Importance of a resilient air services network to Australian remote, rural, and regional communities

Rural, regional, and remote settlements in Australia require resilient infrastructure to remain sustainable in a context characterized by frequent large-scale natural disasters, long distances between urban centers, and the pressures of economic change. A critical aspect of this infrastructure is the air services network, a system of airports, aircraft operators, and related industries that enables the high-speed movement of people, goods, and services to remote locations. A process of deregulation during the 1970s and 1980s resulted in many of these airports passing into local government and private ownership, and the rationalization of the industry saw the closure of a number of airlines and airports. This paper examines the impacts of deregulation on the resilience of air services and the contribution that they make to regional and rural communities. In particular, the robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness, and rapidity of the system are examined. The conclusion is that while the air services network has remained resilient in a situation of considerable change, the pressures of commercialization and the tendency to manage aspects of the system in isolation have contributed to a potential decrease in overall resilience.

A Novel Packet Marking Function for Real-Time Interactive MPEG-4 Video Applications in a Differentiated Services Network

The future convergence of voice, video and data applications on the Internet requires that next generation technology provides bandwidth and delay guarantees. Current technology trends are moving towards scalable aggregate-based systems where applications are grouped together and guarantees are provided at the aggregate level only. This solution alone is not enough for interactive video applications with sub-second delay bounds. This paper introduces a novel packet marking scheme that controls the end-to-end delay of an individual flow as it traverses a network enabled to supply aggregate- granularity Quality of Service (QoS). IPv6 Hop-by-Hop extension header fields are used to track the packet delay encountered at each network node and autonomous decisions are made on the best queuing strategy to employ. The results of network simulations are presented and it is shown that when the proposed mechanism is employed the requested delay bound is met with a 20% reduction in resource reservation and no packet loss in the network.

U.S. air services.

Vols for Jan. 1919-July 1956 edited by: E. N. Findley.

Air sampling network:

Mode of access: Internet.

Old conflicts, new rivals? Airline competition in the European market

Christoph Franz of Lufthansa recently identified Ryanair, easyJet, Air Berlin and Emirates as the company’s main competitors – gone are the days when it could benchmark itself against BA or Air France-KLM! This paper probes behind the headlines to assess the extent to which different airlines are in competition, using evidence from the UK and mainland European markets. The issue of route versus network competition is addressed. Many regulators have put an emphasis on the former whereas the latter, although less obvious, can be more relevant. For example, BA and American will cease to compete between London and Dallas Fort Worth if their alliance obtains anti-trust immunity but 80% of the passengers on this route are connecting at one or both ends and hence arguably belong to different markets (e.g. London-San Francisco, Zurich-Dallas, Edinburgh-New Orleans) which may be highly contested. The remaining 20% of local traffic is actually insufficient to support a single point to point service in its own right. Estimates are made of the seat capacity major airlines are offering to the local market as distinct from feeding other routes. On a sector such as Manchester–Amsterdam, 60% of KLM’s passengers are transferring at Schiphol as against only 1% of bmibaby’s. Thus although KLM operates 5 flights and 630 seats per day against bmibaby’s 2 flights and 298 seats, in the point to point market bmibaby offers more seats than KLM. The growth of the Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) means that competition increasingly needs to be viewed on city pair markets (e.g. London-Rome) rather than airport pair markets (e.g. Heathrow-Fiumicino). As the stronger LCCs drive out weaker rivals and mainline carriers retrench to their major hubs, some markets now have fewer direct options than existed prior to the low cost boom. Timings and frequencies are considered, in particular the extent to which services are a true alternative especially for business travellers. LCCs typically offer lower frequencies and more unsociable timings (e.g. late evening arrivals at remote airports) as they are more focused on providing the cheapest service rather than the most convenient schedule. Interesting findings on ‘monopoly’ services are presented (including alliances) - certain airlines have many more of these than others. Lufthansa has a significant number of sectors to itself whereas at the other extreme British Airways has direct competition on almost every route in its network. Ryanair and flybe have a higher proportion of monopoly routes than easyJet or Air Berlin. In the domestic US market it has become apparent since deregulation that better financial returns can come from dominating a large number of smaller markets rather than being heavily exposed in the major markets - which are hotly fought over. Regional niches that appear too thin for Ryanair to serve (with its all 189 seat 737-800 fleet) are identified. Fare comparisons in contrasting markets provide some insights to marketing and pricing strategies. Data sources used include OAG (schedules and capacity), AEA (traditional European airlines traffic by region), the UK CAA (airport, airline and route traffic plus survey information of passenger types) and ICAO (international route traffic and capacity by carrier). It is concluded that airlines often have different competitors depending on the context but in surprisingly many cases there are actually few or no direct substitutes. The competitive process set in train by deregulation of European air services in the 1990s is leading back to one of natural monopolies and oblique alternatives. It is the names of the main participants that have changed however!

