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The purpose of this paper is to highlight the need for an entity to manage airborne relief when a nation’s civil aviation authorities are overwhelmed or incapacitated due to a major rapid-onset disaster.

The paper examines why relief airflow management was so vital during the 2010 Haiti earthquake and how this management was accomplished. The author uses a case study methodology that includes interviews with logistics and aviation experts within the humanitarian and military communities involved in the Haiti relief effort.

The research highlighted an airflow management capability gap within the humanitarian community. The author sets forth several possible alternatives for resolving this gap.

The research is a single case study of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. While performing a multiple case study may have provided more widely applicable conclusions, this case study provides in-depth information applicable to the worst of disasters, where an airflow management capability is most likely to be needed.

While host nation civil aviation authorities retain responsibility for airspace/airflow management after a disaster, these can oft be overwhelmed by the volume of airborne relief flooding the area. Without an entity to assist the affected nation with airflow management, smooth logistical flow of relief goods to those in need can be catastrophically impeded.

Little research exists on disaster relief airflow management or the legitimate need for this capability to be developed within the humanitarian community.

From the perspective of value chains, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the organization of stabilization and reconstruction operations, most notably in Afghanistan, with the intention to improve the way the beneficiaries are involved.

Case study: the paper first develops a theoretical framework that draws upon value chain literature. To gather empirical data fieldwork was done within the Dutch provincial reconstruction team (PRT) in Afghanistan. Methods that were used include interviews, participatory observation and desk study.

In the value chain process six steps are identified: early warning, file and analysis, appraisal/qualification, assignment/management, execution and evaluation. Different categories of personnel (military, reservists, civilians) bring with them different backgrounds. This led to different opinions on who can be considered as the customer of the value chain. Moreover, personnel received different signals in the early warning step as to what needed to be done. From there on, different values and perspectives developed during the sequence of the various stages in the value chain that were not easily aligned. The formal structure of the work activities in the PRT was clear but did not match with the everyday reality. This showed another, much more fuzzy picture. Many mutual contacts were needed to overcome the coordination problems, but that required considerable additional efforts.

The paper applies value chain literature to stabilization and reconstruction operations and focuses on the customers. It uses unique data and demonstrates the usefulness of a multidisciplinary approach.

This article reports on an international assessment to identify and discuss environmental issues that may affect the US Army’s transformation efforts. Many factors, such as new kinds of weapons, increasing demands on natural resources, urbanization and globalization, are making the planning of environmental viability for life support more important in the future. The article highlights eight environmental security developments and potential military requirements to address them.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a greater understanding of the challenges of civil military logistical cooperation, coordination and collaboration in humanitarian relief logistics.

Systematic literature review of academic journals.

This paper has four main findings. First, a categorisation of humanitarian logistics literature is achieved through a systematic review. Second, a classification of military involvement in humanitarian relief logistics is presented. Third, the research substantiated systematic differences in the kinds of military cooperation not only due to stage of operations but also depending upon whether the disaster is “natural” or “manmade”. Fourth, the research identifies the challenges of civil military logistical cooperation, coordination and collaboration and posits recommendations to overcome the identified challenges.

This paper represents an exploratory study and provides the basis for further research on cooperation, coordination and collaboration between military and civilian agencies in humanitarian operations. The paper sets a research agenda for academics.

This paper is the first to offer practical guidance to military commanders and managers of humanitarian agencies on solutions and recommendations to overcome the challenges to civil military logistical cooperation/coordination in humanitarian operations.

The area of civil military logistical cooperation/coordination has received limited consideration within the humanitarian aid logistics literature to date. This paper is designed to redress this shortfall. As a result, it is hoped that it will act as a catalyst for further research and to widen and deepen the resultant debate with a view to improving the outcome for those affected by current and future disasters.

This purpose of this study is to explore the integration of the sustainable development concept and goals into the curriculum of higher education studies using the example of three faculties of the University of Belgrade.

