Review
Environmental Sciences
Ricard Gine-Garriga, Antoine Delepiere, Robin Ward, Jorge Alvarez-Sala, Isabel Alvarez-Murillo, Virginia Mariezcurrena, Henning Goransson Sandberg, Panchali Saikia, Pilar Avello, Kanika Thakar, Esmaeil Ibrahim, Alban Nouvellon, Omar El Hattab, Guy Hutton, Alejandro Jimenez
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of handwashing as a cost-effective response measure, prompting governments worldwide to take action to promote access to water and sanitation services for all. Initiatives and interventions vary across countries and regions, showing disparities in ambition and scope. Lessons learned from the pandemic should be used to strengthen infrastructure and support for future emergencies.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Immunology
David M. Berendes, Kirsten Fagerli, Sunkyung Kim, Dilruba Nasrin, Helen Powell, Irene N. Kasumba, Sharon M. Tennant, Anna Roose, M. Jahangir Hossain, Joquina Chiquita M. Jones, Syed M. A. Zaman, Richard Omore, John B. Ochieng, Jennifer R. Verani, Marc-Alain Widdowson, Samba O. Sow, Sanogo Doh, Ciara E. Sugerman, Eric D. Mintz, Karen L. Kotloff
Summary: In this case-control study, we found associations between unsafe water sources, unsafely managed sanitation, and animal contact with moderate-to-severe diarrhea in children. The results showed that children with drinking water sources below safety standards had a higher risk of diarrhea, while the relationship between sanitation and animals varied by site.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Nathan L. Walker, A. Prysor Williams, David Styles
Summary: The study found that as companies get larger, they consume less electricity per cubic metre of wastewater treated, although the relationship is not completely linear. EU states had higher energy consumption while Norway effectively reduced greenhouse gas emissions in wastewater treatment.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Ramon Sala-Garrido, Manuel Mocholi-Arce, Alexandros Maziotis, Maria Molinos-Senante
Summary: Regulation of water companies is important in protecting citizens' interests, as they are natural monopolies. This study proposes a common set weights (CSW) DEA model for efficiency assessment of Chilean water companies, which showed greater discriminatory capacity compared to traditional techniques. The DEA-CSW approach provides reliable ranking of companies based on their efficiency scores, facilitating regulatory decision-making.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jennifer R. McConville, Elisabeth Kvarnstro, Abdulhamid Aliahmad, Maria Lennartsson
Summary: Nutrient management is a critical challenge for developing sustainable circular economies in cities. This study assesses the legitimacy of source-separating wastewater systems from the perspective of wastewater professionals in Sweden, revealing variations in legitimacy levels among urban areas. Increasing cognitive knowledge regarding source-separating systems among multiple stakeholders appears to be the most promising path forward to increase legitimacy in the Swedish wastewater sector.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mabvuto Yesaya, Elizabeth Tilley
Summary: Blantyre has around one million residents using pit latrines as sanitation facilities, but there is a lack of services to empty the pit sludge, leading to a significant amount of sludge buried underground. Most safely discharged sludge comes from a small proportion of septic tanks in the city, and there does not seem to be a clear correlation between cost and volume of sludge discharged. In the coming years, there is a pressing need for the city and WWTPs to prepare for future challenges in faecal sludge management.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Jember Azanaw, Eshetu Abera, Asmamaw Malede, Mastewal Endalew
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the level of improved water sources and sanitation in Ethiopia and their predictors. The results showed that there is still room for improvement in access to improved water sources and sanitation facilities in Ethiopia.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Immunology
David M. Berendes, Richard Omore, Graeme Prentice-Mott, Kirsten Fagerli, Sunkyung Kim, Dilruba Nasrin, Helen Powell, M. Jahangir Hossain, Samba O. Sow, Sanogo Doh, Joquina Chiquita M. Jones, John B. Ochieng, Jane Juma, Alex O. Awuor, Billy Ogwel, Jennifer R. Verani, Marc-Alain Widdowson, Irene N. Kasumba, Sharon M. Tennant, Anna Roose, Syed M. A. Zaman, Jie Liu, Ciara E. Sugerman, James A. Platts-Mills, Eric R. Houpt, Karen L. Kotloff, Eric D. Mintz
Summary: The study found that in low-income areas, water, sanitation, and animal factors were associated with enteric pathogens in cases of diarrhea. Animals, such as cows and sheep, were associated with bacterial carriage; surface water was associated with bacteria and protozoa. This study highlights the importance of animal exposure risks in children when it comes to enteric pathogen exposure.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Carmen Anthonj, Karen E. Setty, Giuliana Ferrero, Al-Mounawara A. Yaya, Kasandra Isabella Helouise Mingoti Poague, Alan J. Marsh, Ellen-Wien Augustijn
Summary: Health-related risk perceptions play a crucial role in shaping health behaviors and behavior change. The review identified the significant influence of health risk perceptions on behaviors related to drinking water sources and water safety. The literature covers diverse countries, income groups, research areas, methods, and viewpoints, highlighting the importance of risk perception studies in WASH governance for policy-making, awareness-raising, education, and behavior change.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Theory & Methods
Blesson Varghese, Nan Wang, David Bermbach, Cheol-Ho Hong, Eyal De Lara, Weisong Shi, Christopher Stewart
Summary: Edge computing is the future of the internet, leveraging computing resources near users, sensors, and data stores to provide faster services. Benchmarking the performance of such complex systems is crucial, as their operational conditions are expected to change significantly. Edge performance benchmarking has gained momentum as a research field in the past five years.
