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In this paper, we consider the rescheduling problem for jobs on a single machine with release dates to minimize total sequence disruption under a limit on the makespan. We show that the considered problem can be solved in polynomial time. Consequently, the rescheduling problem for jobs on a single machine with release dates to minimize makespan under a limit on the total sequence disruption can also be solved in polynomial time.

This paper considers single machine scheduling problems with linear deteriorating jobs under predictive disruption. In this model, the actual processing time of a job is a increasing linear function of its starting time; and machine is subject to an availability constraint. We assume that an optimal schedule can be obtained by using some algorithms if machine is available at all time. Because of the machine disruption, the original schedule may become infeasible or too far from optimal. We want to create the new schedule that takes into account both the original objective function and a measure of deviation from the original schedule. We consider two versions of the problem. In the first one, the objective is weighted sum of total completion time and total tardiness while in the second one, the objective is weighted sum of total completion time and total earliness. We first prove some properties of the optimal schedule then dynamic programming algorithms are proposed, respectively.

This paper develops the game models of two symmetric supply chains, each consisting of one manufacturer and one retailer, while both retailers compete in the market with a linear function. The disclosure mechanism is designed when the information of the disrupted demand is asymmetric between supply side and retail side. We first study the model with the full information as a benchmark to explore the effect of asymmetric information on the system. In the case, each manufacturer maximizes her profit while the downstream retailer only obtains the reservation profit. For the case of asymmetric information, each manufacturer can obtain the real information of the disrupted demand by using a menu of contract bundles. For each information structure, there are always robust regions for each manufacturer’s original trading quantity scheme. That is, when the disrupted amount of the demand is sufficiently small, the trading quantity will be unchanged. However, some special measures, e.g., the higher unit wholesale price, should be taken to prevent the retailer from deviating the trading quantity scheme. The high-disruption retailer gets the higher profit due to the information rent. Compared with a single supply chain, Cournot competition results in the less retail price and the lower performance for the whole system.

We experienced two cases of flexor tendons rupture after triamcinolone acetate (TA) injection for trigger finger. A 45-year-old man underwent injection of 40 mg of TA and 1 mL of 1% lidocaine solution into his little finger. While playing golf 3 months after the injection, he heard a popping sound, and was unable to flex it. A 57-year-old female nurse had undergone injection of 40 mg of TA and 1 mL of 1% lidocaine solution into her thumb twice at a 2-month interval. Two months after the second injection, she was unable to flex it. Both cases had high concentrated TA injection at trigger digits. The present and previous cases illustrate that when TA is injected into trigger digits, the dose should be low, the safety interval should be long, and refuse injection into the tendon proper.

Protein complexes are a cornerstone of many biological processes and, together, they form various types of molecular machinery that perform a vast array of biological functions. Different complexes perform different functions and, the same complex can perform very different functions that depend on a variety of factors. Thus disruption of protein complexes can be lethal to an organism. It is interesting to identify a minimal set of proteins whose removal would lead to a massive disruption of protein complexes and, to understand the biological properties of these proteins. A method is presented for identifying a minimum number of proteins from a given set of complexes so that a maximum number of these complexes are disrupted when these proteins are removed. The method is based on spectral bipartitioning. This method is applied to yeast protein complexes. The identified proteins participate in a large number of biological processes and functional modules. A large proportion of them are essential proteins. Moreover, removing these identified proteins causes a large number of the yeast protein complexes to break into two fragments of nearly equal size, which minimizes the chance of either fragment being functional. The method is also superior in these aspects to alternative methods based on proteins with high connection degree, proteins whose neighbors have high average degree, and proteins that connect to lots of proteins of high connection degree. Our spectral bipartitioning method is able to efficiently identify a biologically meaningful minimal set of proteins whose removal causes a massive disruption of protein complexes in an organism.

The dimensions of technology-led, business model-led, and services or product-led disruptions are well established. However, scant literature considers regulatory actions and assesses their disruptiveness. Using the definition of disruption from Kilkki et al. [2018], this paper proposes a “Disruption Assessment Framework” for assessing the disruptiveness of regulation. The “Disruption Assessment Framework” considers measures related to redesigning of survival strategies of existing agents and the percentage of the agents in an ecosystem that are disrupted. Using the Disruption Assessment Framework, the authors analyze the disruptiveness of four key regulatory actions from the telecommunications industry in India. The creation of TRAI, the introduction of Calling Party Pay, the permission to use Wireless in a local loop, and the issuance of a 2G license in 2008 are found disruptive. The study reveals that regulatory actions can be disruptive and may negatively impact the market, unlike technology-based innovations. Contrary to regulatory objectives, disruptions due to regulations may impact market and consumer welfare negatively. This paper is a novel attempt to analyze the disruptiveness of regulatory initiatives taken in the telecommunications industry in India. Findings from this study can be incorporated into the regulatory impact analysis and regulatory consultation process to identify risk from regulatory disruption ex-ante.