A qualitative content analysis has been applied on two levels: the evaluation of the sustainability of courses starting from the criteria defined using the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (ASHE, 2017), and the analysis of the outcomes defined in the curricula of subjects within the three faculties using the UNESCO learning objectives related to selected sustainable development goals (SDGs) as a criteria.

While the largest number of courses were analyzed from the Faculty of Architecture, the highest proportion of sustainability courses was found in the Faculty of Security Studies. Both study areas reflect a stronger interdisciplinary orientation, although it should be strengthened in the case of the Andragogy study program. Based on the experience of the Faculty of Architecture, the courses implemented by linking theory and practice may significantly contribute to achieving the LOs and to implementing the education for sustainable development. At the University of Belgrade, strategic documents are missing that would encourage and oblige the faculties to apply the concept of sustainability.

This is the first study to apply this type of curricula analysis at the University of Belgrade. It is performed by teachers from the university, coming from different disciplinary fields but oriented towards an interdisciplinary perspective. Although performed in three specific study areas within a single university, the identified gaps and trends may be useful for planning interventions toward accelerating the implementation of SDGs in the higher education curricula.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the issues and challenges in humanitarian logistics and to develop a framework for effectively managing the humanitarian logistics in disaster relief supply chain operations in India.

This paper presents a framework to manage humanitarian logistics effectively in disaster management through qualitative analysis. First, the author examines the challenges facing the humanitarian logistics and supply chain through the reviews of the literature on various disasters. Then, the author presented a framework based on the best practices and initiatives taken worldwide in the preparedness and response stage of the humanitarian supply chain to manage and reduce the aftermath of any disaster in context to India.

A framework has been developed to manage humanitarian logistics in the disaster relief operation, which would improve the humanitarian supply chain in India and help to effectively manage natural disasters in the preparedness and response stage at the state and district levels.

The paper mainly emphasises on the preparedness and response stage of disaster supply chain management in Indian context.

None of the disaster incidents can be stopped from taking place, but the impact can be minimised by proper preparedness and effective response during the operations of humanitarian logistics. With this hope, the framework has been developed, which if implemented would help to plan and manage any disaster incident in an effective manner, which ultimately would save millions of lives and cost in terms of infrastructure, property, assets etc.

As natural disaster incidents are occurring frequently in Indian states, there is an urgent need for a framework to manage the logistics operations effectively and efficiently during any disaster relief operations. Limited literature is found on developing and presenting a framework focusing on the preparedness and response phase of disaster supply chain management in context to India. Hence, this paper is believed to be the first to fulfil this gap with main emphasis on the preparedness and response stage of disaster supply chain management in Indian scenario.

The purpose of this study is to draw lessons for logistics management in humanitarian disasters, using the earthquake in Haiti as a case study. In Haiti, there were problems with the logistical response. This study investigates the humanitarian logistics challenges faced by various stakeholders in Haiti during the disaster-relief operations.

In this exploratory case study, the central methodology used was data triangulation. Data triangulation involved interviews with respondents grouped into three categories, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the military establishment and the governmental agencies. Prominence is given to the common themes expressed by each group. These common themes are then compared to the themes of other groups to identify opportunities and problems for future disaster relief operations.

The study indicates that there is a clear gap in terms of how the humanitarian efforts were coordinated between different actors. Lack of civil–military cooperation and coordination was one of the findings from the interviews, and many of the resources and initiatives were overlapping or redundant. Timeliness and efficiency need to be at the forefront of all planning and would result in more saved lives and reduced human suffering. The key goal of humanitarian logistics stipulates is to form connections and relationships, which was well illustrated through the informants' interviews. It was found that organizing different stakeholders/actors to work together by sharing processes and distribution channels demands a vision that goes beyond logistics management. Government agencies, the military establishment, NGOs, locals and victims need to collaborate to create a synergy in generating solutions that are tailored to the shock of the disaster in the first place.

The current study relies on a single case study approach as disaster scenarios are unique in terms of their impact, magnitude, timing and location. Despite these limitations, this study provides a detailed account of the logistical challenges in dealing with the disaster that took place in Haiti. The logistics-related lessons learned from this case study should be carefully applied in other settings, taken into consideration contextual differences.

