Benefit evaluation for information providing system by WebGIS in view of users' travel costs

This paper estimates the benefit of a plan for information providing system on road administration by WebGIS. The system will reduce travel costs of visitors from their business establishments to a road administration section of a city office. The authors had individual interviews with the visitors at the section of the Ichikawa City Office. Annual total sum of travel costs was estimated at 37 million yen at most. This paper also proposes formulas which expect the frequency of visits or the total sum of travel costs from the spatial distribution of the business establishments without questionnaires.

Patient costs during tuberculosis treatment in Bangladesh and Tanzania: the potential of shorter regimens

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the costs incurred by patients during the intensive and continuation phases of the current 6-month tuberculosis (TB) regimen in Bangladesh and Tanzania, and thus identify potential benefits to patients of a shorter, 4-month treatment regimen. DESIGN: The validated Stop TB patient cost questionnaire was adapted and used in interviews with 190 patients in the continuation phase of treatment with current regimens. RESULTS: In both countries, overall patient costs were lower during 2 months of the continuation phase (US$74 in Tanzania and US$56 in Bangladesh) than during the 2 months of the intensive phase of treatment (US$150 and US$111, respectively). However, continuation phase patient costs still represented 89% and 77% of the 2-month average national income in the respective countries. Direct travel costs in some settings were kept low by local delivery system features such as community treatment observation. Lost productivity and costs for supplementary foods remained significant. CONCLUSIONS: Although it is not a straightforward exercise to determine the exact magnitude of likely savings, a shorter regimen would reduce out-of-pocket expenses incurred by patients in the most recent 2 months of the continuation phase and allow an earlier return to productive activities. © 2014 The Union.

Travel policies in ARL libraries /

Includes bibliographical references (p. 123)

Reducing the cost of Pentagon travel processing : hearing before the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management and the District of Columbia of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Fourth Congress, first session, March 28, 1995.

Shipping list no.: 95-0289-P.

The value of travel time: new estimates developed using a speed-choice model. Final report.

Mode of access: Internet.

A prototype augmented reality collaborative process modelling tool

Identifying, modelling and documenting business processes usually requires the collaboration of many stakeholders that may be spread across companies in inter-organizational business settings. While there are many process modelling tools available, the support they provide for remote collaboration is still limited. This demonstration showcases a novel prototype application that implements collaborative virtual environment and augmented reality technologies to improve remote collaborative process modelling, with an aim to assisting common collaboration tasks by providing an increased sense of immersion in an intuitive shared work and task space. Our tool is easily deployed using open source software, and commodity hardware, and is expected to assist with saving money on travel costs for large scale process modelling projects covering national and international centres within an enterprise.

Using simplified peer review processes to fund research: A prospective study

Objective: To prospectively test two simplified peer review processes, estimate the agreement between the simplified and official processes, and compare the costs of peer review. Design, participants and setting: A prospective parallel study of Project Grant proposals submitted in 2013 to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia. The official funding outcomes were compared with two simplified processes using proposals in Public Health and Basic Science. The two simplified processes were: panels of 7 reviewers who met face-to-face and reviewed only the nine-page research proposal and track record (simplified panel); and 2 reviewers who independently reviewed only the nine-page research proposal (journal panel). The official process used panels of 12 reviewers who met face-to-face and reviewed longer proposals of around 100 pages. We compared the funding outcomes of 72 proposals that were peer reviewed by the simplified and official processes. Main outcome measures: Agreement in funding outcomes; costs of peer review based on reviewers’ time and travel costs. Results: The agreement between the simplified and official panels (72%, 95% CI 61% to 82%), and the journal and official panels (74%, 62% to 83%), was just below the acceptable threshold of 75%. Using the simplified processes would save $A2.1–$A4.9 million per year in peer review costs. Conclusions: Using shorter applications and simpler peer review processes gave reasonable agreement with the more complex official process. Simplified processes save time and money that could be reallocated to actual research. Funding agencies should consider streamlining their application processes.

Stock assessment of the Queensland east coast common coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus) fishery

