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Biosolids, a product of wastewater treatment, provide a valuable resource, but to optimize the use of this resource it is necessary to manage risks posed to public health and the environment. Key requirements include identifying contaminant sources and providing barriers to ensure containment and treatment while maintaining the viability and value of biosolids products. Responsibility for managing biosolids is the remit of many stakeholders but primarily it rests with private and public wastewater facilities. The global variabilities in the way biosolids resources are acknowledged, applied, and managed are substantial. For example, some countries are increasing incineration because of their ability to remove contaminants while others have experienced a proportional decrease in incineration dependent on industrial resources or regarding resource recovery costs and needs. Some jurisdictions focus on energy recovery and others on land application. A risk management framework is a tool that may provide a suitable holistic approach to biosolids management. With this focus, current instruments in practice globally to manage biosolids were assessed for the degree to which they have adopted a risk management framework. To form a basis for this assessment a set of criteria was established by concept mapping several internationally recognized standards. Guidelines for a range of developed and developing countries were then assessed against these criteria. That process enabled the identification of which current practices were holistic in terms of applying biosolids risk management principles from production to end-use. Through this process, risk management gaps and vulnerabilities were identified. The results reveal that the incorporation of risk standards into risk management frameworks around the world is variable for the presence of risk criteria and the scale of detail provided. Contaminant concentrations need perspective within the changing risk landscape for stakeholders and the environment while jointly the opportunities and contaminant challenges require solutions that balance risks., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Marilyn Braine reports financial support was provided by Australian Research Council. Stuart Khan reports financial support was provided by the University of New South Wales. Matthew Kearnes reports financial support was provided by the University of New South Wales., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Recent financial crises have highlighted the utmost importance of implementing risk management practices, as exemplified by the profound repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, we witnessed the rise of various initiatives within the medical sector, specifically in the fields of biomedicine, hospitals, and pharmaceuticals, across Africa, with a notable emphasis on Morocco. The government in Morocco has implemented measures to foster investment and encourage participation from companies and stakeholders. Taking into account an indeterminate and volatile future, it becomes imperative for organizations to establish robust risk management strategies to navigate successfully through these uncertainties. This research paper concentrates on the convergence of complexity, project categorization, and risks. We propose a novel approach to the implementation of the Risk Management Process, utilizing the Enterprise Risk Management framework. By establishing Risk Management rules within the context of a “complex” project, we observed enhanced performance and improved risk management through the holistic consideration of interdependencies rather than treating them as separate entities. Additionally, to substantiate this interdependency, we conducted a comparative analysis of the project's risk and complexity between 2020 and 2022.

The literature's current state of the art and future research directions for risk management in the construction sector are described and analyzed in this paper. Web of Science and VOSviewer-Based Literature: A Bibliometric and Visualization Tool. A web of science core collection of 676 research publications on risk management and the construction sector written between 2000 and 2021 was examined. The work investigates cluster analysis, co-occurrences analysis of authors' keywords, and mapping of bibliographic coupling. Results show the contribution of 61 authors from 80 countries, 45 institutions, and 20 keywords were identified and organized in three clusters: Risk management in construction project management, Enterprise risk management in the construction sector, and Effective project management for the construction project success.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Quality Risk Management (QRM) system in hospital pharmacy intravenous admixture services (PIVAS). Methods: Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and risk matrix methods were used to systematically assess the critical risk points in PIVAS. By collecting and comparing relevant data from 2019 to 2023, key performance indicators (KPIs) before and after the implementation of the QRM system were quantitatively evaluated. Results: The results showed that the safety and efficiency of pharmacy services significantly improved after the implementation of the QRM system. The medication error rate significantly decreased from 3.2% to 1.1%, the average medication preparation time reduced from 15.5 min to 8.2 min, and staff satisfaction increased from 6.0 to 8.5 points. Other indicators, such as cross-contamination rates and handling errors, also showed significant improvement (all outcomes p

Climate change is expected to affect the frequency and magnitude of floods, which are among the costliest hazards in Europe. As natural hazards have a significant impact on infrastructure and people's lives and their habitats, novel measures to cope with climate change need to be considered. Different types of measures, such as green, grey and hybrid solutions, can be used to mitigate the impacts of natural hazards. Green measures (also referred to as nature-based solutions) are currently being promoted in the European Union, but several barriers to implementing these measures exist. The question arises as to what hinders the wider implementation of green measures and therefore results in a preference for conventional grey measures in some countries. This study examines the differences in the perceived effectiveness, feasibility and acceptance of different types of flood risk management measures in three European countries (Slovenia, Czechia, and the Netherlands). The results show statistically significant differences in the perceived effectiveness, feasibility and acceptance of the studied measures. With respect to individual measures, respondents in all three countries tend to view conventional grey measures (dams and cisterns) as more effective and acceptable than green and hybrid measures. However, grey measures are perceived as difficult to implement. The results reveal that the perceived effectiveness and acceptability of the measures are related. The major drivers affecting the differences in the perceptions of different measures are the countries of the respondents and the sociodemographic variables of income and age. In contrast to other studies, experiences with past floods and private insurance are not statistically significant. Our results thus indicate that, along with individual behaviour, aggregate social drivers should be considered when implementing flood risk management measures across the EU.

