Management of Rural Water Services in Nicaragua: A Systematic Network Approach to Evaluating Stakeholder Alignment

Water sector literature attributes a substantial cause of rural water system failure in developing countries to poor alignment between water service stakeholders. This study aimed to investigate a means for assessing stakeholder alignment by comparing the systemic interaction of stakeholder values, where the term ‘stakeholder values’ refers to aspects stakeholders believe are necessary to ensure rural water services are sustainable. The research held focus groups with key stakeholder groups involved in the management of rural water infrastructure in Terrabona, Nicaragua, to identify stakeholder values, and then used cross-impact analysis to evaluate how these values interacted to form stakeholder value networks (SVNs). Using normalized betweenness centrality measures, the structures of SVNs were compared to determine alignment. Results from this study showed high levels of stakeholder alignment on the topics of water resources and technology for the sustainability of rural water systems, while there was marked nonalignment regarding the involvement of local government and organizations in the management of water infrastructure. This study offers compelling evidence for future studies to assess stakeholder alignment by identifying and structurally analyzing SVNs

An Overview of the Change Management Process and Examples of Software to Help Organizations Effectively Manage Change

Every organization undergoes change on a continual basis and must understand how to manage the change process. This article overviews change management and discusses software packages and other tools that can help organizations manage the inevitable changes which occur frequently. It also examines risks and control objectives associated with change. It concludes that organizations often overlook proper change management techniques and can benefit by the ideas discussed in this article

Undergraduate Mathematics Students Question and Critique Society Through Mathematical Modeling

Mathematics can be used as a tool to question and critique society and, in doing so, give us more information about the world around us and how it operates. This however, is not a common perspective that is conveyed to students during their undergraduate mathematics coursework. This paper contributes to the understanding of how undergraduate mathematics students question and critique society via mathematical modeling tasks. In two courses at two universities, 27 mathematics majors and secondary preservice teachers engaged in the modeling process situated in authentic contexts to learn specific concepts and make mathematical connections across domains and disciplines. Both courses culminated in a final project in which students created and investigated solutions to their own modeling tasks. In this paper, we describe how our courses (1) centered justice as pedagogy, (2) were environments for student agency and exploration, and (3) explicitly demonstrated how mathematics and social justice are intertwined. Drawing on frameworks of mathematical modeling for social justice, we present and analyze student-created tasks to showcase how they utilized mathematics as a tool to question and critique the world around them

Resilient and Sustainable Infrastructure Systems: The Role of Coordination, Stakeholder Participation, and Training in Post-Disaster Reconstruction

This early concept research outlines the need to better understand reconstruction processes in post-disaster environments that can create resilient and sustainable infrastructure systems and proposes methodology aimed at addressing gaps in theory and practice. The paper first introduces the rationale for studying project outcomes of sustainability and resilience and proposes a new method to conceptualize resilience through a network perspective. Next, the paper reviews literature on three factors – coordination, stakeholder participation, and training – each of which is posited to influence these project outcomes. After research questions are identified, the paper proposes research methodology that will study coordination, participation, and training across phases of infrastructure reconstruction from a network perspective in the Central Visayas region in the Philippines. In addition to analyzing the influence of each of these factors individually on the project outcomes, fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) is proposed as a novel means of capturing snapshots of project phases and analyzing pathways that navigate the complexity of post-disaster reconstruction

Building Coordination Capacity: Post-Disaster Organizational Twitter Networks

Effective coordination is essential for post-disaster reconstruction. Presently, however, there are relatively few tools to help organizations manage coordination and communication of post-disaster construction activities. Given the recent increase in use of social media platforms, we examine the use of Twitter following Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in the Philippines. A network of organizations in the infrastructure sector is created to capture the coordination structure, as depicted through social media, analyze organizational messaging and determine key actors. A content analysis of tweets further examined emergent themes in the distribution of information through Twitter. This network perspective lends insight into future applications of how organizations can leverage social media as a means of sustained coordination for long-term, on the ground efforts extending past initial emergency relief phases

Factors Influencing Revenue Collection for Preventative Maintenance of Community Water Systems: A Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis

This study analyzed combinations of conditions that influence regular payments for water service in resource-limited communities. To do so, the study investigated 16 communities participating in a new preventive maintenance program in the Kamuli District of Uganda under a public–private partnership framework. First, this study identified conditions posited as important for collective payment compliance from a literature review. Then, drawing from data included in a water source report and by conducting semi-structured interviews with households and water user committees (WUC), we identified communities that were compliant with, or suspended from, preventative maintenance service payments. Through qualitative analyses of these data and case knowledge, we identified and characterized conditions that appeared to contribute to these outcomes. Then, we employed fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to determine the combinations of conditions that led to payment compliance. Overall, the findings from this study reveal distinct pathways of conditions that impact payment compliance and reflect the multifaceted nature of water point sustainability. Practically, the findings identify the processes needed for successful payment compliance, which include a strong WUC with proper support and training, user perceptions that the water quality is high and available in adequate quantities, ongoing support, and a lack of nearby water sources. A comprehensive understanding of the combined factors that lead to payment compliance can improve future preventative maintenance programs, guide the design of water service arrangements, and ultimately increase water service sustainability

