Journal Articles

Should I stay or should I go?: Reasons beneficiaries decide to stay or leave aid-provided in-situ housing

Prakriti Sardana — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 19:48:05 +0000

Should I stay or should I go?: Reasons beneficiaries decide to stay or leave aid-provided in-situ housing Prakriti Sardana Wed, 09/18/2024 - 13:48 Ilham Siddiq , Amy Javernick-Will

Providing in-situ housing after a disaster is thought to prevent issues resulting in housing inoccupancy. In-situ housing, or housing built at the original site, aims to retain beneficiary connection to people, place, and livelihoods, addressing many noted challenges of building at relocated sites. However, beneficiaries have left thousands of aid-provided in-situ houses in post-tsunami Aceh, Indonesia. This research conducted and analyzed questionnaires administered to beneficiaries that both stayed and left their provided in-situ housing almost two decades post-tsunami, exploring the reasons for their decisions. Results show that while place- and community-based reasons can be reasons to remain in in-situ housing, these can also cause beneficiaries to leave their housing due to place-based trauma and disrupted social capital due to loss. In addition, economic and personal conditions influence decisions to stay or leave. Economic conditions, including opportunities for education and more formal livelihoods, particularly for those that were younger, were stated as reasons beneficiaries left, whereas older beneficiaries with less education, more intact social capital, and livelihoods tied to the land, such as farming and fishing, tended to remain. These findings reinforce the importance of aligning post-disaster housing strategies with the lived dynamics of the affected individuals, emphasizing the need for solutions that not only address immediate housing concerns but also foster social and economic resilience to enable long-term housing occupancy.

Siddiq, I., & Javernick-Will, A. (2024). Should I stay or should I go?: Reasons beneficiaries decide to stay or leave aid-provided in-situ housing. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 106, 104454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104454

Siddiq, I., & Javernick-Will, A. (2024). Should I stay or should I go?: Reasons beneficiaries decide to stay or leave aid-provided in-situ housing. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 106, 104454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104454

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Post-Fire Jurisdictional Decision-Making for Resiliency and Sustainability Outcomes

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Post-Fire Jurisdictional Decision-Making for Resiliency and Sustainability Outcomes Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 10/25/2023 - 18:00 Megan Ellery , Amy Javernick-Will

The increasing frequency and size of wildfires across the U.S. motivates the growing need to identify how affected communities can rebuild sustainably and resiliently. This study examines the jurisdictional decision-making process surrounding one important class of sustainability and resiliency decisions, focusing on energy and wildfire building codes for housing reconstruction. Through 22 interviews with staff and elected officials in three jurisdictions impacted by Colorado's Marshall Fire, we identify factors influencing decisions. Code decisions varied across jurisdictions and, in some cases, building codes were relaxed, while in other cases, increased resiliency and sustainability standards were adopted after the fire. Jurisdictions with more experience had more certainty regarding code costs and effectiveness, leading to more stringent code adoption. Thus, findings encourage jurisdictions to create rebuilding plans pre-disaster to reduce the impact of uncertainty in post-disaster decision-making. The data also indicate that while local jurisdictions are well-suited to work cooperatively with homeowners impacted by disasters to return to the community, the state can play a role by informing or mandating disaster plans or establishing minimum code requirements.

Ellery, M., Javernick-Will, A., Liel, A., and K. Dickinson (2023). “Post-Fire Jurisdictional Decision-Making for Resiliency and Sustainability Outcomes”. Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability. 10.1088/2634-4505/ad02b8.

Ellery, M., Javernick-Will, A., Liel, A., and K. Dickinson (2023). Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability. 10.1088/2634-4505/ad02b8.

