Search results

Undoubtedly, saving the environment and avoiding environmental damage is one of the major challenges facing any government. The purpose of this paper is to add to the accumulative knowledge in the field through investigating the different factors affecting the adoption of newly developed water filters by Egyptian farmers to reduce the massive air pollution resulting from burning rice straw. Such investigation will help in achieving a deep and reflective understanding of current adoption practises by Egyptian farmers.

To understand the different factors that might have an impact on the adoption of newly developed water filters by Egyptians, a survey research strategy as well as a focus groups mechanism were conducted employing triangulation methodology in which quantitative and qualitative data were collected based on a post-positives approach. This quantitative study was performed in five local councils in Al-Sharqiyah Governorate, one of the biggest governorates in rice production in Egypt, based on a questionnaire built on some parameters related to Egyptian farmers’ perceptions of clean water. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences to analyse the collected data and evaluate the ability to promote the newly developed filters.

The findings indicated that the adoption of water filters by Egyptian farmers is affected by two groups of factors, namely personal factors and water-related factors. With regard to this, it was found that age, cost, farmers’ attitudes towards using water filters, farmers’ trust in the water pipes systems, and the usefulness of the filters have a positive impact on water filters adoption by Egyptian farmers. The findings also indicate that water filters adoption by Egyptian farmers has a positive impact on a farmer’s intention to buy a water filter and their intention to share a water filter with others.

The paper will provide great benefits for entrepreneurs, policy makers, practitioners, and researchers though providing a clearer view and deep understanding for the issues related to different factors affecting the adoption of newly developed water filters by Egyptian farmers.

This research adds to the relatively limited empirical research that has been conducted on water management in south Mediterranean counties. Moreover, the findings and results of this study will provide great assistance and benefit to business owners, practitioners and governmental agencies concerned with water management in south Mediterranean countries since it reveals a number of dynamics and potential scenarios that should be taken into consideration.

Bangladesh is facing an alarming situation with the drinking water in its most areas, as groundwater used for drinking has been contaminated with naturally occurring inorganic arsenic. Many entrepreneurs along with the government are trying to cope up with this problem. SONO filter is one of them that is based on the social innovation concept. Social innovation is defined as innovative products/services motivated by the goal of meeting a social need, with the opportunity to create new social collaborations. This paper aims to examine the concepts of social innovation, which advocates enhancing values to society and the social benefit to all the stakeholders.

This is an exploratory study and presents the evolution, the development of the social business model and its implementation. Abul Hussam initiated the social business concept through SONO filter that is commercialized through the Manob Sakti Unnayan Kendro. The study has been conducted entirely on the basis of documentary information and data available in the public domain.

The findings show a hopeful contribution toward enhancing social benefits to society especially in arsenic-affected areas. SONO filter helps to mitigate the water-borne diseases and make people clean and safe, as well as healthy, by providing pure drinking water. Even by drinking pure water, people with arsenic-related diseases are getting better day by day through this social initiative.

Business based on social innovation is a new and really a good working concept. It has faced many hurdles in its journey to meet social objectives. Many researchers, entrepreneurs, non-profit organizations, national planners and society leaders will surely be benefited by its solution.

Water used for large‐scale domestic and industrial purposes generally requires treatment in various ways. When heavily charged with suspended matter, a pre‐filtration process of sedimentation is necessary. Chemical reagents are added to correct over‐hardness, softness, acidity or alkalinity and to form a flocculent precipitation on the surface of the filtering medium in order to trap over 95% of the bacteria and other matter in suspension minute enough to pass through the filtering medium. Chlorine is added as required for sterilisation purposes.

We tend to take water for granted in Britain: we automatically assume that we can drink any water from a tap. In general there seems little doubt that our mains water is of an adequate standard despite much press speculation about our ageing system of water mains and the crumbling sewers. There are, however, a few points to be made.

The information which has hitherto appeared in the daily press as to the evidence laid before the Departmental Committee which is inquiring into the use of preservatives and colouring matters can hardly have afforded pleasant reading to the apologists for the drugging of foods. It is plainly the intention of the Committee to make a thorough investigation of the whole subject, and the main conclusions which, in the result, must bo forced upon unbiassed persons by an investigation of this character will be tolerably obvious to those who have given serious attention to the subject. At a later stage of the inquiry we shall publish a full account of the evidence submitted and of the Committee's proceedings. At present we may observe that the facts which have been brought forward fully confirm the statements made from time to time upon these matters in the BRITISH FOOD JOURNAL, and amply justify the attitude which we have adopted on the whole question. Representatives of various trade interests have given evidence which has served to show the extent to which the practices now being inquired into are followed. Strong medical evidence, as to the dangers which must attach to the promiscuous and unacknowledged drugging of the public by more or less ignorant persons, has been given; and some medical evidence of that apologetic order to which the public have of late become accustomed, and which we, at any rate, regard as particularly feeble, has also been put forward. Much more will no doubt be said, but those who have borne the heat and burden of the day in forcing these matters upon the attention of the Legislature and of the public can view with satisfaction the result already attained. Full and free investigation must produce its educational effect ; and whatever legal machinery may be devised to put some kind of check upon these most dangerous forms of adulteration, the demand of the public will be for undrugged food, and for a guarantee of sufficient authority to ensure that the demand is met.

Bottled water consumption continues to break records worldwide and its environmental impact is often underestimated by the consumer. Many factors affect individuals’ choices to consume tap water and bottled water including perceived health risks and water quality. The University of South Florida (USF) has joined a nationwide initiative to become carbon-neutral, and reducing bottled water consumption was a chosen strategy. The purpose of this study was to assess the risk perceptions and drinking water choices of the USF-Tampa campus community.

