Mohsen Babaei, Afshin Shariat-Mohaymany, Nariman Nikoo and Ahmad-Reza Ghaffari
One of the problems in post-earthquake disaster management in developing countries, such as Iran, is the prediction of the residual network available for disaster relief…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the problems in post-earthquake disaster management in developing countries, such as Iran, is the prediction of the residual network available for disaster relief operations. Therefore, it is important to use methods that are executable in such countries given the limited amount of accurate data. The purpose of this paper is to present a multi-objective model that seeks to determine the set of roads of a transportation network that should preserve its role in carrying out disaster relief operations (i.e. known as “emergency road network” (ERN)) in the aftermath of earthquakes.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the total travel time of emergency trips, the total length of network and the provision of coverage to the emergency demand/supply points have been incorporated as three important metrics of ERN into a multi-objective mixed integer linear programming model. The proposed model has been solved by adopting the e-constraint method.
Findings
The results of applying the model to Tehran’s highway network indicated that the least possible length for the emergency transportation network is about half the total length of its major roads (freeways and major arterials).
Practical implications
Gathering detailed data about origin-destination pair of emergency trips and network characteristics have a direct effect on designing a suitable emergency network in pre-disaster phase.
Originality/value
To become solvable in a reasonable time, especially in large-scale cases, the problem has been modeled based on a decomposing technique. The model has been solved successfully for the emergency roads of Tehran within about 10 min of CPU time.
Details
Keywords
Masoumeh Simbar, Zeinab Aarabi, Zohreh Keshavarz, Fahimeh Ramezani-Tehrani and Ahmad Reza Baghestani
Insufficient physical activity leads to an increase in chronic diseases. Skills-based health education methods are supposed to be more successful than traditional methods to…
Abstract
Purpose
Insufficient physical activity leads to an increase in chronic diseases. Skills-based health education methods are supposed to be more successful than traditional methods to promote healthy behaviors. Skills-based health education is an approach to create healthy lifestyles and skills using participatory methods. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of skill-based education method on physical activities of female adolescents.
Design/methodology/approach
This was an experimental study on 80 female public high school students aged 12-14 years old in Tehran. The participants were randomly divided into two groups: experimental group of 40 girls who were educated using “Skills-based education method,” and control group of 40 girls who were educated by lecture as a routine educational method for health promotion. Data were collected using a valid and reliable questionnaire to assess physical activity-related knowledge, attitudes and behavior. Data were gathered three times; before, immediately after (Phase 1) and two months after educational intervention (Phase 2). Data analysis was performed using SPSS 20.
Findings
Intra-group comparison demonstrated that both educational methods can increase knowledge, attitude and behavior of the students after intervention comparing to before intervention (RMANOVA; p<0.05). However, the comparison between groups demonstrated a significant higher increase of knowledge (t-test; p<0.01 and p<0.0; phase 1 and 2, respectively), and behavior (t-test; p<0.01 and p=0.002; phase 1 and 2, respectively) but not attitude (p=0.083 and p=0.125, phase 1 and 2, respectively) among the students participated in the experimental “skilled based health education” group rather than the control “lecture” group.
Originality/value
Skill-based health education comparing to routine lecture-based education creates deep and long lasting knowledge and behavior and is highly recommended for promoting physical activity and other health-related knowledge and among adolescents.