Disasters, disaster risks, and disaster risk management (DRM) present complex temporalities that must be taken into consideration when conducting evaluations that assist the choice of new strategies. Given the non-linearity of change, including long-term perspectives can modify the evaluation results and recommendations, but little is known about how time horizons are selected in DRM evaluation. This exploratory study investigates the determinants that affect what time horizon is considered in DRM evaluation. 12 semi-structured interviews with professional evaluators from different parts of the world were conducted in spring 2022. Their experiences indicate that the interpretation of what is long term in DRM evaluation is context-dependent. The factors determining if time horizons are expanded or narrowed relate to four categories: the actors involved in the evaluation, the purpose of the evaluation, the resources available to conduct the evaluation, and the specific DRM context. It is concluded that DRM evaluation seems to be quite similar to other public policy evaluations, except the DRM context that plays an important role by determining the timing of the evaluation, which itself affects what time horizon should be and/or is considered.

This study examines the perception of South Korean citizens regarding earthquake risk, their understanding of earthquake management policies, and their evaluation of such policies. The structural relationship between earthquake risk perception, policy efficacy (which is the general audience's understanding of the policy and willingness to participate), and policy support was investigated while exploring the moderating effect of past earthquake experiences. The survey was conducted among 330 South Korean individuals. The responses were analysed using statistical tools such as confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling, and multi-group analysis.The study revealed that an individual's earthquake risk perception significantly impacts policy efficacy but is unlikely to directly influence policy support. The findings also suggest that individuals who have experienced seismic shockwaves are more likely to perceive earthquake risk and understand earthquake risk mitigation policies. However, an individual's earthquake experience does not significantly impact the relationship between risk perception and policy support.This study's findings have implications for understanding the relationship between earthquake risk perception, policy efficacy, and support, as well as for developing effective earthquake risk management strategies in South Korea.

Consolidation of multi-domain risk management research is essential for strategies facilitating the concerted government (educational) and population-level (behavioural) actions required to reduce microbial private groundwater contamination. However, few studies to date have synthesised this literature or sought to ascertain the causal generality and extent of supply contamination and preventive responses. In light of the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and Ontario's high reliance and research focus on private wells and consequent utility for empirical comparison, a scoping review of pertinent literature (1990-2022) from both regions was undertaken. The SPICE (Setting, Perspective, Intervention, Comparison, Evaluation) method was employed to inform literature searches, with Scopus and Web of Science selected as primary databases for article identification. The review identified 65 relevant articles (Ontario = 34, ROI = 31), with those investigating well user actions (n = 22) and groundwater quality (n = 28) the most frequent. A markedly higher pooled proportion of private supplies in the ROI exhibited microbial contamination (38.3 % vs. 4.1 %), despite interregional similarities in contamination drivers (e.g., weather, physical supply characteristics). While Ontarian well users demonstrated higher rates of historical (≥ 1) and annual well testing (90.6 % vs. 71.1 %; 39.1 % vs. 8.6 %) and higher rates of historical well treatment (42.3 % vs. 24.3 %), interregional levels of general supply knowledge were analogous (70.7 % vs. 71.0 %). Financial cost, organoleptic properties and residence on property during supply construction emerged as predictors of cognition and behaviour in both regions. Review findings suggest broad interregional similarities in drivers of supply contamination and individual-level risk mitigation, indicating that divergence in contamination rates may be attributable to policy discrepancies - particularly well testing incentivisation. The paucity of identified intervention-oriented studies further highlights the importance of renewed research and policy agendas for improved, targeted well user outreach and incentivised, convenience-based services promoting routine supply maintenance., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Study RegionGuangzhou, ChinaStudy FocusOur research, based on the meticulous collection and rigorous statistical analysis of ground monitoring records for the entire year of 2022 in Guangzhou, delves into the spatio-temporal distribution patterns, evolution processes, flood formation mechanisms, and corresponding disaster mitigation strategies of urban surface flooding related to the capacity of drainage system in the region. New Hydrological Insights: The urban surface flooding (USF) in Guangzhou in 2022 provides key insights for flood risk management. The overall spatial distribution of USF risk in Guangzhou is stable, but specific flood locations during rainstorms vary due to factors such as rainfall conditions and drainage efficiency. This complexity highlights the diverse nature of USF challenges. The frequency of USF events varies significantly across months and dates, with a higher occurrence during the flood season. However, there is a noticeable extension of flood risk into the non-flood season, challenging traditional flood season concepts. USFs peak within 50 minutes, demanding urgent action within 25 minutes, underscoring the need for an efficient emergency response. Certain areas, times, and processes contribute more to the overall flood risk, emphasizing the importance of focusing on these high-risk factors for effective management and resource allocation. The study also reveals the prevalence of Surface Runoff-type Floods, challenging existing USF simulation methods and necessitating a reevaluation and improvement in the maintenance and design of urban rainwater inlets. The study suggests vigorously promoting private proactive flood mitigation behavior and proposes a hierarchical, classification-based approach to urban flood risk control. Comprehensive intervention in the urban runoff formation process is emphasized for effective flood risk management.

A plethora of methods exist to aid decision-making in mitigating disaster risk, many of which fall into the categories of risk, vulnerability and/or resilience assessment methods. The objective of the present study is to provide an overview of these methods, with a particular focus on evidence that supports their practical implementation. A scoping study of scientific literature reveal 97 distinct methods. Despite the growing interest in publishing new methods, there seems to be a lack of focus on demonstrating their effectiveness in practice. The few contributions that do include some forms of evaluation typically do so by comparing the method's output with disaster data, by contrasting it with the output of other methods, by having experts evaluate the structure of the method, or by testing the method in practice and evaluating its usage. To further strengthen the relevance of research on this topic, increased attention should be paid to this matter. A good starting point would be to use the ways of evaluation identified in this study and systematically present evidence regarding the practical usefulness of methods for risk, vulnerability and/or resilience assessment.