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Characterizing modern bathrooms to support sanitation adoption

Anonymous — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Characterizing modern bathrooms to support sanitation adoption Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 08/21/2023 - 18:00 Rebecca Ventura , Amy Javernick-Will

Sanitation programming success depends on users being satisfied with the proposed sanitation system and bathroom design. Past studies have described some households being dissatisfied with their current bathrooms and unwilling to accept a new bathroom because it is not modern; however, few studies have investigated how households define modern. To best support households in adopting improved sanitation infrastructure, or infrastructure that hygienically separates human waste from human contact, there is a need to understand characteristics associated with modern bathrooms and if modern encompasses more than the sanitation infrastructure. This study systematically identified characteristics associated with modern bathrooms across multiple sanitation infrastructure types. 305 households near Cascas, Peru, an area with diverse bathroom designs that have unimproved and improved sanitation infrastructure access, were surveyed to capture perceptions of modern. Results demonstrate that households often perceive a modern bathroom as one with a sitting-style toilet, a sink, and a shower. Most households did not associate sanitation infrastructure type with their definition of modern; however, all modern bathrooms had improved sanitation infrastructure. Future work should expand and test this definition of modern in other contexts to support future adoption of improved sanitation.

Ventura, R., Javernick-Will, A., and N. Gonzales. (2023). “Characterizing modern bathrooms to support sanitation adoption”. Journal of Water, Sanitation & Hygiene for Development. 10.2166/washdev.2023.034/97035.

Ventura, R., Javernick-Will, A., and N. Gonzales. (2023). Journal of Water, Sanitation & Hygiene for Development. 10.2166/washdev.2023.034/97035.

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Capacity-Building to Support Safer Housing through Appropriate Hurricane Strap Use

Anonymous — Wed, 31 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Capacity-Building to Support Safer Housing through Appropriate Hurricane Strap Use Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 05/30/2023 - 18:00 Briar Goldwyn , Amy Javernick-Will

Amid rising global disaster risks, governmental and nongovernmental organizations have called for increased technical assistance to build capacity within communities to build safer housing. However, limited research has evaluated these approaches to building technical construction capacity. This study discusses the process of collaboratively designing an approach to build construction capacity for safer housing, evaluating this process through measures of builders’ self-efficacy and knowledge of mitigation measure efficacy. The capacity-building focuses particularly on the appropriate use of hurricane straps in wood roof construction in Puerto Rico, which was identified as an area where engineering recommendations did not align with many builders’ perceptions of safety. Three phases were used to design, implement, and assess this capacity-building approach. First, we interviewed staff in local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to identify propositions for building technical construction capacity in Puerto Rico. We then used these propositions as a framework to design the capacity-building approach. Finally, we piloted and evaluated this approach with existing trainers and community members who are building and repairing housing in Puerto Rico, interviewing them after implementation to analyze shifts in self-efficacy and knowledge of mitigation measure efficacy. The results reveal interviewees’ increased perceived self-efficacy and knowledge of mitigation measure efficacy following capacity-building, leading them to express increased willingness to mitigate hurricane risks to housing with appropriately installed hurricane straps. Overall, this study provides evidence that centering people’s perspectives is needed in technical construction capacity-building to influence builders’ self-efficacy and knowledge of mitigation measure efficacy and promote safer housing construction and suggests an approach that can be used to center these perspectives.

Goldwyn, B., Velasquez, C., Liel, A., Javernick-Will, A., and M. Koschmann (2023). “Capacity-Building to Support Safer Housing through Appropriate Hurricane Strap Use” Natural Hazards Review. 10.1061/NhrefO.NHENG-170.

