Minimising emergency response time of ambulances through pre-positioning in Dhaka city,Bangladesh

This study conducted a large-scale survey in Dhaka, Bangladesh; the survey involved 95 major hospitals, more than 3000 emergency room patients, and 2 of the largest ambulance operators. Currently, most ambulances are parked within the vicinity of hospitals and are either dispatched or fetched by the acquaintances of the patient on demand, resulting in lengthy round trips. Reducing the response time of ambulances would certainly improve the emergency service, and pre-positioning of the ambulances could be a solution to reducing the response time. This study used two approaches to address the problem. First, the location-allocation problem was solved to find the optimal number of ambulance locations by maximising the demand coverage. Second, separate location-allocation for the peak and off-peaks, using K-means clustering, was applied to systematically optimise the ambulance positioning in small clusters near demand points. These approaches could substantially improve the existing emergency response time. Distributing ambulances near demand points yielded greater improvements in response time than when the ambulances are stationed near hospitals.     

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RETENTION RATIO IN A KALECKIAN MODEL WITH DEBT ACCUMULATION

By using a Kaleckian model with debt accumulation, Hein (2007; Metroeconomica, 56 (2), pp. 310–39) found that the long‐run equilibrium value of the debt–capital ratio is positive and stable only if interest rates are extremely high and if the short‐run equilibrium exhibits the ‘debt‐led’ growth regime. However, this conclusion crucially depends on the assumption that the retention ratio of firms is equal to unity. By relaxing this assumption, we show that there exists a positive and stable long‐run equilibrium even under the ‘debt‐burdened’ regime without any constraint on the nominal interest rate.     

Low cost airport terminal locations and configurations

The growth in the demand for low-cost airlines has coincided with the growth in the airport industry. One attempt by airports to attract such carriers has been to construct dedicated terminals called low-cost terminals. The ability of these to accommodate fast aircraft-operation time in airfields is heavily influenced by its configuration and location in the airport. Here we evaluate the location and configuration of the dedicated terminal by considering the aircraft taxiing distance and passenger walking distance. Result show a single pier to be preferable configuration for a low-cost terminal. Time and cost efficiency seem to be driven largely by the location of the terminal, rather than its configuration.     

International Competition and Distributive Class Conflict in an Open Economy Kaleckian Model

This paper constructs an open economy Kaleckian model in which international competition affects the bargaining process between firms and workers, and investigates the effects of such bargaining on the macroeconomy. We show that the effects of a change in the bargaining power on aggregate demand depends not only on the demand regimes but also on which agents bears more of the burden arising from the international price competition. Moreover, if the real exchange rate has a small impact on the trade balance, the economy is stable, whereas if it has a larger impact on the trade balance, the economy is unstable.     

Partial Communication in a Voluntary‐Contribution‐Mechanism Experiment

This paper presents results of a voluntary‐contribution‐mechanism experiment with partial communication. It was found that the trend of mean investments depended on whether a communication network was connected and on how fast all subjects could share information. When each subject could communicate with two other subjects and the network was connected, the mean investment increased from 33 percent to 58 percent of the optimal investment. On the other hand, when each subject could communicate with only one other subject and the network was not connected, the mean investment decreased from 34 percent to 19 percent of the optimal investment.     

日本物流探求的六个适用性

经济需求是现代物流产生和发展的前提,现代物流是随着经济的发展而产生和发展的.日本物流现代化水平的提高以及现代物流的全面发展,取决于日本物流发展六个方面的适用性及其平衡发展.这些适用性主要指地区适用性、环境适用性、国际适用性、战略适用性、管理适用性、理论适用性,可分为与国家层面紧密联系的社会经济问题以及与企业层面密切相关的管理问题两类,两者以一种交错复杂的形态存在,存在相互联系或相互对立的关系.     

Estimation of the occurrence of “short-shipping” of air cargo

Many airlines use the main deck of aircraft to carry passengers and belly capacity to accommodate cargo and baggage. When problems regarding the weight and balance requirements of the aircraft arise, the cargo is the first to be considered for unloading: a practice is known as “short-shipping”. This paper develops a simulation model for estimating the probability of occurrence of short-shipping. Risk analysis is used to estimate the uncertainty of several factors such as the weight of passengers, baggage, and fuel.     

Inter-regional and inter-temporal analysis of travel behaviour for Asian metropolitan cities: Case studies of Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and Nagoya

The unprecedented demand for travel experienced in Asia, in conjunction with the economic development of the1980s, has resulted in a number of detrimental effects on urban systems. Economic development has certainly intensified per capita income enhancing personal mobility. In Asia, private vehicle ownership and usage have continued to be recognised as an obligatory element of travel for many. Undoubtedly there is a direct relationship between vehicle ownership and public transport usage. Inter-regional and inter-temporal investigations of travel behaviour in Asian cities are therefore necessary to develop an understanding of the future transportation system including suitability and the role of public transport. Since travel data are scarce in Asian countries, inter-regional or inter-temporal travel behaviour investigations do not exist to date. Several travel demand models are developed using discrete choice modelling techniques and Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and Nagoya as case studies. Estimation results of the mode choice models are successfully incorporated to compare travel behaviour trends in selected cities in Asia. The developed models are tested for spatial and temporal transferability.