The Last Mile: Managing Driver Helper Dispatching for Package Delivery Services

Hiring seasonal driver helpers is one widely used approach by parcel delivery companies to deal with increased home-delivery volumes during peak seasons. Nonetheless, driver helper-related issues have not received much attention in academic research. This study investigates how driver helpers can be utilized in the most effective way by parcel delivery companies. We show that by separating a parcel delivery route into two sub-routes, namely “no-helper” and “with-helper” routes, the utilization rates of driver helpers can be improved, and the carrier cost be reduced considerably. Three main contributions of this study are as follows. First, based on costtrade-off insights, we develop a new mathematical model for the last-mile distribution problem, which we call the Driver Helper Dispatching Problem. Second, using this mathematical model, we perform a series of numerical experiments to identify the conditions under which the proposed “split-route solution” works most or least effectively. Finally, we perform sensitivity analyses to investigate the impact that changes in model parameters, such as fuel cost, would have on study results.     

Transitional economy tourism: German travel consumers' perceptions of Lithuania

This paper examines the current status of tourism in Lithuania as well as potential German tourists' perceptions of Lithuania as a tourist destination. As tourism is an important source of foreign exchange and provides jobs for a large number of people, the Lithuanian Government is quite interested in increasing the number of tourists visiting the country. Data gathered at the International Tourism Exchange in Berlin was analysed and recommendations made concerning marketing techniques that could be used to increase tourism from the European Union and other western countries. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley &Sons, Ltd.     

Characteristics and risk factors for accident injury in Canada from 1986 to 1996: an analysis of the Canadian Accident Injury Reporting and Evaluation (CAIRE) database

This study analyzed the database of Canadian Accident Injury Reporting and Evaluation (CAIRE) for the injuries reported from January 1986 to March 1996 in seven provinces at children's or general hospitals in Canada. In order to describe the characteristics of injuries, we compared the different categories of injuries by sex and by age groups, identified patterns of injuries, and detected the products causing injury to Canadian people. The results showed that there were 130,489 injury cases in Canada during the 10 years from 1986 to 1996. The 10–19 year age group had 57,582 cases, representing 44.13% of total injuries, and making it the group with the highest occurrence of injuries. The male injury rate (69.75%) was significantly higher than the female rate (30.25%) (P = 0.0001). Six areas were identified as priorities for intervention: 1) injuries occurring on playgrounds among children and youth; 2) sports and playground apparatus injuries and injuries sustained in transit among young people; 3) the top five causes of injuries; 4) diagnosis and treatment of injuries; 5) consumer products and safety; and 6) nature and physical sites of injuries. Further work is needed in: evaluating injury causes, comparing the results with reports from other countries and the necessary approaches and prevention measures to reduce and control injury occurrences to improve the quality of consumer products, and to protect the health of the population in Canada.     

Short note for paper published in Issue 2, Volume 9: ‘Characteristics and risk factors for accidental injury in Canada 1986-1996 …’

This paper addresses two observational studies, of the use of a blender and a chip pan, and a study of the accident statistics regarding these two types of products. The aim is to understand risk in product use and the process of risk perception as displayed by product users. Consideration is given to the way information from both observational studies and accident statistics can support design in order to improve the safety of product users.