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1 – 10 of over 1000Ashlyn Tom and Alice Kim
To assess which partnerships were most critical during the recovery planning process following Hurricanes Maria and Irma. We discuss the roles and impact of different types of…
Abstract
Purpose
To assess which partnerships were most critical during the recovery planning process following Hurricanes Maria and Irma. We discuss the roles and impact of different types of partners, barriers and facilitators to partnerships and lessons in collaboration during the development of the economic and disaster recovery plan for Puerto Rico.
Design/methodology/approach
The Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC) was tasked with assisting the Puerto Rican government with an assessment of damages from Hurricanes Maria and Irma and the development of the Recovery Plan. During the process, a small team compiled and coded a database of meetings with non-HSOAC partners. The team was divided into sector teams that mirrored FEMA’s Recovery Support Functions. Each sector completed two surveys identifying high impact partners and their roles and contributions, as well as barriers and facilitators to partnerships.
Findings
A total of 1,382 engagements were recorded across all sectors over seven months. The most frequently identified high impact partners were federal and Puerto Rican governmental organizations partners. NGOs and nonprofits were noted as key partners in obtaining community perspective. Sector teams cited a lack of trust and difficulty identifying partners as barriers to partner engagement. Given the expedited nature of disaster response, establishing partnerships before disasters occur may help facilitate community input. Early networking, increased transparency and defining roles and responsibilities may increase trust and effectiveness among partnerships.
Originality/value
To our knowledge, this is one of the few studies that quantifies and illustrates the partnerships formed and their contributions during recovery planning, and lessons learned.
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This chapter explored the community resilience among the river bank erosion affected people of the coastal area in Bangladesh. This chapter particularly looked at the affected…
Abstract
This chapter explored the community resilience among the river bank erosion affected people of the coastal area in Bangladesh. This chapter particularly looked at the affected people’s opinions and participation in the governmental organization (GO) and non-governmental organizations’ (NGO) relief and recovery process. This study employed a mixed-method approach, where a multimethod data collection procedure was used and data were from three Upazilas (sub-divisions) of the Bhola District in Bangladesh. Quantitative data were collected using a structured interview schedule from 371 household heads, while the qualitative data were generated from 30 relevant participants through in-depth case interviews, focus group discussions and key informants’ interviews. Results showed that a higher number of affected people did not get government relief and services though they were happy with the government’s permanent measures, that is, building embankment. The affected people gave a negative impression about the GO and NGOs’ initiatives in the recovery process such as awareness building, needs assessment and formation of community-based organizations. Most of the affected households did not participate in the decision-making process of the recovery and construction planning and programmes that were controlled by the local power politics. Findings would be an important guideline to the policy-makers, disaster managers and development practitioners.
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Yiwen Shao and Yao Sun
The politically laden nature of postdisaster recovery calls for more research on its governance, especially at the micro-scale. Apart from engineering-oriented frameworks…
Abstract
Purpose
The politically laden nature of postdisaster recovery calls for more research on its governance, especially at the micro-scale. Apart from engineering-oriented frameworks, researchers need new theoretical underpinnings. This paper aims to review the development of the evolutionary resilience theory and use it as an analytical framework to evaluate the governance of post-earthquake reconstruction planning in China.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examines how reconstruction planning is governed in the epicenter town of the 2008 Great Sichuan Earthquake, highlighting three key qualities of evolutionary resilience. The authors draw on site investigations, semistructured interviews and analysis of official and unpublished documents from various sources.
Findings
This paper finds that despite the absence of specific resilience statements in reconstruction plans of the time, qualities of evolutionary resilience, including social connectedness, flexibility and innovation, were evident in a hybrid and contradictory reconstruction planning system. In this respect, resilience thinking appears in Chinese planning earlier than generally assumed. This paper suggests that this manifestation of resilience was the result of an instrumental utility in addressing socioeconomic uncertainties in the postdisaster environment and, thus, may not be systematic.
Originality/value
This work enriches the understanding of recovery governance from an evolutionary resilience perspective where existing research is insufficient. It also offers ample practical guidance for similar cases in China and elsewhere.
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This study aims to review the stages of the traditional disaster timeline, propose an extended version of this timeline and discuss the disaster strategies relevant to the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to review the stages of the traditional disaster timeline, propose an extended version of this timeline and discuss the disaster strategies relevant to the different stages of the extended timeline.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive review of the existing literature was made to discuss the need for an extended version of the conventional disaster timeline and to explain the differences between the various disaster management strategies. The research approach was based on theoretical and practical reasoning underpinned by the literature.
Findings
The proposed extended disaster timeline allows better allocation of a wider range of management strategies. Successful disaster management depends on prioritisation of efforts and the use of the right strategy(s) at the right time: before, during and after an incident.
Practical implications
This study provides a better conceptualisation of the disaster stages and corresponding strategies. It clarifies the role of each strategy, thus linking it more effectively with the disaster timeline. Subsequently, this study is expected to improve decision-making associated with the disaster management process. In the end, it is expected to help transforming the conventional disaster timeline into a more practical one that is result-oriented more than only being a conceptual model.
