Network Investment Research Articles

Collaborative Governance in the European Transmission Network Investment for Cross-Border Cooperation

Collaborative Governance in the European Transmission Network Investment for Cross-Border Cooperation

Nexus Tax Laws and Economies of Density in E‐Commerce: A Study of Amazon's Fulfillment Center Network

We quantify the distortionary effects of nexus tax laws on Amazon's distribution network investments between 1999 and 2018. We highlight the role of two features of the expansion of Amazon's network: densification of the network of distribution facilities and vertical integration into package sortation. Densification results in a reduction in the cost of shipping orders, but comes at the expense of higher facility operating costs in more expensive areas and lower scale economies of processing shipments. Nexus laws furthermore generate additional sales tax liabilities as the network grows. Combining data on household spending across online and offline retailers with detailed data on Amazon's distribution network, we quantify these trade‐offs through a static model of demand and a dynamic model of investment. Our results suggest that Amazon's expansion led to significant shipping cost savings and facilitated the realization of aggregate economies of scale. We find that abolishing nexus tax laws in favor of a non‐discriminatory tax policy would induce the company to decentralize its network, lowering its shipping costs. Non‐discriminatory taxation would also entail lower revenue, however, as tax‐inclusive prices would rise, resulting in a fall in profit overall. This drop and the decline in consumer welfare from higher taxes together fall short of the increases in tax revenue and rival profit, suggesting that the abolishment of nexus laws would lead to an increase in total welfare.

On dividend policy and market valuations of Australia’s listed electricity utilities: Regulated vs. merchant

Restructuring of Australia’s electricity supply industry during the 1990s led to two clear lines of business emerging, (i). regulated utilities (i.e. poles & wires), and (ii). merchant utilities (i.e. competitive generation and retail). There are dozens of utility businesses in Australia but only four were listed on the Australian Stock Exchange — two regulated and two merchant. Over the past decade the Australian Energy Regulator entered a ‘tightening phase’ vis-à-vis Opex and Capex allowances, with regulated utilities arguing regulated rates of return were sub-optimal. In this article, earnings, dividends and market valuations of Australia’s ASX-listed regulated and merchant utilities are analysed over the period 2007–2021. The practical evidence is Australia’s regulated utilities avoided the large swings in earnings that characterised merchant utilities, exhibiting outcomes consistent with the lifecycle theory of dividend policy (i.e. falling cost of capital). Soaring valuations culminated in the simultaneous takeover events of Australia’s two ASX-listed regulated utilities. This makes criticisms of regulatory policy on rates of return hard to reconcile, at least from an historic perspective. However, the industry now faces a very different trajectory and set of market conditions — rising rates, higher inflation and an unwinding of lifecycle theory effects given substantial network investments required to meet climate change objectives. This may in turn require returns policy recalibration. Unfortunately for policymakers, all regulated utilities have now been delisted, ending our ability to observe ‘real’ capital market responses to regulatory change.

Revisiting early online learning experiences amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia: Benefits, barriers, and impact on pharmacy student learning outcomes

Background: The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) imposed dramatic changes on pharmacy education. On-campus educational activities were suspended and transformed into online learning. Several studies reported experiences with online learning, yet few evaluated overall student acceptance and achievement of online learning. Objective: This study aimed to explore the benefits, barriers, pharmacy student learning achievement, and their recommendation towards an online learning model. Methods: A survey was conducted among 1,658 pharmacy students from 28 provinces in Indonesia using an online questionnaire that passed validity and reliability testing. Descriptive analyses were conducted subsequently. Results: Of the total sample, 85% viewed that online learning was the compelling option to continue education due to the COVID-19 travel restriction. Poor internet connectivity was the most relevant hurdle reported by two-thirds of respondents. Learning achievement was negatively affected, as the majority reported poor ability to understand the course material from lectures and laboratory practicum. In addition, the lack of class engagement was evident as students and lecturers were not prepared and adapted for virtual interaction. Conclusion: Online learning is a feasible method in the short term as it is practical and prevents COVID-19’s spread. However, this may be problematic in the longer term since it has negatively affected students’ overall performance. Some improvements can be undertaken, such as creating an engaging discussion during virtual teaching in combination with investments in better internet networks and computer access.