Human interaction with marine creatures holds both positive and negative dimensions. Coastal communities benefit from marine environments, relying on them for sustenance and livelihoods. Fishing activities support economies, and marine biodiversity contributes to overall ecosystem health. However, challenges like overfishing, habitat destruction, and pollution pose threats to both marine life and human communities. Recently, there has been widespread concern regarding the potential increase in jellyfish populations across global marine ecosystems, attributed mainly to environmental factors such as climate drivers and anthropogenic forces, or their complex interactions. Encounters with hazardous marine species, such as box jellyfish, exemplify the dangers associated with coastal activities. Unintended interactions may lead to stings, injuries, and even fatalities, necessitating proactive measures and advanced technologies. This study addresses the inadequacies of existing measures in preventing box jellyfish incidents by introducing environmental DNA (eDNA) assays for detecting the deadly Chiropsoides buitendijki and focuses on developing qPCR and dPCR-based eDNA assays. Emphasising prevention over treatment, the study establishes a proactive system to assess C. buitendijki distribution across 63 tourist beaches in the Gulf of Thailand. Comparative analysis highlights the superior performance of dPCR over qPCR and traditional surveys. The dPCR experiment yielded positive results for all eDNA samples collected at sites where C. buitendijki had previously been identified. Remarkably, the eDNA testing also detected positive results in 16 additional sample locations where no physical specimens were collected, despite reported jellyfish stings at some of these sites. These findings underscore the precision and efficacy of the proposed eDNA detection technology in the early detection and assessment of box jellyfish distribution. This advancement therefore not only aids ecological research but also serves as a valuable tool for safeguarding public health, providing an early warning system for potential jellyfish encounters. Balancing positive human-marine interactions with effective risk mitigation strategies is crucial for sustainable coexistence, the preservation of marine ecosystems, and human well-being., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Combatting fatigue is an ongoing challenge in surgical residency programs impacting both patient care and resident well-being. There is a gap in understanding the nuances of fatigue perpetuation, especially where it relates to specific on-call duties. This pilot study seeks to explore the extent of sleep deprivation among Obstetrics and Gynecology (OBGYN) residents and identify obstacles to obtaining adequate rest., Methods: A survey was sent out to all OBGYN residents at the University of Alberta, collecting demographic and baseline sleep information and assessing perceived barriers to sleep. Residents then self-selected for participation in the second portion which involved recording all pages in a 12-hour shift and assigning an acuity rating to them. Mixed methods were used including thematic analysis of the page acuity survey and descriptive statistics for the primary survey., Results: In total, 21 residents completed the initial survey (67.7%) and 17 12-hour shifts were recorded. While junior residents (postgraduate year 1-2) and those carrying the low-risk pager slept less on call and had less sleep on days without call, barriers to sleep were not different when compared to senior residents and those carrying the high-risk pager. While low-risk and high-risk shifts had different primary contributors to fatigue (volume and acuity, respectively) both groups attributed fatigue to non-urgent pages. On review of pages, 49.4% were perceived as non-urgent. A total of 81% of residents supported the development of problem boards to reduce the number of non-urgent pages., Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrated residents, regardless of seniority or shift, found non-urgent pages to be a significant contributor to on-call fatigue and supported the use of problem boards to reduce pages. Our approach can provide a framework for other institutions to learn more about resident fatigue and non-urgent paging in their program., (Copyright © 2024 The Author. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Bromine (Br) is widely distributed through the lithosphere and hydrosphere, and its chemistry in the environment is affected by natural processes and anthropogenic activities. While the chemistry of Br in the atmosphere has been comprehensively explored, there has never been an overview of the chemistry of Br in soil and aquatic systems. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the sources, geochemistry, health and environmental threats, remediation approaches, and regulatory guidelines pertaining to Br pollution in terrestrial and aquatic environments. Volcanic eruptions, geothermal streams, and seawater are the major natural sources of Br. In soils and sediments, Br undergoes natural cycling between organic and inorganic forms, with bromination reactions occurring both abiotically and through microbial activity. For organisms, Br is a non-essential element; it is passively taken up by plant roots in the form of the Br - anion. Elevated Br - levels can limit plant growth on coastal soils of arid and semi-arid environments. Br is used in the chemical industry to manufacture pesticides, flame retardants, pharmaceuticals, and other products. Anthropogenic sources of organobromine contaminants in the environment are primarily wastewater treatment, fumigants, and flame retardants. When aqueous Br - reacts with oxidants in water treatment plants, it can generate brominated disinfection by-products (DBPs), and exposure to DBPs is linked to adverse human health effects including increased cancer risk. Br - can be removed from aquatic systems using adsorbents, and amelioration of soils containing excess Br - can be achieved by leaching, adding various amendments, or phytoremediation. Developing cost-effective methods for Br - removal from wastewater would help address the problem of toxic brominated DBPs. Other anthropogenic organobromines, such as polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants, are persistent, toxic, and bioaccumulative, posing a challenge in environmental remediation. Future research directives for managing Br pollution sustainably in various environmental settings are suggested here., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Crown Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Drawing on the securitisation and riskification of climate change literature, this paper investigates local governments’ climate risk management following a comparative analysis of three cases in the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. The comparative analysis reveals how unwanted consequences of climate change are translated into climate risks, identifying the actors involved in these translations. The analysis then determines the means through which the translations occur, following a risk logic that underpins a particular governmental response to climate change. The findings of this analysis have been contrasted in terms of effects and side effects of the risk logic, showing that the three local cases follow a similar pattern. This paper contributes to understanding the challenges of climate risk management in terms of fortifying existing risk practices, expert-led responses with limited citizen involvement, and long-term societal engineering.

