Resiliency strategies in transnational families: case study with highland Guatemalan women

The Maya from highland Guatemala are now involved in transnational migration that separates families. Most commonly men migrate first to the United States, leaving women and children behind. This leads to new challenges for women and children in Guatemala who must adapt to male absent households. One such community that faces these challenges is Aguacatán, Guatemala. The women in the Guatemalan homeland community, Aguacatán, are often married to men who have immigrated to the United States. Whatcom County, Washington is the destination for many families from Aguacatán due to both conflict within Guatemala and the need for families to give their children a better life. Local relationships with Aguacatecos in Whatcom County allowed for a visit to Aguacatán. Twenty-five women were interviewed regarding their indirect migration experiences, measured here as how connected they were to their husband, e.g., frequency of communication and remittances from husband, and connectedness with their local community and their perceptions about the impacts on family. Family resilience framework provides the structure for the analysis. Successful coping was defined as having a consistent world view that included good communication with partner and connections to community. The most resilient women received consistent remittances, talked more often to husband, and exhibited the extra resources to connect with their community

Proposed Environmental Quality Standards for Nonylphenol in Water

This is the Proposed Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) for Nonylphenol in Water produced by the Environment Agency in 1997. The report reviews the properties and uses of Nonylphenol, its fate, behaviour and reported concentrations in the environment, and critically assesses available data on its toxicity and bioaccumulation. The information is used to derive EQSs for the protection of fresh and saltwater life as well as for water abstracted to potable supply.Nonylphenol (NP) is used extensively in the production of other substances such as non-ionic ethoxylate surfactants. It is through the incomplete anaerobic biodegradation of these surfactants that most nonylphenol reaches the aquatic environment in effluents, e.g. from sewage treatment works and certain manufacturing operations. It was explicitly stated by the Environment Agency that the EQS was to be derived for NP and not Nonylphenol ethoxylates. However, since NP is unlikely to be present in the aquatic environment in the absence of other nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE) degradation by-products, the toxicity, fate and behaviour of some of these (i.e. nonylphenol mono- and diethoxylates (NP1EO and NP2EO), mono- and di-nonylphenoxy carboxylic acids (NP1EC and NP2EC) have also been considered in this report. In the aquatic environment and during sewage treatment, NPEs are rapidly degraded to NP under aerobic conditions. NP may then be either fully mineralised or may be adsorbed to sediments. Since NP cannot be biodegraded under anaerobic conditions it can accumulate in sediments to high concentrations

Developing Drinking-Water Quality Regulations and Standards

This document provides practical guidance to support the development or revision of customized national or subnational drinking-water quality regulations and standards.The principles and guidance presented are broadly applicable across countries and contexts, including more resource-limited settings. Supporting examples from both lower- and higher-income countries are included.Drinking-water quality regulations and standards developed or revised in accordance with this guidance will reflect the best practices identified in the WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality to most effectively protect public health. Moreover, the regulations and standards will consider local needs, priorities and capacities to ensure that they are realistic and appropriate. Topics covered include:Guiding principlesGetting startedSelecting parameters and parameter limitsSetting out compliance monitoring requirement

Simulation of iron oxide/silica precipitation in the paragoethite process for the removal of iron from acidic zinc leach solutions

An investigation of the simultaneous precipitation of iron oxide and silica species from acidic solutions was conducted, simulating the Paragoethite Process, an iron-removal stage employed in zinc hydrometallurgy. Laboratory-based continuous crystallisation experiments were carried under the primary conditions employed in industry, with pH (at 85°C) maintained at 2.65, the combined Fe and Si concentration at 0.1128 M (unless otherwise stated) and Si:Fe ratios varied from 0 to 0.43. The crystal structure of the residues produced was characterised, with the extent of iron and silicate removal quantified and properties relating to aggregate structure also measured. It is shown that the degree of silica polymerisation prior to the precipitation reaction dictates the mechanism of co-precipitation and thereby the properties of the residue. In the presence of polymerised silica, less dense aggregates of finer mean particle size are formed, which has negative implications for dewatering. Conversely, where silica is allowed to polymerise prior to the iron precipitation reaction, a greater proportion of silica is removed from solution. Close control of silica polymerisation in the feed liquor is therefore required to reach a compromise between its beneficial and detrimental influences, and to thereby obtain optimal performance

Understanding the impact of crop and food production on the water environment ‐using sugar as a model

The availability of fresh water and the quality of aquatic ecosystems are important global concerns, and agriculture plays a major role. Consumers and manufacturers are increasingly sensitive to sustainability issues related to processed food products and drinks. The present study examines the production of sugar from the growing cycle through to processing to the factory gate, and identifies the potential impacts on water scarcity and quality and the ways in which the impact of water use can be minimised. We have reviewed the production phases and processing steps, and how calculations of water use can be complicated, or in some cases how assessments can be relatively straightforward. Finally, we outline several ways that growers and sugar processors are improving the efficiency of water use and reducing environmental impact, and where further advances can be made. This provides a template for the assessment of other crops

The explanatory power of KK

The KK thesis says that if S knows that P, then S knows that S knows that P. Though controversial, it seems able to explain some otherwise puzzling data. For many, this is a strong consideration in its favor. In this essay, I will propose a different explanation of the data. My explanation is built around the following norm: one should assert that P only if one believes that one knows that P. Since this norm is more plausible than KK, the explanation I propose undermines the explanatory power of KK and so weakens the case for KK.Master of Art