Disaster risk from extreme events and development are intimately linked. Disaster risk management influences and is affected by local development strategies. Trade-offs made in policy and implementation determine winners and losers on the basis of unequal capacity, susceptibility and hazard exposure. Transformation has been introduced as a concept opening new policy space for fundamental shifts in development trajectories. Though policy neutral, when combined with normative frameworks such as the Sustainable development goals it can open up leverage points for determining development trajectories. There is limited empirical evidence on which to base understanding of transformative disaster risk management policy though some work has been done in sister domains such as climate change mitigation and adaptation. This study asks whether transformation pathways for disaster risk management can be observed, offering an initial qualitative analysis to inform policy development. It is based on five case studies drawn from diverse locations exposed to a range of extreme events, examined through a conceptual framework offering five indicators of transformation to aid analysis: intense interaction between actors; the intervention of external actors; system level change extending beyond efficiency to governance and goals; behavior beyond established coping strategies; and behavior extending beyond established institutions. Core characteristics of transformative pathways for disaster risk reduction are identified, including pathway competition, pathway experimentation, pathway scale effects and pathway lock-in. These characteristics are seen to determine the extent to which the disruption consequent on extreme events leads to either transformatory change or relative stasis. The study concludes that transformative disaster risk management, both intentional and incidental can be observed. It is seen that transformations occur primarily at local level. Where policy level change occurs this generally played out at local level too. The particular insight of the study is to suggest that most often the burden of transformation is carried at the local level through the behavior of individuals, populations and civil society. This observation raises an important question for further work: How can the burden of undertaking transformation be shared across scales?

This paper proposes a critical reflection on the use of language to address the challenge of promoting and supporting civic agencies in adaptation to increasing extreme weather risk. Such reflection needs to focus on the opportunities and limitations of language, and the navigation amongst multiple or contested meanings within interdisciplinary and inter-sectorial collaborations. This commentary was inspired by the authors’ conversations on their journey in writing the paper — Liguori et al. (2023) “Exploring the uses of arts-led community spaces to build resilience: Applied storytelling for successful co-creative work” and the impact it had on their understanding of various language systems. Here writing was conceived as a form of networking, undertaking a sequence of intimate, in-depth discussions in a safe space. ‘Playing’ with words, moving out from our disciplinary homes, provided a fertile way of thinking within multi/inter-sectorial/disciplinary conversations to expand the language system for meaningful community engagement around local climate adaptation. Three key terms were at the core of these diverse — and sometimes divergent — ways of looking at social preparedness for extreme weather events: disruption, empowerment, and creative ecosystem. The meta-reflections, based on iterative conversations around these three key terms, highlight the importance of explorations of language as a generative meaning-making process that can be boundary-spanning.

There is significant value in understanding the implications of language used in public engagement — its different interpretations, their loading and potential for transformed thinking when conceived creatively. Such insight can contribute to more effective approaches for participatory research and practice working with communities when addressing issues related to climate adaptation. This commentary argues that the socially engaged or participatory arts are particularly well placed to be active in such processes.

The current geopolitical environment is characterized by a multiplicity of actors, both state and non-state, a growing constellation of multifaceted and often contradictory issues and interests, and an increased velocity wrought by technology and the resulting compression of physical and cyberspace, all of which are churning in a type of expanding “geopolitical metaverse”. In parallel, states find themselves “sharing” sovereignty in a co-dependent relationship with the private sector, particularly as large technology concerns increasingly control key vectors of national power. These dimensions equate to a significant disruption of the international environment. This paper examines the impact of this dynamic on the evolving Sino-US relationship, with ASEAN asserting its “centrality” as a key regional player and intermediary. The ultimate goal of this commentary is to put forward certain targeted suggestions as to how the Sino-US relationship can move toward a new equilibrium amid the prevailing climate of disruption, using an enlightened approach to conditional transactional undertakings and an astute engagement with ASEAN and other regional instances to facilitate constructive compromise and the adoption of an agenda focused on stability, modernity, and economic uplift.