Risk Management Communication Research Articles

Transitioning a hydrogen facility from project to operations

Preparing any hazardous facility for transition from project to operations requires a rigorous management process. In the area of hydrogen operations, hazards are heightened and there are limited examples of transitioning a hydrogen facility from project to operations outside of large-scale oil refineries. This paper highlights the unique challenges of managing hydrogen process safety through the project to operate phase while maintaining safety standards that meet or exceed the expectations of the asset owner, regulator and the community in which we operate. Our experience transitioning hydrogen operations started in Queensland which has arguably the toughest engineering and safety standards in Australia. This experience has informed our methodologies and the important points of this paper detail for both owner and regulator, what to expect from the operator and what the operator will need to demonstrate compliance with. Hydrogen operations traditionally were on oil refineries which may have been in local communities, unlike remote upstream gas and oil projects far from the major populations. Refineries are typically close to transportation hubs and end users. Our experience is that hydrogen or hydrogen transport fluids such as ammonia, methylcyclohexane (MCH) and others are more likely to reside near major international ports with close access to both clean energy and available workforce which heightens the environmental, social, governance and community risk management requirements. This paper intends to inform regulators, owners and operators of the unique challenges and aspects of getting a hydrogen facility up and running in a safe and community sensitive way.

Bridging the cyber protection gap: An investigation into the efficacy of the German cyber insurance market

AbstractCybersecurity requires an effective risk transfer regime and a well‐functioning insurance market to improve stakeholder resilience. However, rapid cyber threat adaptation, limited data availability, and inadequate risk understanding pose significant challenges for the insurance industry and its customers. This research uses a mixed methods approach to analyze the inclusions, exclusions, and suitability of current cyber policies in the German cyber insurance market. The study analyzes 41 cyber insurance policies, representing about 80% of the German cyber insurance market. This examination is supported by semistructured interviews with 23 cyber insurance experts. The authors find that there are no standardized cyber policy wordings, and insurers use different terms and definitions in their insurance policies. Specifically, the results show a significant lack of clarity around coverages and exclusions. This research contributes to the cybersecurity risk management community and will enable businesses, insurance companies, and policymakers to better understand, measure, and manage cyber risk.

The Influence of Community Drought Risk Management on Community Development in Tiaty Constituency, Kenya

Climate change contributed to an increase in the rate of disasters, particularly those with meteorological origins. This study assessed community drought risk management strategies and community development in Tiaty Constituency, Kenya. The objective was to determine the influence of disaster risk reduction programs in promoting community development in the area, grounded in the Environmental Community Development Theory. A mixed-methods research approach was adopted, with a target population of 12,153 people. The sample size comprised 395 respondents selected using stratified sampling techniques. Statistical Analysis Software version 25 was utilized for data analysis. Descriptive statistics were conducted to offer descriptive features of the study variables, with quantitative survey data expressed as mean averages. The study revealed that risk reduction programs focusing on environmental conservation and sustainable practices contributed to the long-term sustainability of communities in Tiaty Constituency. It was found that building community resilience extended beyond disaster management and contributed to overall community development, aimed at achieving sustainable self-reliance. The findings highlighted the significant positive impact of drought risk reduction programs in aiding community development and resilience-building efforts. Based on the comprehensive findings, the study recommended prioritizing and expanding risk reduction programs, with a specific focus on environmental conservation, social cohesion, and community participation in hazard assessment, to inform planning and decision-making processes.

Impact of Media Information on Social Response in Disasters: A Case Study of the Freezing-Rain and Snowstorm Disasters in Southern China in 2008

