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Globally, wildfires are increasing in extent, frequency, and severity. Although global climate change is a major driver and large-scale governance interventions are essential, focusing on governance at smaller scales is of great importance for fostering resilience to wildfires. Inherent tensions in managing wildfire risk are evident at such scales, as objectives and mandates may conflict, and trade-offs and impacts vary across ecosystems and communities. Our study feeds into debates about how to manage wildfire risk to life and property in a way that does not undermine biodiversity and amenity values in social-ecological systems. Here, we describe a case study where features of adaptive governance emerged organically from a dedicated planning process for wildfire governance in Australia. We found that a governance process that is context specific, allows for dialogue about risk, benefits, and trade-offs, and allows for responsibility and risk to be distributed amongst many different actors, can provide the conditions needed to break down rigidity traps that constrain adaptation. The process enabled actors to question whether the default risk management option (in this case, prescribed burning) is aligned with place-based risks and values so they could make an informed choice, built from their participation in the governance process. Ultimately, the community supported a move away from prescribed burning in favor of other wildfire risk management strategies. We found that the emergent governance system has many features of adaptive governance, even though higher level governance has remained resistant to change. Our study offers positive insights for other governments around the world interested in pursuing alternative strategies to confronting wildfire risk.

Rail transportation is one of the most efficient ways of transporting goods and passengers. Alongside modern and reliable infrastructure systems, special emphasis is placed on the reliability, availability, and safety of rail vehicles. The draw gear device plays a pivotal role in ensuring operational safety and efficiency. However, failures within this system can lead to catastrophic consequences, compromising the safety of both passengers and goods. This paper analyzes the root causes and impacts of draw gear failures on rail vehicle safety through a comprehensive analysis of historical data, current data, and simulation of failure by numerical analysis. The analysis reveals that draw gear failures stem from various factors, including material fatigue, design deficiencies, improper maintenance, and operational conditions. These failures can result in the breakage of elements that can cause derailments, collisions, and other accidents. Such incidents pose significant risks to human life, property, and the environment. Furthermore, the economic implications of such failures, including repair costs, service disruptions, and legal liabilities, underscore the importance of proactive mitigation strategies. By identifying common failure modes and their underlying mechanisms, this research provides valuable information and data for enhancing the reliability and safety of draw gear systems. Results obtained from these analyses can be used to improve design, material selection and characteristics, maintenance, and monitoring technologies. Additionally, the analyzed data emphasize the importance of industry collaboration in mitigating the risks associated with draw gear failures and ensuring the continued safety and efficiency of rail transportation systems.

Thematic investments refer to an investment strategy that focuses on specific themes or trends expected to benefit from long-term structural shifts in the economy, society, or the environment. These investments are driven by changes and trends in various areas. Insight into which companies are exposed to specific trends can be used to mitigate risks in portfolio construction while potentially increasing returns. A commonly used classification system is the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS). While GICS classifies companies in terms of sectors and industries there might be other, more implicit themes that reach beyond such classification structures. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate whether a better classification of companies based on thematic trends can be found by studying their earnings calls, with emphasize on environmental, social and governance (ESG) themes. In this master's thesis we will examine whether it is possible to use natural language processing and topic modeling, more specifically BERTopic and earnings calls, to gain a better understanding of the thematic trends companies are exposed to. These exposures then form the basis for thematic baskets, and are evaluated to determine if the new cohesion of companies contributes to better classification. This is done by creating a new "industry", added to the original classifications, using the thematic baskets, and measuring the change in average distance of returns between the new and original classification. If the new average distance is greater than the original, a better classification has been identified. The results show that the new grouping of companies based on their thematic exposure can improve classification, as the average distance between industries has increased and the groups are more internally homogeneous. Therefore, the companies in the baskets are better classified in terms of their price movements since they are exposed to similar thematic trends, albeit with some

Over the past decade, the Swedish pension funds AP1, AP2, AP3, and AP4 have significantly increased their capital allocation towards unlisted real estate. This study explores the investment strategies of these AP funds, examining the methods used in asset class investments, risk mitigation measures, responses to macroeconomic threats, and investment returns. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research integrates semi-structured interviews with fund representatives and statistical analysis of data from annual reports. Findings indicate that the AP funds have capitalized on post-financial crisis real estate market dynamics, particularly evident in investments initiated in the years after the crisis. Notably, AP1, AP3, and AP4 have gained good returns through sector diversification, contrasting with AP2’s less successful geographic diversification. Investments are primarily direct or joint ventures in unlisted real estate firms, avoiding PERE-funds due to their shorter holding periods and high costs. Risk is mitigated through extended holding periods, strategic partner selection, board involvement, and analysis of megatrends. The low risk-free rate environment that has been in Sweden for the last decade has significantly supported the unrealized returns from the investments. Future capital allocation should focus on non-competing sectors, reinvestments in existing assets, and identification of new trends to enhance sector investability., Under det senaste decenniet har de svenska pensionsfonderna AP1, AP2, AP3 och AP4 ökat sin tillgångsallokering avsevärt i onoterade fastigheter. Denna studie utforskar investeringsstrategierna för dessa AP-fonder och granskar de metoder som används i investeringarna i tillgångsklassen, vilka åtgärder som görs för riskminimering samt hur makroekonomiska hot minimeras och vilka avkastningarna investeringarna gett. Genom att använda en blandad metod använder studien semistrukturerade intervjuer med fondrepresentanter och statistisk analys av data från årsredovisningar. Resultaten visar att AP-fonderna har kapitaliserat på dynamiken på fastighetsmarknaden efter finanskrisen, särskilt tydligt i investeringar som initierades åren efter krisen. Noterbart är att AP1, AP3 och AP4 har uppnått betydande avkastningar genom sektordiversifiering, i kontrast till AP2:s mindre framgångsrika geografiska diversifiering. Investeringarna sker främst direkt eller via klubbstrukturer i onoterade fastighetsföretag, där PERE-fonder undviks på grund av deras kortare hållperioder och oproportionerliga kostnader. Riskminimering uppnås genom långa investeringshorisonter, strategiskt partnerurval, styrelseengagemang och analys av megatrender. Den låga riskfria räntemiljön som varit i Sverige det senaste decenniet har avsevärt stöttat de orealiserade avkastningarna från investeringarna. Framtida kapitalallokeringar bör fokusera på icke-konkurrerande sektorer, återinvesteringar i befintliga bolag och identifiering av nya trender för att hitta sektorer som blivit investerbara.

Globally, there is a need for insurance systems to undergo significant transformations in mechanisms, costs, and risk distribution due to changes in risk levels involving weather and climate changes affecting real estate properties. In commercial and residential real estate markets, insurance mechanisms for risk reduction, risk transfer, and insurance policy pricing are a central component of the migration of flood risks and their impact on real estate in the context of rising climate-related risks. The study analyzes the key factors and mechanisms (costs, pricing policies, risk perceptions, and risk-sharing strategies) influencing the insurance function for mitigating risk in the housing market. The study evaluates insurance mechanisms (pricing strategies, risk perceptions, risk sharing, and risk reduction) and addresses their impact on themigration of flood risk in the housing market. Further, the study analyzes various international policies to identify commonalities, differences, strengths, and weaknesses. By examining insurance mechanisms, the findings of this research guide and inform property owners, developers, and insurance companies of pricing strategies, risk assessments, and insurance policies. The study consists of semi-structured interviews and document reviews for content analysis of insurance policies, reports, risk-sharing strategies, and climate reports to identify patterns, trends, and factors influencing changing insurance mechanisms considering the migration of flood risk in real estate. The interviews with real estate companies, government agencies, and insurance companies provide insights into the current insurance mechanisms employed and theanticipated changes in insurance mechanisms within the foreseeable future. The results show that integrating climate risk management into the housing market is both a challenge and an opportunity. By embracing collaboration, innovation, and forward-thinking strategies, stakeholders can navigate the complex, Globalt finns det ett behov av att försäkringssystem genomgår betydande förändringar i dess mekanismer, kostnader och riskfördelning på grund av förändringarna i risknivåer som involverar väder- och klimatförändringar, vilket påverkar fastigheter. I kommersiella fastigheter och bostadsfastigheter har försäkringsmekanismer för riskminskning, risköverföring och prissättning av försäkringar varit en central komponent i migrationen av översvämningsrisker och deras inverkan på fastigheter i samband med tillväxten av klimatrelaterade risker. Studien analyserar nyckelfaktorer och mekanismer (kostnader, prissättningspolicyer, riskuppfattningar ochriskdelningsstrategier) som påverkar försäkringsfunktionen för att minska risken på bostadsmarknaden. Studien utvärderar försäkringsmekanismer (prissättningsstrategier, riskuppfattningar, riskdelning och riskminskning) och behandlar deras inverkan på migrationen av översvämningsrisker på bostadsmarknaden. Vidare analyserar studien olika internationella policyer för att identifiera gemensamma drag, skillnader, styrkor och svagheter. Genom att undersöka försäkringsmekanismer kan resultaten av denna studie leda och informera fastighetsägare, utvecklare och försäkringsbolag om prissättningsstrategier, riskbedömningar och försäkringspolicyer. Studien består av semistrukturerade intervjuer och dokumentgranskningar för innehållsanalys av försäkringspolicyer, rapporter, riskdelningsstrategier och klimatrapporter för att identifiera mönster, trender och faktorer som påverkar förändrade försäkringsmekanismer med hänsyn till migrationen av översvämningsrisk i fastigheter. Intervjuerna genomförs med fastighetsbolag, myndigheter och försäkringsbolag för att få insikt om de nuvarande försäkringsmekanismerna som används och de förväntade förändringarna av dem inom överskådlig framtid. Resultaten visar att det är både en utmaning och en möjlighet att integrera klimatriskhantering påbostadsmarknaden. Genom samarbete, innovation och framförhållande

