644 research outputs found

    Developing novel optimization and machine learning frameworks to improve and assess the safety of workplaces

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    This study proposes several decision-making tools utilizing optimization and machine learning frameworks to assess and improve the safety of the workplaces. The first chapter of this study presents a novel mathematical model to optimally locate a set of detectors to minimize the expected number of casualties in a given threat area. The problem is formulated as a nonlinear binary integer programming model and then solved as a linearized branch-and-bound algorithm. Several sensitivity analyses illustrate the model\u27s robustness and draw key managerial insights. One of the prevailing threats in the last decades, Active Shooting (AS) violence, poses a serious threat to public safety. The second chapter proposes an innovative mathematical model which captures several essential features (e.g., the capacity of the facility and individual choices, heterogeneity of individual behavioral and choice sets, restriction on choice sets depending on the location of the shooter and facility orientation, and many others) which are essential for appropriately characterizing and analyzing the response strategy for civilians under an AS exposed environment. We demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model by implementing the effectiveness of the RUN.HIDE.FIGHT.Âź (RHF) program in an academic environment. Given most of the past incidents took place in built environments (e.g., educational and commercial buildings), there is an urgent need to methodologically assess the safety of the buildings under an active shooter situation. Finally, the third chapter aims to bridge this knowledge gap by developing a learning technique that can be used to model the behavior of the shooter and the trapped civilians in an active shooter incident. Understanding how the civilians responded to different simulated environments, a number of actions could have been undertaken to bolster the safety measures of a given facility. Finally, this study provides a customized decision-making tool that adopts a tailored maximum entropy inverse reinforcement learning algorithm and utilizes safety measurement metrics, such as the percentage of civilians who can hide/exit in/from the system, to assess a workplace\u27s safety under an active shooter incident

    Uncertainty and transparency:augmenting modelling and prediction for crisis response

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    Emergencies are characterised by uncertainty. This motivates the design of information systems that model and predict complex natural, material or human processes to support understanding and reduce uncertainty through prediction. The correspondence between system models and reality, however, is also governed by uncertainties, and designers have developed methods to render ‘the world’ transparent in ways that can inform, fine-tune and validate models. Additionally, people experience uncertainties in their use of simulation and prediction systems. This is a major obstacle to effective utilisation. We discuss ethically and socially motivated demands for transparency

    Assessing, Managing, and Financing Extreme Events: Dealing with Terrorism

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    This paper discusses new challenges we face with terrorism as a catastrophic risk by focusing on risk assessment, risk management as well as risk financing issues. The special characteristics of terrorism compared with major natural hazards call for the development of public-private partnerships, as recognized in November 2002 when the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (TRIA) was passed. This paper shows, however, that the temporary insurance system established by TRIA is neither a complete answer nor a definitive one. It raises fundamental questions for U.S. insurers as to how they will estimate the risk in order to set premiums for terrorist coverage that they now must offer to their clients. We discuss some of the most recent developments of terrorism models for helping insurers and reinsurers assess the premiums they should charge and how much coverage they can assume as well as for firms to better understand their exposure. Since the passage of TRIA, the current level of demand for insurance coverage has remained low and we discuss some factors that may contribute to it. After presenting alternative foreign public-private partnerships and discussing the potential role for terrorist catastrophe bonds, we provide some features of a more sustainable program for terrorism insurance in the U.S. after December 31, 2005.

    Expanding the Gordon-Loeb Model to Cyber-Insurance

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    We present an economic model for decisions on competing cyber-security and cyber-insurance investment based on the Gordon-Loeb model for investment in information security. We consider a one-period scenario in which a firm may invest in information security measures to reduce the probability of a breach, in cyber-insurance or in a combination of both. The optimal combination of investment and insurance under the assumptions of the Gordon-Loeb model is investigated via consideration of the costs and benefits of investment in security alongside purchasing insurance at an independent premium rate. Under both exponential (constant absolute risk aversion) and logarithmic (constant relative risk aversion) utility functions it is found that when the insurance premium is below a certain value, utility is maximised with insurance and security investment. These results suggest that cyber-insurance is a worthwhile undertaking provided it is not overly costly. We believe this model to be the first attempt to integrate the Gordon-Loeb model into a classical microeconomic analysis of insurance, particularly using the Gordon-Loeb security breach functions to determine the probability of an insurance claim. The model follows the tradition of the Gordon-Loeb model in being accessible to practitioners and decision makers in information security

    Analysis on collision accidents and maritime autonomous surface ships

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    Asymmetrical deterrence for NBC terrorism

