scholarly journals Evaluation of the Efficiency of Maritime Transport Using a Network Slacks-Based Measure (SBM) Approach: A Case Study on the Korean Coastal Ferry Market

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6094
Author(s):  
Joohwan Kim ◽  
Hwayoung Kim

Safety is a key performance indicator for the sustainable management of a coastal ferry service business. An efficiency strategy that balances safety and transport performance should be considered. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relative transport efficiency of coastal ferry operators through undesirable safety-related output. Coastal ferry operators create added value through logistics activities such as cargo and passenger transport. Accordingly, this study designed a three-stage network-slacks-based measure (SBM) model that delineated production through ferry transport services such as service generation, service execution, and transport value creation. Detention records and marine accidents caused by human errors or technical faults were considered undesirable safety-related outputs. Moreover, the relative transport efficiency of 23 Korean firms that have continuously managed a coastal ferry transport business from 2015 to 2018 was analyzed. The results showed that the differentiation of transport efficiency of firms improved when applying the three-stage network SBM model compared to applying the SBM model that did not consider the internal production stage. This fact suggests that it is more desirable to apply the three-stage network SBM model proposed in this study when a more stringent comparison of transport performance is needed in terms of service quality.

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 724
Author(s):  
Alicja K. Zawadzka

The paper presents the results of a study on the attractiveness to tourists and natives of the cultural qualities of coastal towns on The Pomeranian Way of St. James that are members of the Cittaslow network. Attention to the quality of urban life is inscribed in the development policies of towns applying to join the Cittaslow movement. In order to join the network (apart from the size criterion), towns need to meet a minimum of 50% plus one of the 72 criteria grouped into seven categories. One of the category is Quality of Urban Life Policy, so the towns applying to join Cittaslow commit themselves to actions aimed at improving the quality of urban life. The study on the attractiveness of cultural qualities of towns to tourists and natives was conducted using the author’s BRB method, whose added value is its universality and the possibility to study small towns regardless of their membership in the Cittaslow network. BRB is an acronym that stands for BUILDINGS, RELATIONSHIPS, BALANCE, and comprises three scopes of activities: BUILDINGS (iconic building and important sites where the inhabitants and the tourists are present); RELATIONSHIPS (the visual effects of the relations between the inhabitants and the town) and BALANCE (solutions that implement modern technologies). This method enables identification of places that are important to the inhabitants, where urban life takes place and which are often created with the involvement of the inhabitants. These are often the same spaces as those that attract tourists and perhaps stimulate them the desire to visit the town again (BRB—be right back). The aim of the BRB method is shown the attractiveness of small towns. The study has shown that the characteristic feature of Polish Cittaslow towns is their diversity: the architectural attractiveness of three towns is high both to tourists and natives. On the other hand, the urban attractiveness of the examined towns is an insufficient.


2012 ◽  
Vol 253-255 ◽  
pp. 1913-1917
Author(s):  
Ze Bin Zhao

In order to reduce the negative impact of urban traffic air pollution, this paper firstly analyzes the relationship between urban traffic air pollution and vehicle speed, after providing the relationship model, the paper establishes a comprehensive pricing model of urban traffic air pollution based on bi-level programming, the model considers the traffic air pollution pricing, and includes the factors of congestion pricing, bus fee, pricing revenue redistribution on improvement of public transport services and the expansion of road capacity. The case study shows that the implementation of comprehensive pricing of urban traffic air pollution can reduce traffic pollution and unreasonable traffic flow, which is conducive to the sustainable development of the city.


Author(s):  
Heinri W. Freiboth ◽  
Leila Goedhals-Gerber ◽  
F. Esbeth Van Dyk ◽  
Malcolm C. Dodd

There is concern in the South African fruit industry that a large amount of fruit and money is lost every season due to breaks in the fruit export cold chain. The possibility of a large percentage of losses in a significant sector of the economy warranted further investigation. This article attempted to highlight some of the possible problem areas in the cold chain, from the cold store to the port, by analysing historic temperature data from different fruit export supply chains of apples, pears and grapes. In addition, a trial shipment of apples was used to investigate temperature variation between different pallets in the same container. This research has added value to the South African fruit industry by identifying the need to improve operational procedures in the cold chain.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeroen De Waegemaeker ◽  
Eva Kerselaers ◽  
Maarten Van Acker ◽  
Elke Rogge

