The effect of the competition between cars and trucks on the evolution of the motorway transport system

Motorways, which were devised at the beginning of their history as dedicated roads intended to be traveled by cars only, are at present also traveled by considerable flows of trucks. This fact has deeply changed the motorway transport system with respect to its original conception, owing to the interactions between two categories of vehicles whose characteristics are very different. These interactions greatly increase the transport cost perceived by car drivers with respect to truck drivers. This paper studies the consequences of this cost asymmetry on the evolution of the transport system when the geometric characteristics of a motorway remain unchanged in time, while transport demand increases. By using a theoretical model of competition between cars and trucks, it is shown that, if both the geometric characteristics of a motorway and the increase rate of the activities that feed the transport demand remain unchanged over time, the competition between cars and trucks, as well as the fact that in general passengers have better transport alternatives than freight, make the increase rate of truck traffic greater than that of cars, causing a progressive increase in the proportion of trucks in the time periods in which a motorway is traveled by both the vehicle categories. Since truck traffic on motorways, at least in Europe, is very scarce on weekends and in holiday periods, in which motorways are traveled almost only by cars, these results seem to indicate a tendency to the specialization of motorways, which are likely to be used in the future mostly by only one category of vehicles in different periods of time.     

Airline network competition: Full-service airlines, low-cost airlines and long-haul markets

The paper discusses airline network competition. Low-cost airlines and conventional airlines have distinctly different strategies and network types. This determines their ability to compete with other airlines in specific markets. The paper discusses the lack of competition between conventional airlines in local markets, and sees why low-cost airlines are the primary source of competition in such markets. Conventional airlines are relatively strong on long-haul markets, using their networks to keep costs per seat relatively low. Charter airlines show that a long-haul low-cost strategy is feasible For scheduled low-cost airlines, this may be more difficult, but this does not automatically mean that low-cost airlines cannot enter thick long-haul markets.     

Spatial econometric analysis of automobile and motorcycle traffic on Indonesian national roads and its socio-economic determinants: Is it local or beyond city boundaries?

The purpose of this paper is to verify the justification provided for a centralized national road policyin Indonesia, namely, that trips on national roads are typically inter-urban, by measuring the spatialdimensions of automobile and motorcycle trips on national roads in Indonesia. The study finds thatmotorcycle trips are characteristically local; by contrast, automobile trips extend beyond city boundaries,although to a limited extent. The results suggest the decentralization of transportation policies for thedevelopment and maintenance of national roads by granting autonomy to local governments when nofiscal externality exists. The results also indicate that road capacity, gasoline prices, income, populationand worker density, city size, and the number of public buses are strong predictors of vehicle kilometerstraveled.     

Ecophysiological growth characteristics and modeling of the onset of the spring bloom in the Baltic Sea

The onset of spring bloom in temperate areas is a transition period where the low productive, winter phytoplankton community is transformed into a high productive spring community. Downwelling irradiance, mixing depth and the ability of the phytoplankton community to utilize the light, are key parameters determining the timing of the onset of the spring bloom. Knowing these parameters would thus provide tools for modeling the spring bloom and enhance our knowledge of ecophysiological processes during this period.Our main objective with this study was to provide data for the growth characteristics of some key species forming the spring bloom in the Gulf of Finland, and to apply those results in a simple dynamic model for the onset of the spring bloom, in order to test if the timing of the spring bloom predicted by the models corresponds to field observations. We investigated the photosynthetic characteristics of three diatoms and two dinoflagellates (Chaetoceros wighamii, Melosira arctica, Thalassiosira baltica, Scrippsiella hangoei and Woloszynskia halophila), at low temperatures (4–5 °C). All of these species are common during spring bloom in the Baltic Sea.Cultures of these species were acclimated to different irradiance regimes prior to measurements of photosynthesis, respiration, pigment concentration and light absorption. We did not find a positive relationship between respiration and growth rate, and we hypothesize that this relationship, which is well established at higher temperatures, is negligible or absent at low temperatures (< 10 °C). Photosynthetic maximum (P_m), and maximum light utilization coefficient (α) was lowest and respiration (R) highest in the dinoflagellates.We made a model of the onset of the spring bloom in the western part of Gulf of Finland, using the obtained data together with monitoring data of mixing depth and water transparency from this area. Model results were compared to field observations of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration. There was a good agreement between the model predictions and the observed onset of the spring bloom for the diatoms. S. hangoei, however, was not able to reach positive production in the model, and W. halophila had the similar growth characteristics as S. hangoei. Consequently, these species must have other competition strategies enabling them to exist and grow during spring bloom.     

