Search results

The history and development of urban transportation sysems in Brazil are reviewed in some detail. Early urban developments were served by rail and relied upon the rail transit systems but this has deteriorated since the 1930s as a result of high urban growth rate. Rail transport has chiefly been replaced by buses and micro‐buses, and latterly by cars but these have compounded rather than improved the situation. Industrialisation in the 1950s had a profound effect as existing networks were unable to cope with rapid urban development and growth. The social implications of transport costs, wasted travel time, the development of slum areas in inner cities, are considered and viewed as a poor reflection on an industrial and urban economy such as Brazil. The conclusion is drawn that the transportation system may ultimately jeopardise the continuity of Brazil′s industrialisation and modernisation.

This paper aims to acquaint readers with Louis J. DeLamarter and the innovative strategies he used to extend the profitability of the street railway in the USA.

Initially the researchers were interested in street railways (trolleys) and why they had flourished in Grand Rapid, Michigan when they were failing in other parts of the USA. Extensive research in local and national newspapers, business journals and trade publications of the time led to the story of Louis J. DeLamarter. His innovative approach to running the street railway in Grand Rapids MI emerged as the cause of the Grand Rapids Railway Company's unique, though temporary, success.

DeLamarter conceived and implemented a number of innovative marketing practices which were rooted in a differentiation strategy: he focused on the customer whereas other transportation companies did not. His strategy made the company successful after others became bankrupt. His ideas were lauded in the industry, adopted, and are still used in public transportation today. Only external factors such as the depression, the advent of the automobile and burdensome regulations undermined his success.

Despite extensive searches, no original papers by DeLamarter could be located.

Public service companies worldwide can learn about the importance of customer focus from DeLamarter's work. Additionally, managers can learn that even the most successful innovative strategy will only yield a short‐term competitive advantage if the industry faces unfavorable external factors.

The story of Louis J. DeLamarter and his innovations in public transportation are presented for the first time.

As a relatively new city by North American standards, Vancouver experienced tremendous growth in the early 20th century. Constrained by its location on a peninsula and surrounded by water, early planning and engineering decisions supportive of citizen accessibility also encouraged and reinforced walkability through strong streetcar networks, walkable neighbourhood commercial areas and the availability of single family housing. Citizen engagement in emerging walkability projects was predicated by the successful stopping of a freeway through the heart of Vancouver. As Vancouver’s planning and engineering policy developed, citizens synergistically worked with the City on several emerging projects that reinforced connection and walkability across the city. Often incepted as demonstration projects, many of these initiatives have been adopted as city policy and have applicability in other jurisdictions.The walkability neighbourhood demonstration projects described can be replicated in other municipalities to create positive impacts on walkability and city life. The effectiveness of these approaches in walkability are echoed in the innovative Olympic Village neighbourhood which housed the athletes at the 2010 Olympic winter games. Many of the concepts and best practices developed in walkable community projects have been melded in creating a successful walking environment garnering world attention. By enhancing walkability in neighbourhood projects, communities strengthened their area’s sustainability and social networks. The synergistic work between the municipality and the community is vital to the success and effectiveness of demonstration projects that can be adopted later as citywide policy.

The purpose of this paper is to assessment of actions for sustainable transport based on analysis of projects in selected major Polish cities carried out in cooperation with the motor industry and power sector enterprises.

Analysis of projects in selected major Polish cities.

All initiatives aimed at making municipal transport more environmentally friendly have been launched by the local governments, in accordance with strategic government documents, acts and other legal regulations. The steps that have been taken are not just intended to improve the quality of the urban environment, but also to streamline transport systems and ensure greater mobility for city dwellers. Enterprises can engage in similar projects mostly by placing their bids in municipalities of transport companies’ public tenders.

Continuing research in the issue of creating jobs in cooperation between local authorities and companies in implementation of green transport in cities. And as well it is introduction to the further study on ways to achieve the partnership, not only by green public procurement but also sustainable public procurement, and their results.

In practical issue authors emphasize the potential of innovation domestic producers of environmentally friendly facilities for transport and limited possibilities to cooperation with local authorities, limited only to public procurement and consultations. Taking into account social implications authors emphasize the potential of cooperation between companies and local authorities in creating jobs.

The new element are information about transformation in public transport in Polish cities based on vehicles, produced by polish company and new project connected with greening up transport. As well important is referring to recent considerations undertaken in the literature and practical examples.

The wheel polygonization of state‐of‐the‐art lightrail streetcars is studied using a mechanical model for the vibrational frequency response of a vehicle with a nonrigid body, which reveals relevant novel wheel resonances.

The purpose of this paper is to follow a paper by Rexfelt and Hiort af Ornäs published in JMTM in 2009, which dealt with consumer acceptance of product service systems (PSS). This topic is important as it is a sustainable business model. It is proposed that the uncertainty consumers have towards the suitability of PSS to their needs can be further explored using existing management tools such as SERVQUAL, a tool to measure customer satisfaction and perceived quality.