The sustainability issues resulting from Malaysian palm oil production have garnered much interest in the palm oil industry. Consequently, Malaysian palm oil industry is indirectly exposed to sustainability risks, including boycott and reputational and regulatory risks. Hence, the industry encounters intense pressure from numerous stakeholders to address sustainability issues. Prior studies propounded that sustainability risk management (SRM) could minimise the adverse impact of sustainability risks by addressing sustainability issues. Nevertheless, the implementation of sustainability risk management in Malaysia remains low as numerous companies are not ready for it. Drawing on contingency theory, the objective of this study is to investigate the influence of contextual factors that can influence companies' readiness in implementing sustainability risk management. Data was collected through the distribution of questionnaires between July and December 2020. A total of 407 questionnaires were distributed, with a response rate of 29 %. Resultantly, sustainability strategy, business size, top management support, and regulatory pressure positively and significantly influenced sustainability risk management implementation. The findings also expanded the current theoretical knowledge with valuable insights for policymakers regarding the factors influencing to companies’ readiness in implementing SRM.

Effective risk management is crucial in the field of disaster management to mitigate the impact of disasters. It involves proactive planning, resource allocation, and the implementation of response measures. By identifying and assessing risks, stakeholders can take preventive measures and establish contingency plans, fostering resilience, coordination, and efficient disaster response and recovery processes. In the context of globalization, organizations face numerous uncertainties and risks, necessitating the implementation of efficient risk management plans. While the conventional risk response analysis assumes independence among risks, in reality, they are interconnected. Therefore, evaluating risk interactions becomes vital in comprehensive risk management evaluations. This study proposes an innovative framework for disaster risk management based on a review of relevant literature, global project management standards, and the insights gained from previous studies dealing with disaster management projects. To identify appropriate risk response strategies, an optimization model is developed that incorporates a maximization utility function and directly captures potential risk interdependence. An exact optimization method and two metaheuristics are proposed to solve the developed optimization model for the selection of risk response strategies. A detailed assessment of the considered solution algorithms in terms of various performance indicators and sensitivity analysis of model parameters are conducted through a comparative study. This analysis provides valuable insights into the effectiveness and practical applicability of the proposed methodology. The outcomes of this study will benefit practitioners and policymakers involved in disaster management by improving their ability to make informed decisions and allocate resources effectively.

Enterprise risk management has become one of the crucial steps for households in attaining resilience in their livelihood decisions. However, households must prioritize diversifying their enterprises to effectively tackle the risk factors that propagate negative externalities (i.e., poverty) and obtain resilience in livelihood decisions. As such, this paper assesses households' risk management strategies considering the heterogeneities in the diversification levels in rural Bangladesh by harnessing data from 90 participating farm households from September 2016 to March 2017. We also explore the deterministic factors linked to diversification strategies. The findings of the multivariate regression analysis depict that education, occupation choice, asset portfolio, and family size are the significant determinants of a household's livelihood diversification choices. Shannon diversity index and livelihood typologies like ‘Type 66’ and ‘Type 75’ strategies have been used to assess household risk levels and family earning diversities. The overall diversity index (4.3) reveals that the respondents were moderately diversified. Typology studies confirm that the households in Ishwarganj and Haluaghat are more diversified (earning from multiple sources) than in Gouripur. For instance, under the ‘Type 75’ strategy, households in Ishwarganj earn 33% of the total income from crop-non-farm combined, and households in Haluaghat earn only 3% of their income solely from livestock. However, respondents in Gouripur earn most of their income from single sources (24% solely from crops under ‘Type 66’), and therefore, they are the least diversified and are most likely to be affected by risk. Moreover, FGT and Sen index outcomes of poverty show that BDT 4126 and 5776/year, respectively, are required to improve the poor status of the households where the poverty line is BDT 58,947.

During the rescue and relief work of social emergency rescue organizations, the rescue team members face significant responsibilities and risks. Social rescue organizations need to improve funding, available equipment and other aspects compared with professional emergency rescue organizations. Moreover, the development of rescue levels among emergency rescue organizations is unbalanced, and rescue teams’' comprehensive quality and skills are uneven. To understand the safety risks of these organizations before the implementation of rescue and relief tasks, the task situation and its characteristics must be assessed timely, and safety must be ensured under the premise of efficient completion of the rescue missions. Based on the theory of safety system engineering and health, safety, and environment risk management, a risk management model is established to achieve a closed-loop risk management. The risk factors in rescue and relief tasks of social rescue organizations were identified, and a health, safety and environment risk assessment index system and grading standard were established. A gray cloud model was applied for the evaluation method, the problems of information randomness, risk-level boundary fuzziness and randomness of the evaluation index data were effectively solved. Subsequently, a risk hierarchical early warning and control strategies were proposed to allocate emergency resources rationally. The proposed method was verified and found to have universal applicability and strong practicability.

