Mail Delivery Research Articles

Implementation of geographic information system technology in mail deliveries organization

The Post of Serbia should create conditions for improvement of its assortment of services by innovations of the current services and introduction of new commercial services in the work process. This can be achieved if high technologies - automation, mechanization and particularly information communication technology and Geographic Information System (GIS) are introduced. The paper discusses results of the case study which comprises application of GIS on the example of delivery areas of the Post of Serbia in Novi Sad based on created thematic maps. The aim is to increase efficiency and productivity of delivery services by application of this technology.

A further look at the 1858 Wallace-Darwin mail delivery question

Recent investigations have led to a conclusion that Alfred Russel Wallace probably mailed his ‘Ternate’ paper on natural selection to Darwin 1 month later than some have assumed, thus freeing Darwin from possible accusations of plagiarism. Further examination of the question suggests that this conclusion is premature because the evidence in favour of the later mailing date appears to be weaker than first considered. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, ●●, ●●–●●.

Changing Technology and the U.S. Mail

The changes in technology that have affected mail delivery are a dynamic way to encourage students to think critically and make meaningful connections across historical eras. In the classroom, personal communication through the mail can become the “thematic glue” used across historical units to highlight the changes in everyday life caused by technological innovation. The post office initiated changes in streetlighting and crosswalks, stimulated the development of rural roads and highways, and provided passenger services on railways. Classroom teachers can use the activities and discussion questions to introduce students to this entity and its influence on our history.

Staff Rationalisation in Public Sector: A Case Study of Nigerian Postal Service Nipost Sokoto Territory

The study examined the view of junior and senior staff of NIPOST regarding staff rationalisation in public service with special reference to Sokoto territory. To achieve this, the study examined the criteria and reason for staff rationalisation, identifies the category of people involved in the exercise, investigates whether staff rationalisation has instilled discipline and brought about efficiency and effectiveness in the organisation. This research is based on information obtained from available records, personal observation and interview conducted. The major conclusion drawn from this paper was the main reason for staff rationalisation is to cut down expenses and reduce redundancy of staff to source for money and to prepare the organisation towards commercialisation. Survey results revealed that 70% of the respondents are of the view that there is improvement in the postal services in areas of delivery of mails by postmen. While 30% agreed that there was no improvement. Available records have shown that 65 junior staff from Sokoto Territory lost their jobs either through retrenchment or dismissal, about 10 senior staff lost their jobs in the same form of termination. Senior Officers in managerial cadre are not affected in the exercise. Most of the respondents believe that there was politics in the whole exercise. Finally, efficiency and effectiveness have not been achieved in NIPOST Sokoto Territory because rationalisation was not properly carried out. Null hypothesis H0 it is accepted and alternate hypothesis HA is rejected.

The development and validation of a job crafting measure for use with blue-collar workers

Job crafting describes a set of proactive behaviours in which employees may engage to shape their work in order to minimize hindering job demands and maximize resources and challenging demands. Such behaviours may be particularly important among blue-collar workers whose jobs are characterized by poor working conditions and low well-being. We present the development and adaptation of a job crafting measure that may be used among blue-collar workers, based on an existing scale by Tims, Bakker, and Derks (2012) that was not specifically developed for blue-collar workers. We test the validity and reliability of the measure in a longitudinal study based on multiple source information from mail delivery workers in Denmark (N=362 at Time 1; N=408 at Time 2). Results indicate the presence of five job crafting dimensions: increasing challenging demands, decreasing social job demands, increasing social job resources, increasing quantitative demands and decreasing hindering job demands. These can be reliably measured with 15 items. The measure shows acceptable discriminant and criterion validity, and test-retest reliability. The findings extend the application of the original questionnaire. They also add to knowledge of the job crafting behaviours in which blue-collar workers engage and link them to well-being outcomes.

MAIL SORTER USING LABVIEW

The Indian postal system is the largest networks in the world. Being the 7th largest country in the world, major population of the country is rural based, where the basic amenities of life is a sweet dream. In such a scenario, having an efficient mail delivery system is essential. Hence, to eliminate the drawbacks in other processes, we propose to fully automate the sorting process. Unlike the code generation technique, it neither requires any human intervention to generate a code based on the pin code nor will be a problem in case of absence of the pin code. The principle used for sorting is the Optical Character Recognition using LabVIEW software. Camera, placed over the slide unit captures the image of the address. The pin code or the state (in the absence of the pin code) is selected and compared with a set of trained characters in the data base. On finding a positive match, based on the first two digits of the pin code or the first four letters of the state, the mail is segregated by the LabVIEW program involving OCR technique. The processed data is sent to the real time application by the DAQ card, which activates the actuating arm(servo motor) to allow the letters to move to the respective stack(zone) and thus sorting the mails automatically, reducing the human effort and errors.

