Commercial Services Research Articles

A Study on the Impact of Commercial Real Estate Management Service Quality on Tenants’ Intention to Renew Their Contracts

A Study on the Impact of Commercial Real Estate Management Service Quality on Tenants’ Intention to Renew Their Contracts

Evaluation of perceived value and behavioral intentions of citizens in Chinese commercially open communities: A case study of Liuyun Community

As urban development shifts from the incremental era to the stock era, urban design is becoming increasingly focused on high-quality living and human needs. However, the opening of traditional communities has been insufficiently examined. This study took Liuyun Community, a typical open community in Guangzhou (China) that has undergone a transformation from residential to commercial use, as its research object. First, more than 300 residents, tourists, and merchants were surveyed via questionnaires administered in field investigations and interviews. Next, the data from the completed questionnaires were used to construct a structural equation model consisting of five dimensions, namely commercial service value, cost value, risk value, perceptual value, and social value. The data were then analyzed to determine the correlations between perceived value and behavioral intention, satisfaction, and other psychological attributes. The following results were obtained: (1) As commercial activities in the community increased, the influence of social value, cost value, and commercial service value on behavioral intention decreased. (2) The open community inevitably had negative impacts on its citizens. However, these negative impacts were mitigated to some extent by high levels of social value. (3) Perceptions of commercial service value varied between groups.

Modeling routing problems in QUBO with application to ride-hailing

Many emerging commercial services are based on the sharing or pooling of resources for common use with the aim of reducing costs. Businesses such as delivery-, mobility-, or transport-as-a-service have become standard in many parts of the world, fulfilling on-demand requests for customers in live settings. However, it is known that many of these problems are NP-hard, and therefore both modeling and solving them accurately is a challenge. Here we focus on one such routing problem, the Ride Pooling Problem (RPP), where multiple customers can request on-demand pickups and drop-offs from shared vehicles within a fleet. The combinatorial optimization task is to optimally pool customer requests using the limited set of vehicles, akin to a small-scale flexible bus route. In this work, we propose a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) program and introduce efficient formulation methods for the RPP to be solved using metaheuristics, and specifically emerging quantum optimization algorithms.

Investigating the market share convergence and welfare potentials of asymmetric train access charges for the commercial passenger rail services

A recent market liberalisation of commercial passenger rail services since 2020 has brought a new era for long-distance transport in the EU. However, drawing from the experiences of countries with unsuccessful entry attempts, we investigate the effects of asymmetric train access charges (TAC). Asymmetric access regulation is based on lower access charges for entrants than for incumbents for a limited period in order to induce convergence of railway undertakings' (RU) market shares. Intending to compare the effects of symmetric and asymmetric TAC, we model oligopoly competition in the number of offered seats between the incumbent (Inoui) and entrant (Trenitalia) on the Paris–Lyon line, the first case of asymmetric TAC regulation on railways. In the first year of competition, consumer surplus, entrant's profit, and total welfare without infrastructure manager's profit increased with asymmetric TAC compared to symmetric TAC without discounts. As the discount for entrant diminishes over time, all previous welfare elements monotonically decline. By introducing new departures and running double trainsets, the entrant can reverse this monotonically declining trend. This implies that asymmetric TAC should provide additional incentives for entrants to increase their frequency and number of offered seats.

Factors associated with lifetime use of commercial sex work services among Japanese men aged 20–49: findings from a quasi-representative national survey, 2022

ObjectivesApproximately half of Japanese men aged 20–49 years have purchased sexual services, but data concerning the use of commercial sex work (CSW) in Japan remain scarce.MethodsWe used online survey data...

