Planning Approaches in Contracted Fixed-Route Bus Transit Service in the United States: Private Sector’s Role in the Planning Process and Its Influence on Performance Outcomes

2017 ◽  
Vol 2651 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-59
Author(s):  
Joel Mendez ◽  
Jeffrey R. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Planning Process ◽  
The United States ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
Bus Transit ◽  
Positive Performance ◽  
Bus Service ◽  
Transit Agencies ◽  
Do So ◽  
Planning Approaches

This study explored the role of planning approaches implemented by agencies that contracted a significant portion of fixed-route bus service and related those planning approaches to service performance. Of particular interest are the rationale behind agency decisions of where to situate planning functions, the role of the contractor in the planning process, and the implications of planning approaches on service cost, quality, and efficiency. Eight cases focused on U.S. transit agencies located in major metropolitan areas that contracted more than 20% of their fixed-route bus service. The authors utilized a combination of agency documents, National Transit Database data, and respondent interviews to uncover the planning approaches employed by each agency and to relate them to key performance indicators. The results show that agencies that do not contract planning functions do so to retain maximum control and oversight of bus service, the role of the contractor in the planning process is augmented as the proportion of contracted service increases, and agencies that employ a strategy with heightened levels of contractor interaction are more likely to experience positive performance outcomes.

scholarly journals COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine hesitancy: Role of the allergist/immunologist in promotion of vaccine acceptance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Bellanti
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Reactions ◽  
Present Report ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Vaccine Acceptance ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Many ◽  
Do So

Background: Vaccine hesitancy has been defined as a delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines, despite the availability ofvaccine services. In the past, despite an impressive record of vaccine effectiveness in the United States, several factors havecontributed to a decreased acceptance of vaccines that has resulted in outbreaks of infectious diseases, e.g., measles. More recently, vaccine hesitancy has spread to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. There are many causes of vaccine hesitancy, such as misinformation, fallacies, and myths, that have contributed to vaccine hesitancy.Objective: The purpose of the present report is to address the many causes of vaccine hesitancy and to suggest ways that the allergist/immunologist can be involved in the promotion of vaccine acceptance.Methods: The current COVID-19 vaccines were reviewed, together with their mechanisms(s) of action and adverse reactions to them.Results: The many causes of vaccine hesitancy include many doubts and concerns related to COVID-19 vaccines as well asa diminished level of confidence and trust by segments of the public in the nation's leaders in government, medical, and business communities, that those groups once enjoyed.Conclusion: Vaccination with COVID-19 vaccines is the only way that COVID-19 will be eliminated or at least controlled today, and vaccine hesitancy is the potential nemesis. The present report describes how the allergist/immunologist not only plays a major role in the delivery of specialized therapy of COVID-19 but also in educating the public with regard to the importance of COVID-19 vaccines, in dispelling misinformation, and in promoting trust for vaccine acceptance but must be informed with the most accurate and current information to do so.

scholarly journals Narratives and Pathways towards an Ecological Civilization in Contemporary China

2018 ◽  
Vol 236 ◽  
pp. 1175-1196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Geall ◽  
Adrian Ely
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
The United States ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Ecological Civilization ◽  
Political Narratives ◽  
Policy Narratives ◽  
The Government ◽  
Do So

AbstractSince the United States committed to withdraw from the UN Paris Agreement on climate change, international observers have increasingly asked if China can take the lead instead to raise global ambition in the context of a world leadership vacuum. Given the country's increasing economic and strategic focus on sustainable and low-carbon innovation, China might seem well placed to do so. However, much depends on the direction of governance and reform within China regarding the environment. To better understand how the government is seeking to make progress in these areas, this article explores key political narratives that have underpinned China's policies around sustainable development (kechixu fazhan) and innovation (chuangxin) within the context of broader narratives of reform. Drawing on theoretical insights from work that investigates the role of power in shaping narratives, knowledge and action around specific pathways to sustainability, this article explores the ways in which dominant policy narratives in China might drive particular forms of innovation for sustainability and potentially occlude or constrain others. In particular, we look at ecological civilization (shengtai wenming) as a slogan that has gradually evolved to become an official narrative and is likely to influence pathways to sustainability over the coming years.

scholarly journals Investigating the Preferences of Local Residents toward a Proposed Bus Network Redesign in Chattanooga, Tennessee

