Balancing costs and benefits in Vietnam’s hydropower industry: a strategic proposal

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chinh Luu ◽  
Jason Von Meding ◽  
Sittimont Kanjanabootra
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Central Component ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Small Hydropower ◽  
Hydropower Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
Hydropower Industry ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose One of the main strategic targets in the national power development plan of Vietnam is to give priority to hydropower. However, there is evidence that the most “at risk” in Vietnamese society have, to date, broadly failed to benefit from hydropower development but rather have become more vulnerable. This paper aims to broaden the perspective of decision makers (government agencies, investors and banks) in the hydropower industry regarding the environmental and social impacts of unrestrained development and the critical need to not only reduce disaster risk for communities but also provide a sustainable model for Vietnam’s energy demand. Design/methodology/approach This position paper presents a critique of public policy in Vietnam related to hydropower industry, undertaken alongside an analysis of socio-economic community resilience and disaster risk reduction literature. Findings Small hydropower investment must be delayed until measures are put in place to ensure that multi-stakeholder risk is a central component of the investment dialogue. Current pricing policies are not aligned with the hydropower development management, and this erects barriers to environmentally and socially conscious decision-making. Practical implications This paper suggests that the development of small hydropower projects must be curtailed until new measures are put in place. This has practical implications for investors, policy makers and residents of affected areas. The authors argue for a significant shift in government strategy toward building resilience as opposed to growth and profit at any cost. Social implications Conscious of Vietnam’s energy demands and development goals, this paper investigates the context of increasing disaster risk and ecological pressures, as well as social injustice relating to the hydropower industry. This kind of analysis can support future efforts to reduce disaster risk and the vulnerability of marginalized groups in Vietnam. Originality/value The authors present a comprehensive review of Vietnamese hydropower from a disaster resilience perspective and provide analysis that will be useful in further research in this emerging area.

Overcoming the challenge of “fuzzy” assessment and feedback

2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 505-519
Author(s):  
Brendan Boyle ◽  
Rebecca Mitchell ◽  
Anthony McDonnell ◽  
Narender Sharma ◽  
Kumar Biswas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Evaluation Methodology ◽  
Central Component ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fuzzy Assessment ◽  
Management Students ◽  
Effective Assessment ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Critical Process ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis paper explores the challenge of “fuzzy” assessment criteria and feedback with a view to aiding student learning. The paper untangles three guiding principles as mechanisms to enhance the effectiveness of assessment and feedback through overcoming the inherent challenges which stem from tacit judgement during assessment.Design/methodology/approachThe paper applies a realistic evaluation methodology, with a framework for assessment and feedback consisting of three principles – Means, Opportunity and Motivation (MOM). Through in-depth interviews with undergraduate and postgraduate management students the paper identifies how and when the means, opportunity and motivation principles impact student learning through assessment and the utility of the feedback received on their learning.FindingsThe findings in the paper illustrate that students do not always understand the feedback they receive on their learning because they do not fully understand the criteria to which it refers due to the tacit dimensions of assessment. The findings substantiate the proposition that effective assessment processes must ensure that students have the means, opportunity and motivation to use feedback and to understand the criteria, a central component of which is understanding tacit dimensions of assessment.Practical implicationsThe paper deciphers three practical implications for instructors related to (1) teaching, (2) course and program design and (3) the nature of the feedback instructors should provide.Originality/valueWhile prior scholarship has flagged the challenge of “fuzzy” assessment and feedback, this paper identifies when and how the means, opportunity and motivation principles are manifested in the process of making the tacit components of assessment codified and actionable, a critical process in developing expert learners.

The trapdoor in the platform: will corporate purpose be enough?

