Notes on the internationalization process in the maritime sector

In this paper the author traces the evolution of state subsidization of national shipping enterprises, and analyses the processes whereby such enterprises are dependent (to an increasing extent as time passes) on international factors.     

Impact of interviewing by proxy in travel survey conducted by telephone

Telephone‐interview surveys are a very efficient way of conducting large‐scale travel surveys. Recent advancements in computer technology have made it possible to improve upon the quality of data collected by telephone surveys through computerization of the entire sample‐control process, and through the direct recording of the collected data into a computer. Notwithstanding these technological advancements, potential sources of bias still exist, including the reliance on an adult member of the household to report the travel information of other household members. Travel data collected in a recent telephone interview survey in the Toronto region is used to examine this issue. The statistical tool used in the research was the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) technique as implemented within the general linear model framework in SAS. The study‐results indicate that reliance on informants to provide travel information for non‐informant members of their respective households led to the underreporting of some categories of trips. These underreported trip categories were primarily segments of home‐based discretionary trips, and non home‐based trips. Since these latter two categories of trips are made primarily outside the morning peak period, estimated factors to adjust for their underreporting were time‐period sensitive. Further, the number of vehicles available to the household, gender, and driver license status respectively were also found to be strongly associated with the underreporting of trips and thus were important considerations in the determination of adjustment factors. Work and school trips were found not to be underreported, a not surprising result giving the almost daily repetitiveness of trips made for these purposes and hence the ability of the informant to provide relatively more precise information on them.     

An investigation into the existence of a two-tier spot freight market for crude oil carriers

Developments in environmental legislation have exercised increased pressure on the tanker sector to improve its quality. To date, the most influential and, indisputably, the most controversial piece of legislation against oil pollution is the U.S. Oil Pollution Act that was introduced in 1990. This paper attempts an empirical examination of the effects of these developments in the spot freight market. Using a database of Worldscale fixtures over a period of four and a half years, a series of statistical tests was performed with the aim of detecting the existence of any premium paid for vessels of lower age, double hull construction, or trading to the U.S.A. The results were mixed, indicating in several cases some form of premia for US.-bound vessels, but less evidence of premia for lower age and better hull construction.     

Simulation of fixed route bus travel time

Travel time on fixed route urban bus route is discussed. Given that the travel time is a function of three basic variables, Monte Carlo procedure is used to simulate trips during a specific time interval. Each variable is assumed to have a specific probability distribution with known or estimatable parameters. It is shown that this micro-computer simulation model can be used for examining the effects of traffic management schemes, number of stops and passenger demand on travel time, and subsequently fleet size and level of service.     

Simulation assessment of incident detection by cellular phone call-in programs

This research study was designed to assess by simulation the efficacy of incident detection by cellular phone call-in programs. The assessment was conducted by varying the proportion of drivers with cellular phones on the highway so as to mirror the cellular industry statistics that show a continued growth of ownership of cellular phones in the United States. An analytical model, which combined simulation and the limited field data available in the literature, was used to determine measures of effectiveness of the cellular phone-based detection system. The results showed that a cellular phone detection system offers fast incident detection times and higher detection rates for both shoulder and lane blocking incidents. For example, in moderate traffic flow (i.e. 1,550 vehicles per hour per lane), 90 percent of incidents blocking two lanes were detected in 1.5 minutes when the proportion of drivers with cellular phones was one out of 10 drivers, even with only 20 percent of them willing to report incidents. When the current proportion of cellular ownership, i.e. 1 out of 3, was used in the simulation, the detection time improved to 0.8 minutes. The simulation analysis of incident detection by cellular phones also showed that there is a direct relationship between the probability of detection and the detection time; that is, the specification of a higher detection rate resulted in slower detection times. This is in sharp contrast with the results of field study of automatic incident detection (AID) systems which demonstrated an inverse relationship between probability of detection and detection time. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Heat transfer enhancement on ventilated brake disk with blade inclination angle variation

Ventilated brake disk is the state of the art technology in automobile braking system. It is well known that the braking capability of brake disk is affected by the rate at which heat is dissipated through forced convection. The rapid increase and decrease of the brake disk temperature could lead to catastrophic failure of the brake disk due to high thermal stress. The objective of the current study is to investigate the potential heat transfer enhancements in ventilated brake disk by varying the geometrical parameters of the blades inside the flow passage. This is done through comparisons of non-dimensional properties for flow and heat transfer in different blade configurations of the ventilated brake disk. The straight blade configuration is used as a baseline reference against the angled blades. The investigations are performed by using both experimental and computational means and the results are compared and discussed. Analysis shows that significant increase in braking performance can be achieved with relatively simple alteration of the ventilated blade angle. The results show a tremendous increase in the heat transfer rate with blade inclination angle configurations as compared to conventional straight blade. The Nusselt number is found to be in a power-law relationship with the Reynolds number. Distinct relationship between laminar and turbulent condition is predicted. An improvement in total convective heat transfer coefficient of 51% was achieved with blade inclination angle of 45° tilting towards clockwise direction.     

Risk management methods for the liner shipping industry: the case of the Bunker Adjustment Factor

Through the implementation of the Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF), a shipowner is able to transfer the risk of fuel price fluctuation to the shipper. This and other surcharges are generally undesired by shippers who must pay this fee. The research presented provides an alternative method of risk management that is more effective than the current method, while responding to customer service demands for simplified tariffs. By strategic use of commodity futures, the shipowner is able to better reduce his/her risk exposure, transferring it to willing parties at the futures exchanges, thereby eliminating the need for the bunker surcharge.