3,101 research outputs found
A systematic review of success factors in the community management of rural water supplies over the past 30 years
Community management is the accepted management model for rural water supplies in many low and middleincome
countries. However, endemic problems in the sustainability and scalability of this model are leading many
to conclude we have reached the limits of an approach that is too reliant on voluntarism and informality. Accepting
this criticism but recognising that many cases of success have been reported over the past 30 years, this study
systematically reviews and analyses the development pattern of 174 successful community management case
studies. The synthesis confirms the premise that for community management to be sustained at scale, community
institutions need a ‘plus’ that includes long-term external support, with the majority of high performing cases
involving financial support, technical advice and managerial advice. Internal community characteristics were
also found to be influential in terms of success, including collective initiative, strong leadership and institutional
transparency. Through a meta-analysis of success in different regions, the paper also indicates an important finding
on the direct relationship between success and the prevailing socio-economic wealth in a society. This holds implications
for policy and programme design with a need to consider how broad structural conditions may dictate the
relative success of different forms of community management
Recommended from our members
Revitalizing Urban Waterway\u27s Community Greenspace: Streams of Environmental Justice
While there are many reports of physical demonstration projects that attempt to restore segments and functions of urban waterways, there is no consensus about what to do and how to do it from a social or environmental justice perspective. We have discovered this during the three years of working on the Onondaga Creek Revitalization Plan in Syracuse, New York, and others have found this to be a major challenge as well. There are also equity issues in terms of who has historically been forced to live in high-risk flood plain or polluted water areas, with marginalized communities being the ones who shoulder the greatest burdens. This paper explores approaches to urban creek and river revitalization, drawing from international case studies from Europe and North America plus the authors’ experience with the Onondaga Creek Revitalization Plan in Syracuse, NY. Given the different waterway objectives for both restoration and /or revitalization, there is a need for a collaborative social process, with attention to social equity, in developing such projects and plans. The authors’ new book ’Revitalizing Urban Waterway Communities: Streams of Environmental Justice’ (Smardon et al. 2018) presents ways of addressing multiple jurisdictions and diverse sets of stakeholders. European and US case studies present challenging environmental justice issues, and so principles and methods for addressing them are needed (Moran 2007, 2010, Perreault et al. 2012, Platt 2006). Drawing on the concepts of collaborative learning models and coproduction of knowledge, the authors developed a process for community input for urban community waterway revitalization
Observational calibration of the projection factor of Cepheids. II. Application to nine Cepheids with HST/FGS parallax measurements
The distance to pulsating stars is classically estimated using the
parallax-of-pulsation (PoP) method, which combines spectroscopic radial
velocity measurements and angular diameter estimates to derive the distance of
the star. An important application of this method is the determination of
Cepheid distances, in view of the calibration of their distance scale. However,
the conversion of radial to pulsational velocities in the PoP method relies on
a poorly calibrated parameter, the projection factor (p-factor). We aim to
measure empirically the value of the p-factors of a homogeneous sample of nine
Galactic Cepheids for which trigonometric parallaxes were measured with the
Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensor. We use the SPIPS algorithm, a
robust implementation of the PoP method that combines photometry,
interferometry, and radial velocity measurements in a global modeling of the
pulsation. We obtained new interferometric angular diameters using the PIONIER
instrument at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer, completed by data from
the literature. Using the known distance as an input, we derive the value of
the p-factor and study its dependence with the pulsation period. We find the
following p-factors: 1.20 0.12 for RT Aur, 1.48 0.18 for T Vul,
1.14 0.10 for FF Aql, 1.31 0.19 for Y Sgr, 1.39 0.09 for X
Sgr, 1.35 0.13 for W Sgr, 1.36 0.08 for Dor, 1.41
0.10 for Gem, and 1.23 0.12 for Car. These values are
consistently close to p = 1.324 0.024. We observe some dispersion around
this average value, but the observed distribution is statistically consistent
with a constant value of the p-factor as a function of the pulsation period.