Disaster information content is an objective mapping of disaster situations, social response, and public opinions. Social response to emergency is an important mechanism for implementing and guaranteeing emergency management of major natural hazard-related disasters. Understanding how disaster information content affects social response to emergencies is helpful for managing risk communication and efficient disaster response. Based on the 2008 freezing-rain and snowstorm disasters in southern China, this study used Python to extract 7,857 case-related media reports and applied natural language processing for text analysis. It used three typical cases to identify and analyze disaster media report content and the relationship between these reports and the social response to the emergency. Eight categories of disaster response—such as prewarning and forecasting, announcements by the authorities, and social mobilization—appeared in the disaster information in the media, along with disaster impact information, that is, real-time disaster status. Disaster response information and an appropriate amount of disaster impact information played important roles in prewarning, disaster relief, public opinion guidance, and social stability maintenance and can serve important functions in communicating with all stakeholders of emergency management, assisting or influencing emergency departments or individuals in decision making, and eliminating “information islands.” Empathy caused the general public to become “disaster responders” through receiving information. Rumors and an excess of negative information may have a perverse amplification effect on public opinion and increase the unpredictability of the disaster situation and the risk of social crisis.

Community risk management: lived experiences after the hydrometeorological events of Ingrid and Manuel (Coyuca de Benítez, Mexico)

Los eventos hidrometeorológicos tienen un impacto significativo en la estructura social y territorial. Las comunidades que han vivido la experiencia de estos eventos proporcionan testimonios sobre cómo han enfrentado estas situaciones. El objetivo del estudio fue sistematizar las experiencias vividas de gestión comunitaria del riesgo (GCR), después de los eventos hidrometeorológicos de Ingrid y Manuel en tres localidades del municipio de Coyuca de Benítez, México. Para recabar la información fue necesario el enfoque cualitativo testimonial. Se construyó un mapa de actores para identificar a las partes interesadas y se realizaron siete entrevistas semiestructuradas con muestreo intencional a los tomadores de decisiones que voluntariamente participaron. La información recopilada se analizó mediante análisis del discurso. La delimitación del área de estudio se llevó a cabo utilizando ArcMap e imágenes satelitales. Los tomadores de decisiones manifestaron en sus testimonios una falta de preparación para enfrentar los eventos hidrometeorológicos de Íngrid y Manuel. La comunicación y la solidaridad surgieron como factores clave dentro de la comunidad para hacer frente a los eventos. Las comunidades consideraron que los eventos de Íngrid y Manuel permitieron la implementación de un sistema de alerta con participación comunitaria, y reconocieron la necesidad de una planificación territorial basada en los riesgos de inundación en la zona baja del río Coyuca. Es crucial capacitar tanto a nivel institucional como comunitario para hacer frente al riesgo de inundaciones. Los eventos de Íngrid y Manuel dejaron importantes lecciones, como la necesidad de aumentar la capacidad instalada del municipio y generar estrategias efectivas

Enhancing the Management and Sustainability of Village-Owned Enterprises (Bumdes): A Comprehensive Analysis of Key Strategies for Implementation

Background: Village-owned enterprises (BUMDes) have great potential in supporting economic and social development at the village level. However, to achieve sustainability and effectiveness, proper strategy implementation is essential. This research comprehensively analyzed the main strategies for implementing BUMDes, focusing on community participation, strict financial management, and business diversification and risk management.
 
 Research Objectives: This research aims to evaluate the extent to which community participation, financial management, business diversification, and risk management have been integrated in BUMDes as the main strategy for achieving sustainability.
 
 Method: This research uses qualitative methods by interviewing the Head of BUMDes from each village, the Village Head, and three members and administrators of BUMDes from three different districts. the data used is primary and secondary. The data that has been collected is then processed using the triangulation method.
 
 Results: The research results show that community participation is a central element in the success of BUMDes, enabling more inclusive decision-making and supporting sustainability. Tight financial management provides a strong financial foundation and transparency, while business diversification with risk management helps reduce vulnerability to external changes.
 
 Conclusion: Community participation, strict financial management, business diversification, and risk management are the main keys to achieving BUMDes sustainability. Its integration into the implementation strategy is essential to sustainable village economic and social development.

