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Elnaz has over 15 years of combined commercial and research experience in transportation engineering and planning sector. After receiving her PhD in Transportation Engineering from the University of Queensland (UQ), she acted as a postdoctoral research fellow at the UQ’s Australian Institute of Business and Economics, funded by the Port of Brisbane and UQ partnership for three years. Prior to that, she worked for over nine years as a project manager, senior transport modeller, traffic engineer, and road design engineer in Iran. She is now a Principal Engineer at the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB).
This paper proposes a multi-layer integrated IoT-blockchain conceptual architecture to solve the issues of the traditional bill of ladings, namely double-spending, duplicated documents, masqueraded information, and fraud and hacking threads related to the complexity of traditional format and fragmented supply chain activities. We formulate the tasks and functions of each IoT-blockchain layer and illustrates how the proposed conceptual architecture can overcome several inefficiency and security issues in the status quo. The proposed conceptual architecture can link IoT and blockchain technologies with port community systems’ practices to reduce potential risks behind issuing the bill of lading.
Elnaz Irannezhad; Hamed Faroqi. Addressing some of bill of lading issues using the Internet of Things and blockchain technologies: a digitalized conceptual framework. Maritime Policy & Management 2021, 1 -19.
AMA StyleElnaz Irannezhad, Hamed Faroqi. Addressing some of bill of lading issues using the Internet of Things and blockchain technologies: a digitalized conceptual framework. Maritime Policy & Management. 2021; ():1-19.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElnaz Irannezhad; Hamed Faroqi. 2021. "Addressing some of bill of lading issues using the Internet of Things and blockchain technologies: a digitalized conceptual framework." Maritime Policy & Management , no. : 1-19.
This paper presents the value proposition of blockchain for Port Community Systems (PCS) by dissecting the business processes in port logistics and unfolding functionalities of blockchain in lowering the transaction cost. This paper contributes to the research by a detailed technical assessment of the plethora of currently available blockchain platforms and consensus mechanisms, against the identified requirements in this specific use case. The results of this technical assessment highlight the central value proposition of blockchain for landlord ports, which is independency from a central authority as the controlling agent. Bridging between two research domains of Information Technology and Logistics, this paper proposes the preferred architectural design requirements of a blockchain-based PCS, including provisioning private sidechains, modular design with inter-chain interoperability, and encrypted off-chain data storage. Availability—the readiness for correct service, and reliability—the continuity of correct service, are heavily reliant on the right choice being made for blockchain design for such a complex use case. A preliminary comparative analysis among different decentralisation levels in this paper suggests that a permissioned public blockchain offers the best trade-off in performance measures for this use case. This technical review identifies six research agenda from a design perspective.
Elnaz Irannezhad. The Architectural Design Requirements of a Blockchain-Based Port Community System. Logistics 2020, 4, 30 .
AMA StyleElnaz Irannezhad. The Architectural Design Requirements of a Blockchain-Based Port Community System. Logistics. 2020; 4 (4):30.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElnaz Irannezhad. 2020. "The Architectural Design Requirements of a Blockchain-Based Port Community System." Logistics 4, no. 4: 30.
The fragmented market of freight transportation imposes several inefficiency costs as a result of delay, double-spending, disputes, and cancellations. While in such competitive market, every player seeks its own profit, optimisation at individual level also becomes harder due to invisibility and disconnectivity. Although tackling some of these issues are doable by synchronization, encryption and integration, it seems that blockchain not only incorporates all these solutions in one package, but also may provide other economic benefits. This paper discusses blockchain’ s potential in improving the inefficiencies in maritime supply chain and logistics, as well as limitations and challenges.
Elnaz Irannezhad. Is blockchain a solution for logistics and freight transportation problems? Transportation Research Procedia 2020, 48, 290 -306.
AMA StyleElnaz Irannezhad. Is blockchain a solution for logistics and freight transportation problems? Transportation Research Procedia. 2020; 48 ():290-306.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElnaz Irannezhad. 2020. "Is blockchain a solution for logistics and freight transportation problems?" Transportation Research Procedia 48, no. : 290-306.
