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1 – 10 of over 1000Hoang Thai Pham and Hyangsook Lee
A boom in e-commerce in Korea has sparked off high daily-volume demand for small-sized home delivery services, which poses a great challenge to distribution networks, especially…
Abstract
A boom in e-commerce in Korea has sparked off high daily-volume demand for small-sized home delivery services, which poses a great challenge to distribution networks, especially in urban areas where traffic congestion, accessibility, and pollution are serious problems. In addition, security issues for people who live in small townhouses and detached houses without security systems and guards have received increasing attention from the government and society. Thus, the introduction of a new alternative for home delivery services, unmanned parcel lockers, is urgent for residents living in these areas. This paper examines and compares potential socio-economic impacts in terms of costs and benefits when such lockers are installed at selected locations in residential areas. The results show that this policy is worthy of adoption, with several undeniable benefits to local communities. In addition, sensitivity analyses estimate the economic performance of this project at different social discount rates, and they check the sensitivity of economic performance based on variations in the variables. The value of travel time savings was identified as a critical and dominating factor directly affecting economic performance.
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Alvin Holliman and Kimberly Collins
Companies affected by California’s cap-and-trade legislation are allotted certain credits for production that can be used or sold and can purchase additional credits from the…
Abstract
Purpose
Companies affected by California’s cap-and-trade legislation are allotted certain credits for production that can be used or sold and can purchase additional credits from the state, which become a revenue source to be used for activities that reduce carbon emissions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate who ultimately pays for this program, its effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions in accordance with established goals, and the related effectiveness to advance social, economic, and environmental equity.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology used for this research is secondary data analysis, triangulating three sources: California’s Climate Change Investment Reports, 2019-2021; repositories maintained by the California High-Speed Rail Authority and the California Air Resources Board; and a review of the literature and websites from other professional sources which addressed, directly and indirectly, the topics and questions explored in the study.
Findings
Key findings include evidence of enhancing social and environmental equity but ineffectiveness in reducing carbon emissions in accordance with state goals. Furthermore, the program displays evidence of economic inequity as it demonstrates characteristics of regressive taxation and an inability of low-income persons to acquire electric vehicles due to high costs.
Originality/value
The research effort is unique in that no other academic efforts were located which attempt to examine the cap-and-trade program’s effectiveness in attaining its goals.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the adverse incentives at the front end of government-funded projects with concentrated benefits and no liabilities for the privileged…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the adverse incentives at the front end of government-funded projects with concentrated benefits and no liabilities for the privileged groups. In particular, the author discusses the risk of perverse incentives of the types typically found in the development aid sector that results in counterproductive outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a simple conceptual framework based on agency theory. A qualitative, case-based approach with purposive sampling was chosen for the empirical part of the study. Eight Norwegian projects were selected because incentive problems were to be expected, and one development aid project served as a reference case.
Findings
The paper finds that low strategic project success corresponded well with the terms of financing. There were clear indications of agency problems, in three cases to the extent that the incentives turned perverse. The paper concludes with a discussion of relevant measures to prevent the emergence of perverse incentives.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to an improved understanding of the incentives related to public project initiation and selection, which is an under-researched topic and generally not included in formal project governance schemes. The research should therefore be useful to scholars as well as practitioners within the field of project governance.
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Maryam R. Nezami, Mark L.C. de Bruijne, Marcel J.C.M. Hertogh and Hans L.M. Bakker
Societies depend on interconnected infrastructures that are becoming more complex over the years. Multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills are essential to develop modern…
Abstract
Purpose
Societies depend on interconnected infrastructures that are becoming more complex over the years. Multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills are essential to develop modern infrastructures, requiring close collaboration of various infrastructure owners. To effectively manage and improve inter-organizational collaboration (IOC) in infrastructure construction projects, collaboration status should be assessed continually. This study identifies the assessment criteria, forming the foundation of a tool for assessing the status of IOC in interconnected infrastructure projects.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature study and in-depth semi-structured interviews with practitioners in interconnected infrastructure construction projects in the Netherlands are performed to identify the criteria for assessing the status of IOC in infrastructure construction projects, based on which an assessment tool is developed.