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    Cataloged from PDF version of article.The aim of this thesis is to analyze the framework of deterrence theory whether it may be suited to the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) terrorism as an asymmetrical threat. As a methodology, mainly qualitative means were applied. This thesis will argue that though the classical deterrence theory was primarily created for inter-state relations, its main premises and newly transformed features –due to the post-cold war era- can be applied on the asymmetrical relations between states and terrorist organizations which would initiate to use NBC material in particular. In the analysis of the problem of managing asymmetrical deterrence through revisiting orthodox ground of deterrence; the nature of the new threat and critics of classical theory of deterrence were discussed together to shape a unique asymmetrical deterrence. In conclusion, this thesis was finalized with the argument that to overcome the deficiencies of prevention models against asymmetrical threats as well as to remove obstacles for conducting a feasible deterrence theory against asymmetrical threats; benefiting from the deconstruction of classical deterrence theory is necessary in terms of recalling the concepts of rationality, capability and credibility.Ece, BerkM.S

    Three essays on political economy and economic development

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    This thesis consists of three independent chapters. The ïŹrst chapter examines the strategic choices of the targets and the intensity of violence by rebel groups. The chapter presents a theoretical framework that links a rebel group’s targeting decisions to income shocks. It highlights that this relationship depends on the structure of the rebels’ tax base. The hypotheses from the model are tested in the context of India’s Naxalite conïŹ‚ict. The second chapter estimates the impact of military recruitment on human capital accumulation in colonial Punjab. In this context, I ïŹnd that higher military recruitment was associated with increased literacy at the district-religion level. The ïŹnal chapter presents a model that describes the optimal design of civil-military institutions in a setting where some control of the military over domestic politics is deemed desirable

    Dead Letter Law Arising from Strategic Choices: The Difficulty of Achieving Accountability for the Jus in Bello Rules on Proportionality and Precautions in Attack

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    The jus in bello proportionality rule establishes an upper boundary on how much collateral damage combatants can cause whilst striking a lawful target and its associated rule on precautions in attack compels them to take all feasible measures to properly understand the situation on the ground and to mitigate civilian harm. Proportionality and precautions in attack have been codified in API for over forty years, but in that time, it has been difficult to hold troops and their leaders accountable for breaches of these rules. In this study, I examine several reasons for why these rules have been difficult to apply ex post by considering the strategic motivations of state officials and prosecutors. Specifically, I propose a game-theoretic model which describes the decisions that state officials and prosecutors have historically made, and I explore what changes to this model would prompt these actors to behave differently. The model was developed using insights gained from legal case studies, archival research and a series of interviews with relevant actors. It suggests, inter alia, that to induce state officials to support a stricter liability standard for unlawful attacks, they must either ascribe much more value to legitimacy than to the success of future military operations, or they must perceive the success of future military operations to be unaffected by the possibility of losing criminal or civil adjudication. State officials may perceive losing a civil case based on state liability as being less likely to affect the success of future military operations compared with criminal liability against individual troops. Therefore, state officials may be inclined to support a stricter civil liability standard, if they believed it would help the state to secure greater legitimacy

    Dead Letter Law Arising from Strategic Choices: The Difficulty of Achieving Accountability for the Jus in Bello Rules on Proportionality and Precautions in Attack

    Get PDF
    The jus in bello proportionality rule establishes an upper boundary on how much collateral damage combatants can cause whilst striking a lawful target and its associated rule on precautions in attack compels them to take all feasible measures to properly understand the situation on the ground and to mitigate civilian harm. Proportionality and precautions in attack have been codified in API for over forty years, but in that time, it has been difficult to hold troops and their leaders accountable for breaches of these rules. In this study, I examine several reasons for why these rules have been difficult to apply ex post by considering the strategic motivations of state officials and prosecutors. Specifically, I propose a game-theoretic model which describes the decisions that state officials and prosecutors have historically made, and I explore what changes to this model would prompt these actors to behave differently. The model was developed using insights gained from legal case studies, archival research and a series of interviews with relevant actors. It suggests, inter alia, that to induce state officials to support a stricter liability standard for unlawful attacks, they must either ascribe much more value to legitimacy than to the success of future military operations, or they must perceive the success of future military operations to be unaffected by the possibility of losing criminal or civil adjudication. State officials may perceive losing a civil case based on state liability as being less likely to affect the success of future military operations compared with criminal liability against individual troops. Therefore, state officials may be inclined to support a stricter civil liability standard, if they believed it would help the state to secure greater legitimacy
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