Common coral trout Plectropomus leopardus is an iconic fish of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and is the most important fish for the commercial fishery there. Most of the catch is exported live to Asia. This stock assessment was undertaken in response to falls in catch sizes and catch rates in recent years, in order to gauge the status of the stock. It is the first stock assessment ever conducted of coral trout on the GBR, and brings together a multitude of different data sources for the first time. The GBR is very large and was divided into a regional structure based on the Bioregions defined by expert committees appointed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) as part of the 2004 rezoning of the GBR. The regional structure consists of six Regions, from the Far Northern Region in the north to the Swains and Capricorn–Bunker Regions in the south. Regions also closely follow the boundaries between Bioregions. Two of the northern Regions are split into Subregions on the basis of potential changes in fishing intensity between the Subregions; there are nine Subregions altogether, which include four Regions that are not split. Bioregions are split into Subbioregions along the Subregion boundaries. Finally, each Subbioregion is split into a “blue” population which is open to fishing and a “green” population which is closed to fishing. The fishery is unusual in that catch rates as an indicator of abundance of coral trout are heavily influenced by tropical cyclones. After a major cyclone, catch rates fall for two to three years, and rebound after that. This effect is well correlated with the times of occurrence of cyclones, and usually occurs in the same month that the cyclone strikes. However, statistical analyses correlating catch rates with cyclone wind energy did not provide significantly different catch rate trends. Alternative indicators of cyclone strength may explain more of the catch rate decline, and future work should investigate this. Another feature of catch rates is the phenomenon of social learning in coral trout populations, whereby when a population of coral trout is fished, individuals quickly learn not to take bait. Then the catch rate falls sharply even when the population size is still high. The social learning may take place by fish directly observing their fellows being hooked, or perhaps heeding a chemo-sensory cue emitted by fish that are hooked. As part of the assessment, analysis of data from replenishment closures of Boult Reef in the Capricorn–Bunker Region (closed 1983–86) and Bramble Reef in the Townsville Subregion (closed 1992–95) estimated a strong social learning effect. A major data source for the stock assessment was the large collection of underwater visual survey (UVS) data collected by divers who counted the coral trout that they sighted. This allowed estimation of the density of coral trout in the different Bioregions (expressed as a number of fish per hectare). Combined with mapping data of all the 3000 or so reefs making up the GBR, the UVS results provided direct estimates of the population size in each Subbioregion. A regional population dynamic model was developed to account for the intricacies of coral trout population dynamics and catch rates. Because the statistical analysis of catch rates did not attribute much of the decline to tropical cyclones, (and thereby implied “real” declines in biomass), and because in contrast the UVS data indicate relatively stable population sizes, model outputs were unduly influenced by the unlikely hypothesis that falling catch rates are real. The alternative hypothesis that UVS data are closer to the mark and declining catch rates are an artefact of spurious (e.g., cyclone impact) effects is much more probable. Judging by the population size estimates provided by the UVS data, there is no biological problem with the status of coral trout stocks. The estimate of the total number of Plectropomus leopardus on blue zones on the GBR in the mid-1980s (the time of the major UVS series) was 5.34 million legal-sized fish, or about 8400 t exploitable biomass, with an 2 additional 3350 t in green zones (using the current zoning which was introduced on 1 July 2004). For the offshore regions favoured by commercial fishers, the figure was about 4.90 million legal-sized fish in blue zones, or about 7700 t exploitable biomass. There is, however, an economic problem, as indicated by relatively low catch rates and anecdotal information provided by commercial fishers. The costs of fishing the GBR by hook and line (the only method compatible with the GBR’s high conservation status) are high, and commercial fishers are unable to operate profitably when catch rates are depressed (e.g., from a tropical cyclone). The economic problem is compounded by the effect of social learning in coral trout, whereby catch rates fall rapidly if fishers keep returning to the same fishing locations. In response, commercial fishers tend to spread out over the GBR, including the Far Northern and Swains Regions which are far from port and incur higher travel costs. The economic problem provides some logic to a reduction in the TACC. Such a reduction during good times, such as when the fishery is rebounding after a major tropical cyclone, could provide a net benefit to the fishery, as it would provide a margin of stock safety and make the fishery more economically robust by providing higher catch rates during subsequent periods of depressed catches. During hard times when catch rates are low (e.g., shortly after a major tropical cyclone), a change to the TACC would have little effect as even a reduced TACC would not come close to being filled. Quota adjustments based on catch rates should take account of long-term trends in order to mitigate variability and cyclone effects in data.

Road traffic congestion and public information - An experimental investigation

This paper reports laboratory experiments designed to study the impact of public information about past departure rates on congestion levels and travel costs. Our design is based on a discrete version of Arnott et al.'s (1990) bottleneck model. In all treatments, congestion occurs and the observed travel costs are quite similar to the predicted ones. Subjects' capacity to coordinate is not affected by the availability of public information on past departure rates, by the number of drivers or by the relative cost of delay. This seemingly absence of treatment effects is confirmed by our finding that a parameter-free reinforcement learning model best characterises individual behaviour.

Compliance with follow-up after cataract surgery in rural China.

PURPOSE:

To evaluate reasons for non-compliance with post-cataract surgical follow-up in rural China, and assess the impact of incentives on improving compliance.

