A framework to assess quality and uncertainty in disaster loss data

There is a growing interest in the systematic and consistent collection of disasterloss data for different applications. Therefore, the collected data must follow a set oftechnical requirements to guarantee its usefulness. One of those requirements is theavailability of a measure of the uncertainty in the collected data to express its quality for agiven purpose. Many of the existing disaster loss databases do not provide such uncertainty/qualitymeasures due to the lack of a simple and consistent approach to expressuncertainty. After reviewing existing literature on the subject, a framework to express theuncertainty in disaster loss data is proposed. This framework builds on an existinguncertainty classification that was updated and combined with an existing method for datacharacterization. The proposed approach is able to establish a global score that reflects theoverall uncertainty in a certain loss indicator and provides a measure of its quality

Framework to Model PSS Collaborative Value Networks and Assess Uncertainty of Their Economic Models

Part 15: Collaborative Decision-Making in Value Creation NetworksInternational audienceThis paper presents a framework for addressing the challenge of economic value sharing among actors of Product-Service value networks. More specifically the framework is dedicated to the assessment of alternative collaborative value networks and their associated economic models, at the time of designing a product-service system (PSS). The framework includes three main components: modelling, simulation and uncertainty assessment. The framework is briefly presented as parts of its components were discussed in previous research. The paper provides an illustration with a design project of a PSS solution in the agro-alimentary industry, requiring a balanced configuration of collaborative value network

Palaeoenvironments during a terminal Oligocene or early Miocene transgression in a fluvial system at the southwestern tip of Africa

A multi-proxy study of an offshore core in Saldanha Bay (South Africa) provides new insights into fluvial deposition, ecosystems, phytogeography and sea-level history during the late Paleogene-early Neogene. Offshore seismic data reveal bedrock topography, and provide evidence of relative sea levels as low as − 100 m during the Oligocene. 3D landscape reconstruction reveals hills, plains and an anastomosing river system. A Chattian or early Miocene age for the sediments is inferred from dinoflagellate taxa Distatodinium craterum, Chiropteridium lobospinosum, Homotryblium plectilum and Impagidinium paradoxum. The subtropical forest revealed by palynology includes lianas and vines, evergreen trees, palms and ferns, implying higher water availability than today, probably reduced seasonal drought and stronger summer rainfall. From topography, sedimentology and palynology we reconstruct Podocarpaceae-dominated forests, Proto-Fynbos, and swamp/riparian forests with palms and other angiosperms. Rhizophoraceae present the first South African evidence of Palaeogene/Neogene mangroves. Subtropical woodland-thicket with Combretaceae and Brachystegia (Peregrinipollis nigericus) probably developed on coastal plains. Some of the last remaining Gondwana elements on the sub-continent, e.g., Araucariaceae, are recorded. Charred particles signal fires prior to the onset of summer dry climate at the Cape. Marine and terrestrial palynomorphs, together with organic and inorganic geochemical proxy data, suggest a gradual glacio-eustatic transgression. The data shed light on Southern Hemisphere biogeography and regional climatic conditions at the Palaeogene-Neogene transition. The proliferation of the vegetation is partly ascribed to changes in South Atlantic oceanographic circulation, linked to the closure of the Central American Seaway and the onset of the Benguela Current ~ 14 Ma

Sustainable 3D Printing: Design Opportunities and Research Perspectives

As 3D Printing process, technologies and tools are rapidly becoming pervasive and used both in industrial and in non-industrial contexts, the risk to have new unsustainable printing processes and production’s behaviours is high and, potentially, can led to the increasing of environmental emergency (unsustainable growth). On the other hand, Design for Sustainability works, since late 80’s, on the mitigation of production’s environmental foot-print and, recently, on the development of socio-technical systems and distributed hybrid solutions empowering both environmental aspects and socio-economic ones. This paper investigates the new concept of Sustainable 3D Printing using recent Design for Sustainability’s research theories and design approaches, in order to evaluate, and later describes, promising design opportunities and research perspectives that can be used and taken into account, simultaneously, by designers, researchers, entrepreneurs and policymakers to support the societal transition toward sustainable ways of design, production and consumption

Predicting the Relationship Between Virtual Enterprises in an Agile Supply Chain through Structural Equation Modelling

Virtual enterprises are formed in response to turbulent market conditions and are influenced by factors such as the changing relationship between customers and suppliers, the spread of agile supply chains and shorter product life cycles. Research suggests that successful virtual co-operation and supply chain agility are best achieved when the core capabilities of the partners are complementary. This paper therefore investigates the relationship between virtual enterprises in supply chains and provides further insights into the factors affecting agility. A hypothetical model is developed to examine the factors and a structural equation model is used to test the hypotheses, based on survey data from virtual enterprises in Mongolia. The structural equation model uses exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis. The results provide empirical evidence of the ability of the model to predict benefits arising from the formation of the virtual enterprise