Public Transit Market Research of Low-Income Commuters Using Attitude-Based Market Segmentation Approach: Case Study of Fushun, China

Author(s):  
Long Cheng ◽  
Xuewu Chen ◽  
William H. K. Lam ◽  
Shuo Yang ◽  
Da Lei

In China, low-income commuters are usually concentrated in peripheral settlements outside downtown areas, where travel services are inadequately provided. These commuters are dependent on fewer travel options, considering their affordability. Based on the recognition that public transit is an important mode to enhance low-income commuters’ travel mobility, a comprehensive attitude-based market segmentation analysis was performed to identify distinct market segments to best serve the needs of each segment and to develop plans to increase transit usage. First, a detailed household survey was conducted in Fushun, China, to obtain commuters’ attitudes toward daily travel. Then, factor analysis was utilized to explore latent attitudinal factors. The structural equation modeling investigated the correlations between attitudes and public transit usage. The k-means clustering was then employed to partition the transit market into several subgroups. Finally, five segments of transit market with distinct attitudes were identified by three dividing variables, namely, the desire for comfort, the need for reliability, and environmental awareness. Low-income commuters in the same segment share homogeneous travel preferences while those in other segments possess different attitudes. The attitudinal characteristics, socioeconomic profile, and mode choice behavior in each segment were examined and discussed. Policies that best meet the needs of each submarket were proposed. These transit-related strategies included building a reliable operation environment, improving the level of service of existing facilities, implementing demand-response transit services, and providing public propaganda and education toward environmental protection.

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 107327482110110
Author(s):  
Grace X. Ma ◽  
Lin Zhu ◽  
Timmy R. Lin ◽  
Yin Tan ◽  
Phuong Do

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) disproportionately affects Vietnamese Americans, especially those with low income and were born outside of the United States. CRC screening tests are crucial for prevention and early detection. Despite the availability of noninvasive, simple-to-conduct tests, CRC screening rates in Asian Americans, particularly Vietnamese Americans, remain suboptimal. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the interplay of multilevel factors – individual, interpersonal, and community – on CRC screening behaviors among low-income Vietnamese Americans with limited English proficiency. Methods: This study is based on the Sociocultural Health Behavior Model, a research-based model that incorporates 6 factors associated with decision-making and health-seeking behaviors that result in health care utilization. Using a community-based participatory research approach, we recruited 801 Vietnamese Americans from community-based organizations. We administered a survey to collect information on sociodemographic characteristics, health-related factors, and CRC screening-related factors. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to identify direct and indirect predictors of lifetime CRC screening. Results: Bivariate analysis revealed that a greater number of respondents who never screened for CRC reported limited English proficiency, fewer years of US residency, and lower self-efficacy related to CRC screening. The SEM model identified self-efficacy (coefficient = 0.092, P < .01) as the only direct predictor of lifetime CRC screening. Educational attainment (coefficient = 0.13, P < .01) and health beliefs (coefficient = 0.040, P < .001) had a modest significant positive relationship with self-efficacy. Health beliefs (coefficient = 0.13, P < .001) and educational attainment (coefficient = 0.16, P < .01) had significant positive relationships with CRC knowledge. Conclusions: To increase CRC screening uptake in medically underserved Vietnamese American populations, public health interventions should aim to increase community members’ confidence in their abilities to screen for CRC and to navigate associated processes, including screening preparation, discussions with doctors, and emotional complications.


Author(s):  
Zhongqi Wang ◽  
Qi Han ◽  
Bauke de Vries ◽  
Li Dai

AbstractThe identification of the relationship between land use and transport lays the foundation for integrated land use and transport planning and management. This work aims to investigate how rail transit is linked to land use. The research on the relationship between land use and rail-based transport is dominated by the impacts of rail projects on land use, without an in-depth understanding of the reverse. However, it is important to note that issues of operation management rather than new constructions deserve greater attention for regions with established rail networks. Given that there is a correspondence between land use patterns and spatial distribution of heavy railway transit (HRT) services at such regions, the study area (i.e., the Netherlands) is partitioned by the Voronoi diagram of HRT stations and the causal relationship between land use and HRT services is examined by structural equation modeling (SEM). The case study of Helmond (a Dutch city) shows the potential of the SEM model for discussing the rail station selection problem in a multiple transit station region (MTSR). Furthermore, in this study, the node place model is adapted with the derivatives of the SEM model (i.e., the latent variable scores for rail service levels and land use characteristics), which are assigned as node and place indexes respectively, to analyze and differentiate the integration of land use and HRT services at the regional level. The answer to whether and how land use affects rail transit services from this study strengthens the scientific basis for rail transit operations management. The SEM model and the modified node place model are complementary to be used as analytical and decision-making tools for rail transit-oriented regional development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2755
Author(s):  
Min-Kyu Kwak ◽  
JeungSun Lee ◽  
Seong-Soo Cha

This research empirically tested a theoretical model by defining senior customers’ intentions to use robot service restaurants emerging in South Korea. Non-face-to-face services have become increasingly important for seniors. Therefore, restaurant marketers should cater to senior customers’ needs by sustaining robot service restaurants. The study analyzed 243 questionnaires to verify the reliability and validity of the measurement items. The research hypotheses were examined using structural equation modeling (SEM). The suggested model comprised three stages: motivated consumer innovativeness (MCI), perceived value, and planned behavior (attitude, intention to use). The results revealed that senior customers’ perceived values positively influenced attitude and were enhanced by hedonically MCI (hMCI) and socially MCI. Moreover, the hedonic and social elements of motivation improved the attitude and usage intentions of robot service restaurants for senior customers. However, these relationships differed in terms of the income level of the customer groups. For the low-income senior-level group, hMCI was more influential on the perceived value. This study is meaningful because it analyzes the effect of MCI of seniors on the perceived value of robot service restaurants, which are growing rapidly in South Korea. It has empirically proved the moderating effect of different income groups, providing practical implications.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1030-1032 ◽  
pp. 2459-2462
Author(s):  
Hang Luo ◽  
Yun Hong Shao ◽  
Bi Jie Ding ◽  
Shu Yue Wu

