Link-level vulnerability indicators for real-world networks

It is computationally expensive to find out where vulnerable parts in a network are. In literature a variety of methods were introduced that use simple indicators (measured in real-life or calculated in a traffic simulator) to pre-determine the seriousness of the delays caused by the blocking of that link and thereafter perform a more detailed analysis. This article reviews the indicators proposed in the literature and assesses the quality of these indicators. Furthermore, a multi-linear fit of the indicators is made to find a better, combined, indicator to rank the links according to their vulnerability. The article shows that different indicators assess different links to be vulnerable. Also combined they cannot predict the vulnerability of a link. Therefore, it is concluded that to find vulnerable links, one has to look further than link-based indicators.     

Modeling isoexposure to transit users for market potential analysis

Transit operators face a difficult fiscal environment and an imperative to contribute to urban sustainability. Under these circumstances, operators must find innovative ways to make public transportation attractive to broader segments of the public, while simultaneously trying to raise revenue to reduce reliance on public subsidies. Development of commercial partnerships is seen as a promising way to achieve these goals. Previous research has examined the potential of using geodemographics to assist transit agencies in the task of identifying potential partners for developing mutually beneficial commercial agreements. In this paper we describe an approach to model isoexposure to transit users as a tool to assess market potential. The approach is based on the analysis of walking behavior of transit users, and specifically distance walked at the end of their transit trip. Spatial modeling is used to geographically project estimates of walking distance for a desired demographic profile at a specific transit facility. After expanding the estimates using sample weights, overlays of these estimates can be used to generate variations in exposure to transit travelers at different locations in space. The approach is demonstrated using the case of Metro users in Montreal, Canada. The case study demonstrates the use of isoexposure profiles as a novel approach to generate marketing intelligence. This should be of interest to transit agencies and businesses interested in developing partnerships.     

Weaving marine food webs from end to end under global change

Marine food web dynamics are determined by interactions within and between species and between species and their environment. Global change directly affects abiotic conditions and living organisms, impinging on all trophic levels in food webs. Different groups of marine researchers traditionally study different aspects of these changes. However, over medium to long time scales perturbations affecting food webs need to be considered across the full range from nutrients to top predators. Studies of end-to-end marine food webs not only span organism sizes and trophic levels, but should also help align multidisciplinary research to common goals and perspectives. Topics are described that bridge disciplinary gaps and are needed to develop new understanding of the reciprocal impacts of global change on marine food webs and ocean biogeochemistry. These include (1) the effects of nutrients on biomass and production, (2) the effects of varying element ratios on food web structure and food quality, (3) bulk flows of energy and material in food webs and their efficiencies of transfer, (4) the ecological effects of species richness and the roles of microbial organisms, (5) the role of feeding behaviour in food web dynamics and trophic controls, (6) the spatial dynamics of communities and links between different food webs, (7) the combined effects of body size and behaviour in determining dynamics of food webs, and (8) the extent to which the ability of marine organisms (and communities) to adapt will influence food web dynamics. An overriding issue that influences all topics concerns the time and space scales of ecosystem variability. Threads link different nodes of information among various topics, emphasizing the importance of tackling food web studies with a variety of modelling approaches and through a combination of field and experimental studies with a strong comparative approach.     

The regulation of the trucking industry—deterministic replacement model application

An attempt has been made to analyze the impact of a country's regulatory policy of its trucking industry on the correlation between the preferable usage of trucks according to national interests and its counterpart according to private interests, by using a deterministic replacement model. Operational data has been obtained from time series derived from a cross‐sectional survey of the country's truck fleet. Trucks were grouped into 15 strata according to characteristics of load capacity, technological specification, and type of fuel. For each stratum the optimal replacement age was determined according to the criteria of minimal average cost of hauling ton × km, maximal average profit, and minimal average annual cost, and the corresponding costs or profits were calculated for both interests. By comparing the optimal conditions in the various strata, the preferable fuel types and load capacities were determined for the national interest and recommendations for regulation have been provided coinciding the national and private preferences in utilizing trucks.     

