This study focuses on quantitative and qualitative determinants of drinking water in the Tulkarem district of Palestine, and the effect of water pollution on the health of its inhabitants. Five hundred drinking water samples were obtained from the records of the Public Health Department/Ministry of Health (MoH) at Tulkarem district for the year 1999, which were collected from different sources in the district. The samples were examined for free chlorine residual concentration, total coliforms and faecal coliforms. Data of water-related diseases was obtained from the records of public health clinics in the district. Many of the examined samples were unacceptable according to the Palestinian and WHO standards. It was found that (60.6%) of the samples have concentrations of free chlorine residual less than 0.2 ppm, which is the minimum concentration, recommended by WHO. Out of these samples, 34% and 9.2% were contaminated with total coliforms and faecal coliforms respectively. It was obvious that the prevalence of water-related diseases is much higher in the areas with contaminated or nonchlorinated drinking water than in other areas.

Purpose This paper aims to show how country level constructs (investment protection, registration cost and legal protection) moderate the relationship between self-efficacy and fear of failure (FoF). Design/methodology/approach The authors use global entrepreneurship monitor (GEM) data and augment it with country level data for 12 counties from different levels of economic development. The entrepreneurship literature has not yet addressed the micro/macro level influences on FoF to the best of the authors’ knowledge. This paper addresses this lacuna by using multilevel analysis by incorporating state influenced environment effects along with individual traits to explain this phenomenon. Findings It is shown that higher registration cost, higher degrees of investor protection and less legal protection diminish the effect of self-efficacy on FoF. Furthermore, the effects of the country-level factors outweigh the impact of the individual-level factors on FoF. Research limitations/implications One of the issues discussed earlier was the construct validity of FoF, the wording of the question in GEM data is phrased such that FoF prevents you from starting a business; this means the response is avoidance. Had the question been worded positively, the responses may have varied. A better measure would have been an index with a scale the shows varying degrees of FoF. Another feature of GEM data is that the cohorts change every year, making it impossible to track the effect of closing a business on perceptual variables such as FoF and skill perception. This requires further scrutiny and analysis. Practical implications It is noticed that there are regional differences in FoF country rates across various levels of economic development. The authors provide and explain by looking at how these constructs moderate the relation between skill perception and FoF. Thus, countries that have good investment protection may end up with better entrepreneurial activity rates due to mitigating the fear factor. Social implications Entrepreneurial activity rates can be increased by lowering the negative effect of FoF. This construct is known to be higher among females, which was typically thought to be an individual trait. This research also shows that legal and institutional constructs are actually more important in explaining FoF. Originality/value The contribution of this paper is that it addresses an acknowledged gap in the literature, in that it explains empirical findings that have not been explained before (at the level this paper does).

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