This article investigates the socio-demographic characteristics that individual cryptocurrency investors exhibit and the factors that go into their investment decisions in different Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). We conducted a web-based revealed preference survey among Australian and Chinese blockchain and cryptocurrency followers, and applied a Multinomial Logit model to inferentially analyze the characteristics of cryptocurrency investors and the determinants of their choice of investment in “cryptocurrency coins” versus other types of ICO tokens. The results showed differences in the determinant of these two choices among Australian and Chinese cryptocurrency folks. The significant factors of these two choices included age, gender, education, occupation, and investment experience, and they aligned well with the behavioral literature. Furthermore, in addition to differences in how they ranked the attributes of ICOs, there was further variance between how Chinese and Australian investors ranked deterrence factors and investment strategies. TOPICS: Currency, emerging markets Key Findings • The significant factors of the choice of investment in cryptocurrency include age, gender, education, occupation, and previous investment experience. • Chinese and Australian investors rank the ICO attributes differently. • The deterrence factors and investment strategies vary between Chinese and Australians.
Dingli Xi; Timothy Ian O’Brien; Elnaz Irannezhad. Investigating the Investment Behaviors in Cryptocurrency. The Journal of Alternative Investments 2020, 23, 141 -160.
AMA StyleDingli Xi, Timothy Ian O’Brien, Elnaz Irannezhad. Investigating the Investment Behaviors in Cryptocurrency. The Journal of Alternative Investments. 2020; 23 (2):141-160.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDingli Xi; Timothy Ian O’Brien; Elnaz Irannezhad. 2020. "Investigating the Investment Behaviors in Cryptocurrency." The Journal of Alternative Investments 23, no. 2: 141-160.
This study investigates the socio-demographic characteristics that individual cryptocurrency investors exhibit and the factors which go into their investment decisions in different Initial Coin Offerings. A web based revealed preference survey was conducted among Australian and Chinese blockchain and cryptocurrency followers, and a Multinomial Logit model was applied to inferentially analyze the characteristics of cryptocurrency investors and the determinants of the choice of investment in cryptocurrency coins versus other types of ICO tokens. The results show a difference between the determinant of these two choices among Australian and Chinese cryptocurrency folks. The significant factors of these two choices include age, gender, education, occupation, and investment experience, and they align well with the behavioural literature. Furthermore, alongside differences in how they rank the attributes of ICOs, there is further variance between how Chinese and Australian investors rank deterrence factors and investment strategies.
Dingli Xi; Timothy Ian O'brien; Elnaz Irannezhad. Investigating the Investment Behaviors in Cryptocurrency. 2019, 1 .
AMA StyleDingli Xi, Timothy Ian O'brien, Elnaz Irannezhad. Investigating the Investment Behaviors in Cryptocurrency. . 2019; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDingli Xi; Timothy Ian O'brien; Elnaz Irannezhad. 2019. "Investigating the Investment Behaviors in Cryptocurrency." , no. : 1.
Port logistics is characterised by a high degree of fragmentation, uncertainty and complexity. In a context with these characteristics, decision support can be of significant value. This study presents the prototype of an intelligent decision support system (DSS) that leads to horizontal and vertical cooperation among freight agents involved in port logistics. A multi-agent simulation model is presented where heterogeneous actions are enabled as a result of an adaptive reinforcement learning algorithm that is inspired by human decision-making strategies. The model combines optimisation modelling and decision theory to operate in a dynamic environment characterised by information asymmetry among agents and dynamic changes over time. A simulation demonstrates the dynamics and convergence to equilibrium of the interactions of heterogeneous agents for delivery and pick up of import/export shipments. In particular, we answer two specific research questions. What is the likely impact of an intelligent DSS in hinterland container transport as a value-added service of port community system (PCS)? How can an optimum cooperative strategy be formulated to meet the dynamic demand and supply of freight agents in hinterland container transport and achieve agility in the age of hyper-competition? By addressing these two research questions we make a specific contribution by developing an agent-based simulation model in a real-world and large-scale case study, by using a reinforcement learning model based on probability matching theory that allows simulating realistically the adaptive behaviour of agents. The results of the simulation of two weeks of container movements indicate huge savings in total transport costs and distance travelled as well as higher utilisation of trucks from the sharing of resources. Moreover, we show that it is strictly better for smaller freight agents to cooperate – a conclusion generated endogenously inside the model as a trade-off between exploration and exploitation. As a result of this prototype simulation, major freight agents will not necessarily benefit from the DSS mainly because they are already using the economies of scale.
Elnaz Irannezhad; Carlo G. Prato; Mark Hickman. An intelligent decision support system prototype for hinterland port logistics. Decision Support Systems 2019, 130, 113227 .
AMA StyleElnaz Irannezhad, Carlo G. Prato, Mark Hickman. An intelligent decision support system prototype for hinterland port logistics. Decision Support Systems. 2019; 130 ():113227.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElnaz Irannezhad; Carlo G. Prato; Mark Hickman. 2019. "An intelligent decision support system prototype for hinterland port logistics." Decision Support Systems 130, no. : 113227.
