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.     

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。     

基于土地利用变化的辉南县生态脆弱性时空变化分析

山区平原过渡地带因其地质、地貌的特殊性而担负着自然地域界面的作用,并表现出更高的生态环境脆弱性,研究其脆弱性变化对山区平原生态安全预警非常重要。特别是从土地利用方式改变评价其生态脆弱性,对于土地利用方式调整和规划具有重要指导意义。本文以地处山区平原过渡区的辉南县为例,在分析其土地利用变化基础上,参照生态价值评估体系并结合周围生态环境敏感因子,建立生态脆弱性综合评价指标,对研究区1986年以来环境脆弱性的时空变化进行评价和分析。评价结果如下：（1）从不同用地类型看,生态综合指数大小顺序依次为林地、草地、水域、未利用地,其次是耕地和建设用地。（2）脆弱性时间变化特征：由于土地利用变化,特别是林地减少和耕地、建设用地增加,导致生态贡献指数、生态稳定性指数和生态综合指数显著下降,分别由1986年的2.999、3.324和6.322减小为2006年的2.828、3.032和5.861。（3）空间变化特征：全区范围内生态环境综合指数下降显著,表现为低值区域范围扩大,高值区域范围明显减小。高值区范围由1986年的33217.95ha缩小为2006年的1283.40ha,而低值区的范围则由1986年的86550.87ha扩大为2006年的98084.83 ha。（4）地区差异性：虽然三个生态指数在整体上呈现下降,但是不同子流域其变化表现出显著的差异性,总体上呈现东南山区减小,而西北平原区呈现不明显的增加特点。本文研究结果表明,导致研究区生态脆弱性的主要原因为林地减少和耕地增加。从保护生态环境角度,控制耕地增加和林地减少是有效防范措施。     

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。