Tool development to measure the resilience of water supply systems in Tanzania: Economic dimension.

The world has experienced devastating disasters causing severe human life and economic losses, which is estimated to be 68.5% of the global economic losses between 2005 and 2017. Natural disasters are of great concern - they caused total damage of approximately $3.5 trillion during the past century - which is more than the global infrastructure development investment in 2014. Floods - exacerbated by climate change - are expected to cause more damages, and water supply infrastructures will continue to suffer if resilience is not improved. Measuring the economic changes affecting resilience would assist in developing risk reduction initiatives to minimise disaster losses. Such a measure is lacking for Tanzania water supply systems (WSSs). The current article applied three-stage processes - literature review, pre-assessment and Delphi technique - to develop a resilience tool to measure economic resilience for urban WSSs in Tanzania. Thematic and standard descriptive analyses were carried out during the study. Dynamism principle and three indicators - system investment proportionality, public-private partnership and cost recovery - emerged as principal components for the tool. The tool is expected to be useful during water authorities' planning processes and budgeting in order to improve the overall WSSs resilience.

Risk of a disaster: Risk knowledge, interpretation and resilience.

Knowledge and interpretation of local risks are essential in disaster mitigation. Auckland's exposure to multiple hazards is a source of national concern. Considering the multiplicity of natural hazards in Auckland, investigations on how communities can enhance their resilience to possible disasters have become imperative. Convincing individuals to embark on activities that would reduce their vulnerability to natural hazards is difficult, especially in communities that have not recently experienced the impact of natural hazards. This research investigated risk knowledge and interpretation in the South African community in Auckland. Data for this study were collected from both primary and secondary sources. A questionnaire was distributed amongst the South African population, and follow-up interviews with participants constituted the primary sources of data collection. Other sources were materials in the public domain. Regarding data analysis, an independent-sample t-test and Spearman's correlation analysis were used to analyse the quantitative research data. A general inductive approach for qualitative data was used to analyse the research interviews. The research confirmed the subjectivity in risk perception and also revealed a high-risk perception, especially for earthquake, flood and tsunami. Whilst this study agreed that there is a relationship between risk perception and preparedness, such relationship is often contextual. The research concludes that risk perception could contribute to disaster resilience if communities appreciate the impact of a natural hazard irrespective of disaster experience or otherwise.

Unintended consequences of management strategies for improving labor productivity in construction industry.

INTRODUCTION: Labor productivity and safety are important topics in the construction industry. Even so, the literature provides little information for project managers trying to determine how management strategies designed to improve labor productivity impact safety. METHOD: This research addresses the gap by measuring the impact of two groups of management strategies that involve human resource related management strategies and construction related management strategies related to safety performance in construction projects. Data were collected from 111 general construction projects through the survey. RESULTS: The results show that the relationship between the implemented management strategies and safety performance is nuanced with 'Communication' harming safety performance while implementation of 'Labor Management,' 'Supervision and Leadership,' 'Planning' and 'Management of Construction' strategies improve the level of safety performance. This study took a further step by measuring the impact of the interactions between the two groups of management strategies on safety performance. The results show that the interactions of construction and human related management strategies are not always in the favor of safety. Practical Applications: This paper adds to the literature on the relationship between productivity and safety in the construction industry. The research findings can assist project managers to improve labor productivity without harming the safety of laborers unintentionally.

Build back better: implementation in Victorian bushfire reconstruction.

The 'build back better' (BBB) concept signals an opportunity to decrease the vulnerability of communities to future disasters during post-disaster reconstruction and recovery. The 2009 Victorian bushfires in Australia serve as a case study for this assessment of the application of core BBB principles and their outcomes. The results show that several BBB measures were successfully implemented in Victoria and are relevant for any post-disaster reconstruction effort. The BBB initiatives taken in Victoria include: land-use planning determined by hazard risk-based zoning; enforcement of structural design improvements; facilitated permit procedures; regular consultations with stakeholders; and programmes conducted for social and economic recovery. Lessons from the Victorian recovery urge the avoidance of construction in high-risk zones; fairness and representativeness in community consultations; adequate support for economic recovery; the advance establishment of recovery frameworks; and empowerment of local councils.