Quantifying the main and interactive effects of the dominant factors on the diurnal cycles of land surface temperature in typical urban functional zones

The urban heat island (UHI) effect exists both during daytime and nighttime and varies with urban characteristics, such as 2D/3D urban morphology and socio-economics. However, there is a lack of quantitative understanding of the roles of these characteristics in influencing land surface temperature (LST) variations in different urban functional zones (UFZs) throughout the diurnal cycle. In this study, we examined the responses of diurnal LSTs in different UFZs to 2D/3D urban morphology and socio-economic variables. Results showed the following: (1) During daytime, the main drivers of LST varied with not only the UFZs but also the observation times; during nighttime, the LST variations across different UFZs were largely controlled by 3D urban morphology and socio-economic factors. (2) At 10:37, LST declined most rapidly when the percentage of tree cover (PER_Tree) exceeded a certain threshold. The threshold values of PER_Tree were 85%, 70%, 50%, and 60% for the residential, industrial, commercial, and public service zones, respectively. Irrespective of the UFZs, a nighttime cooling effect occurred only when sky view factor (SVF) exceeded 0.8. (3) For locations with high population density (Pop_Den) in the residential zone, whether urban trees induced a cooling effect depended on both the observation time and PER_Tree during daytime; however, a higher SVF tended to result in an increased LST during nighttime. In the public service zone, when Pop_Den exceeded 50, urban trees with high height contributed to nighttime LST cooling, whereas a warming effect occurred with trees with low height. The direct implications of this study suggest that 3D urban morphology and socio-economics are more efficient mitigation strategies for all UFZs at night, and the interactive effects between the dominant drivers of diurnal LSTs should be considered to cool the city most effectively.

Clinical validation of 3D virtual modelling for laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision with central vascular ligation for proximal colon cancer

IntroductionLaparoscopic Complete Mesocolic Excision (CME) with Central Vascular Ligation (CVL) in colon cancer surgery has not been broadly adopted in part because of safety concerns. Pre-operative 3-D virtual modelling (3DVM) may help but needs validation. Methods3DVM were routinely constructed from CT mesenteric angiograms (CTMA) using a commercial service (Visible Patient, Strasbourg, France) for consecutive patients during our CMECVL learning curve over three years. 3DVMs were independently checked versus CTMA and operative findings. CMECVL outcomes were compared versus other patients undergoing standard mesocolic excision (SME) surgery laparoscopically in the same hospital as control. Stakeholders were studied regarding 3DVM use and usefulness (including detail retention) versus CTMA and a physical 3D-printed model. Results26 patients underwent 3DVM with intraoperative display during laparoscopic CMECVL within existing workflows. 3DVM accuracy was 96 % re arteriovenous variations at patient level versus CTMA/intraoperative findings including accessory middle colic artery identification in three patients. Twenty-two laparoscopic CMECVL with 3DVM cases were compared with 49 SME controls (age 69 ± 10 vs 70.9 ± 11 years, 55 % vs 53 % males). There were no intraoperative complications with CMECVL and similar 30-day postoperative morbidity (30 % vs 29 %), hospital stay (9 ± 3 vs 12 ± 13 days), 30-day readmission (6 % vs 4 %) and reoperation (0 % vs 4 %) rates. Intraoperative times were longer (215.7 ± 43.9 vs 156.9 ± 52.9 min, p=<0.01) but decreased significantly over time. 3DVM surveys (n = 98, 20 surgeons, 48 medical students, 30 patients/patient relatives) and comparative study revealed majority endorsement (90 %) and favour (87 %). Conclusion3DVM use was positively validated for laparoscopic CMECVL and valued by clinicians, students, and patients alike.

Sectoral carbon dioxide emissions and environmental sustainability in Pakistan

Global greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide emissions have escalated to concerning levels. Given the growing urbanization, industrialization, and energy consumption, it is crucial to understand how carbon dioxide emissions from various sectors influence environmental sustainability in Pakistan. The prime objective of this study is to examine the nexus between sectoral carbon dioxide emissions and environmental sustainability in Pakistan, analyzing data from 1971 to 2014. The study employs the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) method and the Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) model to analyze patterns and relationships, providing insights into how each sector's emissions contribute to the overall environmental impact. The results highlight that the independent variables – economic growth, population growth, and energy consumption - are the most significant contributors to overall carbon dioxide emissions, driven by the high consumption of fossil fuels. At an aggregate/disaggregate level, various models show mixed associations between dependent variables such as overall carbon dioxide emissions, carbon dioxide emissions from gaseous fuel consumption, carbon dioxide emissions from liquid fuel consumption, carbon dioxide emissions from solid fuel consumption, carbon dioxide emissions from residential buildings, commercial and public services, and carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector with the independent variables. Pairwise Granger causality confirms a unidirectional causality among various pairs of relationships. The study suggests that policymakers in Pakistan adopt a multi-sectoral approach to achieve environmental sustainability. It also recommends accelerating the transition to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydropower to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Does better regulatory institutions always enhance the productivity effects of services trade liberalization？