Teleoperation is increasingly valued for its costeffectiveness and safety benefits in managing workflows acrossindustries like harbor automation, construction, transportationand logistics, mining, and forestry. Ensuring the safe operation ofheavy machinery involves effectively transferring and visualizingthe vehicle’s state and surroundings to remote operators for realtime tasks. Multi-camera video-based environment perceptionand state knowledge are crucial but bandwidth-intensive. Toaddress this, integrating computing functions at the edge isvital. This paper presents ”edge on wheels,” a system designusing the YOLO model for object detection/depth perceptiontasks. We divide the design into edge and cloud components,where offloading decisions on edge and cloud are based onworkload, task priority, and network quality. Finally, we discusschallenges and future enhancements for real-time object detectionin teleoperated driving scenarios.

This study addresses the valuation challenges of private unlisted loan investmentsby implementing a valuation model to estimate the market value of such financialinstrument. In collaboration with Alecta, Sweden’s largest occupational pensionfund, a Monte Carlo-based valuation model was developed in Python. A sensitivityanalysis was also conducted in order to capture the dynamics between theinstrument’s value and the different input parameters. Results from implementing the model demonstrate its ability to providevaluations under varying economic scenarios, highlighting the model’s sensitivityto changes in relevant economic variables. The study establishes a foundational basis for additional research that could,for example, improve the model’s capability to capture the characteristics ofsuch financial instruments. This could include exploring additional parametersthat may be incorporated and examining the reasonableness of the underlyingassumptions., Denna studie behandlar utmaningarna kopplade till värdering av privataonoterade låneinvesteringar genom att implementera en värderingsmodell föratt uppskatta marknadsvärdet av ett sådant instrument. I samarbete medAlecta, Sveriges största tjänstepensionsfond, utvecklades en Monte Carlo-baseradvärderingsmodell i Python. Dessutom genomfördes en känslighetsanalys för attfånga dynamiken mellan instrumentets värde och de olika in-parametrarna. Resultaten från implementeringen av modellen illustrerar dess förmåga atttillhandahålla värderingar under varierande ekonomiska scenarier och belysermodellens känslighet för förändringar i relevanta ekonomiska variabler. Studien banar väg för framtida forskning gällande exempelvis förbättring avmodellens förmåga att fånga egenskaperna av en låneinvestering. Framtidaforskning skulle exempelvis kunna undersöka implementering av ytterligare in-parametrar och granskningen av modellens underliggande antangaden.

The purpose of this thesis is to provide a fact-based, theoretically sound, and neutral study of the role project managers play in identifying risks within software project security and how they effectively mitigate these risks. Our paper primarily revolves around the question of “What are the key challenges associated with software projects concerning information security and what actions are taken by project managers to mitigate these?” To help answer this, we created two supporting questions. Our first stating “How do project managers determine the importance of security challenges in software projects, and what methods are used to identify the most critical challenges?” Our second question is “What practices are commonly implemented by project managers to mitigate the security challenges?” The main challenges we cover throughout our thesis are: General Data Protection, Technological Innovations, and Standards & Regulations. Understanding these challenges is crucial for project managers to successfully lead teams. In our paper, we discuss the importance of not only understanding these challenges but how to effectively mitigate them. For our methodology, we used the qualitative method of both structured and semi-structured interviews with experienced project managers and executives in various sectors of the software field with direct responsibility for incorporating and establishing information security within their projects. The interviews helped us gather a deeper understanding of the challenges faced and mitigation strategies they implemented through their years of experience. Through the use of our theoretical frameworks, we discuss the efficiency of mitigation practices used by project managers as a result of project priorities. In our conclusion, we answer our research questions and identify key challenges and mitigation methods of these problems. Our study contributes to the software industry by providing a comprehensive framework for effectively ide

This paper explores the role of risk management during the pre-production phase of film projects. The purpose is to find the key risk management factors in film production and find which actions top management takes in the pre-production phase to mitigate these. To address this, the following research questions are used: (1) What are the key risks associated with film projects, and what actions are taken by top management to mitigate these?Followed by our sub-questions of, (2) How are risks identified in the pre-production of film projects? (3) How does communication and stakeholder engagement contribute to risk mitigation in film projects? (4) Which are the most common and recommended risk mitigation strategies? The central problem addressed in this paper is the lack of a comprehensive understanding of how risk management practices can contribute to mitigating risks in film projects. To explore this issue, we use a qualitative research methodology, including semi-structured interviews with five top management professionals in the film industry. The interviews aimed at gathering in-depth insights into their experiences and practices related to risk management during the pre-production phase. The data collected was analyzed using thematic analysis. Our research identified key risks in film projects and what methods top management uses to identify these risks in pre-production. Furthermore, we present how communication and stakeholder management contribute to risk management in pre- production. Lastly, we provide the most common risk mitigation strategies applied in the film industry. Our findings offer practical recommendations for professionals in the film industry and for up-and-coming producers and directors who want ground pillars to stand on when starting a film project. Furthermore, our findings contribute to the existing risk management literature by focusing on a not-so-well-studied subject, namely risk management, in the film's pre-production phase.

This article examines the current state of cost-benefit analysis and its limitations. The review was completed by looking at current literature of cost-benefit analysis with the most up to date developments. Currently, it faces known challenges in quantifying subjective human elements, incommensurable costs and benefits, difficulty in measuring and discounting future benefits and costs, and the potential lack of impartiality in regulatory settings. However, this article uniquely addresses a paradox in the analysis process itself related to the discovery of new information. Methods to mitigate risk and uncertainty, such as sensitivity analysis, Monte Carlo simulations, and scenario analysis, are analyzed. Additionally, quasi-option value is addressed as it relates the discovery of new information. Despite these approaches to mitigate uncertainty, uncertainty remains a fundamental challenge in achieving true optimality through cost-benefit analysis. However, it is found that despite the paradox identified in this article, it can still be a useful tool in evaluating decision alternatives.

problematic financing (bad credit) for customers due to the death of customers and customers whose businesses go bankrupt, resulting in losses for the Sharia Pawnshop, Margonda Depok Branch, as the guarantor of the financing.This research aims to determine the implementation of the contract, determine the implementation of the kafalah contract at the Margonda Depok Branch Sharia Pawnshop and to determine the role of the kafalah contract in transaction guarantees, identify the risks that arise in the kafalah contract and the extent of its contribution in mitigating risks for customers and pawnshops.The type of research used in this thesis is descriptive qualitative research with a case study approach. The analytical tool used is the Miles and Huberman model. The results of this research show that 1) The implementation of the kafalah contract in Pegadaian Syariah products, Margonda Depok Branch is running in accordance with fatwa No.11/DSN-MUI/VI/2000 concerning kafalah and its application is in micro financing products. 2) The role of the kafalah contract in guaranteeing transactions on sharia pawnshop products is to provide guarantees for payment of customer debts in the event of default or inability to pay debts and help prevent both parties involved from losses and injustice, mitigating risks in products that use the kafalah contract from the pawnshop. customers to Pegadaian Syariah Margonda Branch, namely: (a) regular monitoring, (b) backing up data digitally, (c) early identification of customer data, (d) socialization, (e) making binding agreements, Tingginya risiko pembiayaan bermasalah (kredit macet) akibat nasabah meninggal dunia dan nasabah yang usahanya bangkrut sehingga menimbulkan kerugian bagi pihak Pegadaian Syariah Cabang Margonda Depok selaku pihak penanggung pembiayaan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui peran akad kafalah dalam produk pegadaian syariah dan sejauh mana kontribusinya dalam memitigasi risiko bagi nasabah dan pegadaian. Jenis penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah deskriptif kualitatif dengan pendekatan studi kasus. Teknik analisis data yang digunakan adalah model Miles dan Huberman. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa 1) Implementasi akad kafalah pada produk Pegadaian Syariah Cabang Margonda Depok berjalan sesuai dengan fatwa No.11/DSN-MUI/VI/2000 tentang kafalah dan penerapannya terdapat pada produk pembiayaan mikro. 2) Peran akad kafalah dalam jaminan transaksi pada produk pegadaian syariah adalah untuk memberikan jaminan pembayaran hutang nasabah jika terjadi wanprestasi atau ketidakmampuan membayar hutang dan membantu menghindarkan kedua pihak yang terlibat dari kerugian dan kedzaliman, mitigasi risiko pada produk yang menggunakan akad kafalah dari pihak pegadaian atas nasabah kepada Pegadaian Syariah Cabang Margonda yaitu : (a) pemantauan secara berkala, (b) back up data secara digital, (c) identifikasi dini data nasabah, (d) sosialisasi, (e) membuat perjanjian yang mengikat