The external validity of giving in the dictator game

We investigate the external validity of giving in the dictator game by using the misdirected letter technique in a within-subject design. First, subjects participated in standard dictator games (double blind) conducted in labs in two different studies. Second, after four to five weeks (study 1) or two years (study 2), we delivered prepared letters to the same subjects. The envelopes and the contents of the letters were designed to create the impression that they were misdirected by the mail delivery service. The letters contained 10 Euros (20 Swiss Francs in study 2) corresponding to the endowment of the in-lab experiments. We observe in both studies that subjects who showed other-regarding behavior in the lab returned the misdirected letters more often than subjects giving nothing, suggesting that in-lab behavior is related to behavior in the field.

Role of Adjacency Matrix & Adjacency List in Graph Theory

Today, graph theory has become major instrument that is used in an array of fields. Some of these include electrical engineering, mathematical research, sociology, economics, computer programming/networking, business administration and marketing. Indeed, many problems can be modeled with paths formed by traveling along the edges of a certain graph. Frequently referenced problems are efficiently planning routes for mail delivery, garbage pickup and snow removal, which can be solved using models that involve paths in graphs. Given these kinds of problems, graphs can become extremely complex, and a more efficient way of representing them is needed in practice. This is where the concept of the adjacency matrix & adjacency list comes into play.

Transformational and passive avoidant leadership as determinants of absenteeism

PurposeDoes leadership style affect absenteeism in a company? The purpose of this paper is to contrast the effects of two leadership styles – transformational and passive avoidant – on absenteeism, both legitimate and illegitimate, as mediated by job satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachA self‐report questionnaire was completed by a sample of 120 employees of a national mail delivery company. Hierarchical regressions were used to analyze the data.FindingsIt was found that transformational leadership decreases illegitimate absenteeism, while passive avoidant leadership increases it. In regard to legitimate absenteeism, transformational leadership is shown to have no effect, while passive avoidant leadership is shown to be negatively related to it. Together, the findings regarding passive avoidant leaders suggest their subordinates tend to come to work when ill (presenteeism), but stay away from work when well (illegitimate absenteeism).Practical implicationsFor managers trying to reduce the costs of absenteeism, this suggests that leadership style can make a difference. Managers who give subordinates very little attention, or attention only when they have done something wrong – the passive avoidant style – are likely to experience the higher costs of both absenteeism and presenteeism. Adopting the transformational style may help to reduce these costs.Originality/valueThe paper helps to extend the current work on leadership; it examines the passive avoidant style, which remains understudied to date; and it enriches our understanding of the relationship between leadership style and absenteeism as an outcome variable by moving beyond a uni‐dimensional conceptualization of absenteeism. Finally, it serves as a basis for future research by providing evidence for a somewhat counter‐intuitive finding that, under passive avoidant leaders, workers appear to come to work when sick, but stay away from work when well.

Use of serum and blood samples on filter paper to improve the surveillance of dengue in Pacific Island Countries

BackgroundIn Pacific Island Countries (PICs) the epidemiology of dengue is characterized by long-term transmission of a single dengue virus (DENV) serotype. The emergence of a new serotype in one island country often indicates major outbreaks with this serotype will follow in other PICs. ObjectivesFilter paper (FP) cards on which whole blood or serum from dengue suspected patients had been dried was evaluated as a method for transportation of this material by standard mail delivery throughout the Pacific. Study designTwenty-two FP-dried whole blood samples collected from patients in New Caledonia and Wallis & Futuna Islands, during DENV-1 and DENV-4 transmission, and 76 FP-dried sera collected from patients in Yap State, Majuro (Republic of Marshall Islands), Tonga and Fiji, before and during outbreaks of DENV-2 in Yap State and DENV-4 in Majuro, were tested for the presence of DENV RNA, by serotype specific RT-PCR, at the Institut Louis Malardé in French Polynesia. ResultsThe serotype of DENV could be determined, by a variety of RT-PCR procedures, in the FP-dried samples after more than three weeks of transport at ambient temperatures. In most cases, the sequencing of the envelope gene to genotype the viruses also was possible. ConclusionsThe serotype and genotype of DENV can be determined from FP-dried serum or whole blood samples transported over thousands of kilometers at ambient, tropical, temperatures. This simple and low-cost approach to virus identification should be evaluated in isolated and resource poor settings for surveillance for a range of significant viral diseases.

