Death due to diseases from poor sanitation is a serious global issue and it has become one of the priorities of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (i.e., SDG6). This SDG6 aims to provide adequate improved sanitation facilities to over 2.3 billion people around the world who have no or limited access to sanitation, wherein more than two-thirds of these un-served people live in rural areas. One of the strategies for addressing this global issue is through emerging sustainable sanitation technologies such as the Eco-Toilet System (ETS), which uses small amounts of water or is even waterless and recovers nutrients from human waste thereby promoting water-energy conservation, improved sanitation and supplement nutrients essential to plant growth. Social acceptance, however, remains a key barrier in deploying the ETS. A social perception study on the use of the ETS was conducted in a rural community in Mulanay, Philippines. The researchers analyzed the proposed combined technology acceptance model and theory of planned behavior (C-TAM-TPB) using multiple linear regression and the Mann-Whitney U-test to evaluate the perceptions and attitudes of a rural community towards the use of the ETS. The results showed that more than 50% of the respondents are aware of the nutrient value of human excreta and believe that it is usable as fertilizer; however, less than 25% prefer to utilize it for food production. Results also indicate that the behavior of the users is driven by their attitude (β = 0.420, p-value < 0.010). Moreover, the Mann-Whitney U-test results revealed that people who are knowledgeable of the nutrient value of human excreta and are willing to collect them have more positive attitude towards the ETS.

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The Integrated Water System (IWS) offers alternative water and sanitation services that can potentially benefit rural communities experiencing water scarcity. The IWS described in this study comprises three systems: The Rainwater Harvesting System (RWHS), Water Treatment System (WTS), and Eco-Toilet System (ETS). RWHS and WTS make use of rainwater, which can be utilized for several domestic uses, especially during wet season. ETS has several benefits to users including promotion of environmental and public health, as well as food security. Despite the potential benefits of the IWS components, the perceived acceptance of its users threatens the success of its implementation. This study focuses on determining the significant factors that can influence the social acceptance of IWS in the Municipality of Mulanay, Quezon Province, Philippines. This study considers behavioral intention as an indicator of social acceptance of the IWS components. The framework of this study is based on the combined technology acceptance model and theory of planned behavior (C-TAM-TPB) concept. C-TAM-TPB was analyzed using Partial Least Square–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS–SEM). The result of the C-TAM-TPB evaluation reveals that the user’s attitude towards use (ATU), including its significant predictors, can promote behavioral intention towards use of the IWS components. This study can further improve the development of IWS projects.

The study aims to apply the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to model workplace safety in the Oil and Gas Industry (OGI) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The five areas of the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Vulnerability Measure (e.g., Exposure to Workplace Hazards, Policies and Procedures in the Workplace, Perception on Health & Safety Culture in the Workplace, Self-Awareness in Health & Safety Procedures and Responsibilities, and Preventive Measure for Prevention of the Transmission of COVID-19 at Workplace) were considered as the constructs to be evaluated. Fifty workers from the oil and gas industry worldwide participated in the online survey, and the data were analyzed using the SmartPLS software. The results revealed that only Perception on Health & Safety Culture was a significant factor influencing the perceived workplace safety in the OGI during the COVID-19 pandemic (β = 0.603; t -value = 3.323; p -value = 0.001). The study suggested that the oil and gas companies should maintain a positive perception of health and safety culture to improve workplace safety even during the pandemic.

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