Retinal anatomy of the New Zealand kiwi: Structural traits consistent with their nocturnal behavior

Kiwi (Apteryx spp.) have a visual system unlike that of other nocturnal birds, and have specializations to their auditory, olfactory and tactile systems. Eye size, binocular visual fields and visual brain centers in kiwi are proportionally the smallest yet recorded among birds. Given the many unique features of the kiwi visual system, we examined the laminar organization of the kiwi retina to determine if they evolved increased light sensitivity with a shift to a nocturnal niche or if they retained features of their diurnal ancestor. The laminar organization of the kiwi retina was consistent with an ability to detect low light levels similar to that of other nocturnal species. In particular, the retina appeared to have a high proportion of rod photoreceptors compared to diurnal species, as evidenced by a thick outer nuclear layer, and also numerous thin photoreceptor segments intercalated among the conical shaped cone photoreceptor inner segments. Therefore, the retinal structure of kiwi was consistent with increased light sensitivity, although other features of the visual system, such as eye size, suggest a reduced reliance on vision. The unique combination of a nocturnal retina and smaller than expected eye size, binocular visual fields and brain regions make the kiwi visual system unlike that of any bird examined to date. Whether these features of their visual system are an evolutionary design that meets their specific visual needs or are a remnant of a kiwi ancestor that relied more heavily on vision is yet to be determined.

Female greater wax moths reduce sexual display behavior in relation to the potential risk of predation by echolocating bats

Female greater wax moths Galleria mellonella display by wing fanning in response to bursts of ultrasonic calls produced by males. The temporal and spectral characteristics of these calls show some similarities with the echolocation calls of bats that emit frequency-modulated (FM) signals. Female G. mellonella therefore need to distinguish between the attractive signals of male conspecifics, which may lead to mating opportunities, and similar sounds made by predatory bats. We therefore predicted that (1) females would display in response to playbacks of male calls; (2) females would not display in response to playbacks of the calls of echolocating bats (we used the calls of Daubenton's bat Myotis daubentonii as representative of a typical FM echolocating bat); and (3) when presented with male calls and bat calls during the same time block, females would display more when perceived predation risk was lower. We manipulated predation risk in two ways. First, we varied the intensity of bat calls to represent a nearby (high risk) or distant (low risk) bat. Second, we played back calls of bats searching for prey (low risk) and attacking prey (high risk). All predictions were supported, suggesting that female G. mellonella are able to distinguish conspecific male mating calls from bat calls, and that they modify display rate in relation to predation risk. The mechanism (s) by which the moths separate the calls of bat and moth must involve temporal cues. Bat and moth signals differ considerably in duration, and differences in duration could be encoded by the moth's nervous system and used in discrimination.

Do dissonants in transit oriented development adjust commuting travel behaviour?

Residential dissonance signifies a mismatch between an individual’s preferred and actual proximal land use patterns in residential neighbourhoods, whereas residential consonance signifies agreement between actual and preferred proximal land uses. Residential dissonance is a relatively unexplored theme in the literature, yet it acts as a barrier to the development of sustainable transport and land use policy. This research identifies mode choice behaviour of four groups living in transit oriented development (TOD) and non-TOD areas in Brisbane, Australia using panel data from 2675 commuters: TOD consonants, TOD dissonants, non-TOD consonants, and non-TOD dissonants. The research investigates a hypothetical understanding that dissonants adjust their travel attitudes and perceptions according to their surrounding land uses over time. The adjustment process was examined by comparing the commuting mode choice behaviour of dissonants between 2009 and 2011. Six binary logistic regression models were estimated, one for each of the three modes considered (e.g. public transport, active transport, and car) and one for each of the 2009 and 2011 waves. Results indicate that TOD dissonants and non-TOD consonants were less likely to use the public transport and active transport; and more likely to use the car compared with TOD consonants. Non-TOD dissonants use public transport and active transport equally to TOD consonants. The results suggest that commuting mode choice behaviour is largely determined by travel attitudes than built environment factors; however, the latter influence public transport and car use propensity. This research also supports the view that dissonants adjust their attitudes to surrounding land uses, but very slowly. Both place (e.g. TOD development) and people-based (e.g. motivational) policies are needed for an effective travel behavioural shift.

