Factors that promote innovation in shipping companies

This study seeks to identify factors that promote innovation in shipping companies. The study is based on an empirical investigation of 63 companies headquartered in Norway. The results imply that organizational and interorganizational variables are important to innovation. Three aspects of innovation are focused on: (1) service/product innovations, (2) market innovations, and (3) production method innovations. The explanatory variables that are applied in this study capture between 13-51% of the variability of the measures of innovation. The results indicate that an explicit strategy that promotes innovation is very important for the actual level of innovation within shipping companies. In management literature, it is often assumed that organic organizational features like decentralized decision-making promote innovation. The opposite features are assumed to restrain innovation. However, the results do not support these basic assumptions. For example, it seems to be important that managers make precise decisions in order to promote innovation.     

Environmental and transport effects of warehouse relocationing: evidence from Norway

Reducing traffic volumes and CO2-emissions from freight transport has proven difficult in many countries. Although the increasing suburbanization of warehouses is seen as a relevant land use trend, comprehensive analyses of their impact remain scarce. This study uses real data in modeling transport, costs, environmental and modal effects from warehouse relocations around Oslo and Trondheim (Norway). Results indicate that for Oslo, traffic performance (ton-km), CO2-emissions, and transport costs increase following warehouse suburbanization. For Trondheim, transport performance and CO2-emissions increase less, while transport costs decrease marginally. We conclude that specific case characteristics (geography and trade patterns) are important in determining the strength and direction of effects, and expect that common concomitant developments (warehouse centralization and consolidation) would lead to more pronounced results. Our findings confirm some, but challenge other, findings from the relatively scarcely literature available. Finally, the study's more general insights and observations can help advance similar analyses beyond Norway.     

全球形势回暖 中国汽车市场增长将放缓

中国动态市场在不断变化,但在变化中依然能抓住不变的本质。其实中国车市走的是成熟市场的发展道路,只是速度加快了。     

列车交会压力波对高速磁浮列车横向动态响应的影响分析

以上海磁浮列车为研究对象,将车体、夹层、摇臂、摆杆以及悬浮架作为弹性体,磁系、二系悬挂、磁铁连接装置和其它弹性辅助元件作为弹簧—阻尼单元,建立了整车动力学计算模型。对列车交会瞬态压力冲击作用下的高速磁浮列车进行横向动态响应研究。研究结果表明,在磁浮列车高速运行时产生的交会压力波作用下,车体产生了较大的横向振动,经过二系悬挂的缓冲作用后悬浮架的振动明显减小。     

Propeller torque load and propeller shaft torque response correlation during ice-propeller interaction

Ships use propulsion machinery systems to create directional thrust. Sailing in ice-covered waters involves the breaking of ice pieces and their submergence as the ship hull advances. Sometimes, submerged ice pieces interact with the propeller and cause irregular fluctuations of the torque load. As a result, the propeller and engine dynamics become imbalanced, and energy propagates through the propulsion machinery system until equilibrium is reached. In such imbalanced situations, the measured propeller shaft torque response is not equal to the propeller torque. Therefore, in this work, the overall system response is simulated under the ice-related torque load using the Bond graph model. The energy difference between the propeller and propeller shaft is estimated and related to their corresponding mechanical energy. Additionally, the mechanical energy is distributed among modes. Based on the distribution, kinetic and potential energy are important for the correlation between propeller torque and propeller shaft response.     

The performance effect of innovation in shipping companies

The aim of this study is to investigate how innovation contributes to company performance in Norwegian shipping and to extend our knowledge concerning what organizational and inter-organizational factors influence innovation in shipping firms. The study is based on a survey of 46 Norwegian shipping companies. We find that innovation contributes to firm performance. We also find that a conscious strategy, strategy involvement, external relationships, especially market relationships, and productivity slack have a significant positive effect on the degree of innovation. The results are dependent upon the companies' degree of differentiation and the type of innovation.     

Use of public information for road-capacity reductions: a study of mediating strategies during tunnel rehabilitations in Oslo

Transportation - In this paper, two public information campaigns were analysed. These were related to capacity reductions, caused by maintenance work, in two main road tunnels—at Smestad and...     

编者的话

近期。美国“三巨头“的命运一直受各方关注。原以为3月30日能有个基本的论断,谁知奥巴马政府又抛出给通用60天、给克莱斯勒30天的“最后期限”。其中唯一还未申请政府救援的福特公司最近成功削减债务达99亿美元;而克莱斯勒和菲亚特公司的合作现今看来也比较顺利,如果达成协议,联邦政府有可能追加60亿美元的贷款;唯独通用的命运依旧令人摸不着头脑。任通用CEO长达8年之久的瓦格纳被迫下台．其工作由前通用汽车公司总裁兼首席执行官Fritz Henderson接任。     

Extreme-response analysis of jack-up platforms

The extreme wave and current response of a typical North Sea jack-up drilling platform has been calculated using nonlinear, stochastic, time-domain analysis techniques. A statistical treatment of the response-time histories has been performed. Appropriate probability distributions have been fitted to simulated response amplitudes and extrapolated to determine extreme values in storms of 3 or 6 h duration. Nonlinear geometric effects and dynamic effects are also addressed.

The results of the nonlinear time-domain analyses are compared to the results of more simplified methods used in jack-up designs.     

编者的话

这是春节后的《产经》第一期，借此机会，我代表本刊工作人员向各位读者道声：新年快乐，梦筑09！ 想必读者已经发现了本期与以往的不同。是的，原来的执行主编徐慧妮小姐由于各种原因离开了本刊，接下来我会与其他编辑一起接手工作。衷心感谢来自各方的支持，积极为本刊供稿。相信未来我们会获得越来越的信息资源，并提供愈加深入的行业报道及透析。力争成为业内外人士首选的汽车经济杂志。