Qualitative research is flexible and allows the researcher to deeply engage with the context and nuance of their data. However, for many qualitative methodologies and methods, there is little guidance and the researcher can feel lost. The presenter for this session has used the qualitative methodology of poststructural discourse analysis for her dissertation research on “library value” discourse in academic libraries. Foucault (1972) essentially states that the work of poststructural discourse analysis is uncomfortable, and the researcher will not get reassurance or confirmation of success. In this session, the presenter will attest to this experience and will share her journey of wayfinding through a confusing and exciting foray into poststructural methodologies. Using Taguette, Zotero, and Google docs in combination for data analysis, the presenter will also reflect on how our QDA technology can structure our thinking and how to consider these limitations. Additionally, she will share her thought process on using pseudonyms and what considerations should be wrapped up within insider expertise for studying marginalized professional fields.

Installation of decentralized grey water treatment systems in small rural communities contributes to a more sustainable water supply. In order to gauge community attitudes about collection and use of grey water, a door-to-door survey in the farming community of Deir Alla, Jordan was conducted by Royal Scientific Society interviewers. Outcomes of a detailed survey, designed specifically for this project, offer insights on people’s views on general water and wastewater issues, as well as their motivation, practices and concerns related to using grey water treatment for a portion of their household wastewater and reuse of the treated grey water for irrigation. A total of 47 respondents from different socio-economic background, aged over 18 years, from this community in the Jordan valley took part in the survey. The level of formal education of the respondents was low, and most of households’ incomes were below the poverty line in Jordan. Most of the respondents reported that the quality of water supplied by public network is acceptable, but the quantity is insufficient to meet their demand, with supplies being delivered to the household once a week. Respondents relied on the public water network as a first-most important resource (85.1%), and 57.4% of the respondent relied on private water tankers as a second-most important resource in addition to the public network. However, 6% of the respondents relied only on private water tankers with no access to the public network. Storage tanks are common practice in all the houses in order to store enough water for at least one week. The survey responses provide evidence that rural communities are willing to accept reuse of treated grey water for irrigation. Furthermore, some of people in the studied area are willing to learn more about grey water treatment and reuse in order to operate grey water systems for irrigation purposes. Water scarcity in this rural area of Jordan is the main determinant of willingness to reuse the grey water, rather than socio-economic variables.

In this study, we used a mobile biometeorological cart, the MaRTy Cart, to collect measures of heat, such as mean radiant temperature (MRT), a proxy for how humans experience heat that takes into account radiant heat coming from all directions, including the sun. We first identified five routes, called transects in this report, with stops strategically located for data collection. These stop locations provide different types of shaded environments that pedestrians experience. For each transect, we collected data during three time periods (8-9 AM, 12-1 PM, and 4-5 PM) on a day in June 2025. We aimed to collect data at locations frequented by pedestrians to understand the implication of different types of shade on heat stress. We were particularly interested in shade provided by(a) trees, (b) bus stop shelters, and (c) buildings. Of the three types of shade studied here, we compared the MRT for stops with shaded environments with a full-sun base case on the same transect and time period. The difference in temperature between the shaded area and full sun comparison provides an estimated impact of shade for each type of environment. In our study, we found MRT under trees to be 15-21°C cooler on average compared to sun-exposed locations, depending on the time of day. Bus stop shelters provided, on average, 15°C (MRT) cooling compared to their full-sun base case, and building shade was 23°C cooler on average. In this report, we describe the equipment and study design, present results for our comparisons of shade (trees, bus stop shelters, and buildings), and provide a discussion of findings and potential future work. We provide two appendices that document our data collection protocols (Appendix A) and observations for each stop across all five transects and three time periods (Appendix B).

Background: Track PCC includes five geographic surveillance sites to conduct standardized population-based surveillance to estimate and track Post-COVID Conditions (PCC) by age, sex, race/ethnicity, geographic area, severity of initial infection, and risk factors among persons with evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection (based on the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologist [CSTE] case definitions for confirmed cases or laboratory-confirmed evidence of infection). Methods: The study will estimate the incidence, prevalence, including temporal trends, and duration and severity of PCC symptoms, among children, adolescents, and adults. PCCs include a broad range of symptoms and conditions that continue or develop after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 illness. Surveillance includes both passive and active components for diverse populations in Arizona, Indiana, and Utah as well as the Bronx Borough, NY, and part of Philadelphia County, PA. Passive surveillance will utilize electronic health records and health information exchanges within each site catchment area to longitudinally follow persons with COVID-19 to estimate PCC occurring at least 30 days after acute COVID-19 illness. Active surveillance will utilize self-report of PCCs from detailed surveys of persons ages 7 years and older with evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the past 3 months. Respondents will complete follow-up surveys at 6-, 12- and 18-months post-infection. Discussion: These data can help identify which groups are most affected by PCC, and what health differences among demographic groups exist, as well as indicate potential barriers to care. These additional levels of granularity can inform public health action and help direct needed clinical care for patients.

Water governance and stakeholder engagement are receiving research attention for their role in formulating and implementing solutions to the world’s critical water challenges. The inspiration for this Special Issue came from our desire to provide a platform for sharing results and informing the global water governance community about the wealth of excellent interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and projects being carried out around the world. The 20 peer-reviewed papers collected in this Special Issue have been grouped into three categories: stakeholder engagement, tools for building water management and governance capacity, and perspectives on water management and governance. Following a brief summary of the papers, concluding remarks that reflect on what the papers, taken as a whole, contribute to our understanding are provided.

