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Techniques to improve freight car fleet use are of considerable interest to the railroad industry. In this paper, we present a fuzzy inventory control approach applied to the sizing of empty cars on a rail network. We address the problem of deciding the optimal inventory level and the optimal ordering quantity for a rail freight car fleet system in which demand and travel time are uncertain variables represented as triangular fuzzy numbers. Based on the fuzzy economic order quantity (EOQ) formula, a modified fuzzy EOQ model is set up and the optimal policy is developed using the signed distance method to defuzzify the fuzzy total cost. Computational results made for the Serbian rail network case verify the proposed model as well as the efficiency of the approach.

Forecasting represents an indispensable activity in railway transportation planning. Forecasting of demand levels is vital to the railway company as a whole as it provides the basic input for the planning and control of all functional areas including railway transport operations planning, marketing and finance. Demand levels and the timing of their appearance (on a day, week, month or seasonal basis) greatly effects capacity levels, financial needs and general structure of the business.Forecasting employs historical data and uses various forecasting methods to make accurate estimates of future demands. Forecasting approaches can be generally divided into two categories: econometric or causal and time series techniques. In this chapter a comprehensive review of methods belonging to these two broad classes will be made. Special emphasis will be given to the application of these techniques to railway demand modeling.

Managers often face difficulties when making project decisions that involve large number of interrelated activities --the planning and scheduling of which is project management. Most problems often arise in areas such as product development, production planning and control and setting up the production facilities. One important aspect of project management is activity crashing, i.e. reducing the activity time by adding more resources such as workers, overtime and so on. It is important to decide the optimal crash plan to complete the project within the desired time period. A fuzzy simulated annealing crashing method is introduced in this paper to evaluate project networks and determine the optimum crashing configuration that minimizes the average project cost, due to lateness penalties and crashing costs in the presence of vagueness and uncertainty. Through a real project example the proposed approach is shown effective and efficient in conducting time-cost tradeoff analysis.

In the context of the upcoming reactivation of the Serbian Ethnology and Anthropology society and the normalization of the work of professional associations, as well as their occasional adoption of their ethic codes in Serbia, we are analyzing the ethic code of the biggest professional anthropological association in the world- American Anthropology Association (AAA). Starting from the assumption that ethic codes are not „pure“moral algorithms of the desirable/correct, but that they are enriched/burdened with „hidden“ theoretic and methodological assumptions, whether by their direct authors, or on the level of the silent knowledge of the disciplinary community, we are examining what can Serbian ethnological/anthropological community learn from the genesis, structure, function and criticism directed at the ethic code of AAA. We are also considering the thesis that the ethic codes of anthropologic associations are legitimizing narrative practices, not unlike those of magic, through which the discipline is attempting to transform itself from the status of fluid and generally socially unrecognized (and even obscure) occupation into a generally recognized, formally licensed and respectable profession. We suggest for anthropology in Serbia to construct its professional status by forming an alliance with applied ethics offering the services of customization of ethic codes to other professions, through cultural analysis of moral decision-making, as an alternative to legitimizing itself through a contradictory, ethics code burdened with hollow magic principles and theoretical and methodological issues.

In the study we explore the suggestion that one entire sub-disciplinary tradition within applied anthropology-action anthropology-used an entirely specific method „means-as aims“ derived from pragmatic logic of discovery and adapted to ethnographic research . Following the epigone of the interdisciplinary reflective methodology John Dewy, which, as its purpose had the aim of uniting the logic of scientific discovery, social criticism and pedagogic-activist oriented research, Sol Tax, had, intended to establish the tradition of action anthropology, which saw both its peak and ending in the illustrious The Fox Project. Our aim apart from the critical recapitulation of the methodology used in the Fox Project, logical-methodological analysis of Dewey’s logic of discovery applied to anthropology and reinterpretation of the general point of this episode from history, is to analyze the implications of this research option for future anthropologic research.

