scholarly journals Selection of surrogates to assess social resilience in disaster management using multi-criteria decision analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-480
Author(s):  
A.M. Aslam Saja ◽  
Melissa Teo ◽  
Ashantha Goonetilleke ◽  
A.M. Ziyath ◽  
Jagath Gunatilake
Keyword(s):  
Decision Analysis ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Clinical Medicine ◽  
Social Resilience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Target Indicator ◽  
The Social ◽  
Resilience Indicators ◽  
Resilience Assessment ◽  
Selection Of

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a framework for evaluation and ranking of potential surrogates to select the optimum surrogates and test it for five selected social resilience indicators in a disaster context. Innovative resilience assessment approaches are required to capture key facets of resilience indicators to deepen the understanding of social resilience. Surrogates can adequately represent the target indicator that is difficult to measure, as surrogates are defined as key facets of a target indicator. Design/methodology/approach To optimize the selection of surrogates, five key evaluation criteria were used. Disaster management experts completed an online survey questionnaire and evaluated three potential surrogate options. Surrogates were then ranked using PROMETHEE, a multi-experts multi-criteria group decision analysis technique. Findings A framework was devised to evaluate and rank potential surrogates to assess social resilience in a disaster context. The findings revealed that the first ranked surrogate can be the most critical facet of a resilience indicator of measure. In most instances, highly experienced cohort of practitioners and policy makers have aligned their preferences of surrogates with the overall ranking of surrogates obtained in this study. Research limitations/implications The surrogate approach can also be tested in different disaster and geographic contexts. The resilience indicators used in this study to explore surrogates are largely applicable in all contexts. However, the preference of surrogates may also vary in different contexts. Practical implications Once the surrogate is selected through an evaluation process proposed in this paper, the resilience status can be updated regularly with the help of the selected surrogate. The first ranked surrogate for each of the social resilience indicator can be applied, since the findings revealed that the first ranked surrogate can be the most critical facet in the context of the social resilience indicator being measured. Social implications The framework and the selection of optimal surrogates will assist to overcome the conceptual and methodical challenges of social resilience assessment. The applicability of selected surrogates by practitioners and policymakers in disaster management will play a vital role in resilience investment decision-making at the community level. Originality/value The surrogate approach has been used in the fields of ecology and clinical medicine to overcome the challenges in measuring difficult to measure indicators. The use of surrogates in this study to measure social resilience indicators in a disaster context is innovative, which was not yet explored in resilience measurement in disaster management. Graphical abstract

Optimal selection of acoustic leak detection techniques for water pipelines using multi-criteria decision analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sepideh Yazdekhasti ◽  
Kalyan Ram Piratla ◽  
John C. Matthews ◽  
Abdul Khan ◽  
Sez Atamturktur
Keyword(s):  
Decision Analysis ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
Performance Data ◽  
Optimal Selection ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Typical Application ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Detection Techniques ◽  
Multi Criteria Decision Analysis ◽  
Selection Of

Purpose There has been a sustained interest over the past couple of decades in developing sophisticated leak detection techniques (LDTs) that are economical and reliable. Majority of current commercial LDTs are acoustics based and they are not equally suitable to all pipe materials and sizes. There is also limited knowledge on the comparative merits of such acoustics-based leak detection techniques (ALDTs). The purpose of this paper is to review six commercial ALDTs based on four decisive criteria and subsequently develop guidance for the optimal selection of an ALDT. Design/methodology/approach Numerous publications and field demonstration reports are reviewed for evaluating the performance of various ALDTs in this study to inform their optimal selection using an integrated multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework. The findings are validated using interviews of water utility experts. Findings The study approach and the findings will have a broad impact on the water utility industry by identifying a suite of suitable ALDTs for a range of typical application scenarios. The evaluated ALDTs include listening devices, noise loggers, leak-noise correlators, free-swimming acoustic, tethered acoustic, and acoustic emissions. The evaluation criteria include cost, reliability, access requirements, and the ability to quantify leakage severity. The guidance presented in this paper will support efficient decision making in water utility management to minimize pipeline leakage. Originality/value This study attempts to address the problem of severe dearth of performance data for pipeline inspection techniques. Performance data reported in the published literature on various ALDTs are appropriately aggregated and compared using a MCDA, while the uncertainty in performance data is addressed using the Monte Carlo simulation approach.