Goldwyn, B., Velasquez, C., Liel, A., Javernick-Will, A., and M. Koschmann (2023). Natural Hazards Review. 10.1061/NhrefO.NHENG-1708

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Advancing Sustainable Development: Emerging Factors and Futures for the Engineering Field

Anonymous — Thu, 11 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Advancing Sustainable Development: Emerging Factors and Futures for the Engineering Field Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/10/2023 - 18:00 Amy Javernick-Will , Emma Stine

This study set out to identify emerging trends in advancing engineering for sustainable development, supporting the engineering workforce to address wicked problems, and strengthening pathways between engineering education, industry, and policy. The following question guided this work: What are the emerging factors impacting the future of global sustainability efforts within engineering, and how can these be amplified to increase the impact of engineering for sustainable development? Using an adapted Delphi method with surveys, focus groups, and member-checking interviews, we hosted the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) 2022 Engineering Global Development (EGD) Stakeholder Summit. The summit convened industry leaders, innovators, and academics to explore emerging factors impacting the future of global sustainability efforts in engineering. This manuscript synthesizes emerging trends and proposes recommendations for engineering, particularly in the specific focus area of engineering for sustainable development (e.g., ‘humanitarian engineering’, ‘global engineering’). Critical recommendations include the adoption of emerging cultural mindsets, which include: (1) take an interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder approach, (2) consider dynamic and interconnected systems, (3) increase humility and intercultural competence, (4) prioritize diversity and inclusion, (5) increase localization and center community perspectives, (6) challenge the perception that engineering is neutral, and (7) broaden the goals of engineering. Ultimately, this study highlights pathways forward for the broader engineering community to more effectively contribute to advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Burleson, G., Lajoie, J., Mabey, C., Sours, P., Ventrella, J., Peiffer, E., Stine, E., Stettler Kleine, M., MacDonald, L., Austin-Breneman, J., Javernick-Will, A., Winter, A., Lucena, J., Knight, D., Daniel, S., Thomas, E., Mattson, C., Aranda, I. (2023). “Advancing Sustainable Development: Emerging Factors and Futures for the Engineering Field”. Sustainability. 10.3390/su15107869.

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Study design and baseline to evaluate water service provision among peri-urban communities in Kasai Oriental, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Study design and baseline to evaluate water service provision among peri-urban communities in Kasai Oriental, Democratic Republic of the Congo Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/12/2023 - 18:00

We present a study design and baseline results to establish the impact of interventions on peri-urban water access, security and quality in Kasai Oriental province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In standard development practice, program performance is tracked via monitoring and evaluation frameworks of varying sophistication and rigor. Monitoring and evaluation, while usually occurring nearly concurrently with program delivery, may or may not measure parameters that can identify performance with respect to the project’s overall goals. Impact evaluations, often using tightly controlled trial designs and conducted over years, challenge iterative program evolution. This study will pilot an implementation science impact evaluation approach in the areas immediately surrounding 14 water service providers, at each surveying 100 randomly-selected households and conducting water quality assessments at 25 randomly-selected households and five water points every three months. We present preliminary point-of-collection and point-of-use baseline data. This study is utilizing a variety of short- and medium-term monitoring and impact evaluation methods to provide feedback at multiple points during the intervention. Rapid feedback monitoring will assess the continuity of water services, point-of-consumption and point-of-collection microbial water quality, household water security, household measures of health status, ability and willingness to pay for water and sanitation service provision, and service performance monitoring. Long-term evaluation will focus on the use of qualitative comparative analysis whereby we will investigate the combination of factors that lead to improved water access, security and quality.

Kirsch, K.*, Nagel, C., Iribagiza, C., Ecklu, J., Akonkwa Zawadi, G., Mugaruka Ntabaza, P., Barstow, C., Lund, A., Harper, J., Carlton, E., Javernick-Will, A., Linden, K., and E. Thomas, (2023). “Study design and baseline to evaluate water service provision among peri-urban communities in Kasai Oriental, Democratic Republic of the Congo”. PLOS One. 10.1371/journal.pone.0283019.

