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The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolution of interconnectedness of European insurers among themselves, as well as with other non-financial firms, for the period 2000–2021 and to analyze the stock return movements around the costliest catastrophic events (hurricanes) in the past two decades.

This paper follows the “simple” approach of Patro et al.(2013) and examines the daily stock return correlations of the largest 30 insurers and the largest 30 non-financial firms headquartered in Europe. In addition, the study uses event study methodology to examine stock return movements around the costliest hurricanes.

We find that the European insurance sector has become highly interconnected during the past two decades; however, its increasing connectedness with non-financial firms is limited to a few firms. In addition, we find weak evidence of the destabilizing effects of catastrophic events on European insurers and non-financial firms; however, the potential for cat risk contagion effects exists as the insurance industry becomes heavily interconnected.

The extant literature is largely concerned with the contribution of the insurance sector to the systemic risk of the financial sector. We focus on a specific region (Europe) and analyze the evolution of interconnectedness of the largest insurers within the insurance sector as well as with the largest non-financial firms encapsulating important crisis periods. In addition, we relate to the literature that examines the market reactions around catastrophic events to test the relevance of traditional insurance activities in instigating potential contagion shocks.

This paper aims to investigate the hydrodynamic instability properties of a mixed convection flow of nanofluid in a porous channel.

The treated single-phase nanofluid is a suspension consisting of water as the working fluid and alumina as a nanoparticle. The anisotropy of the porous medium and the effects of the inclination of the magnetic field are highlighted. The effects of viscous dissipation and thermal radiation are incorporated into the energy equation. The eigenvalue equation system resulting from the stability analysis is processed numerically by the spectral collocation method.

Analysis of the results in terms of growth rate reveals that increasing the volume fraction of nanoparticles increases the critical Reynolds number. Parameters such as the mechanical anisotropy parameter and Richardson number have a destabilizing effect. The Hartmann number, permeability parameter, magnetic field inclination, Prandtl number, wave number and thermal radiation parameter showed a stabilizing effect. The Eckert number has a negligible effect on the growth rate of the disturbances.

Linear stability analysis of Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) mixed convection flow of a radiating nanofluid in porous channel in presence of viscous dissipation.

Responding to the continuing separation of participants and researchers in LIS participatory research, a new methodology is proposed: action partnership research design (APRD). It is asserted that APRD can mitigate or remove the hierarchical structures often inherent in the research process, thus allowing for equal contribution from all.

Building on the bonded design (BD) methodology and informed by a scoping literature review conducted by the same authors, APRD is a human-centered research approach with the goal of empowering and valuing community partnerships. APRD originates from research investigating the use of participatory design methods to foster collaboration between two potentially disparate groups, firstly with adult researchers/designers and elementary school children, and secondly with university faculty and IT professionals.

To achieve this goal, in addition to BD techniques, APRD draws inspiration from elements of indigenous and decolonization research methodologies, particularly those with an emphasis on destabilizing power hierarchies and involving research participants as full partners.

APRD, which emerged from findings from previous participatory design studies, especially those of BD, is based on the premise of partnership, recognizing that each member of a design team, whether researcher or participant/user, has unique expertise to contribute. By considering participants/users as full research partners, APRD aims to flatten the hierarchies exhibited in some LIS participatory research methodologies, where participants are treated more like research subjects than partners.

Experiencing more frequent, system-wide disruptions, such as pandemics and geopolitical conflicts, supply chains can be largely destabilized by a lack of materials, services or components. Supply chain resilience (SCRES) constitutes the network ability to recover after and survive during such unexpected events. To enhance the understanding of SCRES as a system-wide quality, this study tests a comprehensive SCRES model with data from multiple industries.

The study proposes a theoretical framework conceptualizing SCRES as system quality, extending the classical proactive/reactive taxonomy by multiple system states consisting of the supply system properties, behaviors and responses to disruptions. Underlying hypotheses were tested using an online survey. The sample consists of 219 responses from German industries. Maximum likelihood structural equation modeling (ML-SEM) and moderation analysis were used for analyzing the survey data. The study was particularly designed to elaborate on supply chain theory.

Two pathways of parallel SCRES building were identified: proactive preparedness via anticipation and reactive responsiveness via agility. Both system responses are primarily built simultaneously rather than successively. The present study further provides empirical evidence on the central role of visibility and velocity in achieving comprehensive SCRES, while flexibility only exerts short-term support after a disruption. The study additionally points to potential “spillover effects” such as the vital role of proactive SCRES in achieving reactive responsiveness.

The present study confirms and expands existing theories on SCRES. While stressing the multidimensionality of SCRES, it theorizes the (inter-)temporal evolution of a system and offers practical guidelines for SCRES building in various industrial contexts. It thus supports the transformation toward more resilient and viable supply chains, contributing to the increasing efforts of middle-range theory building to achieve an overarching theory. The study also points to potential future research avenues.