Objective: This study aims to identify the effects on learning for Internal Audit in mitigating the risk of corruption in companies involved in the Operation Car Wash, comparing before and after the event. Method: This research has a qualitative approach. The population consists of seven companies, large economic groups of Brazilian origin, and with operations in various countries. The chosen sample type was non-probabilistic due to accessibility. A semi-structured interview was conducted for 6 of the respondents, and 1 unstructured interview due to presenting different characteristics from the others. The script is divided into three dimensions, totaling 41 questions, applying content analysis technique, divided into four categories, according to the theory; Results: The results show the main lessons learned: (i) greater focus on mitigating the risk of corruption; (ii) prioritizing investments in increasing personnel, training, and technology; (iii) improvement in the efficiency and qualification of Internal Audit; and (iv) creation of business opportunities. Originality/Relevance: highlighting that the organization can learn from the punishments to which they were subjected and, in some cases, formulate new growth strategies. Theoretical/methodological contributions: This research is relevant for linking organizational learning with the sanctions incurred by Operation Car Wash, showing that Internal Audit plays a fundamental role in the fight against corruption and the mitigation of its risks; Social/management contributions: Companies can use this study to develop strategically when facing any type of compliance risk, Objetivo: Este estudo tem como objetivo identificar os efeitos na aprendizagem para a Auditoria Interna na mitigação do risco de corrupção em empresas envolvidas com a Operação Lava Jato, comparando o antes e o depois do evento. Método: Esta pesquisa tem abordagem qualitativa. A população é composta por sete empresas, grandes grupos econômicos de origem brasileira e com atuação em diversos países. O tipo de amostra escolhido foi a não-probabilística por acessibilidade. Com aplicação de entrevista semiestruturada para 6 dos respondentes e 1 entrevista não-estruturada por apresentar características diferentes das demais. O roteiro é dividido em três dimensões, no total de 41 questões, aplicando técnica de análise de conteúdo, divididas em quatro categorias, de acordo com a teoria. Resultados: Os resultados mostram as principais lições aprendidas: (i) maior foco na mitigação do risco de corrupção; (ii) priorização de investimentos no aumento de pessoal, treinamento e tecnologia; (iii) melhoria na eficiência e qualificação da Auditoria Interna; e (iv) criação de oportunidades de negócios. Originalidade/Relevância: evidenciando que a organização pode aprender com as punições as quais foram submetidas e, em alguns casos, formular novas estratégias de crescimento Contribuições teóricas/metodológicas: Esta pesquisa é relevante por relacionar a aprendizagem organizacional com as sanções incorridas pela Lava Jato, evidenciando que a Auditoria Interna tem um papel fundamental na luta de combate à corrupção e na mitigação de seus riscos. Contribuições sociais/para a gestão: As empresas podem utilizar este estudo para se desenvolver do ponto de vista estratégico quando possuem algum tipo de risco de compliance.

Protection structures play an important role in reducing risk in areas with high flood threats. These are considered important to identify emerging deficiencies and thus intervene effectively. The problem analyzed involves the comparison of reduction works focused on protection-oriented projects, that is, the reduction of the threat in areas of greater risk of flooding. The research objective is to compare types of protection works in areas with the highest risk of flooding in the Quebrada Tonchalá in the San José de Cucuta municipality. The method used in this research corresponds to the applied type, which is deeply related to basic research, since, although they depend on initial knowledge acquired, it is characterized by having a greater focus on the application of knowledge to practice. In addition to this, a multi-criteria analysis is carried out using the AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) method for the selection of the protection work for the study sector, this method focuses on evaluating the suitability based on different guidelines proposed for an adequate evaluation of aspects that directly affect decision making. As a result, the construction of a concrete wall is established as a protection structure for risk reduction due to high flood threat, which obtained a final weighting of 35% over the other alternatives, which shows that this is the one that best adapted to the conditions of the study area., Las estructuras de protección cumplen un papel importante en relación con la reducción del riesgo en áreas con amenaza alta por inundación. Estas se consideran importantes para identificar deficiencias emergentes y así, intervenir de manera efectiva. La problemática analizada involucra la comparación de obras de reducción enfocadas a proyectos orientados a la protección, es decir, la reducción de la amenaza en áreas de mayor riesgo de inundación. El objetivo de la investigación es comparar tipos de obras de protección en áreas con mayor riesgo de inundación de la Quebrada Tonchalá del municipio de San José de Cúcuta. El método empleado en esta investigación corresponde al tipo aplicada, la cual está relacionada profundamente con la investigación básica, ya que, aunque dependen de conocimientos iniciales adquiridos, se caracteriza por poseer un mayor enfoque de la aplicación de conocimientos a la práctica. Además de esto, se efectúa un análisis multicriterio mediante el método AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) para la selección de la obra de protección al sector de estudio, este método se enfoca en evaluar la idoneidad con base a diferentes lineamientos propuestos para una adecuada evaluación de aspectos que inciden directamente en la toma de decisiones. Como resultado, se establece la construcción de un muro de hormigón como estructura de protección para la reducción del riesgo por amenaza alta de inundación, el cual obtuvo una ponderación final del 35 % sobre las demás alternativas, lo cual demuestra que esta es la que mejor se adapta a las condiciones del área de estudio.

Purpose: This study is aimed at supply chain resilience and quality management, which are critical in today's volatile global economy marked by various disruptions. The focus is on how these traditionally separate disciplines can be combined to enhance organizational performance. Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework revolves around the concepts of supply chain resilience, which includes elements like proactive risk assessment, adaptability, collaborative networks, strategic redundancies, and quality management principles. The research scrutinizes their interplay, revealing significant overlap and implications for organizational outcomes. Design/Methodology/Approach: An exploratory case study approach forms the core methodology, primarily utilizing secondary data to gain insights into real-world scenarios. This approach enables a deep understanding of the critical factors influencing supply chain resilience and the impact of quality management concepts on customer satisfaction and product/service quality in supply chain processes. The questionnaire is distributed to get insights into the company's practices. Findings: The findings indicate that integrating supply chain resilience with quality management leads to more sustained and improved organizational outcomes. A resilient supply chain is quicker to recover from disruptions, minimizing financial impacts. Concurrently, a steadfast focus on quality ensures customer satisfaction and loyalty. This integration offers synergistic benefits, contributing to operational efficiency, market competitiveness, and a more substantial brand reputation. Research, Practical & Social implications: The study provides insights into critical factors of supply chain resilience and their interconnections with quality management concepts. These insights can inform strategies for enhancing resilience and quality management in supply chains. Practically, the study offers a guide for organizations to adopt a unified ap

A research project was initiated on behalf of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Transportation Avalanche Research Pool (TARP) to develop a metric for measuring the performance of highway avalanche management programs. The metric is meant to support resource allocation and other management decisions made by avalanche programs while also enabling use in an enterprise transportation asset management program. The performance metric developed is intended to supplement and extend the industry- standard Avalanche Hazard Index (AHI) by incorporating public safety measures, highway worker safety, avalanche worker safety, avalanche control method(s), avalanche control frequency and impacts to the travelling public (Road closure frequency, length, time of day, etc.).The resulting risk-based metric considers a combination of level of service, public safety, and worker safety with particular emphasis on the exposure of workers to dangerous maintenance and mitigation activities. The performance metric can be applied at the individual avalanche scale or to a group of avalanche paths.

In recent years, disruptive events have tested companies supply chain resilience. These challenges have emphasized the crucial role of effective supply chain management strategies. As a result of the negative performance, companies are recognizing the importance of supply chain resilience. The purpose of this study is to understand how firms manage their supply chain in practice and will answer RQ1: How has the approach of supply chain risk mitigation changed after recent disruptive events?” and RQ2: “What are the barriers & enablers to the implementation of business continuity management within a supply chain?”. The study follows a qualitative case study which involves both primary and secondary data. The primary data is based on 10 interviews with industry experts meanwhile the secondary data is based on reports and a panel discussion. The data is analyzed through a thematic analysis. The findings of the study are a risk management model, consisting of three different dimensions: 1) Supply Chain Orientation 11) Business Relationship and Communication and 111) Risk Mitigation. These dimensions can be used by companies and organization to improve its supply chain resilience. As well as understanding the challenges of proactive implementation within their supply chain, to be more prepared for the next disruptive event in the future.