Socio-cultural values in managing risk communication during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia

Socio-cultural values in managing risk communication during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia

Hierarchical Risk Communication Management Framework for Construction Projects

Abstract Risk, as an effect of uncertainty, is associated with every human activity. Like any other industry, construction companies are eager to reduce the uncertainty of reluctant events. A well-planned risk communication system could contribute to the success of a construction project. A proper announcement protocol could be a mitigating lever for identified or unidentified risks during planning and monitoring processes. This research aims to present a risk communication management system (RCMS) for construction companies involved in large projects. The proposed model includes a step-by-step communication procedure considering the authority level within the organisational hierarchical structure. The model aims to remove the ambiguity of risk communications during the construction process under uncertain conditions. It leaves no or little room for the emergence of unplanned risks. The proposed communication structure has been implemented in GRC cladding construction projects, and the risk communication time and response have been significantly improved.

Disaster risk management of debris flow based on time-series contribution mechanism (CRMCD): Nonnegligible ecological vulnerable multi-ethnic communities

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.

RISK FINANCING TECHNIQUES AND SMEs PERFORMANCE: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM NIGERIA

Risk financing is a critical element of a resilient future. Risk management techniques are important metrics in safeguarding the lives and property of mankind. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effects of financial risk management techniques on business performance, with specific reference to the perceptions of selected SMEs in Lagos, Nigeria. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. The study population consisted of the total number of registered SMEs recorded in Lagos State at 11,666. Thus, single-stage cluster and convenience sampling techniques were employed in the questionnaire distribution and data collection processes. Two hundred and forty-eight (248) respondents were used in the study. The statistical technique employed was simple regression. This study confirms the importance of financial risk management techniques in business performance of selected SMEs operators in Lagos, Nigeria. It is recommended that insurance providers in Nigeria should attempt to tailor insurance products in a lovable and affordable manner to SMEs’ operators/owners in a bid to improve their behavioural risk attitudes. More so, interest should be placed on impressive risk management communication and ideal physical risk control techniques among SMEs’ owners/operators.

Evaluation of Community Emergency Management Capability Based on SWOT Analysis—A Case Study

(1) Background: the community is the most basic place to maintain residents’ lives, and therefore it is urgent to strengthen community resilience construction, which is directly related to the economic development, security and stability of urban communities. (2) Methods: this article combines the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) qualitative analysis method and the AHP (Analytic hierarchy process) qualitative and quantitative analysis method to explore the current status of community emergency management in Xi’an City. A community emergency management evaluation model is constructed, which is based on six dimensions: infrastructure resilience, community organization resilience, risk hazard governance, emergency material security, emergency force construction, and emergency literacy. The evaluation index for community emergency management is established. Focusing on analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of communities in responding to sudden public health emergencies, opportunities and threats are identified. (3) Results: it was concluded that infrastructure resilience and emergency material support are community strengths, community organizational resilience is a community weakness, the emergency literacy dimension is a community opportunity, and risk and hazard management and emergency force construction are community threats. The results of the data research were further analyzed. (4) Conclusions: The final research results provide new theoretical support for community emergency management, while also providing theoretical and methodological references for emergency capacity evaluation in other fields.

Risk management of energy communities with hydrogen production and storage technologies

The distributed integration of renewable energy sources plays a central role in the decarbonization of economies. In this regard, energy communities arise as a promising entity to coordinate groups of proactive consumers (prosumers) and incentivize investment on clean technologies. However, the uncertain nature of renewable energy generation, residential loads, and trading tariffs pose important challenges, both at the operational and economic levels. We study how this management can be directly undertaken by an arbitrageur that, making use of an adequate price-based demand response (real-time pricing) system, serves as an intermediary with the central electricity market to coordinate different types of prosumers under risk aversion. In particular, we consider a sequential futures and spot market where the aggregated shortage or excess of energy within the community can be traded. We aim to study the impact of new hydrogen production and storage technologies on community operation and risk management. These interactions are modeled as a game theoretical setting in the form of a stochastic two-stage bilevel optimization problem, which is later reformulated without approximation as a single-level mixed-integer linear problem (MILP). An extensive set of numerical experiments based on real data is performed to study the operation of the energy community under different technical and economical conditions. Results indicate that the optimal involvement in futures and spot markets is highly conditioned by the community’s risk aversion and self-sufficiency levels. Moreover, the external hydrogen market has a direct effect on the community’s internal price-tariff system, and depending on the market conditions, may worsen the utility of individual prosumers.

