Search results for "PORT"

Project portfolio selection and planning with fuzzy constraints

2018

Abstract Selecting a project portfolio is a complex process involving many factors and considerations from the time it is proposed to the time the project portfolio is finally selected. Given that making a good selection is of crucial importance, it is essential to develop well-founded mathematical models to lead the organization to its final goal. To achieve this, such models have to reflect as closely as possible both the real situation of the organization as well as its targets and preferences. However, since the process of selecting and implementing project portfolios occurs in real environments and not in laboratories, uncertainty and a lack of knowledge regarding some data is always a…

Procedure for a Temperature-Traffic Model on Rubberized Asphalt Layers for Roads and Railways

2017

The impact of temperature on the mechanical properties and thermal susceptibility of the railway bituminous sub-ballast layer, has served as motivation to develop the advanced measurement of thermal cycles in this layer and, an evaluation of the average seasonal temperatures interpolated by sinusoidal functions, of which characteristic parameters are determined. According to weather situation, Barber’s temperature model was used to prove the effectiveness for the railway superstructure. It is included the assessment of improved modified asphalt mixes performed with coarse rubber from scrap tires, having 1.5 to 3 percent of crumb rubber (particle size 0.2-4 mm) by weight of the total mix, as…

Landslide Hazards and Climate Change Adaptation of Transport Infrastructures in Germany

2017

The Challenge of Coexistence in Socially Vulnerable Schools

2017

Abstract Society in general and schools in particular continue to express their concerns with regard to the many challenges posed nowadays by living in a globalized world, where learning to coexist involves knowing oneself and those around us. Therefore, the professionals from the education sector and specially from the most vulnerable contexts demand the necessity to know strategies and initiatives which enable them to build a democratic school, where learning to coexist is the key to educate engaged citizens living in an increasingly intercultural, changing world. The study presented here has been conducted in two differentiated, but complementary, phases. During the first phase a documen…

2020

A soldier’s occupational physical task requirements are diverse and varied. However, the type of physical training that most effectively improves soldiers’ occupational task requirements has not been studied previously. The purpose of this study was to determine the important strength characteristics for soldiers during a repeated simulated military task course, and the type of training that may be effective to improve these abilities during a specialized military training period. Forty-two (n = 42) soldiers participated in the study. They were divided into three training groups; a soldier task-specific training group (TSG, n = 17), a strength training group (STG, n = 15), and a control gro…

Cognitive biases in humanitarian sensemaking and decision-making lessons from field research

2016

Time and again, humanitarian decision-makers are confronted with stress and pressure, distorted, lacking and uncertain information, and thus they are working in conditions that are known to introduce or enforce biases. Decision analysis has been designed to overcome such biases, and a network of “digital responders” organized over the Internet has set out to improve judgments by providing better information. However, without any structured support to determine objectives, goals and preferences and detached from the context of operational decision-makers, remote analysts may face the very biases they are trying to help overcome. This article sets out to identify biases that matter for humani…

2020

Limited data are available regarding strength and endurance training adaptations to occupational physical performance during deployment. This study assessed acute training-induced changes in neuromuscular (electromyography; EMG) and metabolic (blood lactate, BLa) responses during a high-intensity military simulation test (MST), performed in the beginning (PRE) and at the end (POST) of a six-month crisis-management operation. MST time shortened (145 ± 21 vs. 129 ± 16 s, −10 ± 7%, p < 0.001) during the operation. Normalized muscle activity increased from PRE to POST in the hamstring muscles by 87 ± 146% (116 ± 52 vs. 195 ± 139%EMGMVC, p < 0.001) and in the quadriceps by 54 ± 81% (26 ± 8…

Event Management and Terrorism in a Global Order

2020

Over the recent years, the public spectacle and media events have become fertile grounds for terrorist attacks. Particularly, media events play a leading role enhancing the social cohesion as well as revitalizing the psychological frustrations that happened during the working days. Paradoxically, terrorism needs to maximize its gains while the costs are minimized. The spectacularisation tourism and events offer a double-edge sword. The same attractiveness that makes global cities a safer place to live are employed by the terrorist cells to cause chaos and uncertainty. The chapter theoretically explores the difficult interrelation between terrorism and event management as well as the concept…

2020

Decreases in aerobic fitness during military operations have been observed in several studies. Thus, differences in training adaptations during a 6-month crisis-management operation were compared by using the change in endurance performance as the outcome measure. Sixty-six male soldiers volunteered for the study, consisting of pre–post assessments of blood biomarkers, body composition, physical performance, and the military simulation test (MST) performance. Physical training volume was self-reported. After the follow-up, the data were divided based on individual changes in endurance performance. Endurance performance was improved in the high-responder group (HiR, n = 25) and maintained or…

2018

Physical fitness is crucial to warfighters' performance in the battlefield. Previous studies have shown negative changes in their hormonal and neuromuscular responses induced by military field training (MFT). The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in hormonal and immunological values and body composition during a prolonged MFT and to find out how warfighters' physical condition influences these changes. Conscripts (n = 49, age 20 ± 1 years, height 179 ± 9 cm, body mass 73.8 ± 7.8 kg, fat 12.6 ± 3.7% and BMI 23 kg/m²) were measured before, during, after MFT, and after a 4-day recovery period. Serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), i…