ACM COMPUTING SURVEYS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mustapha Immurana, Kwame Godsway Kisseih, Hadrat Mohammed Yusif, Ziblilla Mbanba Yakubu
Summary: This study examines the association between financial inclusion and open defecation and sharing of toilet facilities among households in Ghana. The results show that financial inclusion, particularly formal financial inclusion, is associated with reduced open defecation and sharing of toilet facilities.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Souphalak Inthaphatha, Viengsakhone Louangpradith, Leyla Isin Xiong, Valee Xiong, Ly Ly, Vue Xaitengcha, Alongkone Phengsavanh, Nobuyuki Hamajima, Eiko Yamamoto
Summary: This study in Lao PDR focused on school sanitation and menstrual health of secondary school girls, finding factors associated with school absence due to menstruation, such as age over 16, higher income, menstrual anxiety, using painkillers, improper disposal of sanitary pads, living with relatives, and location of schools. Recommendations include gender-separated school toilets with waste bins, starting menstrual education at elementary schools, and promoting teacher training on menstrual health.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Kara Stuart, Rachel Peletz, Jeff Albert, Ranjiv Khush, Caroline Delaire
Summary: This study found that contextual factors have a significant impact on the outcomes of rural sanitation interventions, but the direction and extent of the influence may vary between different countries, requiring tailored intervention measures. By using publicly available high-resolution datasets, interventions for rural sanitation activities can be targeted to the most favorable contexts.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Gabriel M. Tavares, Rafael S. Oyamada, Sylvio Barbon Junior, Paolo Ceravolo
Summary: This study provides a comprehensive survey and benchmark on event log encoding by comparing 27 methods, from different natures, in terms of expressivity, scalability, correlation, and domain agnosticism. It sheds light on issues, concerns, and future research directions regarding the use of encoding methods to bridge the gap between machine learning models and process mining.
ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Iddrisu Amadu, Abdul-Aziz Seidu, Kwabena Koforobour Agyemang, Francis Arthur-Holmes, Eric Duku, Iddrisu Salifu, Obasanjo Afolabi Bolarinwa, John Elvis Hagan, Bright Opoku Ahinkorah
Summary: This study assessed the combined effect of household's source of drinking water and type of toilet facility on the incidence of childhood diarrhoea in 33 Sub-Saharan Africa countries. The results showed that improving water and sanitation practices significantly reduced the occurrence of childhood diarrhoea.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Carolina Amaral, Maria Isabel Pedro, Diogo Cunha Ferreira, Rui Cunha Marques
Summary: The unprecedented population increase has resulted in various consequences for the environment, such as increased urbanization levels and the production of municipal solid waste (MSW). This study examines the efficiency of MSW management in Portuguese municipalities and explores the relationship between performance indicators and efficiency.
Article
Management
Diogo Cunha Ferreira, Rodrigo Soares, Maria Isabel Pedro, Rui Cunha Marques
Summary: Ensuring customer satisfaction is crucial for managers aiming to maintain or increase profits. This study proposes an alternative model for studying satisfaction and its determinants, combining Stochastic Multicriteria Acceptability Analysis and Multicriteria Satisfaction Analysis. The model is applied to a case study in the hospitality industry.
INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Miguel Alves Pereira, Rui Cunha Marques
Summary: This study uses data envelopment analysis to measure the efficiency of water and sanitation services in Brazilian municipalities, finding that the average efficiency is low due to scale inefficiencies. The study also identifies water source as a significant efficiency predictor, with ownership and geography affecting efficiency as well. Therefore, policy-making and management measures are suggested to improve water and sanitation services in Brazilian municipalities.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Carlos A. Novaes, Rui Cunha Marques
Summary: Stormwater systems in most cities are crucial but often overlooked infrastructure, relying on weak institutional and organizational structures. Solving the issues associated with these systems requires more than just technological solutions, but also a paradigm shift towards a new socio-institutional mentality that addresses new demands.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Mai Wardeh, Rui Cunha Marques
Summary: This article reviews the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in refugee camps in the Arab Middle East based on empirical data from Syrian refugees and Iraqi IDPs collected through a questionnaire. SDGs' indices were calculated using arithmetic mean and principal component analysis methods. The study finds that progress towards achieving the SDGs varies in the three locations due to different policies in the host countries. Iraq ranked highest in social and economic sustainability, Jordan ranked highest in environmental sustainability, and Lebanon lagged behind in all three dimensions. While SDG7 performed well, accelerating progress towards the remaining SDGs is crucial. Without substantial efforts from all stakeholders, the 2030 agenda will not be accomplished.