Findings
The identified assessment criteria through the literature and the practitioner’s perspectives results in the designing and development of a collaboration assessment tool. The assessment tool consists of 12 criteria and 36 sub-criteria from three different categories of collaborative capacity: individual, relational, and organizational.
Originality/value
The assessment tool enables practitioners to monitor the status of IOC between infrastructure owners and assists them in making informed decisions to enhance collaboration. The assessment tool provides the opportunity to assess and analyze the status of collaboration based on three categories (i.e., individual, relational, and organizational).
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Travis Fried, Anne Victoria Goodchild, Ivan Sanchez-Diaz and Michael Browne
Despite large bodies of research related to the impacts of e-commerce on last-mile logistics and sustainability, there has been limited effort to evaluate urban freight using an…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite large bodies of research related to the impacts of e-commerce on last-mile logistics and sustainability, there has been limited effort to evaluate urban freight using an equity lens. Therefore, this study proposes a modeling framework that enables researchers and planners to estimate the baseline equity performance of a major e-commerce platform and evaluate equity impacts of possible urban freight management strategies. The study also analyzes the sensitivity of various operational decisions to mitigate bias in the analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
The model adapts empirical methodologies from activity-based modeling, transport equity evaluation, and residential freight trip generation (RFTG) to estimate person- and household-level delivery demand and cargo van traffic exposure in 41 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs).
Findings
Evaluating 12 measurements across varying population segments and spatial units, the study finds robust evidence for racial and socio-economic inequities in last-mile delivery for low-income and, especially, populations of color (POC). By the most conservative measurement, POC are exposed to roughly 35% more cargo van traffic than white populations on average, despite ordering less than half as many packages. The study explores the model’s utility by evaluating a simple scenario that finds marginal equity gains for urban freight management strategies that prioritize line-haul efficiency improvements over those improving intra-neighborhood circulations.
Originality/value
Presents a first effort in building a modeling framework for more equitable decision-making in last-mile delivery operations and broader city planning.
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Jun Liu, Asad Khattak, Lee Han and Quan Yuan
Individuals’ driving behavior data are becoming available widely through Global Positioning System devices and on-board diagnostic systems. The incoming data can be sampled at…
Abstract
Purpose
Individuals’ driving behavior data are becoming available widely through Global Positioning System devices and on-board diagnostic systems. The incoming data can be sampled at rates ranging from one Hertz (or even lower) to hundreds of Hertz. Failing to capture substantial changes in vehicle movements over time by “undersampling” can cause loss of information and misinterpretations of the data, but “oversampling” can waste storage and processing resources. The purpose of this study is to empirically explore how micro-driving decisions to maintain speed, accelerate or decelerate, can be best captured, without substantial loss of information.
Design/methodology/approach
This study creates a set of indicators to quantify the magnitude of information loss (MIL). Each indicator is calculated as a percentage to index the extent of information loss (EIL) in different situations. An overall information loss index named EIL is created to combine the MIL indicators. Data from a driving simulator study collected at 20 Hertz are analyzed (N = 718,481 data points from 35,924 s of driving tests). The study quantifies the relationship between information loss indicators and sampling rates.
Findings
The results show that marginally more information is lost as data are sampled down from 20 to 0.5 Hz, but the relationship is not linear. With four indicators of MILs, the overall EIL is 3.85 per cent for 1-Hz sampling rate driving behavior data. If sampling rates are higher than 2 Hz, all MILs are under 5 per cent for importation loss.
Originality/value
This study contributes by developing a framework for quantifying the relationship between sampling rates, and information loss and depending on the objective of their study, researchers can choose the appropriate sampling rate necessary to get the right amount of accuracy.
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Busan (Pusan), Korea’s second largest city (population 3.6 million) and fifth busiest port in the world, is experiencing rapidly increasing trade, global connections, events, and…
Abstract
Busan (Pusan), Korea’s second largest city (population 3.6 million) and fifth busiest port in the world, is experiencing rapidly increasing trade, global connections, events, and resulting infrastructural projects. What should Busan do to better handle the social, political, and economic complexities brought by these changes?
