Approaching the relative productivity of infrastructure in Mediterranean container terminals with the use of DEA

The authors would like to thank Professor Shuo Ma of the World Maritime University (WMU) for his comments and support, as well as the staff of the WMU library for their effort and assistance during the data collection stage. All statistical data come from various sources such as Containerisation, Fairplay and the publications of ISL.The comparison of ports in terms of economic performance, infrastructure, marketing is an integral part of the strategic planning for policy makers, as well as for port managers and investors. In the functions of productivity and efficiency, some of the terms are defined in a deterministic way, while others, usually of a qualitative nature are estimated only subjectively. In addition, every port serves a different region or market or industry and enjoys different hinterland connections, status of ownership and management. Consequently the comparison of ports is a difficult and risky process with the use of only one model, if not impossible.peer-reviewe

Formal development and evaluation of narrow passageway system operations

This study applies a new intelligent transportation methodology for transforming informal operations concepts for narrow passageway systems into system-level designs, which will formal enough to support automated validation of anticipated component- and system-level behaviours. Models and specifications of behaviour are formally designed as labelled transition systems. Each object is the management system is assumed to have behaviour that can be defined by a finite state machine; thus, the waterway management system architecture is modelled as a network of communicating finite state machines. Architecture-level behaviours are validated using the Labelled Transition System Analyzer (LTSA). We exercise the methodology by working step by step through the synthesis and validation of a high-level behaviour model for a vessel passing through a waterway network (i.e., canal)

The law of conservation of energy towards defining maritime cluster dynamics

Industrial clusters have for many decades been considered as the stepping stone for regional and national competitiveness, due to the fact that within these systems of economies, many propitious qualities seem to flourish. Competition and cooperation are witnessed to complement one another, firms can thrive through the marvels of knowledge creation and innovation, and positive externalities are seen to blossom into an interconnected system of collective prosperity. This system bears semblance to many occurrences in nature, and thus can guide the reflection of natural dynamics that may pave an industrial cluster’s threads. Maritime clusters in particular, are distinct vanguards of mutualism and shared opulence for the locality wherein they spawned. For these reasons, they have attracted multi-faceted attention from researchers, practitioners and policy-makers, in a dual attempt; to better understand the phenomenon and subsequently recreate it, if at all possible. Through this process, a plethora of studies have been conducted, each relinquishing its part to formulate the modern understanding of maritime clusters and to contribute towards the subsequent theory. The latter has encapsulated analysis from many disciplines that is sometimes riddled with paradox. Seldom does a cluster manifest itself without some kind of paradoxical component, and enigmatic discrepancies accompany maritime clusters inherently. Through this paper, an introductory explanation of the latter is attempted, by the scarcity principle’s applicability within maritime clusters, as a version of the law of conservation of energy. This pursuit accompanies an extraction of a structured critical literature review and the subsequent formulation of a governing model

The liberalisation of maritime transport and the island regions in EU. Evidence from Greece

The liberalisation of maritime transport constitutes a substantial and vital progress not only in the maritime transport market but also in influencing the development of distant island regions. In the European Union (EU), the establishment of the legal framework and policy regarding the liberalisation is standing from the year of 1992. In Greece, the first attempt to harmonize the inevitable political and state framework was in 2001 (2932/2001 Act). Prevailing factors encumbered the liberalisation planning and implementing, mainly because of the incoherent procedures applied and the partial cover of principal issues regarding impingement of public interests and goods relative to island development. In our paper, we provide strongly support to the argument that the major initiative considering the development of island regions throughout European territory is that European Policy for the liberalisation of maritime transport should be oriented to the distinctive needs of island regions. Moreover, we provide a “road map” for completion of the liberalisation procedures. Hence, we address specific proposals and measures towards the healing of the inadequate regional development

Corrigendum to “The dynamic berth allocation problem for a container port” [Transportation Research Part B 35 (2001) 401-417]

先に発表された論文「The dynamic berth allocation problem for a container port (Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, vol.35, no.4, May 2001, p.401-417)」の定式化の補足説明と追加議

Hierarchal object-oriented models for management of narrow passageways

Narrow passageways are a significant source of traffic congestion and delay in transportation networks. With traffic volumes expected to increase significantly in the foreseeable future, the effective management of these passageways is needed to mitigate the undesirable impact of these bottlenecks on transportation system safety, performance and cost. In an effort to address the significant challenges associated with the analysis, design, and implementation of appropriate management operations for narrow passageways, an object-based model for the management of narrow passageways in the transportation network is developed. The object model is developed in two steps. The first step identifies high-level management functionality, objects, and associated data/information sources that are common to all narrow passageway applications. In the second step, functionality of the object model is customized to the specific needs of the narrow passageway application domain (e.g., waterways and work zones).peer-reviewe

Why Your Encrypted Database Is Not Secure

Encrypted databases, a popular approach to protecting data from compromised database management systems (DBMS’s), use abstract threat models that capture neither realistic databases, nor realistic attack scenarios. In particular, the “snapshot attacker” model used to support the security claims for many encrypted databases does not reflect the information about past queries available in any snapshot attack on an actual DBMS. We demonstrate how this gap between theory and reality causes encrypted databases to fail to achieve their “provable security” guarantees