Microsimulation of pedestrian conflict with other transport modes

An effective solution of the conflict points of different transport modes is a significant issue at the urban level today. With the permanent increase of traffic in cities, it is necessary to look for suitable and sustainable transport solutions to these situations, so that the traffic flow is smooth and the transport remains safe, ecological and economical. The paper deals with the design of a simple decision-making tool for selecting the solution of pedestrian conflict with other traffic modes (classical pedestrian crossing, controlled pedestrian crossing for defined pedestrian and vehicle flows, based on experimental microsimulation. High pedestrian flows their dependence on the delay time of road users are not properly implemented in Czech legislation. The results are verified in a case study of conflict solution within the reconstruction of a public transport terminal in Prague.

EUFOR CHAD/CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: POLITIZED MANDATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND MILITARY MANAGEMENT OF THE DARFUR CRISIS

From the moment of its establishment, EUFOR Chad/Central African Republic was a specific military operation, not only from the perspective of the European Union, but the host countries as well. Mutual skepticism emerged already in the first phase of the decision-making process, when the preliminary assessments of its success and implementation were quite pessimistic. The lack of agreement among the EU Member States regarding conducting an intervention conditioned additional efforts of France, as the main initiator, to fulfil its ambitions through the decisions of Common Security and Defense Policy, thus securing its strategic position on the African continent. Equally pronounced critical blade in Chad was also covered up, having in mind that the inevitable fragmentation of ideas was avoided through a one-sided decision passed by the current political leadership. The other specificity is reflected in the fact that, based on numerous parameters, EUFOR Chad/CAR operation was assessed as the biggest intervention of the European Union conducted so far. Despite operative, logistical and financial difficulties that postponed implementation of the mandate, the operation was concluded on March 15, 2009. The logical question emerging regarding the previously stated characteristics is whether they impacted the defining of the mandate, the dynamics of its implementation and the final result of EUFOR Chad/CAR operation? The basic assumption which is the starting point for the authors of this paper states that the pronounced specificities echoed in the form of politization of the mandate and the military management of the Darfur crisis as direct motives of the operation. The lack of political mechanisms supporting the military action in conflict solution concurrently contributed to militarization of crisis management of the EU. The affirmative argument of the previously expressed statements is the impact of permanent shortages to the consistency and effectiveness of the results of EUFOR. An additional insight is expressed in the consent of the host country, the Republic of Chad, which was, in this concrete case, driven by strategic interests and strengthening of the authoritarian rule.

A novel conceptual framework to identify the mineral laws in Iran: A real-case application of fuzzy TOPSIS method

Due to the important environmental effects on human life and the conflict between the mining process and environmental factors, the enactment of protectionist environmental laws in the mineral industry has received extensive attention especially in countries with high mining potential. In this regard, using an extended fuzzy TOPSIS method, this study develops a novel conceptual framework to identify the key protection laws in Iran by considering the mineral successful laws and regulations in mineral-developed countries such as Australia, Chile, India, Turkey, Canada, South Africa, and China. This helps to apply the experiences of the abovementioned countries in resolving similar conflicts in Iran’s mineral industry. The key protection laws are selected based on their national and international environmental treaties, mines’ environmental protection laws, conflict solution methods, social responsibilities in mining activity, and laws for the abandoned mines. The proposed framework demonstrates that Iran’s mineral laws require revision and more transparency to avoid ambiguity and conflict with mineral property laws and governmental rights.

(Dis)agreements in the management of conservation conflicts in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Mexico

SummaryTo manage widespread conservation conflicts, building a shared understanding among the parties involved has been considered key. However, there is little empirical evidence of the role this understanding might play in the context of imposed biosphere reserves. Using semi-structured and in-depth interviews in two communities within the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, we explored whether or not there is a shared understanding of conflicts between local people and reserve managers, and we analysed its contribution to conflict management. We found that a shared understanding is not a determining factor when the conflict solution demands actions that exceed stakeholders’ functions. While a shared understanding helps with the global process of conflict management, there are other challenges: local impairment resulting from the exclusionary creation and the operation of protected areas and the need for action to solve a conflict that exceeds the functions of stakeholders.

