Covid-19 attacks the body of purchasing and supply management: A medical check of the immune system

Much like the immune system of the body, the ‘immune system’ of purchasing and supply management (PSM) is also affected by the Covid-19 virus. Medicine must hinder the spread of the virus and outbreak of disease, just as PSM must prevent risk events and handle supply disruptions. The existing debate on supply resilience and robustness can be demonstrated using this medical analogy. The purpose of this article was to perform a medical check of the ‘PSM immune system’ to identify lessons and research gaps when confronted with a low-frequency-high-impact event such as the pandemic. As a provocative note, this article identifies research gaps in elements of the immune system of PSM (e.g., helper cells – consultancy support or memory cells – feedback loops). The results call for a more holistic debate on the immune system of PSM. Two approaches for research on ‘conventional’ or ‘alternative’ risk management schools of thought are presented as a basis for future discourse on how to improve the PSM immune system.     

Locally Greater Vulnerability to Background Risk

Willingness to take on risk is influenced by the presence of fair and unfair background risks for decision makers who are risk vulnerable as defined by Gollier and Pratt [1996], for these decision makers are more risk averse when they possess such an uninsurable background risk. We present an alternative derivation of the index of local vulnerability based on Diamond and Stiglitz [1974] compensated increases in risk, such that risk aversion increases with the introduction of any small fair background risk if and only if the index of local vulnerability is positive. We establish that the increase in risk aversion is greater for those who are more vulnerable as measured by the index of local vulnerability.     

Landslide risk perception survey in Angra dos Reis (Rio de Janeiro,southeastern Brazil): A contribution to support planning of non structural measures

The increasing magnitude and frequency of landslide-related disasters exposes weaknesses in disaster risk reduction (DRR) policy. One of the underlying reasons is that DRR policies tend to focus only on the physical aspects of the problem (i.e. mass movement processes) while neglecting the level of vulnerability of exposed populations to landslide threats, which affects the types and magnitude of adverse consequences. This neglect is a typical symptom of the remoteness that can exist between public administrators and local communities and undermines the implementation of participatory risk management. Certain dimensions of vulnerability depend on how communities relate to the issue of disasters based on their intuitive or rational judgment, i.e. their perception of risk. This paper seeks to shed light on the need for an understanding of risk perception based on the findings from a survey of residents in the city of Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to be taken into account in aiming at a more efficient landslide risk management policy. The survey was carried out through semi-structured face-to-face interviews with residents of three typical hillside communities in this municipality. In general, the study found that residents will often weigh landslide risks against other threats and opportunities existing where they live. It also found that community members find it difficult to see themselves as agents of change in the environment where they live and in mitigating landslide risks, and that better communication is needed between the government agencies involved in risk management and local residents.     

广西农业生态脆弱性评价及区划研究

［目的］随着经济的快速发展，我国各地区都面临着不同程度的农业生态脆弱性，通过研究特殊地形和气候下的农业生态脆弱性，有助于为农业生态环境的综合治理提供参考。［方法］文章以广西为例，通过构建评价指标体系，采用层次分析法和熵权法确定综合权重，通过构建综合评价模型对广西农业生态脆弱性程度进行评价，利用ArcGIS对生态脆弱性进行分级，以期探究广西农业生态脆弱性的空间分布情况。［结果］权重分析结果表明水蚀面积的权重值最高为0134，年平均降水量的权重值为0113，自然环境指标相对于农业生产和经济指标对农业生态脆弱性的影响更大。区划研究结果表明广西农业生态脆弱性区域大致可分为5个区域，分别是桂西峰丛洼地带、桂东山地丘陵地带、桂中低山丘陵地带、桂东北山地、桂南沿海丘陵地带。［结论］广西农业生态环境整体来看较为脆弱，处于轻度和中度脆弱等级，但生态环境问题仍不容忽视。为了改善农业生态脆弱性，政府应实行区域的联合防治，加大对农业生态环境的监督和治理，积极探寻生态、环保的农业发展方式，调整产业结构，改善农业生态环境的状态，促进广西农业的可持续发展。     

Quantifying land-use change impacts on the dynamic evolution of flood vulnerability

Recently, dramatic flood disasters have occurred incrementally in several regions of the world. Land-use change as one of the main affecting factors becomes a key component in flood risk management. This study strives to deal with quantifying how changes in land use to affect the dynamic evolution of flood vulnerability. The floodplains of Wuhan, which are located in the Yangtze River Basin, have been selected as an example. In this paper, we use GIS to gather different historical geometric data as sources of land-use information. By proposing the Simpsons-dominance index and location index to analyze the characteristics of land-use changes, and building a quantitative model to measure flood vulnerability, a series of flood vulnerability maps demonstrate differential flood vulnerability of floodplains of Wuhan in three inundation scenarios and four historical periods. Finally, the non-parametric correlation is used to reveal the interactive effect of land use and flood vulnerability. Based on this study, comprehensive flood disaster management strategies for land-use planning are proposed for government decision-makers to reduce the flood vulnerability of Wuhan in future.     

The economic and environmental performances of rural districts in Italy: Are competitiveness and sustainability compatible targets?

This paper analyses the economic performances of the rural system and the level of land sensitivity to degradation in Italy. Three indicators (district value added, share of agriculture on total product, and a composite index of land sensitivity) were used to classify 784 Italian local districts into eight performance classes. Four classes share a combination of high environmental quality (in terms of land degradation), high (or low) economic performances, and high (or low) productivity of the primary sector. The remaining four are characterised by a combination of low (and declining) environmental quality, high (or low) economic performances, and high (or low) productivity of the primary sector. The eight classes were grouped into four ‘environmental quality’ types and four ‘target performance’ categories to discriminate among high- and low-performance districts by considering twelve additional variables within a Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA). 148 high environmental performance districts (18% of total) were identified mainly across the Alps and Apennine while 314 districts (41%) were classified in the lowest performance class and concentrated in flat areas of southern Italy. The districts with high environmental performances were characterised, on average, by medium to low district value added, moderately low economic weight of the primary sector, and tourism specialisation. Districts with high economic performances and low environmental performances were characterised by high sensitivity to LD, low district value added, high share of agriculture in total product, and the lowest productivity of labour in all economic sectors. In these districts the risk of entering a downward spiral of rural poverty and environmental degradation is potentially high.     

山东省沿海七市风暴潮脆弱性分析

论文通过对风暴潮脆弱性的指标体系构建,运用层次分析法来确定山东省沿海七市的风暴潮脆弱性排名,以及结合聚类分析将沿海七市的脆弱性进行分类。结果表明,威海市的风暴潮脆弱性最强,烟台市和青岛市脆弱性较强,日照市、东营市、滨州市和潍坊市的风暴潮脆弱性较弱。最后,在风暴潮脆弱性区划的基础上,论文提出一些应对风暴潮的灾害政策建议。