Inventory-Allocation Distribution Models for Postdisaster Humanitarian Logistics with Explicit Consideration of Deprivation Costs

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the development and implementation of a multiobjective optimization model and information system based on mobile technology, to support decision making in humanitarian logistics operations. Design/methodology/approach The trade-off between economic and social (deprivation) costs faced by governmental and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) involved in humanitarian logistics operations is modeled through a Pareto frontier analysis, which is obtained from a multiobjective optimization model. Such analysis is supported on an information system based on mobile technology. Findings Results show useful managerial insights for decision-makers by considering both economic and social costs associated to humanitarian logistics operations. Such insights include the importance of timely and accurate information shared through mobile technology. Research limitations/implications This research presents a multiobjective approach that considers social costs, which are modeled through deprivation functions. The authors suggest that a future nonlinear approach be also considered, since there will be instances where the deprivation cost is a nonlinear function throughout time. Also, the model and information system developed may not be suitable for other humanitarian aid instances, considering the specific characteristics of the events considered on this research. Practical implications The inclusion of several types of goods, vehicles, collecting points off the ground, distributions points on the ground, available roads after a disaster took place, as well as volume and weight constraints faced under these scenarios, are considered. Social implications Deprivation costs faced by affected population after a disaster took place are considered, which supports decision making in governmental and NGOs involved in humanitarian logistics operations toward welfare of such affected population in developing countries. Originality/value A numerical illustration in the Latin American context is presented, the model and information system developed can be used in other developing countries or regions that face similar challenges toward humanitarian logistics operations.

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Equity and deprivation costs in humanitarian logistics

European Journal of Operational Research ◽

10.1016/j.ejor.2018.03.019 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 270 (1) ◽

pp. 185-197 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Walter J. Gutjahr ◽

Sophie Fischer

Keyword(s):

Humanitarian Logistics ◽

Deprivation Costs

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Research progress on deprivation costs in humanitarian logistics

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction ◽

10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101343 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

pp. 101343 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jianfang Shao ◽

Xihui Wang ◽

Changyong Liang ◽

Jose Holguín-Veras

Keyword(s):

Humanitarian Logistics ◽

Research Progress ◽

Deprivation Costs

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Addressing a Humanitarian Relief Chain Considering Uncertain Demand and Deprivation Costs by a Hybrid LP-GA Method: An Earthquake in Kermanshah

10.21203/rs.3.rs-656906/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Amin Forughi ◽

Babak Farhang Moghaddam ◽

Mohammad Hassan behzadi ◽

Farzad movahedi sobhani

Keyword(s):

Optimization Model ◽

Large Scale ◽

Optimization Problems ◽

Objective Assessment ◽

Hybrid Approach ◽

Transportation Cost ◽

Humanitarian Logistics ◽

Humanitarian Relief ◽

Deprivation Costs ◽

Disruption Risks

Abstract Today, a great deal of attention to numerous disasters such as earthquakes, floods and terrorist attacks is motivated by humanitarian logistics. A comprehensive plan for relief logistic items under uncertainty is a challengeable concern for both academic and logistics practitioners. This study contributes another robust plan for the humanitarian logistics for the earthquake disaster in Kermanshah, Iran. The proposed framework evaluates both operational and disruption risks simultaneously to study the Humanitarian Relief Chain (HRC) network after an earthquake. The main novelty is the simultaneous consideration of the deprivation costs and demand under uncertainty. The deprivation cost leads to a reduction in high social costs for the decision-makers of the HRC. The proposed HRC also guarantees the delivery of the essential supplies to beneficiaries under both operational and disruption risks. As an optimization model, it seeks to minimize total costs consisting of inventory holding cost, shortage cost, deprivation costs and transportation cost and maximizes each facility's weighted resilience level as the second objective. A robust optimization model is established to deal with uncertain levels of the transport network paths, supply condition, amount of demand and deprivation costs which are assumed uncertain. The resilience parameters used for the second objective are obtained by a Best Worst Method (BWM). Another significant contribution was a hybrid approach combining the LP-metric method and Genetic Algorithm (GA) as the LP–GA approach for optimizing large-scale instances. Regarding the analyses, including tuning, validation and comparison of the proposed approach, its performance is showed by several standard multi-objective assessment metrics. As a final point, the achieved outcomes demonstrate that the suggested model is highly sensitive to uncertain parameters. This encourages further development and application of the proposed HRC with the use of a hybrid LP-GA approach as a strong technique for solving optimization problems.

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A New Interpretation of the Structure and Solvent Dependence of the Far UV Circular Dichroism Spectrum of Short Oligopeptides

10.26434/chemrxiv.8028134.v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Anshuman Kumar ◽

Reinhard Schweitzer-Stenner ◽

Bryan Wong

Keyword(s):

Density Functional ◽

Density Functional Theory Calculations ◽

Cd Spectra ◽

Functional Theory ◽

Polyproline Ii ◽

Solvent Dependence ◽

Explicit Consideration ◽

New Interpretation ◽

Implicit And Explicit ◽

Explicit Water

In this work, we carry out new time-dependent density functional theory calculations on the cationic tripeptide GAG in implicit and explicit water to determine the transitions that give rise to the observed CD signals of polyproline II and β-strand conformations. Our results reveal a plethora of electronic transitions that are governed by configurational interactions between multiple molecular orbital transitions of comparable energy. We also show that reproducing the CD spectra of polyproline II and β-strand conformations requires the explicit consideration of water molecules. The structure dependence of delocalized occupied orbitals contributes to the experimentally-observed invalidation of Flory’s isolated pair hypothesis.

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A New Interpretation of the Structure and Solvent Dependence of the Far UV Circular Dichroism Spectrum of Short Oligopeptides

10.26434/chemrxiv.8028134 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Anshuman Kumar ◽

Reinhard Schweitzer-Stenner ◽

Bryan Wong

Keyword(s):

Density Functional ◽

Density Functional Theory Calculations ◽

Cd Spectra ◽

Functional Theory ◽

Polyproline Ii ◽

Solvent Dependence ◽

Explicit Consideration ◽

New Interpretation ◽

Implicit And Explicit ◽

Explicit Water

In this work, we carry out new time-dependent density functional theory calculations on the cationic tripeptide GAG in implicit and explicit water to determine the transitions that give rise to the observed CD signals of polyproline II and β-strand conformations. Our results reveal a plethora of electronic transitions that are governed by configurational interactions between multiple molecular orbital transitions of comparable energy. We also show that reproducing the CD spectra of polyproline II and β-strand conformations requires the explicit consideration of water molecules. The structure dependence of delocalized occupied orbitals contributes to the experimentally-observed invalidation of Flory’s isolated pair hypothesis.

Download Full-text