Considering Pigeons for Carrying Delay Tolerant Networking based Internet traffic in Developing Countries

There are many regions in the developing world that suffer from poor infrastructure and lack of connection to the Internet and Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN). Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) is a technology that has been advocated for providing store-and-forward network connectivity in these regions over the past few years. DTN often relies on human mobility in one form or another to support transportation of DTN data. This presents a socio-technical problem related to organizing how the data should be transported. In some situations the demand for DTN traffic can exceed that which is possible to support with human mobility, so alternative mechanisms are needed. In this paper we propose using live carrier pigeons (columba livia) to transport DTN data. Carrier pigeons have been used for transporting packets of information for a long time, but have not yet been seriously considered for transporting DTN traffic. We provide arguements that this mode of DTN data transport provides promise, and should receive attention from research and development projects. We provide an overview of pigeon characteristics to analyze the feasibility of using them for data transport, and present simulations of a DTN network that utilizes pigeon transport in order to provide an initial investigation into expected performance characteristics

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE QUALITY OF INTRA-URBAN BUS SERVICES IN THE CITY OF ENUGU, ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

Despite the vital role that buses are able to play in any urban area, their services are frequently insufficient to meet demand and the services that are provided suffer from low output. This paper assesses the quality of intra-urban bus services that are provided by government agencies and private bus operators in the city of Enugu as perceived by bus commuters. In the 31 sample centers selected for this study 310 bus commuters were randomly interviewed to illicit information about their lengths of waiting time for the arrival of buses at the bus stops and their lengths of walking distances to the nearest bus stops. Using hourly bus frequency arrival count proforma, the number of buses arriving in each of the 31 sampled centres to carry passengers to different places in the city were collected by the stationed investigators between 6.00am and 6.00pm each day for one week. Descriptive statistic of mean and maps were employed to analyze the data collected. The analysis revealed that the quality of bus service indicators-passengers waiting time, walking distance to the nearest bus stops and bus service frequency varied from one centre to another, indicating variations in the level of bus services in different part of the city. The study recommends that the three Local Government Areas that make up the city in conjuction with the state government should construct new urban link roads and maintain the old ones especially in the peripheries to enhance accessibility; partnership with private bus operators to increase the number of buses in circulation and relocation of some socio-economic facilities from the city centre to the city peripheries to spread demand for and services of buses in the city.quality, bus service, transport.

Logistical constraints on international trade in the Maghreb

Without a competitive transport industry, the Maghreb countries will not truly benefit from reform aimed at increasing the region's share of international trade. A study of barriers to the region's trade, especially with countries of the European Union, identified more than 30 barriers, in four categories: barriers to imports, to exports, of infrastructure and equipment, and of intra-Maghreb trade. These include: 1) direct barriers including: (a) from traditional distortions (price, discriminatory access to markets); (b) nontariff barriers (administrative, regulatory and tax-related restrictions); (c) traffic agreements (protecting national flags); and (d) lack of infrastructure and equipment; and 2) indirect barriers deriving from: (a) trade harmonization (simplified customs procedures and tariffs structures, elimination of quotas, reduction of customs tariffs on transport equipment); and (b) technology lags (telecommunications and handling). The authors quantify barriers in terms of"tariff equivalents,"expressed as a nominal rate of protection based on the freeon board value of the merchandise. But the nominal rate of protection measures only the direct costs of distortions. The effective rate of protection measures both direct and indirect effects, and effective rates are generally twice as high as nominal rates. To reconcile macroeconomic and microeconomic approaches to measuring effective rates, the authors use a partial equilibrium model (SMART model) to estimate the impact on the balance of payments of eliminating excess costs. Most of the corrective policies they recommend concern multimodal transport in the trade between Europe and the Arab Maghreb Union. The challenges are considerable: not only does such a system pave the way for cost and time savings ("just-in-time"transport), but it also adopts the logistics management that the most advanced European enterprises use to orchestrate their raw material purchasing, production and marketing functions. A multimodal transport system allow them to reduce inventories significantly and to respond better to volatile demand. Essential for just-in-time multimodal transport and logistics management include efficient modern transport techniques, efficient communications systems, efficient modern merchandise handling, and appropriate regulations. These conditions are still not fully in place in the Maghreb countries, except partially in some parts of the clothing and textile industry.Economic Theory&Research,Transport and Trade Logistics,Common Carriers Industry,Environmental Economics&Policies,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Economic Theory&Research,Transport and Trade Logistics,Common Carriers Industry,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Environmental Economics&Policies