Study Region This study region encompasses the Transboundary San Pedro and Santa Cruz aquifers which are shared between the states of Sonora (Mexico) and Arizona (US). Special regional considerations include a semi-arid climate, basin-fill aquifers with predominantly montane recharge areas, economic drivers in the mining, trade, and military sectors, groundwater-dependent cities with expanding cones of depression, interbasin groundwater transfers, ground- and surface-water contamination, and protected aquatic and riparian habitats that act as significant migration corridors for hundreds of species, including some that are threatened and endangered. Study Focus We focus on lessons learned from the hydrologic assessment of the Transboundary San Pedro and Santa Cruz aquifers. We conducted the work, in two phases: (1) laying the groundwork and (2) implementation. The “laying the groundwork” phase consisted of binational meetings with stakeholders and key actors (agencies and individuals), and the development of an understanding of the physical, institutional, historical, and socio-political context. This led to signing of the binational Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program (TAAP) agreement in 2009 and detailed the process for cooperation and coordination in the assessment of shared aquifers. The implementation phase began with an agreement to proceed with the study of four “focus” aquifers (Santa Cruz, San Pedro, Mesilla (Conejos-Médanos in Mexico), and Hueco Bolson (Bolsón del Hueco in Mexico)) and development of associated technical teams. Though we do include a brief discussion of the lessons learned from the physical science portion of the study, the results have been described and published elsewhere. The bulk of the paper instead focuses on the findings and lessons learned from the integration of social-science perspectives into a largely physical-science based program, since there is a growing recognition of the need for this type of approach especially in the management and assessment of transboundary aquifers. New Hydrological Insights for the Region The Sonora-Arizona effort succeeded because both countries were adequately represented, and because of flexibility of skills and ability of teams comprising both university and government scientists. Teams included social and earth scientists. Including the social sciences was critical to research design and implementation, and to addressing the cultural, institutional, and socio-political contexts of transboundary aquifer assessment. Significant components of the continuing implementation phase include strategic planning, data compilation and analysis, cross-border integration of datasets, geophysical and geochemical surveys, and internal, peer, and stakeholder engagement.

Assessing groundwater resources in the arid and semiarid borderlands of the United States and Mexico represents a challenge for land and water managers, particularly in the Transboundary Santa Cruz Aquifer (TSCA). Population growth, residential construction, and industrial activities have increased groundwater demand in the TSCA, in addition to wastewater treatment and sanitation demands. These activities, coupled with climate variability, influence the hydrology of the TSCA and emphasize the need for groundwater assessment tools for decision-making purposes. This study assesses the impacts of changes in groundwater demand, effluent discharge, and climate uncertainties within the TSCA from downstream of the Nogales International Wastewater Treatment Plant to the northern boundary of the Santa Cruz Active Management Area. We use a conceptual water budget model to analyze the long-term impact of the different components of potential recharge and water losses within the aquifer. Modeling results project a future that ranges from severe longterm drying to positive wetting. This research improves the understanding of the impact of natural and anthropogenic variables on water sustainability, with an accessible methodology that can be globally applied.

Droughts have severe impacts on the economy, society, and environment. They also have impacts on groundwater and vice versa. While most analyses consider drought and groundwater as disconnected, we argue that drought and groundwater management should be conjunctively considered. This article presents some key interconnections, identifies challenges, and discusses illustrative policy responses. We highlight several advancements found in international scientific research and describe future directions for drought and groundwater management. While many technological innovations have improved our understanding of drought and groundwater's complex nature, policy and governance advances have not kept pace.

Groundwater is vital to the well-being of over 20 million people in the nearly 2000-mile-long, arid U.S.–Mexico border region, supporting agricultural, industrial, domestic, and environmental needs. However, persistent droughts over the past two decades, coupled with increasing water demand and population growth, have significantly strained water resources, threatening the region’s water security. These challenges highlight the importance of comprehensive transboundary aquifer assessments, such as those conducted through the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program (TAAP), a collaborative effort between the U.S. and Mexico to evaluate shared aquifers. The TAAP focuses on four aquifers: the Santa Cruz and the San Pedro in Arizona and Sonora and the Mesilla and the Hueco Bolson in Texas, New Mexico, and Chihuahua. With the need for additional aquifer studies in this arid region, it is important to determine and prioritize which aquifers would benefit most from transboundary assessment. This study aims to prioritize aquifers in the Arizona–Sonora region based on multiple criteria. The results from this study reveal regional disparities in the need for transboundary aquifer studies, with some aquifers highlighted due to their groundwater use for economic activities, while others stand out for their population density and the transboundary nature of the hydrogeologic units. By leveraging publicly available data, this research established a priority ranking for these aquifers to support decision-making processes in identifying and addressing the most critical aquifers for binational assessment, while providing a framework that can be replicated across other shared aquifers between the U.S. and Mexico and elsewhere.

As many libraries face the reality that traditional liaison models to support campus are unsustainable, liaison program re-org projects must grapple with the serious challenges of avoiding burnout, an inability to do more with less, and the shortcomings of instruction models that rely on transactional delivery. In this presentation, we will talk through our approaches and perspectives on filling the liaison void, where we focus on locating pragmatic and effective solutions for ensuring deep and expansive engagement with information literacy instruction across our institutions. While our solutions are locally situated and determined by complex and constantly evolving factors, we will identify where our opportunities and conundrums overlap due to common elements shared across today’s academic libraries.