Detonating factors of collaborative innovation from the human capital management

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-160
Author(s):  
Maria Fernanda Diaz-Delgado ◽  
Hermenegildo Gil ◽  
Raul Oltra-Badenes ◽  
Hugo Ernesto Martinez-Ardila
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Competitive Advantages ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Environmentally Responsible ◽  
Collaborative Innovation ◽  
Selection Of

Purpose This paper aims to offer an understanding of the actions which facilitate the open innovation achievement in companies from the management of their human capital. Although innovation contributes to keep competitive advantages in time, small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) hardly innovate because of the high expenses involved. The current problems also demand solutions that incorporate characteristics which are responsible for both the environment and society. Design/methodology/approach The actions in the study are called “Detonating factors of innovation,” and they obey the practices taken from a thorough exercise of systematic review on the previous scientific literature in the ISI Wok and Scopus databases for the period 2007-2019. Articles associated with open innovation and organizations were also reviewed, along with those containing detonating factors. Findings Human capital is exposed in this study as the primary and fundamental resource of any organization with the capacity to modify and impose the social and environmental factors in the solutions to global problems process. Thus, it was found that the detonating factor is linked to the selection of employee profiles, training, resource availability, incentive models, communication and work environment. Originality/value Open innovation literature is based more on large companies than on small ones, and in almost no case is it sought to be a tool for social development, but for technological development. The contribution of this study allows the advancement in the state of the art and also serves as an instrument to inspire SMEs to associate for innovation purposes, apart from including socially and environmentally responsible characteristics.

A novel approach to assess resilience of energy systems

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Matzenberger ◽  
Nigel Hargreaves ◽  
Debadayita Raha ◽  
Priyan Dias
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
System Resilience ◽  
System Properties ◽  
Resilience Assessment ◽  
Selection Of

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline different notions of the term resilience used in scientific disciplines and consequently explore how the concept can be applied to energy systems. The concept of resilience has emerged recently in scientific discourse. The major questions to be addressed are: Which definitions and underlying concepts of resilience are used in the scientific literature? How can resilience be defined with respect to energy systems and which underlying principles can be identified? Design/methodology/approach – Building on this understanding, characteristics of the resilience concept used in various contexts are described and a methodology for selection of an indicator set for an energy resilience assessment is presented. The methodology for a resilience assessment outlined in this paper requires definition and clustering of a set of indicators describing a resilient system. It contributes to understanding system properties and supports the theory of how to improve system resilience. Findings – It is argued that resilience can be defined as a function of vulnerability and adaptability, therefore increasing adaptability or reducing vulnerability can cause higher system resilience. Further attributes, determinants and properties of resilient systems to guide indicator selection and classification are suggested. Originality/value – Definitions of resilience, vulnerability and adaptability are very much interlinked. A novel framework is proposed to foster the understanding of the interlinkage between these three terms and to cluster indicators to assess energy system resilience.

Designing the Greek Citation Index in the humanities and the social sciences (GCI – H&SS)

2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 452-464
Author(s):  
Daphne Kyriaki-Manessi
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Impact Factor ◽  
Citation Index ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Citation Indexes ◽  
The Social ◽  
National Production ◽  
Language Environment ◽  
Selection Of

