. Booth -- Recent shoreline erosion and vertical accretion patterns, St. Catherines Island / Donald B. Potter Jr. -- Role of storm events in beach ridge formation, St. Catherines Island / Harold B. Rollins, Kathi Beratan, and James E. Pottinger -- Drainage changes at Ossabaw, St. Catherines, and Sapelo sounds and their influence on island morphology and spit building on St. Catherines Island / Timothy M. Chowns -- Vibracores and vibracore transects : constraining the geological and cultural history of St. Catherines Island / Gale A. Bishop, David Hurst Thomas, Matthew C. Sanger, Brian K. Meyer, R. Kelly Vance, Robert K. Booth, Fredrick J. Rich, Donald B. Potter, and Timothy Keith-Lucas -- Application of ground penetrating radar to investigations of the stratigraphy, structure, and hydrology of St. Catherines Island / R. Kelly Vance, Gale A. Bishop, Fredrick J. Rich, Brian K. Meyer, and Eleanor J. Camann -- Postsettlement dispersal and dynamic repopulation of estuarine habitats by adult Mercenaria mercenaria, St. Catherines Island / Robert S. Prezant, Harold B. Rollins, and Ronald B. Toll -- The foundation for sea turtle geoarchaeology and zooarchaeology : morphology of recent and ancient sea turtle nests, St. Catherines Island, Georgia, and Cretaceous Fox Hills Sandstone, Elbert County, Colorado / Gale A. Bishop, Fredric L. Pirkle, Brian K. Meyer, and William A. Pirkle -- Sea turtle habitat deterioration on St. Catherines Island : defining the modern transgression / Gale A. Bishop and Brian K. Meyer -- Modeling indigenous hunting and harvesting of sea turtles and their eggs on the Georgia Coast / Gale A. Bishop, David Hurst Thomas, and Brian K. Meyer -- Geomorphology, sea level, and marine resources : St. Catherines Island / Harold B. Rollins and David Hurst Thomas -- Appendix 1. Noncultural radiocarbon record from St. Catherines Island : a compendium -- Appendix 2. Vibracore record from St. Catherines Island : a compendium.Conference sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History and the St. Catherines Island Foundation

‘No, you don’t know how we feel’

Groupwork with bereaved children has become increasingly common, with closed and open groups, day and residential programmes, and even online chat rooms offering different approaches and purposes. However, working with children anticipating potential bereavement has received much less attention. Similarly, research within this area in palliative care has been notable for two things - its paucity and its failure to address the perspective of the children themselves.As a palliative care social worker, whose remit was to support children whose parents were receiving palliative care, I searched unsuccessfully for research that was child-centred and child-friendly, and which would enable children to articulate their beliefs and experiences effectively. Thus, for my doctoral thesis, I turned to the action research paradigm for an approach that would more effectively engage with and illuminate these children’s experiences, and undertook a collaborative inquiry- where the research is conducted with rather than for, on, or about the participants – with nine children aged from seven to fifteen.Collaborative inquiry raises - and challenges - many key issues in both research and groupwork, such as voice, power and identity, ethics and competence. This article addresses a number of these issues, with a particular focus on identity

The political economy of community management: a study of factors influencing sustainability in Malawi’s rural water supply sector

Sustainability is a major challenge in the rural water supply sector, where efforts to realise the right to clean water are undermined by high levels of non-functionality. This thesis uses mixed methods to test the relative influence of ten proximate determinants of sustainability, and to critically examine the social, economic and political dynamics underlying these determinants – especially the community management model, which places responsibility for water point functionality on users. The study finds that the key proximate determinants include both technical factors (e.g. water point type and installation quality) and management factors (e.g. availability of funds and incidence of theft). These in turn are driven by the way that community management structures interact with socially embedded institutions. Contrary to the claims made for participatory approaches, the study finds that community management is frequently inefficient and disempowering. Drawing on the concepts of institutional bricolage and civil society failure, the analysis shows that community management generates conflict and reproduces inequality at community level, and embeds perverse incentives and consolidates clientelism at a wider level. The study concludes that community management leads to erosion of social capital and abdication of state responsibility, and argues that donors should reconsider their support for it

'No, you don't know how we feel' : researching the experience of children facing the life-threatening illness of a parent, through collaborative inquiry

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo