Supply chain managers across the globe are finding it difficult to manage the increasingly complex supply chains despite adopting a variety of risk mitigation strategies. Firms on the other hand have ...also been adopting various kinds of environmental and social sustainability practices in recent times to reduce carbon footprint and improve their image on the social front. However, very few studies in the extant literature have examined the impact of sustainability practices on supply chain risk. We address this important gap in literature by empirically testing this relationship, using primary data from six manufacturing sectors and 21 different countries including developed as well as emerging markets across the globe. Our findings indicate that risk mitigation strategies do not always reduce the actual supply chain risk experienced by firms, whereas sustainability efforts help reduce supply chain risk, especially in emerging market contexts. In addition, we find that, while reactive risk mitigation strategies on their own fail to reduce supply chain risk, they are effective when used in conjunction with sustainability efforts. We also find that preventive risk mitigation efforts are only effective in mature supply chains such as the OECD countries.
Electric grid faults can ignite catastrophic wildfires, particularly in regions with high winds and low humidity. In real-time operations, electric utilities have few options for wildfire risk ...mitigation, leading to use of disruptive measures such as proactive de-energization of equipment, frequently referred to as public safety power shut-offs. Such power shut-offs have significant impacts on customers, who experience power cuts in an attempt to protect them from fires. This work proposes the optimal power shut-off problem, an optimization model to support short-term operational decision making in the context of extreme wildfire risk. Specifically, the model optimizes grid operations to maximize the amount of power that can be delivered, while proactively minimizing the risk of wildfire ignitions by selectively de-energizing components in the grid. This is the first optimization model to consider how preventive wildfire risk measures impact both wildfire risk and power systems reliability at a short-term, operational time-frame. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated on an augmented version of the RTS-GMLC test case, located in Southern California, and compared against two approaches based on simple risk thresholds. The proposed optimization-based model reduces both wildfire risk and lost load shed relative to the benchmarks.
With the wide application of hydrogen, the research related to 70 MPa pressure level hydrogen storage tank is very important. This paper takes the 70 MPa hydrogen storage tank in the hydrogen ...refueling station as the research object, and analyses the diffusion characteristics of hydrogen after leakage from the tank under different wind conditions by FLUENT. Studies find that after hydrogen ejects to the obstacle by the effect of high-pressure, it transforms to be dominated by the simple diffusion and the wind condition. The ambient wind helps to reduce the volume fraction of hydrogen. This paper proposes risk mitigation measures based on the distribution of the flammable clouds — installing nitrogen outlets and reducing the height of the enclosure. The volume of flammable clouds is reduced from about 2.72 m3 to less than 0.045 m3 after adding measures, which proves the feasibility of the measures.
•A hydrogenation station model is established to simulate the leakage of a 70 MPa hydrogen storage tank.•The diffusion of hydrogen under different wind conditions is compared.•Risk mitigation measures based on the distribution of flammable clouds are proposed and validated.
Disasters and History van Bavel, Bas; Curtis, Daniel; Dijkman, Jessica ...
10/2020
eBook
Odprti dostop
This monograph provides an overview of research into disasters from a historical perspective, making two new contributions. First, it introduces the field of ‘disaster studies’ to history, showing ...how we can use history to better understand how societies deal with shocks and hazards and their potentially disastrous outcomes. Second, we introduce historians to the topic of disasters and the field of disaster studies, and explicitly show the relevance of studying past disasters to better understand the social, economic, and political functioning of past societies.
•This was a cross-sectional survey in five cities without a culture of wearing masks.•Mask use decreased after the age of 50 years but this age effect was not seen in the US.•Risk perception and past ...experience affected mask use during the pandemic.•Mask use did not result in a net change in other risk-mitigation behaviours.•Pandemic fatigue was more common in young people and males in protracted outbreaks.
To determine patterns of mask wearing and other infection prevention behaviours, over two time periods of the COVID-19 pandemic, in cities where mask wearing was not a cultural norm.
A cross-sectional survey of masks and other preventive behaviours in adults aged ≥18 years was conducted in five cities: Sydney and Melbourne, Australia; London, UK; and Phoenix and New York, USA. Data were analysed according to the epidemiology of COVID-19, mask mandates and a range of predictors of mask wearing.
The most common measures used were avoiding public areas (80.4%), hand hygiene (76.4%), wearing masks (71.8%) and distancing (67.6%). Over 40% of people avoided medical facilities. These measures decreased from March–July 2020. Pandemic fatigue was associated with younger age, low perceived severity of COVID-19 and declining COVID-19 prevalence. Predictors of mask wearing were location (US, UK), mandates, age <50 years, education, having symptoms and knowing someone with COVID-19. Negative experiences with mask wearing and low perceived severity of COVID-19 reduced mask wearing. Most respondents (98%) believed that hand washing and distancing were necessary, and 80% reported no change or stricter adherence to these measures when wearing masks.
Pandemic mitigation measures were widely reported across all cities, but decreased between March and July 2020. Pandemic fatigue was more common in younger people. Cities with mandates had higher rates of mask wearing. Promotion of mask use for older people may be useful. Masks did not result in a reduction of other hygiene measures.
There are increasing concerns over the threat of nanoplastics to environmental and human health. However, multidisciplinary barriers persist between the communities assessing the risks to ...environmental and human health. As a result, the hazards and risks of nanoplastics remain uncertain. Here, we identify key knowledge gaps by evaluating the exposure of nanoplastics in the environment, assessing their bio-nano interactions, and examining their potential risks to humans and the environment. We suggest considering nanoplastics a complex and dynamic mixture of polymers, additives, and contaminants, with interconnected risks to environmental and human health. We call for comprehensive integration of One Health approach to produce robust multidisciplinary evidence to nanoplastics threats at the planetary level. Although there are many challenges, this holistic approach incorporates the relevance of environmental exposure and multi-sectoral responses, which provide the opportunity to identify the risk mitigation strategies of nanoplastics to build resilient health systems.
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•Nanoplastic is a complex and dynamic mixture of polymer, additive, and contaminant.•Knowledge gaps persist in exposure, bio–nano interactions, and potential risks.•A one health approach is critical to achieve environmental and human health.•Environmental exposure, multi-responses, and mitigation strategies are integrated.
Uncertainties are pervasive in natural hazards, and it is crucial to develop robust and meaningful approaches to characterize and communicate uncertainties to inform modeling efforts. In this ...monograph we provide a broad, cross-disciplinary overview of issues relating to uncertainties faced in natural hazard and risk assessment. We introduce some basic tenets of uncertainty analysis, discuss issues related to communication and decision support, and offer numerous examples of analyses and modeling approaches that vary by context and scope. Contributors include scientists from across the full breath of the natural hazard scientific community, from those in real-time analysis of natural hazards to those in the research community from academia and government. Key themes and highlights include: Substantial breadth and depth of analysis in terms of the types of natural hazards addressed, the disciplinary perspectives represented, and the number of studies included Targeted, application-centered analyses with a focus on development and use of modeling techniques to address various sources of uncertainty Emphasis on the impacts of climate change on natural hazard processes and outcomes Recommendations for cross-disciplinary and science transfer across natural hazard sciences This volume will be an excellent resource for those interested in the current work on uncertainty classification/quantification and will document common and emergent research themes to allow all to learn from each other and build a more connected but still diverse and ever growing community of scientists.Read an interview with the editors to find out more: https://eos.org/editors-vox/reducing-uncertainty-in-hazard-prediction
•A novel metric is proposed to compare risk mitigation strategies on a common basis.•The metric integrates features of transportation networks and individual bridges.•A ranking mechanism is proposed ...for identifying and prioritizing bridge projects.
Transportation infrastructure has been identified by the US Department of Homeland Security as one of sixteen critical infrastructure systems essential to the well-being of modern societies. In this study, we propose a resilience-based framework for mitigating risk to surface road transportation networks. We utilize recent developments in modern network theory to introduce a novel metric based on system reliability and network connectivity to measure resilience-based performance of a road transportation network. The formulation of this resilience-based performance metric (referred in the paper as WIPW), systematically integrates the network topology, redundancy level, traffic patterns, structural reliability of network components (i.e. roads and bridge) and functionality of the network during community’s post-disaster recovery, and permits risk mitigation alternatives for improving transportation network resilience to be compared on a common basis. Using the WIPW as a network performance metric, we propose a project ranking mechanism for identifying and prioritizing transportation network retrofit projects that are critical for effective pre-disaster risk mitigation and resilience planning. We further present a decision methodology to select optimal solutions among possible alternatives of new construction, which offer opportunities to improve the resilience of the network by altering its existing topology. Finally, we conclude with an illustration that uses the WIPW as the performance metric to support risk-based mitigation decisions using a hypothetical bridge network susceptible to seismic hazards.
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