The impact of a congestion pricing exemption on the demand for new energy efficient vehicles in Stockholm

As governments seek to transition to more efficient vehicle fleets, one strategy has been to incentivize ‘green’ vehicle choice by exempting some of these vehicles from road user charges. As an example, to stimulate sales of Energy-Efficient Vehicles (EEVs) in Sweden, some of these automobiles were exempted from Stockholm’s congestion tax. In this paper the effect this policy had on the demand for new, privately-owned, exempt EEVs is assessed by first estimating a model of vehicle choice and then by applying this model to simulate vehicle alternative market shares under different policy scenarios. The database used to calibrate the model includes owner-specific demographics merged with vehicle registry data for all new private vehicles registered in Stockholm County during 2008. Characteristics of individuals with a higher propensity to purchase an exempt EEV were identified. The most significant factors included intra-cordon residency (positive), distance from home to the CBD (negative), and commuting across the cordon (positive). By calculating vehicle shares from the vehicle choice model and then comparing these estimates to a simulated scenario where the congestion tax exemption was inactive, the exemption was estimated to have substantially increased the share of newly purchased, private, exempt EEVs in Stockholm by 1.8% (+/- 0.3%; 95% C.I.) to a total share of 18.8%. This amounts to an estimated 10.7% increase in private, exempt EEV purchases during 2008 i.e. 519 privately owned, exempt EEVs.

The impact of Cool Roof applications on energy performance : results from Australian sub-tropical and tropical field studies

Cool roof coatings are identified by their solar reflectance index. They have been reported to have multiple benefits, the extent of which are strongly dependent on the peculiarities of the local climate, building stock and electricity network. This paper presents measured and simulated data from residential, educational and commercial buildings involved in recent field trials in Australia. The purpose of the field trials was to evaluate the impact of such coatings on electricity demand and load and to assess their potential application to improve comfort whilst avoiding the need for air conditioners. Measured reductions in temperature, power (kW) and energy (kWh) were used to develop a predictive model that correlates ambient temperature distribution profiles, building demand reduction profiles and electricity network peak demand times. Combined with simulated data, the study indicates the types of buildings that could be targeted in Demand Management programs for the mutual benefit of electricity networks and building occupants.

Family structure and change through middle childhood : the impact on children's adjustment and achievement

This research project investigated the influence of family transitions on children's adjustment and school achievement across the primary school years, in single-parent, re-partnered and two-parent families. The quality of children's relationships with parents, teachers and peers were predictive of more positive outcomes, regardless of family structure. The research analysed data from the Kindergarten Cohort participating in Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Across the age span of the children studied, cumulative effects of any residential or school changes, or decreased family income, associated with family transitions, were more likely to predict poorer child outcomes in behaviour adjustment and school achievement.

The impact of transformative learning in a critical service-learning program on teacher development: Building a foundation for inclusive teaching

With international and national policies requiring teachers to adopt inclusive practices worldwide, this paper examines the impact of transformational learning in a critical service-learning program on final-year pre-service teachers’ approaches to inclusive teaching. Data from emailed questionnaires and focus group interviews are analysed through a social, critical framework. The results indicate that the critical service-learning program provided the students with an opportunity to consider diversity and inclusion in selecting teaching strategies, and to enact values suitable to inclusive practices and appreciation of diversity in schools. In this paper we argue that transformative learning experiences about inclusivity and diversity are needed if pre-service teachers are to be challenged to adopt inclusive values and practice in schools. A critical service-learning program for pre-service teachers provides a solid foundation on which to develop or build on the ability to think and teach inclusively.

Consumer misbehavior: a concurrent look at the impact that the size of the victim and size of the loss have on opinions regarding the acceptance or unacceptance of 12 questionable consumer actions

This study examines the role that the size of a victimised organisation and the size of the victim’s loss have on attitudes regarding the acceptance or unacceptance of 12 questionable consumer actions. A sample of 815 American adults rated each scenario on a scale anchored by very acceptable and very unacceptable. It was shown that the size of the victimised organisation tends to influence consumers’ opinions with more disdain directed towards consumers who take advantage of smaller businesses. Similarly, the respondents tended to be more critical of these actions when the loss incurred by the victimised organisation was large. A 2x2 matrix concurrently delineated the nature of the extent to which opinions regarding the 12 actions differed depending upon the mediating variable under scrutiny.

