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Article
Publication date: 10 August 2015

Peter Appiah Obeng, Bernard Keraita, Sampson Oduro-Kwarteng, Henrik Bregnhøj, Robert C. Abaidoo and Flemming Konradsen

– The purpose of this paper is to present the latrine ownership ladder as a conceptual policy framework to enhance sanitation uptake in low-income peri-urban areas.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the latrine ownership ladder as a conceptual policy framework to enhance sanitation uptake in low-income peri-urban areas.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws from literature and a case study in a Ghanaian peri-urban community to highlight the challenges that undermine sanitation uptake in low-income peri-urban areas and the prospects of various levels of facility sharing as conceived in the latrine ownership ladder approach.

Findings

The authors argue that the infrastructural and other socio-economic challenges of low-income peri-urban areas prevent some households from acquiring their own latrines. For such households, a more responsive approach to latrine promotion and prevention of open defecation would be the recognition of shared ownership regimes such as co-tenant shared, neighbourhood shared and community shared, in addition to the promotion of household latrines. The paper identifies provision of special concessions for peri-urban areas in policy formulation, education and technical support to households, regulation and enforcement of sanitation by-laws among complimentary policy interventions to make the latrine ownership ladder approach more effective.

Originality/value

The paper provides an insight into the debate on redefining improved sanitation in the post-2015 era of the Millennium Development Goals and offers policy alternatives to policy makers in low-income countries seeking to accelerate the uptake of improved latrines among peri-urban and urban slum dwellers.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 26 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

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Article
Publication date: 15 June 2010

Peter Appiah Obeng, Philip Dwamena‐Boateng and Doreen Jardelle Ntiamoah‐Asare

The purpose of this paper is to verify claims that water supplied by operators of tanker trucks in Cape Coast does not meet quality standards recommended for human consumption…

930

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to verify claims that water supplied by operators of tanker trucks in Cape Coast does not meet quality standards recommended for human consumption, and to investigate the sources of any contamination.

Design/methodology/approach

Samples were collected from a water hydrant from which tanker operators draw water from the Ghana Water Company Limited distribution system in Cape Coast and a number of tankers sampled at random. Additional samples were taken from the premises of a patron of the tanker service and a regular customer of the Ghana Water Company Limited. All samples were subjected to physico‐chemical and bacteriological analyses and the results compared with the World Health Organization's guidelines for drinking water.

Findings

It was found out that water supplied by the tanker operators indeed failed to meet the World Health Organization's guidelines for some quality parameters as alleged by patrons of the service. The tanker‐supplied water was found to contain high levels of Escherichia coli, colour, turbidity and total iron. This was found to arise from the management of the water hydrant and the tankers by the Ghana Water Company Limited and the tanker operators respectively.

Originality/value

The study provides a basis for the set of actions that must be taken to safeguard public health and consumer confidence in drinking water supply using tankers as an emerging alternative to conventional water supply in urban centres of the developing world.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 21 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

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Article
Publication date: 27 February 2009

Peter Appiah Obeng, Emmanuel A. Donkor and Anthony Mensah

The purpose of this paper is to find out and document what reforms have taken place in the institutional structure for solid waste management (SWM) in Kumasi since the inception…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to find out and document what reforms have taken place in the institutional structure for solid waste management (SWM) in Kumasi since the inception of a National Environmental Sanitation Policy (NESP) in Ghana in 1999, and what impact institutional reforms have made on solid waste collection service efficiency.

Design/methodology/approach

The study undertook a before‐and‐after assessment of key institutional issues as well as service efficiency within five years of the inception of the policy using questionnaires and interviews to collect data and information from relevant SWM stakeholders in the metropolis.

Findings

It was found that the implementation of the policy has led to changes in the organisational structure for SWM in the city with the introduction of private sector participation, which has led to improvement in efficiency in terms of service coverage and cost recovery. Service coverage increased from about 50 per cent in 1999 to an annual average of 87.4 per cent between 2000 and 2004, while the amount recovered through house‐to‐house collection services increased from 26.5 per cent of the WMD's expenditure in 2001 to 68.6 per cent in 2004.

Practical implications

The findings and recommendations can inform future SWM policy reviews and implementation in the city and elsewhere.

Originality/value

The study is the first attempt at documenting the historical evolution towards the current institutional structure and a scientific assessment of the impact of the reforms on service efficiency in Ghana.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

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Article
Publication date: 1 November 1998

Karin Newman, Alan Cowling and Susan Leigh

Features a case study of a major bank which aimed to achieve corporate transformation and a dramatic improvement in service quality. The links between service quality, customer…

4459

Abstract

Features a case study of a major bank which aimed to achieve corporate transformation and a dramatic improvement in service quality. The links between service quality, customer satisfaction and corporate profitability in UK banking are outlined in order to set in context the many quality improvement initiatives undertaken by UK retail banks in recent years. Business process re‐engineering has proved to be the most popular of service quality initiatives but most have been limited to single processes rather than corporate transformation as portrayed in the case study. The five‐year corporate transformation programme focuses on employee communications, the redesign of work, recruitment and reward processes and the introduction of consumer research‐based national quality standards. The bank was rewarded for its efforts, coming top for three consecutive years in the Which? service quality surveys and, according to its own data, which contributed to a rise in customer satisfaction and customer retention at a time of declining employee satisfaction. Future developments in service quality segmentation and a working definition of service quality are proposed.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 16 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 19 June 2021

Elvis Korku Avenyo and Erika Kraemer-Mbula

Examining the impact of gender on various aspects of business performance has gained research and policy traction, although the empirical evidence remains inconclusive. This paper…

578

Abstract

Purpose

Examining the impact of gender on various aspects of business performance has gained research and policy traction, although the empirical evidence remains inconclusive. This paper aims to focus on one type of business, namely, informal enterprises and one dimension of business performance, namely, product innovation, to better understand how product innovations affect employment in both female- and male-owned informal enterprises.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper relies on a unique data set of 513 informal enterprises located in two urban centres in Ghana (Accra and Tema), covering the period between 2013 and 2015 and the Dose-Response Model to examine the effect of product innovations on employment in informal enterprises in urban Ghana.

Findings

The findings suggest that product innovation has considerable beneficial impacts on the creation of employment in informal enterprises. The results do not show systematic differences in the factors affecting product innovation in female- and male-owned enterprises. However, they suggest that although female-owned enterprises are less likely to introduce product innovations, they do sell more innovative products.

Originality/value

These findings support the view that innovation is “gendered”, and therefore, requires a “gendered” policy lens.

Details

International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-6266

Keywords

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