Critical success factors of supply chain integration in container shipping: an application of resource-based view theory

ABSTRACT

The container shipping industry is receiving growing attention in driving the performance of global supply chains. This phenomenon has accelerated supply chain integration (SCI) within the industry. Although SCI could offer numerous benefits, it is often quoted to be implemented easier in theory than in practice. The high failure rate that is associated with SCI is often not addressed in the literature. Grounded on resource-based view (RBV) theory, this paper is aimed at identifying the critical success factors (CSFs) and examining their influence on SCI and supply chain performance (SCP). Survey questionnaires were administered on 164 container shipping firms. The constructs were validated empirically using confirmatory factor analysis and were subsequently analysed using structural equation modelling. The proposed CSFs in this study are found to be positively corelated with SCI, which, in turn, is positively correlated with SCP. This paper has contributed to both theory and practice by applying RBV theory to identify the key resources and capabilities that are necessary for SCI in the container shipping industry.     

Incorporating human-factors in car-following models: A review of recent developments and research needs

Over the past decades there has been a considerable development in the modeling of car-following (CF) behavior as a result of research undertaken by both traffic engineers and traffic psychologists. While traffic engineers seek to understand the behavior of a traffic stream, traffic psychologists seek to describe the human abilities and errors involved in the driving process. This paper provides a comprehensive review of these two research streams.It is necessary to consider human-factors in CF modeling for a more realistic representation of CF behavior in complex driving situations (for example, in traffic breakdowns, crash-prone situations, and adverse weather conditions) to improve traffic safety and to better understand widely-reported puzzling traffic flow phenomena, such as capacity drop, stop-and-go oscillations, and traffic hysteresis. While there are some excellent reviews of CF models available in the literature, none of these specifically focuses on the human factors in these models.This paper addresses this gap by reviewing the available literature with a specific focus on the latest advances in car-following models from both the engineering and human behavior points of view. In so doing, it analyses the benefits and limitations of various models and highlights future research needs in the area.     

Development and evaluation of a statistically reliable traffic counting program

This paper reviews the existing procedures to compute the seasonal factors, growth factors, and the number of automatic traffic recorder stations (ATRs) for developing a statistically reliable traffic counting program. The review is based on, (i) theoretical evaluation of the procedures, (ii) analysis of the results obtained from applying these procedures to extensive real life data, and (iii) experience of past researchers with these methods. The paper primarily deals with existing statistical procedures for determining seasonal factors, since it is believed that these factors play the most important role in estimating Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADTs) from short counts. The procedure of cluster analysis (which is most commonly used to determine seasonal factors) is critically reviewed. The shortcomings of this method motivated the development of a different statistical procedure, based on regression analysis, to determine seasonal factors. It is shown that this newly developed method gives better results than the cluster analysis techniques. Furthermore, separate sections are dedicated to a thorough analysis of determination of number of ATR stations and computation of growth factors.     

公路建设项目中降雨因子对土壤流失量的影响分析

降雨因子对水土流失量起着决定性的作用。通过在汉十高速公路上设置实验小区，用径流小区法进行了水土流失监测，并根据数理统计原理，对水土流失量及降雨量的数据进行分析，建立回归方程，研究了降雨因子与水土流失量之间的关系，并对其结果从溅蚀和径流冲刷两个方面进行了理论分析。     

二灰稳定低液限粉土底基层性能研究

结合子洲~靖边高速公路4个合同段低液限粉土的情况,分别采用试验和理论分析的方法,对该地区广泛存在的低液限粉土底基层稳定性能进行了系统研究。首先对低液限粉土稳定土进行了物理、力学性质试验,取得了基本的研究参数。然后通过分析当前常用的路面底基层稳定土方案,对该地区的低液限粉土提出了稳定加固方案,并分析了加固机理和影响因素。     

多年冻土地区路基变形特征及影响因素

青藏公路沥青混凝土路面修建后,增大了路基下多年冻土的吸热量,导致了多年冻土融化。多年冻土融沉变形在冻土路基变形中占主导地位,其发生、发展与冻土温度及工程地质特性等有关。通过青藏公路唐南地区路基变形监测数据,分析了路基变形的特征及多年冻土融沉变形的影响因素。     

西藏东南部沥青路面常见病害及成因分析

西藏东南部特殊的气候条件引起的沥青路面病害直接影响到路面的使用性能和路面的耐久性,它与沥青混合料类型、混合料的配合比设计、沥青品质、矿料质量、施工方法与材料的均匀性、气候特点、交通条件等有关。通过调研分析了病害与藏东南独特的气候关系,冻土、巨大的昼夜温差、长时间高频率的降雨是造成路面病害的主要因素。     

改性沥青在高等级公路上的应用研究

通过对几种改性沥青的系统研究，分析了改性沥青改性效果的影响因素，探讨了改性剂、沥青的选择原则以及改性剂剂量的确定方法，研究认为，改性沥青在高等级公路上有着良好的应用前景。     

钢桥面板纵肋顶板焊缝疲劳裂纹扩展的关键影响因素

正交异性钢桥面板疲劳问题突出，纵肋与顶板焊缝处是其关键疲劳易损部位，研究该部位疲劳裂纹的扩展过程并确定关键影响因素及其效应，有助于深刻理解其疲劳损伤机理。建立正交异性钢桥面板疲劳试验节段模型的有限元分析模型，将纵肋与顶板焊缝焊根处的疲劳裂纹近似为半椭圆形裂纹，基于断裂力学实现其扩展全过程的三维数值模拟。在此基础上研究初始裂纹的纵向位置和初始裂纹形状对疲劳裂纹扩展过程的影响，阐明扩展过程中的疲劳裂纹的形状变化，以及疲劳裂纹关键部位应力强度因子幅值的变化规律。研究表明：对于典型的正交异性钢桥面板纵肋与顶板焊缝，在纵向一段范围内，初始裂纹的纵向位置对裂纹扩展的影响不大；初始裂纹形状对裂纹扩展的影响主要体现在裂纹扩展的初始阶段，经过一段时间的扩展之后，不同形状的初始裂纹将演变为相对稳定的形状；持续一段时间后，裂纹将逐渐变得较为扁长；疲劳裂纹在深度方向上扩展超过约顶板厚度一半时，最深点的扩展速率将会减慢；深度相同的裂纹，形状越扁长时越倾向于向深度方向扩展，越不扁长时越倾向于向长度方向扩展。     

电动自行车事故和车牌使用影响因素分析

为分析电动自行车事故和车牌使用影响因素,采用问卷调查和电话访谈方式采集了宁波市862个电动自行车用户有效样本,利用统计学方法构建了Bivariate Probit(BP)联立方程模型,计算了显著影响因素的边际效应,量化分析了电动自行车事故和车牌使用影响因素效用,并检验了两者之间潜在的关联关系.结果表明:BP模型不仅可以识别电动自行车事故和车牌使用的影响因素,而且可以有效刻画两者之间的潜在联系;两者之间关联系数为-0.475,表明电动自行车车牌的使用可以降低电动自行车事故概率;模型结果显示性别、年龄、驾驶执照、家庭是否拥有小汽车、电动自行车驾龄、法律遵守程度、驾驶行为、危险感知度等具有统计显著性,是影响电动自行车事故和车牌使用的显著因素.