It is often acknowledged that movement exists in multiple, interdependent forms and that we live in an Information Age. However, mobilities perspectives on contemporary cycling tend to neglect the a) interconnections between transport (physical mobility of people and objects) and communication (mobility of symbolic information) b) paradigmatic shifts in modernity that affect how and why we communicate about transport. This thesis responds to such neglect. Firstly, it places urban cycling in an internet context by examining practices and perceptions of policy blogging, asking why do individuals blog about cycling-related transport policy and to what effect? Secondly, it analyses the answers to these questions through the theoretical lens of the risk society and reflexive modernisation theses. Empirical data is the result of 46 semi-structured interviews with bloggers and expert system representatives, mostly in London, New York and Paris. Blogging about cycling-related transport policy is shown to be an individualised response to the perceived failings of expert systems, as well as in Giddens’ words, a ‘reflexive project of the self’. Citizens who may otherwise only be policy subjects or passive consumers of transport, emerge as policy, media and civil society actors by virtue of their ability to publish information, which forms the basis of social relations. Through blogging, they produce and mobilise knowledge. Knowledge claims mediated by blogging interact with expert systems responsible for transport, which in turn adapt; routine institutional practices evolve; a new order emerges; blogging makes a difference. That difference is however limited, not least because the public remains reliant on expert systems. Ultimately, despite the obvious importance of physical mobility to cycling, this thesis seeks to move beyond it. Information and communication technologies have radically altered how we - researchers, the public, expert system representatives - communicate about and understand cycling, and as such, this project argues for a renewed emphasis on mobilities in a genuinely plural sense of the word as being about more than physically moving from A to B.

The Thesis sets out to analyze CCTV's transition from 1979-2003 with a special focus on its most influential reform entitled Producer Responsibility System (PRS). In order to present a real picture of CCTV's organizational culture, this research uses multiple research methods to synthesize valuable contributions from two schools of organizational culture theory driven by different research orientations. Data collection methods include a6 months' ethnographic research project inside CCTV. The research has two main research findings. First, following the introduction of PRS, the reform process has been uneven. A split has emerged at CCTV between an 'inner' and an 'outer' management circles, with very different organizational cultures and responses to organizational change. Second, the research identifies four logics which have shaped CCTV's organizational culture: Party logic, Commercial logic, Professional logic and Social and ethnic logic. CCTV's transition has been defined by a complex interaction and negotiation between these four logics. This thesis summarizes CCTV's organizational change from 1979-2003 into three stages, from a 'frozen' status to 'change by exception' and then to 'incremental change'. Analysis of the relationship between these four logics suggests that to achieve a real transition from Party mouthpiece to modem media enterprise, CCTV needs to achieve a new 'paradigm change'. The key to the success of this 'paradigm change' will be a systematic reconstruction of CCTV's organizational culture based on the central objective of building media professionalism. The single case study places some limits on the generalizability of the findings but other Chinese media businesses share a similar economic, historical and cultural context. The problems at CCTV can thus be seen to be representative general issues of the Chinese media industry in transition.

The terrorist attack at September 11, 2001 in the United States of America had a huge impact on the security of international cargo transportation. In order to minimize the threat of terrorism and secure the movement of goods in the supply chain, security initiatives such as ISPS code and CSI are adopted by the United Nations and the United States. Also, the term ‘security’ has emerged as an independent area of study in supply chain management studies after the 2000s. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of Supply Chain Security Orientation on Port Performance in the context of Korea. In order to explore the causal relationships, this study utilized Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to examine the relationships. Also, a multi-group analysis between port group (port A and B) and port user group (shipping companies, forwarding companies, etc) was conducted to investigate the differences of the perceptions in two groups. This is to fill the gaps from previous studies by conducting quantitative and confirmatory research in the field of supply chain security. This study develops a conceptual model by literature review and semi-structured interviews in order to identify the impact of the constructs: Antecedents, Supply Chain Security Orientation, and Port Performance. There are 11 variables in total, and in-depth analysis of the inter-relationships among variables is identified. In conclusion, this study empirically develops a structural model and identified the importance of Financial Resources (FR), Supply Chain Security Initiatives (SCSI), Security Preparation and Planning (SPP), Security Related Partnership (SRP), Security Dedicated Communication and Technology (SDCT), Security Culture (SC), and Security Education (SE) on Port Performance. Also, the differences in perceptions between port group and port user group of the variables in the construct were also explored.