One of the most fascinating and important research areas in recent years is supply chain risk management (SCRM), which helps to boost customer support, high-profit revenues, and organizational growth. The main goal of this effort is to carry out a thorough case study on the top 5 businesses that use the SCRM model globally. The following reasons are why organizations use the SCRM model: risk identification and assessment, risk analysis, environmental monitoring, and risk management. The organization's SCRM is more complicated and constantly changing, and numerous teams, including those for quality, resilience, security (both cyber and physical), compliance, and sustainability, support its implementation. Additionally, a system based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Adaptive Logistic Regression Classifier (ALRC) is employed to determine the right choices for risk identification. They calculated the supply base throughout the risk assessment process using the intrinsic risk factors of the production, social, and environmental processes. Here, the effectiveness of organizations is evaluated in light of their success rate, resilience, and value to their customers.

One of the legacies of armed conflict is unexploded ordnance and abandoned ammunition. This legacy will, in many cases, have a severe impact on society and daily life, even for years or decades after hostilities have ended. The millions of tonnes of explosive remnants that remain in nature represent a grave threat in many ways, and, if left in place, the human, societal and environmental impact could prove to be severe. Clearing the ERW represents a serious and complex risk in itself, a risk that could increase if mismanaged. Furthermore, the accumulations of munition contamination hinder and severely endanger areal development, both on land and offshore. However, vast amounts of explosives and accumulations of munitions, such as those in dumping areas and shipwrecks, are systematically neglected. An unintentional detonation at such a site could prove to have disastrous societal and environmental consequences. In the present work, it is shown that systems thinking could be used as a tool to gain better insight into the complexity of managing the risk related to explosive remnants of war, and to better prioritize resources allocated to mitigating this threat, resulting in the optimization of resource allocation and reduced societal risk.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with stroke. Major changes to AF management recommendations in 2016–2018 advised that: 1. Stroke risk be estimated using the CHA2DS2-VA score; 2. Antiplatelet agents (APAs) do not effectively mitigate stroke risk; 3. Anticoagulation is prioritised above bleeding risk among high-risk patients; and 4. Non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are used as first-line anticoagulants. Aim: To examine trends in stroke risk management among high-risk patients with non-valvular AF in Australia between 2011–2019. Method: De-identified data of patients were obtained from 164 separate general practices. Data included information on patient demographics, diagnoses, health risk factors and recent prescriptions. Patients with a diagnosis of non-valvular AF were identified and stroke risk was calculated by CHA2DS2-VA score. High risk patients (i.e. CHA2DS2-VA ≥ 2) were categorised as being managed by oral anticoagulants (OACs, i.e., warfarin or NOACs), APAs only, or neither (i.e., no OACs or APAs) and time trends in prescribing were examined. Multivariate analyses examined the characteristics of patients receiving the guideline recommended OAC management. Results: Data were available for 337,964 patients; 8696 (2.6 %) had AF. Most patients with AF (85.8 %, n = 7116) had high stroke risk. The proportion of high-risk patients managed on OACs increased from 56.7 % in 2011 to 73.7 % in 2019, while the proportion prescribed APAs declined from 31.1 % to 14.0 %. Those receiving neither treatment remained steady (around 12 %). Overall, 26.3 % of patients were inadequately anticoagulated at the end of the study period. There were no age or gender differences in receiving the guideline-recommended therapy, and patients with comorbidities associated with increased stroke risk were more likely to receive OAC therapy. Conclusions: Stroke risk management among patients with AF has improved between 2011–2019, however there is still scope for further gains as many high-risk patients remain inadequately anticoagulated. Better stroke risk assessment by clinicians coupled with addressing practitioner concerns about bleeding risk may improve management of high-risk patients.