The Oligopoly Problem in EU Competition Law

An oligopoly is a market with a few sellers. 1 In today’s world, oligopolies crowd most sectors of the economy. With the exception of certain public goods subject to monopolies (e.g., defense) and of textbook-only perfect competition markets (e.g., street food in SouthEast Asia), oligopolies can be observed all over the value chain, from the wholesale level (e.g., tire manufacturing) to retail activities (e.g., grocery retailing), in commoditized industries (e.g., steel), services (e.g., credit rating) as well as branded goods (e.g., alcoholic beverages) in small, local markets (e.g., retail oil distribution) as well as large ones (e.g., consumer electronics markets). Moreover, oligopolies are multifaceted. They involve firms of all sorts, from labor-intensive ones (e.g., mail delivery operators) to capital-intensive players (e.g., pharmaceutical companies, banking sector), from vertically integrated (e.g., movie production and distribution) to non-vertically integrated ones (e.g., athletic sportswear). In brief, oligopolies are ubiquitous.

The Role of Crown Corporations in the Canadian Economy: An Analytical Framework

Government interference in markets arouses heated emotions on both sides of the political spectrum. But the fact remains that governments of all stripes routinely play a direct role in the economy. Motivations run the gamut from the economic (correcting perceived market failures) to the ethical (addressing social injustice) to the nakedly political (ideology or the status quo demands it). This paper offers a highly readable theoretical and practical framework for understanding federal and provincial governments’ market interventions in sectors including power generation, alcohol and mail delivery. Public ownership can advance a range of normative objectives, so the choices, reasons and outcomes for the government, the Canadian economy, Crown corporation employees and the general public can vary as widely as the enterprises involved. But in asking why and how and assessing ways and means, the authors bring together a substantial body of knowledge and expertise, providing an essential guide to a phenomenon that, like it or not, will remain a major part of Canada’s economic landscape for a long time to come.

Introducing OGR — a new approach to anonymous IP datagram transmission based on the Chaumian ‘onion’ encryption and the KISS principle

AbstractThe goal of this paper is to introduce a technique, called ‘OGR’, that allows anonymous transmission of IP datagrams of any kind. During the last decade numerous anonymizing solutions implementing the Chaumian ‘onion’ encryption have been proposed. Many of them are dedicated to specific services: either anonymous mail delivery or anonymous storage sharing, while the other ones, referred as low-latency systems, work real-time and are able to anonymize any TCP streams (with preference to http), but poorly deal with or even don’t support other transports. ‘OGR’ is strongly inspired by the original Chaumian Mix-net model and aims at universality (the ability to work at the level of IP datagrams rather than upper-layers protocols) and maximal simplicity (the KISS principle). It discards the idea of fixed circuits (or cascades) present in most low-latency solutions in favor of independent, intelligent packets. Although this approach may occur less efficient for huge data streams it’s able to handle any request-reply protocols including those operating over UDP as well as all applications where other transports or raw IP packets are to be used.

Experience in management of e‐mail delivery delay problems associated with spam e‐mail filtering in a university

AbstractSpam e‐mail management in universities differs from that in enterprises with a uniform and strict network policy, and requires the guarantee of a free mail environment policy. In this paper, we report findings from an operational experiment on spam e‐mail filtering based on volunteer application of users. In particular, management of the electronic mail (e‐mail) delivery delay problem was undertaken in view of the state of e‐mail usage at our university. We also discuss an ideal method of spam mail filtering in universities and in research institutes under a free mail environment policy. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 95(1): 8–19, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/ecj.10393

집배부하량 산정 및 평준화를 위한 집배부하 관리시스템 개발

Performance measures play a critical role in formulating mail delivery strategies and evaluating actual results. Nevertheless, the existing method and corresponding system to determine the standard workloads of mailmen is developed without careful consideration of real delivery environments and various requirements of mailmen. Hence, the current system is insufficient for optimal management of workloads and shows substantial gaps when compared to the results of actual work-site. This study considers how to improve the current workload management system of mailmen. We first performed the as-is analysis of the mail delivery service and then developed a prototype of advanced delivery workload management system. The to-be system consists of five subsystems which can be grouped into three categories; master data management, workloads management, performance analysis. Our results can be a valuable guide for the development of real system for measuring and balancing the workloads of mailmen.

GRASP with evolutionary path-relinking for the capacitated arc routing problem

The Capacitated Arc Routing Problem (CARP) is a well-known NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem where, given an undirected graph, the objective is to find a minimum cost set of tours servicing a subset of required edges under vehicle capacity constraints. There are numerous applications for the CARP, such as street sweeping, garbage collection, mail delivery, school bus routing, and meter reading. A Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure (GRASP) with Path-Relinking (PR) is proposed and compared with other successful CARP metaheuristics. Some features of this GRASP with PR are (i) reactive parameter tuning, where the parameter value is stochastically selected biased in favor of those values which historically produced the best solutions in average; (ii) a statistical filter, which discard initial solutions if they are unlikely to improve the incumbent best solution; (iii) infeasible local search, where high-quality solutions, though infeasible, are used to explore the feasible/infeasible boundaries of the solution space; (iv) evolutionary PR, a recent trend where the pool of elite solutions is progressively improved by successive relinking of pairs of elite solutions. Computational tests were conducted using a set of 81 instances, and results reveal that the GRASP is very competitive, achieving the best overall deviation from lower bounds and the highest number of best solutions found.

