A technical solution for 3D crowdsourced cadastral surveys

The development of 3D property registration systems is indispensable for the spatial determination of property Rights, Restrictions and Responsibilities (RRR), the sustainable operation of property markets and the safeguarding of ownership in the highly urbanized world. Several developments in computer graphics, 3D modelling and rendering techniques have attracted the growing global interest in 3D cadastre. Since 2012, the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM ISO 19152) is adopted as the international standard for 2D and 3D cadastral data modelling. Developed legal procedures and prototype systems for 3D property rights registration provide interesting solutions for data acquisition and visualization but such approaches are time and cost demanding. In parallel, 2D cadastral surveying procedures have progressed significantly in reducing required time and cost, utilizing crowdsourcing methodology and mobile services.This paper presents a technical solution under development, aiming to provide the beginning for a new era in the initial acquisition, registration and representation of 3D crowdsourced cadastral data, appropriate for both the developed and the developing world. The proposed solution consists of two complementary parts, the technical framework and the crowdsourced methodology to be followed. The technical framework consists of two interconnected parts, the server-side and the client-side. The server-side refers to the Database Management System (DBMS) where the collected data are stored. The client-side refers to the data capturing tool, which in this case is the mobile device. For the server-side, a prototype system based on model driven architecture practices and LADM is developed; while for the client-side, an open-source mobile application for the acquisition of 3D crowdsourced cadastral data, 3D modelling and visualization of 3D property units as block models (LoD1) on a mobile’s phone screen in real-time, is developed.This research is focused on investigating technical aspects for capturing and integrating data about legal rights on physical objects. Detailed investigation of legal issues is not within the objectives of this research. Two case-studies for testing the proposed technical solution are made. An assessment of the current stage of development of the technical solution is presented. The main conclusions converge that the proposed technical solution has huge potentials for the fast, economic implementation of 3D cadastral surveys as it can produce an accurate and reliable 3D information model, depending on the accuracy of the available basemaps. The developed application is easy-to-use as users may not have the necessary level of 3D modelling skills in order to contribute to the registration procedure.     

Trade development between China and countries along the Belt and Road: A spatial econometric analysis based on trade competitiveness and complementarity

This paper empirically analyses the effect of trade competitiveness and complementarity on the trade development between China and the countries along the Belt and Road (B&R). The study first measures the trade competitiveness and the complementarity between China and the countries along the B&R by using the trade competitiveness coefficient (TCC) and the trade complementarity index (TCI). Then a spatial gravity model is constructed to analyse the effect of trade competitiveness and complementarity on trade development between China and the countries along the B&R. We use generalized method of moments (GMM) and spatial filtering technology to verify the robustness of the model. The results show that the GDP of China and the countries along the B&R, the land area of countries along the B&R, trade complementarity, common language, free trade agreements (FTA), and the B&R Initiative significantly promote the trade development between China and the countries along the B&R, whereas the geographical distance between countries and trade competitiveness significantly inhibit it. Finally, to promote the trade development between China and the countries along the B&R, the present paper puts forward suggestions including improving trade promotion policies between China and the countries along the B&R and vigorously expanding cooperation with complementary industries in the countries along the B&R to enhance trade dependence.     

A driving force for sustainable economic growth in China from the wave-like effects of technological diffusion

This paper analyses the influence of the spatial association of different provinces on technological diffusion and economic growth, using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2005 to 2016. The results show that firstly, there is a strong spatial correlation in economic growth between the provinces from Moran’s I index and Geary’s C index. Secondly, the decomposition of the direct and indirect effects in the spatial Durbin model reveals that foreign direct investment is a crucial factor for sustained economic growth. Last but not least, technological diffusion, exhibited in wave-like characteristics in China.     

Simultaneous borrowing of information across space and time for pricing insurance contracts: An application to rating crop insurance policies

Changing climate and technology can often lead to nonstationary losses across both time and space for a variety of insurance lines including property, catastrophe, health, and life. As a result, naive estimation of premium rates using past losses will tend to be biased. We present three successively flexible data‐driven methodologies to nonparametrically smooth across both space and time simultaneously, thereby appropriately incorporating possibly nonidentically distributed data into the rating process. We apply these methodologies in estimating U.S. crop insurance premium rates. Crop insurance, with global premiums totaling $4.1 trillion in 2018, is an interesting application as losses exhibit both temporal and spatial nonstationarity. We find significant borrowing of information across both time and space. We also find all three methodologies improve both the stability and accuracy of crop insurance premium rates. The proposed methods may be of relevance for other lines of insurance characterized by spatial and/or temporal nonstationary losses.     