Màster universitari en Estudis Avançats en Arquitectura-BarcelonaArch (MBArch). The Contemporary Project. Urbanisme., El presente trabajo se desarrolla a partir del análisis de los barrancos en Guatemala y como estos a pesar de que han estructurado nuestras ciudades desde épocas precoloniales, actualmente son espacios residuales, invisibilizados y damnificados y por ende no se ha desarrollado una identidad del paisaje con la sociedad que lo habita. Los barrancos traen consigo una gran biodiversidad, benefician hídricamente a la ciudad y ayudan a regular las temperaturas, sin embargo, nunca han sido valorados por sus beneficios sino más bien se les identifica como espacios divisorios, problemáticos y peligrosos. El objetivo de este trabajo es visibilizar a los barrancos de la Ciudad de Guatemala para poder redescubrir su rol como ecotonos y dispositivos socioambientales. Para lograrlo, el trabajo propone un cambio de registro de la concepción negativa de los barrancos por medio de la metodología Atlas, buscando así una comprensión histórica, ecosistémica y social para entenderlos como lo que siempre han sido, un ente estructurador del territorio. El barranco es una arquitectura, ya que en el pasado era visto como una fosa o un muro con un fin protector y en el presente es visto como una vivienda, un basurero o como una madriguera. A partir de esto, se busca un cambio de registro basado en la mutualización del barranco y la ciudad para que estos puedan ser entendidos como nuevos elementos arquitectónicos; un puente, una plataforma, un parque, un espacio colectivo, etc. Finalmente, complementando la mirada del pasado y presente de los barrancos, se desarrolla una propuesta que especula sobre como deberían de ser los barrancos en el futuro para que la ciudad de Guatemala sea concebida desde una posición de interdependencia, ya que no está simplemente ubicada sobre los barrancos, sino es la conformación permanente de ellos. Para esto, se analiza un ámbito especifico en la ciudad que contiene una situación de desborde de asentamientos en la ladera con un alto nivel devulnerabilidad, para, The present work is developed from the analysis of the ravines in Guatemala to understand how despite the fact that they have structured our cities since pre-colonial times, they are currently residual, invisible, and damaged spaces and therefore an identity of the landscape has not been developed with the society that inhabits it. The ravines bring with them great biodiversity, they benefit the city with water and help regulate temperatures, however, they have never been valued for their benefits but rather are identified as dividing, problematic and dangerous spaces. The objective of this work is to make visible the ravines of Guatemala City in order to rediscover their role as ecotones and socio-environmental devices. To achieve this, the work proposes a change of record of the negative conception of ravines through the Atlas methodology, thus seeking a historical, ecosystemic and social understanding to conceive them as what they have always been, a structuring entity of the territory. The ravine is an architecture, since in the past it was seen as a ditch or a wall with a protective purpose and in the present, it is seen as a house, a garbage dump, or a burrow. From this, a change of register is sought based on the pooling of the ravine and the city so that these can be understood as new architectural elements, a bridge, a platform, a park, a collective space, etc. Finally, complementing the look of the past and present of the ravines, a proposal is developed that speculates on how the ravines should be in the future so that Guatemala City is conceived from a position of interdependence, since it is not simply located on the ravines, but it is the permanent conformation of them. For this, a specific area of the city that contains settlements on the hillside with a high level of vulnerability, to later develop what we call eco-systemic borders for risk mitigation with an interscalar, intersectional and intersectoral perspective., Award-winning

The primary application of base isolation around the world is in buildings and bridges; however, it could be applied in any structure. Thetechnique has some limitations that, theoretically, reduce its efficiency, such as in tall buildings and soft soil conditions. In this paper, a non-conventional seismic isolated structure is studied to evaluate the benefits of the technique on it. Specifically, a stadium grandstandlocated in Colombia with hard and soft soil conditions beneath the isolated base is analyzed. The considered structure is important due to its necessity for seismic risk mitigation. It will have a high number of people to evacuate safely during earthquakes, and after them, it couldbe designated as a humanitarian shelter. The results a) show structural benefits principally in hard soil conditions, b) corroborate andquantify the limitations in soft soil, and c) make recommendations to isolate structures under the conditions studied here., La principal aplicación del aislamiento sísmico a nivel mundial está en edificaciones y puentes, sin embargo, puede ser aplicada a cualquierestructura. La técnica, teóricamente, tiene limitaciones de uso por eficiencia, como en edificaciones altas y suelos blandos. En este artículose estudia una estructura aislada no convencional, para evaluar los beneficios del aislamiento sobre esta. Específicamente se analiza unatribuna de estadio localizada en Colombia, con condiciones de suelo duro y blando. La estructura es importante, debido a su necesidad de mitigación del riesgo por sismo. Esta considerará un alto número de personas que deben evacuar de forma segura durante terremotos y después de estos, la estructura podría ser destinada a refugio humanitario. Los resultados a) muestran beneficio estructural principalmenteen condiciones de suelo duro, b) corroboran y cuantifican las limitaciones de los suelos blandos y c) permiten generar algunasrecomendaciones para aislar estructuras bajo las condiciones aquí estudiadas.

This work shows how is possible to finance and to organize development projects in heavily depressed areas using a “project finance” method. Project finance is the financing of a project based upon a non-recourse financial structure, in which project financial resources are paid back from the cash flow generated by the project. The paper shows a real case of application of this innovative management technique in a small Ethiopian agricultural village. It can be seen that the process goes far beyond simple financial calculation to fully enter into the management of all risks involved in the development project: underlying assets, participants, natural conditions, economic factors, regulatory changes, political interference, etcetera. The technique allows the self-financing of the development project because it is the asset itself that generates such financing and this allows to promote the creation of other similar assets that will improve the quality of life of the population In the case analyzed, the construction of a well can lead to the cultivation of four orchards that will not only improve the food quality of the population but will also allow the financing of the construction of new wells with their annexes orchards. This cycle ends once all the families of the village have their own orchards., El uso de la técnica de gestión de proyectos, cuya financiación está garantizada por el propio proyecto gestionado, denominada financiación de proyectos sin recurso o, más habitualmente “Project Finance”, puede emplearse para financiar y gestionar determinados proyectos de desarrollo local en áreas fuertemente deprimidas. El trabajo muestra un caso real de aplicación de esta innovadora técnica de gestión en una pequeña aldea agrícola etíope. Se puede observar que el proceso va mucho más allá del simple cálculo financiero para entrar de lleno en la gestión de todos los riesgos implicados en el proyecto de desarrollo: activos subyacentes, participantes, condiciones naturales, factores económicos, cambios regulatorios, injerencia política y cambios legislativos. La técnica permite la autofinanciación del proyecto de desarrollo gracias a que es el propio activo el que genera dicha financiación y ello permite impulsar la creación de otros activos similares que mejorarán la calidad de vida de la población. En el caso analizado, la construcción de un pozo puede dar lugar al cultivo de unas cuatro huertas que no sólo mejorarán la calidad alimenticia de la población sino que además permitirán financiar la construcción de nuevos pozos con sus huertas anexas. Este ciclo termina una vez que todas las familias del poblado disponen de sus propias huertas., Escuela de Estudios Cooperativos, Fac. de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, TRUE, pub

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between managerial capabilities on MSMEs business sustainability, the relationship between financial literacy on MSMEs business sustainability, the relationship between financial literacy on MSMEs business sustainability. Method: This research uses quantitative research methods. Quantitative research methods are used because in this study, the relationship between the variables to be studied has a causal relationship, to examine certain populations and samples, and aims to test the established hypotheses. The measurement scale in this study uses a Likert scale of 1 to 5 with categories namely strongly disagree, disagree, disagree, agree and strongly agree. With data collection techniques using online questionnaires. The analysis technique uses SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) with SmartPLS 3.0 software tools. Respondents in this study were 876 MSME owners who were determined by simple random sampling. Data analysis techniques use variable calculations based on variable operational definitions. Result: From the analysis that has been done, it can be concluded as follows. Managerial ability partially has a significant effect on the Defensive Strategy of MSMEs actors, Financial Literacy partially has a significant effect on the Survival Strategy of MSMEs actors. Partially, Risk Mitigation has a significant effect on the Survival Strategy for MSMEs actors Implication: To encourage an increase in MSMEs Business Sustainability, MSMEs management must encourage an increase in managerial capabilities, financial literacy, and risk mitigation variables. the higher the managerial ability, the more suitable the competitive strategy that is formulated and implemented in SMEs. Managers are the main actors of the company, thus the better the managerial ability of a manager, the company's performance will increase.

