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Abstract

Generally, an evaluation of container port competitiveness is regarded as a multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem which involves various stakeholders with conflicting interests. To solve MCDM problems, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method has been popular, but problems arise in managing uncertainty among decision makers, and contradictory opinions. The key issue discussed in this paper is how to obtain compromise weights (CWs) using a combined AHP procedure. This procedure incorporates Dempster-Shafer theory for eliminating uncertainty in the evaluation, and a levelling process for adjusting the contradictory opinions of each group, a so-called multiple decision-making group problem. For an empirical analysis, container ports located in Northeast Asia, known to exhibit severe port competition, were selected. Using an adoption of the methodology, the matrix of CWs was obtained. Using this matrix permits an exact evaluation of competitiveness in the sampled container ports.

Prybutok named interim associate dean of UNT graduate school

DENTON (UNT), Texas -- Victor Prybutok, Regents Professor in the College of Business, has been named interim associate dean of academic affairs at the University of North Texas Robert B. Toulouse School of Graduate Studies. Michael Monticino, dean of the graduate school, made the appointment, whi...
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Newswise — In recent years, a growing and potentially life-threatening trend known as Robo tripping, the abuse of over-the-counter cough and cold medications, has emerged among America’s youth. As the Society representing the front-line physicians responsible for treating patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) who have overdosed on over-the-counter medications, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) has developed information to help parents recognize the signs of Robo tripping and to prevent overdose and longer-term health complications.

Nearly 10 percent of American teens have admitted to getting high on cough medication containing a synthetic drug, dextromethorphan (DXM), which produces a hallucinogenic high when consumed in large amounts.1 Teens and tweens ranging in age from as young as nine to 17 have admitted to Robo tripping, oftentimes because it is legal, readily available – without a prescription – and inexpensive.2

“Consuming large amounts of drugs containing DXM can have a variety of serious and very dangerous side effects on a child’s short- and long-term health, ranging from hallucinations to loss of motor control, and even death,” said Michael H. Entrup, M.D., ASA member and ASA Director for the Massachusetts Society of Anesthesiologists. “As summer swings into high gear and many kids are home from school, it’s especially important for parents to be aware of what their kids are doing during the bre...
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UPDATE OF AN APPROACH TO THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC LYME DISEASE

Burton Waisbren MD GFACP and a founding member and fellow of the IDSA

“It is my hope that the experiences mentioned here may result in some patients receiving more aggressive treatment for chronic Lyme disease and will perhaps raise the understanding of some in the “establishment” regarding how some physicians try to operate by thinking “outside the box” in their attempts to help problem patients.”

About Dr. Waisbren

Burton A. Waisbren, Sr., M.D. is a native Milwaukean who received his B.S. and M.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin Medical School in Madison, Wisconsin. He served his internship at the Harvard Service at Boston City Hospital. His military service was at the Navy Medical Research Institute, Bethesda, Maryland and the Biological Warfare Center, Camp Dietrick, Maryland. His residency and fellowship was served at the University of Minnesota Hospitals where he was an instructor in the medical school. He received a master’s degree in bacterial genetics from the University of Minnesota in 1951. He moved to Milwaukee, his hometown, in 1951 and established a private practice in internal medicine, infectious disease and immunology. At that time, he also headed the infectious disease control unit at the Milwaukee County Hospital. From 1951 to 1969, he was the director of the infectious disease divis...
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Planetary Society Urges Debate on NASA Authorization Bill

Pasadena, CA, — The Planetary Society today issued a statement about the request that the U.S. House of Representatives suspend the rules when voting on the NASA Authorization bill:

The U.S. House of Representatives is being asked today to bring a highly controversial NASA Authorization bill (H.R. 5781) to the floor for a quick vote before Congress heads out of town for its summer break. The NASA bill would be taken up under procedures to "suspend the rules" that limit debate and do not allow amendments or changes to the bill. The future of the space program is too important to rush through a controversial change in policy.

The Planetary Society is very concerned that the proposed NASA Authorization, which was only recently unveiled by the House Science and Technology committee, has taken an approach to space exploration that deviates significantly from any plan offered by NASA or any previous Administration -- one that raises many fundamental questions about the direction and sustainability of the space program.

Specifically, the proposed bill abandons any significant investment in exploration technology, effectively eliminates the Administration's approach for engaging the commercial sector, establishes a program of loan guarantees that the Administration did not request, and seeks to reinstate ...
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The Midwest Mineralogical & Lapidary Society will hold its annual Gem and Mineral Show May 14-16 at the Southgate Arena.

The society is  a non-profit club of Taylor and other Downriver residents who share an interest in the many facets of gems, minerals and the lapidary arts such as silversmithing, beading, fossils  and mineral collecting. Over the three days, the show will highlight the many aspects of the hobby.

On Friday morning and afternoon before the start of the show,  students and their teachers from local school districts will attend. As part of their free admission, they can receive free samples of up to a dozen  minerals, study the multiple exhibit cases highlighting the different facets of the hobby, participate in student activities and watch artisans demonstrate their crafts. Many teachers,  in fact, make up lists of questions for their students based on the multiple displays, and it's not uncommon for students to approach different club members looking for answers to questions on minerals, fossils or related subjects.

