scholarly journals BUILDING ON EUROPEAN SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE TO DEVELOP AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ON INTERMODAL CONNECTIONS FOR LATVIA AND THE REGION

Transport ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lambros Mitropoulos ◽  
Giannis Adamos ◽  
Eftihia Nathanail ◽  
Irina Yatskiv (Jackiva) ◽  
Igor Kabashkin

Economic and social factors, including existing trends in urban population and employment growth combined with urbanization, have led to enhanced consumption and thus, increasing freight flows in the cities. Mitigation of transport impacts has led to plans towards a more sustainable urban environment. However, managerial and regulatory barriers restrict the incorporation of technological instruments and solutions to the sustainable dimension of decision-making and planning. This paper has sought to bridge this gap by organizing an educational and training program, which involves the participation of todays and tomorrow’s researchers, decision-makers and practitioners. Towards this direction, a methodology is developed that identifies existing gaps between the transport industry and the existing research, education and training programs and converts identified requirements and gaps into training courses. The paper addresses the context of intermodal interconnections for the case of Latvia and the region for stimulating and strengthening its scientific and technological capacity by providing knowledge in the field of smart interconnecting sustainable transport networks. The 2-level gap analysis that was developed and implemented with respect to the thematic areas of (1) ‘Governance and policy development’, (2) ‘Smart solutions’, and (3) ‘Decision-making’, and the validation process that followed, has revealed several requirements that exist currently for passenger and freight interchanges and educational programs for Latvia and the region. Based on the identified educational requirements for Latvia and the region, 20 educational areas were created that resulted in 12 courses for passenger and freight transport interchanges that are going to be used for training and education in Latvia.

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 370-378
Author(s):  
Rami Tbaishat ◽  
Saleh Khasawneh ◽  
Abdullah Mohammad Taamneh

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of decision-makers towards the use of this technology and its impact on access to information and the quality of decision-making. Quantitative methodology was used to obtain the information necessary to achieve the objectives of this study. The results indicated the importance of computer technology in the Jordanian governmental organizations. The results revealed that the majority of the participants expressed positive perceptions about the technology. However, they still expected to have more active role of this technology in government institutions. Also, they provided many of the factors that led to some restrictions on the use of computers. In addition, the study revealed that the demographic characteristics that would hinder perceptions towards this technology seems mostly unfounded. Based on the results of this study, Joradanian government should provide its employees more training and education opportunities on the use of this technology, in order to maintain, improve and increase the use of such technology in the future.


Author(s):  
Jacqueline Bhabha

This book examines the complexity of child migration, focusing on three nonmutually exclusive migration groups that pose dilemmas for child migrants, their families, and their advocates, as well as for policy and decision makers: family-related migration (comprising family reunion, family-related deportation, and intercountry adoption); exploitation-related migration (including child trafficking and recruitment related to armed conflict); and survival-related migration (covering refugee- and asylum-driven migration, and economic migration). Piecing together the diverse strands of policy development, law enactment, and institutional implementation, the book shows from the lens of child migration how human rights principles can move from theory to practice. It explores child migration for family reunion and considers a significant aspect of child migration—that primarily driven by the search for survival, opportunity, and a viable life. The book argues that child migrants need to be viewed as agents whose aspirations are relevant to institutional decision making.


Author(s):  
Namrata Bhattacharya-Mis ◽  
Jessica Lamond ◽  
Burrell Montz ◽  
Heidi Kreibich ◽  
Sara Wilkinson ◽  
...  

Purpose Improved management of commercial property at risk from flooding may result from well-targeted advice from built environment (BE) professionals, such as surveyors, valuers and project managers. However, research indicates that the role of these professionals in providing such advice is currently limited for a variety of reasons. This paper aims to investigate the (perceived and real) barriers and opportunities for providing such advice in a number of international locations. In particular, the research sought greater understanding of the link between regulation and guidance; perceived roles and capacity; and training and education needs. Design/methodology/approach To cover different international settings, an illustrative case study approach was adopted within the selected countries (Australia, UK, USA, China and Germany). This involved a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews of BE professionals with experience of advising on commercial properties at risk of flooding. Due to the specific nature of these interviews, a purposive sampling approach was implemented, leading to a sample of 72 interviews across the five international locations. Findings Perceived barriers were linked to regulatory issues, a shortage of suitably experienced professionals, a lack of formal guidance and insurance requirements. BE professionals defined their roles differently in each case study in relation to these factors and stressed the need for closer collaboration among the various disciplines and indeed the other key stakeholders (i.e. insurers, loss adjusters and contractors). A shortage of knowledgeable experts caused by a lack of formal training, and education was a common challenge highlighted in all locations. Originality/value The research is unique in providing an international perspective on issues affecting BE professionals in providing robust and impartial advice on commercial property at risk of flooding. While acknowledging the existence of local flood conditions, regulatory frameworks and insurance regimes, the results indicate some recurring themes, indicating a lack of general flood risk education and training across all five case study countries. Learning across case studies coupled with appropriate policy development could contribute toward improved skills development and more consistent integration of BE professionals within future flood risk management practice, policy and strategy.


