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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 28 March 2024

Hans Voordijk, Seirgei Miller and Faridaddin Vahdatikhaki

Using real-time support systems may help operators in road construction to improve paving and compaction operations. Nowadays, these systems transform from descriptive to…

Abstract

Purpose

Using real-time support systems may help operators in road construction to improve paving and compaction operations. Nowadays, these systems transform from descriptive to prescriptive systems. Prescriptive or operator guidance systems propose operators actionable compaction strategies and guidance, based on the data collected. It is investigated how these systems mediate the perceptions and actions of operators in road pavement practice.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study is conducted on the specific application of an operator guidance system in a road pavement project. In this case study, comprehensive information is presented regarding the process of converting input in the form of data from cameras and sensors into useful output. The ways in which the operator guidance systems translate data into actionable guidance for operators are analyzed from the technological mediation perspective.

Findings

Operator guidance systems mediate actions of operators physically, cognitively and contextually. These different types of action mediation are related to preconditions for successful implementation and use of these systems. Coercive interventions only succeed if there is widespread agreement among the operators. Persuasive interventions are most effective when collective and individual interests align. Contextual influence relates to designs of the operator guidance systems that determine human-technology interactions when using them.

Originality/value

This is the first study that analyzes the functioning of an operator guidance system using the technological mediation approach. It adds a new perspective on the interaction between this system and its users in road pavement practice.

Details

Frontiers in Engineering and Built Environment, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2634-2499

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 15 December 2017

Maxim A. Dulebenets

The volumes of international containerized trade substantially increased over the past years. In the meantime, marine container terminal (MCT) operators are facing congestion…

1076

Abstract

Purpose

The volumes of international containerized trade substantially increased over the past years. In the meantime, marine container terminal (MCT) operators are facing congestion issues at their terminals because of the increasing number of large-size vessels, the lack of innovative technologies and advanced handling equipment and the inability of proper scheduling of the available resources. This study aims to propose a novel memetic algorithm with a deterministic parameter control to facilitate the berth scheduling at MCTs and minimize the total vessel service cost.

Design/methodology/approach

A local search heuristic, which is based on the first-come-first-served policy, is applied at the chromosomes and population initialization stage within the developed memetic algorithm (MA). The deterministic parameter control strategy is implemented for a custom mutation operator, which alters the mutation rate values based on the piecewise function throughout the evolution of the algorithm. Performance of the proposed MA is compared with that of the alternative solution algorithms widely used in the berth scheduling literature, including a MA that does not apply the deterministic parameter control strategy, typical evolutionary algorithm, simulated annealing and variable neighborhood search.

Findings

Results demonstrate that the developed MA with a deterministic parameter control can obtain superior berth schedules in terms of the total vessel service cost within a reasonable computational time. Furthermore, greater cost savings are observed for the cases with high demand and low berthing capacity at the terminal. A comprehensive analysis of the convergence patterns indicates that introduction of the custom mutation operator with a deterministic control for the mutation rate value would provide more efficient exploration and exploitation of the search space.

Research limitations/implications

This study does not account for uncertainty in vessel arrivals. Furthermore, potential changes in the vessel handling times owing to terminal disruptions are not captured.

Practical implications

The developed solution algorithm can serve as an efficient planning tool for MCT operators and assist with efficient berth scheduling for both discrete and continuous berthing layout cases.

Originality/value

The majority of studies on berth scheduling rely on the stochastic search algorithms without considering the specific problem properties and applying the guided search heuristics. Unlike canonical evolutionary algorithms, the developed algorithm uses a local search heuristic for the chromosomes and population initialization and adjusts the mutation rate values based on a deterministic parameter control strategy for more efficient exploration and exploitation of the search space.