Cognitive analysis of the social representations of suicide among hospital emergency professionals

Objective: to analyze the constitutive contents of the social representations of suicide by health professionals in the emergency department through an analysis of the cognitive network. Method: study based on the Theory of Social Representations carried out with 104 emergency room professionals from a hospital in Bahia, Brazil. A free word association task was conducted using the term suicide enabling the creation of a semantic network that was analyzed using the Cognitive Network Analysis model. Results: this network was composed of 42 vertices (i.e., words evoked by the professionals) and 273 edges (i.e., connections between words), with a mean degree of 13. The representational structure was formed by four dimensions (biological, affective-psychological, social, and religious) that explained the interface between the primary (i.e., central core) terms “despair,” “depression,” “disease,” “sadness,” “death,” “absence of God,” and “family fragility” and the secondary (i.e., periphery) terms “loneliness,” “lack of love,” “weakness,” “emotional distress,” “frustration,” “conflict,” “solution,” “mistake,” “fear,” “non-acceptance,” “anxiety,” “lack of control,” and “kill.” Conclusion: despite the presence of reductionist aspects, the representational structure created by the healthcare professionals of the investigated hospital conveyed the meaning and image of suicide across its multidimensional aspects, favoringchanges in individual and collective practices ...

Hierarchical Behavior Model for Multi-Agent System with Evasion Capabilities and Dynamic Memory

The behavior of an agent may be simple or complex depending on its role. Behavioral simulation using agents can have multiple approaches that have different advantages and disadvantages. By combining different behaviors in a hierarchical model, situational inefficiencies can be compensated. This paper proposes a behavioral hierarchy model that combines different mechanisms in behavior plans. The study simulates the social behavior in an office environment during an emergency using collision avoidance, negotiation, conflict solution, and path-planning mechanisms in the same multi-agent model to find their effects and the efficiency of the combinational setups. Independent agents were designed to have memory expansion, pathfinding, and searching capabilities, and the ability to exchange information among themselves and perform evasive actions to find a way out of congestion and conflict. The designed model allows us to modify the behavioral hierarchy and action order of agents during evacuation scenarios. Moreover, each agent behavior can be enabled or disabled separately. The effects of these capabilities on escape performance were measured in terms of time required for evacuation and evacuation ratio. Test results prove that all mechanisms in the proposed model have characteristics that fit each other well in situations where different hierarchies are needed. Dynamic memory management (DMM), together with a hierarchical behavior plan, achieved a performance improvement of 23.14% in escape time without providing agents with any initial environmental information.

The Evolution of the Concept of War in the Modern World (Some Considerations Inspired by Mary Kaldor’s Book)

The paper presents some considerations, partly polemic, inspired by Mary Kaldor’s book New and Old Wars. For this end, a brief comparative analysis is suggested of large-scale wars of the past (starting from the17th and with particular attention to the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries), on the one hand, and the so called “new wars”, on the other. The concept of “war” has been actual permanently, but it underwent changes, the most serious of them took place at the beginning and in the middle of the 20st century. However, the current political situation on the world scene shows that the conflicts of the globalization era differ considerably from those of previous centuries which were mainly conducted according to the generally adopted “rules of war” considered now as classical.The substantial role in modern violent collisions is played by a conflict of identities which was not so important when wars were conducted mainly between national states. Unlike conflicts of the previous centuries, the military confrontations of today may occur not only between states, but also inside the single country, where different groups of participants are pursuing their own goals in frameworks of identity policy. The traditional notion of civil war is not enough to cover this variety. Due to the global nature of the modern conflicts and involvement of the variety of participants, the conflict resolution seems to be more complicated than ever. Moreover, the identity factor has become an effective tool for different parties of the conflict who tend to use it at their own convenience. Consequently, resolution of modern violent conflicts, wherever they develop, demands contemporary and often non-trivial solutions, as well as close attention of the global community. The author believes that to resolve modern conflicts effectively, the world society should create a unified and comprehensive definition of the concept of “war” as well as invent new ways of the conflict solution taking into consideration, among other things, the diverse dynamics of globalization processes.