The price of anarchy is a game-theoretical concept and it measures system degradation caused by players' selfish behaviours. This thesis extends models of congestion games to take stochastic demands into account and studies the price of anarchy on the basis of generalised models developed in this research. In the presence of stochastic demands, the models developed in this study better re flect the reality of a transportation network. The study would help provide a theoretical foundation and insights into mechanism design of transportation games and traffic control in practice. This thesis is concerned with both non-atomic and atomic congestion games, which involve an infinite and finite number of travellers respectively. We introduce the notions of user equilibrium and system optimum under stochastic demands and investigate the behaviours of travellers and central coordinators in a stochastic environment. At a user equilibrium, travellers choose routes independently and aim to minimise their own expected travel costs, while at a system optimum, traffic is fully coordinated to minimise the expected total cost over the whole network. We extend two existing methods of bounding the price of anarchy and compute the quality upper bounds for polynomial cost functions and very general settings of demand distributions. More specifically, we consider positive-valued distributions and normal distributions for non-atomic congestion games, and positive-valued discrete distributions for atomic congestion games. Our results show that the price of anarchy depends on the class of cost functions, demand distributions and, to some extent, network topologies. All the upper bounds are tight in some special cases, including the case of deterministic demands. The two bounding methods are also compared.

Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to investigate risk management strategies for international logistics operations that can minimise the occurrence and/or the impact of risks in order to achieve a desirable logistics network. For this purpose, international logistics risks were analysed to find out critical risk areas, and then strategies to mitigate those risks were developed and validated in relation to organisational orientations and outcomes. Methodology: Risk identification, risk clustering and risk analysis were conducted by using focus group research and Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) to investigate risk areas that should be mitigated. A risk management strategy model was developed using Information Processing Theory, a review of extant supply chain risk management studies and interviews with logistics practitioners. The model was empirically tested with questionnaire survey data using descriptive statistics, ANOVA and Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings: International logistics risks consists of value streams; information and relationships; logistics activities; and the external environments. Among these, information and relationships risks were found to generate self-enhancing risk loops, thereby creating subsequent risk impacts after disruptions. To mitigate these risks, firms involved in international logistics implemented strategies, such as building a stable logistics network, leveraging logistics information, leveraging outsourcing contracts and developing logistics collaboration, although the level of implementation depends on the business context. Among the four strategies, building a stable logistics network and developing logistics collaboration strategies were most effective in strengthening both robustness and resilience in the logistics network. Customer orientation had positive impacts on all four strategies, but disruption orientation and quality orientation influenced certain types of strategies. Research Implications: This is the first study which has applied a three-phase risk management process to international logistics operations, thereby highlighting distinctive features of international logistics risks. This thesis empirically develops and validates a risk management strategy model which embraces both strategies and relevant tactical/operational initiatives. The antecedents and outcomes of risk management strategies were also investigated and conceptualised for future research. Practical Implications: The profile of risks, risk sources, loss types and risk levels provide a guideline for logistics managers to anticipate and proactively deal with potential risks. Also, they can evaluate the current status of risk management efforts and can benchmark suggested strategies and practices in consideration of the strategic fit to their organisations.

This programme of research investigated the development of a process driven approach to improving supply chain performance within the airline service sector. Work was undertaken within the Engineering division of an established UK scheduled airline, and specifically within the maintenance, repair and overhaul sector (MRO). The underlying objective of this research was to establish the relevance of supply chain management as a source of competitive advantage to the airline service sector. A detailed review of the literature revealed that best practice originated predominately from the Japanese automotive sector, notably a manufacturing based industry. A review of the characteristic differences between these two industry sectors was undertaken to identify the opportunity for cross-sectoral transfer of knowledge. This was complemented by a thorough benchmarking analysis that identified the airline industry's position relative to best practice. This confirmed the relative immaturity of supply chain management within the airline service sector, which was representative of progress achieved by the automotive sector in the early 1980's. The key aspects of best practice were then structured into a proposed process for improving supply chain performance. This process consisted of specific strategies with their corresponding tools and techniques for implementation. A number of case study implementations were then used to further validate, test and develop this generic process within a real airline operational environment. Significant improvements in both operational and financial performance were achieved through adopting this approach. A 40 % reduction in chemical sourcing costs was achieved, representing a £990,000 saving over three years for the case study company. A further 12.5 % reduction in landing gear overhaul costs was achieved (approximately £300,000), whilst at the same time improving the operational performance of this supply chain by 60 %. This research concludes by recommending a generic process for improving supply chain performance. The benefits achieved through implementing this process further confirm the relevance of supply chain management to the airline service sector. Finally, this paper proposes a deterministic tool to assist practitioners in the selection of the most appropriate supply chain strategy for a given situation. Whilst this tool requires further validation, the possibilities for it's application extend far beyond those of the airline service sector. As a result this work has significantly contributed to knowledge in the field, representing considerable innovation.