METHODS:

Patients having undergone cataract surgery more than 3 months previously at cataract surgery training hospitals in Guangdong were invited by telephone and advertisements to a hospital-based study examination, with compensation for travel costs (US$7). Information on prior post-surgical follow up was collected by questionnaire at the hospital or by telephone. Logistic regression was used to assess predictors of post-operative attendance with or without compensation.

RESULTS:

Among 518 eligible patients, 426 (82.2%) underwent interviews and 342 (66.0%) attended the compensated study examination. Ninety nine participants (23.2%) reported previously returning for uncompensated follow-up ≥ 3 months post-operatively, and 225 (52.8%) had returned for any prior post-operative examination. Uncompensated follow-up at ≥ 3 months was associated with higher income (P = 0.037), and recalling instruction by a doctor to follow-up (P = 0.001), while age, gender, travel cost, and post-operative satisfaction and vision were not associated. Younger (P = 0.002) patients and those reporting being instructed to follow up (P = 0.008) were more likely to return for the compensated research examination. Among all interviewed subjects, only 170 (39.9%) reported knowing they were to return to hospital.

CONCLUSIONS:

Modest compensation, advertisements and telephone contact can increase medium-term follow-up rates after cataract surgery by three-fold. Better communication of specific targets for follow-up may improve follow-up compliance.

Meta-heuristic Solution Methods for Rich Vehicle Routing Problems

Le problème de tournées de véhicules (VRP), introduit par Dantzig and Ramser en 1959, est devenu l'un des problèmes les plus étudiés en recherche opérationnelle, et ce, en raison de son intérêt méthodologique et de ses retombées pratiques dans de nombreux domaines tels que le transport, la logistique, les télécommunications et la production. L'objectif général du VRP est d'optimiser l'utilisation des ressources de transport afin de répondre aux besoins des clients tout en respectant les contraintes découlant des exigences du contexte d’application. Les applications réelles du VRP doivent tenir compte d’une grande variété de contraintes et plus ces contraintes sont nombreuse, plus le problème est difficile à résoudre. Les VRPs qui tiennent compte de l’ensemble de ces contraintes rencontrées en pratique et qui se rapprochent des applications réelles forment la classe des problèmes ‘riches’ de tournées de véhicules. Résoudre ces problèmes de manière efficiente pose des défis considérables pour la communauté de chercheurs qui se penchent sur les VRPs. Cette thèse, composée de deux parties, explore certaines extensions du VRP vers ces problèmes. La première partie de cette thèse porte sur le VRP périodique avec des contraintes de fenêtres de temps (PVRPTW). Celui-ci est une extension du VRP classique avec fenêtres de temps (VRPTW) puisqu’il considère un horizon de planification de plusieurs jours pendant lesquels les clients n'ont généralement pas besoin d’être desservi à tous les jours, mais plutôt peuvent être visités selon un certain nombre de combinaisons possibles de jours de livraison. Cette généralisation étend l'éventail d'applications de ce problème à diverses activités de distributions commerciales, telle la collecte des déchets, le balayage des rues, la distribution de produits alimentaires, la livraison du courrier, etc. La principale contribution scientifique de la première partie de cette thèse est le développement d'une méta-heuristique hybride dans la quelle un ensemble de procédures de recherche locales et de méta-heuristiques basées sur les principes de voisinages coopèrent avec un algorithme génétique afin d’améliorer la qualité des solutions et de promouvoir la diversité de la population. Les résultats obtenus montrent que la méthode proposée est très performante et donne de nouvelles meilleures solutions pour certains grands exemplaires du problème. La deuxième partie de cette étude a pour but de présenter, modéliser et résoudre deux problèmes riches de tournées de véhicules, qui sont des extensions du VRPTW en ce sens qu'ils incluent des demandes dépendantes du temps de ramassage et de livraison avec des restrictions au niveau de la synchronization temporelle. Ces problèmes sont connus respectivement sous le nom de Time-dependent Multi-zone Multi-Trip Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (TMZT-VRPTW) et de Multi-zone Mult-Trip Pickup and Delivery Problem with Time Windows and Synchronization (MZT-PDTWS). Ces deux problèmes proviennent de la planification des opérations de systèmes logistiques urbains à deux niveaux. La difficulté de ces problèmes réside dans la manipulation de deux ensembles entrelacés de décisions: la composante des tournées de véhicules qui vise à déterminer les séquences de clients visités par chaque véhicule, et la composante de planification qui vise à faciliter l'arrivée des véhicules selon des restrictions au niveau de la synchronisation temporelle. Auparavant, ces questions ont été abordées séparément. La combinaison de ces types de décisions dans une seule formulation mathématique et dans une même méthode de résolution devrait donc donner de meilleurs résultats que de considérer ces décisions séparément. Dans cette étude, nous proposons des solutions heuristiques qui tiennent compte de ces deux types de décisions simultanément, et ce, d'une manière complète et efficace. Les résultats de tests expérimentaux confirment la performance de la méthode proposée lorsqu’on la compare aux autres méthodes présentées dans la littérature. En effet, la méthode développée propose des solutions nécessitant moins de véhicules et engendrant de moindres frais de déplacement pour effectuer efficacement la même quantité de travail. Dans le contexte des systèmes logistiques urbains, nos résultats impliquent une réduction de la présence de véhicules dans les rues de la ville et, par conséquent, de leur impact négatif sur la congestion et sur l’environnement.

