Abstract
Risk management is an integral part of the management process to identify potential risks an organisation faces and mitigation measures to eliminate the impact of risks. The organisation is ...committed to managing risk consistently and continuously. The application of Risk Management in decision analysis can improve the organisation’s operational performance and competitive value. ISO 31000:2018 is a standard guide, instructions, and requirements for an organisation to build a foundation and framework for a risk management program. This research aims to design a model for rapid assessment of risk management implementation based on ISO 31000:2018. The rapid assessment model developed is supported by a specific and detailed model to have detailed information about the factors that the company should improve. The rapid assessment model is based on three parts of risk management of ISO 31000:2018 according to “three lines of defence”; risk owners, risk control and compliance and risk assurance. The total number of factors measured in the rapid assessment model is 43; 9 factors for the first part, 15 for the second part, and 19 for the last part. A specific and detailed model consists of 481 measurements; 24 factors for the first part, 171 for the second part, and 286 for the last part. A trial of the model has been done for measuring the performance of risk management implementation in two agroindustries; herbal and instant beverage companies. The result shows that both companies are categorised as “well implemented” for operational risk management by using the rapid assessment model. Based on the results using a specific and detailed model, the herbal agroindustry is categorised as “well implemented” for risk management operation in the company, while for the instant beverage company, the risk management is already “implemented but needs improvement”. Thus, the instant beverage company should increase its performance in complying with ISO 31000:2018 based on the lowest scored measurement in the result.
Some N-nitrosamines (NAs) have been identified as emerging disinfection by-products during water treatment. Thus, it is essential to understand the characteristics of the NA precursors. In this ...study, the polarity rapid assessment method (PRAM) and the classical resin fractionation method were studied as methods to fractionate the NA precursors during drinking water treatment. The results showed that PRAM has much higher selectivity for NA precursors than the resin approach. The normalized N-nitrosodimethylamine formation potential (NDMA FP) and N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) FP of four resin fractions was at the same level as the average yield of the bulk organic matter whereas that of the cationic fraction by PRAM showed 50 times the average. Thus, the cationic fraction was shown to be the most important NDMA precursor contributor. The PRAM method also helped understand which portions of the NA precursor were removed by different water treatment processes. Activated carbon (AC) adsorption removed over 90% of the non-polar PRAM fraction (that sorbs onto the C18 solid phase extraction SPE cartridge) of NDMA and NDEA precursors. Bio-treatment removed 80–90% of the cationic fraction of PRAM (that is retained on the cation exchange SPE cartridge) and 40–60% of the non-cationic fractions. Ozonation removed 50–60% of the non-polar PRAM fraction of NA precursors and transformed part of them into the polar fraction. Coagulation and sedimentation had very limited removal of various PRAM fractions of NA precursors.
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•First to apply the Polarity Rapid Assessment Method (PRAM) to characterize nitrosamine precursors in a drinking water source.•The cationic fraction of PRAM had 50 times the average level of the normalized nitrosamine formation potential (FP).•Also, first to apply PRAM to study nitrosamine precursor removal by various treatment processes.•Activated carbon adsorption preferentially removed the non-polar nitrosamine precursors.•Bio-treatment preferentially removed the cationic fraction of the nitrosamine precursors.
In this rapid assessment and response (RAR) survey, the demographic and behavioral differences between two sub-groups of people with incarceration histories are described. Data from those who report ...injecting in prison and those who do not were analyzed.
Analysis of data from a sub-set of 1,240 participants recruited to a RAR national survey and reporting a history of incarceration.
The prevalence of ever drug injecting in prison was 15.08% (N = 187, CI: 13.3-17.4). Participants with only primary school education were more likely to report injecting (p < .001), were more frequently imprisoned (p < .001) and reported having never heard about HIV (p < .001). The multivariable logistic regression model showed that participants who reported injecting in prison were different in terms of their education (never attending school, OR = 2.29, 95% CI: 1- 5.23) and the number of times they had been in prison (> twice OR = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.15- 3.29).