The thesis presents an empirical study of the telecommunications reform experience of Thailand between the mid 1980s and 2000s in an attempt to explain the effect of national institutional arrangements upon the reform process. This time period permits an exploration of the development of the reform as well as its major impediments in relation to three different political settings. The progress of reform on the three basic reform issues (privatisation, liberalisation, and regulation) is thoroughly examined to understand the consequences produced by different industry environments. An historical institutionalist study of the Thai experience identifies the political tensions among the reform's interested parties as well as the unwieldy political settings that were the dominant features that heavily influenced the reform story. The thesis places a special emphasis on the latest political regime (the hegemonic era) since it provided a different industry outlook compared to the previous two regimes (the bureaucratic and pluralistic eras), allowing substantial progress towards reform to be made. The telecommunications reform in Thailand is not complete. Thus, it may be too early to confirm the advantage of the strong politics on the reform in the long run, especially considering the possibilities of rent-seeking or the overuse of political power of the hegemonic govenunent. In any case, the Thai reform experience confirms that an institutionalist framework is helpful, and that institutional arrangements really matter in the policy-formation, policy-implementation and policy-outcome of a particular country.

The Transport Board’s very significant and effective role in the preparation of all the major military expeditions and in the ultimate defeat of Bonaparte has been largely ignored by historians. The Board has hitherto been perceived as a subsidiary board of the Admiralty. However it was responsible to the Treasury and its main task was to transport and support the army overseas, on the instructions of the Secretary of State for War. The government depended upon the availability of merchant ships for this purpose. Yet less than 10 per cent of the registered merchant ships were suitable to be used as troop ships. At peaks of demand, in 1805, 1808 and 1814, the Transport Board chartered 30 to 39 per cent of this shipping. This had a significant impact international trade, on freight rates and the domestic price of commodities, particularly coal. There is strong evidence that between 1793 and 1805 government contracts sustained the British merchant shipping fleet by replacing the trade, previously conducted with European ports that were then controlled by the enemy. Without this support those ships would have been laid up. The government’s requirement to reduce the costs of war generally encouraged early termination of transports’ contracts, rather than retaining them for the next big expedition. This occurred particularly between 1807 and 1809. That and the restricted use of naval vessels to convey troops hindered the speedy preparation of exceptionally large expeditions. The study suggests that some of the proposed expeditions were just too big to be managed effectively. Despite the Transport Board’s direct communications with the Secretary of State it was not consulted for advice during the planning of expeditions and consequently the impact of seasonality was ignored and preparation times underestimated. There were inevitably delays in the preparations of expeditions but this thesis demonstrates that the times taken to prepare for major expeditions was between 10 to 16 weeks, not excessive even by today’s standards.

In broad terms, this work aims to gain a greater understanding of the particular features introduced in the regulatory set-up by competitive issues and vertically related markets. Specifically, we explore their impact on the profitability of the market and the p~ssibility for the incumbent to maintain monopoly profits under different regulatory regimes. There was a time when utilities industries and in particular telecoms each seemed to be a natural monopoly. Most governments liked it that way because they owned the monopoly and siphoned off some of the profits. Nowadays, competition is spreading in most utilities market and it becomes imperative to assess its impact on the tariffs and in general on social welfare. We deal with a second degree price discrimination model allowing the players -namely, an incumbent, who has a natural monopoly on the network, and a rival- to make use of non-linear pricing in intermediate and final goods. In this framework the entrant's choice of the customer types is endogenised in a sequential multistage game, where the incumbent, who is undoubtedly the most powerful player, acts as a first mover. We also show that cream skimming, contrary to the general wisdom, can be welfare enhancing. Particular attention is devoted to the access pricing problem which is becoming the key issue to the regulators, examining the relevance of simple pricing rules, such as the Baumol-Willig rule. Despite the presence of a growing literature in these areas, other models fail to incorporate the use of non-linear access pricing. Since price discrimination is common in practice this omission can lead to misleading results. Our analysis shows that the regulator should not allow competition for the low-demand consumers' types or by a less efficient entrant and should impose the adoption of socially optimal non-linear access tariffs. Therefore the general conclusion is that competition will not obviate the need of regulation.

The technology of wireless transformed societies and re-defined the nature of national and transnational communication when radio broadcasting to the public began in the early 1920s. This thesis focuses on the three main wartime radio stations (the BBC, Radiodiffusion and Radio Paris) broadcasting to and in France from June 1940 to November 1942. By studying the narratives of the broadcasting that lay at the heart of each radio station’s politics, motivation, propaganda and interaction with the population at large, the thesis will attempt to give these radio stations the recognition that they deserve in the historiography of wartime France, and, in doing so, make a major contribution to knowledge on radio propaganda. This thesis goes beyond existing literature by offering a comparative analysis of radio propaganda messages, thus deepening the understanding of the evolution of broadcasts in the context of the complex political and social impact of the war on the French population. The narratives reveal the political rhetoric and the perceived social norms during the German Occupation, as well as the exercise of power, which may be taken for granted. For each radio station, a key theme is identified as the overarching basis for analysis: food and the impact of food policy on families for the BBC; youth and its idealised role in the construction of a New France for Radiodiffusion; and youth and its perceived role in a German-dominated New Europe for Radio Paris. Written and audio archives in England and France were consulted as the principal source for the research conducted. This research is limited in that the conclusions drawn are largely dependent on the material available to researchers, material which is incomplete and often piecemeal.