Dispatching and routing of emergency vehicles in disaster mitigation using data fusion

The aim of this paper is to develop a robust methodology for the dispatching and routing of emergency vehicles (EVs) in a post-disaster environment with the support of data fusion. In this work, we consider an earthquake scenario with a large number of casualties needing medical attention. Given an influx of information (regarding casualties, road, traffic conditions, etc.), data are fused to provide estimates of the entities under consideration. We use this information to dispatch and route EVs to casualty pickup locations, followed by delivery to appropriate hospitals. Key factors here include patient priorities, clustering criteria, and distance. Similarly, factors affecting the dispatching of EVs from patient locations to hospitals include waiting time at hospital emergency rooms, hospital capacity, and distance. Routes must be generated for EVs by accounting for real-world road networks, existing road damage, congestion, and related issues. We develop a dispatching and routing simulation model, and utilize a case study to evaluate the performance of our proposed methodology.     

基于感知与响应的柔性军事供应链理论基础——美军最新供应链理论解读之二

介绍了基于感知与响应的柔性军事供应链所依赖的理论基础,包括网络中心战、客户导向理论、复杂适应系统理论、价值链理论。指出基于感知与响应的柔性军事供应链既有坚实的理论基础,又适应了现代信息化战争的要求,是目前和未来世界各国军事后勤建设追求的重要目标之一。     

Long‐term economic consequences of corporate environmental responsibility: Evidence from heavily polluting listed companies in China

In this study, we aim to investigate the long‐term economic consequences of corporate environmental responsibility (CER) by companies from the perspective of earnings persistence and investors' response. Based on firm‐level data of 1,010 heavily polluting listed companies in China, the empirical results are as follows. First, the CER of China's heavily polluting listed companies has significantly improved their earnings persistence, that is, earnings quality. Second, the positive long‐term economic effect of CER has been achieved through two paths: improving companies' operational efficiency and reducing their credit costs. Third, CER increases investors' response to heavily polluting companies' accounting earnings. Moreover, state‐owned listed companies achieve more significant positive long‐term economic effects from CER than others. The results suggest that heavily polluting companies should correctly identify the long‐term value of CER rather than pay excessive attention to the impact of CER on their current costs and benefits.     

Evaluation of new first response initiatives in emergency services

By training and equipping human resources from other public service sectors than emergency response, to act as first responders, it is possible to reduce the first response times at a low cost. Before launching such an initiative, it is however important to evaluate the potential benefits. In this work, a method for doing this kind of evaluation is developed and applied to a potential initiative, utilizing fire service day personnel as new first responders. By developing a smartphone application and performing an experiment, sending alerts to potential first responders, and combining this with expert reviews of the possible value of their contribution, it is possible to estimate the response time reductions, as well as the monetary benefits of the initiative. The results show that there is a monetary benefit, even with a low number of new first responders, but that it is highly dependent on how quickly they can start travelling towards the emergency site.     

探究校车网络舆情的政府应急机制建设

近年来重特大校车事故频发,校车网络舆情展现出爆炸性、指向性、互动性、传染性、周期性等特点,对政府的校车安全管理提出了严峻挑战。如果校车网络舆情得不到妥善处理,极可能诱发网民的不满情绪及不测行为的发生,进而破坏和谐的社会生活,影响社会的稳定。对此,政府有必要建立一套相应的网络舆情应急机制,包括网络舆情监测机制、网络舆情预警机制和网络舆情应对机制。     

基于SVAR模型的法定存款准备金率对宏观经济各变量的影响分析

准备金率是央行近年来使用频率最高的货币政策工具,它直接影响货币供应量,间接影响价格水平、利率以及股市。文章通过自回归模型（SVAR）、脉冲响应函数以及方差分解技术考察准备金率对宏观经济变量的影响,结果显示：存款准备金率的变动对三个变量的影响是不同的,其中对M1影响最大,对CPI影响较小,对于股市影响也较小且比较短暂。     