Urbanization involving the excavation and reuse of arsenic-bearing geological materials may pose human health risks. We investigated the distribution and sources of soil arsenic at a coastal reclamation site in the Pearl River Delta, China, and proposed risk management strategies. Analysis of 899 soil samples revealed an average of 58.97 mg/kg arsenic, with a maximum of 1450 mg/kg, mainly in fill material obtained from a local island. Integrative analysis combining reclamation history, regional geology, and bedrock mineralogy conclusively identified hydrothermally altered arsenic-bearing sulfide minerals within extensively fractured bedrock as the primary source of arsenic. Physical weathering and anthropogenic rock blasting produced discrete arsenic-rich particles that were directly transported into soils during land reclamation and accumulated to potential hazardous levels. Oral, dermal, and inhalation pathways were identified as primary exposures for future populations. Integrated engineering and institutional controls, coupled with long-term monitoring, were recommended to mitigate risks. The results highlight the importance of identifying specific geogenic and anthropogenic sources that contribute to heavy metal enrichment of soils in reclaimed areas where native bedrock naturally contains elevated level of metals, supporting evidence-based best practices for risk management and future land use., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA) is a decision-making framework to prioritize policy decisions for chemicals. Differences in hazard profiles among chemicals are not integrated in CEA under the EU REACH Regulation, which could limit its relevance. Another concern is that two different economic decision support methods (CEA for chemicals considered as PBTs or vPvBs from a regulatory perspective and Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) for others) are used under REACH. To address this situation, we define "Hazard" CEA by integrating a hazard score, based on persistence, bioaccumulation and (eco)toxicity, in the effect indicator of CEA. We test different designs and parameterizations of Hazard-CEA on a set of past socio-economic assessments under REACH for PBT and non-PBT chemicals. Weighing and thresholds in hazard scores do not have a significant impact on the outcome of Hazard-CEA but the design of the hazard scoring method does. We suggest using an integrated and unweighted scoring method with a multiplicative formulation based on the notion of risk. Hazard-CEA could be used for both PBT and non-PBT chemicals, to use a single method in REACH and therefore improve consistency in policy decisions. Our work also suggests that using Hazard-CEA could help make decision easier., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Jean-Marc BRIGNON reports financial support was provided by French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Realizing eco-friendly, long-term, and low-risk aphid control on Lycium barbarum (medicinal cash crop) using a Cynanchum komarovii extracts and eucalyptus oil-loaded microcapsules (EOMCs) formulation compositions is viable. In this study, the aim is to optimize the composition of Cynanchum komarovii extracts and EOMCs formulation for effective control of aphids, the release of EOMCs was controlled by changing the cross-linking degree of the shell to match the aphid control characteristics of Cynanchum komarovii extracts. Four types of polyamines were used as cross-linking agents for the preparation of EOMCs by interfacial polymerization. The bioactivity, wettability, and field application efficacy of Cynanchum komarovii extracts and different EOMCs formulation compositions were evaluated. These EOMCs exhibited an encapsulation efficiency exceeding 85 %. The control efficiency of the formulation compositions of microcapsules with a moderate release rate and Cynanchum komarovii extracts on aphids remained at 62.86 %, while the control efficiency of the combination of microcapsules with the fastest and slowest rates with Cynanchum komarovii extracts was only 48.62 % and 57.11 %, respectively. The formulation compositions of Cynanchum komarovii extracts with all four types of EOMCs were found to be safe for Chinese wolfberry plants. Overall, by selecting appropriate polyamines during fabrication, the release rate can be effectively controlled to achieve sustainable and low-risk aphid control in Lycium barbarum through compounding with selected microcapsules., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Disaster management often serves as the primary defense against ecological damage and threats to social well-being resulting from natural disasters. However, the quantitative research on unified disaster risk management capacity assessment has not been scrutinized. Based on the time series structure, this study proposes a novel framework and risk management contribution models for exploiting a community risk management capacity to debris flows (CRMCD) assessment system. A comprehensively improved method was utilized for indicator selection by combining R hierarchical clustering (RHC) and coefficient of variation methods (CV). Entropy-weighted grey correlation analysis (EGCA) and geographic information system (GIS) methods are employed to assign weights and visualize the disaster management capacity of research areas. Three risk management contribution models are constructed according to the criterion layers defined by CRMCD: prevention-oriented, emergency-oriented, and recovery-oriented. Furthermore, a questionnaire was designed by introducing multi-ethnic cultural scenarios to assess public risk awareness, avoidance behaviors, and management demands. A total of 3,060 survey samples were conducted among ethnic minority communities in Sichuan that issued debris flow disaster declarations in 2022. Social welfare and public satisfaction were examined to validate the applicability of the CRMCD assessment system and risk management contribution model. The results identified key indices contributing to enhancing CRMCD: The proportion of financial investment in disaster prevention and public security, Professional skills diversity of emergency responders, and Installed power capacity. The multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed public preference for the prevention-oriented type in the risk management contribution model, and interviewees demonstrated a more positive response regarding motivation and participation in disaster prevention under this model. Kruskal-Wallis H significance analysis highlighted that ethnic minorities and elderly populations exhibited lower levels of disaster knowledge reserves, avoidance awareness, and propensity to purchase disaster insurance. Unexpectedly, respondents with higher household income and education levels paid less attention to seeking assistance from professional community organizations. Disaster early warning emerged as a priority for respondents interested in strengthening community disaster management initiatives. Overall, this study outlines a systematic methodology to establish an objective index system and summarize management models, which provide breakthroughs in developing participatory disaster management frameworks and resilience communities.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the COVID-19 crisis affected delivery security and firms’ preparedness and responses in Norway. Investigations focus on supply chains which were critical for maintaining the supply of essential goods when large parts of society closed down. This includes four firms belonging to food and pharmaceutical industries, representing different parts of the respective supply chains, and covering imports, exports, domestic distribution, and home-delivery services.The originality of this article is that we employ theoretical models on supply chain risk management, resilience and reliability in conjunction, where these are usually used separately. Recognizing links, overlaps, and complementarity between the models, and using them step-by-step, we exploit synergies that enable more comprehensive assessments of strengths and weaknesses in firms’ supply chains, covering gaps, prioritizing between improvement areas, and collecting input towards detailed, actionable risk mitigation actions. Investigations build on semi-structured interviews, systematically covering the formative elements for each of the models. Using the models in conjunction, we compare the firms and identify differences, similarities, strengths, and weaknesses in the consequences of pandemic-related disruptions and how firms approached the challenges.The main challenges for the firms were sudden demand changes early in the pandemic. While the firms had minor differences, their pre-pandemic contingency plans were generally not actionable or detailed enough, nor prepared for the pandemic's longevity. Therefore, more detailed and long-term guidelines are desirable, noting the importance and interrelationships of elements of supply chain risk management, resilience, and reliability. A common feature for all firms, and crucial for handling disruptions, is the importance of good and long-term relationships with upstream and downstream supply chain partners and the need for improving contingency plans and future resilience.

Research on the topic of knowledge risks and their management in organizations is still very scarce, this also applies to empirical studies. However, to avoid the uncritical acceptance of empirical results, replication studies play a crucial role in science. Therefore, this study represents a replication study of the type of empirical generalization of the paper by Durst et al. (2019) which studied knowledge risk management (KRM) in private and public organizations. Considering the KRM and performance assumptions underlying the original study and the methodology used, the results at that time are reviewed using new data from 103 Italian cooperative banks. This paper contributes to the study of risks related to knowledge and its theoretical development by providing new empirical evidence from a different cultural, geographical and institutional context. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of replication studies for knowledge accumulation and theory development in management science.

