Transportation, Logistics, & Finance Doctoral Work

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Browsing Transportation, Logistics, & Finance Doctoral Work by browse.metadata.department "Transportation, Logistics and Finance"

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    Corporate Social Responsibility and Traffic Congestion: A Mixed Methods Study
    (North Dakota State University, 2020) Bakare, Bukola
    Traffic congestion (TC) is a complex issue having an adverse impact on the environment, business operations and health. Many cities are taking action to curb it. Corporations have increasingly engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions. Using corporations headquartered in the top-rated traffic congested cities in the United States, this study examines the relationship between TC and CSR. The quantitative research employed a general linear model with two datasets, traffic speed data and CSRHub ratings. The speed data was used to calculate travel time index (TTI), a measure of TC. Using Atlanta BeltLine Inc. as a case study, a phenomenological thematic approach was utilized to assess stakeholders’ viewpoints of congestion mitigation efforts in Atlanta, GA. This study adds to research on CSR by examining the effects that CSR actions have on a specific local event, e.g., TC. In addition, research reflecting on the impact of CSR on TC has not been conducted. This study aims to fill this gap. Of the four areas of CSR studied in the quantitative phase, the community, environment, and governance ratings are significantly related to TTI, with community and environment having an inverse relationship to TTI. The qualitative study showed that stakeholders struggle with TC, and that the relationship between CSR and TC is not obvious to them. This quantitative study was conducted on eighteen top-rated congested cities. Further study on other major congested cities may shed more light on CSR and TC. A future qualitative analysis can explore the viewpoint of city government. Findings in this study are expected to be a leverage point for public-private TC mitigation and to inform policies that incorporate TC reduction as a CSR indicator. Although the quantitative analysis showed that a relationship exists between CSR and TC, the literature and DOT reports revealed increased and continuous congestion in these cities. The case study of the ABI project in the qualitative research indicated that TC is an area where CSR can have a major local impact. Some corporate respondents acknowledged that TC has a business cost, however no serious steps are taken to tackle TC.
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    Impact of Public Transit and Walkability on Quality of Life and Equity Analysis in Terms of Access to Non-Work Amenities in the United States
    (North Dakota State University, 2020) Khan, Muhammad Asif
    The past literature suggest that transportation can impact quality of life (QOL) both directly and indirectly. The first part of this dissertation attempted to comprehensively evaluate the impact of transportation (specifically public transit, and walkability) along with physical built environment, and sociodemographic indicators on community QOL, and overall life satisfaction (OLS) of an individual living in his community. The study used an advanced technique of structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate the impact of these factors on community QOL and individual’s OLS. The study results revealed that physical built environment, public transit need for a community, perceived public transit importance for a community, quality of public transit services, quality of walkability conditions, ease of travel in a community (mobility indicator), and sociodemographic indicators significantly impact community QOL, and also individual’s OLS either directly or indirectly through community QOL mediating variable. The literature review suggests that accessibility to important non-work amenities improve people’s QOL. So, it is important to examine social equity in terms of individual’s ability to access non-work amenities that are important for their daily life interests. The second part of dissertation focused on equity analysis in terms of people’s ability to access non-work amenities through public transit, and walk in the US. The non-work amenities considered in this study are: 1) grocery store or supermarket, 2) personal services, 3) other retail shopping, (4) recreation and entertainment, and (5) health care facility. It is concluded that equity in terms of public transit access to non-work amenities is regressive for the older age people, people without driving license, individuals who are covered under Medicare/Medicaid program (elderly, low income, people with disabilities), and non-metro area residents disadvantaged groups. In terms of walk access to non-work amenities, it is concluded that older age people, people without driving license, physically disable people, unemployed and students, people living in non-metro areas, and females face injustice. These groups are already disadvantaged in society because of their financial, and physical health constraints and should be having sufficient and easy public transit and walk access to their daily needs.