Ambulance response time in a Brazilian emergency medical service

Research efforts on ambulance response times for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) calls have been made for decades, especially in developed countries, using different techniques and with varying objectives. In Brazil, a developing country, the scarce scientific production on this vital indicator prioritizes scenarios for EMS in cities with more than one million inhabitants. This shows the importance of extending research to the reality of small and medium-sized cities. This paper presents SAMU, the Brazilian EMS that follows the Franco-German emergency medicine model, compiling numbers related to service at the national level. The use of quantile regression allows the identification of the RT for the EMS and helps to explain the effects of factors at the system level, at the patient level, and specific factors on response time intervals of Southwest Paraná SAMU. This specific EMS, characterized as an inter-municipal consortium of prehospital services, is responsible for prehospital emergency care for an approximate population of 635,000 inhabitants in 42 small towns in the State of Paraná in southern Brazil. From the analysis of the records of 12,050 ambulance dispatches, it was possible to identify the average ambulance response time of 14 min and 25 s. The regression model was able to explain the influence of the independent variables at the system level (presumed severity of the emergency, ambulance dispatch time, and ambulance travel time), at the patient level (age, gender, and characteristic of the emergency) and specific variables of the emergency (day of the week and time of day) on the dependent variable response time over the quantiles, showing that the dispatch time, travel time, time of day, service to male patients and critical cases influence the ambulance response time. This work contributes to deepening the understanding of the management of EMS operations in a developing country, allows the comparison of the RT identified in relation to other countries, and identifies factors that impact the RT for other actors directly or indirectly involved. The practical implications are also presented, as well as how the study impacts the decision-making and management process of the EMS in the short, medium and long term.     

丹麦风电的未来

丹麦是世界风电行业的领跑者。介绍了丹麦大力发展风电的驱动力,描述了风电发展给电力行业以及人民生活带来的影响,阐述了风电的社会经济效益。详细论述了丹麦通过负荷经济调度、电力进出口以及上下调制电能产量从而实现了电力消费的20％来自于风能。为实现欧盟的“20—20-20”目标,电网基础设施建设、灵活的生产与消费以及智能电网方案将为可再生能源尤其是风电的发展提供坚强的平台。负荷经济调度在新的方案下是实现社会经济效益最大化的有效措施。     

Dual sourcing of a newsvendor with exponential utility of profit

Dual sourcing strategies supplement inflexible, low-cost country sourcing with quick response manufacturing. Due to short product life cycles, combined with uncertain demand, dual sourcing strategies are very common in several industries, in particular in the sporting goods or fashion industries.Even though scholars have given some attention to the analysis of dual sourcing strategies, the importance of the decision-maker’s risk preferences has not been covered yet.In this paper we analyse dual sourcing strategies using an extended single-product newsvendor model with two order points. Different risk preferences will be modelled using an exponential utility function. Within realistic parameter ranges, the optimal order quantities can only be numerically computed. The findings of this paper show that dual sourcing strategies are always preferable to an exclusive offshore approach, as long as the onshore ordering costs are smaller than the selling price of the considered product. The more risk-averse the decision-maker, the smaller the offshore order quantity will be.     

A contingent plan for disaster response

Natural and man-made disasters imply a great deal of uncertainty in terms of potential damage, though it is certain that there would be a huge spike in the demand for relief supplies causing shortages and/or delays in providing aid. Ruptures in the infrastructure (roads, utility, and communication lines) cause additional delays due to repairs. Therefore, the relief providers need to work in collaboration with retailers, and infrastructure service providers for improving responsiveness. The relief providers (government and non government) rely on acquiring and delivering supplies in real time because such actions accompany little risk of resource underutilization, though the cost of real time acquisitions can be high. In contrast, a proactive response, while minimizing acquisition cost, can be very ineffective if demand surges are high. We study a hybrid of reactive and proactive approaches, where the reactive response is contingent upon the disaster intensity exceeding a certain threshold. We show how the threshold value may impact capacity acquisitions and prices and establish the optimality of contingent response. Further, we establish how an infrastructure contract may help reducing the social cost of disaster.