Details

Maritime Business Review, vol. 2 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2397-3757

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 3 December 2019

Masoud Kavoosi, Maxim A. Dulebenets, Olumide Abioye, Junayed Pasha, Oluwatosin Theophilus, Hui Wang, Raphael Kampmann and Marko Mikijeljević

Marine transportation has been faced with an increasing demand for containerized cargo during the past decade. Marine container terminals (MCTs), as the facilities for connecting…

1538

Abstract

Purpose

Marine transportation has been faced with an increasing demand for containerized cargo during the past decade. Marine container terminals (MCTs), as the facilities for connecting seaborne and inland transportation, are expected to handle the increasing amount of containers, delivered by vessels. Berth scheduling plays an important role for the total throughput of MCTs as well as the overall effectiveness of the MCT operations. This study aims to propose a novel island-based metaheuristic algorithm to solve the berth scheduling problem and minimize the total cost of serving the arriving vessels at the MCT.

Design/methodology/approach

A universal island-based metaheuristic algorithm (UIMA) was proposed in this study, aiming to solve the spatially constrained berth scheduling problem. The UIMA population was divided into four sub-populations (i.e. islands). Unlike the canonical island-based algorithms that execute the same metaheuristic on each island, four different population-based metaheuristics are adopted within the developed algorithm to search the islands, including the following: evolutionary algorithm (EA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), estimation of distribution algorithm (EDA) and differential evolution (DE). The adopted population-based metaheuristic algorithms rely on different operators, which facilitate the search process for superior solutions on the UIMA islands.

Findings

The conducted numerical experiments demonstrated that the developed UIMA algorithm returned near-optimal solutions for the small-size problem instances. As for the large-size problem instances, UIMA was found to be superior to the EA, PSO, EDA and DE algorithms, which were executed in isolation, in terms of the obtained objective function values at termination. Furthermore, the developed UIMA algorithm outperformed various single-solution-based metaheuristic algorithms (including variable neighborhood search, tabu search and simulated annealing) in terms of the solution quality. The maximum UIMA computational time did not exceed 306 s.

Research limitations/implications

Some of the previous berth scheduling studies modeled uncertain vessel arrival times and/or handling times, while this study assumed the vessel arrival and handling times to be deterministic.

Practical implications

The developed UIMA algorithm can be used by the MCT operators as an efficient decision support tool and assist with a cost-effective design of berth schedules within an acceptable computational time.

Originality/value

A novel island-based metaheuristic algorithm is designed to solve the spatially constrained berth scheduling problem. The proposed island-based algorithm adopts several types of metaheuristic algorithms to cover different areas of the search space. The considered metaheuristic algorithms rely on different operators. Such feature is expected to facilitate the search process for superior solutions.

Content available
Article
Publication date: 5 December 2023

Thalis P.V. Zis

This paper focusses on the aftermath of disruptions and the importance of the two largest canals (Suez and Panama), commenting on how during the pandemic the canal fees were…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper focusses on the aftermath of disruptions and the importance of the two largest canals (Suez and Panama), commenting on how during the pandemic the canal fees were lowered. Considering the ongoing efforts to decarbonize shipping, some of the ongoing disruptions will help reach these objectives faster.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a literature review of route choice in shipping, and a presentation of significant disruptions in recent years, the author deploys a simplified fuel consumption model and conduct case study analyses to compare different routes environmentally and economically.

Findings

The results explain why at times of low fuel prices as in 2020, canals provided discounts to entice ship operators to keep transiting these, instead of opting for longer routes. Considering the ongoing repercussions of the pandemic in supply chains, as well as the potential introduction of market-based measures in shipping, the value of transiting canals will be much higher in the coming years.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation in this work is that the author used the publicly available information on canal tolls, for the different ship types examined.

Practical implications

The envisioned model is simple, and it can be readily used for any ship and route (port to port) combination available, if ship data are available to researchers.

Social implications

It is possible that canal tolls will increase, to account for the additional environmental benefits brought to ship operators.

Originality/value

The methodology is simple and transferable, and the author proposes several interesting research questions for follow-up work.