Every rail operator wishes to minimise the size of rail freight car fleet in order to reduce costs. The best rail fleet mix problem for railway is to determine an optimal rail freight car fleet in order to respond to the actual transport demand. A rail company must have capabilities to respond to the actual transport demand if it wants to reach a raised level of competitiveness on the transport market. In other words, it is necessary that the structure of freight rolling stock correspond to the structure of the transport demand. Various types of railcars are used for carrying goods by rail, caused by different performances of goods, for example, by manifestation form, aggregate condition and resistance to atmosphere influences. This paper treats a problem of determining an optimal rail fleet mix. A successful application of a multicriteria decision method, analytic hierarchical process (AHP) for solving of this problem is proposed. According to the selected number and types of criteria, as well as given level of importance, optimal type of rail freight car for all homogenous types of goods is derived. Obtained result shows a potential of practical application of AHP method for the problem of determining the best rail fleet mix.

Ako kolektivne kulturne identitete i identitetske nauke posmatramo kao nematerijalno kulturno nasleđe, prelazak s kulturno-kritičkih pozicija (zasnovanih na konstruktivističkom antiesencijalizmu) na konsekvencijalističke pozicije (zasnovane na primenjenom esencijalizmu) se, kontraintuitivno, ispostavlja kao ostvarivanje liberalnih ciljeva konzervativnim sredstvima. Istraživanje i zaštita kulturnog nasleđa refokusiraju esencijalizaciju kultura s pojedinačnih građana i etnokonfesionalno atribuiranih populacija na apstraktne „elemente kulture”, objedinjujući time naučne i društvene ciljeve antropologije. U članku se predlaže promišljanje strategije „povratka etnologiji” kao „dvorskoj nauci” – instrumentalizacija instrumentalizma, odnosno saradnja s međunarodno podstaknutom i obavezanom državnom administracijom pri sklanjanju kolektivnog identiteta iz javnosti u tematske parkove ili natrag u vitrine., If collective cultural identities and identity sciences are viewed as intangible cultural heritage, then turning from cultural and critical positions (based on constructivist anti-essentialism) to consequentialist positions (based on applicable essentialism) appears to be, counter intuitively, the realisation of liberal goals by conservative means. Exploration and protection of cultural heritage turns the focus of culture essentialization back from the individual citizens and populations with ethno-confessional attributes to abstract “elements of culture”, thus bringing together the scientific and social goals of cultural anthropology. The paper calls for considering “a return to ethnology” strategy as “a return to courtly science” – instrumentalization of instrumentalism, i.e. the cooperation with internationally instigated and obligated state administration which is removing collective identity from the public and putting it in theme parks or returning it to showcases.

The rail crew scheduling problem is based on assigning train drivers to scheduled trains over a time horizon at minimal cost while honoring operational and contractual requirements. Currently within the most railways, decisions related to crew are made manually. In this paper, we made an introduction to rail crew scheduling problem and propose a new mathematical model for optimizing a train driver rostering problem. Computational experiments are performed for a set of real case instances.

One of the main objectives for a rail company is to minimize the size of rail freight car fleet in order to reduce operating costs. The problem of rail freight car fleet composition is aimed at determining an optimal structure and size of freight car fleet in order to respond to actual transport demand. A rail company must have capabilities to respond to actual transport demand in case it wants to increase the level of competitiveness on the transport market. Therefore, it is necessary that the structure and size of rail freight car fleet correspond to the structure and size of rail transport demand. In this paper, we developed a two‐level approach to determining an optimal rail freight car fleet composition. This approach has been tested for the case of the Public Enterprise ‘Serbian Railways’ and the obtained results show the potential for a practical application of the proposed approach. First published online: 27 oct 2010

Modern organizations and companies exist in time of progressiveness in almost all segments of life and work influenced by large, rapid and dynamic changes. In such conditions, business world is enforced to adapt to these changes. Character of resulting changes is such that leads to question the existing social theories, especially in the macroeconomic field. Project management is a new and specialized management discipline. The main goal of project management is an efficient project realization within the planned time and planned costs in the conditions of significant external and internal changes. In this paper we developed a fuzzy reasoning approach for a Postal company restructuring project management. We combined Fuzzy PERT method with Fuzzy Delphi for activity time forecasting and finding the critical path. This approach has been applied on a project of Serbian postal company restructuring and obtained results appeared as very consistent.

