Sociological perspectives on travel and mobilities: A review

There is increasing interest in understanding and achieving changes in travel behaviour, but a focus on individual behaviour change may overlook the potential for achieving change via transformation at the levels of institutions, cultures and societies – the domains of sociological inquiry. In this paper, we review sociological contributions to the literature on travel and ‘mobilities’. We summarise four key themes which supplement or contradict arguments made in mainstream transport debates on behaviour change. The first involves focusing on travel ‘practices’ as social entities with dynamics of their own, rather than on individual behaviours. The second relates to the changing natures of societies, and the implications for travel. The third explores and interprets the issue of car dependence in ways which highlight the ethical, experiential and emotional dimensions associated with car use, its symbolic role in societies increasingly concerned with consumption, and its differing roles within different cultures. Finally, the ‘new mobilities paradigm’ highlights issues such as the increasing links between travel and new technologies, and the primacy of social networks in influencing travel decisions. These themes emphasise the importance of understanding the broader contexts in which travel choices are made. In particular, the implication is that the creation of more sustainable travel patterns will require changes at a range of social levels, not simply in individual behaviours, and that changes to transport will inevitably be linked with, and influenced by, broader changes in the values and practices developed by societies as a whole.     

Engaging disadvantaged populations in transport studies: Linking modal use and perceptions of safety to activity patterns

Accessibility measures are important tools in planning. However, if the data are not available to adequately capture the mobility and accessibility challenges of disadvantaged populations, than the results of the model provide little to no direction for policy makers. This paper explores data collection techniques that have the potential to address the “why” underlining the activity behavior, especially linking personal safety perceptions to activities. The first study comes from a series of focus groups with low-income women in Quebec City, Canada. Self-mapping of individual spaces creates a framework to address spatial and temporal challenges that negatively impact transit dependent populations. The second study focuses on the activity patterns of low-income immigrant youth in Providence, RI. A technique is presented to elicit formatted responses concerning perceptions of personal safety. With the help of GIS, this technique has the potential to link together activities and perceptions of safety for activity modeling.     

铁路客货列车分摊线路使用费比例的研究

客货列车均对线路造成损伤,但因运行速度、轴重和运量不同,则对线路损伤的程度不同,所承担线路使用费不同。从工务维修角度出发,以对线路使用费有决定性作用的钢轨抽换成本和轨道状态维修成本作为研究对象,建立客货列车线路使用费分摊比例的工程模型,对我国铁路进行大量现场调研,并用所建立的工程模型对现场调研数据进行处理,得到我国客运货运分摊线路使用费的比例。     

城乡结合部交通与枢纽规划研究

文章从城乡结合部和交通与枢纽的基本内涵出发,指出了城乡结合部存在的一些交通问题,同时针对城乡结合部已成为交通瓶颈,阻碍城市的对外经济联系和乡村经济发展等问题,提出了结合部交通与枢纽规划的优化设想。     

网络电话技术及应用

网络电话技术完全不同于传统的通信技术,是新的、纯粹的网络技术的应用,与IP电话也有本质的区别.概述当前的网络电话技术及相关的技术协议、标准,介绍3种网络电话应用软件特点及使用方法,并对网络电话的未来发展进行展望.     

铁路客运专线动车段检修信息系统需求分析与网络构建

分析了客运专线动车组检修作业信息流程,并从检修作业信息的建立、信息交换、信息处理、监控系统、网络系统5个方面,论述了检修信息系统的需求。     

Tradable emission permit system for urban motorists: The neo-classical standard model revisited

This article deals with the feasibility of a tradable emission permit system (TEPs) for urban motorists. The objective is to develop a new microeconomic theoretical model to reduce urban pollution. We suppose that the city's regulating authority sets up a tradable emission permit system based on the number of kilometres covered by private cars. By the use of a Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) function, we determine the equilibrium under an environmental constraint and analyse the effects of a TEPs on social welfare. The aim is to find the optimal quantity of permits leading to the desired environmental objective. The analytical and numerical results of the model show the instrument's feasibility and efficiency. An important variable in the model must be taken into account: the knowledge of environmental damage. This variable will clearly influence the tool's success.     

Assessment of policies and detection of unintended effects: Guiding principles for the consideration of methods and tools in policy-packaging

Single policies or entire policy packages are often assessed using different methods aiming at a quantification of effects as well as the detection of undesired outcomes. The knowledge of potential impacts is essential to take informed policy actions. Hence, there is a constant need for efficient assessment approaches to support policy decision-making. A broad range of such assessment methods is used in policymaking. Some of them are using quantitative data; others are characterized by qualitative information, observations or opinions. Practical experiences with transport policy prove that these methods all have their pros and cons, but none of them are able to detect the full range of effects. This leads to important questions this article deals with, such as what are the strengths and limitations of the different tools and methods for assessing impacts, and how should different approaches be integrated into the policymaking processes?We analyze the ability of assessment methods to detect different kinds of intended and unintended effects, and introduce the concepts of structurally open (mainly qualitative) and structurally closed (mainly quantitative) methods. It is argued that these concepts support making the pros and cons of the tools and methods more explicit and, thus, allow integrating the different tools and methods into the process of policy packaging. Based on a policy package example, we provide practical recommendations on how to integrate different assessment methods adequately and show that both quantitative and qualitative tools should be used in different phases of the process. The main recommendation is to alternate the application of assessment methods with structurally open methods used in the beginning and the end of the policymaking process and applying structurally closed methods in between.