Purpose – This study aims to examine the major policy issues regarding the formation of a Greek Citation Index. Design/methodology/approach – Literature search for determining international practices on the formation of citation indexes and applied inquiries on the major citation indexes available today online for which goals, policies on inclusion of published research, issues on impact factor, major concerns on distribution and use were examined within the Greek parameters imposed by language barriers, readability and usability. A blueprint of scholarly Greek production in humanities and social sciences (H&SS) was made along with the development of a mechanism for assessing and incorporating journals to the index. Findings – The study reports on the following issues: selection of H&SS as a start of point for the citation index; setting of the index’s goals and objectives in view of the use of impact factor for the assessment of academics; comparison of international to national production of citation indexes; development of a mechanism needed to establish policies regarding the use of standards, selection of material, compliance with repository policies and open-access practices; and assessment of difficulties arising from language (and alphabet) differences, demographics, audience and scientific production. Originality/value – The paper presents the designing of an information tool in a unique language environment and in isolation from the international indexing community. In addition, it contributes to the adoption of international indicators, such as impact factor, and their implementation within the Greek environment and the specification of parameters arising from language, demographics and publishing practices of the country.

Correlating research impact of library and information science journals using citation counts and altmetrics attention

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 143-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ifeanyi Jonas Ezema ◽  
Cyprian I. Ugwu
Keyword(s):  
Information Science ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Research Evaluation ◽  
Research Impact ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Citation Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Selection Of

Purpose Since the development of web 2.0, there has been a paradigm shift in methods of knowledge sharing. This has equally impacted on techniques of research evaluation. Many scholars have argued that the social utilization of research is hardly reflected in the traditional methods of research evaluation. The purpose of this paper is to determine the research impact of Library and Information Science (LIS) journals using Web of Science (WoS), Scopus and Google Scholar (GS) and then examine whether there is a correlation between their citations and altmetric attentions. Design/methodology/approach This paper is an attempt to contribute to this discussion with focus on the field of LIS. This paper adopted descriptive informatics to analyze LIS journals. The paper extracted citation data from WoS, Scopus and GS, and altmetric attentions from 85 LIS journals indexed by WoS. Further, 18 journals with high altmetric attention were identified, while 9 of these maintained consistent presence in the three databases used. Findings Findings show that of these databases, citation data from GS was found to have a high correlation with altmetric attention, while the other two databases maintained moderate correlations with altmetric attention. The paper also found a positive but non-significant correlation between citation scores and altmetric attention in the nine journals that maintained consistent presence in the three databases. Practical implications The findings of this paper will be useful to librarians in selection of relevant journals for their libraries and also will assist authors in the choice of publication outlets for their papers particularly when considering journals that have visibility and research impact. Originality/value The originality of the paper lies on empirical evidences from the citation and altmetric data extracted from the databases used for the paper.

scholarly journals A critical review of social resilience assessment frameworks in disaster management

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 101096 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.M. Aslam Saja ◽  
Ashantha Goonetilleke ◽  
Melissa Teo ◽  
Abdul M. Ziyath
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Management ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Social Resilience ◽  
Resilience Assessment

Ethnomethodology

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ciaran B. Trace
Keyword(s):  
Information Science ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
Correct Reading ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Work Done ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Selection Of

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to argue that researchers in the information disciplines should embrace ethnomethodology as a way of forming deeper insights into the relationship between people and recorded knowledge. Design/methodology/approach – The paper introduces the core concepts of ethnomethodology as a means of articulating what this perspective brings to the understanding of the way that society is accomplished. A selection of key studies are then examined to highlight important ethnomethodological findings about the particular relationship of documents to human actions and interactions. Findings – Ethnomethodology highlights the fact that people transform their experiences, and the experiences of others, into documents whose status as an objective object help to justify people’s actions and inferences. Documents, as written accounts, also serve to make peoples’ actions meaningful to themselves and to others. At the same time, ethnomethodology draws attention to the fact that any correct reading of these documents relies partly on an understanding of the tacit ideologies that undergird people’s sense-making and that are used in order to make decisions and get work done. Originality/value – This conceptual framework contributes to the information disciplines by bringing to the fore certain understandings about the social organization of document work, and the attendant social arrangements they reveal. The paper also outlines, from a methodological perspective, how information science researchers can use ethnomethodology as an investigative stance to further their knowledge of the role of documents in everyday life.

