Increasing fuel prices and market distortion in a domestic road haulage market: the case of the UK

Differences in diesel fuel prices can significantly distort competition both between and within domestic road haulage markets. This is well illustrated by the case of the UK, where diesel fuel prices are by far the highest in the EU. The paper examines the effects of high and rising fuel prices on cabotage penetration in the UK road freight market and reviews a series of measures that have been proposed to ‘level the playing field’ between British and foreign hauliers. Within domestic haulage markets, carriers also vary in the extent to which they can recover fuel price increases from shippers. The paper reviews recent empirical evidence on this subject collected in the UK and outlines several methods of compensating hauliers for fuel price rises

Triton's surface age and impactor population revisited in light of Kuiper Belt fluxes: Evidence for small Kuiper Belt objects and recent geological activity

Neptune's largest satellite, Triton, is one of the most fascinating and enigmatic bodies in the solar system. Among its numerous interesting traits, Triton appears to have far fewer craters than would be expected if its surface was primordial. Here we combine the best available crater count data for Triton with improved estimates of impact rates by including the Kuiper Belt as a source of impactors. We find that the population of impactors creating the smallest observed craters on Triton must be sub-km in scale, and that this small-impactor population can be best fit by a differential power-law size index near -3. Such results provide interesting, indirect probes of the unseen small body population of the Kuiper Belt. Based on the modern, Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud impactor flux estimates, we also recalculate estimated ages for several regions of Triton's surface imaged by Voyager 2, and find that Triton was probably active on a time scale no greater than 0.1-0.3 Gyr ago (indicating Triton was still active after some 90% to 98% of the age of the solar system), and perhaps even more recently. The time-averaged volumetric resurfacing rate on Triton implied by these results, 0.01 km$^3$ yr$^{-1}$ or more, is likely second only to Io and Europa in the outer solar system, and is within an order of magnitude of estimates for Venus and for the Earth's intraplate zones. This finding indicates that Triton likely remains a highly geologically active world at present, some 4.5 Gyr after its formation. We briefly speculate on how such a situation might obtain.Comment: 14 pages (TeX), plus 2 postscript figures Stern & McKinnon, 2000, AJ, in pres

Technology Influences on Small Logistics Providers: a Case Study Analysis

ICT has triggered many changes in the logistics service industry. New technology is reshaping the organisation and structure of this industry as ICT impacts significantly on the operations of 3PLs. Within this process, while large 3PLs are gaining substantial benefits from technology usage, the nature of changes resulting from ICT usage in small 3PLs remains unclear. This is critical particularly for those markets populated by a high number of small 3PLs such as the Italian logistics industry. From the research point of view, there is still a gap in the literature where the role of technological capability in small 3PLs are seriously underestimated. This gives rise to the need to develop investigation in this area. This paper presents the preliminary results of a case study analysis on ICT usage in a sample of 7 small Italian 3PLs. The results highlight some of the barriers to effective ICT implementation, as well as some of the critical success factors

Technology adoption in small and medium-sized logistics providers

Purpose - The main aim of the research is to shed light on the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in the logistics innovation process of small and medium-sized third party logistics providers (3PLs). Design/methodology/approach - A triangulated research strategy was designed using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. The former involved the use of a questionnaire survey of small and medium-sized Italian 3PLs with 153 usable responses received. The latter comprised a series of focus groups and the use of seven case studies. Findings - There is a relatively low level of ICT expenditure with few companies adopting formal technology investment strategies. The findings highlight the strategic importance of supply chain integration for 3PLs with companies that have embarked on an expansion of their service portfolios showing a higher level of both ICT usage and information integration. Lack of technology skills in the workforce is a major constraint on ICT adoption. Given the proliferation of logistics-related ICT tools and applications in recent years it has been difficult for small and medium-sized 3PLs to select appropriate applications. Research limitations/implications - The paper provides practical guidelines to researchers in the effective use of mixed-methods research based on the concept of methodological triangulation. In particular, it shows how questionnaire surveys, focus groups and case study analysis can be used in combination to provide insights into multi-faceted supply chain phenomena. It also identifies several potentially fruitful avenues for future research in this specific field. Practical implications - The paper's findings provide useful guidance for practitioners on the effective adoption of ICT as part of the logistics innovation process. The findings also provide support for ICT vendors in the design of ICT solutions that are aligned to the needs of small 3PLs. Originality/value - There is currently a paucity of research into the drivers and inhibitors of ICT in the innovation processes of small and medium-sized 3PLs. This paper fills this gap by exploring the issue using a range of complementary research approaches

Visualising the influence of data structure choice on the performance of a distributed database system

The choice of data structure is an important decision in any software project. Application developers do not necessarily have a good understanding of how a particular system manages its data structures and how this might influence performance. We provide visualisations representing the behaviour of different data structures in an object oriented distributed database system. The data is obtained from cache monitoring software and the visualisations therefore represent the actual, as opposed to the theoretical, behaviour. The visualisations can be used as a supplement to the textual description of how a particular system manages its data structures so providing developers, educators and students with a clearer understanding of the implications of their choice of data structure

Pragmatic data modelling and design for end users

Many people are dependent on desktop end user tools such as spreadsheets and databases to manage their data. While they may have the technical skills to set up data repositories, many end users lack the analysis skills to design data models which reflect their often deceptively complex requirements. We advocate that a comprehensive data model should always be developed, with expert help, so that the end user can feel confident the subtleties of the data are fully understood. We then suggest that some pragmatic decisions can be made to simplify the model so that the end user can retain control over setting up and maintaining the application