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Aligning learning objectives and approaches in global engineering graduate programs: Review and recommendations by an interdisciplinary working group

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Aligning learning objectives and approaches in global engineering graduate programs: Review and recommendations by an interdisciplinary working group Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/30/2022 - 17:00 Amy Javernick-Will

Despite decades of global development programming, poverty persists in the low-and-middle-income countries targeted by these efforts. Training approaches to global development must change and the role of engineers in these efforts must evolve to account for structural and systemic barriers to global poverty reduction. Rapid growth in Global Engineering graduate programs in the United States and Canada creates an opportunity to unify efforts between academic institutions and ensure that programs align with the sector's needs as identified by practitioners. To build consensus on how to equip engineering students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary, we convened practitioners, faculty and graduate students for a two-day workshop to establish an agreed-upon Global Engineering body of knowledge. The workshop was informed by a pre-event survey of individual participants and representatives of participating academic institutions with graduate programs in Global Engineering or a related field. Through the workshop breakout sessions and post-event work by the authors, we developed the following priority learning objectives for graduate education in global engineering: Contextual Comprehension and Analysis; Cross-cultural Humility; Global Engineering Ethics; Stakeholder Analysis and Engagement; Complex Systems Analysis; Data Collection and Analysis; Data-driven Decision Making; Applied Engineering Knowledge; Project Design; Project Management; Multidisciplinary Teamwork and Leadership; Communication; Climate Change, Sustainability, and Resilience; Global Health; and Development Economics. Although technical skills are central to preparing the next generation of Global Engineers, transversal and interdisciplinary skills are equally important in equipping students to work across sectors and account for barriers to global development and equity.

MacDonald, L., Thomas, E., Javernick-Will, A., Austin-Breneman, J., Aranda, I., Salvinelli, C., et al., (2022). Aligning learning objectives and approaches in global engineering graduate programs: Review and recommendations by an interdisciplinary working group. Development Engineering, p.100095. 10.1016/j.deveng.2022.100095

MacDonald, L., Thomas, E., Javernick-Will, A., Austin-Breneman, J., Aranda, I., Salvinelli, C., et al., (2022). Development Engineering, p.100095. 10.1016/j.deveng.2022.100095

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Improving the reliability of water service delivery in rural Kenya through professionalized maintenance: a system dynamics perspective

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Improving the reliability of water service delivery in rural Kenya through professionalized maintenance: a system dynamics perspective Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/22/2022 - 17:00 Pranav Chintalapati , Amy Javernick-Will

Reliable water service delivery continues to be a complex global issue that is particularly challenging in rural communities. Despite billions of dollars of infrastructure interventions, sustainable water services remain out of reach for millions of people. Professionalized maintenance services have emerged as a service provision strategy to supplement the community-based rural water management approach. This study applies system dynamics modeling to assess the potential impact of scaling up professionalized maintenance services on piped water systems in Kitui County, Kenya. The study results show that over a 10 year simulation, calibrated with 21 months of empirical data and based on a range of key assumptions, delivery of professionalized maintenance services across the county may increase countywide functionality rates from 54% to over 83%, leading to a 67% increase in water production. Furthermore, the increase in preventive maintenance activities and proactive repairs can lead to less frequent major breakdowns and reduction in county government spending on major repairs by over 60%. However, current service fee income from communities accounts for 8% of the total cost of service, necessitating substantial sustained external financing or government subsidies to be financially viable at scale.

Chintalapati, P., Nyaga, C., Walters, J., Koehler, J., Javernick-Will, A.; Hope, R.; Linden, K. (2022). “Improving the reliability of water service delivery in rural Kenya through professionalized maintenance: a system dynamics perspective”. Environmental Science and Technology. 10.1021/acs.est.2c00939

Chintalapati, P., Nyaga, C., Walters, J., Koehler, J., Javernick-Will, A.; Hope, R.; Linden, K. (2022). Environmental Science and Technology. 10.1021/acs.est.2c00939

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Seismic safety of informally-constructed reinforced concrete houses in Puerto Rico

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Seismic safety of informally-constructed reinforced concrete houses in Puerto Rico Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/21/2022 - 18:00 Briar Goldwyn , Amy Javernick-Will