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-62
Author(s):  
Peter Buell Hirsch
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Productivity Growth ◽  
Corporate Reputation ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Economic Downturn ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Purchasing Power ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Growth Decline ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to assess whether current corporate commitments to serve all stakeholders rather than just shareholders will protect corporate reputation during the coming economic downturn. Design/methodology/approach This paper reviews recent corporate commitments to corporate purpose and sustainability as well as critiques of these commitments to determine the likely public and governmental responses in the context of declining middle-class purchasing power and record profits. Findings The author believes that unless corporations make deeper commitments to productivity growth, higher wages and strengthening employment, there will be meaningful restrictions imposed upon their freedom to operate. Research limitations/implications This review of corporate commitments and critiques is selective and not comprehensive. To the extent that the findings relate to events in the future, they are, by definition, non-verifiable. Practical implications If corporations begin to address the concerns discussed here before the next sharp economic downturn, they may be able to escape significant new obligations imposed by the governments. If not, they are likely to lose both freedom of action and reputation. Social implications Depending on the flow of events, large segments of the population could turn against big corporations, representing a significant shift in the cultural and political environment. Originality/value Much has been written about the intersection of stagnation in productivity growth, decline in middle-class purchasing power and income inequality. However, the author believes that there has been little attention given to the possible implications from the perspective of corporate reputation.

scholarly journals Social network analysis of the Korean disaster-safety industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Byeong Je Kim ◽  
Hyung-Guen Park ◽  
Ji-Bum Chung
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
Market Structure ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Proper Understanding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the present structure of the Korean disaster-safety industry and propose ways to promote it. Design/methodology/approach The background of the emergence of the disaster and safety industry in Korea is reviewed, and business networks of 91 companies belonging to the disaster and safety industry in Korea are identified and analysed through a network analysis. Findings Korean Government is struggling to nurture the disaster and safety industry as it has been on last few decades. This paper finds that the current industry has an ambiguous market structure, and the industry tends to depend highly on the demand of public institutions. Practical implications The concept of the disaster and safety industry is not well established in other countries except for Korea. If Korea successfully fosters its disaster and safety industry through its proper understanding, it would bring both disaster risk reduction and economic benefits. Originality/value This paper analyses the market structure of the disaster and safety industry, which is uniquely emerging in Korea and rarely designated as an industry in other countries.

scholarly journals Procurement sustainability tensions: an integrative perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 586-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sajad Fayezi ◽  
Maryam Zomorrodi ◽  
Lydia Bals
Keyword(s):  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to unpack tensions faced by procurement professionals as part of their triple bottom line (TBL) sustainability activities. The authors take an integrative perspective based on the procurement sustainability and organizational tensions literature, as well as stakeholder and institutional theory. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a multiple case study approach. Data are collected through multiple interviews and archival data from eight case companies in Australia. Findings The authors identify supply chain and company procurement sustainability tensions (PSTs) and explain their multi-level nature. The analysis also dissects the multi-stakeholder and multi-institutional environments where PSTs operate. The authors discuss such environments in terms of various temporal and spatial legitimacy contexts (LCs) that, through their assessment of institutional distance, can characterize the manifestation of PSTs. Practical implications The findings are instrumental for managers to make informed decisions when dealing with PSTs, and they pave the way for paradoxical leadership given the increasing importance of simultaneous development and balancing of TBL dimensions, as evidenced in this study. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to empirically investigate PSTs by drawing on an integrative approach to identify PSTs, and to discern various LCs that underpin stakeholder judgments of procurement’s TBL sustainability activities.

scholarly journals Multi-level decomposition of ASEAN urbanization effects on energy

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1107-1132
Author(s):  
Phuong Minh Khuong ◽  
Russell McKenna ◽  
Wolf Fichtner
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Industrial Sectors ◽  
Index Decomposition ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Asean Countries ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The connection between urbanization and energy consumption in the context of cross-country and cross-sector analyses is poorly understood, especially in the Association of South East Asian (ASEAN). This paper aims to present the first extensive multi-level analysis of the relationship between urbanization and energy consumption in ASEAN countries from 1995 to 2013. Design/methodology/approach The multi-level (across country and sector) index decomposition method is used to analyze urbanization, energy mix, energy intensity and activity effects on energy demand. Urbanization is measured by two representative factors, name the urban population and the number of non-agriculture workers. Findings Despite the decreasing rate of urbanization, its effect on energy consumption has played the most important role since 2000. Since then, the effect has continued to increase at the national and sectoral levels across the whole region. The strongest urbanization impacts are encountered in the residential sector, followed by transportation and industrial sectors with much weaker effects in the commercial sector. The way in which urbanization impacts energy consumption depends strongly on the income level of the country studied. Practical implications The results provide quantitative relationships between urbanization and energy demand. For example, if the urban population and the non-agriculture workers decreased by 0.1 per cent per year, this would reduce energy demand by 1.4 per cent and 2.6 per cent per year respectively. Originality/value This contribution provides detailed quantitative insights into the relationships between urbanization and energy demand at sectoral, national and international levels, which are invaluable for policymakers in the region.

