Optimal Scheduling of Trains on a Single Line Track

This paper describes the development and use of a model designed to optimise train schedules on single line rail corridors. The model has been developed with two major applications in mind, namely: as a decision support tool for train dispatchers to schedule trains in real time in an optimal way; and as a planning tool to evaluate the impact of timetable changes, as well as railroad infrastructure changes. The mathematical programming model described here schedules trains over a single line track. The priority of each train in a conflict depends on an estimate of the remaining crossing and overtaking delay, as well as the current delay. This priority is used in a branch and bound procedure to allow and optimal solution to reasonable size train scheduling problems to be determined efficiently. The use of the model in an application to a 'real life' problem is discussed. The impacts of changing demand by increasing the number of trains, and reducing the number of sidings for a 150 kilometre section of single line track are discussed. It is concluded that the model is able to produce useful results in terms of optimal schedules in a reasonable time for the test applications shown here

Study on "Strategic use of public procurement in promoting green, social and innovation policies". Final Report

The overall objective of this study was to take stock of experiences in integrating green, social and innovation considerations in public procurement policy, processes and practices in 10 selected Member States (MS), namely Austria, France, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. More specifically, the study aims to assemble a comprehensive picture of the current strategic public procurement policies and practices in place, estimate the magnitude of strategic public procurement in those MS, and propose measures to further develop the use of strategic public procurementEl objetivo general de este estudio era hacer un balance de las experiencias en la integración de consideraciones ecológicas, sociales y de innovación en las políticas, procesos y prácticas de contratación pública en 10 Estados miembros seleccionados, a saber, Austria, Francia, Letonia, Países Bajos, Polonia, Portugal, Eslovaquia, España, Suecia y el Reino Unido. Más específicamente, el estudio tiene como objetivo reunir una imagen completa de las actuales políticas y prácticas de compra pública estratégica en vigor, estimar la magnitud de la compra pública estratégica en esos Estados Miembros y proponer medidas para desarrollar aún más el uso de la compra pública estratégica

Assessment of highly distributed power systems using an integrated simulation approach

In a highly distributed power system (HDPS), micro renewable and low carbon technologies would make a significant contribution to the electricity supply. Further, controllable devices such as micro combined heat and power (CHP) could be used to assist in maintaining stability in addition to simply providing heat and power to dwellings. To analyse the behaviour of such a system requires the modelling of both the electrical distribution system and the coupled microgeneration devices in a realistic context. In this paper a pragmatic approach to HDPS modelling is presented: microgeneration devices are simulated using a building simulation tool to generate time-varying power output profiles, which are then replicated and processed statistically so that they can be used as boundary conditions for a load flow simulation; this is used to explore security issues such as under and over voltage, branch thermal overloading, and reverse power flow. Simulations of a section of real network are presented, featuring different penetrations of micro-renewables and micro-CHP within the ranges that are believed to be realistically possible by 2050. This analysis indicates that well-designed suburban networks are likely to be able to accommodate such levels of domestic-scale generation without problems emerging such as overloads or degradation to the quality of supply

Vertical monopoly power, profit and risk: The British beer industry, c.1970-2004

By investigating surplus and risk distribution in the British brewing industry, this paper shows that risk and risk transfer are important dimensions of vertical supply chain relationships. A comparative financial analysis shows the effects of models of vertical ownership before and after the break-up of producer controlled tenanted estates and the strategy and performance of pub-owning companies. Contrasting mechanisms for controlling the capture of surplus and division of risk are evaluated. The paper complements prior studies that have concentrated on the brewers by assessing winners and losers amongst pub owning companies and tenants in different models of vertical organisation and how they might be effectively regulated

The re-regulation of broadcasting: Or the mill owners’ triumph

Discusses the driving forces behind the Communications Bill 2001 of Great Britain. Terms of the bill; Arguments concerning the re-regulation

Decay of escherichia coli in soil following the application of biosolids to agricultural land

The decay of Escherichia coli in a sandy loam soil, amended with enhanced and conventionally treated biosolids, was investigated in a field experiment following spring and autumn applications of sewage sludge. Control soils, without the application of biosolids, were also examined to determine the background indigenous populations of E. coli which are present in the environment. The survival of indigenous E. coli and populations of E. coli applied to soil in biosolids, is assessed in relation to environmental factors influencing pathogen-decay processes in soil

Regulating Clothing Outwork: A Sceptic's View

By applying the strategies of international anti-sweatshop campaigns to the Australian context, recent regulations governing home-based clothing production hold retailers responsible for policing the wages and employment conditions of clothing outworkers who manufacture clothing on their behalf. This paper argues that the new approach oversimplifies the regulatory challenge by assuming (1) that Australian clothing production is organised in a hierarchical ‘buyer-led’ linear structure in which core retail firms have the capacity to control their suppliers’ behaviour; (2) that firms act as unitary moral agents; and (3) that interventions imported from other times and places are applicable to the contemporary Australian context. After considering some alternative regulatory approaches, the paper concludes that the new regulatory strategy effectively privatises responsibility for labour market conditions – a development that cries out for further debate

Critical Events and Labour Mobility: Relocations in the Wake of the Ansett Airlines collapse

Migration plays an important role in neo-liberal regional adjustment. This paper explores the role of economic shocks in stimulating internal migration within Australia. Drawing on the experiences of retrenched Ansett airlines employees, it argues that economic crisis impels some households to relocate but traps others in places with restricted employment prospects. For some, the crisis of retrenchment triggers inter-State migration to take up new jobs. For others, it prompts relocation to less expensive housing, often in a geographically proximate location. These opposing responses, which are different outcomes of similar causal processes, exacerbate regional inequalities as they selectively encourage younger skilled workers to enter growing regions. The combination of high housing costs and insecure employment discourages speculative migration. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the policy implications of these findings

Preliminary report of the South Carolina Clean Energy Industry Manufacturing Market Development Advisory Commission

This preliminary report details some of the strategic advantages and institutional assets South Carolina can leverage to grow clean energy industry manufacturing. The report details the market potential for certain clean energy technologies and broadly defined opportunities for improvement in South Carolina’s business environment needed to capture a greater share of the growing, global clean energy manufacturing sector