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21 – 30 of 38Elyse Zavar and Ronald R. Hagelman III
The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides guidelines for the management of open space created through property acquisition (buyouts); however, land use decisions are…
Abstract
Purpose
The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides guidelines for the management of open space created through property acquisition (buyouts); however, land use decisions are primarily left to local governments manifesting in a variety of uses. The purpose of this paper is to provide a land use assessment of buyout sites, to describe the changes in those uses that have occurred during a ten-year period from 1990 to 2000, and to offer an assessment of management approaches employed across these sites.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a mixed-methods approach consisting of a land use classification survey and a semi-structured questionnaire of floodplain managers, this study explores the land use trends at buyout sites, diverse approaches local governments take in managing the open spaces created through floodplain buyout programs, and the successes and challenges communities face in open space management.
Findings
Results indicate strong support from floodplain managers for property acquisition and several cases emerged where communities put their newly acquired public land to creative uses. However, the opportunity to leverage these properties for greater public values is largely being missed, primarily because of limited funding.
Practical implications
The analysis indicates strong support among floodplain managers for the buyout approach; however, additional resource-sharing and funding opportunities are needed to increase the utility of buyout properties.
Originality/value
By evaluating the long-term management strategies floodplain managers utilize on buyout sites, this study adds to an underrepresented area of scholarship and is of value to practitioners, government officials, and academics.
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Celian Colon and Stefan Hochrainer-Stigler
Global and interconnected supply chains are increasingly exposed to systemic risks, whereby individual failures propagate across firms, sectors and borders. Systemic risks have…
Abstract
Purpose
Global and interconnected supply chains are increasingly exposed to systemic risks, whereby individual failures propagate across firms, sectors and borders. Systemic risks have emerged from the decisions of individual firms, e.g., outsourcing and buffer reduction, and are now beyond their control. This paper aims to identify appropriate approaches to mitigating those risks.
Design/methodology/approach
Systemic risks require analyzing supply chains beyond a dyadic perspective. This study approaches the problem through the lenses of complex systems and network theories. Drawing on the lessons learned from other systemic-risk-prone systems, e.g. energy and financial networks, both in research and practice, this study analyzes the adequate level of governance to monitor and manage systemic risks in supply chains.
Findings
The authors argue that governance institutions should be mandated to overview and reduce systemic risks in supply chains from the top down, as central bankers do for the financial system. Using firm-level data and tools from network analysis and system dynamics, they could quantify systemic risks, identify risk-prone interconnections in supply chains and design mitigating measures. This top-down approach would complement the bottom-up supply chain management approach and could help insurers design policies for contingent business interruptions.
Originality/value
Instead of looking at supply chains purely from the firms’ angle, the perspective of insurers and governments is brought in to reflect on the governance of risks.
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Rob Roggema, Pavel Kabat and Andy van den Dobbelsteen
The purpose of this paper is to build a bridge between climate change adaptation and spatial planning and design. It aims to develop a spatial planning framework in which the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to build a bridge between climate change adaptation and spatial planning and design. It aims to develop a spatial planning framework in which the properties of climate adaptation and spatial planning are unified.
Design/methodology/approach
Adaptive and dynamical approaches in spatial planning literature are studied and climate adaptation properties are defined in a way they can be used in a spatial planning framework. The climate adaptation properties and spatial planning features are aggregated in coherent groups and used to construct the spatial planning framework, which subsequently has been tested to design a climate adaptive region.
Findings
The paper concludes that the majority of spatial planning methods do not include adaptive or dynamic strategies derived from complex adaptive systems theory, such as adaptive capacity or vulnerability. If these complex adaptive systems properties are spatially defined and aggregated in a coherent set of spatial groups, they can form a spatial planning framework for climate adaptation. Each of these groups has a specific time dimension and can be linked to a specific spatial planning “layer”. The set of (five) layers form the spatial planning framework, which can be used as a methodology to design a climate adaptive region.
Originality/value
Previous research did not connect the complex issue of climate change with spatial planning. Many frameworks are developed in climate change research but are generally not aiming to meet the needs of spatial planning. This article forms the first attempt to develop a spatial planning framework, in which non‐linear and dynamical processes, such as climate adaptation, is included.
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Vanessa Bechtol and Lucie Laurian
This article aims to show how communities with severe river flooding can develop sustainable flood plans that remediate environmental problems caused by previous river…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to show how communities with severe river flooding can develop sustainable flood plans that remediate environmental problems caused by previous river straightening and other structural flood controls.
Design/methodology/approach
The article builds on a case study of the nationally recognized Napa River Flood Protection Project (USA), which incorporates an ecological living river strategy and builds on strong community participation to restore a river and its floodplain. After discussing the drawbacks of structural flood control measures, and especially of river straightening, reviews the contents of the Napa Flood Project and the public participation process necessary for its design, approval and implementation.