The mixed capacitated general routing problem with turn penalties

In this paper we deal with the mixed capacitated general routing problem with turn penalties. This problem generalizes many important arc and node routing problems, and it takes into account turn penalties and forbidden turns, which are crucial in many real-life applications, such as mail delivery, waste collection and street maintenance operations. Through a polynomial transformation of the considered problem into a Generalized Vehicle routing problem, we suggest a new approach for solving this new problem by transforming it into an Asymmetric Capacitated Vehicle routing problem. In this way, we can solve the new problem both optimally and heuristically using existing algorithms. A powerful memetic algorithm and a set of 336 new benchmark instances are also suggested. The experimental results show that the average deviation of the suggested solution method is less than 0.05% with respect to optimum.

Affect and digital learning at the university level

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to examine the efficiency of SMS based cell‐phone vocabulary learning as compared to email vocabulary delivery and snail mail vocabulary delivery at the university level.Design/methodology/approachA total of 241 first year university students studied English vocabulary in their mandatory English foundation course. Students were divided into three groups: study via cell‐phone based SMS messages, via email messages and via snail mail delivery. Vocabulary lists were delivered weekly to students via the three delivery strategies during course. Students in the three groups were tested on English vocabulary and responded to a questionnaire that examined their attitudes toward flexibility of the learning strategy; user friendliness of the learning strategy; learner control of the learning process, learner motivation; and learner autonomy.FindingsResults of the study indicate that there were no significant differences for achievement attained by the three groups on the vocabulary test. However, there were significant differences on students' attitudes toward flexibility of learning; user friendliness of the learning strategy; learner control of the learning process, learner motivation; and learner autonomy. The students who received SMS messages had most positive attitudes on all five factors, followed by attitudes of students who received email messages, who were followed by attitudes of students who received vocabulary via snail mail.Practical implicationsIt appears that SMS based vocabulary delivery is perceived as more effective than email delivery which is felt to be more efficient than snail mail learning. Results of the study indicate the potential for university vocabulary learning via cell‐phone based SMS messaging.Originality/valueThis paper indicates the value of SMS messaging for vocabulary learning at the university level.

Importance Of Technology Investments In The Logistics Service Providers: A Case Study Of UPS And Its Use Of Online Tools

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Logistics service providers must become competitive in mail delivery, customer relationship management (CRM) strategies, and technological integration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>UPS, for example, uses a logistics service strategy to effectively manage the logistical requirements for its 7.9 million daily customers.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Within the competitive market of parcel delivery, logistics service providers must routinely invest in technology in an e-commerce environment in order to successfully develop strategies to meet the demands of B2B and B2C customers, while accomplishing customer efficiency and return on investments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>This strategy has helped logistics service providers to leverage their core competencies; in particular for UPS to become the shipping industry leader in e-commerce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">This research outlines the history, inner workings and culture of UPS, while simultaneously examining the subtleties, which have led to the company’s extraordinary success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Throughout this analysis, the research will show that in fact there is a rather complex model, which allows UPS to function, as it incorporates B2B, B2C, investments in technology and on-line tools into an outcome of seemingly effortless customer efficiency. </span></span></span></p>

Empire’s Mastheads: Rewriting the “Correspondents’ War” from the Edge of Empire

This essay recovers a forgotten moment in the print culture history of US empire by examining a handful of newspapers and periodicals—American Soldier, Manila Outpost, Soldier’s Letter, Co. F Enterprise, and Volunteer—that were founded and written by and for US soldiers in the Philippines and Cuba. Unlike their more famous stateside counterparts who produced the “correspondents’ war” and trafficked in national culture’s romantic sensationalism, soldier-correspondents mapped the everyday culture of their imperial community, reporting on ordinary, everyday events of daily life in the imperial outpost like baseball games, debate clubs, popular barbers, robberies, sanitation violations, mail deliveries, and local advertisements. Such publications revise and remediate the dominant romantic ideology of empire at the turn of the century, creating an imagined community of empire far different from that produced by the “correspondents’ war.” Revising the romantic paradigm into an alternative narrative of everyday habit, ordinary routine, and mundane desire, soldier-newspapers produce a flat account of empire that endows the project of empire-building with a sense of the mundane and the nonheroic. This quotidianizing of empire not only conceals the violent realities of imperial encounter behind the dull shimmer of newsprint, but also remodels the romantic spaces of the public’s imperial imagination into the familiar spaces of everyday life, a process that normalizes empire as a way of life for soldiers.