Surface patterns of zooplankton spatial variability detected by high frequency sampling in the NW Mediterranean. Role of density fronts

High frequency sampling was performed in daylight hours along a 35 km transect in the Ligurian Sea to investigate the upper layer zooplankton distribution during the spring phytoplankton bloom. The results show detailed spatial structure and biomass of key zooplankton functional groups, copepods, salps and krill larvae, within the different water masses characterizing this region. Although observed values of total copepod biomass distribution were rather constant along the transect, species-specific patterns were observed in the copepod spatial distribution. The larger species Calanus helgolandicus, as well as Centropages typicus, Oithona spp., and Oncaea spp., were associated with the frontal zone. However, Acartia spp. had a scattered distribution, and Clausocalanus/Paracalanus did not have a clear pattern. In addition, krill larvae were concentrated in the frontal area and salps had a scattered pattern. The cross-shore zooplankton distribution appeared strongly influenced by both the Northern Ligurian current governing inshore waters, which acts as a major flushing forcing, and the Ligurian front, which governs offshore waters and may act as retention area for zooplankton.     

关于码头超能力靠泊问题的分析

文中通过对我国沿海港口建设和生产发展状况进行分析，指出了产生码头超能力靠泊的原因，并深入讨论了码头超能力靠泊的危害，最后，从提高码头生产效率、遵守限定条件靠泊核准的新船型等方面提出了解决码头超能力靠泊的方法。     

京津冀一体化轨道交通协调发展研究和展望

京津冀协同发展上升为国家战略,需要区域轨道交通协调发展来支撑和服务于区域一体化发展。从京津冀协同发展空间布局及产业转移的角度出发,提出各种轨道交通的层次及服务功能,在此基础上对轨道交通协调发展研究提出应抓住规划,处理好既有轨道交通与新增轨道交通、客货运主要通道与交通引导(TOD)、各种轨道交通间协调衔接等方面关系;加快投融资改革,实施同步建设;创新体制,实现管理协调发展;加大政策扶持,达到轨道交通可持续发展等方面进行研究,同时对区域轨道交通进行展望,对京津冀一体化轨道交通协调发展研究方向、研究领域和空间进行了浅议。     

Spatial fisheries ecology: Recent progress and future prospects

We review recent progresses made in the study of fish distribution and survival over space — i.e., fisheries spatial ecology. This is achieved by first surveying the most common statistical approaches and relative challenges associated with the analysis of fisheries spatial data, loosely grouped in geostatistical and regression approaches. Then we review a selected number of case-studies implementing the discussed techniques. We conclude by proposing new areas of statistical and ecological research to further our understanding of how fish distribute and survive in space. This review serves a dual purpose by emphasizing the scientific importance of studying spatial interactions to better understand the temporal dynamics of fish abundance, and by promoting the development of new analytical and ecological approaches for the analysis of spatial data. Through our survey we cover different statistical techniques, marine ecosystems and life stages. This analytical, geographic and ontogenetic variety is also purposely selected to highlight the importance of comparative and multidisciplinary studies across diverging ecological disciplines, ecosystems and life stages. Besides having a general ecological relevance this review also bears a more applied significance, owing to the increasing need for protecting renewable marine resources along with their primary habitat.     

Airport and airlines competition: Incentives for vertical collusion

This paper develops a model of airport and airline competition in a three-stage game. We analyse incentives for vertical collusion between one airport and one airline that compete with another airport and another airline, by means of static and dynamic games. We find that incentives for collusion exist when airports and airlines have different market sizes and, under certain conditions, also when secondary airports and low cost airlines compete with main airports and full service airlines.     

海峡西岸港口群发展现状及对策研究

文章在文献资料阅读和实地调查的基础上,介绍了海峡西岸港口群基本情况、内部构成及主要港口发展业绩,着重分析港口群在自然条件、经济基础和政策扶持等方面的发展优势和功能单一、内部竞争强等阻碍因素,并提出解决建议,希望能为海峡西岸港口群的进一步规划提供事实依据和帮助。