Tanks in the Spa Town. The New Book about the Events of the Year 1968 in Czechoslovakia

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 278-282
Author(s):  
Kirill A. Popov
Keyword(s):  
Fiftieth Anniversary ◽  
Warsaw Pact ◽  
Scientific Event ◽  
The Social ◽  
Prague Spring ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Scientific Terms ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Regional Perspective ◽  
The Way

This review is devoted to the monograph by Jan Nedvěd “We do not decline our heads. The events of the year 1968 in Karlovy Vary”. The Karlovy Vary municipal museum coincided its publishing with the fiftieth anniversary of the Prague spring which, considering the way of the presentation, turned the book not only to scientific event but also to the social one. The book describes sociopolitical trends in the region before the year 1968, the development of the reformist movement, the invasion and advance of the armies of the Warsaw Pact countries, and finally the decline of the reformist mood and the beginning of the normalization. Working on his writing, the author deeply studied the materials of the local archive and gathered the unique selection of the photographs depicting the passage of the soviet army through the spa town and the protest actions of its inhabitants. In the meantime, Nedvěd takes undue freedom with scientific terms, and his selection of historiography raises questions. The author bases his research on the Czech papers and scarcely uses the books of Russian origin. He also did not study the subject of the participating of the GDR’s army in the operation Danube, although these troops were concentrated on the borders of Karlovy Vary region as well. Because of this decision, there are no materials from German archives or historiography in the monograph. In general, the work lacks the width of studying its subject, but it definitively accomplishes the task of depicting the Prague spring from the regional perspective.

Philosophcal review of h. white̕s tropological theory in the context of the new philosophy of history

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (152) ◽  
pp. 92-99
Author(s):  
S. M. Geiko ◽  
◽  
O. D. Lauta
Keyword(s):  
Modern Science ◽  
Historical Knowledge ◽  
Text Organization ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Actual Material ◽  
The Common ◽  
Historical Nature ◽  
Selection Of

The article provides a philosophical analysis of the tropological theory of the history of H. White. The researcher claims that history is a specific kind of literature, and the historical works is the connection of a certain set of research and narrative operations. The first type of operation answers the question of why the event happened this way and not the other. The second operation is the social description, the narrative of events, the intellectual act of organizing the actual material. According to H. White, this is where the set of ideas and preferences of the researcher begin to work, mainly of a literary and historical nature. Explanations are the main mechanism that becomes the common thread of the narrative. The are implemented through using plot (romantic, satire, comic and tragic) and trope systems – the main stylistic forms of text organization (metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, irony). The latter decisively influenced for result of the work historians. Historiographical style follows the tropological model, the selection of which is determined by the historian’s individual language practice. When the choice is made, the imagination is ready to create a narrative. Therefore, the historical understanding, according to H. White, can only be tropological. H. White proposes a new methodology for historical research. During the discourse, adequate speech is created to analyze historical phenomena, which the philosopher defines as prefigurative tropological movement. This is how history is revealed through the art of anthropology. Thus, H. White’s tropical history theory offers modern science f meaningful and metatheoretically significant. The structure of concepts on which the classification of historiographical styles can be based and the predictive function of philosophy regarding historical knowledge can be refined.

Precursors to Public Choice

2019 ◽  
pp. 796-816
Author(s):  
Iain McLean
Keyword(s):  
Public Choice ◽  
Social Choice ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Social Choice Theory ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mathematical Skill ◽  
The Many ◽  
Selection Of

This chapter reviews the many appearances, disappearances, and reappearances of axiomatic thought about social choice and elections since the era of ancient Greek democracy. Social choice is linked to the wider public-choice movement because both are theories of agency. Thus, just as the first public-choice theorists include Hobbes, Hume, and Madison, so the first social-choice theorists include Pliny, Llull, and Cusanus. The social-choice theory of agency appears in many strands. The most important of these are binary vs. nonbinary choice; aggregation of judgement vs. aggregation of opinion; and selection of one person vs. selection of many people. The development of social choice required both a public-choice mindset and mathematical skill.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document