Making real progress toward more sustainable societies using decision support models and tools: Introduction to the special volume

Academics, politicians, professionals and the general public are aware that without stewarding our planet’s natural resources, man is on the pathway towards a global collapse. Over the next three decades mankind is expected to consume an estimated 140 billion tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and biomass per year – three times current consumption. Social welfare and human wellbeing are threatened with the scarcity of natural resources; consequently, nations and their societies are also at risk of collapse. The readers of this special volume will find a compilation of scholarly research papers with real-life applications that take the challenge of proposing decision-making models and tools to address sustainability challenges in integrative ways. The main focus of this special volume is integration of sustainability dimensions (economic, social, environmental, ethical and time) into decision-support models and to identify pathways to achieve more sustainable societies. The majority of the research in this special volume, 74 percent, focuses on environmental and economic dimensions. Only 26 percent integrated social dimensions with them. Methodologically, a range of mathematical models and tools are presented to support prescriptive decision-making, with some descriptive models integrated, to support decision-makers in solving practical problems across a variety of industries and scenarios. The breadth and complexity of issues facing organizations and society requires innovative applications of these methodologies. The concerns cover a spectrum ranging from energy to solid waste management. A multitude of levels from broad-based policy concerns to strategic inter-organizational sustainable supply chain management and significantly, shop floor operational issues are also covered. The variety of problems and solutions exemplifies the potential for modelling and operations research for addressing some of our world’s most pressing concerns

Impact of Hurricane Harvey on Healthcare Utilization and Emergency Department Operations

Introduction: Hurricanes have increased in severity over the past 35 years, and climate change has led to an increased frequency of catastrophic flooding. The impact of floods on emergency department (ED) operations and patient health has not been well studied. We sought to detail challenges and lessons learned from the severe weather event caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas, in August 2017.Methods: This report combines narrative data from interviews with retrospective data on patient volumes, mode of arrival, and ED lengths of stay (LOS). We compared the five-week peri-storm period for the 2017 hurricane to similar periods in 2015 and 2016.Results: For five days, flooding limited access to the hospital, with a consequent negative impact on provider staffing availability, disposition and transfer processes, and resource consumption. Interruption of patient transfer capabilities threatened patient safety, but flexibility of operations prevented poor outcomes. The total ED patient census for the study period decreased in 2017 (7062 patients) compared to 2015 (7665 patients) and 2016 (7770) patients). Over the five-week study period, the arrival-by-ambulance rate was 12.45% in 2017 compared to 10.1% in 2016 (p < 0.0001) and 13.7% in 2015 (p < 0.0001). The median ED length of stay (LOS) in minutes for admitted patients was 976 minutes in 2015 (p < 0.0001) compared to 723 minutes in 2016 and 591 in 2017 (p < 0.0001). For discharged patients, median ED LOS was 336 minutes in 2016 compared to 356 in 2015 (p < 0.0001) and 261 in 2017 (p < 0.0001). Median boarding time for admitted ED patients was 284 minutes in 2016 compared to 470 in 2015 (p < 0.0001) and 234.5 in 2017 (p < 0.001). Water damage resulted in a loss of 133 of 179 inpatient beds (74%). Rapid and dynamic ED process changes were made to share ED beds with admitted patients and to maximize transfers post-flooding to decrease ED boarding times.Conclusion: A number of pre-storm preparations could have allowed for smoother and safer ride-out functioning for both hospital personnel and patients. These measures include surplus provisioning of staff and supplies to account for limited facility access. During a disaster, innovative flexibility of both ED and hospital operations may be critical when disposition and transfer capibilities or bedding capacity are compromised

