Water management strategies in urban Mexico: Limitations of the privatization debate

Water management provides a critical lens onto the development process. For the last several centuries, improvements in clean water and sanitation have contributed to better health and increased life expectancies. Currently, however, developing countries seem unable to make much progress in bringing these benefits of development to significant sectors of their citizens. Water coverage is incomplete and water is of uneven quality. Just as serious, however, are the environmental impacts of water extraction, untreated sewage disposal, and the depletion of water sources through excessive withdrawals and pollution. In this research report, we present a framework for the analysis of the social appropriation of water based upon the concept of the New Culture of Water. Using that framework, we review the Mexican water sector in light of a set of original case studies. Although privatization might have some role to play in improving the performance of certain functions of water management agencies, it has clearly not proved superior to the public agencies we review. More importantly, however, the privatization solution has proved incapable of tackling the very serious problems of environmental destruction and the over-exploitation of finite water sources that plague the country. Our review of water management in Mexico, therefore, sheds light on some of the contradictions of a development process that is far from sustainable.Water management; Mexico; New Culture of Water; Privatization

U-Care: Requirements Elicitation For Ambient Assisted Living

Western countries are facing similar trends in healthcare: population is aging, life expectations are growing, the number of healthcare professionals is decreasing, cost pressure on healthcare systems is increasing and urbanization is taking place. ICT can however provide routes to more efficient healthcare solutions: it may provide both quantitative and qualitative improvements by improving access, reducing cost and raising quality.\ud Home care is one important healthcare area. It aids elderly to stay at home as long as possible before moving towards more intensive care environments; it has the potential to alleviate care needs and costs; and it potentially improves the health status of elderly by empowerment and context-dependent monitoring and treatment. This submission presents our requirements elicitation approach for ICT-based home care services, also referred to as Ambient Assisted Living (AAL).\u

Individual language change: a case study of Klavdiya Plotnikova’s Kamas

http://www.ester.ee/record=b4492807*es