Assessment Team Decision-Making: One Way to Assess the Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Based on Observation.

Decision-making has been a subject actively investigated in several areas of knowledge such as Philosophy, Economics, Psychology, Computer Science, among others. This paper explores the potential opportunities offered by two methodologies to assess the team decision-making at the end of a simulated exercise (training). We present a case study showing how to measure the team decision-making combining both methodologies to assess a team of three experienced Officers from the Military Fire Brigade of the State of Rio de Janeiro. The simulated exercise was carried out within the Integrated Center of Command and Control of Rio de Janeiro. We intend this study provide a pathway that can be helpful in reducing the subjectivity generated during the observation of the team decision-making in Emergency Management environments

Training to improve emergency management decision-making: what the research literature tells us.

The importance of training for effective performance in high-stakes, high-risk work settings is well-known. Successful training is the systematic acquisition of skills, rules, concepts or attitudes that result in improved work performance. Simply exposing people to training situations is not sufficient for them to develop knowledge and skills. This will only occur if the activity results in learning. While much training focuses on the development of technical skills, it is important to train people in non-technical skills, such as decision-making. This paper presents the results of a literature review of 95 peer-reviewed articles that consider the current training and exercise practices used to develop emergency management decision-making capability. The different approaches to training can be categorised into 4 types: discussion-based, operation-based, E-based and post-incident debriefs. This paper discusses current practice in emergency management decision-making training in each of these categories together with studies that have evaluated their effectiveness noting the generally limited nature of evaluation studies. To promote evaluation of training, several studies have developed tools to assess the effectiveness of training. Finally, key takeaway points related to emergency management organisational training and exercise programs are provided

Evaluation report : review of Community Based Adaptation To Climate Change in Africa (CBAA) Projects in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Zimbabwe

The project needs to step up efforts to work more closely with mainstream government departments, NGOs and community based organizations to identify technologies that will help targeted rural communities adapt to climate change under prevailing conditions in the different countries. Access to land and security of tenure is very important and more energy needs to be directed at creating and implementing land use policies that are sensitive to the requirements of local populations. The review finds that adaptation issues in Africa are still not well enough understood to enable the implementation of comprehensive programmes to tackle it

Democracy Decline and the Case of Brazil

openThe global trend of democracy decline can be perceived in our society in the last few years, countries that came to be considered consolidated democracies fell upon the events of backsliding, meaning that aspects that served as pillars or common perceptions of a democratic society are being corroded by their own means, from the inside, among them the existence of checks and balances on governments. Elected leaders act not in the interest of society and democracy but in the interest of their hold on power or of their party's power, tactics of inflating a polarized society, compromising competition and participation in elections are common examples. Now we rarely see democracy ending by means of coup d'etat, they are slowly fading, therefore, in such a context, the present thesis seeks to discuss the scholars' conceptualization of democratic decline and work upon their framework, fitting it to academically agreed cases of decline such as Hungary, Poland, Venezuela, and Turkey, to then demonstrate the similarity of the framework and these cases to the scenario of Brazil in the period preceding Bolsonaro and then of his government, that came to an end after the 2022 elections

The Quality of Work Life: An Empirical Study

Merged with duplicate record (10026.1/2769) on 03.01.2017 by CS (TIS)This research examines the quality of work life in a selection of pharmaceutical companies in Egypt. It aims to test the relationships between the employees' perceptions of their quality of work life and; their perceptions of the degree of participation in decisionmaking available to them, their perceptions of their level of job satisfaction, their perceptions of their level of affective, continuance, and normative commitment, and the ownership form of the company. It uses a sample of 1270 employees in three different ownership forms; public, private, and multinational pharmaceutical companies in Egypt. The total sample size is proportionately distributed (i. e. the actual 'sample size has been distributed between the three ownership forms based on the percentage of employees in each ownership form to the total size of the population) among' , the three, forms Of ownership (public companies 889, private companies = 165, and multinational companies = 216 employee). The number of employees surveyed in each company has also been proportionately distributed. The perceptions of the targeted employees are surveyed using a questionnaire that contains 81 items. The collected data are analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) programme. The findings of the study indicate that there is a significant positive relationship between the employees' perceptions of their quality of work life and; their perceptions of the degree of participation in decision-making available to them, and their perceptions of their level of job satisfaction. A significant positive and partial relationship is found between the employees' perceptions of their quality of work life and their perceptions of III their level of affective, continuance, and normative commitment, as it is expected, by the researcher, that the employees' perceptions of their quality of work life may positively affect their perceptions of their level of affective, continuance, and normative commitment through affecting their perceptions of their level of job satisfaction. A significant relationship is found between the employees' perceptions of their quality of work life and the ownership form of the company. The results also indicate that employees perceive their quality of work life to be greater or better in the multinational pharmaceutical companies than are the employees' perceptions of their quality of work life in both the private and public pharmaceutical companies in Egypt. Furthermore, the results indicate that the employees' perceptions of their quality of work life in the private phan-naceutical companies are better than the employees' perceptions of their quality of work life in the public phan-naceutical companies in Egypt. A set of quality of work life criteria that seems important to employees in the pharmaceutical companies in Egypt, and which might therefore be productively addressed by employers/organisations has been identified. In addition, some implications for HR practices in Egypt have been raised and discussed. Finally, a set of models that could clarify the interactive relationship between the variables that have been investigated in this research in the Egyptian context has been developed. It is suggested that the set of quality of work life criteria as well as the models might fon-n the basis for future researches of this type

Diagonally Implicit Runge-Kutta Methods for Ordinary Differential Equations. A Review

