The vertical disintegration of ship management: choice criteria for third party selection and evaluation

An assessment of the rationale for the vertical disintegration of ship management suggests that there might be compelling economic benefits for the separation of ownership from management. In this context, as a means for developing effective marketing strategies, it is important for ship managers to know the criteria used by current and prospective clients for ship manager selection and evaluation. The aim of this paper is to empirically identify the dimensions for ship manager selection and performance evaluation and their relative importance and to discuss the implications for marketing emanating from such an assessment. The methodology adopted includes the collection of secondary and primary data, both from ship managers and their clients, using interviews and a mail survey. The results indicate the prevailing importance of certain dimensions in selection (e.g. technical ability, reputation, competency) and evaluation (responsiveness, trustworthiness, technical ability), whereas it also found that price alone is not perceived to be as important in ship manager selection. It is concluded that placing emphasis on such dimensions in the formulation of a marketing strategy will contribute towards the attraction and retention of clients, whereas cost-cutting measures to allow price reduction, as well as advertising, will be ineffective over the long term.     

Postembryonic stages of Nucellicola holmanae Lamb et al., 1996 (copepoda, poecilostomatoida), an endoparasite of the dog whelk Nucella lapillus (gastropoda)

The external morphology of the first three larval stages of Nucellicola holmanae is described. These stages were cultured from eggs found with the adults in the viscera of dog whelks collected from Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire. The nauplius develops within the whelk. It moults to a metanauplius which is released as a free-swimming stage. The metanauplius moults to a free copepodid stage which exhibits a combination of characters typical of the first, second and third copepodid stages of other poecilostomatoid copepods. The infective copepodid stage which locates and penetrates the host is visible through the integument of this free-swimming copepodid.     

Optimizing shipping company operations using business process modelling

In order to identify the elements constituting quality in services, a business process modelling methodology has been applied in the case of a Greek liner shipping company. The company operations have been identified and analysed in order to assess the complete performance of service elements and thereafter identify how to match the service performance against the user requirements. A liner container service within Europe has to compete with the road transport which, in many cases, is an alternative to the sea transportation and not complementary to it. Thus, not only the ship has to be envisaged when aiming to improve quality in services but also the whole chain, namely port authorities, land transportation enterprises, subcontractors, agents, charterers and others. A set of potential improvements within this framework are thus suggested and time and cost (examined in a specific voyage scenario) are measured before and after the implementation of these measures. Very large time and cost savings are observed after the application of the technology improvements, allowing, in fact, the shipping company to even increase the number of round trips per year in the examined route. This indicates that very large benefits can be drawn by analysing and critically adjusting business processes in modern shipping companies.     

Dense network traffic models,travel time reliability and traffic management. Ii: Application to network reliability

This paper is the second of a pair of papers discussing two main themes concerning dense network modelling. These themes are: (1) the changing nature of traffic management technology and the underlying objectives behind traffic management practice, and (2) the use of measures of network reliability in models, especially as an element of the evaluation of alternative network configurations. This paper develops and applies the second theme, the use of network reliability concepts in the evaluation of traffic networks, through consideration of variations in travel times, distinction between local street and arterial road networks, and the definition and application of a set of reliability indices that may be used to study different trip movements in a network. It indicates how these indices may be used in appraising different traffic management plans for a dense network of local streets and arterial roads, using a case study application.     

Vessel traffic service systems: cost-recovery alternatives

This paper investigate cost-recovery alternatives for US federally-operated vessel traffic service (VTS) systems. These include those currently used or have been used by VTS and 'VTS-like' systems and other feasible, but not used herefore, alternatives, a federal trust and a federal VTS user-fee structure. Three federal trust funds exist whose waterway-related earmarked revenues could also be earmarked for VTS systems. A federal VTS user-fee structure while raising revenue to finance VTS systems is not expected to be detrimental to the competitiveness of VTS ports nor to the vessel operators that call if their cost-savings exceed fees paid.     

World Maritime University

The issue of quality assurance in higher education is at the top of the agenda of universities throughout the world. For the World Maritime University, an institution with highly international staff and student bodies, a complex base of voluntary funding and isolated from any national or European system of education, the problem of defining quality and instituting a quality management system has been a particularly complex and vital task. Our quality standards are the key to our survival.     

Design of Robust Controllers for Active Vehicle Suspension Using the Mixed µ Synthesis

Summary The mixed µ synthesis for active suspension problems is proposed. Applying this method the real parametric uncertainties can be taken into consideration, which is more realistic than the traditional approaches, and the design process yields a less conservative compensator than other robust control design methods. The concept of the active suspension design using full-car models to handle the uncertain components is presented. The result of the mixed µ method is compared with the complex µ synthesis, and the passive system.     

Performance indicators for public transit connectivity in multi-modal transportation networks

Connectivity plays a crucial role as agencies at the federal and state level focus on expanding the public transit system to meet the demands of a multimodal transportation system. Transit agencies have a need to explore mechanisms to improve connectivity by improving transit service. This requires a systemic approach to develop measures that can prioritize the allocation of funding to locations that provide greater connectivity, or in some cases direct funding towards underperforming areas. The concept of connectivity is well documented in social network literature and to some extent, transportation engineering literature. However, connectivity measures have limited capability to analyze multi-modal public transportation systems which are much more complex in nature than highway networks.In this paper, we propose measures to determine connectivity from a graph theoretical approach for all levels of transit service coverage integrating routes, schedules, socio-economic, demographic and spatial activity patterns. The objective of using connectivity as an indicator is to quantify and evaluate transit service in terms of prioritizing transit locations for funding; providing service delivery strategies, especially for areas with large multi-jurisdictional, multi-modal transit networks; providing an indicator of multi-level transit capacity for planning purposes; assessing the effectiveness and efficiency for node/stop prioritization; and making a user friendly tool to determine locations with highest connectivity while choosing transit as a mode of travel. An example problem shows how the graph theoretical approach can be used as a tool to incorporate transit specific variables in the indicator formulations and compares the advantage of the proposed approach compared to its previous counterparts. Then the proposed framework is applied to the comprehensive transit network in the Washington–Baltimore region. The proposed analysis offers reliable indicators that can be used as tools for determining the transit connectivity of a multimodal transportation network.     

Transportation survey and rideshare matching model for rural communities

A simple and flexible low technology rideshare matching model was developed for a rural area. A brief survey form provided information on distance to work, fuel consumption and currently used transportation mode in conj unction with information on employment location and work schedule. The model developed used a computerized system for proximity matching of potential ride sharers. An existing computer program with detailed modifications was used for data analysis. Unlike other rideshare matching programs, this model relies on grouping by community names to match riders.     

Experimental and numerical investigation of fuel mixing effects on soot structures in counterflow diffusion flames

Experimental and numerical analyses of laminar diffusion flames were performed to identify the effect of fuel mixing on soot formation in a counterflow burner. In this experiment, the volume fraction, number density, and particle size of soot were investigated using light extinction/scattering systems. The experimental results showed that the synergistic effect of an ethylene-propane flame is appreciable. Numerical simulations showed that the benzene (C₆H₆) concentration in mixture flames was higher than in ethylene-base flames because of the increase in the concentration of propargyl radicals. Methyl radicals were found to play an important role in the formation of propargyl, and the recombination of propargyl with benzene was found to lead to an increase in the number density for cases exhibiting synergistic effects. These results imply that methyl radicals play an important role in soot formation, particularly with regard to the number density.