This paper sets out a framework for thinking about the gender dimensions of the economic crisis. It considers the likely impact of the crisis, as well as the responses to it, on the part of both individuals and collectivities, in three spheres of the economy: finance; production; and reproduction. It identifies the kinds of 'gender numbers' that we need; sex-disaggregated statistics of various …
This article draws on the grassroots experiences and research of MAP Foundation to examine the gendered impacts of the economic downturn on migrants from Burma/Myanmar1 who are working in Thailand. The article looks through a gender lens at the wages, working conditions, family relations and safety and security issues. It finds that migrant women have experienced decreases in wages, lay-offs, i…
This article discusses the findings of Oxfam-commissioned research into the impact of the economic crisis on women garment workers in the Philippines. It provides policy recommendations aiming to ensure that measures put in place by the government and international bodies support the women workers who have seen their jobs lost or their working conditions worsen, and ensure that recovery measure…
Despite immediate promises of economic recovery by some Latin American governments, women in some regions of the continent are feeling the aftermath of the crisis deeply. This is because of both the interconnectedness of their regions to the export market, and pre-existing economic policies and social factors, including gender inequality that strengthens inequalities. These factors are intensif…
This paper investigates the impact of the global economic crisis on the migration of Ethiopian women domestic workers to the Gulf. It argues that migration as a strategy to cope with existing crises in Ethiopia will be severely constrained by post-downturn policy shifts, which have already produced a significant decline in numbers of recorded migrants and remittances. Evidence suggests the cons…
Findings from a recent study on the impact of the economic crisis on informal workers in Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa reveal that transmission of the crisis to the informal economy is hitting poor women hard. Women constitute the majority of the informal workforce in most developing countries, and predominate its poorest and most vulnerable ranks. Evidence from four informal secto…
This paper explores the effects of liberal macroeconomic policies and the economic crisis on informal street traders. Street traders are linked to financial markets and the crisis primarily though demand conditions: slower growth and over-trading translate into lower profits. Field research indicates that female traders' households rely significantly more than male traders' households on income…
Caring for children and other dependents is crucial to human well-being, and to social and economic development. Yet, most national and international policymakers appear persistently blind to this fact, as has been highlighted by the recent global economic crisis. They need to recognise and value care work if they are to support vulnerable families from the effects of economic downturn. The 200…
In this study we provide a methodology for the optimal design of water sensor placement in water distribution networks. The optimization algorithm used is based on a simulation-optimization and a single-objective function approach which incorporates multiple factors used in the design of the system. In this sense the proposed model mimics a multiobjective approach and yields the final design wi…
A water demand end-use model was developed to predict water demand patterns with a small time scale (1 s) and small spatial scale (residence level). The end-use model is based on statistical information of users and end-uses: census data such as the number of people per household and their ages; the frequency of use; duration and flow per water-use event; occurrence over the day for different e…
The paucity of readily available demographic, economic, and water consumption data at household levels has limited the application of disaggregate water demand models. This research develops regression-based water demand models capable of forecasting single-family residential water demands within individual census tracts at a bimonthly time-step. The regression models are estimated using 12 yea…
When addressing urban water problems, it is no longer adequate to consider issues of water supply, demand, disposal, and reuse independently. Innovative water management strategies and opportunities for water reuse can only be properly evaluated in the context of their interactions with the broader water system. An integrated linear deterministic optimization model is applied to Beirut, Lebanon…
Contamination emergency in water distribution systems is a complex situation where optimal operation becomes important for public health. In case of emergency corrective operational actions for flushing the pollutant out of the network are needed, which have to be fast and accurate. Under such a stressful situation, trial-and-error simulation experiments with the hydrodynamic and water quality …
A cyclic storage (CS) system is defined as physically-integrated and operationally interconnected surface water and groundwater subsystems with full direct interactions between the subsystems. The proposed definition treats surface and subsurface impoundment subsystems as competing and potentially interconnected parallel storage facilities that minimize most of the problems associated with larg…
The Government of Canada has endorsed a policy to promote water conservation in an attempt to reduce environmental impacts of water use. Nonetheless, total water intake, consumption, and gross water use in the business sector have increased in the period 1981–1996. Water intake intensities, measured in cubic meters of intake water per dollar of production, however, have fallen by 4%. To better …
In recent years, drinking water distribution systems security has become a major concern. To protect public health and minimize the effected community by a contaminant intrusion, water quality needs to be continuously monitored and analyzed. Contamination warning systems are being designed to detect and characterize contaminant intrusions into water distribution systems. Since contamination inj…
A methodology is developed based on an optimization model solution for optimal design of groundwater quality monitoring network. Redundancy in monitoring network results in economic and overall inefficiency of the network. Therefore, redundancy reduction is an important issue in the optimal design of a monitoring network. The developed methodology reduces monitoring redundancy. It incorporates …
The allocation of water in a multicountry river system necessarily involves conflicting objectives, where increasing water benefits for one country entails losses for other countries. This paper presents the formulation and application of a multiobjective linear programming model, where each objective represents the benefits for a country from using water for agriculture, urban consumption, and…
An economic valuation of flood reductions arising from land use changes induced by the Conversion of Cropland to Forest and Grassland Program (CCFGP) in China is detailed in this paper. A distributed hydrologic model is used to analyze and predict changes in the probability of flood occurrences in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) due to revegetation activities under the CCFGP. The expected value of…
Cost-effective reduction of water loss is a compelling but challenging task for water utilities. This paper presents a model-based optimization method for leakage detection of water distribution systems. Leakage hotspots are assumed to exist at the model nodes identified. Leakage is represented as pressure-dependent demand simulated as emitter flows at selected model nodes. The leakage detectio…