Findings
The key lessons learned from Napa's flood project are that: undoing past structural works is difficult but feasible; ecological criteria can and should be used to design modern flood projects; involvement of a wide and diverse group of stakeholders is crucial to developing and implementing an environmentally sustainable flood management project; and the US Army Corps of Engineers can work with communities and depart from its typical, structural flood control approaches.
Research limitations/implications
Information on straightened rivers is extremely limited. Furthermore, this study focuses on flood planning for US rivers, and may therefore be less useful elsewhere in the world where the frequency of river straightening may differ.
Originality/value
This case study provides a critique on river straightening, which is a poorly documented but fairly frequent approach to flood control. This article helps to fill gaps in the knowledge of how communities can, and are, addressing environmental concerns associated with flood controls and river straightening.
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Giuseppe Forino, Jason Von Meding and Graham John Brewer
This paper aims to explore challenges and opportunities for Australian local governments (LGs) in governance of climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore challenges and opportunities for Australian local governments (LGs) in governance of climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) integration.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper identifies three Australian LGs which are subjected to potential climate change-related hazards. Semi-structured interviews with staff officers of the selected LGs and supporting organizations have been conducted to collect and analyze primary data.
Findings
The findings reveal that emerging challenges in governance of CCA and DRR integration include the political sensitiveness of climate change, uncertainty and standstill because of the vagueness by higher government levels, competing interests between LGs’ departments and communication breakdowns because of scepticism and the use of jargon. Meanwhile, the findings reveal that emerging opportunities include the promotion of participation mechanisms in planning, the creation of partnerships with local stakeholders and the use of coordination organizations and platforms. Exploring these challenges and opportunities represents a key step to strengthen governance mechanisms at a local level.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is based on a limited number (3) of Australian case studies with a limited number (15) of interviews. Further insights could be gained by analyzing more Australian LGs, involving a higher number of participants, and by using complementary research methods and data (survey and questionnaires) about experiences of other local stakeholders.
Originality/value
The paper is one of the few exploring challenges and opportunities of Australian LGs in governance of CCA and DRR integration in Australia and discusses them in terms of the potential to strengthen governance mechanisms within Australian LGs.
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– The purpose of this paper is to examine the governance and policy-making challenges in the context of “wicked problems” based on the case of pandemic influenza.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the governance and policy-making challenges in the context of “wicked problems” based on the case of pandemic influenza.
Design/methodology/approach
The case study research is based on an analysis of official documentation and interviews with policy elites at multiple levels of UK governance.
Findings
Results of this study show that policy actors regard risk communication, the dynamics of international public policy and UK territorial governance as the main governance challenges in the management of influenza at a macro-level. The paper also serves to identify that although contingencies management for epidemiological issues require technical and scientific considerations to feature in governance arrangements, equally there are key “wicked problems” in the context public policy that pervade the health security sector.
Practical implications
The study indicates the need to build in resources at a national level to plan for policy coordination challenges in areas that might at first be seen as devoid of political machinations (such as technical areas of public policy that might be underpinned by epidemiological processes). The identification of the major governance challenges that emerge from the pandemic influenza case study is a springboard for a research agenda in relation to the analysis of the parallels and paradoxes of governance challenges for health security across EU member states.
Originality/value
This paper provides a novel interrogation of the pandemic influenza case study in the context of UK governance and public policy by providing a strategic policy lens from perspective of elites.
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Marina Johnson, Abdullah Albizri, Antoine Harfouche and Salih Tutun
The global health crisis represents an unprecedented opportunity for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. This paper aims to integrate explainable AI into…
Abstract
Purpose
The global health crisis represents an unprecedented opportunity for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. This paper aims to integrate explainable AI into the decision-making process in emergency scenarios to help mitigate the high levels of complexity and uncertainty associated with these situations. An AI solution is designed to extract insights into opioid overdose (OD) that can help government agencies to improve their medical emergency response and reduce opioid-related deaths.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper employs the design science research paradigm as an overarching framework. Open-access digital data and AI, two essential components within the digital transformation domain, are used to accurately predict OD survival rates.
Findings
The proposed AI solution has two primary implications for the advancement of informed emergency management. Results show that it can help not only local agencies plan their resources for timely response to OD incidents, thus improving survival rates, but also governments to identify geographical areas with lower survival rates and their primary contributing factor; hence, they can plan and allocate long-term resources to increase survival rates and help in developing effective emergency-related policies.
Originality/value
This paper illustrates that digital transformation, particularly open-access digital data and AI, can improve the emergency management framework (EMF). It also demonstrates that the AI models developed in this study can identify opioid OD trends and determine the significant factors improving survival rates.
