Exchange of carbon by an upwelling filament off Cape Ghir (NW Africa)

We have studied the physicochemical and biological structure of a permanent filament off Cape Ghir (31°N) and estimated the transport of organic matter associated with it. The seaward filament exported coastal upwelled water, with low temperature and salinity and high organic matter, to the open ocean even in the absence of upwelling-favorable conditions. The estimated flux of excess organic carbon (the nonrefractory pool) expressed in annual basis yielded a value of 3.1×10⁹ kg C, from which 90% was transported as dissolved organic carbon. This flux represents about 63% of the average annual primary production for the region of study. We conclude that the net-offshore transport may contribute to the enrichment of offshore oligotrophic waters throughout the year, partly explaining the metabolic imbalance found in open ocean waters of the subtropical Northeast Atlantic.     

Retraining of ratings for officer rank: biographical characteristics and motivational determinants of willingness to be retrained

The study focuses on differences in biographical and motivational characteristics between ratings who were willing to be retrained for officer rank and those who were not.

Data were collected by means of individual structured interviews. Results indicate that personal characteristics such as age, family status, education and army experience significantly differentiate between the two groups of ratings. The motivational force (in the nomenclature of the VIE theory) in entering the officer rank was also significantly higher for ratings willing to be retrained.     

Retraining of ratings for officer rank: biographical characteristics and motivational determinants of willingness to be retrained

The study focuses on differences in biographical and motivational characteristics between ratings who were willing to be retrained for officer rank and those who were not.

Data were collected by means of individual structured interviews. Results indicate that personal characteristics such as age, family status, education and army experience significantly differentiate between the two groups of ratings. The motivational force (in the nomenclature of the VIE theory) in entering the officer rank was also significantly higher for ratings willing to be retrained.     

A study of tour-based mode choice based on a Support Vector Machine classifier

A new approach in recognizing travel mode choice patterns is proposed, based on the Support Vector Machine classification technique. The tour-based travel demand dataset that is analysed is for New York State, derived from the 2009 U.S. National Household Travel Survey. The main features characterizing each tour are the means used, travel-related variables and socioeconomic aspects. Results obtained demonstrate the ability to predict to some extent, in real settings where car use dominates, which tours are likely to be made by public transport or non-motorized means. Moreover, the flexibility of the technique allows assessing the predictive power of each feature according to the combination of travel means used in different tours. Potential applications range from activity-based travel choice simulators to search engines supporting personalized travel planners – in general, whenever ‘best guesses’ on mode choice patterns have to be made quickly on large amounts of data prejudicing the possibility of setting up a statistical model.