To answer this question, this paper explores the relationship of globalization and culture, as treated by cultural anthropology. It also considers how the tools of applied social science and anthropology can be mobilized to help Busan and the southeast region of Korea deal with these challenges.
After introducing anthropological treatments of culture, globalization and global problems, I discuss how applied social science/anthropology is used in international business/trade, tourism, and transport/logistics, especially the third area. To show how applied social science can help transportation and logistics projects in Busan and Korea, I present lessons from case studies and examples in Denver, Colorado Springs, Chuuk (Truk, South Pacific), and Korea.
Applied social science and applied anthropology present a wealth of helpful methods and insights to help Busan and Korea improve planning, public participation, political, social and environmental issues in transport and logistics projects, and to help prevent ethical and budgetary lapses. Finally, I offer suggestions for initial training programs and future studies to help expedite these goals.
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This article critically analyses the extent to which selected Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) transportation projects in the Caribbean subregion embrace good practices and how…
Abstract
Purpose
This article critically analyses the extent to which selected Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) transportation projects in the Caribbean subregion embrace good practices and how they benefit the public sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The article begins with the general rationale of PPPs, leading to a discussion on the specific challenges of the Caribbean subregion and an assessment of certain critical projects. The sample cases include the L F Wade International Airport in Bermuda, the cruise berthing and cargo port redevelopment project in the Cayman Islands, and the Sanger International Airport in Jamaica. There are five aspects to the critical assessment: (a) an evaluation of the type of PPP arrangement used; (b) the legal/policy framework; (c) financial implications; (d) accountability; and (e) miscellaneous data. Desk-based research is conducted as supported by both international and local sources to convey a uniquely local perspective in this under-researched area of scholarship.
Findings
PPP frameworks in the Caribbean are improving quickly but remain a work in progress. Jamaica leads the region. Bermuda trails behind. Problems of legal compliance with frameworks and limited market engagement persist, leading to risk management problems.
Originality/value
This article fills a literature gap on critical analysis of individual Caribbean PPP transportation projects. Previous reports, mostly by international organisations, cover regional or sectorial trends. Other sources take a descriptive but not critical approach.
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Hongmei Li, Junling Shi, Xiangdong Li, Junbo Zhang and Yunlong Chen
High-speed maglev technology can address the issues of adhesion, friction, vibration and high-speed current collection in traditional wheel-rail systems, making it an important…
Abstract
Purpose
High-speed maglev technology can address the issues of adhesion, friction, vibration and high-speed current collection in traditional wheel-rail systems, making it an important direction for the future development of high-speed rail technology.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper elaborates on the demand and significance of developing high-speed maglev technology worldwide and examines the current status and technological maturity of several major high-speed maglev systems globally.
Findings
This paper summarizes the challenges in the development of high-speed maglev railways in China. Based on this analysis, it puts forward considerations for future research on high-speed maglev railways.
Originality/value
This paper describes the development status and technical maturity of several major high-speed maglev systems in the world for the first time, summarizes the existing problems in the development of China's high-speed maglev railway and on this basis, puts forward the thinking of the next research of China's high-speed maglev railway.
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Fernando Vinícius da Rocha and Maria Sylvia Macchione Saes
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the impacts of the investment programs created by the Brazilian federal government on private investment in transportation infrastructure…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the impacts of the investment programs created by the Brazilian federal government on private investment in transportation infrastructure (crowding-in effect).
Design/methodology/approach
The study used two quantitative techniques of data analysis: cluster analysis and panel data analysis.
Findings
The results show that the investment programs created by the Brazilian federal government were successful in attracting private agents to invest in transportation infrastructure in the country. This effect is observed even in the cases of programs focused on public investments.
Research limitations/implications
Advancing the research area that seeks to assess the impact of public policies is the main practical and social implications of the papers. As a research limitation we can highlight that need for a comparison to other country investment’s public policies.
Practical implications
Performance of public policies.
Social implications
Economic development.
Originality/Value
The paper discusses the effects of the Brazilian Federal Government programs for infrastructure investment in the private investment in the country (investment in transportation infrastructure). The issue is relevant for policies makers.
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