Technoeconomic assessment of an FTTH network investment in the Greek telecommunications market

Recent years have seen an increasing need for higher broadband connections, fueled by novel applications including fifth generation wireless networks (5G). The European Commission is working on achieving specific milestones regarding the development of next generation networks. Many EU countries have opted to adopt a gradual migration path towards the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) technology in view of the high costs of implementation. The Fiber-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) architecture, combined with very-high-bit-rate digital subscriber line 2 (VDSL2) and vectoring noise cancellation techniques may therefore provide a viable short-term basis solution. Techno-economic modeling and assessment is vital at the initial stages of the development of a telecommunication network investment project involving high capital expenditures for the infrastructure. The present work provides a techno-economic model in order to assess the prospects of such a network upgrade project from a financial perspective, following a three-way migration path. The three stages are: the implementation of the FTTC architecture with VDSL2 vectoring technology, the upgrade to FTTC with G.Fast and finally the migration to FTTH. The analysis is implemented over a suburb of the city of Athens, Greece. Different scenarios are evaluated, predicting profits even from the first years following the investment. The analysis includes the estimation of the degree of market penetration, analytical cost calculations for the implementation and operation of the network and the evaluation of crucial financial indicators, regarding the prospects of the investment in vectoring services. The study can serve as a complete road-map and can be applied in similar upgrade scenarios. The most important outcome of the analysis is that the profits resulted from each upgrade will finance the next step.

Embodying a praxis of care: The urgency of carework in supporting student activists

AbstractInstitutional response to #BlackLivesMatter and anti‐Asian hate are shaped by crisis response with strategic plans, rather than structural change and investment in care networks. In this article, we offer our personal narratives to illustrate the possibilities of embodying carework to support student activists and illuminate how we collectively survive.

Strategies used by the soft drink industry to grow and sustain sales: a case-study of The Coca-Cola Company in East Asia

BackgroundThe market and non-market activities of the food and beverage industry contribute to unhealthy and unsustainable dietary patterns, increasingly in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We aimed to describe how...

Evaluate and Analysis Multimedia Traffic with QoS-Based Multiple Access Protocol for Wireless Communication

In the past decade, billions of devices and smartphones as terminals have been connected and managed by the wireless networks. Multimedia traffics in high performance wireless network utilities work on QoS-base multiple access protocols, specifically in 5G wireless networks or Industry 4.0. These protocols can enhance utility and effectiveness by increasing throughput, reducing delay, and lessening the loss ratio while the terminals communicate with other terminals in the wireless networks. In this paper, we will present a novel multiple-access protocol in the wireless network and evaluate and analyze the performances of multimedia traffic on the wireless network. Furthermore, administrators or IT regulators can use the protocol as an opportunity to create healthier network environments, which will definitely encourage continuing investment in wireless network and next-generation technology.

The Role of Proximity in Transformational Development: The Case of Resource-Based Cities in China

Proactive integration into the national city network and the improvement of the level of openness to the outside world is important for the new period to promote the high-quality transformational development of resource-based cities. Based on the gravity model and social network analysis methods, the role of geographical proximity and network proximity (non-spatial proximity) in the high-quality transformation of resource-based cities is systematically analyzed. The impact of geographic proximity, network proximity, and their interactions on the transformation of resource-based cities was also empirically tested by constructing an econometric model. It is found that: (1) The cities with the highest gravitational values and gravitational values among the neighbouring cities of resource-based cities did not change significantly from 2001 to 2019, and cities with better transformation are mostly dominated by RBC-non–RBC combinations, with the gravitational values of neighbouring cities at the middle level. (2) The hierarchy of resource-based cities in both the national organizational network and investment network increased significantly during 2001–2019, but the difference is that the organizational network is centered on Beijing. (3) While there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between geographical proximity and transformation in resource-based cities, there is a linear positive relationship between network investment proximity and transformation. However, there is a substitution and complementary effect between the two, and they work together to promote the high-quality transformation of resource-based cities.