Build back better principles for economic recovery: case study of the Victorian bushfires.

This paper looks at developing build back better (BBB) principles for economic recovery using the 2009 Victorian bushfires in Australia as a case study. The concept behind BBB-based economic recovery is to rejuvenate the economy in disaster-affected communities along with rebuilding to create resilient sustainable communities. A review of the literature identified several principles that can be applied to economic recovery to build back better. Data were collected in 2010 and 2011 by conducting semi- structured interviews with stakeholders who were directly involved in the Victorian bushfires recovery efforts, along with reports and other documentation. The recovery in Victoria displayed the use of BBB-based initiatives for economic recovery. The successes and shortcomings contributed to the creation of a modified list of BBB principles for economic recovery, including: creating an economic strategy based on thorough data collection; providing effective funding through grants and flexible low-interest loans; establishing business advice and mentoring services; providing incentives for businesses; assisting speedy rebuilding of business buildings; providing subsidised employee training and up-skilling programmes; and promoting local businesses through advertising.

An integrated approach: managing resources for post-disaster reconstruction.

A lack of resources for post-disaster housing reconstruction significantly limits the prospects for successful recovery. Following the earthquake in Wenchuan, China, in May 2008, housing reconstruction was not immune to resource shortages and price inflation. Difficulties in sourcing materials and labour considerably impeded recovery. This paper provides evidence of the resourcing bottlenecks inherent in the post-Wenchuan earthquake reconstruction process. Its aim is to present an integrated planning framework for managing resources for post-disaster housing rebuilding. The results are drawn from in-field surveys that highlight the areas where stakeholders need to concentrate effort, including revising legislation and policy, enhancing capacity for rebuilding in the construction industry, strengthening the transportation network, restructuring market mechanisms, and incorporating environmental considerations into overall planning. Although the case study presented here is country-specific, it is hoped that the findings provide a basis for future research to identify resourcing constraints and solutions in other disaster contexts.

Organisational resilience: Researching the reality of New Zealand organisations.

This paper presents findings from a six-year research programme underway in New Zealand to develop strategies for improving the resilience of organisations to major crisis events. The research takes a systems view of organisations, recognising that there are multiple interdependencies within and between different organisations that influence their abilities to respond and recover. This means that effective resilience management for any one organisation must look beyond that single organisation and consider the resilience of other organisations on which it depends. Particular aspects of organisational resilience focused on by the research team include: how individual organisations are positioned to respond to and recover from major crises; their ability to communicate and share information in order to direct resources effectively during crises; and the legal and contractual frameworks within which they will need to operate during crisis response and recovery. None of these issues can be resolved by a single organisation acting unilaterally. Organisations are required to work together towards greater system resilience.

Evaluation of a Mental Health Service for Young Children: Development, Outcome and Satisfaction.

BACKGROUND: Over a 10-year period (1984-1996) a child guidance clinic developed a service in the community for parents with young children with mental health problems. This included support for primary care staff and training courses. The clinical input to the young children developed from a clinic within the child guidance clinic (1984-87), to a specialist clinic for under fives (1990-91) to a service run by a nurse in the community (1994-95), with nurses referring to colleagues only the more complicated cases. METHOD: The work in 1990-91 was compared with the work in 1994-95. The family and clinic scored the outcome of the work, by recording the severity of the problem, separately, on unanchored 5-point Likert scales before and after treatment. For the evaluation in 1994-95 a satisfaction questionnaire was also developed. The cost of running the two different clinics was calculated. RESULTS: The results indicated that there was a slight fall in the effect size for the clinical work in 1994-95, but this method of working was two-thirds of the cost of the previous clinic. The parents were satisfied with both services. The post-contact parental satisfaction questionnaire had face validity, construct validity and internal consistency. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses working on their own in the community can be a cost effective method for working with families with young children. Some families will need to be referred on to specialist teams and more work needs to be done to establish which families and when referral is appropriate. The questionnaire was shown to be a valid and reliable way of assessing family satisfaction.