Details

Maritime Business Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2397-3757

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 21 April 2023

Isidoro Romero, José Fernández-Serrano and Rafael Cáceres-Carrasco

This study explores the role of international tour operators as the agents assuming the governance and the upgrading of the tourism global value chains (TGVCs), with a special…

Abstract

Purpose

This study explores the role of international tour operators as the agents assuming the governance and the upgrading of the tourism global value chains (TGVCs), with a special focus on their influence on the development of technological capabilities (TCs) in the hotel industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The data used in this article originates from a survey carried out in 2016 on Spanish small and medium-sized hotel companies. An ordinal regression analysis is employed to test the hypotheses proposed in this research.

Findings

This study finds that tour operators exert a positive effect on the technological upgrading process in the hotel industry by stimulating small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to invest in TCs. The causal mechanisms through which these effects take place differ across the various stages of the relationship between hotel companies and tour operators.

Practical implications

The results have implications both for hotel management in terms of how hotels take advantage of technological upgrading to become more competitive, and for public administrations in terms of what measures can boost the development of hotel TCs in order to increase their added value.

Originality/value

To date, very few studies have analysed the tourism sector based on the influence on the development of TCs of SME hotels by combining GVC concepts and the resource-based view. It is also the first time that the causal mechanisms are shown to explain such influences.

Details

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9792

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 10 July 2020

Po-Hsing Tseng and Tsz Leung Yip

Cruise tourism is the fastest-growing segment of the shipping and port industry. This study aims to develop an analytic model to assess the key criteria and sub-criteria…

1028

Abstract

Purpose

Cruise tourism is the fastest-growing segment of the shipping and port industry. This study aims to develop an analytic model to assess the key criteria and sub-criteria influencing four cruise port's development in Taiwan.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the literature review, four criteria and 13 sub-criteria are developed and analysed by fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP). Four cruise ports include Kaohsiung, Keelung, Taichung and Hualien ports. The 26 relevant field experts (including cruise operators, governmental officials and academics) were invited to provide information for assessing the sub-criteria in the model.

Findings

The results indicate that port infrastructure and facilities are the most important criterion, followed by port-city development plans, port geography and climate and port regulations and services. In addition, the three most important sub-criteria overall are the onshore tourism programme, the city’s historical and cultural features and the green port hinterland transport system. Also, Keelung port is ranked as the best port, followed by Kaohsiung, Taichung and Hualien.

Originality/value

As Asia is an important cruise market in the world (ranked as third) and passenger number in Taiwan has achieved the top two in Asia, denoting Taiwan is a good market to develop an evaluation model of cruise ports. The findings present a holistic picture of the relative importance of the various criteria associated with cruise port development and raise issues related to cruise port marketing and the economic and environmental sustainability of ports and their hinterlands.

Details

Maritime Business Review, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2397-3757

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 26 July 2018

Peide Liu and Hui Gao

Intuitionistic linguistic fuzzy information (ILFI), characterized by linguistic terms and intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs), can easily express the fuzzy information in the process…

1494

Abstract

Purpose

Intuitionistic linguistic fuzzy information (ILFI), characterized by linguistic terms and intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs), can easily express the fuzzy information in the process of muticriteria decision making (MCDM) and muticriteria group decision making (MCGDM) problems. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of aggregation operators (AOs) and applications of ILFI.

Design/methodology/approach

First, some meaningful AOs for ILFI are summarized, and some extended MCDM approaches for intuitionistic uncertain linguistic variables (IULVs), such as extended TOPSIS, extended TODIM, extended VIKOR, are discussed. Then, the authors summarize and analyze the applications about the AOs of IULVs.

Findings

IULVs, characterized by linguistic terms and IFSs, can more detailed and comprehensively express the criteria values in the process of MCDM and MCGDM. Therefore, lots of researchers pay more and more attention to the MCDM or MCGDM methods with IULVs.

Originality/value

The authors summarize and analyze the applications about the AOs of IULVs Finally, the authors point out some possible directions for future research.

Details

Marine Economics and Management, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2516-158X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 August 2020

Munmun Hazarika and Sougata Marik

For n…

Abstract

For n1, let Dn be the polydisk in n, and let Tn be the n-torus. L2(Tn) denotes the space of Lebesgue square integrable functions on Tn. In this paper we define slant Toeplitz operators on L2(Tn). Besides giving a necessary and sufficient condition for an operator on L2(Tn) to be slant Toeplitz, we also establish several properties of slant Toeplitz operators.

