Using interval weights in MADM problems

The choice of weights vectors in multiple attribute decision making (MADM) problems has generated an important literature, and a large number of methods have been proposed for this task. In some situations the decision maker (DM) may not be willing or able to provide exact values of the weights, but this difficulty can be avoided by allowing the DM to give some variability in the weights. In this paper we propose a model where the weights are not fixed, but can take any value from certain intervals, so the score of each alternative is the maximum value that the weighted mean can reach when the weights belong to those intervals. We provide a closed-form expression for the scores achieved by the alternatives so that they can be ranked them without solving the proposed model, and apply this new method to an MADM problem taken from the literature.Este trabajo forma parte del proyecto de investigación: MEC-FEDER Grant ECO2016-77900-P

Obesity and the labour market: a comparative study of the European Health Interview Survey

Obesity has been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an “abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health”. The increasingly growing rates of obese people in the last few decades (remarkably in developed countries), has raised concerns among researchers and national health systems, and the analysis of its causes and consequences for human health has become a priority. Similarly, in socioeconomic investigation we find that obesity has been considered as a key factor for living conditions from a social and economic perspective. In previous research, we analysed if being obese had an impact on the probability of participating in the Spanish labour market, using data taken from the first edition of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS 2009). Our results indicated that high rates of BMI (obesity) implied lower probabilities of occupational participation, especially for working-age females living in Spain. The aim of this study is to continue our work, using data taken from the second edition of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS 2014). Same, body mass index (BMI) is being used as an indicator for nutritional status, and we carry out both a descriptive and an econometric analysis using probit and tobit models for limited dependent variables (LDV). We intend to compare the results from both surveys lengthwise.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Laser-Based Detection and Tracking of Moving Obstacles to Improve Perception of Unmanned Ground Vehicles

El objetivo de esta tesis es desarrollar un sistema que mejore la etapa de percepción de vehículos terrestres no tripulados (UGVs) heterogéneos, consiguiendo con ello una navegación robusta en términos de seguridad y ahorro energético en diferentes entornos reales, tanto interiores como exteriores. La percepción debe tratar con obstáculos estáticos y dinámicos empleando sensores heterogéneos, tales como, odometría, sensor de distancia láser (LIDAR), unidad de medida inercial (IMU) y sistema de posicionamiento global (GPS), para obtener la información del entorno con la precisión más alta, permitiendo mejorar las etapas de planificación y evitación de obstáculos. Para conseguir este objetivo, se propone una etapa de mapeado de obstáculos dinámicos (DOMap) que contiene la información de los obstáculos estáticos y dinámicos. La propuesta se basa en una extensión del filtro de ocupación bayesiana (BOF) incluyendo velocidades no discretizadas. La detección de velocidades se obtiene con Flujo Óptico sobre una rejilla de medidas LIDAR discretizadas. Además, se gestionan las oclusiones entre obstáculos y se añade una etapa de seguimiento multi-hipótesis, mejorando la robustez de la propuesta (iDOMap). La propuesta ha sido probada en entornos simulados y reales con diferentes plataformas robóticas, incluyendo plataformas comerciales y la plataforma (PROPINA) desarrollada en esta tesis para mejorar la colaboración entre equipos de humanos y robots dentro del proyecto ABSYNTHE. Finalmente, se han propuesto métodos para calibrar la posición del LIDAR y mejorar la odometría con una IMU

NGOs and Peacebuilding in Kosovo

YesThe growing international interest in peacebuilding as a concept and programme area requires a criticalunderstanding if its implementation on the ground. This audit aims to explore the definitions and applicationsof peacebuilding employed by local and international NGOs in Kosovo today

Nasser Behnegar: Leo Strauss, Max Weber, and the Scientific Study of Politics. Chicago University Press, Chicago, 2003

Sin resume

Spanish general election preview: Podemos

Spain will hold a general election on 20 December, with opinion polls indicating a tight contest between four parties for the largest share of the vote – the governing People’s Party (PP), who have a small lead in most polls, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), Ciudadanos (C’s), and Podemos. To mark the election, EUROPP is running a series of articles examining each of the four parties and their campaigns ahead of the vote. In the second article of the series, Iván Llamazares assesses the campaign run by Podemos and the party’s chance of success