From a network model to a model network: strategies for network development to narrow the LIS research–practice gap

PurposeThe purpose of the empirical study was to examine whether strategies shown to work well in one model of network development for library and information science (LIS) practitioners and researchers could be applied successfully in the development of a new network and contribute to the narrowing of the research–practice gap in LIS.Design/methodology/approachOverall, 32 members of a new professional network were surveyed by a questionnaire following the completion of a programme of four network events held between 2019 and 2021.FindingsThe analysis demonstrates the transferability of the existing model of network development to a new network and that it can be successfully adapted for online delivery of network events and activities.Practical implicationsThe criteria deployed for the evaluation of the new network could be used in other similar settings. Funding bodies can also use these findings as demonstration of the value of their investment in network grants.Originality/valueThis contribution on means of growing collaborative networks to narrow the LIS research–practice gap stands out in contrast with prior research that tends to focus the support of research productivity of academic librarians in North American universities for the purposes of career development. Here wider aspects of research engagement are considered of value for LIS practitioners from a range of sectors and institutions, beyond North America, for purposes that are broader than personal advancement.

Challenges of post-conflict urban transportation reconstruction in Mogadishu, Somalia

Mogadishu has experienced continuous internal conflicts in the past two decades, which has destroyed most parts of the city. As a result, it faces daunting development challenges to overcome the legacy of the sustained conflicts and fragility. The capital city, Mogadishu, is a significant pillar in building statehood as it forms an integral part of the growth and development of the country. It essentially provides an environment for the revival of socio-cultural activities and economic productivity in post-civil war reconstruction. Urban sprawls from the influx of displaced populations have extended city and town limits in Somalia, and the capital city Mogadishu bears the blunt of this expansion. Urban transportation in Mogadishu is a significant challenge requiring critical attention. Massive investment in urban transportation infrastructure and networks is vital for the city's urban recovery and economic development. However, the literature shows the lack of information and relevant statistics to support transport planning. Many NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and international development agencies are currently conducting surveys to improve the data resource for the post-conflict planning, development and management of the city. This paper evaluates the urban transportation in Mogadishu by providing an assessment of the challenges and opportunities for the new Mogadishu City Transport Planning Approach (MCTPA). The paper's findings could serve as a template for reconstructing the other urban transport systems in other parts of the country.

The cost to households of a large electricity outage

A large electricity outage is costly for households both directly and indirectly. The direct cost is the disutility from lacking electricity at home. The indirect cost is the disutility from lacking access to infrastructure services that depend on electricity, such as internet and mobile phones, public transport, shops and restaurants. Using a sample of nearly 5000 Norwegian households we estimate the direct and indirect cost of an electricity outage. We find that the indirect cost adds about 50% to the direct cost: households' willingness to pay (WTP) for a major electricity outage that hits several infrastructure services is about 50% higher than their willingness to pay for an outage that hits only their home. This information is important for investments in electricity networks. A high expected cost of outages indicates that additional investment into electricity reliability will be optimal.

