The Internet of Things as an accelerator of advancement of broadband networks: A case of Thailand

The advanced development of broadband access is an inevitable step toward supportive daily lives and sustainable economic growth. However, the decisive outcome of the development relies heavily on the demand side. Consumer choice among advanced Internet broadband technologies will determine the achievement of the development. This study aims to illustrate that consumer decisions on choices of advanced Internet access are influenced by the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) applications. A bivariate probit model is applied to examine the effects of IoT, consumer's individual characteristics, and their current use of networks on their decision pertaining to the choice of advanced Internet access. Using Thailand as a case study, the result indicates that the emergence of IoT applications accelerates the adoption of both advanced mobile broadband (5G) and advanced fixed broadband (FTTH). This finding may help policy makers to optimize the future direction of the Internet infrastructure development in Thailand, and also countries in a similar stage.     

农户生态耕种行为及其影响因素研究——以江西省为例

[目的]为清晰识别影响农户生态耕种行为的主要因素,以期为加强耕地生态保护、保障农作物质量安全、提升农户耕种收益、实现农业现代化目标提供参考。[方法]基于江西省11市47县(区)1488份农户微观调查数据,在分析农户生态耕种特征基础上,运用二元Logistic和Probit模型对农户生态耕种行为影响因素开展实证研究。[结果]农户生态耕种10种具体行为的采纳情况差异明显,其中施用有机肥采纳程度最高,生态农业模式采纳程度最低。农户采纳生态耕种整体水平不高,但仍具备进一步推广的潜力。家庭劳动力比重、生态耕种成本认知、新型农业经营主体、法律法规认知、生态耕种收益认知、生计分化和生态环境认知等解释变量是影响农户生态耕种行为的主要内部因素,政府补贴、农田基础设施、生产交流程度、耕地质量变化和生态耕种信息获取难度等则是主要的外部影响因素。[结论]政府及基层管理部门应在推动农户非农就业生计、大力培育新型农业经营主体、加强生态耕种宣传与推广、完善政策扶持与管控机制等方面制定针对性的政策措施。     

叶尔羌河平原绿洲土地生态安全预警演变与时空格局分析

[目的]探索叶尔羌河平原绿洲土地生态安全预警问题及其时空格局变化,旨在为叶尔羌河平原绿洲土地生态安全及可持续利用提供科学的参考依据。[方法]文章运用PSR模型构建预警指标体系,采用熵值法测算各指标权重,对2000—2016年叶尔羌河平原绿洲土地生态安全警情格局进行综合分析,并利用GIS技术分析其2000年、2005年、2010年和2016年土地生态安全空间格局变化,最后运用障碍度模型探索其障碍因子。[结果](1)2000—2016年叶尔羌河平原绿洲土地生态安全综合预警指数总体呈上升态势,生态预警状态由"较不安全"转为"临界安全",警度亦由"重警"变为"中警"。(2)从空间格局来看,空间上各县域土地生态安全水平差异明显,研究初期西部地区土地生态安全状态优于东部地区, 2016年呈现出中部高、东北—西南部低的态势。(3)近17年叶尔羌河平原绿洲各县域土地生态环境状况有所改善,安全状态经历了"极不安全—临界安全—较安全"的发展历程。(4)影响土地生态安全的主要障碍因子包括单位面积耕地农药负荷、人口密度、单位面积耕地化肥负荷、土地垦殖率、人口自然增长率和单位面积耕地地膜负荷等。[结论]研究期间叶尔羌河平原绿洲土地生态安全得到明显的提升与改善,并在良好的方向发展。     

Virtual interlining within the European airport network: An airfare analysis

Virtual interlining, which covers the actively marketed or ‘non-hidden’ segment of all potential self-connecting flight itineraries, is often assumed to be a money-saving travel strategy. In this paper we assess the price difference between virtual interlined and ‘traditional’ flight itineraries within the intra-European airport network. We query Kiwi.com's recently developed Tequila platform, one of the few specialised online travel agencies (OTAs) offering both ‘traditional’ and virtual interlined flight itineraries, to obtain information on all available flights in the first week of August, October and December 2019. Using a series of sign tests, we investigate whether a statistically significant fare difference exists between the cheapest available (direct and/or indirect) ‘traditional’ and virtual interlined flight itineraries. Our results indicate a statistically significant fare difference between the cheapest indirect ‘traditional’ and the virtual interlined flight itineraries in favour of the latter. However, with regard to direct traditional flight itineraries the results are mixed. We explore the size and the scope of these patterns in more detail, and outline possible avenues for further research.     