Disaster risk areas in Brazil: outcomes from an intra-urban scale analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Midori Saito ◽  
Mariane Carvalho de Assis Dias ◽  
Daniela Ferreira Ribeiro ◽  
Regina Célia dos Santos Alvalá ◽  
Daiane Batista de Souza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Development ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Small Cities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Size Classification ◽  
Exposed Population ◽  
Risk Areas ◽  
High Level ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
A Current

Purpose This paper aims to shed some light on the distribution of population, living in disaster risk areas in Brazil, on the intra-urban scale. The following three aspects are evaluated in this paper: the distribution of exposed population according to municipal size classification; the population density in disaster risk areas; and the municipal human development classification for the municipalities with disaster risk areas. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on an explorative approach. The main database used is a result of the association of landslide and flood risk areas to demographic census, available for 825 Brazilian municipalities. Additional databases were integrated to characterize disaster risk management and municipal human development. Findings The results revealed that the population exposed to disaster areas is concentrated within the capitals and small cities in the country. Moreover, disaster risk areas are densely populated even in small cities, suggesting that it is a reality faced not only by the larger cities. Finally, disaster risk areas exist even inside municipalities with a high level of human development. Practical implications These findings could contribute to the understanding of the spatialisation of disaster risk in Brazil, a primordial step for the reduction of human losses. Originality/value A novel perspective about the Brazilian population exposed to disaster risk was obtained, revealing a current issue faced by the municipalities independent of the size classification and level of human development.

scholarly journals Risks and benefits of small hydropower development: Chinese experience and Russian practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 300-314
Author(s):  
Maksim V. Chernyaev
Keyword(s):  
Practical Interest ◽  
State Level ◽  
Small Hydropower ◽  
Hydropower Development ◽  
Renewable Energy Technologies ◽  
Risks And Benefits ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Hydropower Plants ◽  
The Media ◽  
Hydropower Industry

The inevitable depletion of traditional energy sources attracts a strong interest in the development of renewable energy technologies around the world. Territorial features and abundance of water resources in Russia have a great potential for small hydropower development, but statistics show that there is no high practical interest in this area. A comparative analysis of the features of the Russian and Chinese energy systems indicates the presence of certain problems in the small hydropower industry of Russia connected with the lack of a strategic understanding of the prospects for the development of the industry at the state level. This situation naturally leads to an increase in investment risks. The purpose of the present research is to determine the conditions that can make the construction of small hydropower plants attractive to investors and lead to the formation of the market of the appropriate technological equipment. Official statistics, planning documents, expert publications in the media and scientific magazines, as well as the author's comparisons of the Russian and Chinese small hydropower regulation measures have been used in the process of analyzing the Russian energy development.

