Mobility effects of b2c and c2c e-commerce in the Netherlands: a quantitative assessment

For more than a decade researchers have been interested in the implications of e-commerce for personal travel and freight transport. So far it is mostly the mobility effects of business-to-consumer (b2c) e-commerce that have been studied. However, consumer-to-consumer (c2c) e-commerce is becoming popular and may have important implications for mobility as well. Moreover, most studies conducted thus far have looked at the consequences of b2c e-commerce for either personal or freight travel, but not for both.This paper takes a more comprehensive approach. Using a nationwide sample of 3000 Dutch e-shoppers we calculated the potential impacts of both types of e-commerce on personal and freight travel. The results indicated that personal travel in the Netherlands has only marginally decreased as a result of e-shopping, while freight transport has slightly increased. The outcomes showed a net mobility effect, as the reduction in personal travel was not fully compensated by the increase in freight transport. However, this mobility reduction was fully attributed to b2c e-commerce, as c2c e-commerce led to an increase in both personal travel and freight transport.     

Code-sharing Agreements and Interconnections in Markets for International Flights

The paper investigates the consequences of code‐sharing agreements among airline firms competing on international routes, where some passengers interconnect to flights originating or terminating at cities not served by foreign airlines. The authors calculate the precise market share captured by flights operated under code sharing. They compare airfares, market shares, profits, and passengers’ welfare before and after the implementation of a code‐sharing agreement and demonstrate that code sharing is Pareto‐improving.     

中国如何成为全球巨头？

外界一直难于理解推动中国发展的经济引擎。事实上,在这种发展表象下隐藏着鲜明的亚洲式矛盾哲学有这样两个难以忽略的数据影响着关于中国经济崛起的各种观点:一个是中国目前的劳动力成本优势,它比美国、欧洲、日本和韩国等国家和地区的跨国公司成本低95％;另外一个是:中国被预测将在30年内成为全球最大的经济体。中国政府非常明确经济要发展的方向。目前,中国有16家企业进入世界500强,并力争在2010     

E-tail versus retail: The effects on shopping related travel empirical evidence from Israel

E-commerce, like many other information technology (IT)-based activities, also offers the potential substitution of telecommunications for travel, resulting in a trade-off between virtual and physical travel. The aim of this paper is to explore whether and how the increasing opportunities for purchasing and information gathering offered by information technologies affect shopping-related travel. The paper will attempt to explore the question of substitution by modelling output of consumer decisions on mode of purchase. Then, this will be combined with clustering the population according to their affinity to IT and finally by identifying the differences in the socio-economic attributes of the different clusters.     

Similarities and Differences in the Academic Education of Software Engineering and Architectural Design Professionals

This article focuses on the similarities and differences in the academic education of software engineers and architects. The rationale for this work stems from our observation, each from the perspective of her or his own discipline, that these two professional design and development processes share some similarities. A pilot study was performed, in which 24 practitioners (12 software engineers and 12 architects) were interviewed concerning the main characteristics of the two professions. The characteristics were classified according to four categories: discipline-related characteristics, professional skills, characteristics of typical problems and processes, and characteristics of a typical product. Data analysis indicates that according to the practitioners, while the professional skills required of professionals in the two disciplines are mostly common, the difference between the two disciplines is reflected most significantly in the features of the product created in the two professional processes. Based on this observation, some conclusions are outlined with respect to the academic education in the two fields.     

Frequent probabilistic punishment in law enforcement

Timing and frequency of punishment are critical elements in law enforcement. Previous studies suggest the superiority of immediate punishment schemes over delayed punishment, as well as the importance of frequent punishment. Yet law enforcement schemes which utilize both frequent and immediate punishment are often cost prohibitive. In this work, we propose the “bad lottery immediate punishment” as an effective substitute to immediate punishment. This is a punishment mechanism that signals immediately to an offender that his violation has been spotted, but the actual penalty is delayed and probabilistic. We discuss implications in law enforcement, where probabilistic punishment is potentially more cost effective. Received: May 2000 / Acccepted: December 2000     

Key research themes on ICT and sustainable urban mobility

Abstract

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are hypothesized to replace or change the use of the transport system by facilitating new or different activities. This article offers a review of more than 40 years of research regarding the relationship between ICTs and urban mobility. We discuss the expectations for the changes in travel demand, travel patterns, and the urban form as a result of the development and introduction of ICTs. Much of the interest in the relationships between ICTs and mobility is premised on the expectation of substitution effects, but empirical findings often suggest more complex effects than direct substitution. Although research on single types of travel activity may sometimes indicate simple substitution effects, examination of the broader impacts may also reveal travel generation effects as well. As such, ICTs do not simply substitute mobility patterns but change them. A growing body of research focuses on changing mobility patterns (in terms of time and space), changes in the experience of travel and changes in the perceptions of travel costs due to the interaction between old and new technologies for overcoming distance. ICTs are gradually becoming embedded within the transport system, enabling flexibility, multitasking, and an increase in human activities.