2021 ◽  
pp. 036119812110130
Author(s):  
Abubakr Ziedan ◽  
Cassidy Crossland ◽  
Candace Brakewood ◽  
Philip Pugliese ◽  
Harrison Ooi
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Transit Network ◽  
Transit Service ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Bus Network ◽  
Bus Networks ◽  
Bus Service ◽  
Transit Agencies

Many transit agencies are considering or implementing bus network redesigns. Considering this growing trend, this study investigates the preferences of local residents for a proposed bus network redesign in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The study uses survey data collected by the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority and its partners as part of a bus network redesign planning process. Using the survey data, three logit models are estimated to explore preferences between different bus network redesign philosophies, transit network improvements, and willingness to pay for proposed transit improvements and expansion. There are three main findings. First, respondents who ride the bus prefer access to more places over frequent bus service, whereas non-riders prefer more frequent transit service. Second, the models suggest that younger generations are more supportive of transit improvements than older age groups. Third, people living near bus routes and those with higher income levels are more willing to pay for proposed transit improvements. The findings of this study should inform transit agencies that are considering or are in the process of redesigning their bus networks.

Trends in Public Debt in India: Lessons from Greek Crisis?

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-109
Author(s):  
Subhomoy Bhattacharjee ◽  
Dakshita Das
Keyword(s):  
Interest Rates ◽  
Money Supply ◽  
Public Debt ◽  
Large Degree ◽  
The United States ◽  
Tax Revenue ◽  
Indian Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
Do So

There is not much new in the divide in economic literature between fiscal and monetary policy; what is new post-2008 is the emergence of the role of money supply and that of public debt to prominence as the instrument of choice for central banks and the government treasury. To a large degree, money supply and public debt now eclipsed the central role variables such as tax and interest rates had played in the setting of economic policies in countries both developed and developing. While literature is evaluating how the change in the role of these stock parameters to that of policy variables will play out, this article takes up the more mundane task of examining only one of them, which is public debt in the context of India. We believe that there is a key reason to do so. The Indian government has not used public debt as an active policy tool, so far, even as several countries have begun to do so ( Mohanty, 2012 ). Instead, it has held on to a general desideratum of the need to reduce it; borne out of the scare of the balance of payments crisis of 1991. But 25 years after the crisis, it is important to examine if there is a conscious understanding within the government for the need to measure and deploy public debt especially as the room for active deployment of other fiscal tools, namely taxation is circumscribed. By FY14 India’s public debt (centre and states combined), as percentage of GDP, stood at 66.7 per cent; it was 70.6 per cent in FY09. For the sake of comparison, the world’s most indebted countries include Greece, of course, with its general government net debt at 173 per cent of its GDP. Others in the top 20 include Italy, Egypt, Portugal, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Japan and the United States of America. By current estimates, India does not rank amongst the most indebted countries of the world. But is the position, one of strength or of a passive arrival that offers little or no policy direction to the government? Moreover, this article also argues that in the absence of such direction, there has been a build-up of debt in the economy instead of a reduction. Most of that build-up has been sought to be balanced by recourse to non-tax revenue. As fresh options to tap non-tax revenue dry up, public debt could emerge as the new pressure point for the economy.

Epistemic Communities in Unlikely Regions: The Role of Multi-level Governance in Fostering Regionalism

2020 ◽  
pp. 0739456X2093728
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Mattiuzzi ◽  
Karen Chapple
Keyword(s):  
Regional Planning ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Epistemic Communities ◽  
Knowledge Communities ◽  
Regional Networks ◽  
Federal Program ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Do So

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently awarded regional planning grants to seventy-four regions, raising the question of whether these regions were able to form lasting cross-sectoral knowledge communities (“epistemic communities”). We conduct in-depth case studies examining the politics and mechanics of how epistemic communities formed and have continued in regions where it might be challenging to do so (in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Virginia), finding that the planning process promoted the growth of regional networks and incipient governance. We trace the new collaboration to the federal program, suggesting a role for higher levels of government in fostering regionalism.

scholarly journals The Role of Modeling and Synthesis in Creative Mitigation

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Heilen
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Resource Management ◽  
Cultural Resources ◽  
The Public ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
The Past ◽  
National Historic Preservation Act ◽  
Do So

AbstractIn the 54 years since passage of the National Historic Preservation Act, more than 56 million ha of land have been surveyed in the United States, and nearly one million cultural resources have been identified and recorded. These efforts have produced hundreds of thousands of project reports, vast collections of data, and a wealth of descriptive information about the past. The accumulated data can be used to generate important new knowledge about the past, with many scientific and management implications, but remain largely untapped. Following current approaches, many resources will be damaged or lost before effective strategies for studying or preserving them can be developed. Synthesis and modeling are needed in creative mitigation efforts to identify which resources to preserve and study and how best to do so with limited time and funding. This article explores the potential for compiling and synthesizing large cultural and environmental datasets within a geographic information system to model the nature and distribution of cultural resources. It is argued that dedicated synthesis and modeling of cultural resource management data will allow development of more effective and proactive research and management strategies, providing lasting benefit to diverse scientific and traditional communities and the public.