Local responses to disasters: recent lessons from zero-order responders

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Briones ◽  
Ryan Vachon ◽  
Michael Glantz
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Zero Order ◽  
External Support ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Responses ◽  
Local Populations ◽  
Direct Observations ◽  
Risk Reducing ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to define and discuss the concept of zero-order responders (ZOR). It explores the potential lessons and the additive value that assimilation of responses of disaster-affected people into disaster risk reduction (DRR) and disaster risk management (DRM) programs can provide.Design/methodology/approachIn order to support this concept, the authors review two recent extreme hydrometeorological events, illustrating how local populations cope with disasters during the period before external support arrives. Additionally, the authors address their under-leveraged role in the management of recovery. The empirical evidence was collected by direct observations during the 2017 El Niño Costero-related floods in Peru, and by the review of press following 2017 hurricanes Irma and Maria destruction in Puerto Rico.FindingsDuring disasters, there is a window of time before official and/or external support arrives. During this period, citizens must act unsupported by first responders – devising self-coping strategies in order to survive. In the days, weeks and months following a disaster, local populations are still facing recovery with creativity.Research limitations/implicationsCiting references arguing for or against the value of documenting survivor methods to serve as a testimony for the improvement of DRR programming.Practical implicationsDRR and DRM must integrate local populations and knowledge into DRR planning to improve partnerships between communities and organizations.Social implicationsThe actions and experiences of citizens pro-acting to pave fruitful futures is a valuable commentary on improvements for DRR and management.Originality/valueThis paper proposes a citizen-centered contribution to future disaster risk reducing actions. This approach emphasizes the reinterpretation of local responses to disasters. DRRs and DRMs growth as fields would value from heralding ZOR coping and improvisation skills, illustrated under stressful disaster-related conditions, as an additive resource to programming development.

In search of the causes of disasters

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ihab Hanna Sawalha
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reduction Processes ◽  
Theoretical Reasoning ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Made In

Purpose The term “causes” of disasters is used interchangeably very often with other terms, such as “types” of disasters. Also, causes of disasters are usually explained in the literature in an individualistic fashion relating every single disaster with its own causes only. This limits the ability to identify the real causes of disasters. Second, it reduces the ability to create any kind of grouping for the causes of disasters. The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss causes of disasters in a more categorical manner. Design/methodology/approach An extensive review of the existing literature has been made in order to identify, introduce and discuss theories related to the causes of disasters. Overall, the approach taken is based on theoretical reasoning informed by the literature. Findings Disasters, even those which seem to be composite and complex, are not mysterious incidents that cannot be explained or analyzed. Literally, almost all disasters can be diagnosed and the causes of disasters can be identified in a systematic and reasonable manner. Practical implications This study provides a better conceptualization and understanding of the causes of disasters. It is believed that this study will improve the decision-making process accompanied with the disaster risk reduction processes by understanding the exact causes of disasters. The study also clarifies the differences between the causes, sources and types of disasters which is extremely significant in disaster lifecycle modeling. Originality/value To the author’s knowledge, very few attempts have been made in the literature to capture causes of disasters in a categorical and systematic manner. Almost all disaster occurrences have been discussed in the literature in an individualistic fashion relating every single disaster with its own causes only.

Lessons from self-assessments within urban climate resilience programs

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Henceroth ◽  
Richard M. Friend ◽  
Pakamas Thinphanga ◽  
Phong Van Gai Tran ◽  
Tuyen Phuong Nghiem
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Urban Climate ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Self Assessments ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

Purpose – This paper aims to review and develop lessons learned from the United Nations Office of Disaster Risk Reduction Local Government Self Assessment Tool (LGSAT) experience in four cities. The capacity to understand, learn from and respond to or reorganize in the face of change is at the core of urban resilience to disasters, climate change and major shocks. Self assessments, like the LGSAT, can be used to engage city stakeholders in critically assessing and understanding their capacity according to a set of standards of resilience. Design/methodology/approach – City stakeholders in four cities, Hat Yai and Udon Thani, Thailand and Hue and Lao Cai, Vietnam, completed the LGSAT in an open multi-stakeholder process as part of urban climate resilience programs. Findings – Completing the LGSAT provided important and valuable information about institutional capacity that is important for disaster risk reduction and climate change efforts. Multi-stakeholder processes allowed for greater and more sustained dialogue among groups that may not have a chance to interact regularly and helped build trust and relationships that contribute to climate resilience and disaster risk reduction efforts. Originality/value – Further, the inclusion of multiple viewpoints allowed for more nuanced and novel consideration of issues and in multiple cities led to new projects that focused on building institutional and agent capacity. The LGSAT process relied on facilitation that was able to guide discussion, ensure safe spaces for dialogue and address stakeholder questions. Finally, while the tool was applied to questions of climate change in this process, there is still room to improve the tool to more adequately and directly address issues of climate change risk.

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