The risk of human campylobacteriosis due to Danish broiler flocks cross-contaminated (CC) at slaughter with Campylobacter spp. was assessed. National surveillance data (2018) on flock Campylobacter status (called animal level component (AL)) and on contamination of chilled carcasses ready for consumption (food safety component (FS)), were compared. The AL component consisted of PCR testing results on pools of cloacal swabs collected from 3,012 conventional flocks, while the FS component presented culture testing of leg skins from 999 (of the 3,012) randomly sampled flocks. Datasets were integrated on flocks tested in both components, by combinations of farm-ID, house-unit and sampling date. The CC flocks were those entering the slaughterhouse as AL-negative, but resulting FS-positive. All remaining carcass positive flocks were instead classified as Non-CC flocks. The apparent prevalence (AP) of carcass positive flocks and the colony forming units per gram (cfu/g), measured by the FS component, were fed into a published simulation model, to assess under three simulation scenarios: the mean monthly risk per serving during 2018, relative (RR) to that of 2013 (reference year in the current Danish Action Plan). In the baseline scenario, the original AL status and the FS cfu/g were maintained. In the alternative scenarios I and II, the FS cfu/g were set = 0 (i.e. negative) for the Non-CC and for the CC flocks, respectively. Thus, scenario I and the differences between the other two scenarios, provided the contribution of the CC flocks to the AP and to the RR. The (overall) annual median log10 cfu/g was ≈ 2.8 (min. = 1.0; max. = 4.0) for the Non-CC flocks and 1.4 (1.0; 3.9) for the CC flocks. The median monthly difference in AP, between the baseline scenario and scenario II was 7% (min = 2% in January; max = 19% in August), while the difference in risk was 0.04% (0.001%; 0.11%), which was similar to the

This paper demonstrates how historical research is a valuable tool for identifying past geological, geomorphological and climatic hazards and therefore critical for mitigating and reducing future risk. The authors describe the potential of a scientific field that straddles that of the geologist, geographer, historian and archivist. Historical records include a range of materials and sources of information, which can be very diverse; from written documents to cartographies, and from drawings to marble tombstones. They are all useful and convey important data, on the date of the event, the size of the phenomena, sometimes on ground effects, damage or magnitude. The authors discuss how to conduct historical research by providing a list of locations and how important historical documents can be found. Works that mention geological phenomena are listed, starting with the first occasional descriptions by individuals in letters, up to very specific publications in individual fields of interest. With this introduction, the editors of the Special Issue wish to draw attention to the importance of historical documentation, which is too often ignored or considered of low priority by the scientific community, but can contain key information on events, their impacts and social and cultural adaptations.

Zátěžový test organizace je prostředek k tomu, jak získat odpověď na jednoduchou otázku „Jak jsme na tom?“ pro případ nějaké krizové situace. Do veřejného povědomí pronikl tento termín v souvislosti s havárií na japonské jaderné elektrárně Fukushima, případně s prověrkami bank v období finanční krize. Po zkušenostech z pražského cvičení blackoutu v roce 2014 vznikla myšlenka aplikovat podobnou metodu na jakoukoliv organizaci s cílem zjistit její odolnost v mimořádných a krizových situacích. Zátěžový test organizace, což je de-facto cvičení na úrovni vrcholového managementu, byl v následujících letech úspěšně aplikován v řadě organizací a pomohl odhalit skryté problémy, na které by se přišlo až v případě skutečné krize a bylo by obtížné zachovat kontinuitu její činnosti. Uvedená metoda je vhodná nejen pro subjekty kritické infrastruktury, ale i pro jakékoliv organizace, které chtějí být na krizové situace připraveny a překonat je s co nejmenšími škodami. Tématická cvičení nalezla svůj obraz i ve standardech ISO a podle normy „ISO 22398:2013: „Emergency Preparedness and Response“ je možno po průběhu testu v souladu s metodikou získat i odpovídající certifikát., An organizational stress test is a means of getting an answer to the simple question “How are we doing?” in case of a crisis situation. The term has entered the public consciousness in the context of the accident at the Japanese nuclear power plant Fukushima, or bank examinations during the financial crisis. Following the experience of the Prague blackout exercise in 2014, the idea was conceived to apply a similar method to any organisation to determine its resilience in emergency and crisis situations. The organisation stress test, which is a de-facto exercise at the top management level, was successfully applied in a number of organisations in the following years and helped to uncover hidden problems that would only be discovered in the event of a real crisis and would make it difficult to maintain continuity of its operations. This method is suitable not only for critical infrastructure entities, but also for any organisation that wants to be prepared for crisis situations and overcome them with the least possible damage. The thematic exercises have also found their image in ISO standards and according to ISO 22398:2013: “Emergency Preparedness and Response”, it is possible to obtain the corresponding certificate after the test in accordance with the methodology has been concluded.

Many vegetated ecosystems, including drylands, coastal dunes, salt marshes and seagrass meadows, inhabit environments frequently disturbed by the erosive forces of wind and water. Once degraded, the restoration of these systems entails a high risk of failure due to the uncertainty in timing and intensity of future disturbances. Risk-mitigation strategies like bet-hedging (i.e. spreading risk over diverse options) have been proven in cross-disciplinary contexts to optimize yield when uncertainty is high. Yet, restoration designs commonly homogenize resources by planting vegetation of similar sizes in grid-like patterns. This decision may unwittingly contribute to the high rate of restoration failure in these environments. Using numerical simulations mimicking vegetation patch dynamics, we demonstrate how avoiding uniform planting designs substantially improves the likelihood of restoration success. These simulations also suggest that the intrinsic risk of failure associated with any planting pattern can be identified a priori by calculating the variance-to-mean ratio of vegetation cover. Synthesis and applications. By introducing a level of spatial overdispersion (variance in vegetation clustering) into restoration planting designs, projects will insure themselves against the uncertainty imposed by disturbances, limited by their willingness to accept a lower rate of recolonization.

Natural hazard preparation by communities reduces disaster-induced physical health problems and adverse experiences, lowers potential for post-traumatic stress disorders and aids faster recovery. However, approaches to community engagement for preparedness vary widely leaving those responsible confused and often overwhelmed. This study builds on natural hazards behavior, community development, participatory and codesign research to understand current community engagement approaches in an Australian context. Key principles for engaging communities were operationalized from document analysis and interviews with 30 community engagement practitioners from 25 Australian emergency management agencies. A thematic analysis of the agency documents and interviews led to a visualization of the pathway to community led preparedness with the iterative community-centered engagement model for preparedness. The model reflects both current practice and aspirations. It contributes theoretically to a collaborative community led engagement approach for risk personalization and protective action by highlighting the need to develop a deep understanding of the specific features of local communities. The model maps a pathway through different levels of community engagement toward the ultimate aim of a community led approach to natural hazards preparation. It recognizes the changing circumstances and the situation of communities within their environment, and the barriers and enablers to support community led preparedness. The model is significant in that it delivers a practical framework for engagement practitioners to build capacity in their communities and support their local communities to prepare for natural hazards and build relational capital for longer term resilience.

The study takes a look into methodologies offering a holistic approach to risk management, assessing their level of alignment with project management principles, and pinpointing gaps in terms of managerial risk. The scope of the research covers project management, project management principles, risk management methodologies, and comparative processes, providing the study with sufficient background to identify gaps, priorities, focus areas, and research needs. In consequence, the analysis was able to identify that, in average, risk management methodologies integrate about half (i.e. 58.3%) of the concepts defined by project management principles. However, complex and interconnected risks tend to be left aside, including the ones associated to the human factor and business interrelations. Furthermore, risks associated to change, adaptability, and the managerial capabilities of the workforce still require further research and development. In the overall, risk management methodologies tend to consider project management principles throughout their content. However, further alignment is required.

In recent years, the emerging trends in cloud computing technologies have given rise to different computing services through the Internet. Organizations across the globe have seized this opportunity as a critical business driver for computing resource access and utilities that will indeed support significant business operations. Embracing SaaS as a crucial business factor enhances corporate business strategy through economies of scale, easy manageability, cost-effectiveness, non-geographical dependence, high reliability, flexible resources, and fast innovation. However, this has also come with various risks due to the limitation of traditional user identity and access control solutions’ inability to effectively identify and manage cloud users’ authorization process when interacting with the cloud. The limit can result in a legitimate user account's impersonation to carry out malicious activities after the user account is compromised to go undetected since traditional solutions seldom function based on user behavior trust level behind any account. Furthermore, the limitation is a significant vulnerability to the cloud environment. This vulnerability is known to be exploited by threats that can eventually lead to substantial unacceptable risks that can undermine security principles or requirements such as confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Significant consequences of this risk are categorized into financial damages, legal implications, reputational damages, and regulatory implications to the cloud environment. As a result, a solution that could contribute to the remediation of these potential risks incurred due to the limitation of user identity and access control management was proposed and designed as User Behavior Trust-Based Adaptive Security framework. The design aims to enhance how cloud users' identity and access control might be managed effectively based on a user behavior trust context and adaptation of corresponding access control measures through

A large superconducting machine, JT-60SA has been constructed to provide major contributions to the ITER program and DEMO design. For the success of the ITER project and fusion reactor, understanding and development of plasma controllability in ITER and DEMO relevant higher beta regimes are essential. JT-60SA has focused the program on the plasma controllability for scenario development and risk mitigation in ITER as well as on investigating DEMO relevant regimes. This paper summarizes the high research priorities and strategy for the JT-60SA project. Recent works on simulation studies to prepare the plasma physics and control experiments are presented, such as plasma breakdown and equilibrium controls, hybrid and steady-state scenario development, and risk mitigation techniques. Contributions of JT-60SA to ITER and DEMO have been clarified through those studies.

