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Nepal’s rich cultural and natural heritage – the basis of a flourishing tourism industry that contributes 8% to the country’s GDP – suffered heavily during the Gorkha earthquake that shook the country in April 2015. Recovery was challenged by a political-economic crisis that hampered mobility and delayed access to resources. Given the economic importance of tourism to Nepal, a revival of this industry was considered vital by public authorities and private sector representatives. This chapter discusses the response mechanisms of the tourism industry in Kathmandu to two sequential, overlapping stressors that brought challenges to the business sector beyond the usual. Interviews with hotel managers and owners, tour operators and trekking company owners have revealed that coping strategies varied from business-as-usual to completely new paths. To what extent do multiple disruptive events challenge a tourism industry to diverge from established paths of economic development? How did Nepal revive its tourism industry? In-depth interviews with tourism industry stakeholders brought forth evidence of unusual collaborative action towards a quick restoration of tourist arrivals and a positive image of the destination. Furthermore, a handful of companies have shifted their entire business strategy.

Since independence, Malaysia has generally registered continuous economic growth and this development has brought about numerous benefits including improved social amenities and a trend toward greater urbanization of the population. Economic development in Malaysia has contributed to environmental degradation and uncontrolled physical development, especially in the urban areas. Protection of the environment has become a necessity rather than a luxury in order to maintain public health and well-being as well as to sustain the economic growth. As in most developing countries, there are many challenges facing the country, especially so in urban areas, where the human, physicochemical and biological environments are interlinked (Pereira & Komoo, 2004). One major challenge is the increasing occurrence of geological and flood-related disasters, causing property damage and high cost of maintenance as well as loss of lives, in extreme cases. In part, this is a manifestation of poor planning, and many of the problems related to hazards in urban areas are often exacerbated by human activities.

Ergonomics has so far been largely an American and Western European discipline. For that reason, present-day ergonomics is not robust enough to cope with the many large and important differences that one finds among the people of the earth. These differences are discussed under five major headings: anthropometry, language, physiology, psychology, and customs and practices. In each case, the differences are so great that they require substantial modifications in commonly accepted ergonomics principles and practices. In some cases, the technical design problems involved in adapting equipment to non-Western societies have required the development of new ergonomics principles. Failure to take account of national and cultural variables may nullify the gains that one might reasonably expect to follow from the application of ergonomics in many areas of the world.

Earthworks are the embankments and cuttings that allow a railway to maintain a certain line, level and grade through the landscape. Earth embankments consist of an engineered bank of earth that carries the railway above the natural ground. A cutting is used to carry the railway through ground with a natural level above the line of the railway. Modern (post 1960s) earthworks are carefully engineered to perform well. However, many railways run on earthworks that were constructed over 100 years ago without the use of mechanised plant. The quality of construction of older earthworks was often poor compared with present-day engineering practice. Ageing of the earthwork structures, and the greater demands of heavier and faster trains and climatic change, means that earthworks suffer ultimate and serviceability failures that can present operational difficulties. Older earthworks that fail or do not perform well require maintenance and repair, and sometimes complete replacement. This chapter explores the main engineering considerations for modern earthworks, and the challenges associated with older earthworks including their modes of failure and upgrade and repair.

The correlations between mechanical behaviour, tensile strength, and rock parameters of metasedimentary rock samples in Karak, Pahang’s New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) were statistically evaluated from the rock mechanic laboratory works at the selected sections around 2,000 m of the tunnel (named as NATM-1). According to a statistical analysis, lithotypes, geological structures, and region geology have a significant impact on the mechanical behaviour of the metasedimentary rock. In the Brazilian test, the fracture behaviour of the disc specimens was highly related to the reliability and precision of the experimental data by validations of methods. In this work, the impact of different loading methods and rock lithotypes on the failure mechanism of Brazilian discs was examined utilising five different metasedimentary rock types and three different loading methods. During the loading operation, the strain and displacement fields of the specimens were recorded and evaluated using a computerised strain gauge system. The rock types, according to experimental data, have a significant impact on the peak load and deformation properties of Brazilian discs. With the method below, tensile strength point of a disc specimen is clearly regulated by the material stiffness and tensile–compression ratio. Seismic occurrences have had a substantial impact on changing the rock and exerting forces that may affect its mechanical characteristics as well as its vulnerability to weathering effects or discontinuities. As a result, the goal of this study is to look into the connection between rock mechanics and metasedimentary rock stress analysis in NATM-1, Karak, Pahang.

When Dr Constance Scharff met Wes Geer, founding member of the band Hed PE and former touring guitarist for Korn, she was already a recognized figure in the addiction and mental health treatment field. In particular, she is known for her insight and leadership assisting healthcare professionals working at the nexus of addiction and trauma. It was not a surprise to her when Geer asked her to join Rock to Recovery, to help expand its business.

As she stepped into her leadership role with the charity, she faced a unique set of challenges. One of the musicians she worked with overdosed and died, and changes in regulations hurt accessibility to addiction treatment. Almost overnight, the company lost a significant amount of business, but more damaging was the potential for the groups’ mental health to be undermined. This chapter describes Dr Scharff’s evolving leadership during those losses and how she helped the group develop and ultimately thrive.

Dr Caroline Heldman, Chair of the Critical Theory and Social Justice Department at Occidental College, analyzes Dr Scharff’s experiences. She reveals how it is crucial in organizations like Rock to Recovery for leaders to embrace a compassionate leadership model. She also details the ways inwhich Dr Scharff had to overcome gendered leadership stereotypes to be an effective member of the Rock to Recovery team. Dr Heldman holds special insight into Rock to Recovery, as it was her brother, Christian, who died in 2018.