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    Improving the Methodology to Estimate Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore Operational Throughput and Duration
    (North Dakota State University, 2019) Froberg, Robert Bryan
    Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) is the method the United States (US) Army and Navy use to discharge cargo from large seafaring vessels onto a bare beach when an enemy force has denied access to a deep-water port or the ports have been damaged by natural disasters, terrorist actions, sabotaged by military forces, etc. The last large scale, published analytic study on JLOTS was conducted in 1993 during the Ocean Venture 93 exercise at Camp Lejeune, NC; since that time, nearly the entire US Army inventory of wheeled vehicles have been replaced and tracked systems have increased in size and weight with the additions of reactive armor tiles and urban survival kits. The current estimation method for determining how long a JLOTS operation will take relies on the median duration values in order to determine total operational length. This research shows that the JLOTS activity duration medians published in current military doctrine are no longer representative of the current inventory of US Army vehicles. New planning factors are defined based on JLOTS subject matter expert opinions as well as a new method of JLOTS duration estimation is described through the use of discrete-event simulation. The results of the proposed duration estimation method were compared to both the existing methodology using both the published planning factors and the new planning factors defined through subject matter expert opinion. In both comparisons the current estimation method was found to consistently overestimate operational throughput while underestimating duration since it fails to capture the queuing actions that occur in a resource constrained environment such as JLOTS. It is the recommendation of this research that a time and motion study be conducted on JLOTS operations in order to more accurately define the probability distributions associated with JLOTS activities. These distributions would replace the triangular distributions defined by subject matter experts in this research in order to generate a more accurate estimate of JLOTS duration and throughput. More accurate estimates for JLOTS operations will enable cost savings by providing maritime transportation providers with greater fidelity on scheduling while reducing the time these ships are vulnerable to enemy actions.
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    Limiting Financial Risk from Catastrophic Events in Project Management
    (North Dakota State University, 2020) Simonson, Peter Douglas
    This dissertation develops a mixed integer linear program to establish the upper and lower bounds of the Alphorn of Uncertainty. For a project manager, planning for uncertainty is a staple of their jobs and education. But the uncertainty associated with a catastrophic event presents difficulties not easily controlled with traditional methods of risk management. This dissertation brings and modifies the concept of a project schedule as a bounded “Alphorn of Uncertainty” to the problem of how to reduce the risk of a catastrophic event wreaking havoc on a project and, by extension, the company participating in that project. The dissertation presents new mathematical models underpinning the methods proposed to reduce risk as well as simulations to demonstrate the accuracy of those models. The dissertation further assesses the complexity of the models and thus their practical application. Finally, the dissertation presents strategies to reduce the risk to a project of a catastrophic event using the upper bound of the Alphorn as the measure of risk.
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    A Market Incentives Analysis of Sustainable Biomass Bioethanol Supply Chains with Carbon Policies
    (North Dakota State University, 2020) Haji Esmaeili, Seyed Ali
    Given the increasing demand for energy, climate change, and environmental concern of fossil fuels, it is becoming increasingly significant to find alternative renewable energy sources. Bioethanol as one sort of cellulosic biofuel produced from lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks has shown great potential as a renewable resource. Delivering a competitive, sustainable biofuel product requires comprehensive supply chain planning and design. Developing economically and environmentally optimal supply chain models is necessary in this context. Also, designing biomass bioethanol supply chain (BBSC) models addressing social issues requires using second-generation biomass which is not a source of food for humans. Currently, corn as a first-generation feedstock is the primary source of bioethanol in the United States which has given growth to new social issues such as the food versus fuel debate. Considering incentives for first-generation bioethanol producers to switch to second-generation biomass and associated production technologies will help to address such social issues. The scope of this study focuses on analyzing economic and environmental market incentives for second-generation bioethanol producers while considering different carbon policies as penalties and restrictions for emissions coming from BBSC activities. First, we develop an integrated life cycle emission and energy optimization model for analyzing an entire second-generation bioethanol supply chain using switchgrass as the source of biomass while finding the most appropriate potential locations for building new cellulosic biorefineries in North Dakota. Second, we propose a supply chain model by comparing a first-generation (corn) and a second-generation (corn stover) bioethanol supply chain to analyze how policymakers can incentivize first-generation bioethanol producers to switch their technology and biomass supply from first-generation to second-generation biomass. Third, we develop the model further by investigating the impact of four different carbon policies including the carbon tax, carbon cap, carbon cap-and-trade, and carbon offset on the supply chain strategic and operational decisions. This research will help to design robust BBSCs focused on sustainability in order to optimally utilize second-generation biomass resources in the future. The findings can be utilized by renewable energy policy decision makers, bioethanol producers, and investors to operate in a competitive market while protecting the environment.