The error budget of our determination of the p-factor values is presently
dominated by the uncertainty on the parallax, a limitation that will soon be
waived by Gaia.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figure
Observational calibration of the projection factor of Cepheids I. The Type II Cepheid kappa Pavonis
The distances of pulsating stars, in particular Cepheids, are commonly
measured using the parallax of pulsation technique. The different versions of
this technique combine measurements of the linear diameter variation (from
spectroscopy) and the angular diameter variation (from photometry or
interferometry) amplitudes, to retrieve the distance in a quasi-geometrical
way. However, the linear diameter amplitude is directly proportional to the
projection factor (hereafter p-factor), which is used to convert spectroscopic
radial velocities (i.e., disk integrated) into pulsating (i.e., photospheric)
velocities. The value of the p-factor and its possible dependence on the
pulsation period are still widely debated. Our goal is to measure an
observational value of the p-factor of the type-II Cepheid kappa Pavonis, whose
parallax was measured with an accuracy of 5% using HST/FGS. We used this
parallax as a starting point to derive the p-factor of kappa Pav, using the
SPIPS technique, which is a robust version of the parallax-of-pulsation method
that employs radial velocity, interferometric and photometric data. We applied
this technique to a combination of new VLTI/PIONIER optical interferometric
angular diameters, new CORALIE and HARPS radial velocities, as well as
multi-colour photometry and radial velocities from the literature. We obtain a
value of p = 1.26 +/- 0.07 for the p-factor of kappa Pav. This result agrees
with several of the recently derived Period-p-factor relationships from the
literature, as well as previous observational determinations for Cepheids.
Individual estimates of the p-factor are fundamental to calibrating the
parallax of pulsation distances of Cepheids. Together with previous
observational estimates, the projection factor we obtain points to a weak
dependence of the p-factor on period.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, accepted in A&
Creativity assessment in psychological research: (Re)setting the standards
This commentary discusses common relevant themes that have been highlighted across contributions in this special issue on \u27Creativity Assessment: Pitfalls, Solutions, and Standards.\u27 We first highlight the challenges of operationalizing creativity through the use of a range of measurement approaches that are simply not tapping into the same aspect of creativity. We then discuss pitfalls and challenges of the three most popular measurement methods employed in the field, namely divergent thinking tasks, product-based assessment using the consensual assessment techniques, and self-report methodology. Finally, we point to two imperative standards that emerged across contributions in this collection of articles, namely transparency (need to accurately define, operationalize, and report on the specific aspect[s] of creativity studied) and homogenization of creativity assessment (identification and consistent use of an optimal \u27standard\u27 measure for each major aspect of creativity). We conclude by providing directions on how the creativity research community and the field can meet these standards
: Rapport final
Three factors are likely to change daily mobilities in sparsely populated rural areas and diminish the attractiveness of such areas: fuels cost increase; sustainable development necessities which aim at reducing fossil energies dependence; public policies (Grenelle II) in favor of the development of areas best-served by public transport. Then, how could everyone be guaranteed rights to the mobility and the territory wherever they are? How could we develop mobilities which are more sustainable and less car dependent in areas where car is currently the main mean of transport? The laboratory CNRS-CITERES of Tours University tried to provide answers to this last question as part of the research program MOUR (MObilité et Urbanisme Rural). This program is co-funded by the Région Centre and the Regional Natural Park "Loire-Anjou-Touraine", in partnership with ADEME.Trois phénomènes risquent de modifier les conditions de mobilité quotidienne dans les espaces ruraux de faible densité, et de limiter l'attractivité de ces territoires : l'augmentation du coût des carburants ; les impératifs de développement durable qui cherchent à réduire la dépendance aux énergies fossiles ; et des politiques publiques (Grenelle II) qui favorisent le développement des seuls espaces desservis par des transports en commun. Comment alors garantir un droit à la mobilité et un droit au territoire partout et pour tous ? La question posée est celle du développement de mobilités plus durables et moins dépendantes de la voiture, dans des espaces aujourd'hui dépendants à l'automobile. C'est cette question qui a été analysée au cours du programme de recherche MOUR (MObilité et Urbanisme Rural), mené par le laboratoire CNRS-CITERES de l'université de Tours en partenariat Parc naturel régional Loire-Anjou-Touraine ; développé dans le cadre de l'Appel à Projet de Recherche d'Intérêt Régional de la Région Centre, ce projet est cofinancé par la Région Centre et l'ADEME
: Rapport final