Summary: In light of the increasing vulnerability to drought occurrences and the heightened impact of drought-related disasters on numerous communities, it is imperative for drought-sensitive sectors to adopt proactive measures. This involves the implementation of early warning systems to effectively mitigate potential risks. Guided by Toulmin’s model of argumentation, this research proposes a framework of eight interconnected modules introducing Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to enhance drought early warning capabilities. The framework emphasizes the Internet of Things, drones, big data analytics, and deep learning for real-time monitoring and accurate drought forecasts. Another key component is the role of natural language processing in analyzing data from unstructured sources, such as social media, and reviews, essential for improving alerts, dissemination, and interoperability. While the framework optimizes resource use in agriculture, water, and the environment, overcoming impending limitations is crucial; hence, practical implementation and amendment of policies are necessary.

Landslide disasters reflect the conflict between human society and the natural environment, posing challenges to the sustainable development of mountain regions. Identification of potential landslides, estimation of the degree of damage and potential losses of elements at risk, and control of the loss are the major tasks of landslide risk management. Resilience is defined as a social system’s comprehensive abilities to cope with disasters, including the abilities to prepare, anticipate, preserve, absorb, respond, resist, recover, mitigate, learn, and adapt. As an indispensable role, resilience enables more rational landslide risk management for social sustainability. However, quantitative landslide risk management does not pay sufficient attention to the role of resilience. Hence, in this paper, the role of resilience in a landslide risk management framework is systematically discussed. A quantitative landslide risk management framework consists of hazard analysis, exposure analysis, risk estimation, risk evaluation, and risk control. In hazard analysis, resilience assessment could help identify potential landslides that could cause significant damage due to the poor resilience of the elements at risk. Resilience assessment in exposure analysis might aid in identifying the most vulnerable elements or regions to certain landslides. Consideration of resilience in risk estimation aids in the calculation of indirect losses and improves the results of direct losses analysis. In risk evaluation, resilience as a disaster-coping ability will impact the social system's landslide risk tolerance threshold. Enhancing resilience is an essential strategy to reduce the vulnerability of social systems. We also proposed that the efficient use of risk information will increase the accuracy of landslide resilience assessments.

Purpose: Following disclosure of pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in hereditary cancer genes, patients face cancer risk management decisions. Through this mixed-methods study, we investigated cancer risk management decisions among females with pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in PALB2, CHEK2, and ATM to understand why some patients follow National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, whereas others do not., Methods: Survey and interview data were cross-analyzed using a 3-stage approach. Identified factors were used to conduct coincidence analysis and differentiate between combinations of factors that result in following or not following guidelines., Results: Of the 13 participants who underwent guideline inconsistent prophylactic surgery, 12 fit 1 of 3 unique patterns: (1) cancer-related anxiety in the absence of trust in care, (2) provider recommending surgery inconsistent with National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, or (3) surgery occurring before genetic testing. Two unique patterns were found among 18 of 20 participants who followed guidelines: (1) anxiety along with trust in care or (2) lack of anxiety and no prophylactic surgery before testing., Conclusion: Health care provider recommendations and trust in care may influence whether individuals receive care that is congruent with risk levels conferred by specific genes. Interventions are needed to improve provider knowledge, patient trust in non-surgical care, and patient anxiety., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest Tuya Pal is on the scientific advisory board of Natera., (Copyright © 2023 American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study background highlights the increasing need for effective management of risks in tall buildings due to their complexity and potential hazards. BIM has been accepted as a potential solution for management of risks in tall buildings; however, its adaptation has been slow due to several obstacles. The purpose of this study is to identify and validate the impediments to the adaptation of BIM for management of risks. The study adopted a two-step methodology, consisting of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM). The data were collected through an online survey of professionals involved in design, construction, and management. Results of the study reveal six significant impediments: technical, integration, operational, creativity, privacy, and standardization. The findings provide theoretical contributions to the literature by identifying and validating the impediments to adaptation of BIM for risks in tall buildings. Practical implications suggest that organizations involved in design, construction, and management of tall buildings need to address the identified impediments to ensure successful adaptation of BIM for management of risks. This study contributes to the understanding of the obstacles to the adaptation of BIM for management of risks in tall buildings and provides insights for organizations to overcome these impediments.

This study used the functional resonance analysis method (FRAM) to analyze a real-world example of an emergency-response process, one that occurred in Koriyama city, Japan, during Typhoon Hagibis (known in Japan as Typhoon No. 19, or Reiwa 1 East Japan Typhoon). The analysis revealed nine functions that constitute the municipality's emergency-response process (including Public Communication, Provision/Management of Evacuation Shelters, Evacuation, and Rescue Operations) as well as the interactive relationships between these functions. It also revealed how variabilities in the timeliness and accuracy of the functions resonated with (reinforced) each other, culminating in an incident involving a backlog of emergency calls. From these results, two recommendations were derived: reviewing the public communication system and building a framework for minimizing variability in evacuation behavior. And also, based on the FRAM analysis we could contextualize the interview data and the individual phenomena described fragmentally in the retrospective report (used for evaluating the disaster response), thereby gaining an understanding of the incident generation mechanism. In conclusion, the study demonstrated FRAM can be an effective tool for retrospective evaluation of disaster response or revising a disaster plan.