Originality/value
Disaster management strategies are used interchangeably very often in the literature. A few attempts were made to capture multiple strategies in one study to demonstrate what constitutes effective disaster management without mixing irrelevant strategies with the different disaster stages.
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This paper aims to examine how neighborhood characteristics (income, population composition) and individual building attributes (ownership) affect the recovery period of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how neighborhood characteristics (income, population composition) and individual building attributes (ownership) affect the recovery period of single-family housing and determine their correlations with property abandonment and changes in residential land use after natural disaster.
Design/methodology/approach
This empirical study focuses on Valley Fire, one of the California’s most destructive wildfires in 2015, and uses assessor, community, demographic and sales data to measure recovery of a panel of single-family houses located in Lake County in California between 2012 and 2020. Several regression and correlation models will be developed to test different hypotheses.
Findings
This study found that: Recovery period is longer than what expected in most existing literature; ownership status significantly affects recovery period; income level is not a significant factor for shortening the recovery period; and minorities may need more assistance for constant recovery. Findings of this research will help identify at risk communities to avoid uneven housing recovery and lower the rate of property abandonment.
Originality/value
Housing recovery is key to revitalizing communities following major natural disasters. The sociodemographic characteristics of each neighborhood have significant impact on the duration of recovery and possible property abandonment. Understanding how home and neighborhood characteristics affect recovery will help planners prevent long-lasting adverse effects of natural disasters.
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Krisanthi Seneviratne, Srinath Perera, Buddhini Ginigaddara, Xiaohua Jin, Liyaning Tang and Robert Osei Kyei
This research investigated the impacts of COVID-19 on construction enterprises and good practices adopted by the enterprises in reducing COVID-19 risks. The Sendai Framework (TSF…
Abstract
Purpose
This research investigated the impacts of COVID-19 on construction enterprises and good practices adopted by the enterprises in reducing COVID-19 risks. The Sendai Framework (TSF) is widely accepted as a strategic roadmap to reduce disaster risks throughout the life cycle of a disaster. As such, with the aim of enhancing the resilience of Australian construction enterprises, the identified good practices were mapped with TSF priorities to consolidate COVID-19 risk reduction practices that can be adopted by Australian construction enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
Case study research approach was used, and three case studies were conducted with small, medium and large construction enterprises. Small, medium and large enterprises were selected based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics classification of the business size. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with three executive members from the three enterprises. Data were analysed using content analysis.
Findings
The study found that construction enterprises faced demand and supply side impacts. Infrastructure projects, funded by public sector clients and larger enterprises were least affected. Investments and demand for residential and other building projects were reduced by private sector clients, affecting small and medium enterprises. Findings also show that the construction enterprises adopted good practices in identifying, managing, investing on resilience and recovery that align with TSF priorities. All three enterprises agreed on some common good practices on risk identification, risk management and effective recovery. Different views were shared on investments related to disaster resilience.
Practical implications
This study contributes to mitigate the COVID-19 impacts on construction enterprises and subsequent economic and social impacts.
Originality/value
This research found how Australian construction enterprises survived during COVID-19. The study adopted TSF to construction and COVID-19 context while consolidating COVID-19 risk reduction practices.
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This study aims at investigating the evolution of disaster management by identifying the different phases it has gone through over time, and laying a ground for the next…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims at investigating the evolution of disaster management by identifying the different phases it has gone through over time, and laying a ground for the next generation of disaster studies that focus on value-creating and value-adding activities.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive review of the existing literature was made to develop an understanding of the evolution of disaster management. This study does not aim at assessing the tools or techniques used; rather it aims at identifying the major developments that took place over time.
Findings
Disaster management is a dynamic process. It has encountered/experienced different evolutionary phases that indicate that it has been developing over time. It continues to evolve until today as long as disasters occur. The nature and complexity of disasters are also changing. Most importantly, what seemed to be a practical approach for managing disasters yesterday might not fit for the use of today or tomorrow.
Practical implications
Understanding the evolution of disaster management mirrors the evolution of mankind and the ways people survived major incidents. As life itself evolves, disasters will continue to evolve which subsequently triggers the need for broader management insight to cope with.
Originality/value
This study traces the evolution of disaster management and the development of research and practice in this field over time. The existing literature rarely addresses the uniqueness of individual disasters and the need to treat them differently even the recurrent ones. To the best of the author’s knowledge, there is no single study that attempted to capture the evolution of disaster management during the 20th century until today. This study aims to achieve this goal.
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Mohammad Hossein Dehghani Sadrabadi, Ahmad Makui, Rouzbeh Ghousi and Armin Jabbarzadeh
The adverse interactions between disruptions can increase the supply chain's vulnerability. Accordingly, establishing supply chain resilience to deal with disruptions and…
Abstract
Purpose
The adverse interactions between disruptions can increase the supply chain's vulnerability. Accordingly, establishing supply chain resilience to deal with disruptions and employing business continuity planning to preserve risk management achievements is of considerable importance. The aforementioned idea is discussed in this study.