The majority of previous studies have asserted that the high quality of local institutions can improve the productivity effects of trade policies; yet, only a few studies have acknowledged the heterogeneous impact of these institutions. Using data from Chinese manufacturing plants, we examine the moderating effects of regional-level regulations on the effectiveness of national services trade policy. The key findings are threefold: First, as the initial degree of service liberalization advances, the productivity effect of trade liberalization diminishes. Second, opening access to foreign enterprises can substitute for pro-competitive regulatory reform. Regardless of whether the regulatory institutions related to administrative processes, law enforcement, and commercial service have improved, services trade liberalization can have significant productivity effects. Third, in contrast, when regulations to protect for local incumbents impose prohibitive costs for new entrants, the impact of services trade liberalization is highly contingent on local regulatory improvement. The confirmation that trade liberalization can potentially serve as an alternative measure for local regulation reform in Chinese context distinguishes this study from others.

Analyzing Young Adult Travelers’ Perception and Impacts of Carpooling on Traffic Sustainability

Since young adults (i.e., aged between 18 and 30) are generally more flexible and conscious of economic and environmental concerns, it is essential to assess their travel perceptions and tendency to shift towards sustainable transportation modes. Therefore, this research aims to evaluate the acceptance of carpooling (CP) in the younger population to alleviate traffic congestion, fuel demand, and pollution. This study was conducted in Islamabad, a fast-growing city in Pakistan with a high percentage of young residents, to evaluate travelers’ perceptions, mode choice decisions, and potential acceptance of CP. An online questionnaire-based survey was developed and distributed to collect a total of 656 responses from the young adult population. Various factors influencing travel perceptions, mode choice, and tendency to carpool were categorized and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis, stepwise, and mediated multiple regression analysis. Thereafter, the tangible impacts of CP, including reduced traffic congestion, fuel consumption, and emissions resulting from the potential adoption of CP by the younger population, were quantified. The findings imply that young travelers’ mode choice mediates the relationship between travelers’ perception and the tendency to carpool. The outcomes also affirm the impact of demographic variables, including gender and education levels, on the willingness of the young adult population to shift towards carpooling. Furthermore, results predicted that adopting CP, especially by younger adults, may reduce by about 33.6% the number of private vehicles in Islamabad. The findings of this study could offer helpful insights for transport planners, commercial carpool service operators, environmentalists, and policymakers to promote carpool systems, especially among young adults.

China’s New Housing Security Model: Evaluation of the Job–Housing Balance in Affordable Rental Housing, Shanghai

The Chinese government’s recent low-income housing scheme aims to tackle housing challenges faced by the urban floating population. A notable shift in this initiative is the focus on the job–housing balance. This study proposes that the spatial interaction between land designated for affordable rental housing and land for commercial facilities serves as a fundamental metric for evaluating this equilibrium, providing insights into the effectiveness of China’s nascent affordable housing efforts. Drawing on post-2021 data, when China’s revamped affordable housing policy took effect, our research examines the spatial distribution of affordable rental housing and commercial service land in Shanghai. By employing coupled coordination models and local entropy metrics, we delve into the supply equilibrium and pragmatic interrelation of these land types. Our findings reveal localized clustering in the spatial arrangement of rental and commercial land within Shanghai. Zones in the urban core exhibit a supply balance, while the peripheries display diminishing accessibility between these land types. Core urban areas have a lower supply balance but higher accessibility, whereas urban fringes face both low supply balance and low accessibility. These study outcomes have significant implications for strategic planning and the construction of affordable rental housing.

