Logistics service provider selection for disaster preparation: a socio-technical systems perspective

Since 1990s, the world has seen a lot of advances in providing humanitarian aid through sophisticated logistics operations. The current consensus seems to be that humanitarian relief organizations (HROs) can improve their relief operations by collaborating with logistics service providers (CLSPs) in the commercial sector. The question remains: how can HROs select the most appropriate CLSP for disaster preparation? Despite its practical significance, no explicit effort has been done to identify the criteria/factors in prioritising and selecting a CLSP for disaster relief. The present study aims to address this gap by consolidating the list of criteria from a socio-technical systems (STS) perspective. Then, to handle the interdependence among the criteria derived from the STS, we develop a hybrid multi-criteria decision making model for CLSP selection in the disaster preparedness stage. The proposed model is then evaluated by a real-life case study, providing insights into the decision-makers in both HROs and CLSPs

The impact of impoundment on the rotifer communities in two tropical floodplain environments: interannual pulse variations

Hydrological pulses are the main factor regulating the structure of biological communities in floodplains. Reservoirs above this ecosystem change the environment's dynamics and the community's biodiversity. This study evaluated the structure and stability of the rotifer community in response to changes in hydrological pulses after the Porto Primavera impoundment in the Upper Paraná River floodplain. The community was studied in a river and in a floodplain lake downstream of the dam over a four-year period before and after the impoundment. A decrease in species richness and abundance was observed soon after the impoundment, followed by an increase in these attributes and in specific diversity when the hydrometric level of the Paraná River rose and, consequently, increased the connectivity between the floodplain environments. Conochilus coenobasis, Filinia longiseta, Keratella cochlearis, Lecane proiecta and Polyarthra dolichoptera persisted throughout the study and contributed to community stability (the maintenance of rank in species abundance over time), which was high in the floodplain lake, mainly after the impoundment. Reductions in the frequency, intensity and amplitude of potamophase pulses after the impoundment led to the decrease in species richness and the increases in abundance, community stability, and species diversity, which determine community resilience