Purpose As policy makers address the issue of climate adaptation, they are confronted with climate-specific barriers: a long-term horizon and a high degree of uncertainty. These barriers also hamper the development of spatial planning for climate adaptation. So how can spatial planners encompass these barriers and steer the general debate on climate adaptation? The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This research analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of an international design workshop on climate adaptation, and drought issues in particular. Design workshops are originally an educational setting but they are increasingly employed as a tool to explore alternative futures on a complex, real-life design problem. The case study illustrates how climate-specific barriers emerged throughout the design workshop and clarifies how they were encompassed by the participating design students. Findings The research clarifies the added value of a design workshop on climate adaptation. The paper highlights specific promising characteristics of the design workshop: the visualization of future adaptation challenges and the current water system, the focus on a regional project instead of sectoral adjustments and the integration of the adaptation challenge with other socio-economic goals. In the case study Flanders, however, the necessary participation of climate experts and policy makers of other domains proved challenging. Originality/value The paper argues that a design workshop has the potential to enrich the debate and policy work on climate adaptation. In many countries with low-planning tradition, however, additional tools are needed to help set the “adaptation agenda.”


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Turgut Ozkan ◽  
Gozde Yanginlar ◽  
Salih Kalayci

<p>Today, the processes of restructuring the railway sector and the liberalization of the railway market change significantly. Vertical separation between infrastructure railway transportation service provision and train operations is a significant key element in the railway liberalization. This paper focuses on a research into railway regulation and liberalization in 30 countries. The aim of this paper is to give a comparative overview of the regulation of railways and analyses the process of the liberalization and restructuring of railways in the 30 countries. We test this theoretical prediction using a data base that contains investment in transport with private participation, transport services information from World Bank. Our final results are valid for the period 1980-2014. Overall, the analyses showed statistically significant interaction effects between railways transportation and transport services and investment in transport with private participation. This study presents new insights in theory, paving the way for further research.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafif Al-Sayed ◽  
Jianhua Yang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically China’s determined thrust to attain a high level of technological innovation and the factors affecting moving towards a smart and sophisticated manufacturing ecosystem in conjunction with the Belt and Road Initiative (OBOR). Design/methodology/approach This research provides empirical determination of the factors affecting moving towards smart manufacturing ecosystems in China. The method is based on combining two approaches: semi-structured interview and questionnaire-based with academics, experts and managers in various Chinese industrial sectors. The results are based on the multivariate analysis of the collected data. A case study of the current manufacturing ecosystem was also analyzed, in order to understand the present state as well as the potential for China’s competitive edge in the developed OBOR countries. Findings The results illustrate the importance of the infrastructure dimension comprising variables related to ecosystems, industrial clusters and Internet of Things IoT and other advanced technologies. A case study of the city of Shenzhen’s transformation into a smart cluster for innovative manufacturing points out how China’s OBOR initiative for regional collaboration will further transform the regional smart clusters into an ultra-large innovation based smart ecosystem. Originality/value This research is the first to study China’ policies towards playing a prominent role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution 4IR in the context of the OBOR initiative, through empirically defining the factors affecting moving towards a knowledge-intensive smart manufacturing ecosystem where the added value is mostly innovation based.


2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-29
Author(s):  
Ana Jurić ◽  
Aleksandra Zupanc ◽  
Tjaša Štrukelj

AbstractThe central aim of the article is company governance, i.e., researching governance of a company that does not want to be only financially successful but also direct its governance toward socially responsible governance. The article begins with the definition of “theoretical backgrounds,” in which social responsibility in regard to company governance improvement in quality is explained. The article then focuses on the measurement of the quality of company governance; in the research, the selected tool chosen to evaluate the governance of the chosen company regarding social responsibility, i.e., SEECGAN index, is used. Further, the case study of a Slovenian public limited liability company is used. One of the important research findings is the recognition that the addressed part of the SEECGAN index needs to be innovated and further developed. Additional questions for the completion of the index used presents the added value of the article. This article has two limitations: 1) it focuses only on the tool chosen to evaluate the governance of the chosen company regarding social responsibility; 2) the case study is based on publicly accessible data.


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