Impediments to urban land development and transformation in Tanzania: evaluating conventional approaches and proposing innovative solutions

Urban land development involves converting rural land into urban land suitable for various purposes such as residential, commercial, industrial, mixed-use development, and infrastructure services. The urban land development in Tanzanian cities faces numerous challenges rooted in colonial-era practices and the coexistence of customary and formal land ownership systems. This study thoroughly examines the limitations of conventional land development approaches and their impacts on spatial planning. This study compares traditional land acquisition and development with innovative, self-financing, cost-effective strategies. The study deployed a mixed methodology comprising questionnaire surveys and interviews to address specific objectives for improving urban land development practices. The findings highlight the potential of innovative strategies in catalysing urban development and spatial planning, offering a promising path forward. It emphasises the need to integrate diverse approaches to address infrastructure challenges, enhance spatial planning, and protect the interests of affected communities, thereby fostering a more sustainable and equitable urban landscape.

On the Economics of Cross‐border Reparations Payments: The Case for a Bank of International Reparations

ABSTRACTThis article considers the challenge of ensuring that international reparations payments are effective in benefiting the recipient countries of such reparations. To guarantee that these financial flows provide long‐term benefits to the recipient economies, the article recommends the adoption of a developmental state approach to the use of the funds. It also considers in detail the advantages of establishing a Bank of International Reparations that serves as a trustee for the receipt and distribution of reparations, facilitates coordination of the use of reparations across countries to avoid disadvantageous forms of competition, provides investment banking services to support the use of the reparations to fund a domestically focused ‘sovereign wealth fund’, and provides ‘public option’ commercial banking services to recipient country firms in order to foster the growth of recipient country economies. Finally, the article finds that the most effective means of funding the reparations would be to use Special Drawing Rights (or SDRs).

Analysis of the Government’s Decision on Leasing Different Lands under Public Ownership of Land

Using the multinomial logit model, this paper investigates the factors influencing the government’s decision to lease different types of land in Shenzhen, China, including residential, industrial, commercial, and public service land. The aspects of the land attributes, economy and government at the district level, and land accessibility are considered as the influencing factors. Regarding the factors as the variables, the influencing factors supporting the district government decision to lease different types of land and the probability that a type of land will be consider to be leased by the government are investigated via the multinomial logit model. Using data of factors from 2005 to 2021 in Shenzhen, China, the results of the model can be obtained. After discussing and analyzing the results, it is shown that the land attribute, land accessibility, and economy and polity at the district level affect government decisions on leasing land; furthermore, industrial land is more likely to be leased by the district government than other types of land. Lastly, implications and suggestions for the district government are discussed.

Impact of Neighborhood Urban Morphologies on Walkability Using Spatial Multi-Criteria Analysis

With the increase in car domination, air pollution, traffic congestion, and urban sprawl, sustainable, livable, creative, and walkable cities are critical, now more than ever, for improving quality of life. The effect of neighborhood urban morphologies on walkability has received much attention in recent years. In this vein, the main research question is: how do different neighborhood urban morphologies impact the level of walkability in urban environments, and what are the essential elements impacting the walkability index? Thus, this research aims to determine the impact of urban morphology on walkability in the city of Alexandria, Egypt, as a case study by utilizing multi-spatial analysis. In particular, the study focused on assessing the walkability of four different study areas that vary according to their urban morphology: Kafr–Abdo, Smouha, Latin Quarter, and Roushdy areas. The analysis utilized GIS to calculate a number of indicators to reach the final walkability index for each study area. Results helped to identify the neighborhoods characterized by the lowest level of pedestrian walkability in relation to the area’s urban morphology in an attempt to help decision-makers suggest the appropriate interventions for those areas. The aggregated index results showed that the highest walkability index was that of the gridiron morphology, followed by the linear morphology, with the radial and organic morphologies coming in behind them, respectively. The composite walkability index values were 0.364, 0.247, 0.232 and 0.225, respectively. The reason for this is mainly the presence of the commercial density, intersection density, street density, services density, BCR, and residential density.