“Striking the right balance”: tensions in municipal risk communication management for preparedness

PurposeThe aim of the study is to deepen the knowledge about municipalities' risk communication for preparedness. This objective was pursued by analyzing how risk communication functions were organized in municipalities and by scrutinizing tensions in risk communication management.Design/methodology/approachThe study relies on 19 qualitative, semi-structured interviews with communication practitioners in Swedish municipalities. The sample was purposive and included Swedish municipalities varying in number of inhabitants, geographical location, degree of urbanization, size and risk profile.FindingsRisk communication is seen as a sub-field of crisis communication in municipalities' communication management. The task of initiating risk communication activities and campaigns is frequently assigned to the municipalities' safety units or emergency coordinators and is normally not part of communication practitioners' duties. Municipal communication practitioners often face challenges in trying to demonstrate the significance of the practitioners' role in risk communication and other risk-related activities within the municipality. The practitioners' work is characterized by four categories of tensions that are identified as follows: constitutional/legal, organizational, cultural and technological.Practical implicationsThe identified tensions in risk communication are important for reflexive practitioners to consider, and the paper suggests three steps that municipal communication managers can take to handle them.Originality/valueThe study contributes with novel knowledge about municipal communication management in a context of risk communication. The study challenges the existing and dominant risk communication research and offers a more contextual and reflexive understanding of actual risk communication processes in municipalities.

How to prevent and control community risks?Identifying community burglary risk hotspots based on time-space characteristics

Community security and risk management is essential for urban governance. To identify community risks more accurately, the space-time characteristics of community burglary cases in a community located in C city are analyzed in this study based on data from 2018 to 2020 using the hot police theory. The results are as follows: (1) In terms of time, the occurrence of theft cases is closely related to seasonal changes and daily work and rest and is affected by social activities. (2) In terms of space, the type of community and surrounding environment affect the generation and distribution of household theft hotspots, while urban planning and reconstruction cause the dissipation and transfer of hotspots. Therefore, to prevent and control risk, infrastructure and urban environment renovation should be carried out, community governance efficiency should be improved, and police work mode should be transformed to avoid potential hotspots, except for targeted interventions on existing hotspots.

An Evaluation of Factors Influencing the Resilience of Flood-Affected Communities in China

In recent years, the acceleration of urbanization processes coupled with more frequent extreme weather including more severe flood events, have led to an increase in the complexity of managing community flood resilience. This research presents an empirical study to explore the factors influencing community flood resilience in six communities located in the Hubei Province of China. The study presents the development of a flood resilience evaluation index system, comprising the use of the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and interpretative structural modeling method (ISM) methods. The results show that the three most important factors affecting the flood resilience capacity of the community are (i) the investment in disaster prevention, (ii) disaster relief capacity and (iii) flood control and drainage capacity. The differences between the six communities were analyzed across four dimensions to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the communities across these dimensions and in terms of their overall resilience. By analyzing the causal hierarchical relationship that affects community flood resilience, this study helps to enhance community resilience to flood disasters and reduce disaster risk. These findings are conducive to enhancing the sustainable development of urban communities and are expected to provide scientific guidance for community risk management and strategic decision-making.

The sexual recidivism drop in Canada: A meta‐analysis of sex offender recidivism rates over an 80‐year period

AbstractResearch summaryIn the past, the Canadian government followed in the footsteps of its American counterpart by enacting “sex offender laws.” Since the 1990s, however, the Canadian criminal justice system has taken a different approach to the issue of sex offender recidivism (SOR), focusing on treatment, rehabilitation, and community risk management. This evidence‐based approach has been criticized for not doing enough to prevent convicted offenders from sexually reoffending. This criticism has not been addressed empirically, leaving open the question of whether this Canadian policy shift is associated with changes in the rate of sexual recidivism. The present study uses a meta‐analytic framework to look at 185 Canadian‐based studies involving over 50,000 offenders, making it possible to combine 226 sexual recidivism rates. After controlling for factors such as follow‐up length and the independence of samples, weighted pooled recidivism rates have declined since the 1970s by more than 60%. This trend may have gone unnoticed because it is not related to the year of publication but to the period in which the data were collected.Policy implicationsThe findings have significant implications for criminal justice practices including the importance of using risk assessment tools that are regularly calibrated to reflect the evolution of sexual recidivism rates over time. Although the current study cannot provide firm conclusions about the factors responsible for this gradual drop, several hypotheses are discussed. Knowledge‐based criminal justice practices, better training for professionals, and improvements in treatment programs may have had a subtle and cumulative impact on sexual recidivism rates. The importance of examining period effects on SOR using a comparative and international perspective is discussed.