Caracterização do perfil dos pacientes em oxigenoterapia domiciliar em uma cidade do interior do estado de São Paulo

Pós-graduação em Enfermagem (mestrado profissional) - FMB

Quantifying the OH radical by global scale NMHC measurements from the NOAA - ESRL cooperative flask sampling network

Summary PhD Thesis Jan Pollmann: This thesis focuses on global scale measurements of light reactive non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC), in the volatility range from ethane to toluene with a special focus on ethane, propane, isobutane, butane, isopentane and pentane. Even though they only occur at the ppt level (nmol mol-1) in the remote troposphere these species can yield insight into key atmospheric processes. An analytical method was developed and subsequently evaluated to analyze NMHC from the NOAA – ERSL cooperative air sampling network. Potential analytical interferences through other atmospheric trace gases (water vapor and ozone) were carefully examined. The analytical parameters accuracy and precision were analyzed in detail. It was proven that more than 90% of the data points meet the Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) data quality objective. Trace gas measurements from 28 measurement stations were used to derive the global atmospheric distribution profile for 4 NMHC (ethane, propane, isobutane, butane). A close comparison of the derived ethane data with previously published reports showed that northern hemispheric ethane background mixing ratio declined by approximately 30% since 1990. No such change was observed for southern hemispheric ethane. The NMHC data and trace gas data supplied by NOAA ESRL were used to estimate local diurnal averaged hydroxyl radical (OH) mixing ratios by variability analysis. Comparison of the variability derived OH with directly measured OH and modeled OH mixing ratios were found in good agreement outside the tropics. Tropical OH was on average two times higher than predicted by the model. Variability analysis was used to assess the effect of chlorine radicals on atmospheric oxidation chemistry. It was found that Cl is probably not of significant relevance on a global scale.

Annual air quality report.

Mode of access: Internet.

The relationships between a developing regional airport and local commerce and industry

This thesis describes an investigation into a Local Authority's desire to use its airport to aid regional economic growth. Short studies on air freight. the impact of an airport on the local economy, incoming tourism. and the factors influencing airlines in their use of airports, show that this desire is valid. but only in so far as the airport enables air services to be provided. A survey of airlines. conducted to remedy some deficiencies in the documented knowledge on airline decision-making criteria. indicates that there is cause for concern about the methods used to develop air services. A comparison with the West German network suggests that Birmingham is underprovided with international scheduled flights, and reinforces the survey conclusion that an airport authority must become actively involved in the development of air services. Participation in the licence applications of two airlines to use Birmingham Airport confirms the need for involvement but without showing the extent of the influence which an airport authority may exert. The conclusion is reached that in order to fulfill its development potential, an airport must be marketed to both the general public and the air transport industry. There is also a need for a national air services plan.

Summary report : the high road or the low road? Alternatives for Australia's future

This document is a summary of the findings of the inaugural study commissioned by the Australian Business Foundation Limited. It was conducted by Professor Jane Marceau, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research) at the University of Western Sydney Macarthur, Dr Karen Manley, Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Western Sydney Macarthur and Mr Derek Sicklen, Managing Director of Australian Economic Analysis Pty Limited. The full report is available from the Australian Business Foundation. The Australian Business Foundation Limited is a recently formed independent economic and industry policy think-tank. It has been established and sponsored by Australian Business Limited, a pre-eminent and long-standing industry association and business services network. The report is in three parts. The first reviews the key findings of contemporary international economic and innovation-oriented analyses of the characteristics of high growth economies. The second assesses the shape, structure and dynamics of Australian industry as these compare with the characteristics for successful economic development suggested in the literature. Finally, the report indicates the nature of urgently required policy directions.

The informed manager : exploring absorptive capacity in the non-profit sector

Being across new knowledge is critical to the survival of individual businesses. This study explored the way in which managers of small social services in Queensland identified important new knowledge and brought this into their organisations. New knowledge was found to be highly valued by managers with key resources allocated to knowledge seeking processes particularly in response to regulatory change. Knowledge absorption involved accessing multiple sources, and external professional networks were found to be critical to understanding and integrating new knowledge. The research highlighted the challenges in securing new knowledge and the importance of managers professional links.

Regional aviation and economic growth : cointegration and causality analysis in Australia

Air transport is a critical link to regional, rural and remote communities in Australia. Air services provide important economic and social benefits but very little research has been done on assessing the value of regional aviation. This research provides the first empirical evidence that there is short and long run causality between regional aviation and economic growth. The authors analysed 88 regional airports in Australia over a period of 1985–86 to 2010–11 to determine the catalytic impacts of regional air transport on regional economic growth. The analysis was conducted using annual data related to total airport passenger movements – for the level of airport activity, and real aggregate taxable income – to represent economic growth. A significant bi-directional relationship was established: airports have an impact on regional economic growth and the economy directly impacts regional air transport. The economic significance of regional air transport confirms the importance of the airport as infrastructure for regional councils and the need for them to maintain and develop local airports. Funding should be targeted at airports directly to support regional development.

Developing an epidemic forecasting model for Influenza A in Brisbane, Australia, based on climate and Hong Kong Influenza A surveillance data

Influenza is associated with substantial disease burden [ 1]. Development of a climate-based early warning system for in fluenza epidemics has been recommended given the signi fi - cant association between climate variability and influenza activity [2]. Brisbane is a subtropical city in Australia and offers free in fluenza vaccines to residents aged ≥65 years considering their high risks in developing life-threatening complications, especially for in fluenza A predominant seasons. Hong Kong is an international subtropical city in Eastern Asia and plays a crucial role in global infectious diseases transmission dynamics via the international air transportation network [3, 4]. We hypothesized that Hong Kong in fluenza surveillance data could provide a signal for in fluenza epidemics in Brisbane [ 4]. This study aims to develop an epidemic forecasting model for influenza A in Brisbane elders, by combining climate variability and Hong Kong in fluenza A surveillance data. Weekly numbers of laboratoryconfirmed influenza A positive isolates for people aged ≥65 years from 2004 to 2009 were obtained for Brisbane from Queensland Health, Australia, and for Hong Kong from Queen Mary Hospital (QMH). QMH is the largest public hospital located in Hong Kong Island, and in fluenza surveillance data from this hospital have been demonstrated to be representative for influenza circulation in the entirety of Hong Kong [ 5]. The Brisbane in fluenza A epidemics occurred during July –September, whereas the Hong Kong in fluenza A epidemics occurred during February –March and May –August.