Transit route occupancy load factor and passenger average travel time for quality of service assessment

This paper investigates quality of service (QoS) and resource productivity implications of transit route passenger loading and travel time. It highlights the value of occupancy load factor as a direct passenger comfort QoS measure. Automatic Fare Collection data for a premium radial bus route in Brisbane, Australia, is used to investigate time series correlation between occupancy load factor and passenger average travel time. Correlation is strong across the entire span of service in both directions. Passengers tend to be making longer, peak direction commuter trips under significantly less comfortable conditions than off-peak. The Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual uses segment based load factor as a measure of onboard loading comfort QoS. This paper provides additional insight into QoS by relating the two route based dimensions of occupancy load factor and passenger average travel time together in a two dimensional format, both from the passenger’s and operator’s perspectives. Future research will apply Value of Time to QoS measurement, reflecting perceived passenger comfort through crowding and average time spent onboard. This would also assist in transit service quality econometric modeling. The methodology can be readily applied in a practical setting where AFC data for fixed scheduled routes is available. The study outcomes also provide valuable research and development directions.

Transit route occupancy load factor and passenger average travel time for quality of service assessment

This presentation investigates quality of service (QoS) and resource productivity implications of transit route passenger loading and travel time. It highlights the value of occupancy load factor as a direct passenger comfort QoS measure. Automatic Fare Collection data for a premium radial bus route in Brisbane, Australia, is used to investigate time series correlation between occupancy load factor and passenger average travel time. Correlation is strong across the entire span of service in both directions. Passengers tend to be making longer, peak direction commuter trips under significantly less comfortable conditions than off-peak. The Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual uses segment based load factor as a measure of onboard loading comfort QoS. This paper provides additional insight into QoS by relating the two route based dimensions of occupancy load factor and passenger average travel time together in a two dimensional format, both from the passenger’s and operator’s perspectives. Future research will apply Value of Time to QoS measurement, reflecting perceived passenger comfort through crowding and average time spent onboard. This would also assist in transit service quality econometric modeling. The methodology can be readily applied in a practical setting where AFC data for fixed scheduled routes is available. The study outcomes also provide valuable research and development directions.

Effects of transit quality of service characteristics on daily bus ridership

This study investigates whether an Australian city’s suburbs having high transit Quality of Service (QoS) are associated with higher transit ridership than those having low transit QoS •We explore how QoS measures including service frequency, service span, service coverage, and travel time ratio, along with implicit environmental predictors such as topographic grade factor influence bus ridership •We applied Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) to examine the relationship between QoS and ridership •Its outcomes enhance our understanding of transit user behavior, which is informative to urban transportation policy, planning, and provision

Exploring association between perceived importance of travel/traffic information and travel behaviour in natural disasters : a case study of the 2011 Brisbane floods

A sound understanding of travellers’ behavioural changes and adaptation when facing a natural disaster is a key factor in efficiently and effectively managing transport networks at such times. This study specifically investigates the importance of travel/traffic information and its impact on travel behaviour during natural disasters. Using the 2011 Brisbane flood as a case study, survey respondents’ perceptions of the importance of travel/traffic information before, during, and after the flood were modelled using random-effects ordered logit. A hysteresis phenomenon was observed: respondents’ perceptions of the importance of travel/traffic information increased during the flood, and although its perceived importance decreased after the flood, it did not return to the pre-flood level. Results also reveal that socio-demographic features (such as gender and age) have a significant impact on respondents’ perceptions of the importance of travel/traffic information. The roles of travel time and safety in a respondent’s trip planning are also significantly correlated to their perception of the importance of this information. The analysis further shows that during the flood, respondents generally thought that travel/traffic information was important, and adjusted their travel plans according to information received. When controlling for other factors, the estimated odds of changing routes and cancelling trips for a respondent who thought that travel/traffic information was important, are respectively about three times and seven times the estimated odds for a respondent who thought that travel/traffic information was not important. In contrast, after the flood, the influence of travel/traffic information on respondents’ travel behaviour diminishes. Finally, the analysis shows no evidence of the influence of travel/traffic information’s on respondents’ travel mode; this indicates that inducing travel mode change is a challenging task.

Maintaining or changing a drinking behavior? GOKA's short-term outcomes

During the critical neurobiological and social developmental period of adolescence, binge drinking of alcohol increases the risk of mental health problems, school exclusion, convictions, fatal and non-fatal accidents. The present research utilizes a simple cluster randomized control trial design to evaluate a social marketing program, Game On: Know Alcohol (GOKA), employing innovative online edutainment games to target binge drinking. Pre and post data were collected for seven program (942 students, mean age: 14.6 years) and five control schools (578 students, mean age: 14.4 years). Significant improvements in alcohol knowledge and affective attitude toward binge drinking was observed for adolescents who participated in GOKA compared to the control group, with maintenance of desirable subjective norms, instrumental attitudes and intentions. Given considerable external competition from messages promoting the benefits of alcohol use, a one-off program that modifies incorrect knowledge and alters perceptions of binge drinking as a fun, recreational activity represents an important step. This research contributes to current understanding of social marketing’s capacity to change drivers and maintain inhibitors of binge drinking intentions of adolescents and provides an important basis for future research in the domain.