Process and components of disaster risk communication in health systems: A thematic analysis.

This study has clarified and explained all the main components and measures of risk communication that can be used for planning scientifically.

Study on the Evaluation of Emergency Management Capacity of Resilient Communities by the AHP-TOPSIS Method

Community emergency management is directly related to the safety of people's lives and properties and is concerned with economic development and social stability. This paper established an evaluation model of community emergency management capacity from the perspective of resilience based on hierarchical analysis (AHP) and distance between superior and inferior solutions (TOPSIS). In terms of infrastructure resilience, community organizational resilience, risk, and hidden danger management, emergency material security, emergency force construction, emergency literacy, and the evaluation index system of resilient community emergency management capacity were improved. By the AHP method, the weights of all indexes were determined scientifically. Combined with the TOPSIS method, the fit of the evaluated object which between the positive and negative ideal solution was calculated to determine the optimal evaluation among multiple experts. According to the validated assessment, the low-scoring indicators were analyzed to make practical suggestions for improvement. The results provide new theoretical methods and technical support for the assessment of community emergency response capacity, which also provides reference for the assessment of emergency response capacity in other fields.

Connecting Risk Management Theory and Practice on the Frontline of Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction: The Experience of the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in the United Kingdom

Risk management is fundamental to the pursuit of climate change adaptation, particularly in public sectors, through integrated cross-sectoral policies and government planning. This integration with Adaptation to Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction is a way of transforming policies into local actions. Climate emergencies are explored as a potential risk to one public sector, the Fire and Rescue Services, due to the increase in the frequency and intensity of climate-related incidents (floods and wildfires). The research assesses Britain's national policies on climate adaptation, which have developed significant environmental research and legislation since 1997: the Civil Contingencies Act (2004), Climate Change Act (2008), Climate Change Risk Assessment (2012) and periodically the National Risk Register for Civil Emergencies. From interviews with West Yorkshire firefighters, integrated community risk management is critical for gathering quality-assured data to implement positive change in public sectors, consolidating Climate Change Adaptation and supporting Disaster Risk Reduction. Although multi-agency community engagement is suitable for understanding local vulnerabilities, the frequency of incidents dictates investments and limited resources are barriers for action.

Measuring the Evolution of Risk Communication Strategy for Health Authorities During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Empirical Comparison Between China and the United States.

Objectives: Investigate how the speech context of news conferences reveals the risk communication strategies for health authorities during COVID-19 and measure the evolution of those risk communication strategies. Methods: We collected news conference transcripts concerning COVID-19 for the first quarter from the official websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China (NHC) in 2020. Quantitative analyses were conducted on the topics and emotions of transcripts to measure the evolution of risk communication strategy. A total of three types of analysis were carried out in our study: topic, sentiment, and risk communication evolution analyses. Results: The trending topics and the number of these in the two institutions evolved with the infection status. The CDC and NHC maintained primarily neutral sentiment, while the non-neutral sentiment of the CDC swung more dramatically. Furthermore, the changing pattern of risk communication evolution for the CDC and NHC varied, where the latter had a more stable change routine. Conclusion: Our study finds that the strategies could be measured by topic variation, emotional expressions, and confirmed cases. The CDC and NHC tend to adopt different risk communication strategies and have specific change routines facing the pandemic. In addition, our findings contribute to addressing the WHO research agenda for managing risk communication during the COVID-19 pandemic, which helps health authorities formulate and measure risk communication strategies.