This paper proposes and shows the application of the Hidden Markov Model (HMM) to identify truck trip segments and extract activity and non-activity stops from large scale truck GPS data while accounting for the spatiotemporal properties of GPS points, and hence overcoming limitations of existing clustering practices in freight studies. Individual trajectories and different classes of stops were extracted from four years of raw GPS data of Australian high-performance trucks, totalling more than 71 million records. The framework presented in this paper is easy to re-apply and can be transferred to other large datasets, without requiring secondary data sources such as drivers’ logbooks to infer the trip ends. The results unveil three distinct type of stops across trajectories (stops due to traffic congestion, activity, and non-activity stops), and their duration, providing empirical insights into the diverse aspects of long-haul freight transportation. The validation showed satisfactory results where the modelled trajectory episodes yielded similar results to the known trip trajectories, showing a 97% accuracy rate in identifying the activity stops. The validation showed that the percentage of activity stops that the model incorrectly assigned to any other state was 3% (false negative error), and the percentage of instances that mistakenly identified as activity stops by the model was only 1%.
Mehdi Taghavi; Elnaz Irannezhad; Carlo G. Prato. Identifying Truck Stops from a Large Stream of GPS Data via a Hidden Markov Chain Model. 2019 IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Conference (ITSC) 2019, 2265 -2271.
AMA StyleMehdi Taghavi, Elnaz Irannezhad, Carlo G. Prato. Identifying Truck Stops from a Large Stream of GPS Data via a Hidden Markov Chain Model. 2019 IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Conference (ITSC). 2019; ():2265-2271.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMehdi Taghavi; Elnaz Irannezhad; Carlo G. Prato. 2019. "Identifying Truck Stops from a Large Stream of GPS Data via a Hidden Markov Chain Model." 2019 IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Conference (ITSC) , no. : 2265-2271.
This study presents a joint discrete-discrete copula-based model that simultaneously estimates the determinants of the choice to use a container terminal and of the choice of dwell time. Moreover, this study proposes the treatment of missing information as a latent variable by specifying a hybrid version of the joint copula-based model. Model estimates show the practicality of enriching a dataset with missing information via a robust econometric solution. Results also illustrate the importance of distance, time-of-day, and industry type on the choice of using CTs and on the decision of the dwell time in both import and export container transport.
Elnaz Irannezhad; Carlo Prato; Mark Hickman. A joint hybrid model of the choices of container terminals and of dwell time. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 2019, 121, 119 -133.
AMA StyleElnaz Irannezhad, Carlo Prato, Mark Hickman. A joint hybrid model of the choices of container terminals and of dwell time. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review. 2019; 121 ():119-133.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElnaz Irannezhad; Carlo Prato; Mark Hickman. 2019. "A joint hybrid model of the choices of container terminals and of dwell time." Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 121, no. : 119-133.
This study explores the effect of cooperation among shipping lines on transport costs and pollutant emissions. The quantitative benefits of the cooperation were measured via a simulation-based model that (i) optimized inland empty container reuse and (ii) considered a two-dimensional capacity (weight and size) for vehicle types and demands. Inland empty container optimization was integrated with a dynamic vehicle allocation and routing problem with time-window constraints, while the two-dimensional capacity considered minimising total transport costs in a time-varying network with road segment usage constraints by truck type. The simulation model was used to evaluate the status quo and the cooperation scenarios by analysing two weeks of import and export container movements for the port of Brisbane (Australia). The major findings from the study are: (i) the cooperation among shipping companies avoids a significant number of unnecessary truck movements and of storage days for empty containers; (ii) the cooperation translates into truck-sharing and utilisation of larger trucks, which are more environmentally friendly and cost-efficient choices when compared to smaller trucks; (iii) the introduction of a decision support system provides solutions to the freight actors regarding optimal routing and vehicle allocation, based on real-world constraints and dynamics. Remarkably, the savings in the cooperation scenario are substantial, yielding a 40% reduction of fuel consumption and pollutant emissions.
Elnaz Irannezhad; Carlo Giacomo Prato; Mark Hickman. The effect of cooperation among shipping lines on transport costs and pollutant emissions. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 2018, 65, 312 -323.