Zátěžový test organizace je prostředek k tomu, jak získat odpověď na jednoduchou otázku „Jak jsme na tom?“ pro případ nějaké krizové situace. Do veřejného povědomí pronikl tento termín v souvislosti s havárií na japonské jaderné elektrárně Fukushima, případně s prověrkami bank v období finanční krize. Po zkušenostech z pražského cvičení blackoutu v roce 2014 vznikla myšlenka aplikovat podobnou metodu na jakoukoliv organizaci s cílem zjistit její odolnost v mimořádných a krizových situacích. Zátěžový test organizace, což je de-facto cvičení na úrovni vrcholového managementu, byl v následujících letech úspěšně aplikován v řadě organizací a pomohl odhalit skryté problémy, na které by se přišlo až v případě skutečné krize a bylo by obtížné zachovat kontinuitu její činnosti. Uvedená metoda je vhodná nejen pro subjekty kritické infrastruktury, ale i pro jakékoliv organizace, které chtějí být na krizové situace připraveny a překonat je s co nejmenšími škodami. Tématická cvičení nalezla svůj obraz i ve standardech ISO a podle normy „ISO 22398:2013: „Emergency Preparedness and Response“ je možno po průběhu testu v souladu s metodikou získat i odpovídající certifikát., An organizational stress test is a means of getting an answer to the simple question “How are we doing?” in case of a crisis situation. The term has entered the public consciousness in the context of the accident at the Japanese nuclear power plant Fukushima, or bank examinations during the financial crisis. Following the experience of the Prague blackout exercise in 2014, the idea was conceived to apply a similar method to any organisation to determine its resilience in emergency and crisis situations. The organisation stress test, which is a de-facto exercise at the top management level, was successfully applied in a number of organisations in the following years and helped to uncover hidden problems that would only be discovered in the event of a real crisis and would make it difficult to maintain continuity of its operations. This method is suitable not only for critical infrastructure entities, but also for any organisation that wants to be prepared for crisis situations and overcome them with the least possible damage. The thematic exercises have also found their image in ISO standards and according to ISO 22398:2013: “Emergency Preparedness and Response”, it is possible to obtain the corresponding certificate after the test in accordance with the methodology has been concluded.

Alarge superconducting machine, JT-60SA has been constructed to provide major contributions to the ITER program and DEMO design. For the success of the ITER project and fusion reactor, understanding and development of plasma controllability in ITER and DEMO relevant higher beta regimes are essential. JT-60SA has focused the program on the plasma controllability for scenario development and risk mitigation in ITER as well as on investigating DEMO relevant regimes. This paper summarizes the high research priorities and strategy for the JT-60SA project. Recent works on simulation studies to prepare the plasma physics and control experiments are presented, such as plasma breakdown and equilibrium controls, hybrid and steady-state scenario development, and risk mitigation techniques. Contributions of JT-60SA to ITER and DEMOhave been clarified through those studies., Peer Reviewed, Article escrit per 127 autors/autores: M Yoshida, G Giruzzi, N Aiba, J F Artaud, J Ayllon-Guerola, L Balbinot, OBeeke, E Belonohy, P Bettini, W Bin, A Bierwage, T Bolzonella, M Bonotto, CBoulbe, J Buermans, M Chernyshova, S Coda, R Coelho, S Davis, C Day, GDeTommasi, M Dibon, A Ejiri, G Falchetto, A Fassina, B Faugeras, L Figini, M Fukumoto, S Futatani, K Galazka, J Garcia, M Garcia-Muñoz, L Garzotti, L Giacomelli, L Giudicotti, S Hall, N Hayashi, C Hoa, M Honda, K Hoshino, M Iafrati, A Iantchenko, S Ide, S Iio, R Imazawa, S Inoue, A Isayama, E Joffrin, K Kamiya, Y Ko, M Kobayashi, T Kobayashi, G Kocsis, A Kovacsik, T Kurki-Suonio, B Lacroix, P Lang, Ph Lauber, A Louzguiti, E de la Luna, G Marchiori, M Mattei, A Matsuyama, S Mazzi, A Mele, F Michel, Y Miyata, J Morales, P Moreau, A Moro, T Nakano, M Nakata, E Narita, R Neu, S Nicollet, M Nocente, S Nowak, F P Orsitto, V Ostuni, Y Ohtani, N Oyama, R Pasqualotto, B Pégourié, E Perelli, L Pigatto, C Piccinni, A Pironti, P Platania, B Ploeckl, D Ricci, P Roussel, G Rubino, R Sano, K Särkimäki, K Shinohara, S Soare, C Sozzi, S Sumida, T Suzuki, Y Suzuki, T Szabolics, T Szepesi, Y Takase, M Takech, N Tamura, K Tanaka, H Tanaka, M Tardocchi, A Terakado, H Tojo, T Tokuzawa, A Torre, N Tsujii, H Tsutsui, Y Ueda, H Urano, M Valisa, M Vallar, J Vega, F Villone, T Wakatsuki, T Wauters, M Wischmeier, S Yamoto, L Zani, Postprint (published version)

Hydrogen use increase and so does the knowledge about its risks, but not necessarily about how to handle these risks. Limited literature is available about risk mitigation for hydrogen use, the objective of this thesis is to increase this knowledge. Risk reduction measures that could be relevant for hydrogen leakage were reviewed and their potential for further assessment was qualitatively considered. Two risk reduction measures were chosen for deeper analysis: ultrasonic gas leak detection and flame detection. These measures’ efficiencies were further studied through systematic literature search and practical experiments. For ultrasonic gas leak detection, both literature and experiments indicate that hydrogen has properties and storage pressures that benefits detection. Ultrasonic detection of hydrogen leakage should be as good as, or better than, ultrasonic detection of other flammable gases. For flame detection, results show that hydrogen flames emit radiation in fewer wavelengths than other, more common, flammable gases. Flame detection of hydrogen flames should be as good as flame detection of other flammable gases if specific wavelengths are analyzed.

A large superconducting machine, JT-60SA has been constructed to provide major contributions to the ITER program and DEMO design. For the success of the ITER project and fusion reactor, understanding and development of plasma controllability in ITER and DEMO relevant higher beta regimes are essential. JT-60SA has focused the program on the plasma controllability for scenario development and risk mitigation in ITER as well as on investigating DEMO relevant regimes. This paper summarizes the high research priorities and strategy for the JT-60SA project. Recent works on simulation studies to prepare the plasma physics and control experiments are presented, such as plasma breakdown and equilibrium controls, hybrid and steady-state scenario development, and risk mitigation techniques. Contributions of JT-60SA to ITER and DEMO have been clarified through those studies.

Engineering-heavy new product development (NPD) projects face unplanned design iterations, which can cause failure in terms of missed targets for cost, schedule, quality, and customer satisfaction. These unplanned design iterations can be understood as the occurrence of a specific category of engineering project risks. As a result, companies employ structured actions to mitigate these risks in projects. However, even with such strategies in place, projects can still struggle to achieve their targets. This study aims to explore how companies employ risk mitigation actions to manage risks in engineering-based NPD projects. To investigate this topic, a survey of employees in the aerospace and defense industries was conducted. We analyzed the responses using statistical methods. The results indicate that risk mitigation actions are used according to thematic clusters, in line with our findings from the literature. Furthermore, the selected mitigation measures show collective explanatory power for handling engineering project risks, suggesting that while some projects that employ mitigation actions may still fail, their use of such measures does still reduce the overall impact of risks. Interestingly, the results of the statistical analysis show no significant difference in the employment of risk mitigation actions in engineering-based NPD projects, whether they employ waterfall or agile NPD methods, or a mixture of both. These results suggest that companies should consider all classes of risk mitigation actions to manage engineering project risks. On this basis, the wider contextualization of individual mitigating actions should be taken into account when planning risk mitigation for engineering-based NPD projects.

Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) can affect the entire equine sector in EU, and the large outbreak reported in 2021 in Spain drew attention to the needs of the European Commission for scientific advice for the assessment of EHV-1 infection within the framework of Animal Health Law. EHV-1 is considered endemic in the EU; its main risk is linked to the characteristic of producing latent life-long infections. These can reactivate producing clinical disease, which can include respiratory, abortive and possibly fatal neurological forms. From the epidemiological and genomic viewpoint, there are no specific neuropathogenic EHV-1 strains; the respiratory, reproductive and neurological signs are not found to be strain-specific. This was also the case of the virus that caused the outbreak in Valencia (Spain) in 2021, which was genetically closely related to other viruses circulating before in Europe, and did not present the so-called neuropathogenic genotype. The outbreak reported in Valencia was followed by wide geographic spread of the virus possibly due to a delay in diagnosis and late application of biosecurity measures. The recommended and most sensitive diagnostic test for detecting EHV-1 is PCR performed on swabs collected according to the type of clinical signs. Serological assays on paired blood samples can help to detect a recent infection, while no diagnostic methods are available to detect EHV-1 latent infections. Safe movements of horses can be ensured at premovement phase by testing and issuing health certificates, and by isolating animals upon arrival at new premises with regular health monitoring. In case of suspicion, movements should be forbidden and EHV-1 infection early detected/confirmed by validated diagnostic tools. During outbreaks, no movements should be allowed until 21?days after the detection of the last case. In general, vaccination against EHV-1 should be promoted, although this offers limited protection against the neurological form of the