Evaluating noise annoyance cost recovery at Düsseldorf International Airport

This study estimates airport noise annoyance cost around Düsseldorf, Germany by examining rental apartment market data. Using data on regional apartment offers we estimate rent discounts of 1.04% per additional decibel of airport noise. Other sources of traffic noise induce significantly lower price effects. As a result, airport noise annoyance costs amount to about €7.5 million a year. While the noise protection fund recovers annoyance costs, the charging regime of the airport fails to fully internalize them.     

Fisheries Governance Affecting Conservation Outcomes in the United States and European Union

Abstract

Fisheries management in the USA, as governed by the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), has been decidedly more successful at meeting its conservation goals than has fisheries management in the EU, as governed by the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). In an effort to explain the different outcomes in these two systems that share many management attributes, we evaluated them against a list of effective governance attributes gleaned from the literature. We also examined the distribution of rights and responsibilities within each system, and the resulting stewardship incentives. Five effective governance attributes are fully realized under the MSA but have historically been absent from the CFP system: adequate regulatory authority, effective enforcement mechanisms, science-based decision-making, conservation-oriented goals and clear objectives, and directives. These governance system gaps, along with uneven distributions of rights, responsibilities, and incentives, may be responsible for the observed difference in conservation outcomes.     

IAME 2011 – contemporary studies on maritime transport in Latin America

Latin America and the Caribbean have evolved as a region of increased interest for the maritime and port industry as well as for academic research. Maritime transport activity in the region has experienced sustained growth rates over the last decades, resulting in ever-increasing demand for maritime services and port infrastructure. At the 2011 Annual Conference of the International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), Latin America received significant attention. This editorial responds to growing research by giving a brief overview of the current situation and contemporary issues in maritime transport within the region. It also introduces the six selected papers for this Special Issue.     

Application of warm forming aluminum alloy parts for automotive body based on impact

Aluminum alloys are important technological materials for the application on lightweight design and development of vehicle body. The research works for characterizing warm forming behavior of aluminum alloys have generally reported. However, there were few researches focused on the flow behavior of warm forming aluminum alloy parts for the energy absorbing performance during crash. The tensile stress-strain response for warm forming AA5182 specimens tested under the strain rates of 0.0015 s^?1, 0.015 s^?1, 0.15 s^?1 and 1.5 s^?1 are presented in this paper. The data were fit to the Johnson-Cook constitutive model for the simulation of frontal impact. The energy absorbing performance of warm forming AA5182 parts were analyzed. The results show the higher flow stresses and lower fractured strain of warm forming aluminum alloy parts with the strain rate increasing. The flow stresses of warm forming aluminum alloy parts are insensitive to strain rate, while the fractured strain and elongation are sensitive to strain rate. The intrusion displacement of the warm forming aluminum alloy parts is appropriate for the satisfaction of vehicle body design avoiding the excessive deformation for the injury of passenger or the failure of frontal door opening. The feasibility of warm forming aluminum alloy parts is verified with the analysis of energy absorbing performance, stiffness and modal of vehicle body.     

Investigation of regenerative and Anti-lock Braking interaction

The use of a regenerative braking mode can reduce overall vehicle energy usage for most of the most common drive cycles. However, a number of technical issues restrict the use of regenerative braking for all possible braking situations. These issues are concerned with two key limitations. The first is related to physical limitations of the applied regenerative braking system, e.g. Electric Motor (E-Motor) power limits; energy storage device capacity and vehicle load transfer etc. The second limitation results from the potentially detrimental interaction between regenerative braking and the Anti-locking Braking System (ABS). The first type of limitation can, to some extent, be alleviated by suitable choice of hardware and, as a consequence, will not be discussed further in this paper. The second type of limitation concerns the regenerative braking strategies during an ABS event. Some of the regenerative braking strategies designed and investigated within the Low Carbon Vehicle Technology Project (LCVTP) will be described and analyzed in this paper. A comparison of competing strategies is made and conclusions are drawn together with suggestions for further research. The work has been progressed as a part of a major research programme; namely the LCVTP, which has been conducted within an extensive industrial and academic partnership, mutually funded by the European Regional Development Found and Advantage West Midlands.