The impact of incidents on macroscopic fundamental diagrams

The macroscopic fundamental diagram (MFD) traffic modelling method has been proved for large urban roads and freeway networks, but hysteresis and scatter have been found in both such networks. This paper investigates how incident variables affect the shape and scatter of the MFD using both simulated data and real data collected from the M3 Pacific motorway in Brisbane, Australia. Three key components of incidents are investigated based on the simulated data (i.e. incident location, incident duration and traffic demand). The results based on simulated data indicate that the diagram shape is a property not only of the network itself but also of the incident variables. Diagrams for three types of real incidents (crash, hazard and vehicle breakdown) are explored separately. The results based on the empirical data are consistent with the simulated results. The hysteresis phenomenon occurs both upstream and downstream of the incident location, but for opposite hysteresis loops. The gradient of the upstream diagram is greater than that downstream on the incident site, when traffic demand is for an off-peak period.

Just what the doctor ordered? Investigating the impact of health service quality on consumer misbehaviour

The growth in demand and expenditure currently being experienced in the Australian health sector is also accompanied by a rise in dysfunctional customer behaviour, such as verbal abuse and physical violence, perpetrated against health service providers. While service failure and poor recovery are known to trigger consumer misbehaviour, this study investigates whether lower than expected perceived service quality generates cognitive and emotional appraisals that trigger two common forms of misbehaviour: refusal to participate and verbal abuse. Data were collected using a 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment administered via online written survey and analysed using path modelling. The findings indicate that perceptions of service encounter quality have an indirect effect on whether consumers refuse to participate in the service and/or verbally abuse the service provider through the mediating effect of anger.

The impact of infrastructure charges on house prices in Australia

Developer paid fees or charges are a commonly used mechanism for local governments to pay for new infrastructure. However, property developers claim that these costs are merely passed on to home buyers, with adverse effects to housing affordability. Despite numerous government reports and many years of industry advocacy, there remains no empirical evidence in Australia to confirm or quantify this passing on effect to home buyers. Hence there remains no data from which governments can base policy decision on, and the debate continues. This paper examines the question of the impact of infrastructure charges on housing affordability in Australia. It presents the findings of a hedonic house price model that provides the first empirical evidence that infrastructure charges do increase house prices in Australia. This research is consistent with international findings, that support the proposition that developer paid infrastructure charges are passed on to home buyers and are a significant contributor to increasing house prices and reduced housing affordability.

Women’s perceptions of their lifestyle and quality of life several years after a diagnosis of endometrial cancer

Background Few studies have examined the long-term changes experienced by women treated for endometrial cancer. Objective The objectives of this study were to describe what women perceived important to their lifestyle and quality of life in the years following their diagnosis and to provide new insights that might inform healthcare practice. Methods This was a thematic analysis of 237 open-ended comments from Australian women diagnosed with endometrial cancer 3 to 5 years previously. Results We identified 3 main themes: (1) personal change, in which women spoke about cancer as permanently altering their lives in mostly negative but sometimes positive ways; (2) continuity of former life, which described both the minimal impact of cancer on women's lives and identities and the difficulties negotiating this within the dominant "cancer survivorship" culture; (3) social support, where women wrote about how the quality of their relationships shaped their cancer trajectory. Conclusions While typical "survivorship" issues exist for many women with endometrial cancer (eg, physical, emotional, sexual health changes), a proportion of women will not be focused on their cancer and can be encouraged to form lives and identities that are not situated within the "cancer survivorship" culture. Implications for Practice A network of support, sensitive to women's responses to having cancer, may benefit women's long-term adjustment. Regular standardized assessment of women's needs may facilitate appropriate support for those with concerns, whereas those without concerns could be reassured by health professionals that their experience is normal and shared by other people with cancer. This may encourage women to form lives that are personally meaningful.