India’s Nepal Policy

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. D. Muni
Keyword(s):  
Regional Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Coordination ◽  
Special Relationship ◽  
Policy Perspective ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Do So

This chapter focuses on India’s relations with Nepal. India’s security interests and its Nepal policy have been shaped by historical legacy, geographical imperatives, and regional and global political dynamics. India tried to evolve mechanisms of mutual security arrangements and foreign policy coordination to underline its ‘special relationship’ with Nepal but did not succeed. It was also keen to keep strategically adversarial foreign influences out of Nepal but could not do so fully. India successfully helped Nepal in resolving the latter’s transformational political upheavals, but failed to make Nepal institutionalize the changes. India’s failures in Nepal resulted from a lack of long-term policy perspective, interventionist and insensitive diplomatic behaviour, diversity of domestic stakeholders, and the role of aggressive external players like China, Pakistan and the United States. India’s future challenges in Nepal can be met through a stable and forward-looking Nepal as well as a resilient regional policy of India.

African-American Grandmothers as Health Educators in the Family

2005 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Watson ◽  
Suzanne M. Randolph ◽  
James L. Lyons
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Educators ◽  
Full Model ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Teaching Role ◽  
Truck Accidents ◽  
The Family ◽  
Do So

More than 18,000 adolescents die each year in the United States from bicycle, motorcycle, car, and truck accidents. This study sought to understand the role of African-American grandmothers as prevention-oriented health educators in the family. Full Model Fitted Regression Analyses were conducted on a sample of African-American grandmothers ( N = 105) with 10- to 19-year-old grandchildren. Findings suggest that grandmothers who adopt a proactive, teaching role with their grandchildren are more committed to doing so, confident about doing so, and in a context to do so. In particular, grandmothers who co-reside with their grandchildren are more likely to teach them about how to prevent transportation accidents than those who do not co-reside. These findings could contribute to innovations in existing grandparent education curricula.

scholarly journals “The Problem from Hell”: Examining the Role of Peace and Conflict Studies for Genocide Intervention and Prevention

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Cormier ◽  
Peter Karari ◽  
Alka Kumar ◽  
Robin Neustaeter ◽  
Jodi Read ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Conflict Studies ◽  
Peace And Conflict Studies ◽  
Peace And Conflict ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Will ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Do So

Genocide is one of the most challenging problems of our age. In her book, “A Problem from Hell:” America and the Age of Genocide, Samantha Power (2002) argues that the United States, while in a position to intervene in genocide, has lacked the will to do so, and therefore it is incumbent on the U.S. citizenry to pressure their government to act. This article reviews how the topic of genocide raises questions along the fault lines of the field of Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS). In this article, a framework is provided to examine genocide and responses to it. This includes a review of a multiplicity of factors that (a) facilitate genocide, (b) constrain action in the face of it, and (c) facilitate intervention. In this analysis, further consideration is given to the location of the actor either within the region of the conflict or external to it. Our goal is to situate the study of genocide in the PACS field and promote to the articulation of possibilities for intervention by individuals, organizations, and policymakers.

scholarly journals The role of local governance in the process of brownfield regeneration: European planning practice

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-284
Author(s):  
Ana Perić
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Planning Culture ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Planning Approaches

Because a large number of participants with various interests in the process of brownfield regeneration increase the complexity of the process itself, it is interesting to observe the nature of their collaboration. The focus of this paper is on the role of the local authorities as one of the key stakeholders responsible for the success of brownfield regeneration. Their position and the instruments they use in such a process can be elucidated by observing the organisation of the planning process, the negotiation and decision-making procedures, and the means of conflict resolution. Two European case studies on brownfield regeneration form the empirical research scope of this paper: A former cable and wire factory in Vienna and a former Roma settlement in Budapest. The paper provides an insight into possibilities for a redefinition of planning culture through innovative and proactive planning approaches to brownfield regeneration.

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