Progress towards and barriers to implementation of a risk framework for US federal wildland fire policy and decision making

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 378-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Calkin ◽  
Mark A. Finney ◽  
Alan A. Ager ◽  
Matthew P. Thompson ◽  
Krista M. Gebert
Fire ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Stephen D. Fillmore ◽  
Sarah M. McCaffrey ◽  
Alistair M. S. Smith

There is increasing discussion in the academic and agency literature, as well as popular media, about the need to address the existing deficit of beneficial fire on landscapes. One approach allowable under United States federal wildland fire policy that could help address this condition is by deliberately managing wildfire with a strategy other than full suppression (hereafter referred to as ‘managed wildfire’). To improve the understanding of the managed fire decision-making process, we conducted a mixed methods review of the existing literature. This review spanned 1976 to 2013 and used thematic coding to identify key factors that affect the decision to manage a wildfire. A total of 110 descriptive factors categories were identified. These were classified into six key thematic groups, which addressed specific decision considerations. This nexus of factors and decision pathways formed what we describe as the ‘Managed Fire Decision Framework’, which contextualizes important pressures, barriers, and facilitators related to managed wildfire decision-making. The most prevalent obstacles to managing wildfire were operational concerns and risk aversion. The factor most likely to support managing a fire was the decision maker’s desire to see the strategy be implemented. Ultimately, we found that the managed fire decision-making process is extremely complex, and that this complexity may itself be a barrier to its implementation.


Author(s):  
Ram Pratap Sinha

Performance analysis of mutual funds is usually made on the basis of return-risk framework. Traditionally, excess return (over risk-free rate) to risk ratios were used for the purpose mutual fund evaluation. Subsequently, the application of non-parametric mathematical programming techniques in the context of performance evaluation facilitated multi-criteria decision making. However,the estimates of performance on the basis of conventional programming techniques like DEA and FDH are affected by the presence of outliers in the sample observations. The present, accordingly uses more robust benchmarking techniques for evaluating the performance od sectoral mutual fund schemes based on observations for the second half of 2010. The USP of the present study is that it uses two partial frontier techniques (Order-m and Order- a) which are less susceptible to the problem of extreme data.


2014 ◽  
pp. 767-793
Author(s):  
Colleen Casey ◽  
Jianling Li

In this chapter, the authors evaluate the use of Web 2.0 technology to engage citizens in the transportation decision making process. They evaluate the potential of Web 2.0 technology to create effective participatory environments to enable authentic participation; provide an inventory of the current tools and technologies utilized, identify barriers faced by administrators in the implementation of these tools, and summarize universal lessons for public administrators. Based on a review of 40 cases of collaborations, the authors find that Web 2.0 technology is predominantly used as a complement rather than a substitute for traditional approaches. Furthermore, the review suggests that the full potential of Web 2.0 remains untapped, and additional tools and technologies can be utilized to overcome barriers to implementation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 212 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. Calkin ◽  
Tyron Venn ◽  
Matthew Wibbenmeyer ◽  
Matthew P. Thompson

Wildfire management involves significant complexity and uncertainty, requiring simultaneous consideration of multiple, non-commensurate objectives. This paper investigates the tradeoffs fire managers are willing to make among these objectives using a choice experiment methodology that provides three key advancements relative to previous stated-preference studies directed at understanding fire manager preferences: (1) a more immediate relationship between the instrument employed in measuring preferences and current management practices and operational decision-support systems; (2) an explicit exploration of how sociopolitical expectations may influence decision-making and (3) consideration of fire managers’ relative prioritisation of cost-containment objectives. Results indicate that in the current management environment, choices among potential suppression strategies are driven largely by consideration of risk to homes and high-value watersheds and potential fire duration, and are relatively insensitive to increases in cost and personnel exposure. Indeed, when asked to choose the strategy they would expect to choose under current social and political constraints, managers favoured higher-cost suppression strategies, ceteris paribus. However, managers indicated they would personally prefer to pursue strategies that were more cost-conscious and proportionate with values at risk. These results confirm earlier studies that highlight the challenges managerial incentives and sociopolitical pressures create in achieving cost-containment objectives.