The relationship between managerial qualities and risk management is unclear, particularly for small and medium-sized organizations (SMEs) in developing market economies such as South Africa, because much research has focused on big enterprises in industrialized nations. To address this knowledge gap, this paper investigates the relationship between SME owner-manager characteristics and risk management, using upper echelons theory in a novel approach to provide a better understanding of how owner-manager characteristics may be linked to risk management strategies. This was achieved by the distribution of questionnaires to 320 purposely selected SMEs in Cape Town as well as personal interviews with two risk experts. The results show that risk avoidance is SMEs' most prevalent risk management strategy. The findings also show that SME owner-manager characteristics and risk management strategies are firmly and significantly linked, revealing the key determinants of effective risk management in SMEs. This paper is unique because it focuses on the often-overlooked topic of applying echelons theory to SMEs. Aside from bridging this knowledge gap, it has significant implications, such as informing SME owner-managers and policymakers on key variables that influence SME risk management strategies and making recommendations for future research.

The sports service supply chain faces various potential risks, such as market fluctuations, logistics issues, and partner uncertainties. To address these risks effectively, this study employs a combination of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) methods and intelligent neural networks to create an innovative risk management framework. By considering diverse uncertainties and leveraging the analytical power of intelligent neural networks, this study aims to optimize the operation of the sports service supply chain and explore the risk factors within the public service supply chain of stadiums. This framework provides policy references to promote the healthy and sustainable development of the sports service industry. The main empirical findings, based on a representative survey of experts in China, are as follows: (1) When determining the weights of risk indicators for managing the public service supply chain of stadiums using the FCE method, the customer risk indicator is of paramount importance, with a weight of 0.286, accounting for 95.2 % of the total significance; and (2) In evaluating various risk indicators of the public service supply chain of stadiums through the neural network method, the customer risk indicator scores the highest, achieving a score of 76.02. Notably, the customer complaint risk indicator scores slightly higher at 79.33. Based on these findings, the study recommends focusing on enhancing customer experience within risk management strategies. Additionally, it suggests strengthening the supervision of platforms and third-party activities to ensure the stability and efficient operation of the stadium service supply chain. This study aims to provide theoretical support and reference indicators for evaluating the public service capabilities of stadiums.

The east coast of India, especially the coastal region of Odisha, is highly threatened by tropical cyclones. This study develops a detailed risk map for tropical cyclones in the coastal districts of Odisha at the micro level, focusing on the assessment of risk factors at the block level. Using a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approach, the study considers four primary risk components: Exposure, vulnerability, susceptibility, and mitigation options. The Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) framework, which uses the XGBoost model in conjunction with SHAP values, is applied to identify and elucidate the factors influencing risk levels in 69 blocks. Results indicate that about 65% of the area is at high risk to tropical cyclone, especially in the northeastern and central regions. In particular, 32 blocks are classified as high to very high-risk zones. The study shows a contrast in risk levels, with blocks in the northeast and southeast at higher risk, while blocks in the southern regions such as Ganjam and Puri and in the central parts of Kendrapara and Baleswar districts are at lower risk. The findings from this study are crucial for local authorities to identify vulnerable areas and improve cyclone preparedness and risk management strategies in Odisha.

This paper presents a systematic review of the literature on Supply Chain Risk (SCR) research, focusing on content-based analysis. The study comprehensively examines the general factors associated with key themes and trends in supply chain risk management, encompassing the identification and assessment of risks, risk mitigation strategies, and the influence of emerging technologies on Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM). The review provides an overview of current and emerging topics in SCRM, while also introducing categorization frameworks to address research gaps and provide a roadmap for future studies, thereby generating valuable insights in this field. The review highlights the significance of effective SCRM in ensuring business continuity and resilience, emphasizing the need for organizations to adopt a proactive approach to risk management. The paper concludes by identifying areas for future research, including the development of novel risk management frameworks and the integration of emerging technologies into supply chain risk management practices. Additionally, a comprehensive evaluation of each classification is presented, highlighting overlooked aspects and unexplored domains, and offering recommendations for potential next steps in SCRM research.

Purpose: ‘'Project Portfolio Risk Management” is approached through a bibliometry and collaboration networks study determining its dynamics and development as a formal domain that links Project, Risk Management and Portfolio concepts. Design/methodology/approach: To facilitate replicability, a scientometric study under a PRISMA structure is carried out: i) Identification or domain structuring, as well as keywording accuracy; ii) Screening: Search string refinement and outputs review; iii) Eligibility: Several criteria applied to a content analysis, and iv) Inclusion: Consolidation of domain analytics through bibliometry and collaboration networks. Originality and findings: Assessing the field as a formal knowledge domain is novel, contributing to a synthesis of its trends and evolution: For first time, descriptive statistics show increasing attention based on the growing citation scores, participation, H index and productivity of its main journals. Project Portfolio Selection is established as hot topic, the main authors are identified, as well as key concepts such as optimization, mathematical programming, multi-objective optimization, stochastic programming, and robust optimization. Three main research themes are obtained: Incorporation of Risk Assessment into Project Portfolio Selection problem, Risk Management as a Project Portfolio Management process, and Risk Analysis considering social and environmental issues. An accurate match is found in the contrast of the domain's behavior with some bibliometric and linguistic laws. Practical implications: Theoretical richness is achieved in the conjunction of the three terms, presenting dynamics and tendencies and thus contributing to focus related research processes on a unified field for the use of both scholars' and practitioners’ perspectives.