The link between economic and environmental performance of the top 10 U.S. ports

Ports currently face increasing demands to address a variety of environmental issues and achieve sustainability objectives. Using insights from the resource-based view of firms, this study examines the link between economic performance (EP) and environmental performance (ENP) of the top 10 U.S. seaports. Geospatial modeling is used to capture pollution incidents that can be geographically dispersed; in addition, both a bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach and an undesirable DEA model are used to measure port ENP and EP. Our findings are in general consistent with assertions that positive EP can be attained in conjunction with good environmental practices. Ports’ capabilities of strategic capital investment in physical assets, collaborative interorganizational processes, and performance monitoring are essential, while they pursue both economic and environmental goals simultaneously.     

基于松弛策略的机场运营效率分析

运用基于松弛策略的数据包络分析法对机场运营效率进行研究,产出因子除了传统的飞机起降架次、客运量和货运量等,两个具有弱处置性的非期望产出因子：航班延误百分比和航班平均延误时间被引入到评价模型中.通过实例验证,基于松弛策略的数据包络分析法比通常的方向性距离函数计算出的机场效率值更具有区分能力,可以针对每个决策单元算出各自的松弛,并且为机场运营管理提供理论指导.     

Measuring the Cost Effectiveness of Multimode Bus Transit in the Presence of Accident Risks

Abstract

This study employs the directional graph distance function and the multiactivity data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach, which incorporates both desirable and undesirable outputs, in order to provide a more complete representation of the multimode bus production technology from which environmentally and risk-sensitive cost effectiveness measures can be generated. We treat accident cost as the risky output in the sense that we wish to increase desirable outputs and decrease risky output and inputs. The approach is applied to the problem of measuring the cost effectiveness of 24 bus companies in Taiwan. An empirical illustration suggests that the overall cost effectiveness rankings turn out to be very sensitive to whether or not the graph multiactivity DEA approach is adopted. This implies that the conventional DEA cost effectiveness measure may be seriously misleading if it ignores the cost effectiveness of organizations that carry out various activities whilst sharing common resources.     

基于SBM-undesirable 模型的综合运输效率评价

综合运输效率高低是衡量运输结构是否合理、方式间是否协调的重要依据.引入SBM-undesirable 模型,基于时序演变,系统分析了1979~2012 年中国的综合运输效率,并对投入产出要素作定量调整.结果表明,非期望产出对综合运输效率具有显著负影响; 1979~2012 年中国的综合运输效率呈"凹"字形波动,均值为0.68,其中1999 年效率值最低,不及均值一半;从分解效率看,综合运输效率同时受纯技术效率与规模效率的双重影响,且纯技术效率的制约力略强于规模效率,整体呈“综合效率≤纯技术效率≤规模效率”;运输从业人员、铁路机车拥有量及死亡人数是影响综合运输效率的前三个重要因素. 因此,调整运输资源结构、减少非期望产出和提高技术效率是提升综合运输效率的现实途径.     

Environmental efficiency measures for ports: an application of RAM-Tobit-RAM with undesirable outputs

In this paper, the environmental efficiency of the ports is measured. Labour, fund and infrastructure input are selected as the inputs, container throughput, cargo throughput and main business income are selected as the outputs, CO₂ emission is chosen as the undesirable output. A new model—RAM-Tobit-RAM (Range Adjusted Measure) with undesirable outputs is built to evaluate the environmental efficiency. Ten Chinese ports from 2004 to 2013 are taken as the samples to verify its rationality. The results suggest that it is not necessarily beneficial for environmental efficiency to expand the port scale.     

The econometric estimation of airports’ cost function

The econometric estimation of cost functions has been proposed in the literature as a suitable approach in order to obtain estimations of marginal costs, efficiency levels and scale elasticities for transport industries. However, regarding the airport industry, no significant attention has been paid in developing an airport-specific estimation methodology rather than adapting the procedures applied to other industries. The lack of comparable airport data is one of the causes which could explain the scarcity of this literature in the past, as well as the use of very limited approaches to explain airport technology. This paper tries to overcome these limitations by developing an airport-specific methodology to estimate a multi-output long-run cost function using an unbalanced pooled database on 161 airports worldwide. The specification of hedonically-adjusted aircraft operations, domestic and international passengers, cargo and commercial revenues in the output vector, as well as the calculation of input prices are discussed. Both technical and allocative inefficiencies are specified in the model using a Stochastic Frontier method that has been estimated through Bayesian Inference and Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods.     

智能预应力系统初探

智能结构是综合一系列前沿科学与高新技术于一体的新型结构,是当今世界工程结构领域研究热点之一。本文针对土木工程智能结构中的智能预应力系统进行初步的探索,指出其关键共性技术问题和核心技术,提出智能锚具的设计模型,还提到深入研究将面临的困难与问题,在引用一些工程实例后提出一点思考,最后预想了智能预应力系统的发展前景。     

水声MIMO-OFDM通信系统中基于导频的信道估计算法研究

正交频分复用(OFDM)和多输入多输出(MIMO)的结合可以有效地对抗多径衰落和码间干扰,大幅度提高水声通信系统的信道容量和传输效率,在高速水声通信中有着重要的发展前景。在分析梳状导频水声MIMO-OFDM通信原理的基础上,结合水声通信及信道传播特点,建立了信道模型,研究水声MIMO-OFDM系统中的信道估计原理和LS(最小平方误差)、MMSE(最小均方误差)算法。通过仿真试验比较两种算法在信道估计中的性能差异,为实际系统设计提供了理论参考。     

Including local air pollution in airport efficiency assessment: A hyperbolic-stochastic approach

We examine data from Italian airports covering 2005–2008 to include local environmental effects in airport efficiency assessment. We consider both desirable outputs such as aircraft, passengers, and freight movements and some undesirable outputs of airport operations associated with local air pollution. We estimate both a classical distance function with no undesirable output, and a hyperbolic distance function. By comparing the estimated efficiency scores with these two frontiers we show that airport efficiency increases when local air pollution is included in the analysis. Moreover, we show a fleet-mix effect because airports with similar aircraft movements exhibit large variations in the amount of pollution per flight. Last, we find that there is complementarity between desirable and undesirable output: a 1% decrease in pollution has an opportunity cost of a 0.67% reduction in both passenger and freight traffic.     

Efficiency measurement of bus routes and exogenous operating environment effects on efficiency

This study develops an independent efficiency measurement model framework of bus routes, so as to treat preferably the heterogeneous outputs in a data envelopment analysis (DEA)-based efficiency measurement. It then introduces four new exogenous operating environment factors at the microscopic level of bus routes, and applies the three-stage DEA approach to incorporate operating environment effects and statistical noise into the efficiency measurement framework. The main purpose is to measure impartially the managerial efficiency of bus routes, purged of operating environment effects and statistical noise, and additionally to investigate the operating environment effects on efficiency. An empirical analysis, based on 39 routes operated in Jiangyin City, China, is presented. The principal finding is that the adoption of the independent efficiency measurement model framework is reasonable and has many virtues. Moreover, the proposed approach could substantially provide decision support both for regulators and for producers of bus services. In addition, the operating environment does indeed significantly affect operating efficiency and quality efficiency, especially the latter.