After the students visit, the show begins and will go through Sunday. In addition to the features listed above, 18 unique dealer and artist vendors from Michigan and other states will display their products for those visiting the show. Vendors this year will have items ranging from finished jewelry, gem trees, amber, beads and beading supplies, minerals for collection and display, lapidary and j...
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The Aeronautical Society of India, Delhi Branch is organizing an International Workshop on Global Aviation Safety Roadmap (GASR) in association with Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Boeing Airplane Co. on June 25th-26th, 2010 at Hotel Hyatt Regency, New Delhi.

The Workshop is being organized under the aegis of ICAO. Delegates from industry comprising stakeholders from airlines, airport operators, aircraft manufacturers, safety organizations, air traffic control service providers from India and abroad are participating in a two day’s Workshop.

At the beginning of the decade, Air Navigation Commission and industry identified a need for a broader plan that would provide a common frame of reference for all stakeholders. Such a plan would allow a more proactive approach to aviation safety and help coordinate and guide safety policies and initiatives worldwide to reduce the accident risk for commercial aviation. It was then decided that industry representatives and the Industry Safety Strategy Group (ISSG), would work together with ICAO to develop a common approach for aviation safety. This led to the development of Global Aviation Safety Roadmap (GASR), which provided the foundation of ICAO’s Global Aviation Safety Plan. The States have welcomed the development of the Global Aviation Safety Roadmap and recommended that ICAO should develop an integrated approach to safety initiatives based on the Global Aviation Safe...
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HERBERT PINO RODRÍGUEZ,
estudiante de cuarto año 
de Comunicación Social,
Facultad de Comunicación,
Universidad de La Habana.

“Esta juventud está perdida”, muchos hemos oído esa frase en diferentes ocasiones, pero nunca analizamos el por qué de la afirmación. Los criterios podrían ser tan diversos como jóvenes hay en el país. La cuestión radica en entender a la sociedad y las generaciones que viven en ella como algo heterogéneo y cambiante.

No somos un muñeco de trapo o un espantapájaros inerte, somos algo más complejo y difícil de encasillar en cualquier modelo. No por gusto han existido investigadores y estudiosos de la conducta humana y sus rasgos socio psicológicos. Se necesita comprender muy a fondo todos estos fenómenos para poder emitir un criterio sobre cómo debería ser la juventud de hoy.

Basta de críticas y comparaciones aciagas. Todos hemos sido testigos de transformaciones y no siempre nos unimos para corregir los problemas a tiempo. Si los jóvenes son o no una generación perdida, pienso que es también nuestra culpa, la de todos.

A lo largo de la historia el mundo ha estado sujeto a camb...
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I had a call from Darren Mullen in Ulster. He is trying to get people to fill out a survey on a cultural center in Ulster. To be honest, it's a not a user-friendly survey for a non-Ulster person as it asks questions about locations you've probably never heard of, have no idea where they are, and he doesn't give a map. Also, I tried and tried to complete it but there's a dumb matrix question about how much you'd be prepared to pay for various tour combinations that refuses to accept my clicks. Darren feels it would be beneficial for overseas Celts to complete this survey and I'm happy to offer you the opportunity. The site is https which means it is secure. I hope it works for you.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGtlckFzZVEyQkZOOUlJSVVpV2NzT0E6MA

He says: It is my intention to set up a not-for-profit, social enterprise dedicated to the development of a sustainable tourism project that strengthens the relevence of traditional culture by promoting both the Ulster Scots tradition and Celtic Culture within a living museum based in Northern Ireland. The Centre is to be staffed by tertiary level students attending the local University of Ulster campus and others from within the local area who have a disability allowing them to contribute towards the cost of their education and gaining invaluable experience in the workplace.

The Celtic nations of Northern Ireland, The Rep of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall (En...
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The Legal History Blog welcomes Thomas P. Gallanis, N. William Hines Professor of Law and Professor of History at the University of Iowa, where he teaches English and European Legal History.

Tom was recently Secretary of the American Society for Legal History, 2007-2009. He is a member, and honorary correspondent, of the Selden Society, which honored him with the David Yale Prize, awarded for “distinguished contribution to the history of the laws and legal institutions of England and Wales” for “The Rise of Modern Evidence Law,” 84 IOWA LAW REVIEW 499 (1999). Tom has also received a Mellon Fellowship in Historical Studies, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. His recent work includes:

“Making Sense of Blackstone's Puzzle: Why Forbid Defense Counsel?,” in A. Sarat, ed., MAKING SENSE OF LAW'S PAST (Studies in Law, Policy and Society, no. 53, forthcoming 2010);
“Victorian Reform of Civil Litigation,” in C.H. Van Rhee, ed., DUE AND UNDUE DELAY IN CIVIL LITIGATION (Comparative Studies in Continental and Anglo-American Legal History, forthcoming 2010);
“The Flexible Family in Three Dimensions,” 28 LAW & INEQUALITY 291 (2010) (symposium on Law and the Modern American Family);
“Death by Disaster: Anglo-American Presumptions, 1766-2006,” in R.H. H...
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