Partial Correctness of a Power Algorithm

This work continues a formal verification of algorithms written in terms of simple-named complex-valued nominative data [6],[8],[15],[11],[12],[13]. In this paper we present a formalization in the Mizar system [3],[1] of the partial correctness of the algorithm: i := val.1 j := val.2 b := val.3 n := val.4 s := val.5 while (i n) i := i + j s := s * b return s computing the natural n power of given complex number b, where variables i, b, n, s are located as values of a V-valued Function, loc, as: loc/.1 = i, loc/.3 = b, loc/.4 = n and loc/.5 = s, and the constant 1 is located in the location loc/.2 = j (set V represents simple names of considered nominative data [17]).The validity of the algorithm is presented in terms of semantic Floyd-Hoare triples over such data [9]. Proofs of the correctness are based on an inference system for an extended Floyd-Hoare logic [2],[4] with partial pre- and post-conditions [14],[16],[7],[5].Institute of Informatics, University of Białystok, PolandGrzegorz Bancerek, Czesław Byliński, Adam Grabowski, Artur Korniłowicz, Roman Matuszewski, Adam Naumowicz, and Karol Pąk. The role of the Mizar Mathematical Library for interactive proof development in Mizar. Journal of Automated Reasoning, 61(1):9–32, 2018. doi:10.1007/s10817-017-9440-6.R.W. Floyd. Assigning meanings to programs. Mathematical aspects of computer science, 19(19–32), 1967.Adam Grabowski, Artur Korniłowicz, and Adam Naumowicz. Four decades of Mizar. Journal of Automated Reasoning, 55(3):191–198, 2015. doi:10.1007/s10817-015-9345-1.C.A.R. Hoare. An axiomatic basis for computer programming. Commun. ACM, 12(10): 576–580, 1969.Ievgen Ivanov and Mykola Nikitchenko. On the sequence rule for the Floyd-Hoare logic with partial pre- and post-conditions. In Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on ICT in Education, Research and Industrial Applications. Integration, Harmonization and Knowledge Transfer. Volume II: Workshops, Kyiv, Ukraine, May 14–17, 2018, volume 2104 of CEUR Workshop Proceedings, pages 716–724, 2018.Ievgen Ivanov, Mykola Nikitchenko, Andrii Kryvolap, and Artur Korniłowicz. Simple-named complex-valued nominative data – definition and basic operations. Formalized Mathematics, 25(3):205–216, 2017. doi:10.1515/forma-2017-0020.Ievgen Ivanov, Artur Korniłowicz, and Mykola Nikitchenko. Implementation of the composition-nominative approach to program formalization in Mizar. The Computer Science Journal of Moldova, 26(1):59–76, 2018.Ievgen Ivanov, Artur Korniłowicz, and Mykola Nikitchenko. On an algorithmic algebra over simple-named complex-valued nominative data. Formalized Mathematics, 26(2):149–158, 2018. doi:10.2478/forma-2018-0012.Ievgen Ivanov, Artur Korniłowicz, and Mykola Nikitchenko. An inference system of an extension of Floyd-Hoare logic for partial predicates. Formalized Mathematics, 26(2): 159–164, 2018. doi:10.2478/forma-2018-0013.Ievgen Ivanov, Artur Korniłowicz, and Mykola Nikitchenko. Partial correctness of GCD algorithm. Formalized Mathematics, 26(2):165–173, 2018. doi:10.2478/forma-2018-0014.Ievgen Ivanov, Artur Korniłowicz, and Mykola Nikitchenko. On algebras of algorithms and specifications over uninterpreted data. Formalized Mathematics, 26(2):141–147, 2018. doi:10.2478/forma-2018-0011.Artur Kornilowicz, Andrii Kryvolap, Mykola Nikitchenko, and Ievgen Ivanov. Formalization of the algebra of nominative data in Mizar. In Maria Ganzha, Leszek A. Maciaszek, and Marcin Paprzycki, editors, Proceedings of the 2017 Federated Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems, FedCSIS 2017, Prague, Czech Republic, September 3–6, 2017., pages 237–244, 2017. ISBN 978-83-946253-7-5. doi:10.15439/2017F301.Artur Kornilowicz, Andrii Kryvolap, Mykola Nikitchenko, and Ievgen Ivanov. Formalization of the nominative algorithmic algebra in Mizar. In Leszek Borzemski, Jerzy Świątek, and Zofia Wilimowska, editors, Information Systems Architecture and Technology: Proceedings of 38th International Conference on Information Systems Architecture and Technology – ISAT 2017 – Part II, Szklarska Poręba, Poland, September 17–19, 2017, volume 656 of Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, pages 176–186. Springer, 2017. ISBN 978-3-319-67228-1. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-67229-8_16.Artur Korniłowicz, Andrii Kryvolap, Mykola Nikitchenko, and Ievgen Ivanov. An approach to formalization of an extension of Floyd-Hoare logic. In Vadim Ermolayev, Nick Bassiliades, Hans-Georg Fill, Vitaliy Yakovyna, Heinrich C. Mayr, Vyacheslav Kharchenko, Vladimir Peschanenko, Mariya Shyshkina, Mykola Nikitchenko, and Aleksander Spivakovsky, editors, Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on ICT in Education, Research and Industrial Applications. Integration, Harmonization and Knowledge Transfer, Kyiv, Ukraine, May 15–18, 2017, volume 1844 of CEUR Workshop Proceedings, pages 504–523. CEUR-WS.org, 2017.Artur Korniłowicz, Ievgen Ivanov, and Mykola Nikitchenko. Kleene algebra of partial predicates. Formalized Mathematics, 26(1):11–20, 2018. doi:10.2478/forma-2018-0002.Andrii Kryvolap, Mykola Nikitchenko, and Wolfgang Schreiner. Extending Floyd-Hoare logic for partial pre- and postconditions. In Vadim Ermolayev, Heinrich C. Mayr, Mykola Nikitchenko, Aleksander Spivakovsky, and Grygoriy Zholtkevych, editors, Information and Communication Technologies in Education, Research, and Industrial Applications: 9th International Conference, ICTERI 2013, Kherson, Ukraine, June 19–22, 2013, Revised Selected Papers, pages 355–378. Springer International Publishing, 2013. ISBN 978-3-319-03998-5. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-03998-5_18.Volodymyr G. Skobelev, Mykola Nikitchenko, and Ievgen Ivanov. On algebraic properties of nominative data and functions. In Vadim Ermolayev, Heinrich C. Mayr, Mykola Nikitchenko, Aleksander Spivakovsky, and Grygoriy Zholtkevych, editors, Information and Communication Technologies in Education, Research, and Industrial Applications – 10th International Conference, ICTERI 2014, Kherson, Ukraine, June 9–12, 2014, Revised Selected Papers, volume 469 of Communications in Computer and Information Science, pages 117–138. Springer, 2014. ISBN 978-3-319-13205-1. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-13206-8_6.27218919

Highway Construction Productivity Measurement with a Wireless Real-Time Productivity Measurement System

Seonghoon Kim, Yong Bai, Yang-Ki Jung, and Dukgeun Yun, Highway Construction Productivity Measurement with a Wireless Real-Time Productivity Measurement System, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board (Volume: 2228 issue: 1) pp. 26-33. Copyright © 2011 SAGE Publications. DOI: 10.3141/2228-04.Improving the quality of construction schedules calls for development of an advanced productivity measurement system. Existing on-site construction productivity measurement methods have some common limitations, such as not providing data necessary for engineers and project managers to conduct real-time analyses and share data with other project participants. A wireless real-time productivity measurement (WRITE) system was developed to address those shortfalls. The field experiment was conducted at two different stages: asphalt paving projects, including hot-mix asphalt and hot-in-place recycling, and a bridge reconstruction project. Productivity data collected from the WRITE system were also compared with productivity data collected from construction documents, such as contractors' daily logs and pay estimate documents, to identify the feasibility of this system for measuring the performance of construction projects. For data analyses, statistical methods such as normality test, paired t-test, and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used. The result of statistical analyses proved that the developed system generated identical productivity measurements compared with the stopwatch method and construction documents. The success of this research project made several major contributions to the advancement of the construction industry. First, the research advanced the application of wireless technology in highway construction operations. Second, it provided an advanced technology for engineers and project managers to determine productivity in real time. Third, productivity data can be shared between project participants via the Internet. With these advancements, communication and coordination will be improved at construction sites. Consequently, the WRITE system will enhance owners' and contractors' ability to manage construction projects

A Winning Hand: A Proposal for an International Regulatory Schema with Respect to the Growing Online Gambling Dilemma in the United States

While a multitude of Internet enterprises folded in the 1990s, online gambling websites not only have held strong, but appear to be ready to increase the stakes. No business relating to the Internet currently generates more revenue than online gambling, and that trend does not look like it will change soon. While many Americans desire to participate in this form of cyber-gambling, the current legality of their ability to do so remains vague. For the most part, an American\u27s ability to gamble currently resides under the purview of state law and a hodgepodge of antiquated federal wire acts. The nature of the Internet, however, mandates that any scheme, regulatory or prohibitory, be constructed in the international arena. For various reasons, there have been efforts by members of Congress to create strong prohibitory legislation specifically targeting Internet gambling. The Author analyzes not only whether a domestic prohibition schema is the best model to implement, but also whether such a model could even be truly effective. The Author further shows that an international regulatory model can provide a legitimate method of control while allowing individual countries to maintain discretion over the form of online gambling they allow to their citizens. At the same time, this international regulatory schema would still provide a valid international enforcement net against offenders. Under this regulatory schema, problem gamblers can be protected while still preserving the opportunity for other patrons to get lucky and hit it big

US assessments of Japanese ground warfare tactics and the Army’s campaigns in the Pacific theaters, 1943-45: lessons learned and methods applied

The article examines the evolution of US intelligence assessments of the Imperial Japanese Army's tactical methods during the Pacific War, and explains how the resulting perceptions influenced the development of American doctrine for fighting the Japanese. It argues that US evaluations of the Japanese were characterized primarily by the need to gain a realistic understanding of enemy fighting capabilities, coupled with a realization of the need to improve the army's techniques for fighting a successful campaign

KM Maturity Factors Affecting High Performance in Universities

This paper aims to measure Knowledge Management Maturity (KMM) in the universities to determine the impact of knowledge management on high performance. This study was applied on Al-Quds Open University in Gaza strip, Palestine. Asian productivity organization model was applied to measure KMM. Second dimension which assess high performance was developed by the authors. The controlled sample was (306). Several statistical tools were used for data analysis and hypotheses testing, including reliability Correlation using Cronbach’s alpha, “ANOVA”, Simple Linear Regression and Step Wise Regression.The overall findings of the current study suggest that KMM is suitable for measuring high performance. KMM assessment shows that maturity level is in level three. Findings also support the main hypothesis and it is sub- hypotheses. The most important factors effecting high performance are: Processes, KM leadership, People, KM Outcomes and Learning and Innovation. Furthermore the current study is unique by the virtue of its nature, scope and way of implied investigation, as it is the first comparative study in the universities of Palestine explores the status of KMM using the Asian productivity Model