We explore Bennet’s suggestion that an entire sub-disciplinary tradition within applied anthropology, namely the action anthropology, was built on specific methodolo gical algorythm, "means-as ends", derived from pragmatic logic of discovery and adapted to ethnographic research. Following the founder of the interdisciplinary reflective methodology John Dewey and his unifying logic of scientific discovery, social criticism and pedagogic-activist oriented research, Sol Tax intended to establish the tradition of action anthropology, which saw both its peak and ending in the illustrious The Fox Project. Our aim, apart from the critical recapitulation of the methodology used in the Fox Project, logical-methodological analysis of Dewey’s logic of discovery applied to anthropology, and the reinterpretation of the general point of this episode from disciplinary history, is to analyze the implications of this research option for future anthropologic research.

Center for Serbian Studies, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, vol. 1 (2010)

U članku se sa antiesencijalističkog i antiprimordijalističkog stanovišta normalne nauke u antropologiji razvija argumentacija protiv konstitucionalizacije multikulturalizma, kao nepromišljenog pravnog transplanta i kao modusa razvijanja/opstanka etnokratske profesionalizacije etniciteta i politike identiteta, na primeru simptomatičnog člana 64. st. 2 Ustava Republike Srbije. Ustav radikalizuje multikulturne politike, tretirajući etničke, konfesionalne i druge kontigentne aranžmane kao prirodne vrste. Tretiranje kulturno-istorijskih kategorija, na primer etniciteta ili konfesionalnog identiteta, kao prirodnih vrsta u javnim politikama poput Ustava, dovodi nas u situaciju u kojoj kontigentni, interaktivni aranžmani u kulturnoj stvarnosti dobijaju oreol zadatih, indiferentnih i trajnih stanja, što potencijalno generiše i produbljuje društvene sukobe koje je namerilo da amortizuje, predupredi ili reguliše. Nakon upućivanja na komparativno-istorijski provereno kontraindikovane aspekte multikulturnih politikâ i kraće analize pomenutog primera, autor se zalaže za produbljivanje plodne interdisciplinarne saradnje profesionalnih pravnika, profesionalnih antropologa i drugih stručnjaka u polju društveno-humanističkih nauka, na zajedničkom zalaganju za dalju deprimordijalizaciju i deesencijalizaciju javnih politika u Srbiji. . In this article, from an anti-essentialist and anti-primordial view of normal science in anthropology, argumentation is being developed against an essentialist foundation of multiculturalism, as an imprudent legal transplant and as a mode of developing/survival of ethnocratic professionalizing of ethnicity and identity politics, through the example of a symptomatic article 64 paragraph 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia. The Constitution radicalizes multicultural policies, treating ethnic, confessional and other contingent arrangements as natural kinds. Treating the cultural-historic categories, for example, ethnicity or religious identity as natural kinds in public policies like the Constitution, leads to a situation where the contingent, interactive arrangements in the cultural reality receive an aureole of a given, indifferent and permanent states, which potentially generates and deepens social conflicts which it intends to absorb, forestall or regulate. After referring to the proven comparatively-historic contraindicated aspects of multicultural policies and a shorter analysis of the above mentioned example, the author argues for deepening of the productive interdisciplinary cooperation of professional jurists, professional anthropologists and other experts in the fields of social sciences and humanities, in a mutual effort for further de-primordialisation and de-essentialisation of public policies in Serbia. .

U studiji istražujemo sugestiju da je čitava jedna poddisciplinarna tradicija u okvirima primenjene antropologije – akciona antropologija – koristila sasvim specifičan metod "sredstava-kao-ciljeva" izveden iz pragmatičke logike otkrića i prilagođen etnografskim istraživanjima. Po uzoru na Džona Djuija, rodonačelnika interdisciplinarne reflektivne metodologije koja je za cilj imala da objedini logiku naučnog otkrića, socijalnu kritiku i pedagoško-aktivistički orijentisano istraživanje, Sol Teks je svojevremeno pokušao da zasnuje tradiciju akcione antropologije, koja je i svoj vrhunac i kraj doživela antologijskim Projektom Foks. Cilj nam je da, osim kritičke rekapitulacije metodologije korišćene u Projektu Foks, logičko-metodološke analize Djuijeve logike otkrića primenjene na antropologiju i reinterpretacije opšteg mesta ove epizode iz istorije metodoloških ideja u disciplini, analiziramo implikacije ove istraživačke opcije za buduća antropološka istraživanja.

