Market structure and entry in fast food

One of the phenomena of the twentieth century, chainstores, are remarkably little studied by economists. Amongst open questions are the following: What factors influence the pattern of their openings? Does the spread of one constrain others having broadly the same retail offer? Do they locate close to competitors? To answer such questions, one must examine a time path of development- put simply one must observe actual entry. This is precisely what is done in a series of papers (Toivanen and Waterson, 2000; 2001; Sault, Toivanen and Waterson -hereafter STW, 2002; forthcoming) we are working on concerning the spread of restaurant outlets in the UK. This paper sketches the main elements of our program, then examines a particular issue, the micro-geography of location, in detail

Learning and location

In this paper we study whether learning from rivals affects within-market location decisions between competing firms. We show it does, using detailed locational data from two leading hamburger chains in the UK. Using four different tests, we demonstrate that alternative explanations - pre-emption and product differentiation - have less bite than between firm learning

Fast food - the early years: geography and the growth of a chain-store in the UK

We examine the development of UK outlets of a major fast food chain, from inauguration in 1974 until 1990, after which industry structure changed somewhat. The chain effectively introduced the counter-service burger concept. Locational spread across local authority district markets is explained by the characteristics of the areas where the outlets are sited. Of special interest is the effect of scale economies, measured by outlet numbers in neighboring districts. Both first and second entry are examined. We find that the hazard of first entry is positively influenced by market size and population density and negatively by distance from company headquarters

Making in-class skills training more effective: the scope for interactive videos to complement the delivery of practical pedestrian training

Skills and awareness of young pedestrians can be improved with on-street practical pedestrian training, often delivered in schools in the United Kingdom by local authorities with the intention of improving road safety. This training is often supplemented by in-class paper based worksheet activities which are seen to be less effective than practical training in that they focus on knowledge acquisition rather than directly improving the correct application of safe pedestrian skills at the roadside. Previous research indicates that interactive video tools have the potential to develop procedural skills whilst offering an engaging road safety educational experience, which could positively impact on road crossing behaviour.In this paper, the design and development of a hazard-identification interactive road safety training video targeting child road crossing skills is presented. The interactive video was shown to be an engaging training resource for 6-7 year old children. The tool’s scope for improving pedestrians’ roadside skills is considered along with the wider implications for interactive video to aid safety training in other areas

Defining the methodological challenges and opportunities for an effective science of sociotechnical systems and safety

An important part of the application of sociotechnical systems theory (STS) is the development of methods, tools and techniques to assess human factors and ergonomics workplace requirements. We focus in this paper on describing and evaluating current STS methods for workplace safety, as well as outlining a set of six case studies covering the application of these methods to a range of safety contexts. We also describe an evaluation of the methods in terms of ratings of their ability to address a set of theoretical and practical questions (e.g. the degree to which methods capture static/dynamic aspects of tasks and interactions between system levels). The outcomes from the evaluation highlight a set of gaps relating to the coverage and applicability of current methods for STS and safety (e.g. coverage of external influences on system functioning; method usability). The final sections of the paper describe a set of future challenges, as well as some practical suggestions for tackling thes

Probing deeper into the risks of slips, trips and falls for an ageing rail passenger population: applying a systems approach

In this study, the authors report the findings from a study of the contributory factors leading to slips, trips and falls (STFs) amongst elderly passengers at train stations and how these are likely to change in the future over the medium to long term (the period 2035–2050). Their data draws on: stakeholder interviews with rail personnel and elderly passengers; a set of station observations carried out across the UK; and, a survey of the views of station managers. The findings point to a set of 22 contributory factors covering aspects of organisational, station environment and passenger (individual) influence on STFs. Amongst the factors which most concern station managers at the present and over the next few decades are: rushing behaviour on train platforms; the consumption of alcohol by passengers; aspects of station design (e.g. flooring); and, training for station staff as regard the risks of STFs. The authors summarise their findings in the form of a systems model which highlights priorities with regard to STFs in terms of all of the stakeholders taking part in the study. A final section discusses a set of issues which might form the basis for a future agenda for research and practice in this area

Recent Decisions

Comments on recent decisions by Robert R. Waterson, Hugh E. Wall, Francis W. Matthys, Granville P. Ziegler, Thomas H. Nelson, Stanley A. Rosenstein, and John M. Doyle

A comparison of three systemic accident analysis methods using 46 SPAD (Signals Passed at Danger) incidents

During the period 1996-2003 there were five fatal accidents on the UK railway network, three of which were Signals Passed at Danger (SPAD) events (Watford Junction, 1996; Southall, 1997; Ladbroke Grove, 1999). SPAD events vary in severity and whilst most are not fatal there is the potential to cause serious injuries to passengers and train staff and damage to railway infra-structure. This paper investigates how the current system accident analysis tool used within the railway, the Incident Factor Classification System (IFCS) identifies and analyses causal factors of SPAD events. To evaluate the effectiveness IFCS was used to analysis SPAD incident reports (n=46) and the outputs were compared with two systemic accident analysis methods and relevant outputs (the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System – HFACS and Acci-Maps). The initial reporting process proved to hinder all systemic accident analysis methods in the extraction of causal factors. However, once extracted, all system accident analysis methods were successful in categorizing causal factors and demonstrated various outputs to illustrate the findings

Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula (Hawaiian Love Song) / words by E. Ray Goetz, Joe Young, and Pete Wendling

Cover: a photo of Al. Jolson; a drawing of a island; Publisher: Waterson Berlin and Snyder Co. (New York)https://egrove.olemiss.edu/sharris_c/1117/thumbnail.jp

For Me and My Gal / music by Geo W. Meyer; words by Edgar Leslie and E. Ray Goetz

Cover: photo of the Bowman Bros., two Caucasian males, one in blackface; Publisher: Waterson Berlin and Snyder Co. (New York)https://egrove.olemiss.edu/sharris_c/1038/thumbnail.jp