Bi‐level planning of distributed energy resources into existing transmission grids: Pathway to sustainable energy systems

This paper presents a novel stochastic planning framework for the integration of renewable distributed energy resources (DERs) into existing power systems without relying on new investments in the transmission networks. The upper-level problem of the proposed model aims at minimizing the total expected social cost of supplying demand that includes the expected cost of getting energy from conventional generating units and DERs, the congestion cost of transmission networks, and the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission cost, while each of the privately invested DER satisfies a specified rate of return. The lower-level problem clears the electricity market to find locational marginal prices (LMPs) and operation status of the system. The proposed framework is formulated as a bi-level optimization problem that is recast as a single-level problem using the duality technique. The non-linear terms are then linearized using the “bigM” method and the complementary slackness conditions. The uncertainties in the power production of renewable resources and the future electric loads are captured using the scenario technique in which the copula method is employed for considering the correlation between uncertainties. Finally, the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed method are validated on a 3-bus test system and the modified IEEE RTS 24-bus system.

Location of the Intermediate Echelon to Add Purchase Value and Sustainability Criteria in a Mining Supply Network

This study presents an operational analysis to determine the location of an intermediate hub in a supply network for the mining industry, incorporating sustainability criteria through an optimization model. The sector of small, medium, and artisan mining enterprises (PAMMA), in Chile, has the same pressure as large mining to meet the demands of sustainability in the medium term, but the network of PAMMA facilities is precarious and requires government support for development. One strategy to improve the supply network is to locate intermediate points with limited capacities (called purchasing powers) to help the viability of the business model by incorporating sustainability objectives, such as diminishing the movement of minerals, as well as reducing the carbon footprint and gas emissions, all in support the promotion of the activity of small miners. In order to achieve the strategy above, a mathematical model of location and sustainable capacity is proposed. A grouping of suppliers was carried out to establish the number of mining suppliers in each cluster and the location of the intermediate hubs. Then, the prioritization of the parameters and classification of the processing plant alternatives was performed to define a vector of weights to rank the degree of sustainability. A sustainability matrix was calculated on the basis of the distances and transportation costs between the supplier hubs of the supply network and the processing plants. With each of these factors, a capacity model was developed to validate the mineral process flows in the supply network and estimate the expected productivity levels. The model is intended to support operational decision making when determining the location of an intermediate purchasing power that reduces the impact of transportation costs and emissions. The model was applied in a case study of the supply network in the small mining sector in Chile. The results recommend the location of hubs to add value and encourage investment in the PAMMA supply network.

A STUDY ON PERCEIVED KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS ACCEPTANCE OF THE COVID-19 VACCINE AMONG THE PEOPLE OF SABAH

The Malaysian government vaccination drive to curb the Covid-19 virus has received with mixed responses from the citizen. To manage the vaccination drive, the government urge the people to register their interest using a mobile apps called MySejahtera. However, in Sabah, the state located in Borneo Island the response was very slow. Therefore, this study aims to uncover the perceived knowledge, attitude, and behaviour among the people in Sabah toward the Covid-19 vaccine. It also aimed to find out the proportion of people who accept, refuse and indecisive in getting the vaccine. A survey was administered to 985 respondents inclusive of citizen and the undocumented from Sabah’s three largest urban centres. Both data collection procedures were conducted throughout March 2021.The result shows the overall perceived knowledge, attitudes and perceived behaviour among respondents were positive towards the vaccine. Information seeking and sharing behaviour about vaccines among the respondent are on the high side. Only 50.3% of the respondents indicated that they are willing to receive the vaccine, 27% are indecisive and 22.7% indicated refuse. Female respondents are more positive towards the vaccines. There is no significant difference between age group as well as between the economic background. The study implies that there was a need to have an additional key message on the content, development and how the vaccines work. Specific key messages for the undocumented need to be formulated to increase their overall experience with the vaccine. An investment in Interpersonal communication network was needed in engaging the fence-sitter.

Challenges and Benefits of the Use of AASHTOWare for 3 Climatic Regions in Turkey

The economic growth in developing countries triggers investments in highway networks. Thus, this requires a re-evaluation of existing design practices, which are mostly empirical. An alternative is the relatively recently developed Mechanistic-Empirical (M-E) design method. It has major data challenges and must be identified before a major switch. In this study, three different climatic regions for Turkey were analyzed optimizing 162 design combinations. Results showed that climate, traffic, and reliability parameters extremely affect the performance of the pavement. As in the current practice of Turkey, climate and material effects are not currently considered; these should be further studied considering the local calibration steps.

