Investment strategies in market uncertainty

The nature of the global economy is one of dynamic change. Shipping is a service industry with its demand related to changes in international trade levels and patterns. As a consequence shipping is subject to sometimes unpredictable swings in demand so that the operator is required to make strategic planning decisions while navigating through boom or bust environments. While boom economies generate rising freight rates which are welcomed and encourage investment, ship operators may also have to face falling freight demand and declining freight rates that may have significant impact on profitability, often falling to uneconomic levels for extended periods. In such a period of uncertainty and declining profitability management will make operational decisions to reduce costs. However, shipping lines operate in a market environment so any decisions made to rationalize the trade may have significant long-term competitive implications. For example, traditional micro economic theory might suggest that the prudent strategy to adopt would be to close down the operation and reopen when the market conditions improve. In a world of certainty or when costs of taking this action are zero, this would be a valid strategy. However, because of fear of competitors taking up a line's market share if the shipping company exits, even temporarily, this strategy cannot be valued simply in terms of shut-down and start-up costs. A further consideration is the fact that standard capital budgeting techniques, such as Net Present Value (NPV), cannot incorporate the flexibility to respond to new information and strategic responses explicitly into their investment analysis. This paper will demonstrate the use of Real Option Analysis (ROA) to provide guidelines for decisions about closing operations in adverse market conditions.     

The coastal edge of the Northeast Water polynya in spring 1993

Multidisciplinary, marine ecological observations were conducted at the shallow water edge of the Northeast Water in June, 1993. Although variable in size and shape, a small polynya was constantly present at Eskimonaes, at the fast-ice edge of Ingolfsfjord. A shallow stratified layer developed at the water sufface at negative water and air temperatures—an effect of sea ice melting in cold water early in the season. Nutrients were recorded in considerable quantities, although by mid July NO₃ had become depleted. The chlorophyll and phytoplankton maxima at 8–12 m depth had peak values of 2 mg chl a m⁻³, typical for Arctic algal blooms. The phytoplankton included over 90 species and was dominated by the Fragillariopsis group. Zooplankton was poor in biomass and density, but over 23 taxa were found, with the copepods Oithona similis and Pseudocalanus acuspes being numerically dominant. Sedimentation was approximately 0.2 g dry weight m⁻² d⁻¹ and suspended matter concentrations ranged from 4 to 19 mg l⁻¹. The benthos was represented by hard bottom forms only, with a surprisingly dense cover of macrophytes. Juvenile sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis), brittle stars (Ophiocten sericeum) and amphipods were dominant. Higher trophic levels were represented by benthic feeders, such as eiders and walruses. The area observed was more similar to high Arctic fjord ecosystems than to the offshore central Northeast Water polynya.     

加强项目管理提高企业经济效益

工程项目经理部的全部管理行为的本质，是运用项目管理原理和各种方法来降低成本，创造经济效益。提高经济效益，必须坚持开源与节流相结合的原则。一方面要加强项目成本管理，另一方面要加强合同预算管理，两者相结合，以取得最大的经济利益。     

模糊数据库技术在航海避碰决策支持系统中的应用

将航海避碰案例规范化 ,并根据案例中部分信息的不精确性 ,在数据库系统的数据表示和查询中引入模糊技术 ,从而形成了一个模糊关系型的避碰案例数据库系统 ,并将其嵌入到航海避碰决策支持系统当中 ,为安全航行提供了更丰富的决策信息。     

德国铁路电力机车动车概况

简要介绍德国铁路现有电力机车动车的各种系列、数量和主要改进.     

Valuation of externalities through neo-classical methods by including institutional variables

Externalities are uncompensated influences that are not expressed in a market but that affect the production possibilities or the welfare level of third parties. An example is the noise pollution in airport areas. Although air transport is an important source of economic growth and employment in many countries, the social and environmental problems connected with this sector are rising rapidly. Consequently, airports are becoming a matter of concern to many politicians. On what kind of values should they base their decisions as to further growth or consolidation of the current situation? In this paper we discuss two approaches, one based on mainstream, neo-classical, economics, and one based on institutional approaches, more in particular new institutional economics, which can be seen as a development complementary to the mainstream.     

机车车辆油压减振器新标准实施后检验中若干问题的探讨

机车车辆油压减振器作为高速机车车辆的一个重要部件，越来越受重视，新标准实施后在试验方式及方法上有了很大变化。本文就机车车辆油压减振器检验过程中应该注意的问题作些探讨。     

Eddies around Madagascar — The retroflection re-considered

The Agulhas Current with its retroflection and attendant eddy-shedding is the cause of some of the greatest mesoscale variability in the ocean. This paper considers the area to the south and east of Madagascar, which provides some of the source waters of the Agulhas Current, and examines the propagating sea surface height signals in altimetry and output from a numerical model, OCCAM. Both show bands of variability along the axis of the East Madagascar Current (EMC) and along a zonal band near 25°S. Sequences of images plus associated temperature data suggest that a number of westward-propagating eddies are present in this zonal band. The paper then focuses on the region to the south of the island, where ocean colour and infra-red imagery are evocative of an East Madagascar Retroflection. The synthesis of data analysed in this paper, however, shows that remotely observed features in this area can be explained by anticyclonic eddies moving westward through the region, and this explanation is consistent with numerical model output and the trajectories of drifting buoys.     

拱形单元组合抗滑桩体型研究

提出一种新型的抗滑结构体系,即拱形单元组合抗滑桩,并总结了几种结构组合形式;以工程实际为背景,在假定抗滑桩为刚性嵌固的前提下应用有限元分析软件ANSYS对其上部结构进行建模分析,结果表明该新型抗滑桩具有良好的空间受力性能和整体刚度,顶端位移较常规抗滑桩有大幅度减少。     

电子特种气体及我国发展现状

本文研究了电子特种气体的种类、纯度以及在半导体工业中的应用状况,从技术上讨论了电子特种气体的纯净度对半导体工业的影响。结合国内电子特种气体的市场综述了国内电子特种气体的生产厂家及其现状,指出了国内电子特种气体产业存在的问题以及我国电子特种气体产业的发展前景。