This study, supported by the British Academy, utilized qualitative research on two types of respondents: businesses that can be classified eco‐efficient PSS providers; and consumers. The providers were administered structured in‐depth interviews, and the respondents are Mr Chas Ball, Director of Policy at Car Plus, a trade association representing car clubs, and Mr Jonathan Hampson, Director of Streetcar, the largest car club company. Car clubs may be considered a type of eco‐efficient PSS. Consumers were involved in four focus groups (20 participants in total). The questioning route used in the two focus groups focused the attention of the participants on two types of eco‐efficient PSS provision: one represented by car‐sharing services, such as the ones provided by City Car Club and Street Car, mentioned in section 2; the other was an hypothetical provision of a bundle of maternity equipment and services, such as baby prams, baby car seats, travel cots and similar. The inclusion of this “hypothetical” provision was inspired by a study conducted in Sweden by Mont et al.

Consumers are favourable to PSS provisions in principle; however they have concerns on whether this type of provision will live up to their expectations. These concerns are that the PSS might not perform satisfactorily in terms of its assurance, reliability, responsiveness, empathy and tangible components. The attractive aspect of PSS to consumers is as a “bundle” or products and services where the product can be replaced to accommodate consumers' needs. Business managers and policy makers will need to devise communications to reassure consumers that PSS provision meets the requirements set out by the SERVQUAL scale.

This paper identifies the applicability of a service quality measurement tool, SERVQUAL, to product service systems (PSS) and it extends the knowledge on consumers' acceptance of PSS.

People are subjected to a multitude of interruptions. In order to manage these interruptions it is imperative to predict a person's interruptability – his/her current readiness or inclination to be interrupted. This paper aims to introduce the approach of direct interruptability inference from sensor streams (accelerometer and audio data) in a ubiquitous computing setup and to show that it provides highly accurate and robust predictions.

The authors argue that scenarios are central for evaluating the performance of ubiquitous computing devices (and interruptability predicting devices in particular) and prove this on the setup employed, which was based on that of Kern and Schiele.

The paper demonstrates that scenarios provide the foundation for avoiding misleading results, and provide the basis for a stratified scenario‐based learning model, which greatly speeds up the training of such devices.

The direct prediction seems to be competitive or even superior to indirect prediction methods and no drawbacks have been observed yet.

The paper introduces a method for accurately predicting a person's interruptability directly from simple sensors without any intermediate steps/symbols.

As a site of contestation among job seekers, workers, and managers, the bureaucratic workplace both reproduces and erodes occupational race segregation and racial status hierarchies. Much sociological research has examined the reproduction of racial inequality at work; however, little research has examined how desegregationist forces, including civil rights movement values, enter and permeate bureaucratic workplaces into the broader polity. Our purpose in this chapter is to introduce and typologize what we refer to as “occupational activism,” defined as socially transformative individual and collective action that is conducted and realized through an occupational role or occupational community. We empirically induce and present a typology from our study of the half-century-long, post-mobilization occupational careers of over 60 veterans of the nonviolent Nashville civil rights movement of the early 1960s. The fourfold typology of occupational activism is framed in the “new” sociology of work, which emphasizes the role of worker agency and activism in determining worker life chances, and in the “varieties of activism” perspective, which treats the typology as a coherent regime of activist roles in the dialogical diffusion of civil rights movement values into, within, and out of workplaces. We conclude with a research agenda on how bureaucratic workplaces nurture and stymie occupational activism as a racially desegregationist force at work and in the broader polity.

For the past two decades, Toronto has experienced an incredible transformation from a young emerging city into one of the world's leading, global financial competitors. Among its several distinguishing factors, Toronto's multicultural population is perhaps its most unique characteristic. With a widely pro-immigration sentiment, as well as high urban density levels, Toronto's cultural and racial heterogeneity has stimulated its economic vitality, growth, and sustainability. The built environment of Toronto also reflects the integrated, dynamic nature of the city, with most neighborhoods incorporating mixed-use spaces populated by a wide range of income level residents. The transportation system reinforces this unity, connecting the city's region through an extensive network.

While Toronto is a city with relatively low levels of ethnic tensions as compared to its Western contemporaries, the city has been significantly afflicted by evident racial and ethnic disparities related to sprawl, gated and enclosed communities, the “ghettoization” of minorities, and other neoliberal conditions. Despite the growing prevalence of gangs such as the 14K Triad and MS-13, Toronto has one of the lowest crime rates in North America and is thus recognized as one of the safest North American cities. Toronto is also recognized for having one of top-ranked educational systems in the world. Furthermore, the government structure of the metropolitan area has taken a unique, comprehensive approach to politics that reinforces the city's unification. Because of the collaboration of each of these societal elements, Toronto has evolved into a city that sees its diversity as a strength and a tool for success.