Impact of Smart Technologies on the Lives of Citizens

This chapter presents an overview of smart technologies with description of using them in smart ways. It also explains the role of government flexibility as well as economic opportunity in developing smart cities. The direct and in direct impact of using smart technology on the life of citizens in a city are identified, covering the modalities as well as the enablers of such impacts. The chapter proceeds to examine the seven sectors essential of smart cities: healthcare, environment and public health, mobility and transport, energy, water, education, and security. For each sector, the significance of “smartness” is addressed with examples of how with digital transformation and usage of smart technologies citizens can greatly benefit. In general, this chapter acts as the main link between understanding smart technologies and sensors to actually employ them to enable smart living for citizens.

Preface: The 4th International Conference of Water Resources Development and Environmental Protection (ICWRDEP 2021)

The 4th International Conference on Water Resources Development and Environmental Protection 2021 (ICWRDEP 2021) was successfully held in a virtual meeting room by Zoom on August 7th, 2021. This conference was initially scheduled to be held offline at Universitas Brawijaya in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. However, it was canceled due to COVID-19 and government travel restrictions, particularly for international participants. Since ICWRDEP has been declared a biannual event and has been ongoing since mid-2020, this event would not be postponed. Moreover, when the call for papers was published, academics and researchers were ecstatic. The ICWRDEP 2021 was organized by Water Resources Engineering Department - Faculty of Engineering - Universitas Brawijaya in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Works and Housings of Indonesia, Miyazaki University in Japan, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands, and Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands. The conference topics are River Engineering and Management, Coastal Engineering and Management, Environmental Engineering & Sanitation, Water-Related Disaster Risk Reduction, and Water Resources Engineering and Management and Water-related to Civil, Architectural Engineering. Through the presentation of papers and discussion, the conference provides a platform for researchers, engineers, and academicians to meet and share ideas, achievements, and experiences. This international event is essential in promoting and encouraging practitioners to apply the new concept of water resource development and techniques and enhancing knowledge and understanding with the required specifications of analysis, design, and construction of any engineering concept. We would like to express the most profound appreciation to the Rector of Universitas Brawijaya, the Dean of Engineering Faculty, Keynote Speakers Prof. Eko Winar Irianto from the Ministry of Public Works and Housings Indonesia, Prof. Keisuke Murakami from Japan, and Prof. Dano Roelvink from the Netherlands, International Advisory Board members, organizing committee, and all participants. List Of Committees are available in this pdf.

Water Education for Public Servants of Developing Countries in the post COVID-19 world

After the COVID-19 pandemic, hand hygiene has become more important to prevent and reduce infection. To manage and provide water to ensure safe handwashing, water governance and the role of public servants are also getting critical. Many organizations have given their priority to capacity building of public servants. In the Strategic Plan for the ninth phase of the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (2022-2029), ‘Water education in the Fourth Industrial Revolution’ is included as a priority. In Korea, ODA in the field of water and sanitation is emphasized in Korea’s 3rd Mid-term Strategy for Development Cooperation (2021-2025). Also, KOICA and various water-related organizations have been organizing water education programs for developing countries. This study presents the direction for water education for public servants in developing countries in the post COVID-19 through the education program cases of the International Centre for Water Security and Sustainable Management established by the agreement between the Korean government and UNESCO in 2017. The study suggests that water-related organizations should cooperate with each other to prevent duplication of water education contents. It also suggests that blended learning should be actively utilized for the improvement of education program effectiveness. Lastly, the study emphasizes that education demand for the water technologies related to the fourth industrial revolution and smart water management is increasing, which should be considered when water-related organizations create online content or design education programs.