Three factors are likely to change daily mobilities in sparsely populated rural areas and diminish the attractiveness of such areas: fuels cost increase; sustainable development necessities which aim at reducing fossil energies dependence; public policies (Grenelle II) in favor of the development of areas best-served by public transport. Then, how could everyone be guaranteed rights to the mobility and the territory wherever they are? How could we develop mobilities which are more sustainable and less car dependent in areas where car is currently the main mean of transport? The laboratory CNRS-CITERES of Tours University tried to provide answers to this last question as part of the research program MOUR (MObilité et Urbanisme Rural). This program is co-funded by the Région Centre and the Regional Natural Park "Loire-Anjou-Touraine", in partnership with ADEME.Trois phénomènes risquent de modifier les conditions de mobilité quotidienne dans les espaces ruraux de faible densité, et de limiter l'attractivité de ces territoires : l'augmentation du coût des carburants ; les impératifs de développement durable qui cherchent à réduire la dépendance aux énergies fossiles ; et des politiques publiques (Grenelle II) qui favorisent le développement des seuls espaces desservis par des transports en commun. Comment alors garantir un droit à la mobilité et un droit au territoire partout et pour tous ? La question posée est celle du développement de mobilités plus durables et moins dépendantes de la voiture, dans des espaces aujourd'hui dépendants à l'automobile. C'est cette question qui a été analysée au cours du programme de recherche MOUR (MObilité et Urbanisme Rural), mené par le laboratoire CNRS-CITERES de l'université de Tours en partenariat Parc naturel régional Loire-Anjou-Touraine ; développé dans le cadre de l'Appel à Projet de Recherche d'Intérêt Régional de la Région Centre, ce projet est cofinancé par la Région Centre et l'ADEME
Apodized Lyot Coronagraph for VLT-SPHERE: Laboratory tests and performances of a first prototype in the visible
We present some of the High Dynamic Range Imaging activities developed around
the coronagraphic test-bench of the Laboratoire A. H. Fizeau (Nice). They
concern research and development of an Apodized Lyot Coronagraph (ALC) for the
VLT-SPHERE instrument and experimental results from our testbed working in the
visible domain. We determined by numerical simulations the specifications of
the apodizing filter and searched the best technological process to manufacture
it. We present the results of the experimental tests on the first apodizer
prototype in the visible and the resulting ALC nulling performances. The tests
concern particularly the apodizer characterization (average transmission radial
profile, global reflectivity and transmittivity in the visible), ALC nulling
performances compared with expectations, sensitivity of the ALC performances to
misalignments of its components
Assessing the independent contribution of maternal educational expectations to children's educational attainment in early adulthood: A propensity score matching analysis
Background
Parental educational expectations have been associated with children’s educational attainment
in a number of long-term longitudinal studies, but whether this relationship is causal
has long been debated. The aims of this prospective study were twofold: 1) test whether low
maternal educational expectations contributed to failure to graduate from high school; and
2) compare the results obtained using different strategies for accounting for confounding
variables (i.e. multivariate regression and propensity score matching).
Methodology/Principal Findings
The study sample included 1,279 participants from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten
Children. Maternal educational expectations were assessed when the participants
were aged 12 years. High school graduation – measuring educational attainment –
was determined through the Quebec Ministry of Education when the participants were aged
22–23 years. Findings show that when using the most common statistical approach (i.e.
multivariate regressions to adjust for a restricted set of potential confounders) the contribution
of low maternal educational expectations to failure to graduate from high school was
statistically significant. However, when using propensity score matching, the contribution of
maternal expectations was reduced and remained statistically significant only for males.Conclusions/Significance
The results of this study are consistent with the possibility that the contribution of parental
expectations to educational attainment is overestimated in the available literature. This may
be explained by the use of a restricted range of potential confounding variables as well as
the dearth of studies using appropriate statistical techniques and study designs in order to
minimize confounding. Each of these techniques and designs, including propensity score
matching, has its strengths and limitations: A more comprehensive understanding of the
causal role of parental expectations will stem from a convergence of findings from studies
using different techniques and designs
Kernel machines : une nouvelle méthode pour l'optimisation de l'alignement des noyaux et l'amélioration des performances
On propose ici une méthode visant à optimiser, selon le critère d'alignement maximum, une combinaison linéaire de noyaux donnés. L'algorithme proposé s'inspire de la méthode SMO dédié à l'optimisation des SVMs : il segmente le problème d'optimisation initial en sous-problèmes pour lesquels on dispose d'une solution analytique, évitant ainsi par exemple le problème de Hessien mal conditionné. Son implémentation ne nécessite pas l'utilisation d'une bibliothèque d'optimisation particulière. Enfin, la solution obtenue s'avère en pratique plus parcimonieuse que celle trouvée par l'approche de type programmation quadratique, tout en offrant des performances similaires
- …