AMA StyleElnaz Irannezhad, Carlo Giacomo Prato, Mark Hickman. The effect of cooperation among shipping lines on transport costs and pollutant emissions. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment. 2018; 65 ():312-323.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElnaz Irannezhad; Carlo Giacomo Prato; Mark Hickman. 2018. "The effect of cooperation among shipping lines on transport costs and pollutant emissions." Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 65, no. : 312-323.
This chapter examines the choice of using distribution centers (DCs) in the container import chain, either as an intermediate stop or as a location for unpacking, as opposed to direct haul delivery. The shipments that are stored in distribution centers have smaller sizes with longer distances, whereas shipments with heavier weight or those that arrive on weekends are delivered directly. The DCs are used more when the arrival time is earlier during the day. The weight of shipments is heavier when the shipments are destined for suburbs with higher commercial land use area, and also when they are destined for suburbs with a high number of employees in wholesale trade. The chapter presents a hybrid choice model for treating missing data in full container movements in the import chain and providing unbiased estimates of the determinants for the choice of using DCs.
Elnaz Irannezhad; Carlo G. Prato; Mark Hickman. Choice of Using Distribution Centers in the Container Import Chain: a Hybrid Model Correcting for Missing Information. City Logistics 3 2018, 269 -280.
AMA StyleElnaz Irannezhad, Carlo G. Prato, Mark Hickman. Choice of Using Distribution Centers in the Container Import Chain: a Hybrid Model Correcting for Missing Information. City Logistics 3. 2018; ():269-280.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElnaz Irannezhad; Carlo G. Prato; Mark Hickman. 2018. "Choice of Using Distribution Centers in the Container Import Chain: a Hybrid Model Correcting for Missing Information." City Logistics 3 , no. : 269-280.
Elnaz Irannezhad; Mark Hickman; Carlo G. Prato. Modeling the Efficiency of a Port Community System as an Agent-based Process. Procedia Computer Science 2017, 109, 917 -922.
AMA StyleElnaz Irannezhad, Mark Hickman, Carlo G. Prato. Modeling the Efficiency of a Port Community System as an Agent-based Process. Procedia Computer Science. 2017; 109 ():917-922.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElnaz Irannezhad; Mark Hickman; Carlo G. Prato. 2017. "Modeling the Efficiency of a Port Community System as an Agent-based Process." Procedia Computer Science 109, no. : 917-922.
A major issue in freight modeling is the interrelationship between logistics choices that can be seen as a learning process that shippers or carriers undertake to optimize their logistics process, with the aim of minimizing their cost, maximizing their level of service, or both. This study looked at the interrelated decisions of vehicle type choice and shipment size in urban freight transportation by formulating a model that considered ( a) the nature of these two dependent variables via a joint discrete–continuous model, ( b) the correlation between the two decisions via a copula-based approach, ( c) the differences in decision making between carriers and shippers via the estimation of two models, and ( d) the relaxation of the assumption of pure utility maximization via a hybrid utility–regret specification. Results show differences between shippers’ and carriers’ preferences. These differences were logical because many urban shippers owned an efficient fleet of commercial vehicles, whereas carriers evaluated alternatives to maximize their aggregated utility and minimize their direct costs. Results also show the importance of considering jointly the two decisions as well as the relevance of using a hybrid utility–regret formulation for the cost. Practical findings emerge from the model: ( a) when faced with night delivery and intercity trips, carriers were more likely to use heavier vehicles and more voluminous shipments, whereas smaller shipments were preferred during the afternoon peak hour; ( b) urban shippers tended to deliver larger shipments during night by light trucks but preferred trailers for longer distances; and ( c) commodity types played a role in these joint decisions because some commodities were more likely to be transported by for-hire carriers and others were more likely to be transported by shippers.
Elnaz Irannezhad; Carlo Giacomo Prato; Mark Hickman; Afshin Shariat Mohaymany. Copula-Based Joint Discrete–Continuous Model of Road Vehicle Type and Shipment Size. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2017, 2610, 87 -96.
AMA StyleElnaz Irannezhad, Carlo Giacomo Prato, Mark Hickman, Afshin Shariat Mohaymany. Copula-Based Joint Discrete–Continuous Model of Road Vehicle Type and Shipment Size. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2017; 2610 (1):87-96.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElnaz Irannezhad; Carlo Giacomo Prato; Mark Hickman; Afshin Shariat Mohaymany. 2017. "Copula-Based Joint Discrete–Continuous Model of Road Vehicle Type and Shipment Size." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2610, no. 1: 87-96.