Identifying the factors influencing injection drug use in prison can help design effective strategies to prevent harms in vulnerable prisoners. Alternatives to prison for people who use drugs require further consideration in Iran.
The basin of Seto Inland Sea has a population of 31 million people. The standing stock and mass balance of marine litter in this area was estimated using rapid assessment for beach litter, ...questionnaire surveys on removed amounts of marine litter, and existing data. The mass balance of marine litter was explained by using a single box model, assuming complete mixing and uniform density. If the standing stock of drifting and beach litter combined was 3400 tons, the inflow of litter from rivers was 3000 tons/year, generation of litter at sea was 1200 tons/year, and inflow from the open sea was 300 tons/year. The amount of marine litter removed from the beach and sea surface was 1400 tons/year, outflow to the open sea was 2400 tons/year, and deposition on the sea bottom was 700 tons/year.
•The mass balance of marine litter was explained by using a single box model, assuming complete mixing and uniform density.•The standing stock of drifting and beach litter combined was 3400 tons.•The inflow of litter from rivers was 3000 tons/year.•The generation of litter at sea was 1200 tons/year.•The inflow of marine litter from the open sea was 300 tons/year.•The total inflow into this sea was 4500 tons/year.•The removal amount of marine litter from the beach and sea surface was 1400 tons/year.
Summary
The results of an investigation of the probability of earthquake damage to nonstructural unreinforced masonry (URM) components are presented. The components include parapets, chimneys, and ...out‐of‐plane loaded facades typical of low‐rise pre‐1940 construction in Australia and New Zealand. The study is based on a street survey of component geometry, in situ data on material strength, and simplified mechanical models. Uncertainties in capacity and demand were quantified based on, respectively, stochastic and deterministic approaches. The damage probabilities were compared with relevant guidelines and empirical damage data from three earthquakes. The study established a link between the qualitative damage states reported in existing guidelines and the quantitative URM component damage states. While some median damage state thresholds correlated well with the data from the guidelines, a larger dispersion value was found in the current study due to the large variations in component properties. Comparisons with empirical data suggest that the developed fragility data provide a realistic estimate of nonstructural component damage that occurred in similar buildings, with a reasonable level of conservatism. The outcome is useful in rapid assessment of the seismic risks due to nonstructural component collapse in URM precincts.
War and other forms of armed conflict have profound adverse effects on population health. It is important to document these effects to inform the general public and policy makers about the ...consequences of armed conflict, provide services to meet the needs of affected populations, protect human rights and document violations of international humanitarian law, and help to prevent future armed conflict. Documentation can be accomplished with surveillance, epidemiological surveys, and rapid assessment. Challenges include inadequate or absent data systems, social breakdown, forced migration, reporting biases, and the fog of war. The adverse effects of the Iraq War on population health demonstrate how the effects of armed conflict on population health can be documented. We recommend the establishment of an independent mechanism, operated by the United Nations or a multilateral organization, to investigate and document the effects of armed conflict on population health.
Although the literature on sustainability assessment tools to support decision making in agriculture is rapidly growing, little attention has been paid to the actual tool choice. We focused on the ...choice of more complex integrated indicator-based tools at the farm level. The objective was to determine key characteristics as criteria for tool choice. This was done with an in-depth comparison of 2 cases: the Monitoring Tool for Integrated Farm Sustainability and the Public Goods Tool. They differ in characteristics that may influence tool choice: data, time, and budgetary requirements. With an enhanced framework, we derived 11 key characteristics to describe differences between the case tools. Based on the key characteristics, we defined 2 types of indicator-based tools: full sustainability assessment (FSA) and rapid sustainability assessment (RSA). RSA tools are more oriented toward communicating and learning. They are therefore more suitable for use by a larger group of farmers, can help to raise awareness, trigger farmers to become interested in sustainable farming, and highlight areas of good or bad performance. If and when farmers increase their commitment to on-farm sustainability, they can gain additional insight by using an FSA tool. Based on complementary and modular use of the tools, practical recommendations for the different end users, i.e., researchers, farmers, advisers, and so forth, have been suggested.
