The environmental costs and economic implications of container shipping on the Northern Sea Route

The Northern Sea Route (NSR) has tremendous potential for ocean shipping between Europe and Asia due to the savings from shorter transit time and distance. However, the Arctic area is environmentally vulnerable and thus there is a trade-off between NSR’s impacts on environment vs. its economic benefits, especially when compared with the traditional route, such as through the Suez Canal Route (SCR). This study estimates the market shares of different transport modes and alternative shipping routes for the container transport market between Europe and Asia, and the resulting environmental costs. Our result suggests that NSR can be a viable option under the status quo. However, its environmental costs tend to be higher than SCR due to small ship size and low load factor in the present, thus the development of NSR would lead to worse environment outcomes. If these issues can be resolved, NSR can benefit from lower operational and environmental costs, which will lead to higher market share and social welfare. Otherwise, increased use of NSR may lead to higher total environment costs than the status quo.     

Ansys Workbench辅助设计海洋承压舱

依据外压容器设计方案和准则,研究工作在海洋3000米下环境的承压舱结构,合理选择舱体材料、优化结构设计方案,分析计算承压舱各部分参数,通过常规设计时引用计算机辅助设计软件Ansys Workbench,对承压舱体各部分承压性能进行模型仿真分析计算,选取最佳结构设计方案。对设计承压舱进行打压测试,分析结果验证设计方案的有效性,满足设计工作水深的承压性能及重量要求。     

Incompleteness and clarity in bus contracts: Identifying the nature of the ex ante and ex post perceptual divide

In the transport sector, many types of contracts exist. Some are very precise, and strive for completeness; others are very ‘light-weight’ and are incomplete. Bus and coach contracts, won through competitive tendering or negotiation, are typically incomplete in the sense of an inability to verify all the relevant obligations, as articulated through a set of deliverables. This paper draws on recent experiences in contract negotiation, and subsequent commitment in the bus sector, to identify what elements of the contracting regime have exposed ambiguity and significant gaps in what the principal expected, and what the agent believed they were obliged to deliver. We develop a series of regression models to investigate the extent of discrepancy between the principal and the agents perceived ‘understanding’ of contract obligations. The empirical evidence, from a sample of bus operators, is used to identify the extent of perceived incompleteness and clarity across a sample of bus contracts. A noteworthy finding is the important role that a trusting partnership plays in reducing the barriers to establishing greater clarity of contract specification and obligations, and in recognition of the degree of contract completeness.     

城市公交线网的一票制差异化票价策略优化

针对城市公交系统客流空间分布和线网运力配置不均衡问题,提出公交线路间差异化定价策略,通过价格杠杆调节客流需求分布. 针对我国普遍采用的一票制模式,在分析乘客广义出行费用的基础上,利用基于Logit 的线路间客流分配方法,并以总社会成本最低为目标,以满足输送能力和收费额度等为约束,建立了固定需求下的城市公交线网的差异化票价策略优化模型. 根据模型特点,设计了基于模拟退火算法的模型求解方法,综合优化各线路的票价水平和发车频率. 最后,将提出的模型和算法应用到典型公交线网上,算例结果表明,优化方法在较低的收费额度下即可实现较为明显的网络改善效果.     

Modeling of individual vehicle safety and fuel consumption under comprehensive external conditions

This research intends to explore external factors affecting driving safety and fuel consumption, and build a risk and fuel consumption prediction model for individual drivers based on natural driving data. Based on 120 taxi drivers’ natural driving data during 4 months, driving behavior data under various conditions of the roadway, traffic, weather, and time of day are extracted. The driver's fuel consumption is directly collected by the on-board diagnostics (OBD) unit, and safety index is calculated based on Data Threshold Violations (DTV) and Phase Plane Analysis with Limits (PPAL) considering speed, longitudinal and lateral acceleration. By using a linear mixed model explaining the fixed effect of the external conditions and the random effect of the driver, the influences of various external factors on fuel consumption and safety are analyzed and discussed. The prediction model lays a foundation for drivers' fuel consumption and risk prediction in different external conditions, which could help improve individual driving behavior for the benefit of both fuel consumption and safety.     

An analysis of institutional pressures,green supply chain management,and green performance in the container shipping context

This paper presents a study which utilized a conceptual framework with institutional theory as its base to empirically evaluate the impact of institutional pressures, internal green practices, and external green collaborations on green performance. Factor analysis was employed to identify the key institutional pressures (i.e. coercive, normative and mimetic pressures), internal green practices (i.e. green shipping practices and green operations), external green collaborations (i.e. green collaboration with supplier, green collaboration with partner, and green collaboration with customer), and green performance (i.e. reduction of pollutants, and perceived green brand) dimensions. We collected data from surveyees employed by 129 container shipping companies and agencies in Taiwan, and applied a structural equation model (SEM) to test the research hypotheses. The findings revealed that institutional pressures have positive effects on internal green practices; internal green practices positively influence external green collaborations; internal green practices and external green collaborations positively influence green performance but institutional pressure is not positively associated with external green collaborations. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are presented to help container shipping operators improve green performance.     

多机多点牵引道岔同步性研究

多点牵引且使用外锁闭的大号码道岔的同步转换要求各牵引点转辙机、外锁闭与道岔尖轨充分协调运动，因此，我们根据道岔各牵引点开口准确地计算相应转辙机动程、外锁闭空动程等相关数据，同时改变转辙机起动顺序，作到六点牵引道岔尖轨基本同步运动。     

北京市居民出行时间成本研究

采用收入法,考虑出行目的、出行方式等因素,给出居民出行时间成本计算的方法与步骤,将居民出行时间价值货币化。以北京市2000年和2005年为对象年,估算了分目的、分方式出行对应的单位时间价值,并根据历年交通调查的数据,获取了当年北京市全社会小汽车、公共交通(包括轨道交通)、出租汽车的平均出行时间和出行量,计算得到北京市全社会当年居民出行的时间成本。     

道路货运企业规模经济分析

从生产成本和交易费用两个角度分析道路货运企业的规模经济,认为其生产活动不存在显著的规模报酬递增,但运输业务集成对其实现规模经济具有重要作用。针对我国道路货运业务集成难以开展的现状,政府要给予政策支持。     

Calculation of external costs for freight transport

Abstract

The negative impacts of transport are in general associated with costs. These costs are usually denoted as ‘external costs’ or ‘externalities’. This paper presents a tool for calculating external costs for freight transport together with its application to a number of case studies. The categories considered include: air pollution, greenhouse gases, noise, accidents and congestion. Results are presented for a number of different transport alternatives as total costs and divided into categories. The uncertainties in the results are discussed. The assessment of these costs is essential for predicting future transport costs.