Repositioning Pan-Africanism for Human Security in the 21st Century

Africa in the 21st century is still troubled by myriads of problems. These problems include neo-colonialism, modern slavery, ethnicism, racism, xenophobic attacks, environmental degradation, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, war, famine, terrorism, conflicts, etc. All these problems gravely impede human security. Human security is more than military or national security and refers to all that constitutes the good life and makes life more abundant for the people. Human securities include the access to food, portable water, education, good environment, human rights, etc. Resolving and combating these problems will require concerted efforts on the part of many if not all African nations in the continent and Diaspora. Some of these problems cut across national boundaries. Problems like terrorism, illegal migration, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, xenophobic attacks, etc cut across national borders. Though Pan-Africanism may have waned in strength it can be repositioned to harness African cultural and historic values to combat its contemporary problems in the 21st century. A hermeneutic method will be used to interpret the meaning and import of Pan-Africanism and human security. A critical analytic method will be used to discuss the issues. The paper finds and concludes that Pan-Africanism can be re-positioned to enable Africa combat the problems facing her.

Community-University Partnership in Water Education and Linkage Process. Study Case: Manglaralto, Santa Elena, Ecuador

Universities have the mission to serve society by being pragmatic, diverse, and multidisciplinary. Similar to society in general, these centers have a common challenge: finding a way to articulate projects that favor the demands and needs of vulnerable rural sectors. In this case, the community-university partnership is based on the interaction of the Manglaralto population, represented by the Junta Administradora del Agua Potable Regional de Manglaralto and the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), both from Ecuador. Specifically, it is based on a collaborative relationship since 2005, through the Centro de Investigación y Proyectos Aplicados a Ciencias de la Tierra (CIPAT) of the ESPOL. This work aims to evaluate the community-university partnership through the results obtained in community work projects. In addition, it describes the resolution of problems reached on the sustainability of water resources in the parish of Manglaralto (Ecuador). The methodology was based on (i) the description of the existing community-university interaction framework, (ii) the analysis of the community projects that CIPAT developed in the period 2017–2020, and finally, (iii) the evaluation of the impact of the actions carried out on the sustainability of the coastal aquifer. The community-university partnership has generated relevant information (e.g., water reserves, extraction processes, aquifer recharge, and care of the resource) for the community and has allowed for the strengthening and transmitting of knowledge in different specialties (education, culture, and environment). In the 2017–2020 period, four community projects were carried out with students, researchers, and the inhabitants of the rural area of Manglaralto. These projects allowed wells for water extraction and engineering structures such as dikes and green filters that help the use and recharge the aquifer. In addition, the initiatives carried out made it possible to inform the population of the importance of the sustainable exploitation of water resources. In general, this work made it possible to identify a natural laboratory of human interaction in which the results obtained are based on the collaboration and contribution of all the participating actors.

Determinants for realisation of the right to food among adolescents in Sterkspruit, eastern cape province, South Africa

Globally, the youth population aged between 10 and 24 years is the fastest growing and faces health and nutritional challenges affecting their growth and development, livelihoods and future careers. The government needs to take necessary action towards the full realisation of the right to health, water, education and adequate standards of living, amongst others. A cross-sectional descriptive study using a mixed method approach was conducted. The study aimed at gaining an insight into perceptions about underlying factors, having an impact on the realisation of the Right to Food (RtF)of adolescents in the Sterkspruit area of the Senqu sub-district (Eastern Cape Province). It, furthermore, explored possible solutions and opportunities to facilitate the progressive realisation of the RtF for adolescents in this area. In-depth interviews were held with eight (8) key informants who were actively involved in the community. Fifty (50) adolescents aged 10 to 19 years completed a self-administered questionnaire and participated in Focus Group Discussions, stratified for gender and age. Through content analysis of qualitative data, transcripts were coded and emerging themes were grouped, using the ATLAS.ti 7 text analysis programme. Sixteen (16) percent of the adolescents sometimes had access to only one food source at home and have experienced hunger at times. The most pressing issues identified by participants, which compromises the realisation of adolescents’ right to food and health, was hunger caused by a combination of a monotonous diet, lack of agrarian resources, unemployment and mismanagement of Child Support Grants. Although government was regarded as the main duty-bearer responsible for the realisation of the RtF, it was perceived to be inefficient in taking sustainable measures to enhance food security in this resource-poor area. Very few participants identified adolescents’ own responsibility as rights-holders. The implementation of a human rights-based approach is needed for both the duty-bearers and rights-holders to facilitate adolescents’ physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food.