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.     

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.     

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。     

基于乡村振兴视角下西部绿洲流转农户生计脆弱性影响因素研究

［目的］乡村振兴战略中,保障民生是重中之重,而生计脆弱性可综合全面地反映生计特征,因此对西部绿洲流转农户生计脆弱性的影响因素探究,是保障民生、促进农户生计可持续发展的关键举措。［方法］文章以西部绿洲区沙湾县为研究区域,构建“暴露—敏感—适应性”框架,通过熵值法和多元线性回归模型探究转入与转出户生计脆弱性的微观动因。［结果］（1）转入户的生计脆弱性低于转出户; （2）转入户生计脆弱性与家中劳动力数量、家庭收入对耕地资源的依赖程度、耕地机械化程度、流转交易费用、家庭成员有公职人员数量、经营管理能力的程度、获得种植技术援助机会显著相关; （3）中大型生产性工具种类数、家庭中非农就业的人数与转出户生计脆弱性在1%的置信水平上显著相关。［结论］通过加强非农就业技术培训,促进生计选择多元化; 加大惠农政策支持和宣传,推进农村的社会保障体系建设; 组织农技交流会,提升经营管理技术水平; 完善流转交易管理体制,提供相关法律援助的对策,切实保障西部绿洲区流转农户的生计安全,推动区域社会经济的稳定发展。     

辽河三角洲湿地景观格局脆弱性变化

目前湿地开发利用日益加剧,本文结合全局自相关、局部自相关进行空间关联分析的研究方法进行分析。虽然辽河三角洲区域脆弱度逐渐减弱,仍有部分地区存在高脆弱度值。数据表明2015年低脆弱度区基本覆盖整个辽河三角洲区域。