Optimization of regional transport networks based on a mathematical model of passenger preferences

This article presents the results of developing a model for a regional passenger transport network aimed at solving the logistical problem of constructing rational intermodal routes in a defined closed loop. The tools of graph theory and linear mathematical programming have been applied to build the model algorithm, which allows finding solutions for weighted graphs, in the absence of negative weight links, while keeping information about the sequence of hub points on the selected paths. The proposed solutions are versatile enough to be scalable for regions with different network topologies. The model is adapted to dynamically changing and extensible systems, allowing it to be practically applied to justify options for the future development of infrastructure in different modes of transport.

The memory of an outrageous public health scandal

Introduction: Manaus is an isolated city, localized in the hearth of the Amazonas rainforest, with two million inhabitants, a big territorial extension, distant from neighbor cities and next to the shores of Negro and Solimões rivers. The access overland is difficult, which obligates the oxygen tanks be transported by river or air. This created and enormous logistical problem, added to the neglect of the Federal Government with the northern region of the country. Objective: Analyze what are the psychiatric repercussions on the explosion of in the lack of oxygen in Manaus, capital of the Amazonas, Brazil. Methods: Studies were identified using large-circulation international journals. Results: A scandal is happening. This situation is creating a grief community – particular grief became a common and public one – to the memory of an outrageous public health scandal. Therefore, dramatic stories of families of patients and the overwhelmed healthcare professionals shared on the social media and local press brings glimpses of the angst of this chaos. An entire wing of patients died caused by the oxygen depletion. Conclusion: This situation is causing a collective hysteria, taking healthcare workers and families of patients to desperation. Fear appears to be a consequence of the feeling of powerlessness. Anxiety levels are really elevated causing direct side effects to another mental health measures.

JAX, THE ARCHITECTURE: Designing a Chatboat Architecture to Reduce Ajax Fancare’s Logistical Problem and Enhance Fan Experience

This paper is the documentation of a graduation internship at Digital Society School (DSS) in which they teamed up with Ajax Fancare to solve their logistical problem and enhance the fan experience. Ajax Fancare is facing a logistical problem in manually answering every fan’s question via calls, emails, social media, or live chat. They believe that chatbot is the solution to this problem. The goal of this project is to research, design, and prototype a chatbot that could tackle the logistical problem and enhance the fan experience. The deliverable is a chatbot prototype and architecture in which Ajax Fancare could build upon for their future customer service chatbot. The main question of the research is answered by the chatbot architecture: Jax the Architecture, a conversational tree of all the possible interactions between a user and the chatbot. The final chatbot architecture answers the research question by mapping together the main elements of the chatbot such as the information fans needed from Ajax Fancare and additional features that create a new and inclusive experience. The prototypes and final chatbot architecture are ready to be tested for further research and serve as a cornerstone for future development of the Ajax Fancare chatbot.

Madrid-Mallorca-Barcelona. Furniture for a Royal Union

In 1802 the heir to the Spanish crown and his sister María Isabel married their cousins, the prince of Naples and Sicily and his sister María Antonia. Being the wedding in Barcelona, the court had to move there, with the logistical problem that this represented. Part of the magnificent furniture that was made for the occasion in Madrid is largely known. However, some years ago I brought to light some furniture designs that seemed to have been made in Mallorca for this event and I was able to identify with some furniture from the royal collection. Fortunately, all the documentation related to this order has appeared and confirms many of the suggestive aspects of this unknown production system, confirming who commissioned it, why in Mallorca, what cabinetmaker, under what conditions, with what deadlines, for what price and even by what criteria some of them were rejected.

Grand Ducal ambitions and Venetian counter-intelligence. The Tuscan failure in the 1607 attack on Cyprus.

In June 1607, a Tuscan fleet of about twenty ships and two thousand two hundred men attacked the fortress of Famagusta in Cyprus, with the aim of making it the base for the subsequent occupation of the whole island, which had been in Ottoman hands since 1570. The attack was a total failure: the Tuscan fleet, divided into two parts, did not meet as planned and the Greek inhabitants of the island, who according to Tuscan information should have rebelled, did not. Moreover, the Ottoman garrison was aware of the attack, which meant that the attempt at a surprise attack was in vain. It is clear that, excluding the logistical problem of the fleet meeting up, the enterprise’s lack of success was due to a total inadequacy of what we today would call “intelligence”. The information in Tuscans’ hands did not turn out to be completely correct and they were unable to keep the planned operation secret. However, by contrast, the Venetian intelligence was able to manage the information in its possession in a more cautious way, taking advantage of the situation effectively. Through this case study, the article aims to follow the scholarship on information-gathering in the Early Modern Mediterranean world, showing, once again, how important and extensive such networks were. The aim of this short study, which is based largely on archival documentation, is not to deal with the Tuscan raid on the island, but to identify the faults of the Tuscan “intelligence” that led to the misfortunate attack. Moreover, through the analysis of the documents, it is also possible to add some elements to the knowledge about the Tuscan Grand Duke’s Levantine network.