A review of diagonally implicit Runge-Kutta (DIRK) methods applied to rst-order ordinary di erential equations (ODEs) is undertaken. The goal of this review is to summarize the characteristics, assess the potential, and then design several nearly optimal, general purpose, DIRK-type methods. Over 20 important aspects of DIRKtype methods are reviewed. A design study is then conducted on DIRK-type methods having from two to seven implicit stages. From this, 15 schemes are selected for general purpose application. Testing of the 15 chosen methods is done on three singular perturbation problems. Based on the review of method characteristics, these methods focus on having a stage order of two, sti accuracy, L-stability, high quality embedded and dense-output methods, small magnitudes of the algebraic stability matrix eigenvalues, small values of aii, and small or vanishing values of the internal stability function for large eigenvalues of the Jacobian. Among the 15 new methods, ESDIRK4(3)6L[2]SA is recommended as a good default method for solving sti problems at moderate error tolerances

More than print: The home and school literacies of three fourth-graders

Through ethnographic case studies of three fourth-grade children, this study investigates the relationships between children\u27s home and school literacies. The data were collected through participant-observation in the children\u27s homes and at school; interviews of children, parents, and teacher; and analysis of children\u27s products and processes (such as written work and hand-made crafts). The study defines a literacy as a meaning-making system which can be used functionally, communicatively, reflectively, flexibly, and pleasurably. Schools typically focus on print literacy and do not always recognize or value the range of literacies children bring with them from home. This research shows children using not only print literacy, but interactive and mechanical literacies, among others. It suggests that children acquire literacies informally, in context, and through interaction. The findings suggest that schools broaden their concept of a literate environment to include more than print and to promote interactive ways of working--to become learning homes where children\u27s home literacies are used in meaningful ways--both for their own value and as bridges to other literacies

Psychological momentum in elite athletes

The competitive sporting environment provides an ideal opportunity to examine the concept of psychological momentum. The aim of this thesis is to further develop the issues raised by the momentum literature through the application of an eclectic range of research approaches. Study One examined positive and negative experiences for successful and unsuccessful performances within a population of elite middle and long distance runners. A qualitative design revealed that there were differences between the number of positive and negative experiences exhibited for the two performances. More specifically, more positive experiences were found for the successful performance and negative experiences for the unsuccessful performance. Personal and situational variables, such as confidence, goals, anxiety and attributions, were examined and it was concluded that the athletes' interpretations of experiences may be related to positive and negative momentum states. The second study examined in more detail the relationship between positive and negative experiences. It also attempted to gain a greater understanding of perceived momentum by tracking momentum shifts over time between competing tennis players. A diverse approach to data collection and analysis allowed for comparisons between competing players to be made. Descriptive statistical analysis revealed that winning the first point in a game resulted in more games being won, compared to losing the first point. Content and frequency analysis was also carried out based on interview data. Results indicated that differences existed between the winners and losers. In particular, more positive experiences were exhibited by the winners and more negative experiences by the losers. More in-depth case studies were used to gain a more detailed insight into momentum shifts. Each match examined told a unique story, however similarities were found. There were two main findings, firstly losers identified more key momentum moments than winners. Secondly, questionnaire data revealed divergent patterns for perceived status over a range of parameters (e.g. fatigue) between each winner and loser. In combination these findings offered further support for the differentiated existence of momentum within sports competition. The final study considered the notion of momentum from a more holistic perspective and utilised a longitudinal methodology to examine both on and off court activities of a female tennis player on the professional circuit. A departure from the previous post-positivistic paradigm lead to a case study being produced which identified fluctuation of momentum both during and between performances. Results adapt well to recent models of momentum and are discussed in terms of each construct. The findings from the thesis support the existence of psychological momentum and contribute towards a reformulated model of momentum. The model draws upon findings from the present thesis and also incorporates findings from previous momentum research. Finally, the unique approach of combining traditional quantitative methods with more recent qualitative techniques highlighted concerns over the rigidity of past research and suggests how new lines of enquiry might be used in future research

Standardized contracts in a bi-jural state : the United Republic of Cameroon

Within the past decade, there has been considerable debate amongst lawyers in most European and North American jurisdictions on standardized contracts. The realisation that these contracts did not fit into the framework of the law of contract elaborated by nineteenth-centry theorists, induced judges and academic alike to fashion concepts and mechanisms in order to tackle the undoubted injustices which were concomitant with the use of standardized contracts. These well meaning attemtps, while affording some protection to weaker contracting parties, were nevertheless productive of uncertainty and inconsistency. Hence, there has been in recent years a spate of legislation designed to deal with standardized contracts directly or indirectly. The adoption of modern economic institutions and also of Western legal systems in Cameroon has brought about significant problems in the realm of contract. The widespread illiteracy in Cameroon, the lack of commercial sophistication of the bulk of the populace, and the use of standardized contracts, have created problems of a much wider dimension than those to be found in the developed countries. This thesis involves a study in comparative law. It charts the ways in which the English and French courts have addressed the problems of standardized contracts. It also delves into how the Cameroonian courts have dealt with them, revealing the incongruities inherent in the application of concepts which have been evolved in a different country with distinct motives, in another country with entirely different social realities. Finally, this thesis looks at the legislative innovation; brought to this area of the law by four European countries and discerns what lessons can be learned from them by Cameroonian legislators in dealing with the problems of standardized contracts in Cameroon. All this is achieved by pulling together legal analysis and comments by Anglo-Americans and European scholars, and by weaving into the text nearly all important English, French, Cameroonian and indeed American cases on this subject