A sample of 561 students, faculty and staff members responded to an online survey. The survey contained questions about the use of bottled water and tap water, reusable water bottles, risk perceptions and demographics.

The results revealed that certain groups – undergraduate students and ethnic/racial minorities (e.g. black/African American, Hispanic/Latino) – drank significantly more bottled water. Among political ideologies, Liberals drank the least bottled water. Females and minorities had significantly greater risk perceptions of the tap water on campus. Important perceived benefits were tap water being less expensive and better for the environment than bottled water. Important perceived barriers were poor tasting tap water and the desire for filtered water.

The findings suggest the need for public health campaigns to increase awareness of health, environmental and financial consequences of bottled water consumption. Such campaigns should aim to discourage bottled water and any potential increased sugar-sweetened beverage consumption while promoting tap water consumption.

This paper aims to examine whether the disclosure obligations in areas of water stress required under the revised Global Reporting Initiative standard (GRI) 303 Water and Effluents, 2018 will improve the quality of corporate water reporting. As a key new requirement is to disclose the impact of water withdrawals from (and discharges to) areas experiencing water stress, the authors examine the ambiguity of the term “water stress” and the extent to which following the GRI’s guidance to use the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas and/or the Water Risk Filter will enable quality corporate water reporting.

The study is informed by the notion of public interest reporting, on the basis that the provision of contextual water information is in the public interest. To explore the ambiguity of the term “water stress”, the authors conduct a semi-systematic review of hydrology literature on water stress and water stress indices. To explore the efficacy of using the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas and/or the Water Risk Filter, the authors review the operation and underlying data sources of both databases.

The term “water stress” has a range of definitions and the indicators of water stress encompass a wide variety of differing factors. The Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas and the Water Risk Filter use a combination of different risk indicators and are based on source data of varying quality and granularity. Further, different weightings of water risk information are available to the user, which yield different evaluations of water stress. A variety of approaches are permitted under GRI 303.

Effective implementation of GRI 303 may be impeded by the ambiguity of the term “water stress”, varying quality and availability of the water stress information and the fact that different water stress calculation options are offered by the water databases. The authors suggest that the GRI closely monitor compliance, implementation approaches and scientific developments in relation to the water stress requirements with a view to providing further guidance and improving future iterations of the standard.

Whilst there have been many calls for improved contextual water reporting, few previous studies have explored the challenges to implementing reporting requirements related to the determination of “water stress”.

This paper aims to highlight how initial business models can be converted into a larger-scale solution for tapping into the emerging base-of-the-pyramid markets.

This study uses a qualitative, multi-case research design with 20 organizations tapping into the water market at the base-of-the-pyramid.

This paper explores three business models innovations: fostering value-in-context, allowing for modifiability and embracing organizational ambidexterity.

Due to our qualitative research approach, generalizability of our findings is limited.

The description of the three business model innovations offers guidance for executives to make their business models financially more sustainable in base-of-the-pyramid markets.

The water sector represents one especially interesting sector to examine business model innovations. For, among social goods, safe water remains a huge challenge to date where 700 million people remain without access to an improved water source.

Previous business model discussion in base-of-the-pyramid markets focuses on commercial goods. The authors focus on water as a social good. They demonstrate that the existing recommendations that business models in base-of-the-pyramid markets should be inclusive, complex, collaborative and scalable are mandatory, but not sufficient. In addition, business models should foster value-in-context, allow for modifiability and embrace organizational ambidexterity.

The paper uses a relational view of strategy framework to measure and assess the sustainable success of base of the pyramid (BoP) projects. The authors posit that the relational view is a powerful way to determine if a firm's project might lead to sustainable competitive advantage, because if partner resources combine to create relation‐specific capabilities and competences, they may provide sustainable value, and the paper applies this method of strategic analysis to selected BoP projects.

The paper separates the secondary data analysis from the primary data analysis and offers four propositions, based on the combined relational view and BoP criteria. The authors apply the relational view framework to two BoP projects from Michigan‐based organizations. Each case is analysed using the framework, and the authors discuss how the resources of each of the BoP project partners create value, how tailored and scalable the projects are, how BoP end user needs are addressed, what resources partners contribute, and if the relation‐specific combination of resources create project level capabilities that are sustainable.

The sustainable success of BoP projects may be best achieved when the BoP project partners contribute valuable resources and when those resources combine to create relation‐specific capabilities that create sustainable success. It reinforces the importance of scale, BoP user needs, and engaging BoP customers as partners.

This paper tries to help explain why some BoP projects successfully create a sustainable competitive advantage, by building on strategic themes and using a variation of the relational view framework to examine resources and capabilities of the organizations that partner to serve people at the BoP.

Although access to safe drinking water is one of the most important health-related infrastructure programs in the world, drinking water remains a large problem in China today, especially in rural areas. Despite increased government investment in water resource protection and management, there is still an absence of academic studies that are able to document what path the investment has taken and whether it has had any tangible impact. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of drinking water investment on drinking water in China.

The authors make use of nationally representative data from 2005 and 2012 to measure the impact of drinking water investment among 2,028 rural households in 101 villages across five provinces. Both ordinary least squares regression and probit regression are used to analyze the correlates and the impact of drinking water investment.

The authors demonstrate that water quality was likely a significant problem in 2004 but that China’s investment into drinking water appears to have resulted in initial improvements during the study period. The authors show that the most significant change came about in terms of hardware: villages that received more drinking water investment now have more piped tap water and more access to water treatment infrastructure (disinfecting and filtering facilities). High rates of rural resident satisfaction with drinking water suggest the effects of drinking water investment are being felt at the village level.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical study on drinking water investment over time in rural China using nationally representative data.