More than 1.6 billion people worldwide live in informally constructed houses, many of which are reinforced with concrete. Patterns of past earthquake damage suggest that these homes have significant seismic vulnerabilities, endangering their occupants. The characteristics of these houses vary widely with local building practices. In addition, these vulnerabilities are potentially exacerbated by incremental construction practices and building practices that address wind/flood risk in multi-hazard environments. Yet, despite the ubiquity of this type of construction, there have not been efforts to systematically assess the seismic risks to support risk-reducing design and construction strategies. In this study, we developed a method to assess the seismic collapse capacity of informally constructed housing that accounts for local building practices and materials, quantifying the effect of building characteristics on collapse risk. We exercise the method to assess seismic performance of housing in the US. Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico, which has high seismic hazard and experiences frequent hurricanes. This analysis showed that heavy construction, often due to the addition of a second story, and the presence of an open ground story leads to a high collapse risk. Severely corroded steel bars could also worsen performance. Although houses with infill performed better than those with an open ground story, confined masonry construction techniques produced a major reduction in collapse risk when compared to infilled or open-frame construction. Infill construction with partial height walls performed very poorly. Well-built reinforced concrete column jackets and the addition of infill in open first-story bays can reduce the greater risks of open-ground-story houses. These findings, which are quantified in the results portion of this article, are intended to support the development of design and construction recommendations for safer housing.

Murray, P., Feliciano, D., Goldwyn, B., Liel, A., Arroyo, O., and A. Javernick-Will. (2022). “Seismic safety of informally-constructed reinforced concrete houses in Puerto Rico". Earthquake Spectra. 10.1177/87552930221123085

Murray, P., Feliciano, D., Goldwyn, B., Liel, A., Arroyo, O., and A. Javernick-Will. (2022). Earthquake Spectra. 10.1177/87552930221123085

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Mapping (mis)alignment within a collaborative network using homophily metrics

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Mapping (mis)alignment within a collaborative network using homophily metrics Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/20/2022 - 18:00 Kimberly Pugel , Amy Javernick-Will

Collaborative approaches can overcome fragmentation by fostering consensus and connecting stakeholders who prioritize similar activities. This makes them a promising approach for complex, systemic problems such as lack of reliable, safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in low-income countries. Despite the touted ability of collaborative approaches to align priorities, there remains no comprehensive way to measure and map alignment within a network of actors. Methodological limitations have led to inconsistent guidance on if, and how much, alignment is needed around a common vision (e.g., universal, reliable access to WASH) and/or around an agreed set of activities (e.g. passing a bill to promote water scheme maintenance models). In this work, we first define alignment as the extent to which actors work with others who share priorities. We then develop and test a method that uses social network analysis and qualitative interview data to quantify and visualize alignment within a network. By investigating how alignment of two strong, well-functioning WASH collaborative approaches evolved over three years, we showed that while alignment on a common vision may be a defining aspect of collaborative approaches, some alignment around specific activities is also required. Collaborative approaches that had sub-groups of members that all prioritized the same activities and worked together were able to make significant progress on those activities, such as drafting and passing a county-wide water bill or constructing a controversial fecal sludge disposal site. Despite strong sub-group formation, networks still had an overall tendency for actors to work with actors with different prioritized activities. While this reinforces some existing knowledge about collaborative work, it also clarifies inconsistencies in theory on collaborative approaches, calls into question key aspects of network literature, and expands methodological capabilities.

Pugel, K., Javernick-Will, A., Nyaga, C., Dimtse, D., Mussa, M., Henry, L., and K. Linden. (2022). “Mapping (mis)alignment within a collaborative network using homophily metrics”. PLOS Water. 10.1371/journal.pwat.0000044

Pugel, K., Javernick-Will, A., Nyaga, C., Dimtse, D., Mussa, M., Henry, L., and K. Linden. (2022). PLOS Water. 10.1371/journal.pwat.0000044

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