Foreign involvement precludes Libyan conflict solution

Significance The UAE has been heavily involved in the Libyan conflict, providing moral and material support to Haftar and enabling him to launch an offensive against the Tripoli-based GNA in April. Impacts The United States could reduce the intensity of the conflict if it used its influence with the UAE, though that is unlikely. Sanctions against any foreign party for violating a UN arms embargo on Libya are highly improbable, perpetuating this trend. Destruction of infrastructure, especially airports, will prove costly and time-consuming to repair.

Penyelesaian Kasus Pertanahan PT. Pertiwi Lestari dengan Masyarakat Margakaya, Telukjambe Barat, Karawang melalui Resettlement

Overlapping case of land tenure and land ownership between the farming community on the Veterans Legion of the Republic of Indonesia (LVRI) and PT. Pertiwi Lestari located in Margakaya Village, Telukjambe Barat Sub-District, Karawang District. PT. Pertiwi Lestari has Hak Guna Bangunan No. 5/ Margamulya with area 328.2 ha located on the settlement land of Cijambe, Margakaya village. LVRI community takes legal action by submitting a lawsuit to the PTUN. The lawsuit at the stage of the Judicial Review in the Supreme Court could not accept the lawsuit of the LVRI community. Conflict resolution through the judiciary is not fully acceptable to the parties to the conflict, so the parties conduct peace deliberations with one solution to the conflict, namely resettlement of 50 LVRI community families who do not have a place to live due to the land case that occurred. This research was conducted with a qualitative method with a descriptive approach. The results of this study indicate that with this resettlement, as many as 50 LVRI community families obtain certainty of tenure, ownership, use and utilization of land in a new place. the compatibility of characteristics between the residents of Margakaya Village, the majority of which are farmers and farm laborers with resettled communities, making the resettlement community not having difficulty in adapting. A positive response from the community to settlements through resettlement makes the legal certainty of ownership of the land which the resettlement participant feels directly.Keywords: Land Case, Conflict Solution, ResettlementIntisari: Kasus tumpang tindih penguasaan dan pemilikan tanah antara masyarakat penggarap Legiun Veteran Republik Indonesia (LVRI) dengan PT. Pertiwi Lestari yang terletak di Desa Margakaya Kecamatan Telukjambe Barat Kabupaten Karawang seluas 328,2 Ha ternyata di lapangan berada di tanah permukiman Kampung Cijambe Desa Margakaya. Masyarakat LVRI kemudian menempuh jalur hukum dengan mengajukan gugatan ke PTUN. Gugatan tersebut pada tahap Peninjauan Kembali ditolak oleh Mahkamah Agung. Para pihak melakukan musyawarah perdamaian dengan salah satu solusi konflik yaitu me-resettlement 50 KK masyarakat LVRI yang tidak memiliki tempat tinggal akibat kasus pertanahan yang terjadi. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan deskriptif. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa dengan resettlement ini, sebanyak 50 KK masyarakat LVRI mendapatkan kepastian penguasaan, pemilikan, penggunaan, serta pemanfaatan tanah di tempat yang baru. Kesesuaian karakteristik antara penduduk Desa Margakaya yang mayoritas petani dan buruh tani dengan masyarakat yang di-resettlement, menjadikan masyarakat yang di-resettlement tidak kesulitan untuk beradaptasi. Respons positif masyarakat terhadap penyelesaian melalui resettlement membuat kepastian hukum kepemilikan atas tanah dengan yang dirasakan langsung oleh peserta resettlement.Kata Kunci: Kasus Pertanahan, Solusi Konflik, Resettlement