More than just “stressful”? testing the mediating role of fatigue on the relationship between job stress and occupational crashes of long-haul truck drivers

Introduction: Recent evidence consistently highlights the adverse work environment of long-haul professional drivers, whose task structure typically involves the performance of extensive shifts, driving under stressful working conditions. In this regard, job stress and fatigue – that are highly prevalent in this workforce – seem to play a crucial role in explaining this group’s negative traffic safety outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess whether work-related fatigue is a mechanism that mediates the relationship between job stress, health indicators and occupational traffic crashes of long-haul truck drivers (LHTD). Methods: The data used in this study were collected from 521 Spanish long-haul truck drivers (97% males) from all 17 regions of Spain, with a mean age of 47 years. Results: Utilizing structural equation models (SEM), it was found that work-traffic crashes of long-haul truck drivers could be explained through work-related fatigue that exerts a full mediation between job stress (job strain), health-related factors and traffic crashes suffered during the previous two years. Discussion: Overall, the findings of this research support that a) stressful working conditions and health issues of drivers have significant effects on traffic crashes, and b) fatigue is a mechanism relating stress-related factors and work-traffic crashes of long-haul drivers. This study highlights the need of stress- and fatigue-management policies and interventions, in order to reduce the crash risk of long-haul truck drivers

Have we really seen the last of Pablo Iglesias?

Pablo Iglesias, the leader and founder of Podemos, announced his resignation from politics following the Madrid regional elections on 4 May. Iván Llamazares assesses the impact Iglesias has had on Spanish politics during his short career and asks whether we have really seen the last of him as a political actor

An application of binomial coefficients to Social Choice Theory

Producción CientíficaIn this paper we determine the number of positive integer sequences a1, a2, . . . , ak such that 1 ≤ a1 ≤ · · · ≤ ak ≤ m and ai ≥ i for all i ∈ {1, . . . , k}. After that, we apply this result to calculate the number of anonymous, neutral and monotonic social welfare functions when only two alternatives are considered.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (ECO2012-32178

Injured West: The Healing Potential of Shamanism in the Modern World

Este artículo brinda una introducción general al chamanismo, una de las vías de conocimiento espiritual más antigua y universal, situando el tema en la perspectiva de la crisis contemporánea y las “heridas” de Occidente. Se incluye una breve caracterización general del chamanismo –su antigüedad, la diversidad de sus manifestaciones, los principales temas que, como constantes trans-culturales, permiten describir su cosmovisión, sus prácticas y rituales, así como la vigencia de esta larga tradición de sabiduría. Se enfoca especialmente en el tema de la curación chamánica tratando de revisar el concepto clásico de “eficacia simbólica” de LéviStrauss a la luz de las nuevas concepciones energéticas de la salud que nos aportan los nuevos paradigmas de la ciencia holística más reciente. Se proporcionan también algunos elementos epistemológicos para reflexionar sobre la naturaleza y el origen del padecimiento físico y anímico que hoy sufrimos en el mundo contemporáneo -las heridas occidentales-, así como sobre las posibilidades de su alivio y curación a la luz del conocimiento chamánico y sus proyecciones actuales. En este sentido, se evocan dos figuras mitológicas que provienen de la propia tradición occidental: Dionisos y Quirón. Ambos encarnan el principio iniciático por excelencia del destino chamánico, y de esta manera, nos recuerdan que esta visión del mundo también está inscripta en nuestra propia tradición occidental.This article brings up an introduction to shamanism, placing this subject in a larger scope, that of the global contemporary crisis and the Western “wounds”. It presents a general outlook of the main transcultural shamanic features; focusing on the cure process, revisiting Lévi-Strauss’ concept of “symbolic efficacy” in the light of healing conceptions involved in new holistic science. Also provides epistemological elements to reflect upon the physical and psychological suffering that we endure in Western societies, as well as the possibilities of their relief the light of shamanic knowledge and its present projection. Two classical mythological characters are evoked: Dionysus and Chiron. Both embody the initiation principle par excellence of shamanic fate, and thus remind us that this worldview is also rooted in our own Western tradition.Fil: Llamazares, Ana María. Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin