Urban delivery industry response to cordon pricing, time-distance pricing, and carrier-receiver policies in competitive markets

The paper develops a set of analytical formulations to study the behavior of the urban delivery industry in response to cordon time-of-day pricing, time-distance pricing, and comprehensive financial policies targeting carriers and receivers. This is accomplished by modeling the behavior of receivers in response to financial incentives, and the ensuing behavior of the carrier in response to both pricing and the receivers’ decisions concerning off-hour deliveries. The analytical formulations consider both the base case condition, and a mixed operation with both regular hour and off-hour deliveries; two pricing schemes: cordon time of day, and time-distance pricing; two types of operations: single-tour, and multi-tour carriers; and three different scenarios in terms of profitability of the carrier operation, which include an approximation to the best case, the expected value, and the worst case. The analyses, both theoretical and numerical, highlight the limitations of pricing-only approaches. In the case of cordon time of day pricing, the chief conclusion is that it is of limited use as a freight demand management tool because: (1) in a competitive market the cordon toll cannot be transferred to the receivers as it is a fixed cost and (2) the structure of the cost function, that only provides an incentive to the carrier to switch to the off-hours when all the receivers in the tour switch to the off-hours. The analyses of time-distance pricing clearly indicate that, though its tolls could be transferred to the receivers and provide an incentive for behavior change, the magnitude of the expected toll transfers under real life conditions are too small to have any meaningful impact on receivers choice of delivery times. In essence, the key policy implication is that in order to change the joint behavior of carrier and receivers, financial incentives—or programs that foster unassisted off-hour deliveries—should be made available to receivers in exchange for their commitment to do off-hour deliveries. As the paper proves, if a meaningful number of receivers switch to the off-hours, the carriers are likely to follow suit.     

‘Only work and sleep’: seafarers’ perceptions of job demands of short sea cargo shipping lines and their effects on work and life on board

Previous research on job demands in seafaring has focused on the effects of workload and circadian disturbance on seafarers’ health and fatigue. Taking a more comprehensive approach, this study identifies job demands of short sea cargo shipping lines and explores their effects on work and life on board. Data came from 54 interviews with officers and crew on five cargo ships. Findings revealed job demands related to characteristics of the schedule, ports, and sea voyages; these were not only associated with workload and circadian disturbance, but also with the difficulty of the work, the ability to plan ahead, and intrusions from third parties. Job demands affected outcomes through two interconnected processes. First, job demands had direct and indirect effects on fatigue and the working climate on board. Second, potential positive effects of job demands (i.e. interesting work and pay) were related to motivation and, together with a good working climate, could reduce turnover. Connecting the two processes, a good working climate was pivotal in counteracting negative emotions and supporting motivation and collaboration. In this way, it functioned as a key resource. External constraints could either buffer or reinforce these effects.     

不规则波浪在陡坡上非线性传播变形的试验研究

通过试验研究了不规则波浪在一陡坡(1:10)上的传播过程中的非线性特征。为达到研究目的,在试验水槽中以JONSWAP谱为靶谱生成了两组随机波浪。试验结果显示,在坡前常水深区域和坡顶,两种波况下波高分布均符合瑞利分布;但是在变浅区域两种波况的波高分布却不尽相同。应用基于小波变换的二阶相位谱来分析波浪在传播过程中的非线性相位耦合特征,结果表明：随着水深的变浅,波浪的非线性逐渐增强并且参与非线性相互耦合的频率成份也越来越多。通过二阶相位谱发现：随着水深的减小,参与最强的非线性相位耦合频率向高频处移动。另外通过傅立叶频谱、二阶谱以及二阶频谱共同分析陡坡上两组波况下低频波浪的演化情况。     

近壁面水动力干扰下的AUV运动控制研究

按自治式水下机器人(AUV)需要接近水下工作站并实现坐落的要求,依据平壁面对AUV水动力干扰的力学机理,建立了AUV在平壁面附近运动时的数学模型,并设计了五个自由度运动PID控制器.在海流影响下,通过系统仿真,实现了AUV的五自由度运动控制和准确坐落,仿真结果验证了控制策略的可行性.     

涡干涉的流动显示与数值模拟

通过流动可视化方法并结合数值计算模拟了两个不同旋转方向涡的干涉及其发展过程.结果表明:在靠近装有涡产生器(VG)壁面的截面上的涡的强度较大,远离壁面的截面上的涡的强度较小;不同旋转方向的两个涡系相互干涉时合成涡系的强度有减弱趋势,离装涡产生器表面较近的纵向切面上合成涡系的强度减弱程度较小,在离装涡产生器表面较远的纵向切面上合成涡系的强度减弱程度较大,中心切面上合成涡系的强度减弱程度居中.     

Characteristics of household activity and travel patterns in the Mumbai metropolitan region

Activity-based modelling approaches require a typical survey instrument which can collect the finer details of activities of each individual over both time and space. This paper focuses on the design of a new survey instrument called an activity-travel diary; examines its method of administration; and analyses activity-travel behaviour in the context of developing countries. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region in India is selected as the study area. With the aim of understanding the activities of each individual over a period of time, a pilot survey was conducted in a continuous time frame for a period of 15 days, followed by a main survey. The analysis of data collected by the instrument reveals some interesting facts regarding the relationships between socioeconomic attributes, activities and trip making behaviour. Identification of interactions among households and other members were also facilitated by the newly designed diary, which is not a well-versed topic for research in the context of a developing economy like Mumbai's.     

The effect of location,mobility and socio-demographic factors on task and time allocation of households

This paper investigates the role of location factors in task and time allocation at the household level. It is hypothesized that, if time constraints are less binding as a result of living in an urban area or owning more cars, spouses engage more often and longer in out-of-home activities and schedule their activities more independently. The hypotheses are tested with logistic and Cox regression models of activity participation and time allocation on a data set collected in the Amsterdam–Utrecht region in the Netherlands. Results suggest that the hypotheses are supported with respect to specific household activity scheduling decisions.