•Participatory assessment was applied to select ecosystem assets and their contribution to ecosystem services.•Ecosystem asset management preferences were found to be related to types of ecosystem ...services.•A combination of rapid assessment and Q methodology can suggest management direction for ecosystem assets.
Participatory methods can be used to assess the ecosystem services provided by specific areas and to identify development and conservation preferences in local communities that support the preparation of ecosystem service management strategies and conflict resolution. In this study, local participants selected ecosystem assets in a border city of South Korea and assessed the ecosystem services provided by these assets through rapid assessment. Thereafter, Q methodology was applied to assess preferences for development and conservation of ecosystem assets and the results were compared with the rapid assessment results. The local ecosystem assets contributed to the provision of ecosystem services, which were divided into cultural ecosystem services (CES) and rice field ecosystem service (RES) groups. When the results of the management preference assessment were compared with those obtained using factor analysis, ecosystem assets belonging to the CES group showed a high development preference, whereas ecosystem assets belonging to the RES group showed a high conservation preference. When formulating management plans, these findings can be used to reduce conflicts resulting from differences in the preferences for development and conservation within local communities to provide direction to ecosystem asset managements, while maintaining the ecosystem service characteristics of ecosystem assets.
A New ANN Based Rapid Assessment Method for RC Residential Buildings Özkan, Eray; Demir, Ali; Turan, Mustafa Erkan
Structural engineering international : journal of the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE),
01/02/2023, 2023-01-02, Volume:
33, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
This study is about the development of an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) based practical rapid assessment method for Reinforced Concrete (RC) buildings by using the minimum possible number of input ...data. The problem is formulated as a classification problem and evaluated as two sub-problems. Feed Forward Back Propagation (FFBP) and Generalized Regression Neural Networks (GRNNs) are used in each case and eight different ANN models are developed. To develop ANN models, a total of 402 residential building models are generated of three types and up to eight storeys. The earthquake performance of these building models is investigated through the nonlinear incremental mode combination method. By using the building properties as inputs and the results of structural analyses as outputs, the ANN models are trained and tested. Additionally, existing buildings are used for validation. The results show that the earthquake behavior of RC buildings can be predicted successfully using an ANN.
We developed a rapid assessment method to distinguish between forests based on their ecological integrity. This method may assist conservation efforts in spatially heterogeneous landscapes containing ...both mature forest patches and those recovering from a legacy of human disturbance. Display omitted
•We developed a rapid method (RUFA) for assessing ecological integrity of forests.•RUFA was able to distinguish between forest patches based upon forest maturity.•Land use history was the primary factor affecting forest ecological integrity.•Land use history was associated with changes in soil pH and N content of soil.•RUFA may be useful especially within spatially forest heterogeneous landscapes.
Forests are an important terrestrial biome, comprising large areas of the earth’s surface and providing important ecosystem services. Conservation efforts frequently focus on minimizing perceived threats to forests that could impact these services, but often without a clear understanding of the site specific factors that affect local forest composition, structure and threat magnitude. In this study, we examined the factors affecting forest ‘ecological integrity’ in a 334ha forest that includes mature forest remnants and areas recovering from agricultural activity. We developed a rapid upland forest assessment (RUFA) method to facilitate our examination of forest integrity since forest quality can vary at fine spatial scales (e.g., 100m) and time consuming assessment methods may not be feasible for many local conservation organizations. In general, we found that land use history and especially soil conditions associated with history were the primary factors affecting forest ‘ecological integrity’ (i.e. composition, structure and threat presence). In forests that developed after agricultural abandonment, soil pH significantly increased, while soil carbon and nitrogen content declined. This was associated with increased presence of invasive, early successional tree, shrub and herb species and a general lack of some structural components, such as the presence of light gaps, within the forest. Our results are discussed in light of conservation efforts that seek to enhance overall forest quality and how rapid assessment methods, such as the one presented here, can be used to further conservation objectives in forest systems.
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