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    Outpatient Appointment Scheduling Study: Utilization Projection, No-Show Prediction, and Capacity Allocation
    (North Dakota State University, 2021) Yuan, Fangzheng
    Long waiting times could result in many negative effects, such as low capacity utilization, high patient no-show rates, and loss of social benefits, which will also lead to a waste of public resources. Therefore, to better utilize healthcare resources and serve the community, my dissertation will focus on three objectives: To study the relationship between appointment utilization and indirect waiting time (IWT); to predict the patient’s no-shows without profiling them; to develop an optimization model for appointment capacity allocation. To achieve these objectives, multiple models and approaches have been developed in this dissertation. For the first model, two mixture distribution models, including a beta geometric (BG) and a discrete Weibull (BdW) model were carried out to project the appointment utilization over IWT. The results indicated that appointment utilization is positively related to the IWT but tends to fluctuate after the first couple of weeks. Two mixture distribution models were also proved to be more accurate for projecting the appointment utilization when compared with commonly used curve-fitting models. For the second objective, a conditional inference tree model was applied to predict the patient’s no-show probability and classified the no-show probability without profiling patients. This model was also compared with the general linear model and typically used logistic model, the result showed that using the conditional inference tree model with classified data will lead to a more accurate prediction and higher R-squared value. For the final objective, three optimization methods and two scheduling strategies were examined. The proposed solution of capacity allocation provided a more robust, flexible, and efficient allocation plan for outpatient appointments, which significantly improved the average daily profit and capacity utilization rate. By completing those three objectives, this dissertation did not only provide a more accurate way to monitor and predict outpatient appointments but also proposed a more practical and efficient appointment capacity allocation strategy. This will help our society save healthcare resources, reduce unnecessary costs for the healthcare providers, and provide better healthcare services to the community.
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    The Ship of Change: A Model for Organizational Diagnosis and Change Management
    (North Dakota State University, 2019) Swearingen, Robert
    Grounded in developmental theory, the Ship of Change provides a renewed look at diagnostic relationships between organizational elements, and their interactions through the lens of a metaphorical ship analogy. Elements are identified and arranged based on empirical studies from the field with causal considerations emphasized by Burke-Litwin. The model uses a two-tiered visual perspective to depict multi-dimensionality that links core organizational elements to work unit activities through the interplay of culture, communication and climate. The model is intended for both the conveyance of principles related to open systems theory, and the practical application of diagnosing organizations for planning and implementing change. The model was tested in a case study with a transportation company using multiple methods data collection including a communication satisfaction survey, workplace observations, and employee interviews. The model was used to categorize and interpret data and to inform recommendations for change.