One important aspect of measuring efficiency for any commercial logistics system is key performance indicators (KPIs) that indicate how well the firm is doing in managing its inbound and outbound operations. From a practical standpoint, the Haiti case raised a challenging concern with regard to how to measure the performance of humanitarian disaster logistics. This is a starting point to understand the dynamics of disaster system efficiency and logistics interplay and offers a few lessons to improve the resource availability in the case of future emergencies.

This study lays the groundwork for future researchers to explore and debrief on the topic once disaster relief draws to a close and time has allowed logisticians and relief workers to analyze the response mechanisms used in disasters.

The purpose of this paper is to review the current application of organization theory (OT) in the humanitarian supply chain (HSC) and identify the future OT-based research opportunities that can advance knowledge of humanitarian operations.

The study uses a systematic literature review methodology to identify the current status and future direction of the OT-based study in HSC literature. The applied theories are those that have been mentioned in at least two research articles in the HSC literature. The proposed theories are either adopted from the top four referred organizational theories in the supply chain literature or those that can explain the issue of information asymmetry in HSC.

The study identifies and describes eight organizational theories and their possible future research questions in HSC. Among these, the first four theories (i.e. resource-based theory, resource dependence theory, social exchange theory and contingency theory) have already been initially applied in the humanitarian field, while the remaining theories (i.e. institutional theory, stakeholder theory, transactional cost theory and information theory) have potential for future application.

The reviewed literature is limited to peer-reviewed journals listed in Thomson Reuters’ journal citation reports.

This study may help future researchers better understand and solve, using organizational theory, the behavioral challenges faced by humanitarian operations.

The study presents current applications of and future prospects for OT-based research in HSC, effectively providing the first review of OT applications in this area. The novel framework and new theories proposed herein may enable fresh directions for HSC research.

The aim of this paper is to offer a conceptual model and an associated taxonomy to support the development of a body of knowledge in support of the logistic response to a natural or man‐made disaster.

Based on a literature review, the paper outlines the difficulties associated with the logistic response to a disaster, before discussing a generic approach to knowledge management. The literature review is then used to identify two potential models (the Supply‐Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) and the UK Defence Lines of Development (LOD)), which are then further developed and integrated in order to underpin a knowledge taxonomy.

The paper proposes a model that combines both the SCOR and LOD models into a unified approach as a first step towards the development of a broad‐ranging reference source to support humanitarian logisticians and, thereby, improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the response to future disasters.

As a first step towards the creation of a knowledge taxonomy, this conceptual paper does not attempt to validate the model, but it proposes an approach by which this could be undertaken.

Given the plethora of non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) in the broadest sense of this categorization, and also recognizing the varied nature of their aims, objectives and approaches, the paper pays particular attention to the need to develop a model that can be supported by the NGO community as a whole.

The paper proposes an improved model to support the development of a body of knowledge in support of the logistic response to a natural or man‐made disaster.

The paper outlines a self-contained scheme for multiple networking agents at a location. It proposes a mathematical model for intelligent cloud entropy management systems. The purpose of this paper is to minimize the cost of system functionality by proposing the substantial use of a cloud-based system.

The paper proposes a hybrid cloud system, based on a fractional calculus of hybrid integral systems. Its discrete dynamics are suggested by using the fractional entropy type known as Tsallis entropy. This approach is based on the Wiener process (i.e. diffusion processes). This involves the net movement of information or data from a state of high meditation to a state of low observation. This property is a basic characteristic of hybrid cloud computing systems.

The paper offers a number of solutions to minimize the costs of cloud systems. The method is a proficient technique for presenting various types of fractional differential solutions.

Researchers are encouraged to test and modify the proposed method.

The paper includes suggestions for the expansion of a powerful method for managing and integrating cloud systems stably.

This paper addresses an acknowledged need to study how the cost function of cloud systems can be achieved.