Design/methodology/approach
This study proposes a multi-objective optimization model for employing business continuity management and organizational resilience in a supply chain for responding to multiple interrelated disruptions. The improved augmented e-constraint and the scenario-based robust optimization methods are adopted for multi-objective programming and dealing with uncertainty, respectively. A case study of the automotive battery manufacturing industry is also considered to ensure real-world conformity of the model.
Findings
The results indicate that interactions between disruptions remarkably increase the supply chain's vulnerability. Choosing a higher fortification level for the supply chain and foreign suppliers reduces disruption impacts on resources and improves the supply chain's resilience and business continuity. Facilities dispersion, fortification of facilities, lateral transshipment, order deferral policy, dynamic capacity planning and direct transportation of products to markets are the most efficient resilience strategies in the under-study industry.
Originality/value
Applying resource allocation planning and portfolio selection to adopt preventive and reactive resilience strategies simultaneously to manage multiple interrelated disruptions in a real-world automotive battery manufacturing industry, maintaining the long-term achievements of supply chain resilience using business continuity management and dynamic capacity planning are the main contributions of the presented paper.
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Sayed Arash Hosseini Sabzevari, Zoheir Mottaki, Atoosa Hassani, Somayeh Zandiyeh and Fereshteh Aslani
Finding an appropriate place for temporary housing after an earthquake is one of the main challenges of disaster risk management, especially in developing countries. Therefore, it…
Abstract
Purpose
Finding an appropriate place for temporary housing after an earthquake is one of the main challenges of disaster risk management, especially in developing countries. Therefore, it is necessary to create pre-disaster location plans for the homeless population. This study aims to systematically find safe places and select suitable sites according to influential factors.
Design/methodology/approach
The research methodology used is a descriptive–analytical method. A field survey with a quantitative–qualitative approach is applied to recognize physical vulnerabilities and select suitable sites for temporary settlements. Due to the occurrence of several earthquakes in recent decades around the city of Isfahan, Iran, this area has been studied. Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, geographic information system and rapid visual screening have been used for data analysis.
Findings
According to the site selection and vulnerability criteria and their prioritization, the findings indicate that 60% of the study area is vulnerable. Moreover, vacant lots, stadiums and public green spaces that can be used as multi-purpose sites are the most appropriate options for the temporary settlement.
Practical implications
The research criteria are generalizable and can be used for decision-making, concerning urban fabric vulnerability and site selection of temporary housing in cities exposed to earthquake risk.
Originality/value
Cultural features, accessibility, land conditions, the slope and type of land, availability and construction materials were addressed in locating temporary settlements. In addition to vacant lots and open spaces, safe buildings were also identified for temporary housing, and religious minorities and similar communities were considered.
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Shumei Chen and Jia Xu
This paper aims to theoretically and empirically demonstrate the role played by business continuity management (BCM) to address risks such as trade conflicts and natural…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to theoretically and empirically demonstrate the role played by business continuity management (BCM) to address risks such as trade conflicts and natural disasters. This paper also answers whether compliance with international standards such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 22301 is adequate.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei is conducted to examine how a robust end-to-end BCM system has been established in two decades and in what way it has helped Huawei to efficiently maintain growth under pressure, such as being added to the “Entity List” and the pandemic.
Findings
Huawei case contributes to BCM theory in its approach to establishing the BCM system and its well-established BCM model. Huawei establishes and continually improves its BCM system by applying the Plan (establish), Do (implement and operate), Check (monitor and review) and Act (maintain and improve) cycle. Characterized as 4Ps: BCM policy, BCM process, incident management plan and business continuity plan, Huawei BCM system is shaped into a loop with end-to-end BCM process, covering all steps along its value chain – from suppliers and partners to Huawei itself and then on to its customers – with key initiatives for all domains such as R&D, procurement, manufacturing, logistics and global technical services. In practice, implementing international standards such as ISO 22301 enables Huawei to develop business continuity but not enough. Optimizing the BCM system is an ongoing effort, and BCM maturity is ever present: continually improving Huawei’s own BCM system and benchmarking against best practices available worldwide.
Research limitations/implications
Apart from the case study, other methods such as counter-factual analysis can be used to further test whether Huawei’s BCM system is cost-effective. Another direction for future study is whether suggested BCM maturity levels should be supplemented into ISO 22301. In the digital age, how to use digitalization to ensure business continuity is a current issue not just for practitioners such as Huawei but also for researchers worldwide.
Practical implications
In practice, implementing international standards such as ISO 22301 enables Huawei to develop business continuity but not enough. Optimizing the BCM system is an ongoing effort, and BCM maturity is ever present: continually improving Huawei’s own BCM system and benchmarking against best practices available worldwide.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to focus on how an organization continually improves the suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of its BCM system, with special attention to standards compliance.
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