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The number and scale of natural and man-made disasters is increasing at an unprecedented rate, leading to devastating consequences for citizens, governments and entire economies. In response, Humanitarian Supply Chains (HSC) are used as a means of reducing suffering and saving lives. HSCs manage and deliver aid to those in need after a disaster strikes and exist only for the period of the relief operation. With reduced budgets there is an impetus to investigate technological innovations that offer increased efficiencies and reduced costs. One such innovation is information and communications technology (ICT); currently under-utilized by HSCs. This paper investigates the benefits, barriers and enablers of increased ICT adoption in HSCs and offers solutions most suited to their needs. The study develops a matrix that identifies the enablers and barriers of implementing innovative ICT and highlights associated managerial implications and suggested areas for future research.

Purpose: Currently there is no universally accepted approach to supply chain risk management and assurance. To begin to shed more light on the practical operational challenges presented when considering supply chain risk mitigation through the sharing of information, this paper discusses the results of an empirical study conducted with manufacturing supply chain professionals. The study examines state-of-the-art challenges to managing risk in today's supply chains by reporting on data collected in 2021. Design/methodology/approach: To develop a rich picture of the challenges of information sharing in multi-tier supply chains, the authors adopted a qualitative research design. The authors conducted 14 interviews with supply chain professionals and ran two focus groups that were industry specific: one focused on the nuclear industry and the other on automotive. Findings: The study identifies contemporary practical challenges to information sharing in supply chains – specifically challenges related to data quality and the acceptance of sub-optimal normative supply chain practices, which have consequences for supplier assurance fatigue and supply chain transparency. Originality/value: The topical and contemporary study shows how an acceptance of the normative practices of a supply chain can have a cumulative effect on the likelihood of supply chain disruption due to shortcomings in approaches to information sharing. The notion of the acceptance of the status quo in this context has received limited research attention, and hence offers an extension to current discourse on supply chain risk and resilience.

This paper presents an experimental approach that examines the response of non-architects to three virtual representations of architecture within a non- immersive Virtual Reality (VR) environment. It investigates the use of current digital technologies in their ability to facilitate early design stage sketch representation and explores the communication of early stage digital design proposals in order to determine the effect of representation type upon perception.