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    Three Essays on Shared Micromobility
    (North Dakota State University, 2020) Rahim-Taleqani, Ali
    Shared micromobility defines as the shared use of light and low-speed vehicles such as bike and scooter in which users have short-term access on an as-needed basis. As shared micromobility, as one of the most viable and sustainable modes of transportation, has emerged in the U.S. over the last decade., understanding different aspects of these modes of transportation help decision-makers and stakeholders to have better insights into the problems related to these transportation options. Designing efficient and effective shared micromobility programs improves overall system performance, enhances accessibility, and is essential to increase ridership and benefit commuters. This dissertation aims to address three vital aspects of emerging shared micromobility transportation options with three essays that each contribute to the practice and literature of sustainable transportation. Chapter one of this dissertation investigates public opinion towards dockless bikes sharing using a mix of statistical and natural language processing methods. This study finds the underlying topics and the corresponding polarity in public discussion by analyzing tweets to give better insight into the emerging phenomenon across the U.S. Chapter two of this dissertation proposes a new framework for the micromobility network to improve accessibility and reduce operator costs. The framework focuses on highly centralized clubs (known as k-club) as virtual docking hubs. The study suggests an integer programming model and a heuristic approach as well as a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed model. Chapter three of this dissertation address the risk perception of bicycle and scooter riders’ risky behaviors. This study investigates twenty dangerous maneuvers and their corresponding frequency and severity from U.S. resident’s perspective. The resultant risk matrix and regression model provides a clear picture of the public risk perception associated with these two micromobility options. Overall, the research outcomes will provide decision-makers and stakeholders with scientific information, practical implications, and necessary tools that will enable them to offer better and sustainable micromobility services to their residents.
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    Three Essays on Urban Public Transit Systems in the U.S.
    (North Dakota State University, 2020) Malalgoda, Narendra Dhananjaya Kumara
    Public transportation is a critical component of urban communities and plays an important role in facilitating mobility which is integral to economic development and the quality of life of urban residents. In recent years, urban transportation has evolved rapidly with the emergence of transportation network companies (TNCs) and e-commerce that drastically transformed urban living. The availability of TNCs has given consumers more transportation options. However, the implications of TNCs on public transit ridership are unknown. In addition, the rising online shopping trend has drastically reduced the businesses of brick-and-mortar retailers, but does the shift in consumer shopping behavior reduce the demand for public transit? The objective of this dissertation is to address the following three research questions: (1) How is U.S. public transit ridership impacted by the rise of TNCs? (2) How have transit subcontracting (or purchased transportation) and TNC partnership affected transit productivity in recent years? (3) Has increased online shopping reduced the demand for public transit service? The key findings of my study are: (1) transit effectiveness of both bus and rail transits declined over the study period; (2) TNC availability increased rail transit ridership in 2015; (3) transit effectiveness was highly significant for public transit, and when examining its effect year-by-year, rail transit effectiveness trumped TNC availability; (4) TNCs are neither a complement nor a substitute of bus transit; (5) for bus transit agencies, outsourcing or purchased transportation is associated with negative efficiency and productivity changes; (6) although purchased transportation has a positive effect on technological change for bus transit, the effect is not significant; (7) TNC partnerships also have a negative effect on efficiency and productivity changes in bus transit; (8) there is a positive significant relationship between shopping mall visits and public transit use; (9) however, the effect of mall visits on transit use is small relative to the effects of car ownership; (10) taken together, the marginal effect of car ownership is 9 times larger than the effect of mall visits on transit use.
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    Three Essays on Waterborne Transportation
    (North Dakota State University, 2019) Alshareef, Mohammed Hamed
    This dissertation introduces three different topics on waterborne transportation. River transportation is a very important alternative for freight shipments in some countries. A significant portion of United States agricultural commodities transported via river barges. The lower portion of the Missouri River has been channelized to support barge traffic. Barge traffic has been used to move agricultural commodities to the Gulf of Mexico through Mississippi River to be exported overseas. Missouri River faced some weather issues such as drought in some years and flooding in others. Alternative transportation modes are important during the post-harvest period when the river has low-flow. The results showed a positive cost to agricultural freight in three years of a five years in dry period. In the other two years rail rates were estimated to be lower than barge rates. The second topic is using maritime distance to measure trade costs in agriculture. Maritime transportation holds an important position among other transportation means because it has some characteristics that others do not. Maritime shipping is critical to international trade because of the advantages that ships have by carry huge amounts of cargo for long distances. The impact of port-to-port maritime distance on US international trade to Europe and North and South America was tested. Unexpectedly result shows that trade increases with maritime distance. This impact decreases when the geographical distance is higher than the maritime distance. The third paper measures the efficiency and productivity of major Middle East container ports. Ports considered the main node to link the trading partners. The results indicate that eight ports out of 21 ports have low productivity.