Maximum available capacity evaluation of distribution network considering photovoltaics and electric vehicles

The surge of new loads such as the electric vehicles (EVs) and the large-scale integration of photovoltaics (PVs) pose a significant impact on the safe and economic operation of the distribution network. To evaluate the maximum available capacity of the distribution network, this paper analyzes the charging profile of the EVs, and established the model that predicts the medium- and long-term charging load of the EVs. Then, the maximum available capacity evaluation model that considers the distribution network reconfiguration under the influences of the EVs and PVs is developed. The proposed model is solved using the second-order cone relaxation technique. Besides, to determine the best location of the PVs, the genetic algorithm with the elite retention strategy is adopted to obtain the optimum allocation of the PVs. Simulation results carried out on the modified test system that includes two IEEE 33-bus systems show that the proposed method can accurately evaluate the maximum available capacity of the distribution network, and quantify the effect of the network reconfiguration and PVs on the maximum supply capability of the distribution network. In addition, the proposed method can also provide the theoretical support for the optimum investment in the distribution network.

Network Investment as Drivers of Mobile Subscription – A Firm-level Analysis

Network Investment as Drivers of Mobile Subscription – A Firm-level Analysis

EXPLORING JITTERING AND ROUTING OPTIONS FOR CONVERTING ORIGIN-DESTINATION DATA INTO ROUTE NETWORKS: TOWARDS ACCURATE ESTIMATES OF MOVEMENT AT THE STREET LEVEL

Abstract. Origin-Destination (OD) datasets provide vital information on how people travel between areas in many cities, regions and countries worldwide. OD datasets are usually represented geographically with straight lines or routes between zone centroids. For active travel, this geographic representation has substantial limitations, especially when zone origins and centroids are large: only using a single centroid origin/destination for each large zone results in sparse route networks covering only a small fraction of likely walking and cycling routes. This paper implements and explores the use of jittering and different routing options to overcome this limitation, thereby adding value to aggregate OD data to support investment in sustainable transport infrastructure. The route network results — generated from on an open dataset representing cycling trips in Lisbon, Portugal — were compared with a ground-truth dataset from 67 count locations distributed throughout the city. This approach enabled exploration of which jittering parameters and routing options lead to the most accurate route network results approximating the real geographic distribution of cycling trips in the study area. We found that jittering and disaggregating OD data, combined with routing using low level of traffic stress (quieter) preferences resulted in the most accurate route networks. We conclude that a combined approach involving 1) jittering with intermediate levels of disaggregation and 2) careful selection of routing options can lead to much more realistic route networks than using established OD processing techniques. The methods can be deployed to support evidence-based investment in strategic cycling and other sustainable transport networks in cities worldwide.

Design and Implementation of Online Water Quality Monitoring System

Water quality detection plays an important role in water pollution alarm, water source pollution detection and water source diagnosis and treatment. The online water quality monitoring system based on the Internet of Things technology can monitor the water quality in real time and dynamically, and can serve the strategic requirements of the country for water resources. Currently, the water quality on-line monitoring system is mainly composed of upper computer system and lower base station in domestic researches. This mode of construction has deficiencies such as lack of channel diversity, large investment in communication network, and insufficient capacity of data. Aiming at these problems, this study attempts to use LoRa network technology, cloud architecture combined with water quality monitoring sensors to build a low cost and high reliable water quality monitoring system. Indexes of water quality are collected by intelligent sensors, and are transmitted to cloud server through LoRa network. They can be intelligently analysed by the technology of big data. The system includes both mobile and computer terminals. Indexes of water quality can be monitored timely and accurately by the system, which can further enhance the omnidirectional intelligent management of rivers. By case analysis to verify that the system has certain value of promotion and application.