At this cloud age, there is tremendous growth in business, services, resources, and cloud technology. This growth comes with a risk of unsafe, unordered, and uncertainty due to unauthorized access and theft of confidential propriety data. Our objective is to model around Read, Write and Execute to resolve these unordered, unsafe, and uncertain issues. We will develop a L-Shape pattern model matching UFS ACM to minimize the accessibilities based on RIGHT & ROLE of the resources and maximize the quality of services for safety and high availability. The preventive, detective, corrective (PDC) services are the major roles for all levels of management to coordinate, control the multiple technologies and resources which are working simultaneously. It will be more ordered, accountable, and actionable on real-time access control mechanism for scalabilities, reliability, performance, and high availability of computational services. We have to make safer, certain, unified, and step-by-step normalization by applying this UFS ACM mechanism on UNIX operating system. This proposed research paper covers a wide range of areas covering optimization, normalization, Fuzzy Low, and Risk assessment.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3 and 4 is a zoonosis that causes hepatitis in humans. Humans can become infected by consumption of pork or contact with pigs. Pigs are the main reservoir of the virus worldwide and the virus is present on most pig farms.MAIN BODY: Though HEV is present on most farms, the proportion of infected pigs at slaughter and thus the level of exposure to consumers differs between farms and countries. Understanding the cause of that difference is necessary to install effective measures to lower HEV in pigs at slaughter. Here, HEV studies are reviewed that include infection dynamics of HEV in pigs and on farms, risk factors for HEV farm prevalence, and that describe mechanisms and sources that could generate persistence on farms. Most pigs become infected after maternal immunity has waned, at the end of the nursing or beginning of the fattening phase. Risk factors increasing the likelihood of a high farm prevalence or proportion of actively infected slaughter pigs comprise of factors such as farm demographics, internal and external biosecurity and immunomodulating coinfections. On-farm persistence of HEV is plausible, because of a high transmission rate and a constant influx of susceptible pigs. Environmental sources of HEV that enhance persistence are contaminated manure storages, water and fomites.CONCLUSION: As HEV is persistently present on most pig farms, current risk mitigation should focus on lowering transmission within farms, especially between farm compartments. Yet, one should be aware of the paradox of increasing the proportion of actively infected pigs at slaughter by reducing transmission insufficiently. Vaccination of pigs may aid HEV control in the future.

Given the differences between physical assets and IT assets (also called digital assets), a methodology for managing digital assets obsolescence is proposed, which seeks to support decision making based on the risk of obsolescence. The aim is to identify the likelihood and impact of obsolescence on each asset in order to determine actions to be taken. As a case study, some steps of the methodology were implemented in four digital assets used in the Colombian electric power industry. The methodology can be used and adapted by any company to manage its IT assets, whether hardware of software., Dadas las diferencias entre activos físicos y activos de TI (también llamados activos digitales), se propone una metodología para gestionar la obsolescencia de los activos digitales, que busca apoyar la toma de decisiones basado en el riesgo de obsolescencia. El objetivo es identificar la probabilidad y el impacto de la obsolescencia sobre cada activo para determinar las acciones que deben ejecutarse. Se implementaron algunos pasos de la metodología en cuatro activos digitales que se emplean en el sector eléctrico colombiano. La metodología puede ser usada y adaptada por cualquier empresa para gestionar los activos de TI, ya sea hardware o software.

Multi-tenant serverless computing environments present unique security challenges due to the shared nature of resources among multiple users. This paper examines the specific security considerations and risk mitigation strategies essential for safeguarding data and applications in such environments. The paper starts by delineating the distinctive characteristics of serverless computing, emphasizing its event-driven, ephemeral nature, and how multi-tenancy exacerbates security concerns by sharing resources across tenants. Traditional security measures like network segmentation and access controls may not suffice in this dynamic context. Subsequently, it explores common security threats prevalent in multi-tenant serverless environments, including unauthorized access, data breaches, denial-of-service attacks, and privilege escalation. These threats stem from various sources such as misconfigured functions, vulnerabilities in shared components, or malicious activities by other tenants. To counteract these threats, a comprehensive framework for risk mitigation is proposed. This framework encompasses proactive measures like minimizing attack surfaces, enforcing least privilege access, and implementing secure coding practices. Additionally, it advocates for detective measures such as runtime monitoring and anomaly detection, alongside responsive actions like incident response protocols and data encryption. Furthermore, the paper delves into specific security controls and best practices tailored for multi-tenant serverless environments. These include function-level isolation, secure dependency management, and encryption for data at rest and in transit. It also explores emerging security technologies like serverless-specific intrusion detection systems and runtime application self-protection solutions. Real-world case studies and incidents are analyzed to validate the efficacy of the proposed framework and security measures. By learning from these cases, organizations can be

Geothermal resources offer a stable low-carbon energy source. However, geothermal sites can collocate with the hypocenters of large-magnitude seismic events. Large seismic events pose a risk to public safety and are therefore a liability for efforts to develop geothermal resources. Here, we propose “fracture caging” to limit induced seismic event magnitudes and present evidence from numerical model predictions, laboratory experiments, and field observations. Fracture caging involves drilling tactical production wells around a geothermal injection zone to contain fluids in fracture-dominated flow systems. Prior to our work, the effect of small wells on the growth of large fractures and on flow through fractures was subject to debate. Our work shows that production wells can impede fracture growth and contain high-pressure fluids in fracture-dominated rocks. This containment offers a mechanism to limit induced seismicity.

A collaborative group comprising of the TU Delft, Deltion College and Dutch Electric Aviation Centre aim to develop a flying test bed for sustainable aviation. The collaborative group has acquired a Cessna 337F Skymaster with the intent to replace one of the engines with a retrofit hydrogen internal combustion engine. An ancillary engine will serve as test unit prior to modifying one of the engines of the Cessna 337F Skymaster. Experiments will be performed in a 20-feet container. Hydrogen may leak from a fuel pipe or through a fuel injector from the engine, consequently hydrogen may accumulate in the enclosed testing environment and a detonation occurs. CFD models of the test cell are simulated in ANSYS fluent. One may conclude that heat and hydrogen can be disposed of well, providing an optimal placement of the ventilation system and test cell elements., Aerospace Engineering

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) poses a significant threat to the population and urban sustainability worldwide. The surge mitigation is complicated and associates many factors, including the pandemic status, policy, socioeconomics and resident behaviours. Modelling and analytics with spatial-temporal big urban data are required to assist the mitigation of the pandemic. This study proposes a novel perspective to analyse the spatial-temporal potential exposure risk of residents by capturing human behaviours based on spatial-temporal car park availability data. Near real-time data from 1,904 residential car parks in Singapore, a classical megacity, are collected to analyse car mobility and its spatial-temporal heat map. The implementation of the circuit breaker, a COVID-19 measure, in Singapore has reduced the mobility and heat (daily frequency of mobility) significantly at about 30.0%. It contributes to a 44.3%–55.4% reduction in the transportation-related air emissions under two scenarios of travelling distance reductions. Urban sustainability impacts in both environment and economy are discussed. The spatial-temporal potential exposure risk mapping with space-time interactions is further investigated via an extended Bayesian spatial-temporal regression model. The maximal reduction rate of the defined potential exposure risk lowers to 37.6% by comparison with its peak value. The big data analytics of changes in car mobility behaviour and the resultant potential exposure risks can provide insights to assist in (a) designing a flexible circuit breaker exit strategy, (b) precise management via identifying and tracing hotspots on the mobility heat map, and (c) making timely decisions by fitting curves dynamically in different phases of COVID-19 mitigation. The proposed method has the potential to be used by decision-makers worldwide with available data to make flexible regulations and planning., Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public., Statistics

Reinforcement learning (RL) is getting popular in the robotics field due to its nature to learn from dynamic environments. However, it is unable to provide explanations of why an output was generated. Explainability becomes therefore important in situations where humans interact with robots, such as in human-robot collaboration (HRC) scenarios. Attempts to address explainability in robotics usually are restricted to explain a specific decision taken by the RL model, but not to understand the complete behavior of the robot. In addition, the explainability methods are restricted to be used by domain experts as queries and responses are not translated to natural language. This work overcomes these limitations by proposing an explainability solution for RL models applied to HRC. It is mainly formed by the adaptation of two methods: (i) Reward decomposition gives an insight into the factors that impacted the robot's choice by decomposing the reward function. It further provides sets of relevant reasons for each decision taken during the robot's operation; (ii) Autonomous policy explanation provides a global explanation of the robot's behavior by answering queries in the form of natural language, thus making understandable to any human user. Experiments in simulated HRC scenarios revealed an increased understanding of the optimal choices made by the robots. Additionally, our solution demonstrated as a powerful debugging tool to find weaknesses in the robot's policy and assist in its improvement., Part of proceedings: ISBN 978-1-6654-3684-7QC 20220413

Make improvements to external matters related to the company and especially the company's internal, starting from the procurement of materials to the delivery of products to consumers. Industry in Indonesia every year has increased and decreased in the food, agriculture, plantation, handicraft, and other sectors. In the agricultural industry, especially sugarcane which is processed into sugar, demand is increasing. Sugar is one of the strategic commodities in the Indonesian economy. One of the sugar manufacturing industries in Indonesia is PG. Semboro is located in Jember. PG Semboro has been in existence since 1955 and started producing sugar in 1958. Intense competition and increasing uncertainty as well as rapid changes in the business environment will have an impact on the complexity of business risks that must be faced by the company. Therefore PG. Semboro needs to know the risks that occur and determine the steps that must be taken in handling these risks. This study aims to identify risks and mitigate the risks that occur. The method used in risk identification and mitigation is risk assessment. The results obtained are that there are 21 risk events with 5 priority risk events and 5 proposed mitigation action strategies to handle and minimize the impact and possibility of risk occurrence.

Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms are highly popular in the robotics field to solve complex problems, learn from dynamic environments and generate optimal outcomes. However, one of the main limitations of RL is the lack of model transparency. This includes the inability to provide explanations of why the output was generated. The explainability becomes even more crucial when RL outputs influence human decisions, such as in Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) scenarios, where safety requirements should be met. This work focuses on the application of two explainability techniques, “Reward Decomposition” and “Autonomous Policy Explanation”, on a RL algorithm which is the core of a risk mitigation module for robots’ operation in a collaborative automated warehouse scenario. The “Reward Decomposition” gives an insight into the factors that impacted the robot’s choice by decomposing the reward function into sub-functions. It also allows creating Minimal Sufficient Explanation (MSX), sets of relevant reasons for each decision taken during the robot’s operation. The second applied technique, “Autonomous Policy Explanation”, provides a global overview of the robot’s behavior by answering queries asked by human users. It also provides insights into the decision guidelines embedded in the robot’s policy. Since the synthesis of the policy descriptions and the queries’ answers are in natural language, this tool facilitates algorithm diagnosis even by non-expert users. The results proved that there is an improvement in the RL algorithm which now chooses more evenly distributed actions and a full policy to the robot’s decisions is produced which is for the most part aligned with the expectations. The work provides an analysis of the results of the application of both techniques which both led to increased transparency of the robot’s decision process. These explainability methods not only built trust in the robot’s choices, which proved to be among the optimal ones in most of the, Algoritmer för förstärkningsinlärning (RL-algoritmer) är mycket populära inom robotikområdet för att lösa komplexa problem, att lära sig av dynamiska miljöer och att generera optimala resultat. En av de viktigaste begränsningarna för RL är dock bristen på modellens transparens. Detta inkluderar den oförmåga att förklara bakomliggande process (algoritm eller modell) som genererade ett visst returvärde. Förklarbarheten blir ännu viktigare när resultatet från en RL-algoritm påverkar mänskliga beslut, till exempel i HRC-scenarier där säkerhetskrav bör uppfyllas. Detta arbete fokuserar på användningen av två förklarbarhetstekniker, “Reward Decomposition” och “Autonomous policy Explanation”, tillämpat på en RL-algoritm som är kärnan i en riskreduceringsmodul för drift av samarbetande robotars på ett automatiserat lager. “Reward Decomposition” ger en inblick i vilka faktorer som påverkade robotens val genom att bryta ner belöningsfunktionen i mindre funktioner. Det gör det också möjligt att formulera en MSX (minimal sufficient explanation), uppsättning av relevanta skäl för varje beslut som har fattas under robotens drift. Den andra tillämpade tekniken, “Autonomous Policy Explanation”, ger en generellt prespektiv över robotens beteende genom att mänskliga användare får ställa frågor till roboten. Detta ger även insikt i de beslutsriktlinjer som är inbäddade i robotens policy. Ty syntesen av policybeskrivningarna och frågornas svar är naturligt språk underlättar detta en algoritmdiagnos även för icke-expertanvändare. Resultaten visade att det finns en förbättring av RL-algoritmen som nu väljer mer jämnt fördelade åtgärder. Dessutom produceras en fullständig policy för robotens beslut som för det mesta är anpassad till förväntningarna. Rapporten ger en analys av resultaten av tillämpningen av båda teknikerna, som visade att båda ledde till ökad transparens i robotens beslutsprocess. Förklaringsmetoderna gav inte bara förtroende för robotens val, vilket visade sig vara bland

BackgroundBackground: Analytical treatment interruptions (ATIs) in HIV cure-related research can result in trial participants becoming viremic with HIV, placing HIV-negative sexual partners at elevated risk of acquiring HIV.ObjectiveObjective:Our study aimed to generate ethical and practical considerations for designing and implementing appropriate risk mitigation strategies to reduce unintended HIV transmission events during ATIs.MethodsMethods: We conducted 21 in-depth interviews with five types of informants: bioethicists, community members, biomedical HIV cure researchers, socio-behavioral scientists/epidemiologists, and HIV care providers. We used conventional content analysis to analyze the data and generate considerations.ResultsResults: Key findings include: 1) Ethical permissibility of ATI trials depends on due diligence and informed consent to mitigate risks to participants and their sexual partners; 2) Participants should receive adequate support and/or counseling if they choose to disclose ATI participation to their partners; 3) Measures to protect sexual partners of trial participants from HIV transmission during ATIs should include referral to and/or provision of pre-exposure prophylaxis, as well as other available means of preventing HIV transmission; 4) There is uncertainty regarding the appropriate management of emerging sexually transmitted infections during ATI trials and possible protection measures for multiple and/or anonymous partners of ATI trial participants.ConclusionConclusion: While there is no way to completely eliminate the risk of HIV transmission to sexual partners during ATIs, HIV cure trialists and sponsors should consider the ethical concerns related to the sexual partners of ATI participants. Doing so is essential to ensuring the welfare of participants, their partners and the trustworthiness of research.

Includes Supplementary Material, Long working hours, 24/7 shift work, restricted sleep opportunities, and circadian misalignment all lead to degraded Sailor performance and impairments in decision making. These deficiencies threaten the safety of Sailors and a unit’s mission readiness, as the recent deadly collisions of the USS Fitzgerald and USS John. S. McCain exposed. Despite the headway made by the Navy in addressing crew endurance and fatigue issues, there is a capability gap in the surface navy’s ability to systematically assess and mitigate crew fatigue during in-port and at-sea operations. It is imperative to provide operational leaders charged with ensuring peak mission readiness levels with insights into the current and predicted readiness levels of their Sailors. This thesis developed a Microsoft Excel-based scheduling decision aid capable of tracking, detecting, and quantifying human performance risk factors associated with work and rest patterns for U.S. Navy Sailors. The Scheduling Management Aid for Risk Tracking (SMART) systematically collects Sailor activity data and provides trend analysis at an individual and organizational level, arming the scheduler with critical insight necessary for better crew resource management. The prototype’s tailorable heuristics are designed to identify and quantify human performance risk, enabling leaders to better mitigate risk through data-driven decision making., Lieutenant, United States Navy, Approved for public release. distribution is unlimited

European historical city centers are particularly prone to natural disasters. This is due to the fragility of structures that often times do not comply with seismic codes; the high constructions’ density that causes induced damage; and the historical relevance of buildings that makes difficult the enacting of mitigation strategies. In Italy, major earthquake caused extensive damages over the last century. Seismic events have a huge impact on the Nation’s economy growth due to direct and indirect impacts, such as for example the high reconstruction costs or the business interruption spread out over a long period, respectively. In addition, the duration of recovery can affect the population wellbeing and cause permanent displacement. For this reason, the preventive planning of disaster management strategies are crucial to mitigate the damage and enhance resilience. Proposed strategies have to be effective and economically sustainable. In this paper, two towns affected by the 2012 Northern Italy Earthquake are chosen to analyze the reconstruction process. Using information published on the town journal, relevant aspects of the community resilience are highlighted. In particular, the housing recovery, i.e. the return of displaced people to a permanent housing solution is investigated. Then, a suite of seismic mitigation strategies is proposed for both cities, taking into account the peculiarity of the built environment and the damage distribution available thanks to the post-event buildings’ inspection. The effectiveness of the proposed strategies is assessed through a cost-benefit analysis, highlighting optimal solutions to reduce the economic and social losses., This work was supported by the FAR funding of the University of Ferrara, 2015, “Historical Centers Livable and Sustainable” (HC-LIVE)” and by the scholarship of the University “G. D’Annunzio” Chieti-Pescara, 2019, “Risk Assessment of the Built Heritage at the Urban Scale” (Ref. Num. 0002299). The fourth Author would like to acknowledge the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MCIU) of the Spanish Government, the State Agency of Research (AEI), and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the SEVERUS project (Multilevel evaluation of seismic vulnerability and risk mitigation of masonry buildings in resilient historical urban centres, Ref. Num. RTI2018-099589-B-I00)., Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::11 - Ciutats i Comunitats Sostenibles, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::11 - Ciutats i Comunitats Sostenibles::11.4 - Redoblar els esforços per a protegir i salvaguardar el patrimoni cultural i natural del món, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::13 - Acció per al Clima, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::13 - Acció per al Clima::13.1 - Enfortir la resiliència i la capacitat d’adaptació als riscos relacionats amb el clima i els desastres naturals a tots els països, Postprint (published version)