STRESS-STRAIN CAPACITY ANALYSIS FOR THE IMPACT OF NATURAL DISASTERS ON COUPLED INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES

Infrastructure facilities serve as the backbone of the communities and industries by sustaining social and economic activities through their services. However, the physical impact of a disaster can have an adverse effect on the functioning of the infrastructure. In addition, the affected infrastructure facilities are unable to adequately meet the needs of the community immediately after the disaster. Thus, to compensate for gaps in services, infrastructure facilities are likely to run their systems, such that it puts additional stress on their resources that exceeds their designed capacities at the expense of level of service. For example, after the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010, disrupted utility services, limited available road networks, and the lack of civic governance influenced the capacity of all essential service providers such as hospitals. Furthermore, the hospitals that were impacted by the earthquake had limited resources, such as water and power utility for operating the hospitals, beds for patients, medical staff, and medical supplies, to meet the increased health needs of the community. As a result, the hospitals in Haiti had to put excessive stress on their available resources, as their remaining capacities were not enough to accommodate the increased number of patients without assistance from NGOs or other external entities. If the emergency managers of the hospitals were able to evaluate their remaining capacities based on the excessive stress so that they could make appropriate strategies for mitigating the excessive stress ahead of time, the infrastructure facility would have serviced the affected communities more efficiently

2019 international consensus on cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care science with treatment recommendations : summary from the basic life support; advanced life support; pediatric life support; neonatal life support; education, implementation, and teams; and first aid task forces

The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation has initiated a continuous review of new, peer-reviewed, published cardiopulmonary resuscitation science. This is the third annual summary of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations. It addresses the most recent published resuscitation evidence reviewed by International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation Task Force science experts. This summary addresses the role of cardiac arrest centers and dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the role of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation in adults and children, vasopressors in adults, advanced airway interventions in adults and children, targeted temperature management in children after cardiac arrest, initial oxygen concentration during resuscitation of newborns, and interventions for presyncope by first aid providers. Members from 6 International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation task forces have assessed, discussed, and debated the certainty of the evidence on the basis of the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation criteria, and their statements include consensus treatment recommendations. Insights into the deliberations of the task forces are provided in the Justification and Evidence to Decision Framework Highlights sections. The task forces also listed priority knowledge gaps for further research

Quantifying the effects of modelling choices on hospital efficiency measures: A meta-regression analysis

It has often been argued that the results of efficiency analyses in health care are influenced by the modelling choices made by the researchers involved. In this paper we use meta-regression analysis in an attempt to quantify the degree to which modelling factors influence efficiency estimates. The data set is derived from 253 estimated models reported in 95 empirical analyses of hospital efficiency in the 22-year period from 1987 to 2008. A meta-regression model is used to investigate the degree to which differences in mean efficiency estimates can be explained by factors such as: sample size; dimension (number of variables); parametric versus non-parametric method; returns to scale (RTS) assumptions; functional form; error distributional form; input versus output orientation; cost versus technical efficiency measure; and cross-sectional versus panel data. Sample size, dimension and RTS are found to have statistically significant effects at the 1% level. Sample size has a negative (and diminishing) effect on efficiency; dimension has a positive (and diminishing) effect; while the imposition of constant returns to scale has a negative effect. These results can be used in improving the policy relevance of the empirical results produced by hospital efficiency studies.

East and Southeast Asia Regional Labor Research Report

CCC_East_and_South_East_Asia_Regional_Research_Rep.pdf: 2398 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Vertical Integration in the Taiwan Aquaculture Industry

The study aims to improve the distribution channels in the Taiwan aquaculture industry through a better vertical integration. This study is derived from a need to improve the distribution performance of agricultural-based industries in response to increasing food demands in Asia and elsewhere. Based on a four-by-eight matrix derived from both a value chain and a service profit chain, thirty different strategies are developed. This development is based on key success factors and strategies for vertical integration interviewed and cited in the literatures. The findings are identified by applying the Gray Relational Analysis (GRA). For this study, the key success factors for aquaculture wholesale markets include the communication, integration and cohesion of opinion within the wholesale market; government support; andmutual trust between members of the vertical integration scheme. The suitable vertical integration strategies are an improved safety and hygiene inspection of aquaculture products, accuracy of aquaculture product categorization, and precision in product weighing.aquaculture industry, grey relational analysis (GRA), channels integration

Engagement Amid Austerity: A Bipartisan Approach to Reorienting the International Affairs Budget

Examines trends that influence U.S. foreign aid and proposes reforms to better target economic and security assistance, transition ownership of PEPFAR to host countries, overhaul food aid, and establish an international affairs realignment commission

Examining Tourism Resilience Practices as basis for a Post-Covid 19 Recovery in the Philippines

This study examined the concepts and practices of tourism resilience vis-à-vis its vulnerability from shocks and external forces such as natural disasters, climate change, catastrophic events, and virus outbreaks (SARS, Ebola, and recently, the Corona Virus or COVID-19). Espousing a grounded perspective on resilience as emerging from this new phenomenon that is yet to be explored and analyzed, several studies and theories of tourism resilience were reviewed. These are: resilience cycle or "Holling Loop"; the different types of resilience with an emphasis on adaptation and transformation; resilience as adaptation, anticipation, and preparedness from shocks. In addition, this study synthesized the different approaches of selected countries that already went through past virus outbreaks focusing on China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong's post-SARS recovery actions, and the community resilience of Africa against the Ebola virus. From these literature reviews, insights were drawn for policy and planning considerations of the government and other stakeholders to adopt multi-level strategies that are sustainable, inclusive, adaptive, and innovative. Tourism recovery plans should also be centered on the solidarity of actions and resilience through systematic adaptation and transformation

Investigation of Lab Fire Prevention Management System of Combining Root Cause Analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process with Event Tree Analysis

This paper proposed a new approach, combining root cause analysis (RCA), analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and event tree analysis (ETA) in a loop to systematically evaluate various laboratory safety prevention strategies. First, 139 fire accidents were reviewed to identify the root causes and draw out prevention strategies. Most fires were caused due to runaway reactions, operation error and equipment failure, and flammable material release. These mostly occurred in working places of no prompt fire protection. We also used AHP to evaluate the priority of these strategies and found that chemical fire prevention strategy is the most important control element, and strengthening maintenance and safety inspection intensity is the most important action. Also together with our surveys results, we proposed that equipment design is also critical for fire prevention. Therefore a technical improvement was propounded: installing fire detector, automatic sprinkler, and manual extinguisher in the lab hood as proactive fire protections. ETA was then used as a tool to evaluate laboratory fire risks. The results indicated that the total risk of a fire occurring decreases from 0.0351 to 0.0042 without/with equipment taking actions. Establishing such system can make Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S) office not only analyze and prioritize fire prevention policies more practically, but also demonstrate how effective protective equipment improvement can achieve and the probabilities of the initiating event developing into a serious accident or controlled by the existing safety system