Exploring the factors influencing the use of public transport by commuters living in networks of small cities and towns

The use of public transport is directly associated with a reduced environmental impact for satisfying daily mobility needs. Current research has focused on identifying the factors affecting the use of public transport, elements such as age, car ownership, travel distance, or parking availability having been associated with a direct impact on an individual’s transport mode choice. However, most of these studies focused on the travel behaviour of individuals living in large cities, where the population density is high, and public transport is usually more developed than in small cities and towns. The present study provides additional insights into the impact of eleven different factors on the use of public transport by employees living and working in networks of small cities and towns in Northern Europe. The study uses ordered logistic regression to analyse the data collected in 2019 through a regional travel survey conducted in Agder, Norway. The results reveal that the choice of public transport as a daily commute mode is significantly affected by car ownership, distance to work, parking availability, and ticket prices. Additionally, the results indicate that the odds of employees using public transport increase when the respondents do not have persons in care. On the other hand, factors such as low bus frequency and long walking distances to the home bus stop show a negative impact on the use of public transport. Based on these results, regional and local policy actions are proposed.publishedVersionPaid open acces

Application of queuing methodology to analyze congestion : a case study of the Manila International Container Terminal, Philippines

The objective of this paper is to apply queuing methodology in order to analyze congestion at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) in the Port of Manila, the Philippines. The vessels calling at the MICT have to wait in a queue before receiving services at berths because of congestion. For vessel operators and cargo owners this situation creates waiting time costs and delays in delivery of goods to final customers. One option to decrease waiting time is to expand capacity by increasing the number of berths. Construction of a new berth is a time consuming and costly procedure, which needs to be considered carefully before being implemented. To determine whether the data collected is suitable for queuing methodology, the distribution pattern of ship arrivals has been analyzed. The results reveal that the pattern of ship arrivals follows Poisson’s law of random distribution, which confirms the validity of the proposed queuing methodology. Applying queuing methodology, with the objective of minimizing total cost, including waiting time cost and berth’s construction costs, reveals that the number of berths at MICT is currently adequate. In order to release congestion, port managers must take other actions. Keywords: port capacity, port economy, congestion, queuing theory, container terminalApplication of queuing methodology to analyze congestion : a case study of the Manila International Container Terminal, PhilippinesacceptedVersio

CHILD LABOR AND ITS IMPACT ON SOCIETY; A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF DISTRICT MALIR, KARACHI

In our daily life we see many children under the age of 14 working on the streets, which is school going age, but due to lack of resources, huge family size, illiteracy, poverty and other reason they are compel to work rather than going school. The purpose of the research was to determine the status of child labor in District Malir. Study shows out that most of the children belong to Sindhi and Balochi ethnic group. Majority of children were boys. Majority of the children were illiterate and belong to those families where their parents are labor, disable, drug addicted, bagger, unemployed and elderly. In few cases the children were orphans and they didn’t have any other source of income that’s why they were compelled to do their work and play the part of bread winner for their families. Due to working environment and working hour these children don’t have the time for playing game and other physical healthy activities. Not only government but also different NGO’s are working for the welfare of these children at the national level. Overall scenario shows children are in bad condition. Education is the crucial need that should be considered.&nbsp

Exploring the relationships between maritime connectivity, international trade and domestic production

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Analysis of hinterland transport strategies when exporting perishable products

Since a good hinterland connection is considered an important factor in port competitiveness, the objective of this paper is to analyse the impact of the development of hinterland transport strategies on the competitiveness of the port by taking the Port of Cape Town, the Republic of South Africa as an example. The development of transport strategies is reflected in terms of a lower cost and higher frequency of inland transport. To investigate the interplay among export products, transport, and access to a port for exporters, we use a linear programming model. The model considers both the choice of transport modes and the impacts of improved inland transport strategies. The model could easily be extended to deal with other modes or transport alternatives. It is assumed that, initially, two modes of transport – trucks and railway − are available for transportation of the export product from the farm to the port. The analysis is extended by including intermodal transportation as a combination of railway and road transport. The results of the analysis show that improving the rail services and offering more frequent rail services from the farm to the port, could lead to a better and more flexible transportation strategy. Keywords: port competitiveness, inland hinterland, dry ports, perishable products, intermodal transport, linear programmingpublishedVersio

Primary Renal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: An Unusual Malignancy

Malignancies of the upper urinary tract are rare, accounting for about 8% of all malignancies of the renal system, presenting mostly as urothelial carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) arising from the upper urinary tract is even more rare, accounting for about 0.5% of all malignancies of the renal system and 10% of all renal pelvic tumors. There are very few case reports in the indexed literature regarding renal squamous cell carcinoma. Here we present a case of SCC arising from the lower pole of left kidney, in a 35-year-old male resident of Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir

CONTRA Project report #1: Requirements identification and system mapping

The research project “COVID-19 Network Technology-based Responsive Action” (CONTRA), funded by the Research Council of Norway, commenced in June 2020. The CONTRA project develops a decision support system (DSS) based on mathematical modeling and stochastic optimization, and machine learning tools for designing a robust COVID-19 vaccine distribution network. The project follows two main objectives within two phases. In response to the on-going COVID-19 outbreak, rapid analyses will provide actionable advice to public health authorities in Norway regarding vaccine distribution and delivery to responders. This phase involved a systematic study of vaccine distribution system actors in Norway and their decision-making needs. Based on such insights, the project will develop a DSS based on mathematical models to support designing the vaccine distribution network. The DSS should contribute to the effectiveness, efficiency, equity, and sustainability of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution. The proposed solution will also support vaccine distribution in future pandemics. The report describes the results of the first work package (WP) in the CONTRA project. The WP1 aims to identify the key actors in the vaccine distribution network in Norway, map their relation to each other, and distinguish critical decisions in the system. Moreover, the report presents an overview of related research on vaccine distribution networks, related decision support systems, and the progress in the literature about the COVID-19 pandemic. Through preliminary interviews, document review, and a workshop with multiple representatives from Norwegian public health authorities, the current vaccine distribution system is analyzed, and its actors have been mapped. This system map is the basis for further discussion both within the project team and with stakeholders. It should be noted that this map will change throughout the project due to the additional insights from other validation opportunities and the fact that the COVID-19 context is dynamic and is changing permanently. However, the system map has served as a basis for the problem definition in the CONTRA project. Based on our findings from the stakeholder workshop and system mapping, we have decided to focus on defining and studying the central vaccine allocation problem (CVAP), which is faced by Public Health Institute (FHI). As such, the CONTRA will investigate the problem of determining the amount of each vaccine to be shipped to every municipality. CVAP is challenged by the scarce amount of vaccines, the current immunization level, population, and priority groups in each municipality. In our project, CVAP will be formulated as a multi-objective resource allocation problem. Specifically, we will define and formulate objectives related to the following performance dimensions: efficacy (e.g., total coverage, coverage per priority group, etc.), efficiency and sustainability (e.g., logistics costs, waste), and fairness (e.g., distribution of efficacy among municipalities). The next step in the project will be to validate the problem definition and develop the mathematical model (second work package). Moreover, two individual reports for the actors map and system map will be published in the upcoming months by project partners.submittedVersionacceptedVersionpublishedVersionpublishedVersio