Förutsättningar för distanskommunikation mellan reklambyråer och kunder : En intervju- och enkätundersökning

Små reklambyråer har, i skuggan av den ekonomiska krisen, fått konkurrens om sina kunder av större reklambyråer och tryckerier. En lösning kan vara att skapa relationer till företag utanför närområdet. Internetbaserade verktyg för distanskommunikation skulle i sådana fall kunna erbjuda ett bra komplement till det fysiska mötet. Distanskommunikation är effektivt eftersom det bland annat ger minskad tidsåtgång för möten och minskade resekostnader. Denna typ av kommunikation kan dock innebära större risk för missförstånd, och färre tillfällen att bygga en personlig relation till kunden. Användningen av internetbaserade verktyg för att kommunicera på distans förväntas dock bli allt vanligare i framtiden, i takt med att utbudet av kommunikationsverktyg ökar. Huvudmålet med denna studie har därför varit att undersöka förutsättningarna för distanskommunikation mellan reklambyrå och kund. Syftet har varit att ta reda på hur för- och nackdelar med distanskommunikation värderas av respektive parter, samt vilket kommunikationssätt som de anser lämpar sig bäst vid olika arbetssteg. Detta undersöktes genom enkätundersökning till utvalda företag samt intervjuer med fyra mindre reklambyråer i Dalarna. Studiens resultat, visade tydligt att det personliga mötet är mycket viktigt, och att det inte kan ersättas av någon form av distanskommunikation. Däremot ansåg både företag och reklambyråer att verktyg för distanskommunikation kan användas vid arbetsmöten.

Methodological issues in applying Location Models to Rural areas

Location Models are usedfor planning the location of multiple service centers in order to serve a geographicallydistributed population. A cornerstone of such models is the measure of distancebetween the service center and a set of demand points, viz, the location of thepopulation (customers, pupils, patients and so on). Theoretical as well asempirical evidence support the current practice of using the Euclidian distancein metropolitan areas. In this paper, we argue and provide empirical evidencethat such a measure is misleading once the Location Models are applied to ruralareas with heterogeneous transport networks. This paper stems from the problemof finding an optimal allocation of a pre-specified number of hospitals in alarge Swedish region with a low population density. We conclude that the Euclidianand the network distances based on a homogenous network (equal travel costs inthe whole network) give approximately the same optimums. However networkdistances calculated from a heterogeneous network (different travel costs indifferent parts of the network) give widely different optimums when the numberof hospitals increases.  In terms ofaccessibility we find that the recent closure of hospitals and the in-optimallocation of the remaining ones has increased the average travel distance by 75%for the population. Finally, aggregation the population misplaces the hospitalsby on average 10 km.

Strategies for the implementation of continuing professional development for SMEs in construction

The Victorian government (in Australia) intends to mandate that all registered building practitioners (RBP) undertake a minimum level of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) as part of the registration process. The introduction of CPD increases the travel costs for construction practitioners; due to the necessity to undertake a minimum level of training. This places an increased burden on construction companies' especially small regional-based firms that are not in a position of financial strength. This research is based on study of training needs of 73 construction companies in Victoria, Australia. The results show that training costs are being unequally weighted towards small regional-based firms; suggesting that the location of the company is a major contributing factor to their ability to meet registration requirements. Regional companies have comparatively high costs for training compared to metropolitan-based firms. Company location is a limiting factor that impacts on the ability of regional firms to implement training programs. This research investigates the notion that increasing registration requirements will improve outcomes for all participants.

Developing a Model for Pedestrian Route Selection at Colby

Millions of unconscious calculations are made daily by pedestrians walking through the Colby College campus. I used ArcGIS to make a predictive spatial model that chose paths similar to those that are actually used by people on a regular basis. To make a viable model of how most travelers choose their way, I considered both the distance required and the type of traveling surface. I used an iterative process to develop a scheme for weighting travel costs which resulted in accurate least-cost paths to be predicted by ArcMap. The accuracy was confirmed when the calculated routes were compared to satellite photography and were found to overlap well-worn “shortcuts” taken between the paved paths throughout campus.