In recent years, with the expansion of urban space in China, large-scale land development and commodity residential construction lead to urban land expanding continuously, the residents especially low-income groups in suburban area face more problems, such as commuting costs increase, transportation accessibility reduce. The purpose of this paper is to compare and analyze the travel choices between high-income and low-income residents in suburban area, using the structural equation modeling to analyze how the social and economic attributes, public transport accessibility and commuting time influence on traffic mode selection, and contribute to public transportation development for low-income group in suburban area. The result of the research shows influence of different factors involving the traffic mode selection between low-income groups and high-income groups.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luís Daniel Martillo Jeremías ◽  
Ana Isabel Polo Peña

PurposeThe present study aims to propose and validate a model to measure certain variables that may contribute to increasing the bankarization rate (uptake of retail banking services) among developing-economy populations characterized by poor financial literacy and low income levels.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative empirical study is carried out in the retail banking sector of a country with low-bankarization rates. Using a self-administered questionnaire distributed online, structural equation modeling is applied to analyze the relationships between value co-creation, brand experience, brand equity and reputation.FindingsThe results show that brand equity is an antecedent of reputation that values co-creation, and brand experience positively influences brand equity and that values co-creation that positively influences brand experience.Social implicationsThe bankarization rate of a developing country is generally taken as an indicator of the socioeconomic wellbeing of its population. Where there is a low-bankarization rate, this renders it more difficult for financial institutions to build their reputation to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Strategies are, therefore, proposed to improve the reputation of financial institutions in such settings and, thus, contribute to increasing the bankarization rate.Originality/valueThe findings of this study provide an original perspective that offers a deeper understanding of the mechanisms that enable banks operating in low-bankarization markets to enhance their reputation through strategies based on customer–company interaction and branding (with the variables of brand equity, brand experience and value co-creation).


Author(s):  
Andrea S Richardson ◽  
Rebecca L Collins ◽  
Madhumita Ghosh-Dastidar ◽  
Feifei Ye ◽  
Gerald P Hunter ◽  
...  

Abstract Neighborhood socioeconomic conditions (NSEC) are associated with resident diet, but most research has been cross-sectional. We capitalize on a natural experiment where one neighborhood experienced substantial investments, compared to a sociodemographically similar neighborhood that did not, in order to examine pathways from neighborhood investments to changed NSEC and changed dietary behavior. We examine differences between renters and homeowners. Data are from a random sample of households (n=831) in each of these low-income Pittsburgh neighborhoods who were surveyed in 2011 and 2014. Structural equation modeling tested direct and indirect pathways from neighborhood to resident dietary quality, adjusting for individual-level sociodemographics, with multi-group testing by homeowners versus renters. Neighborhood investments were directly associated with improved dietary quality for both renters (β, 95% confidence interval [CI]) =0.27, CI: 0.05, 0.50) and homeowners (β=0.51, CI: 0.10, 0.92). Among renters, investments were also associated with dietary quality through a positive association with commercial prices (β= 0.34, CI: 0.15, 0.54) and a negative association with residential prices (β=-0.30, CI: -0.59, -0.004). Among homeowners, we did not observe any indirect pathways from investments to dietary quality through tested mediators. Investing in neighborhoods may support resident diet, doing so through improvements in neighborhood commercial environments for renters, but mechanisms appear to differ for homeowners.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mindy Herman-Stahl ◽  
Lissette M. Saavedra ◽  
Antonio A. Morgan-Lopez ◽  
Scott P. Novak ◽  
Tara D. Warner ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of maternal depressive symptoms on adolescent alcohol use among a sample of Latino/Latina youth aged 10 to 16 years from a high-risk community. Direct and mediating effects of youth depressive symptoms, controlling for levels of concurrent emotion dysregulation, on alcohol use were examined. Participants consisted of 525 children and their mothers randomly sampled from low-income schools with high rates of substance use. The panel design included four waves, and we used structural equation modeling with a longitudinal mediational framework. Results indicated that the relationship between maternal depressive symptoms and adolescent alcohol use was mediated by adolescents’ symptoms of depression for girls only. Findings are discussed in the context of the development of skills to cope with negative affect and the influence parental depressive symptoms may have on this process.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mao Ye ◽  
Miao Yu ◽  
Zhibin Li ◽  
Fengjun Yin ◽  
Qizhou Hu

The primary objective of this study is to analyze the characteristics of commuting activities within the historical districts in cities of China. The impacts of various explanatory variables on commuters’ travels are evaluated using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The household survey was conducted in the historical districts in Yangzhou, China. Based on the data, various individual and household attributes were considered exogenous variables, while the subsistence activity characteristics, travel times, numbers of three typical home-based trip chains, trip chains, and travel mode were considered as the endogenous variables. Commuters in our study were classified into two main groups according to their working location, which were the commuters in the historic district and those out of the district. The modeling results show that several individual and household attributes of commuters in historic district have significant impacts on the characteristics of travel activities. Additionally, the characteristics of travel activities within the two groups are quite different, and the contributing factors related to commuting travels are different as well.


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