Do the best scholars attract the highest speaking fees? An exploration of internal and external influence

This study investigates whether academics can capitalize on their external prominence (measured by the number of pages indexed on Google, TED talk invitations or New York Times bestselling book successes) and internal success within academia (measured by publication and citation performance) in the speakers’ market. The results indicate that the larger the number of web pages indexing a particular scholar, the higher the minimum speaking fee. Invitations to speak at a TED event, or making the New York Times Best Seller list is also positively correlated with speaking fees. Scholars with a stronger internal impact or success also achieve higher speaking fees. However, once external impact is controlled, most metrics used to measure internal impact are no longer statistically significant.

Deterrence of drug driving : the impact of the ACT drug driving legislation and detection techniques

Overarching Research Questions Are ACT motorists aware of roadside saliva based drug testing operations? What is the perceived deterrent impact of the operations? What factors are predictive of future intentions to drug drive? What are the differences between key subgroups

Numerical studies on CFRP strengthened steel columns under transverse impact

Strengthening of metallic structures using carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) has become a smart strengthening option over the conventional strengthening method. Transverse impact loading due to accidental vehicular collision can lead to the failure of existing steel hollow tubular columns. However, knowledge is very limited on the behaviour of CFRP strengthened steel members under dynamic impact loading condition. This paper deals with the numerical simulation of CFRP strengthened square hollow section (SHS) steel columns under transverse impact loading to predict the behaviour and failure modes. The transverse impact loading is simulated using finite element (FE) analysis based on numerical approach. The accuracy of the FE modelling is ensured by comparing the predicted results with available experimental tests. The effects of impact velocity, impact mass, support condition, axial loading and CFRP thickness are examined through detail parametric study. The impact simulation results indicate that the strengthening technique shows an improved impact resistance capacity by reducing lateral displacement of the strengthened column about 58% compared to the bare steel column. Axial loading plays an important role on the failure behaviour of tubular column.

Impact of real-time traffic characteristics on freeway crash occurrence : systematic review and meta-analysis

A systematic literature review and a comprehensive meta-analysis that combines the findings from existing studies, was conducted in this thesis to analyse the impact of traffic characteristics on crash occurrence. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to investigate the quality, publication bias and outlier bias of the various studies, and the time intervals used to measure traffic characteristics were considered. Based on this comprehensive and systematic review, and the results of the subsequent meta-analysis, major issues in study design, traffic and crash data, and model development and evaluation are discussed.

Motivational interventions may have greater sustained impact if they trained imagery-based self-management

McCambridge & Rollnick [1] argue that increased benefits from brief motivational interventions (MIs) for alcohol abuse may be obtained if they addressed patients’ con- cerns more directly, especially in severe dependence and primary care. We agree, but take the idea a step further. Recent research on comorbidity has illustrated the power of simultaneously addressing multiple issues in an integrated manner, especially when these changes have synergistic effects (as typically occurs with psycho- sis and substance use [2]). Integrated MI for comorbidity can even be used productively in a single-session format [3]. This idea may have wider application. Recent work in remote Indigenous Australian communities has highlighted the benefits of a broad-ranging discussion of key relationships, activities and resources that confer strength, as well as aspects that worry them or cause dissatisfaction [4]. If excessive drinking is present, its impact on other life areas is reviewed, as in standard MI. However, it is considered alongside other highly valued goals. While the approach has demonstrated effects on both alcohol use and mental health [5], its impact is restricted only by the range of goals that are selected...

Queensland's budget austerity and its impact on social welfare : is the cure worse than the disease?

While considerable attention has been paid to the austerity experiments in Europe, much less attention has been paid to austerity case studies from other parts of the world. This paper examines the case of Queensland, Australia, where the government has pursued austerity measures, while making dire warnings that unless public debt was slashed and the public service sector downsized,Queensland risked becoming the Spain of Australia. The comparison is incomprehensible, given the very different economic situation in Queensland compared with Spain. This comparison constructed a sense of crisis that helped to mask standard neoliberal economic reform. While pursuing neoliberal economic policies,the Queensland Government has also been introducing draconian laws that limit civil liberties and political freedoms for ordinary citizens. This mix of authoritarianism and austerity has met considerable resistance, and this dynamic is discussed in the paper, along with the predictable and unequal impact that austerity measures have had on the general population and social services.