Details

Arab Journal of Mathematical Sciences, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1319-5166

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 19 December 2023

Noorul Shaiful Fitri Abdul Rahman, Adela P. Balasa, Mohammad Khairuddin Othman and Abebe Ejigu Alemu

This paper aimed to assess the service quality of the main seaports in Oman, which were Sohar, Ad Duqm and Salalah. The aim was to come up with ways to enhance the port service…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aimed to assess the service quality of the main seaports in Oman, which were Sohar, Ad Duqm and Salalah. The aim was to come up with ways to enhance the port service quality (PSQ) in Oman so that it could align with the Sultanate of Oman Logistics Strategy (SOLS) 2040 goals and achieve excellent and efficient operations.

Design/methodology/approach

To evaluate the service quality level of the port operators, this paper used a descriptive research design with Resources, Outcome, Process, Management, Image/reputation and Social (ROPMIS) modelling.

Findings

The findings indicated that the overall PSQ rating was currently between “satisfactory” and “very satisfactory” levels. However, the study also found that by empowering resources, outcomes, processes, management, image and social responsibility aspects, the port operators could provide a “high” quality of service, making their seaport operations more effective and efficient.

Practical implications

The study offers recommendations for improving port services in Oman, including investment in modern seaports, upgrading infrastructure and facilities, ensuring safety and efficiency of cargo operations, meeting and exceeding customer expectations, adopting new technology and automation, hiring policies that attract diverse talents, implementing environmentally friendly practices and improving governance. Overall, this study contributes to the literature and managerial practices in PSQ aspects and its contribution to the SOLS 2040 in Oman.

Originality/value

The originality and novelty of this study lie in its comprehensive assessment of the service quality of Oman's ports and the identification of areas for improvement to achieve outstanding service levels.

Details

Maritime Business Review, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2397-3757

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 15 December 2017

Chin-Shan Lu, Hsiang-Kai Weng and Chih-Wen Lee

Container terminal operation is one of the most risky industries. Many of the accidents that occurred were found to be caused by human errors. However, it seems relatively little…

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Abstract

Purpose

Container terminal operation is one of the most risky industries. Many of the accidents that occurred were found to be caused by human errors. However, it seems relatively little research has been conducted to examine the influence of leader-member exchange (LMX) relationship on employee safety behavior. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the effects of leader-member exchange and safety climate on employees’ safety organizational citizenship behaviors (SOCB) in the container terminal context based on the social exchange theory.

Design/methodology/approach

A structural equation modeling was used with confirmatory factor analysis, and survey data are collected from 265 employees in major container terminals in Taiwan.

Findings

Results indicated that LMX is positively associated with safety climate, whereas safety climate positively influences employees’ safety citizenship behavior. Specifically, results indicated that safety climate mediates the effect of LMX on employees’ SOCB.

Research limitations/implications

This study was limited to LMX dimensions adapted from the studies of Li and Liao (2014) and Vidyarthiv et al. (2014). Future research could examine the linkages between LMX, ethical climate, safety performance and supervisor leadership influence. Furthermore, this research focused specifically on employees from the container terminal operators in Taiwan. It would be valuable to collect data from employees from other countries to obtain a balanced view of the relationship between LMX, team-member exchange (TMX), safety climate and employee SOCB in container terminal operations.

Practical implications

This research provides a useful implication for container terminal operators to enhance LMX qualities and employee safety behavior through organizational participation, employee-helping behaviors and informing workers to obey safety rule and regulation.

Originality/value

Given the prevalence of accidents and unsafe behavior in container terminal operations, this research sought to examine the relationships among LMX, safety climate and employee SOCB in the container terminal context. Theoretically, this study highlights the importance of LMX and safety climate in explaining the SOCB of employees.

Details

Maritime Business Review, vol. 2 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2397-3757

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 5000