Ovom monografskom studijom predlažem da refleksivnost posmatramo kao koordinativnu definiciju koja preživljava postmodernu antropologiju i njoj svojstven sistem tri krize - krize etnografske reprezentacije, krize naučnog realizma i krize autoriteta antropologa. Osim toga, u jednom od specifičnih značenja, antropološku refleksivnost predlažem da rekontekstualizujemo i kao zamenu za eksperiment, bolju od komparativnog metoda - kao konačno ispunjenje davnog sna o antropologiji kao nauci (koje nam, doduše, više nije potrebno osim zbog samoreprezentacije). Studija je jedna u seriji tekstova koji za cilj imaju da rekonstruišu i metodološki formalizuju tobože formalizaciji nepodložne koncepte postmoderne antropologije. Refleksivna antropologija postala je postmoderna nauka zato što je priznala da je eksperimentalna umetnost, samo, ko to razume i ko to želi da finansira i primenjuje? Antropologija je putem postepenog inkorporiranja refleksivnosti u neupitno disciplinarno jezgro konačno postala nauka, u najkonzervativnijem opštem metodološkom smislu, pa anti-postmoderna frustracija u debatama oko Milenijuma, obnovljenim i u ovom časopisu, nema ni metodološkog osnova, ni pragmatičko opravdanje. Refleksivnost nam koristi, a ne šteti, čak i iz tradicionalnog pogleda na teorije i problemski-aplikativnog pogleda na metod, samo je vreme da je konačno formulišemo tako da mogu da je primene i metodološki tradicionalisti. . In this study, I suggest that reflexivity in anthropology can be viewed as a coordinative definition that helped anthropology survive its three crises - the crisis of ethnographic representation, the crisis of scientific realism, and the crisis of anthropological authority. In addition, reflexivity, in a specific sense, can be taken as a substitute for experiment, a substitute even better than comparative studies, and can thus help fulfill the long dream of consolidating anthropology on firm scientific grounds (a dream I believe is, though, no longer necessary). This text should be understood as a part of a series of studies that strive towards the methodological formalization of supposedly formalization-resistant concepts of postmodern anthropology. In reality, reflexive anthropology became postmodern science only by admitting to be experimental art, but the question is who would understand and, more importantly, finance and apply this concept? The incorporation of reflexivity into the core of anthropology enabled it to finally achieve the status of science, in the most conservative and general methodological sense. Therefore, the anti-postmodern frustration present in some relatively recent debates, examples of which we can see in this volume, is neither methodologically nor pragmatically founded. Reflexivity can only be useful, not harmful to the discipline, even from the standpoint of traditional, problem-applicative concepts of method. The only remaining assignment is to reformulate it so it could be applied by methodological traditionalists as well.

In the context of the forthcoming reactivation of the Serbian Ethnology and Anthropology Association and the normalization of the work of professional associa- tions, as well as their occasional adoption of their ethical codes in Serbia, we are analyzing the Code of ethics of the wolrd’sargest professional anthropological associ- ation – that of American Anthropological Association (AAA). Starting from the as- sumption that ethic codes are not "pure" moral algorithms of what is desirable/correct, but that they are laden by "hidden" theoretical and methodological assumptions, whether by their direct authors, or on the level of the tacit disciplinary knowledge, we are examining what can Serbian ethnological/anthropological community learn out of the genesis, structure, function and critique directed at AAA Code of Ethics. We are also considering the thesis that such codes could be approached as legitimizing narra- tive practices, not unlike those of magic, through which the discipline is attempting to transform itself from the status of fluid and generally socially unrecognized (and even obscure) occupation into a generally recognized, formally licensed and respecta- ble profession. We suggest for anthropology in Serbia to construct its professional sta- tus by forming an alliance with applied ethics offering the services of customization of ethic codes to other professions, through cultural analysis of moral decision-ma- king, instead of legitimizing itself by a contradictory code of ethics, burdened with hollow magic principles and theoretical and methodological issues.