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Victor Oluwasina Oladokun, David G. Proverbs and Jessica Lamond
Flood resilience is emerging as a major component of an integrated strategic approach to flood risk management. This approach recognizes that some flooding is inevitable and…
Abstract
Purpose
Flood resilience is emerging as a major component of an integrated strategic approach to flood risk management. This approach recognizes that some flooding is inevitable and aligns with the concept of “living with water.” Resilience measurement is a key in making business case for investments in resilient retrofits/adaptations, and could potentially be used to inform the design of new developments in flood prone areas. The literature is, however, sparse on frameworks for measuring flood resilience. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a fuzzy logic (FL)-based resilience measuring model, drawing on a synthesis of extant flood resilience and FL literature.
Design/methodology/approach
An abstraction of the flood resilience system followed by identification and characterization of systems’ variables and parameters were carried out. The resulting model was transformed into a fuzzy inference system (FIS) using three input factors: inherent resilience, supportive facilities (SF) and resident capacity.
Findings
The resulting FIS generates resilience index for households with a wide range of techno-economic and socio-environmental features.
Originality/value
It is concluded that the FL-based model provides a veritable tool for the measurement of flood resilience at the level of the individual property, and with the potential to be further developed for larger scale applications, i.e. at the community or regional levels.
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Abhishek Behl and Pankaj Dutta
The purpose of this paper is to understand the interlinkages between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and crowdfunding in the context of disaster relief operations (DRO). It…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the interlinkages between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and crowdfunding in the context of disaster relief operations (DRO). It intends to explore how information quality moderates the relationship of CSR and crowdfunding to achieve financial and social stability. The study also controls variables such as type of disaster, size of the firm and sector to which the firms belong while drawing implications.
Design/methodology/approach
The study collects empirical data in an Indian context through a structured questionnaire. The respondents belong to organizations which made a financial contribution toward DRO during the past decade (2008–2018). The sample size for data analysis is 232 responses belonging to different industries like plastic, chemical, textile and apparel, automotive parts and electronics, and construction. The study employs partial least squares structural equation modeling for testing the hypothesis.
Findings
Results indicate a positive effect of CSR activities on donation-based crowdfunding to achieve financial and social normalcy in a DRO. CSR can thus be used as an alternate way to support DRO. Results also reveal that quality of information positively impacts the relationship between crowdfunding and social aid as well as financial aid offered to the victims of the disasters. It is further observed that the type of disaster accounts for the inflow and frequency of funds made by companies as a part of their CSR activities.
Research limitations/implications
The study restricts its analysis to CSR contributions made by Indian firms for DRO in an Indian context. While the study is centered in an Indian context, it holds strong implications by offering guidelines and framework for integrating funds of the government, CSR contributions of companies and donations made by citizens. The outcome also provokes thoughts on testing the results with multiple disasters across the globe in order to validate the findings and possibly extend them.
Originality/value
The approach of the study holds a unique slot in understanding concepts relating to CSR, crowdfunding and information science literature in the context of DRO. The study offers unique contribution in making the readers aware how CSR funds, when guided through a donation-based crowdfunding platform can help achieve social and financial aid for the victims of natural disaster.
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Abhishek Behl, Meena Chavan, Kokil Jain, Isha Sharma, Vijay Edward Pereira and Justin Zuopeng Zhang
The study explores the readiness of government agencies to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the efficiency of disaster relief operations (DRO). For understanding the…
Abstract
Purpose
The study explores the readiness of government agencies to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the efficiency of disaster relief operations (DRO). For understanding the behavior of state-level and national-level government agencies involved in DRO, this study grounds its theoretical arguments on the civic voluntarism model (CVM) and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT).
Design/methodology/approach
We collected the primary data for this study from government agencies involved in DRO in India. To test the proposed theoretical model, we administered an online survey questionnaire to 184 government agency employees. To test the hypotheses, we employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
Our findings confirm that resources (time, money and skills) significantly influence the behavioral intentions related to the adoption of AI tools for DRO. Additionally, we identified that the behavioral intentions positively translate into the actual adoption of AI tools.
Research limitations/implications
Our study provides a unique viewpoint suited to understand the context of the adoption of AI in a governmental context. Companies often strive to invest in state-of-the-art technologies, but it is important to understand how government bodies involved in DRO strategize to adopt AI to improve efficiency.
Originality/value
Our study offers a fresh perspective in understanding how the organizational culture and perspectives of government officials influence their inclinations to adopt AI for DRO. Additionally, it offers a multidimensional perspective by integrating the theoretical frameworks of CVM and UTAUT for a greater understanding of the adoption and deployment of AI tools with organizational culture and voluntariness as critical moderators.
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