A utility-based travel impedance measure is developed for public transit modes that is capable of capturing the passengers’ behaviour and their subjective perceptions of impedance when travelling in the transit networks. The proposed measure is time-dependent and it estimates the realisation of the travel impedance by the community of passengers for travelling between an origin–destination (OD) pair. The main advantage of the developed measure, as compared to the existing transit impedance measures, relates to its capability in capturing the diversity benefit that the transit systems may offer the society of travellers with different traveling preferences. To clarify the necessity of such capability, we demonstrate the randomness (subjectivity) of travel impedance perceived by transit passengers, through evidence from the observed path choices made in the transit network of the greater Brisbane metropolitan region in Australia. The proposed impedance measure is basically a nested logit “logsum” composition over a generated set of reasonable path options whose systematic utilities are evaluated based on a discrete choice model previously developed and calibrated for the greater Brisbane transit passengers. As a case study, the proposed impedance measure is calculated for all the origin blocks in the Brisbane area, during the morning commutes to the Central Business District (CBD). The results are presented and discussed, and intuitive and important advantages are demonstrated for the proposed measure.
Neema Nassir; Mark Hickman; Ali Malekzadeh; Elnaz Irannezhad. A utility-based travel impedance measure for public transit network accessibility. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 2016, 88, 26 -39.
AMA StyleNeema Nassir, Mark Hickman, Ali Malekzadeh, Elnaz Irannezhad. A utility-based travel impedance measure for public transit network accessibility. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice. 2016; 88 ():26-39.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNeema Nassir; Mark Hickman; Ali Malekzadeh; Elnaz Irannezhad. 2016. "A utility-based travel impedance measure for public transit network accessibility." Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 88, no. : 26-39.
A logit discrete choice model is developed to investigate the choice of transit access stop (i.e., departure stop). The model incorporates different components of the transit service between given origin–destination pairs at given times. A choice set generation algorithm is developed to create the set of access stop choices and calculate the time-dependent impedances from each departure stop to the destination. The correlation between the choices is treated at two levels: ( a) the mode of travel and ( b) the route of travel. A nested logit model structure is adopted to account for the dependencies among the choices on the same mode, and a correction term is proposed that captures the correlation between the stop choices that results from the commonality of the routes that serve the destination. The data are from the household travel survey of 2009 in Southeast Queensland, Australia and include travel records on three public transit modes: bus, train, and ferry. The case study analysis of Southeast Queensland shows the effectiveness of the proposed correction by demonstrating improvements in modeling the choice of access stop. The research concludes a new finding that the choice of access stop is affected not only by the attributes of the transit path between the journey ends but also, significantly and directly, by the attributes of the departure stop itself.
Neema Nassir; Mark Hickman; Ali Malekzadeh; Elnaz Irannezhad. Modeling Transit Passenger Choices of Access Stop. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2015, 2493, 70 -77.
AMA StyleNeema Nassir, Mark Hickman, Ali Malekzadeh, Elnaz Irannezhad. Modeling Transit Passenger Choices of Access Stop. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2015; 2493 (1):70-77.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNeema Nassir; Mark Hickman; Ali Malekzadeh; Elnaz Irannezhad. 2015. "Modeling Transit Passenger Choices of Access Stop." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2493, no. 1: 70-77.
One of the differences of freight modeling to passenger modeling is its complex pattern in supply chain process. Probability of tour is a function of network and impedances among destinations and fleet constraints. It is obvious that in network with passage restrictions (in residential streets and collectors) for heavy vehicles, the number of destinations in each tour (tour length) will increase and instead it may increase the cost of the users. This paper discusses about activities of major agents, in freight movement, in our case study which is the second major city in Iran. Cost of shippers and number of destinations in tour, will be compared in two states. The first state is no restriction and the second state is passage restriction in some residential streets.
Elnaz Irannezhad; Afshin Shariat Mohaymany; Seyed Hossein Mousavi. Effects of Passage Restrictions for Heavy Vehicles on Tour Trips in Urban Networks. 2010 Second International Conference on Computer and Network Technology 2010, 430 -433.
AMA StyleElnaz Irannezhad, Afshin Shariat Mohaymany, Seyed Hossein Mousavi. Effects of Passage Restrictions for Heavy Vehicles on Tour Trips in Urban Networks. 2010 Second International Conference on Computer and Network Technology. 2010; ():430-433.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElnaz Irannezhad; Afshin Shariat Mohaymany; Seyed Hossein Mousavi. 2010. "Effects of Passage Restrictions for Heavy Vehicles on Tour Trips in Urban Networks." 2010 Second International Conference on Computer and Network Technology , no. : 430-433.