Governing Hate: Facebook and Digital Racism

This article is concerned with identifying the ideological and techno-material parameters that inform Facebook’s approach to racism and racist contents. The analysis aims to contribute to studies of digital racism by showing Facebook’s ideological position on racism and identifying its implications. To understand Facebook’s approach to racism, the article deconstructs its governance structures, locating racism as a sub-category of hate speech. The key findings show that Facebook adopts a post-racial, race-blind approach that does not consider history and material differences, while its main focus is on enforcement, data, and efficiency. In making sense of these findings, we argue that Facebook’s content governance turns hate speech from a question of ethics, politics, and justice into a technical and logistical problem. Secondly, it socializes users into developing behaviors/contents that adapt to race-blindness, leading to the circulation of a kind of flexible racism. Finally, it spreads this approach from Silicon Valley to the rest of the world.

Study on the Vibration Characteristics of the Telescope T80 in the Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory (JAO) Aimed at Detecting Invalid Images

The location of large telescopes, generally far from the data processing centers, represents a logistical problem for the supervision of the capture of images. In this work, we carried out a preliminary study of the vibration signature of the T80 telescope at the Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory (JAO). The study analyzed the process of calculating the displacement that occurs because of the vibration in each of the frequencies in the range of interest. We analyzed the problems associated with very low frequencies by means of simulation, finding the most critical vibrations below 20 Hz, since they are the ones that generate greater displacements. The work also relates previous studies based on simulation with the real measurements of the vibration of the telescope taken remotely when it is subjected to different positioning movements (right ascension and/or declination) or when it performs movement actions such as those related to filter trays or mirror cover. The obtained results allow us to design a remote alarm system to detect invalid images (taken with excess vibration).

The Covid-19 Crisis and the need for suitable face masks for the general population

In relation to SARS-CoVid-2 a theoretical gold standard of face mask use is discussed and a similar principle for lockdown. The use of face masks in the general population is debated in relation to the UK public health advice that face masks are not needed in the general population. There is substantial evidence of ability of SARS-CoVid-2 to spread by aerosol which makes the UK Government’s public health advice and indeed that of the WHO, that social distancing and hand hygiene alone are required in the general population questionable. The question is not should the general public have mask protection but what degree of mask protection is needed? There is a shortage of suitable masks for health care workers in the UK but the need for this demand is driven by the large numbers of infected people in the community. Once the public health advice is adjusted polititians can start to try and solve the enormous logistical problem of protecting the public.

Development of android-based apps for courier service management

E-commerce has grown exponentially over the years. The growth has been characterized by strong consumer demands and the increasing number of various products available online. This in turn creates a logistical problem and a high demand for an efficient courier service to support the growing markets. It is very important for courier service provider that the delivery of the parcel is being done as fast as possible. One of the courier service’s vital and most crucial business process is in the last mile parcel delivery. This is where an efficient delivery service will be of utmost importance. An efficient system needs to be developed in order to facilitate the interaction between the courier service provider and consumer to precisely determine the optimal route for the parcel delivery. In this paper, an Android-based application system for courier service management with last mile route tracking module is developed. It is a mobile application that eases the courier delivery personnel in finding their way to deliver the parcels to the customer’s doorstep. The application will guide the courier personnel to get a list of courier data such as address and contact information and then navigate them to the selected customers’ addresses based on traffic data retrieved from Google Maps API. It will choose the best route to the address and notify the customers before arriving so that the customers are ready to receive the parcel. This last mile route tracking for parcel delivery will provide the basis for an efficient courier service system.

Tool for Decision Making in Humanitarian Logistics Chains

This chapter develops a decision support tool with a focus on the humanitarian logistic chain in a crisis environment considering process drivers' constraints such as costs, capacity, and throughput time. For instance, elements to reduce the suffering of the affected families, by using an adequate supply support for the first 72 critical hours. The authors will focus on minimizing the risks of shortages in the first response supplies in a high flood probability zone in Peru. This research presents different scenarios and it analyzes the representative variables (demand, civil defense warehouses, points of distribution, distance and logistics resources), the humanitarian chain value, and the effective distribution of the aid in the affected areas with efficient operations that balance between the economic and operative resources in this recurrent logistical problem. The results present three crisis situations with a distribution plan and a base of a public policy to prevent a crisis.