On the relevance of travel journalism : An introduction

Not many people will be instantly familiar with British woman Dale Sheppard-Floyd, but – at least symbolically – she represents a significant milestone in the development of travel and tourism. In fact, the milestone was so significant that the United Nations World Tourism Organization booked Madrid’s venerable Museo del Prado to announce to the world’s media her visit to Spain on 13 December 2012. For Ms Sheppard-Floyd’s arrival for a three-day trip meant that more than one billion times in that year, someone had crossed a border as a tourist. An astounding number, considering that, in 1950, there had been only 25 million tourist arrivals worldwide, and even only two decades previously – in 1990 – the number had been less than half at 435 million arrivals (World Tourism Organization, 2012a, 2012b). While people have traveled for pleasure for millennia (Towner, 1995), tourism really came into its own with the expansion of the middle classes in the 19th and 20th century, and today it is considered the world’s largest business sector, with unprecedented numbers of people venturing outside of their immediate environments to explore the world around them. In 2012, travel and tourism’s total contribution to the world economy amounted to a staggering $6.6 trillion, or 9 per cent of GDP (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2013). More than 260 million jobs were generated by it worldwide, which equates to one in every 11 jobs across the globe. While there were some hiccups during the Global Financial Crisis, growth in 2012 was stronger than in other industries, such as manufacturing, financial services and retail (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2013)...

Understanding the behavior of workshop facilitators in systems analysis and design projects: Developing theory from process modeling projects

Organizational and technological systems analysis and design practices such as process modeling have received much attention in recent years. However, while knowledge about related artifacts such as models, tools, or grammars has substantially matured, little is known about the actual tasks and interaction activities that are conducted as part of analysis and design acts. In particular, key role of the facilitator has not been researched extensively to date. In this paper, we propose a new conceptual framework that can be used to examine facilitation behaviors in process modeling projects. The framework distinguishes four behavioral styles in facilitation (the driving engineer, the driving artist, the catalyzing engineer, and the catalyzing artist) that a facilitator can adopt. To distinguish between the four styles, we provide a set of ten behavioral anchors that underpin facilitation behaviors. We also report on a preliminary empirical exploration of our framework through interviews with experienced analysts in six modeling cases. Our research provides a conceptual foundation for an emerging theory for describing and explaining different behaviors associated with process modeling facilitation, provides first preliminary empirical results about facilitation in modeling projects, and provides a fertile basis for examining facilitation in other conceptual modeling activities.

Bikeshare's impact on active travel: Evidence from the United States, Great Britain, and Australia

Over 800 cities globally now offer bikeshare programs. One of their purported benefits is increased physical activity. Implicit in this claim is that bikeshare replaces sedentary modes of transport, particularly car use. This paper estimates the median changes in physical activity levels as a result of bikeshare in the cities of Melbourne, Brisbane, Washington, D.C., London, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. This study is the first known multi-city evaluation of the active travel impacts of bikeshare programs. To perform the analysis, data on mode substitution (i.e. the modes that bikeshare replaces) were used to determine the extent of shift from sedentary to active transport modes (e.g. when a car trip is replaced by bikeshare). Potentially offsetting these gains, reductions in physical activity when walking trips are replaced by bikeshare was also estimated. Finally a Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis was conducted to estimate confidence bounds on estimated impacts on active travel given uncertainties in data sources. The results indicate that on average 60% of bikeshare trips replace sedentary modes of transport (from 42% in Minneapolis/St. Paul to 67% in Brisbane). When bikeshare replaces a walking trip, there is a reduction in active travel time because walking a given distance takes longer than cycling. Considering the active travel balance sheet for the cities included in this analysis, bikeshare activity in 2012 has an overall positive impact on active travel time. This impact ranges from an additional 1.4 million minutes of active travel for the Minneapolis/St. Paul bikeshare program, to just over 74 million minutes of active travel for the London program The analytical approach adopted to estimate bikeshare’s impact on active travel may act as the basis for future bikeshare evaluations or feasibility studies.

Empirical evaluation of the travel time reliability indicators: A case study for Brisbane corridor under recurrent and non-recurrent conditions

This research quantifies traffic congestion and travel time reliability with case study on a major arterial road in Brisbane. The focus is on the analysis of impact of incidents (e.g., road accidents) on travel time reliability. Real traffic (Bluetooth) and incident records from Coronation Drive, Brisbane are utilized for the study. The findings include significant impact of incidents on traffic congestion and travel time reliability. The knowledge gained is useful in various applications such as traveler information systems, and cost-benefit analysis of various strategies to reduce the traffic incidents and its' impacts.