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Diogo Cunha Ferreira, Paulo Caldas, Miguel Verla, Rui Cunha Marques
Summary: This paper discusses different methods of aggregating partial performance indicators into composite indicators, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. The paper proposes a new framework based on geometric aggregation of performance indicators to address the shortcomings of existing models.
EXPERT SYSTEMS WITH APPLICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rui Cunha Marques, Pedro Simoes, Ines Machete, Thalita Fagundes
Summary: Water access as a human right is recognized by the UN since 2010. However, economic crisis has hindered poorer households from affording water services regularly even when piped water is available. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the issues of affordability and health consequences related to disconnection policies. This study examines water subsidies and disconnection policies in medium- and high-income countries to analyze their approaches in dealing with default rates.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Evaristo Fernandes, Rui Cunha Marques
Summary: In the last three decades, water shortages have become more common and have had a significant impact on the global economy. This has led to a shift from linear water management to circular resource preservation management, with a focus on water reuse. The circular economy in the water sector has gained attention, although the potential for treated wastewater reuse is still in its early stages. This paper examines recent research on circular economy implementation in the water and wastewater sector, with a focus on motivations and geographical distribution.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ines Freire Machete, Rui Cunha Marques
Summary: Private financing in the water supply and sanitation sector is inadequate due to perceived project risks, resulting in barriers to leveraging private financing. This study analyzed 185 World Bank-funded projects from 2015 to 2021 to understand the influence of perceived risks on financing. The study identified the most prevalent risks in these projects and found that the World Bank has varying levels of tolerance for different risk types, which can impact financing decisions.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Sonia Lima, Ana Brochado, Rui Cunha Marques
Summary: This study examines the unbalanced relationships in current PPP risk management frameworks, particularly in the water sectors of developing countries. It analyzes different stakeholders' perceptions of risk management through interviews in Portugal and Mozambique. The findings reveal that experts consider managing context risks to be crucial in the success of PPPs in developing countries' water sectors. The study also proposes a complete risk management cycle based on the opinions of interviewed professionals.
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Diogo Cunha Ferreira, Jose Rui Figueira, Salvatore Greco, Rui Cunha Marques
Summary: Assessing the technical efficiency of observations requires perfect knowledge of the associated data. Biased estimates may result if this is not the case. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is a widely used mathematical model for efficiency estimation. This study proposes a method to address the issue of imperfect knowledge of data and demonstrates its effectiveness through an empirical case study.
EXPERT SYSTEMS WITH APPLICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Regional & Urban Planning
Hugo Consciencia Silvestre, Rui Cunha Marques, Brian Dollery, Aldenisio Moraes Correia
Summary: In this paper, we empirically investigate the relationship between cooperating entities, local government institutions, and transaction costs in Brazilian local government water services through consortia. Our results show that institutional arrangements significantly affect cost efficiency, measured by total expenditure per user, between 2011 and 2019. We found that cost efficiency increases slowly under bureaucracies and faster under public enterprises, with dedicated asset specificities and contract management complexity explaining differences in water service provision cost efficiency. These findings have theoretical significance and important policy implications for intermunicipal cooperative agreements.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT STUDIES
(2023)
Review
Engineering, Civil
Thalita Salgado Fagundes, Rui Cunha Marques, Tadeu Malheiros
Summary: Water and sanitation affordability has become an important research topic due to the economic crisis and the role of tariffs. This paper systematically reviewed previous research on affordability and critically discussed the methodologies used. The study identified four key topics and highlighted the potential role of the analysis in public financial policies.
AQUA-WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ECOSYSTEMS AND SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Carlos Novaes, Rui Marques
Summary: Circular economy means efficient resource use and creating a feasible framework to tackle climate change and economic scarcity challenges. Urban stormwater, when treated as a useful resource, can replace energy-consuming water supply systems, resulting in energy savings and emission reduction. Urban agriculture can also benefit from green infrastructures. The key lies in implementing an efficiency mentality and aligning policies, institutions, and regulations to promote circular economy in urban planning and water cycle.
Article
Water Resources
Ines Freire Machete, Rui Cunha Marques
Summary: This study analyzed 62 completed World Bank water supply and sanitation projects and found correlations and interactions between project results, bank performance, and project characteristics. It highlights the importance of assessing and mitigating project risks, as well as the significance of development bank financing.
JOURNAL OF WATER SANITATION AND HYGIENE FOR DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
