Are we doing it wrong or do we expect too much? Forces that push authorities to become public transport designers

This paper presents a number of reasons that are responsible for the disappointment of authorities in their operators’ efforts to develop public transport (PT) to the advantage of their travellers. The lessons drawn in this paper are based upon the competitive tendering experience of the authors and upon the results of meetings organised with parties involved in competitive tendering and aimed at exchanging lessons. There appears to be three main causes: (1) there is freedom for the operator, but the contract is bad; (2) there is freedom for the operator, there is a good contract, but there is no market; and (3) there is freedom for the operator, but the operator is not able to use it. The paper concludes with a few perspectives for improvement.     

Can agents measure up? A comparative study of an agent-based and on-line optimization approach for a drayage problem with uncertainty

Experiments studying the behavior of agent-based methods over varying levels of uncertainty in comparison to traditional optimization methods are generally absent from the literature. In this paper we apply two structurally distinct solution approaches, an on-line optimization and an agent-based approach, to a drayage problem with time windows under two types of uncertainty. Both solution approaches are able to respond to dynamic events. The on-line optimization approach utilizes a mixed integer program to obtain a feasible route at 30-s intervals. The second solution approach deploys agents that engage in auctions to satisfy their own objectives based on the information they perceive and maintain locally. Our results reveal that the agent-based system can outperform the on-line optimization when service time duration is highly uncertain. The on-line optimization approach, on the other hand, performs competitively with the agent-based system under conditions of job-arrival uncertainty. When both moderate service time and job-arrival uncertainties are combined, the agent system outperforms the on-line optimization; however, in the case of extremely high combined uncertainty, the on-line optimization outperforms the agent-based approach.     

About attitudes and perceptions: finding the proper way to consider latent variables in discrete choice models

We provide an in-depth theoretical discussion about the differences between individual-specific latent constructs (representing attitudes, for example, but also other characteristics such as values or personality traits) and alternative-specific latent constructs (that may represent perceptions) affecting the choice-making process of individuals; we also carry out an empirical exercise to analyze their effects. This discussion is of importance, as the majority of papers considering attitudinal latent variables just take these as attributes affecting directly the utility of a certain alternative, while systematic taste variations are rarely considered and perceptions are mostly ignored. The results of our case study show that perceptions may indeed affect the decision making process and that they are able to capture a significant part of the variability that is normally explained by alternative specific constants. Furthermore, our results indicate that attitudes may be a reason for systematic taste variations, and that a proper categorization of latent variables, in accordance with underlying theory, may outperform the customary assumption of linearity.     

Strategic beliefs of port authorities

Over the last decade, insights from the strategic management discipline have increasingly been applied to ports. A review of literature shows that in the analysis of port authority strategy, mainly outside-in approaches are applied. This paper adds to the emerging understanding of the port authority’s strategy by applying a cognitive perspective. Specifically, the strategic cognition of firms’ executives is one of the explanatory variables behind firms’ strategic decisions. Furthermore, cognitions are influenced by the organisational contexts in which port authority executives have worked. As a result, managerial “mental maps’ may vary across industry contexts and over time. This research investigates the strategic cognition of a global set of port authority executives through a survey-based instrument. The results show that, to a large extent, PAs resemble “regular” for-profit companies, but that they possess some specific beliefs that distinguish them from “regular” companies.     

企业核心能力理论发展评述

企业核心能力理论是当今世界管理学和经济学交互融合的最新理论成果之一。长期以来理论界和工商实践一直在寻求企业持续竞争优势的奥秘。企业核心能力理论则揭示了在企业表象及所处环境之外的能使企业获得优势的内在特质。本论述了企业核心能力理论的发展历程、形成背景、时代特征和主要论点。     

Shallow water processes govern system-wide phytoplankton bloom dynamics: A modeling study

A pseudo-two-dimensional numerical model of estuarine phytoplankton growth and consumption, vertical turbulent mixing, and idealized cross-estuary transport was developed and applied to South San Francisco Bay. This estuary has two bathymetrically distinct habitat types (deep channel, shallow shoal) and associated differences in local net rates of phytoplankton growth and consumption, as well as differences in the water column's tendency to stratify. Because many physical and biological time scales relevant to algal population dynamics decrease with decreasing depth, process rates can be especially fast in the shallow water. We used the model to explore the potential significance of hydrodynamic connectivity between a channel and shoal and whether lateral transport can allow physical or biological processes (e.g. stratification, benthic grazing, light attenuation) in one sub-region to control phytoplankton biomass and bloom development in the adjacent sub-region. Model results for South San Francisco Bay suggest that lateral transport from a productive shoal can result in phytoplankton biomass accumulation in an adjacent deep, unproductive channel. The model further suggests that turbidity and benthic grazing in the shoal can control the occurrence of a bloom system-wide; whereas, turbidity, benthic grazing, and vertical density stratification in the channel are likely to only control local bloom occurrence or modify system-wide bloom magnitude. Measurements from a related field program are generally consistent with model-derived conclusions.     

Short trips: An opportunity for reducing mobile-source emissions?

This paper examines how conversion of automobile trips of less than 3 miles to other transportation modes reduces emissions. Short trips contribute disproportionately to emissions because of cold starts. An analysis is conducted of short-trip behavior across the US using the 1995 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey. The data is used to develop likely scenarios of mode conversions for short trips, which are then applied to estimate emission savings using MOBILE6 cold start and running emission factors for volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. The results suggest that reducing short auto trips would modestly reduce mobile source air pollution, but emission reductions are high compared to most federally-funded surface transportation interventions aimed at improving air quality. Enhanced the community pedestrian environment to encourage short trip mode conversion also produces co-benefits such as increased physical activity and subsequent reductions in chronic diseases.     

Residence time,exposure time and connectivity in the Scheldt Estuary

Residence times and exposure times are computed for 13 boxes in the Scheldt Estuary, using the high-resolution tracer-transport model SLIM. The concepts are clearly defined and related to how they should be computed. First, the timescale values are compared with results published previously that were obtained with a simple box model, and an unexpected difference is revealed. This may suggest that a high-resolution model is necessary, even for the computation of such integrated quantities as residence or exposure times. Secondly, the newly computed residence times are compared to the exposures times to illustrate their intrinsic differences. From this difference, it is possible to propose a return coefficient, expressing the fraction of the exposure time that is due to “returning water”, i.e. water which has already left the estuary at least once. Finally, the estuarine exposure times are decomposed into the different box exposure times, resulting in a connectivity matrix. This matrix expresses how much time is spent in each of the estuarine subdomains during the water parcels' journey through the estuary.     

A disaggregate stochastic freight transport model for Sweden

Transportation - This paper presents estimation results for models of transport chain and shipment size choice, as well as an implementation of the estimated disaggregate models (for two commodity...