OpenVPN is Open to VPN Fingerprinting

VPN adoption has seen steady growth over the past decade due to increased public awareness of privacy and surveillance threats. In response, certain governments are attempting to restrict VPN access by identifying connections using “dual use” DPI technology. To investigate the potential for VPN blocking, we develop mechanisms for accurately fingerprinting connections using OpenVPN, the most popular protocol for commercial VPN services. We identify three fingerprints based on protocol features such as byte pattern, packet size, and server response. Playing the role of an attacker who controls the network, we design a two-phase framework that performs passive fingerprinting and active probing in sequence. We evaluate our framework in partnership with a million-user ISP and find that we identify over 85% of OpenVPN flows with only negligible false positives, suggesting that OpenVPN-based services can be effectively blocked with little collateral damage. Although some commercial VPNs implement countermeasures to avoid detection, our framework successfully identified connections to 34 out of 41 “obfuscated” VPN configurations. We discuss the implications of the VPN fingerprintability for different threat models and propose short-term defenses. In the longer term, we urge commercial VPN providers to be more transparent about their obfuscation approaches and to adopt more principled detection countermeasures, such as those developed in censorship circumvention research.

The Economic Efficiency of Android Phone Enabled Modems and Standard Modems in Nigeria: The Case of Abuja

This study examined the economic efficiency of Android phone-enabled modems and standard modems in Nigeria. A sample of 388 commercial (cybercafe) and private internet service users were selected using random sampling. The data were analyzed using frequency and percentage calculations to identify patterns and trends as well as ordinal logit regression analysis. The research study revealed that the odds for higher economic efficiency rise when subscribers or commercial (cybercafe) and private internet service users’ monthly internet subscriptions is lower. Similarly, the study revealed that the odds for higher economic efficiency rise when subscribers or commercial (cybercafe) and private internet service user’s daily internet access time increases. Regarding connectivity issues while using an Android-enabled modem, the study showed that the odds for higher economic efficiency fall when connectivity challenges increase. The odds for higher economic efficiency increase when connectivity challenges arise while using a standard modem. The research study also showed that the odds for higher economic efficiency increases when more expensive Android phones are used. The study further revealed that the odds for higher economic efficiency will fall when subscribers or commercial (cybercafe) and private internet service users use less expensive standard modems. The study also revealed that the effect of the explanatory variables or predictors is different across the levels of the dependent or explained variable. Thus, the study recommends that regulatory agencies and operators should come up with a price per megabyte of internet access that will reduce the initial cost of services rendered by private and commercial internet users in a bid to drive economic growth. Regulators and service providers must ensure minimal or no interference with the service provided to end users in a bid to promote the economic efficiency of Internet services. Efforts must be made by the government to the efficient devices affordable, and an embargo must be placed on the importation of internet devices (phone and standard modem) with poor efficiency

U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service Pilot Fellowship Program (DOC)

U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service Pilot Fellowship Program (DOC)

Factors affecting the cessation of commercial air services at English regional airports

Although much of the existing research on regional airports focuses on their contribution to regional economic development, regional airports in England, as in other deregulated markets, operate in a highly competitive market and not all have been able to sustain commercial flights. This paper examines the factors that have led to the cessation of commercial air services at English regional airports following liberalisation of the European air transport market in 1992. Six factors which have contributed to air service cessation are identified and potential futures for smaller regional airports discussed.

Analysis of Export Opportunities and Performance in India

Export refers to a product or service produced in one country but sold to a buyer abroad. Exports are one of the oldest forms of economic transfer, growth and occur on a large scale between nations. India's share of merchandise exports amounted to around 1.6 percent of the total global exports. Moreover, the share of commercial service exports from the country was higher at 3.5 percent during that same period. Exports have played an increasingly important role in India’s economic growth in the last two decades. Increasing demand and Growing population have an immense scope for international trade. Through international trade countries have started to export their surplus commodities that are produced to satisfy the unlimited and scare wants of the particular commodity in another country. In this paper we will be go through various opportunities available for exports from India. We could significantly expand markets, increase economic growth and opportunities, leaving less dependent on any single one. Greater production can lead to larger economies of scale and better margins. Research and development budget could work harder as you can change existing products to suit new markets. Exports provide the basis for sustainable development by earning necessary foreign exchange for the country to import necessary products. India has a wealthy history of International trade and is steadily working to harvest the benefits in the best possible manner. Growth of any developing country is direct related to its exports. If exports are greater than imports then nothing can stop a country from being a developed one. But on the other hand if there is instability in exports or if the exports of any developing country are less than its imports then it adversely affect the process of its economic development. Decrease in exports means low foreign exchange earnings which means less purchasing capacity of a country in the international market