Chartering strategies for shipping companies

This paper describes a model which may be used in the evaluation of the relative effectiveness of policies used in the areas of ship chartering and the switching of combined carriers between the dry cargo market and the tanker market. The policies for chartering and market switching are expressed in the form of ‘desired proportions’ of the fleet operating in a particular charter-mode or a particular market. Graphical illustration of this form of expression of policies can be easily understood, so that alternative policies can be designed with relative ease. The effectiveness of a particular form of policy under various freight market conditions can be determined from the model, the use of which is illustrated by its application to the deployment of the fleet of an hypothetical shipping company. It is assumed that the feedback connection between the company's actions and the marketplace is negligible.     

Census enumeration in remote Australia: Issues for aboriginal data analysis

Given the crucial role played by census data in informing economic and social policies directed at the Aboriginal population in remote areas, some assessment of the quality of remote area data is required as these are derived from enumeration procedures which differ fundamentally from the standard approach employed in the census. This paper discusses the remote area census enumeration strategy employed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), with a particular focus on the Northern Territory, and highlights possible implications for the interpretation of census counts and census characteristics.     

Adaptation to Retirement: Role Changes and Psychological Resources

In this review, the influence of social and work roles are incorporated into a model of retirement adjustment, along with two psychological moderators that may aid the retirement transition. These psychological resources, locus of control and retirement self-efficacy, are those behavioral predispositions that would lead one to engage in proactive strategies for mastering the role changes inherent in the retirement transition. The implications of social and work-related role changes and psychological resources for retirement planning and adjustment are discussed.     

Statistical approaches for the reliability of structural designs

The Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA) has produced some guidelines for the assessment of the reliability of components and/or structures. The methods of analysis suggested by these guidelines are far from adequate and, in certain cases, contain some imperfections. In this paper, some of the weaknesses of the guidelines are identified. The shortcomings are mainly in the ease of calculations and the feasibility of the assumptions which are imposed. Three alternative methods aimed at tackling some of the weaknesses are introduced. A simulation study is used to compare these methods.