The quality of survey data: Telephone versus face-to-face interviews

Those designing surveys and producing data have always been concerned about its quality. The increasing stringency of the financial constraints which affect public authorities and the increased scope of involvement in the regulation of urban travel has led us to pay even greater attention to the quality of data. This issue is frequently covered in the literature on survey methods. However, comparisons between different survey methods are more rarely conducted. The decision to conduct such an analysis is partly the result of the development of telephone use to the detriment of other survey modes in many countries and also the development of Computer-Aided Telephone Interviewing (CATI) which facilitates the running and monitoring of the survey.This paper examines several aspects of this question in order to compare the performance of telephone and face-to-face interviews. The first aspect is the representativeness of the sample, and therefore relates mainly to the issue of nonresponses and the choice of a sample base. The second concerns the accuracy of the information and involves the choice of a survey area and the recording of all trips, including short-distance travel. Finally, the quality of data is obviously determined by the quality of the responses given by those interviewed.The answers we give frequently depend on the objective of the surveys, which leads us to put forward a table which summarizes the performance of telephone and face-to-face interviews on the basis of the main objective of the survey. Broadly, the telephone seems to be the favoured tool for surveys in the area of transport planning and surveys which aim to provide data for forecasting models, mostly on the grounds of cost. However, face-to-face techniques are often preferred for surveys which aim to discover and analyze the factors which explain individual travel behaviour.     

The impact of ignoring intrazonal trips in assignment models: a stochastic approach

Transportation - In transportation modeling, intrazonal trips are frequently omitted during trip assignment. These trips are not assigned to the network because their origin and destination are in...     

Book Reviews

The ever-changing environment in which ports operate has put strong pressure on the traditional role of public port authorities. Market developments have created the need for ports to be part of wider logistics networks and to provide value-added services. Powerful private players who are organised on a global scale, such as carriers, terminal operators and logistics service providers, struggle to gain control over port-oriented logistics networks whereas port authorities very often seem to remain local spectators with limited influence on these market-driven processes. Port authorities are on the other hand, the focal point of criticism from societal interests such as local government, NGOs and citizens for negative externalities related to port development and port operations even if these do not always fall within their direct responsibility. In 1990, Richard Goss questioned, albeit rather rhetorically, the need to have public sector port authorities. Since then scholars have demonstrated a true renaissance or renewed interest in the role of port authorities, recommending repositioning and development of new strategies. Parallel to the concept of the ‘renaissance man’, which is defined as a person who is well educated and excels in a wide variety of subjects or fields, a kind of ‘renaissance port authority’ is emerging from literature which may take on a variety of facilitating and even entrepreneurial tasks. The purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual framework for the various options at hand, based on an extensive literature review of port authority functions. The framework also identifies the principal governance-related factors that may in practice enable or prevent port authorities, particularly in Europe, from assuming the renaissance ambitions advocated by scholars. The hypotheses developed in this article form the basis of a wider empirical research agenda into reform of port governance in Europe and elsewhere in the world.     

An Analysis of the Impact of the Internet on Coastal Management

The role of the Internet in coastal management practice is analyzed through the Internet's communication and information access capacity. Primary and secondary impacts of the Internet in coastal management are assessed. A broad research framework is employed, including background on the development and spread of the Internet worldwide; analysis of emerging literature on the societal impact of the Internet; limited existing research on the use of the Internet by environmental management professionals generally and coastal managers in particular; and personal experience of the authors in the development of coastal management Internet sites. This analytical framework is supplemented by the first survey of integrated coastal management (ICM) Internet websites by www.coastalmanagement.com and a case study of the Internet Center for Coastal Management (ICCM) Internet-based communication platform based at the University of Washington. The survey of ICM websites found a total of 77 websites worldwide, with a dominance of sites in English located in the developed world. Assessment of the first year of operation of the ICCM project to facilitate discussion between coastal management practitioners and students in the United States and the Philippines demonstrates the enormous potential of the Internet as a communications tool in coastal management and also reveals the many practical technological and cultural constraints of using the Internet, especially in working on a project between the developed and developing world. Three groups of scenarios of the future use of the Internet in coastal management with decreasing levels of forecast certainty, namely, "probable," and "possible," and "potential for" are presented and discussed. Finally, the potential for the Internet to fundamentally transform the practice of coastal management is analyzed. It is concluded that while such a potential exists, there remain significant research questions requiring further analysis before the full transformative potential, and the possible impacts of such a transformation on coastal management, can be fully assessed. This article aims to provide a benchmark against which such future assessments can be made.     

Discussing the “positive utilities” of autonomous vehicles: will travellers really use their time productively?

ABSTRACT

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are expected to reshape travel behaviour and demand in part by enabling productive uses of travel time—a primary component of the “positive utility of travel” concept—thus reducing subjective values of travel time savings (VOT). Many studies from industry and academia have assumed significant increases in travel time use and reductions in VOT for AVs. In this position paper, I argue that AVs’ VOT impacts may be more modest than anticipated and derive from a different source. Vehicle designs and operations may limit activity engagement during travel, with AV users feeling more like car passengers than train riders. Furthermore, shared AVs may attenuate travel time use benefits, and productivity gains could be limited to long-distance trips. Although AV riders will likely have greater activity participation during travel, many in-vehicle activities today may be more about coping with commuting burdens than productively using travel time. Instead, VOT reductions may be more likely to arise from a different “positive utility”—subjective well-being improvements through reduced stresses of driving or the ability to relax and mentally transition. Given high uncertainty, further empirical research on the experiential, time use, and VOT impacts of AVs is needed.     

Successful Transplantation of a Fragmenting Coral,Montipora digitata,for Reef Rehabilitation

The scleractinian coral Montipora digitata (Acroporidae) is a common reef flat species that thrives under high levels of light and water turbulence, and propagates successfully by natural fragmentation. It was used for transplantation experiments in an attempt to restore a degraded lagoon environment in the northwestern Philippines. Branches about 5 cm high from a natural population in the lagoon were transplanted to dead coral outcrops or knolls in two locations (Binlab and Malilnep-Ac) with different environmental characteristics. Growth and survival were significantly better at Malilnep Ac, which resembled the natural habitat of the species more closely. Environmental conditions at this site also favored the establishment of a greater diversity of species around the coral transplants. There was no difference in performance between transplants on vertical and horizontal surfaces, and the transplants showed limited differences due to density within the experimental range. Significant survival of detached, transplanted colonies or fragments thereof around the bases of the experimental bommies at the more successful site was an additional positive outcome. Water motion showed significant effects on survival and growth, possibly enhancing the suitability of the more successful site for transplantation. These results demonstrate the potential of coral transplantation to initiate the establishment of natural communities in degraded reef areas, a concern for coastal managers in developing countries.     

Coastal and Ocean Management in Canada: Moving into the 21st Century

The experience in coastal management in the tropics that is presented in this special issue is considered in light of other coastal management initiatives worldwide. The major challenges confronting those working to promote cross-sectoral, participatory approaches to the management of coastal areas are discussed. Emerging conceptual frameworks are considered. Several factors critical to the design of coastal management projects and programs are identified. The article concludes with a reflection on priorities for furthering the practice of coastal management in the next decade.