A Novel Compact Cat Swarm Optimization Based on Differential Method

ABSTRACT

A compact cat swarm optimization scheme (cCSO) is proposed in this paper, which is designed to solve application domains plagued with limited memory and less-computation power, as a member of cat swarm optimization algorithms (CSO), it composes of two sub-modes, i.e., tracing and seeking modes, so it keeps the same search logic of CSO. On the other hand, cCSO inherits the main feature of compact algorithms, a normal probabilistic model is used to represent the population of solutions instead of processing an actual population, which ensures the cCSO to have the modest memory requirement. The updating vector for the probabilistic model provides a clear moving direction for cats in next step. A cat without historical position and velocity is applied in the algorithm. When the cat is in seeking mode, it employs a differential operator to update the cat’s position, which makes it possible for the cat to have multiple searching directions. Experimental results show that cCSO has pretty performance compared with respect to some population-based testing benchmarks. And it also shows superior performance in convergence rate to some compact optimization algorithms. The case study of gray image segmentation proves that it suits for solving the optimization problem by limited hardware.     

Robust scheduling for large scale evacuation planning

It is crucial to develop appropriate strategies to reduce the evacuation time in a disaster situation. The negative impact of large scale disasters can be mitigated by proactive and efficient (time optimal) evacuation planning. The present study aims to develop strategies for public transit-based evacuation for better control and reduced congestion. Mathematical models are formulated for both strategic and operational aspects of evacuation planning to result in efficient, optimal evacuation. The study also presents methods to manage the external environment uncertainties, in particular, evacuation demand uncertainty, by providing robust solutions. To test the efficacy of the models, a case study for a radiological accident in a nuclear plant in India is presented. The results of the case study demonstrate that the models can provide live, efficient and robust results during actual emergencies in acceptable time.     

Enhanced network effects and stochastic modelling in generation expansion planning: Insights from an insular power system

Electricity generation capacity expansion is driven by both economic and socio-political realities. Policy makers determine public infrastructural decisions, such as climate and renewable targets, and transmission infrastructure, and the optimal generation capacity expansion follows. Policy makers therefore require planning models that can determine the optimal generation capacity mix in the long run under various scenarios, including policy choices. This work presents a planning model based on linearised alternating current optimal power flow which determines optimal generation capacity expansion and operation, in a least-cost manner, given global and local technical constraints, as well as policy decisions. We apply the model to a test case of the island of Ireland, which has two weakly interconnected systems, high renewable generation targets and low storage and interconnection. We determine the optimal generation expansion and operation out to 2030 considering the effects of increased multi-area interconnection, existing fossil fuel generation phase-out and increased renewable generation targets and carbon prices. Our results find that costs and emissions are driven primarily by the decommissioning of old inefficient generation units. High renewable targets, on the other hand, render increased carbon prices relatively ineffective in reducing system emissions. Furthermore, high renewable generation targets crowd out low-carbon power generation options such as carbon capture and storage (CCS). The strategic north-south interconnection has little effect on renewable energy source installations required to achieve renewable power generation targets but does impact on security of supply and the congestion level across the island.     

基于双层规划模型的冷链物流网络多目标优化

针对冷链物流时效性强这一特性,应用软时间窗反映客户满意度,并结合T.T.T理论换算货损成本。在考虑满足客户时间窗的条件下,寻找配送中心建设及操作成本、车辆成本、惩罚成本及货损成本所构成的总成本最小时的最优配送方案,建立冷链物流配送选址及路径优化的双层规划模型,并将改进的遗传算法运用到该模型中,借助Matlab软件对具体实例进行求解,得到最优结果,为冷链物流网络多目标优化问题提供理论依据。     

供应链视角下餐饮O2O模式的配送路径优化

O2O最后一公里配送往往需要综合考虑时间和成本的关系,研究平台对订单的分配和路径优化对提升O2O供应链的整体效率和产业链升级具有十分重要的意义。从餐饮商家和O2O平台两个主要参与者出发对物流配送系统进行研究,提出了适合于O2O餐饮供应链的配送网络,并考虑道路阻塞、最大里程数等约束,搭建了上层模型最短时间、下层模型最低成本的双层规划模型,进而通过NSGA-Ⅱ算法求得可行解,最后验证了算法的可行性,为进一步研究O2O配送提供了新的解决思路。     

石油海运领域运筹优化方法应用研究综述

为研究运筹方法在石油海运领域的应用及前景,检索1980年至今的国内外相关文献,系统归纳提出石油海上运输优化问题的场景分类:海上运输优化、在港作业调度优化以及油船驳运,分析并对比了各研究的模型差异及算法优劣,最后提出了全局优化调度、根据实际添加特殊约束和设置变量、利用规划约束及人工智能等方式弥补线性规划求解的不足等研究建议。