The ongoing debate within the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) community over the relative importance of 'appropriate' design standards, the 'right' institutional setup and 'political will' to the success of projects obscures the larger importance of the planning process. Political leadership, institutions and design are important conditions that must be considered in the context of one another, but they are also conditions that will change and be influenced by the planning process. Drawing on case studies of the Janmarg BRT in Ahmedabad, and the Delhi BRT in India, I demonstrate the indirect and direct role of the planning process in influencing the outcome of BRT projects. My dissertation argues that planners too often treat the planning process as a one-dimensional sequence of steps in which design, institutions and leadership provide an unchanging framework in which planning proceeds. Planners however, can assert more influence over outcomes by re-framing the process as a three dimensional activity that considers not just the content and sequencing of the steps, but also requires decisions concerning approach (i.e. strategy and tactics) and timing (i.e. both moment of action and duration). This broader three-dimensional understanding of the planning process can be used to reshape design, institutions and leadership. A well-designed planning process has the potential to overcome institutional and design weaknesses and build political support leading to more viable and sustainable BRT systems.

The aim of this study is to propose managerial rules for recovering from a disruption event in liner shipping. A critical realism philosophy is adopted in the design of the research. Optimisation and an experimental methodology which follows the critical realism paradigm is used as a framework. Particle swarm optimisation (PSO) is an optimisation model in which various rules are implemented to search for the optimal option to recover from a disruption problem. Solution representations for two options, speeding up and skipping, have been designed. A case study of a trans- Pacific route is used to generate novelty in the model under various configurations of degrees of disruption, maximum speeds, fuel prices, time windows and skipping penalties. The results show that the skipping option performs better than the speeding up option when there is a large amount of delay. The port skipping option is more valuable when the maximum speed limit of a vessel is low. The option of port skipping saves more total cost than the option of speeding up when fuel prices increase. Particularly, a vessel which applies the skipping option can save more total cost than one which applies the speeding option when there are high fuel prices and high degrees of disruption. In other words, speeding up is recommended in the case of low fuel prices and low degrees of disruption. The speeding option is recommended when a vessel faces a short delay and has a long time window. In contrast, the skipping option is more valuable when there is a long delay and a short time window. The higher the skipping delay penalties, the more valuable the speeding option is.

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The number of motor vehicle accidents that occur as a result of driving while talking on mobile devices increases each year. Distracted driving is dangerous; however, policy researchers have not focused on adults who talk on mobile devices as they drive children to and from daily events. This study focused on the experiences of soccer parents, an important focus because of soccer's year-long duration that requires a large amount of driving in addition to the other daily tasks of parenting. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the perceptions of parents of child soccer players regarding the motivations for and risks of talking on mobile devices while driving. The theoretical framework for this phenomenological study was the self-determination theory. Data were collected by electronic surveys using a convenience sample of 10 couples and 4 single parents of children who play soccer for a team in a southern state. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method in which patterns were identified and coded into themes. The key findings were that the parents had different perceptions of the risks and motivations for talking on mobile devices while driving. There were participants who viewed talking on mobile devices as risky while others did not perceive talking on mobile devices while driving as a risk. Recommendations include conducting further research on parents who drive children to and from soccer practices, while talking on mobile devices, in order to gain better understanding of what motivates people to choose to talk on mobile devices while driving. The implications for positive social change include informing policy makers about the importance of increasing awareness and educating the public about the risks of talking on mobile devices while driving.

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Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 128-137)

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available from UMI. Also available in an electronic version.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Pennsylvania State University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [183]-191). Also available online via the Pennsylvania State University's Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archives website (http://etda.libraries.psu.edu/).

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005.