What threatens retail employees' thriving at work under leader‐member exchange? The role of store spatial crowding and team negative affective tone

Thriving at work is a positive psychological state that captures employees' joint experience of learning and vitality. Building on the socially embedded model of thriving , we first propose the positive relationship between leader‐member exchange (LMX) and retail employees' thriving at work. We then explore store spatial crowding as a contextual constraint on this relationship. To better reveal this contextual impact, we further contend that team negative affective tone mediates the cross‐level moderating effect of store spatial crowding on the LMX–thriving linkage. Using two‐wave survey data collected from retail employees and their store managers across 89 stores of a grocery retail chain, we found empirical evidence on our multilevel‐mediated moderation model. This study highlights the importance of considering wider contextual features as boundary conditions to thriving. Our results suggest theoretical modifications to the existing thriving model and offer implications on the practical interventions that retailing organizations can take to develop a thriving workforce.     

Estimation and validation of hybrid choice models to identify the role of perception in the choice to cycle

Cycling is one of the most sustainable and ecofriendly modes of travel and a good form of exercise. Many government and public health authorities recommend cycling to stay fit as well as to reduce air and noise pollution, CO₂ emissions, traffic congestion, and other negative consequences of car use. In light of these benefits, a major challenge for researchers today is how to promote cycling. However, in countries where cycling is not common, apart from the need for proper cycling facilities, one major issue concerns people’s perception of cycling for sport or recreational activities rather than as a mode of transport. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of perception in the likelihood of the bike being used for utilitarian purposes. We focus on the perception of: the bicycle as a means of transport; bikeability (in terms of usefulness and safety) and of bike infrastructure. Hybrid Choice Models (HCMs) have been used to estimate the effect of people’s perception on the propensity to bike. The HCM also accounts for the serial correlation between error terms in the discrete and latent perceptions, to allow for agent-common unknown factors. Furthermore, we also validate the model results using a hold-out sample and discuss some policy measures aimed at changing travel behavior. The results suggest that, besides individual characteristics, latent aspects related to the perception of the context and of the bicycle as a means of transport strongly affect the propensity to cycle.     

Climate change implications for the catastrophe bonds market: An empirical analysis

Since their introduction in the mid-1990s, the return per unit of risk or multiple on catastrophe (cat) bonds has steadily declined. This paper investigates whether this pattern is consistent with the historical evolution of natural disaster risk, using average multiple figures over the period 1997–2017. Assessing the accuracy of cat bond pricing is important, since about 50% of outstanding risk capital in the cat bonds market is currently exposed to Atlantic hurricanes -a risk that global warming, among other disruptions, is found to enhance- and pension and mutual funds in European and other OECD countries currently own about 30% of the market. In this respect, while our findings suggest that falling multiples are primarily related to the Fed's expansionary monetary stance and to portfolio shift effects, we do also find evidence of significant undervaluation of global warming risk in the cat bonds market. This finding, also in light of the unfailing appetite of institutional investors for such securities, casts doubts over the sanity of the market and over cat bonds as suitable investment products for risk averse investors. Sounder investment opportunities might be found in the green bonds market, which allows for the funding of immediate investment in climate change mitigation too.     

城镇化与城乡收入差距——基于省域面板模型的分析

本文运用全国数据，考察城镇化与城乡收入差距的动态变化关系，发现1990～2014年城镇化与城乡收入差距之间呈倒U型变化，其拐点在2005年。根据1996～2013年省域面板数据特征，使用空间面板模型进行分阶段检验，结果表明，1996～2004年城镇化扩大了城乡收入差距，而在2005～2013年城镇化缩小了城乡收入差距。同样利用1996～2013年省域面板数据，估算每个省份城镇化对城乡收入差距的影响效果，结果显示，城镇化缩小城乡收入差距的地区一般为东部沿海省份。可见，城镇化是否产生缩小城乡收入差距的效应是有阶段性和地区差异性的。就目前及未来而言，可以把城镇化作为缩小城乡收入差距的一个手段。但其真正发挥这个作用，还依赖于有关政策的完善与创新。对经济发展阶段较滞后的地区而言，应积极促进城镇化缩小城乡收入差距效果的到来。     

Retail-center viability and urban form: a micro analysis

Location is commonly axiomatically stated as the most important real estate feature. However, little attention is given to the urban system that reveals how location is configured, and how that configuration sustains the viability of site-specific retailing activity in the metropolitan region. In this paper, we use block-level, GIS-aided spatial data that reveal the physical qualities of the retail center’s built environment as well as employment and business activity. Thereby, we examine a hypothesis that retailing viability is linked to urban form and set out to determine a statistical relationship. Retail sales data indicate the viability of businesses in two matched shopping centers, urban and suburban, each anchored by an identical big-box retailer downsized to a neighborhood supermarket, with pedestrian-friendly orientation and proximity to housing. The paper concludes with regression estimates of the urban form determinants of business viability by various distances from the retail center.