2020 ◽  
pp. 089443932098011
Author(s):  
Marijn Janssen ◽  
Martijn Hartog ◽  
Ricardo Matheus ◽  
Aaron Yi Ding ◽  
George Kuk

Computational artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms are increasingly used to support decision making by governments. Yet algorithms often remain opaque to the decision makers and devoid of clear explanations for the decisions made. In this study, we used an experimental approach to compare decision making in three situations: humans making decisions (1) without any support of algorithms, (2) supported by business rules (BR), and (3) supported by machine learning (ML). Participants were asked to make the correct decisions given various scenarios, while BR and ML algorithms could provide correct or incorrect suggestions to the decision maker. This enabled us to evaluate whether the participants were able to understand the limitations of BR and ML. The experiment shows that algorithms help decision makers to make more correct decisions. The findings suggest that explainable AI combined with experience helps them detect incorrect suggestions made by algorithms. However, even experienced persons were not able to identify all mistakes. Ensuring the ability to understand and traceback decisions are not sufficient for avoiding making incorrect decisions. The findings imply that algorithms should be adopted with care and that selecting the appropriate algorithms for supporting decisions and training of decision makers are key factors in increasing accountability and transparency.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 12672
Author(s):  
Witold Torbacki

This article presents the idea of modelling and supporting the decision-making process in the field of development directions of a sustainable transport system in a metropolitan area. The global COVID-19 pandemic is causing changes in the perception of the public transport system by passengers. Users’ concerns for their own safety may lead to a shift away from public transport. Policy makers are advised to pay attention to these new phenomena that are hindering the development of sustainable transport in urban areas. Thus, many projects for the development of sustainable urban transport mobility, prepared before COVID-19, require re-analysis and adaptation to the decision-making processes of choosing the preferred means of transport by citizens. The scientific aim of this article was to develop a mathematical model based on the hybrid DEMATEL-PROMETHEE II method, supporting city decision-makers in the decision-making process regarding the selection of appropriate measures supporting the development of sustainable transport. The issues covered in the article include economic, informational and legal aspects, including electromobility, the principles of a low-emission society, and sustainable collective transport. The model was prepared for the needs of the Szczecin Metropolitan Area, where the construction of the Szczecin Metropolitan Railway, delayed by COVID-19, is underway and is to be the main axis of the public transport system. Finally, the article provides a ranking of groups of measures, dimensions and criteria that should be taken into account by decision-makers and planners in the modified plans for the sustainable development of metropolitan transport systems in the period after COVID-19.


1989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fritz H. Brecke ◽  
Patrick Hays ◽  
Donald Johnston ◽  
Gail Slemon ◽  
Jane McGarvey ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 4041-4058
Author(s):  
Fang Liu ◽  
Xu Tan ◽  
Hui Yang ◽  
Hui Zhao

Intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations (IFPRs) have the natural ability to reflect the positive, the negative and the non-determinative judgements of decision makers. A decision making model is proposed by considering the inherent property of IFPRs in this study, where the main novelty comes with the introduction of the concept of additive approximate consistency. First, the consistency definitions of IFPRs are reviewed and the underlying ideas are analyzed. Second, by considering the allocation of the non-determinacy degree of decision makers’ opinions, the novel concept of approximate consistency for IFPRs is proposed. Then the additive approximate consistency of IFPRs is defined and the properties are studied. Third, the priorities of alternatives are derived from IFPRs with additive approximate consistency by considering the effects of the permutations of alternatives and the allocation of the non-determinacy degree. The rankings of alternatives based on real, interval and intuitionistic fuzzy weights are investigated, respectively. Finally, some comparisons are reported by carrying out numerical examples to show the novelty and advantage of the proposed model. It is found that the proposed model can offer various decision schemes due to the allocation of the non-determinacy degree of IFPRs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Houshmand Masoumi ◽  
Erik Fruth

AbstractThe number of urban mobility studies and projects in the three large metropoles of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Tehran, Istanbul, and Cairo, is growing while other large cities do not enjoy a large share. It would be efficient for those other large cities to adapt the experiences, projects, and studies of Tehran, Istanbul, and Cairo to their own contexts. This paper can help facilitate that adaptation. It investigates the transferability and generalisability of the findings of a recent publication by the lead author on mobility choices in Tehran, Istanbul, and Cairo to some other large cities of more than one million inhabitants in the MENA region. The discussion provided here can provide decision-makers in the MENA region with guidance on how to utilise the findings from a recent study on Tehran/Istanbul/Cairo in their own contexts. T-tests were conducted to test the comparability of the three base cities with a sample 57 others with populations of over one million people. The results show that it would be possible to adapt the urban mobility studies of the three base megacities to 3 to 27 cities based on different criteria. Key suggestions identified by this study include providing local accessibility, neighbourhood facilities, and cycling facilities as well as removing social and legal constraints to cycling, advertising cycling, informing people about the harm arising from the overuse of cars, and increasing street connectivity by adding intersections. According to the findings, these evidence-based recommendations can enhance sustainable mobility for the inhabitants of up to 27 large cities.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suci Handayani Handayani ◽  
Hade Afriansyah

Decision making is one element of economic value, especially in the era of globalization, and if it is not acceptable in the decision making process, we will be left behind. According to Robins, (2003: 173), Salusu, (2000: 47), and Razik and Swanson, (1995: 476) say that decision making can be interpreted as a process of choosing a number of alternatives, how to act in accordance with concepts, or rules in solving problems to achieve individual or group goals that have been formulated using a number of specific techniques, approaches and methods and achieve optimal levels of acceptance.Decision making in organizations whether a decision is made for a person or group, the nature of the decision is often determined by rules, policies, prescribed, instructions that have been derived or practices that apply. To understand decision making within the organization it is useful to view decision making as part of the overall administrative process. In general, individuals tend to use simple strategies, even if in any complex matter, to get the desired solution, because the solution is limited by imperfect information, time and costs, limited thinking and psychological stress experienced by decision makers.


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