Characterizing Post-Disaster Reconstruction Training Methods and Learning Styles

Large disasters damage or destroy infrastructure that is then reconstructed through programmes that train community members in construction techniques that reduce future risks. Despite the number of post-disaster reconstruction programmes implemented, there is a dearth of research on education and training in post-disaster contexts. To address this gap, we applied a mixed methods approach based upon experiential learning theory (ELT) to three shelter programmes administered in Eastern Samar, Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan. First, we characterize post-disaster training programmes based on learning modes and then, compared this to the learning styles of community members. To assess learning modes of training programmes, we analysed qualitative data from interview accounts of community members and aid organizations; and, to delineate community member’s learning style preferences, we analysed quantitative data from survey questionnaires. Findings show that aid organizations administered training largely in lecture format, aligning with the reflective observation mode of ELT, but lacked diversity in formats represented in other poles of ELT. Moreover, analysis revealed that community members tended to grasp new information in accordance with the concrete experimentation mode, then preferred transforming newly acquired knowledge via the reflective observation mode. The lecture-based training predominately administered by aid organizations partially aligned with community learning preferences, but fell short in cultivating other forms of knowledge acquisition known to enhance long-term learning.National Science Foundatio

Infrastructure Hazard Resilience Trends: An Analysis of 25 Years of Research

Hazard research has made significant strides over the last several decades, answering critical questions surrounding vulnerability and recovery. Recently, resilience has come to the forefront of scholarly debates and practitioner strategies, yet there remain challenges implementing resilience in practice, the result of a complex web of research that spread across numerous fields of study. As a result, there is a need to analyze and reflect on the current state of resilience literature. We reviewed 241 journal articles from the Web of Science and Engineering Village databases from 1990 to 2015 to analyze research trends in geographic location of studies, methods employed, units of analysis, and resilience dimensions studied, as well as correlations between each of these categories. The majority of the studies analyzed were conducted in North America, used quantitative methods, focused on infrastructure and community units of analysis, and studied governance, infrastructure, and economic dimensions of resilience. This analysis points to the need to: (1) conduct studies in developing country contexts, where resilience is particularly important; (2) employ mixed-methods for additional depth to quantitative studies; (3) connect units of analysis, such as infrastructure and community; and (4) expand on the measurement and study of environmental and social dimensions of resilience.National Science Foundatio

The Influence of National Culture on Effectiveness of Safety Trainings During Postdisaster Reconstruction

Non-English speaking workers constitute a disproportionately high number of workers involved in postdisaster reconstruction. Additionally, the rate of fatality among these workers is higher than the industry average. Research shows this population is more prone to unsafe behaviors in the working environment, conceivably because many of these workers are sent into the field prior to any formalized training. Recent studies show that the native culture of construction workers can impact risk-taking behavior. While numerous researchers have attempted to develop training materials for Hispanic workers, the number of studies that consider the impact of native culture on safety behavior is minimal. To answer this emerging knowledge gap, this paper develops a framework that will help to discern the influence of native culture, as well as other socioeconomic characteristics, on the effectiveness of safety trainings for non-English speaking workers. The formulation of this framework will pave the way for an enhanced understanding of the impact native culture plays on unsafe behaviors within a diverse workforce. Foreseeably, this understanding will play a significant role in developing culturally sensitive training materials in the future

Post-Disaster Reconstruction Training Effectiveness

Training in a post-disaster environment offers an opportunity to build resilience within high-risk communities. Education research amasses a field of study that is large in both depth and breath, but there is a considerable lack of focus in post-disaster contexts, specifically the effectiveness of post-disaster training programs. Addressing this gap meant exploring recovery efforts in the Philippine region of Eastern Samar following Super Typhoon Haiyan, regarded as the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded at landfall. The purpose of this research first explores expanding education theories into the post-disaster context and second, examines the practical implementation of training programs in the wake of the 2013 typhoon. A mixed methods approach combined qualitative data derived from accounts of community members and aid organizations with quantitative data that delineated community members learning style preferences in respect to experiential learning theory (ELT). Findings show that aid organizations administered training largely in lecture format, aligning with the reflective observation mode of ELT, but lacked diversity in formats represented in other poles of ELT. Moreover, analysis revealed that community members showed a preference toward divergent learning styles. Since aid organizations provided predominantly lecture based training, this partially aligned with community learning preferences, but fell short in cultivating other forms of knowledge acquisition. Based on this research, the application of existing learning theories will improve construction training as it applies to a post-disaster environment.National Science Foundatio