Knowing culture: between constructions, meanings and representations, Zagreb 2014.

Over the past 10 years, there has been a proliferation of agencies in the Serbian public sector with varying degrees of independence and delegation by the government. Agencification in Serbia has been rarely discussed in scholarship, and in most recent public debates it is often criticized as being 'an unnecessary budgetary burden', a 'grave threat to democracy' and the 'party-based atomization of state administration '. In the context in which Serbia is in need of a larger government in order to consolidate democracy, improve respect for human rights and enhance economic development, the agencies have also become collateral public damage from the mantra of the 'requirement to save'. Having in mind that Serbian economic and political development over the past decades has been more than troublesome, this article looks into the public perception of agencification and related political debates, including some policy proposals. The article offers preliminary explanations of possible causes of the specific perception of agencies in the Serbian public, as well as an account of the consequences of current perceptions of agencification. Special emphasis is put on the de-legitimization of the authority of scientific knowledge in society.

U kontekstu predstoćeje obnove rada Etnološkog i antropološkog društva Srbije, i normalizacije rada profesionalnih društava, kao i povremenog usvajanja njihovih etičkih kodeksa u Srbiji, analiziramo etički kodeks najveće antropološke profesionalne asocijacije na svetu – Američke antropološke asocijacije (AAA). Polazeći od pretpostavke da etički kodeksi nisu "čisti" moralni algoritmi poželjnog/ispravnog postupanja, već da su obogaćeni/opterećeni "skrivenim" teorijskim i metodološkim pretpostavkama, bilo njihovih neposrednih autora, bilo na nivou prećutnog znanja disciplinarne zajednice, analiziramo šta sve srpska etnološka/antropološka zajednica može da nauči iz geneze, strukture, funkcije i kritika upućenih etičkom kodeksu AAA. Razmotramo i tezu da su etički kodeksi antropoloških asocijacija legitimacijske narativne prakse, poput magijskih, kojima disciplina pokušava da se iz statusa fluidnog i društveno uglavnom neprepoznatog (pa i opskurnog) zanimanja transformiše u opšte priznatu, formalno licenciranu i uglednu profesiju. Predlažemo da antropologija u Srbiji, umesto da se ispraznim magijskim formulama nevešto legitimiše kao profesija putem uspostavljanja teorijsko-metodološki opterećenog etičkog kodeksa čija je primena kontraindikovana, izgradi profesionalni status tako što će, u savezu sa primenjenom etikom, ponuditi usluge kastomizacije etičkih kodeksa drugim zanimanjima, u vidu kulturne analize moralnog odlučivanja.

Naučna politika u Republici Srbiji strateški ostavlja društveno-humanističkim naukama (DHN) mogućnost da, osim osnovnih istraživanja koja za cilj imaju da uvećaju opšti fond naučnog znanja, svoju vrednost za društvo dokažu obezbeđivanjem verifikovanih** podataka i na njima zasnovanih analiza od značaja za kreiranje javnih politika, privredu, društvo i/ili očuvanje kulturnog nasleđa (Vlada Srbije, 2020), formalno u skladu s opštom evropskom tendencijom njihovog uključivanja, u skladu sa pristupom „Nauka za društvo“***. Jedno takvo primenjeno istraživanje sproveli smo u okviru interdisciplinarnog projekta Equitable Policies and Services for Rare Disease Patients, Udruženja pravnika za medicinsko pravo (SUPRAM) u saradnji sa Centrom za pravna istraživanja Instituta društvenih nauka (IDN), koji je podržala Delegacija Evropske unije u Srbiji****. Cilj tog projekta bio je da prikupi, analizira i razume strukturne aspekte problema sa kojima se suočavaju oboleli od retkih bolesti i članovi njihovih porodica, kako bi se stvorila empirijski utemeljena osnova za javno zagovaranje promene javnih politika u ovoj oblasti društvenog života (Sjeničić & Milenković, 2016; Sjeničić & Milenković, 2015). XXVI Nаučnа konferencijа „Pedаgoškа istrаživаnjа i školskа prаksа“