2015 ◽  
Vol 795 ◽  
pp. 123-128
Author(s):  
Leszek Kiełtyka ◽  
Klaudia Smoląg

Business intelligence (BI) solutions are aimed to help managers make decisions in enterprises. Through complex analysis, decision-makers are supported in building strategies of operation. Managers in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are also becoming more aware of the fact that conventional methodology of analysis of current events is insufficient. Therefore, the need arises for using the solutions that support the processes of data analysis, finding relationships between each other or pointing to important tendencies and anomalies. These systems were primarily oriented at larger enterprises. However, BI solutions are more and more often adjusted to SME enterprises, offering a complex tool to support decision-making processes. This paper presents key stages in evolution of BI systems and characterizes selected BI systems dedicated to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Substantial barriers to implementation of BI systems in SMEs were also indicated.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cath Jackson ◽  
Allison Orr

Purpose The importance of real estate’s sustainability rating has increased significantly. Studies undertaken in 2007 and 2016 show that, at acquisition, the rating rose from 7th to 3rd most important attribute. This shift in priorities parallels the RICS embracing the 10 principles of the UN Global Compact (RICS, 2015). However, while sustainability value premia appear common in some international markets, the picture is mixed and drivers and mechanisms lack empirical investigation. The literature reveals potential barriers to investors fulfilling both sustainability and financial objectives. The purpose of this study is explore these potential barriers. Design/methodology/approach Focus groups with real estate fund managers, sustainability managers and acquisitions surveyors are undertaken to explore the adoption and implementation of environmental sustainability policies. This reveals a series of barriers to implementation and these are then explored in greater depth through a series of interviews with fund managers. This layered, qualitative approach is designed to provide detailed knowledge of practical and conceptual sustainability issues within the UK real estate market. Findings Key drivers underpinning the adoption of sustainability policies are revealed and barriers to implementation are found to relate to data on investment performance, valuation methodologies and prohibitive capex. Further, the heterogeneous, opaque and slow-moving nature of the market is prohibitive and intervention is encouraged to overcome the lack of financial viability that hinders improvements. Originality/value Research is dominated by highly aggregated quantitative data on sustainability within commercial real estate markets. The qualitative approach used here adds new insights and value to the understanding of the embeddedness of sustainability in real estate investment decision-making.


Author(s):  
Colleen Casey ◽  
Jianling Li

In this chapter, the authors evaluate the use of Web 2.0 technology to engage citizens in the transportation decision making process. They evaluate the potential of Web 2.0 technology to create effective participatory environments to enable authentic participation; provide an inventory of the current tools and technologies utilized, identify barriers faced by administrators in the implementation of these tools, and summarize universal lessons for public administrators. Based on a review of 40 cases of collaborations, the authors find that Web 2.0 technology is predominantly used as a complement rather than a substitute for traditional approaches. Furthermore, the review suggests that the full potential of Web 2.0 remains untapped, and additional tools and technologies can be utilized to overcome barriers to implementation.


2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha A. Williamson

United States wildland fire policy and program reviews in 1995 and 2000 required both the reduction of hazardous fuel and recognition of fire as a natural process. Despite the fact that existing policy permits managing natural ignitions to meet resource benefits, or Wildland Fire Use (WFU), most fuel reduction projects rely on mechanical treatments and prescribed fire. Budget constraints suggest that successful fuel and ecosystem management hinges on expanding WFU. The decision to authorise WFU in the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USFS) rests with line officers, and the so-called ‘go/no go’ decision constitutes a time-critical risk assessment. Factors influencing this decision clearly impact the viability of WFU. The present study examined influences on line officers’ go/no go decision. A telephone survey was conducted of all USFS district rangers with WFU authority in the Northern, Intermountain, and Southwestern Regions. The census was completed during February 2005 and obtained an 85% response rate. Data were analysed using Classification and Regression Tree analysis. Personal commitment to WFU provided the primary classifier for 91% of the district rangers who authorised WFU. External factors, negative public perception, resource availability, and a perceived lack of support from the USFS were the main disincentives to authorising WFU.


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