The selection of freight transport mode in cities like Hong Kong, with little land, is in some respects obvious. The deciding criterion for mode/carrier selection is based on the selection of either the lowest total transport cost or the shortest transit time for the cargo. The peculiar nature of each transport mode, namely; rail, sea, road and air, will definitely earn their own places when shippers need to make a decision on their shipments. The nature of the cargo will also affect the choice of carrier/mode when they are transported in break bulk. Fortunately, the invention of ISO containers in the late 1950s eliminated and overcame the shortfall in some transport modes. With the extensive usage of ISO containers hereafter, shippers can now enjoy a much freer choice of transport mode. When China started its open-door policy in the late 1970s, many local (Hong Kong) manufacturers relocated their factories to the Pearl River Delta (PRD) due to the low labour and land costs. Delivery of shipments was mainly carried out by Hong Kong freight forwarders as they had been in business with the shippers for decades. Road transport was the only mode choice available at that time due to the inflexibilities in other transport modes such as sea and rail. Progressively, these factories were relocated northwards at a later time due to the gradually increasing labour and land costs. Freight forwarders were then faced with a prolonged delivery time due to the stringent Customs regulations in China as well as a progressive increase in the physical distance between the factory and the loading port in Hong Kong. The continuous developments in adjacent ports in Southern China offered freight forwarders an opportunity to revise the route of consignments so that the lowest cost and shortest transit times were achievable. Nowadays, consignments from the PRD region can be transported to the loading ports via at least three transport modes, namely, sea (barge), road (truck) and rail. In addition to physical constraints in the mode/carrier selection, the mode choice in China is further complicated due to the inflexible Customs regulations and government policies on tax rebates. Considerable research has been done on mode and carrier selection for bulk cargo in Western countries. However there is no explicit study on the mode choice in China. This thesis studies factors that will affect the shippers’ mode/carrier choice and ascertains the unique key factors that will affect their mode/carrier choice in the PRD for their overseas consignments. From this study, it was observed that shippers irrespective of the consignment size and cargo value prefer to use a loading port that is reliable and efficienct in operation. This is the first thesis written about carrier mode choice in China applying systematic and rationale methods to express the mode selection criteria in PRD area. The results were achieved by using the pairwise comparison method - Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method so that rigidity of the results is academically accepted. Nevertheless, further study on the mode choice can be carried forward through assessing buying behaviour and the shipper-carrier relationship.

Port efficiency is a significant element that stimulates port competitiveness and enhances regional development. With increasing international maritime traffic and changing technology in the maritime transport sector, containerisation and enhanced logistic activities, infrastructure might be one of the main determining factors of port competition (Merk & Dang, 2012). Due to the increasing container traffic and the high quality of service required by the shipping lines, Mediterranean container ports are being compelled to enhance port efficiency to improve comparative advantages that will increase cargo traffic and satisfy the customers’ requirements. The Mediterranean Sea is a link point between Europe, Africa and Asia. This research aims to examine the impact of ports' technical efficiency on the improvement of Mediterranean container ports’ competitiveness. The research analyses the competitiveness and the relative efficiency of the top 22 container ports in the Mediterranean basin using a cross-section, panel data and window analysis application of data envelopment analysis (DEA) for the period between 1998 and 2012. The selected 15 year period enables the analysis of Mediterranean container port market dynamics and the benchmarking of the technical efficiency of the selected ports for three consecutive market cycles. This research can be classified as quantitative analytical research. The research follows the concept of the Industrial Organization (IO) and the Structuralism (Harvard school) methodology that analyses the market Structures, Conduct and Performance (SCP) of market players. The study conducts a simultaneous three-stage procedure: in the first stage, the competitiveness of the main container ports in the Mediterranean is analysed through the study of market structure and conduct. Market structure is assessed through measuring and analysing market concentration by using four different methods. These methods are: the K-Firm concentration ratio (K-CR), Hirshman-Herfindahl Index (HHI), the Gini coefficient (GC) and the generalized entropy index. Boston Consultant Group (BCG) matrix is also used to visualize the dynamics between ports in the defined market and assess the ports' competitive position. Market conduct is analysed using shift-share analysis (SSA) to get a thorough understanding of the issue of port traffic development. In the second stage, market performance is analysed through the use of the non-parametric models of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) which estimates the relative efficiency scores and ranking seaports according to their efficiency. Five DEA models are adopted for comparative purpose, the DEA- CCR, DEA-BCC, the Super-Efficiency (A&P, 1993), the sensitivity analysis and slack variable analysis models. In the third stage, to examine the impact of port efficiency on port competitiveness, a number of hypotheses are examined through the use of parametric correlation coefficients (Spearman’s rank order) and Simar and Wilson (2007) procedure to bootstrap the DEA scores with a truncated regression. Using this approach enables more reliable evidence compared to previous studies analysing the efficiency of seaports. The main findings demonstrate that the recent deconcentration tendency of the Mediterranean container port market is due to the increased number of market players which will in turn reshape the market structure, change the container port hierarchy and intensify the competition between ports as the market shifts from oligopoly to pure competition. The research findings also reveal the existence of inefficiency pertaining to the management of container ports in the region, since the total technical efficiency is found to be below 50% on average. This relatively limited technical efficiency of the Mediterranean container ports indicates the need for appropriate capital investments for ports’ infra/superstructure. In particular, those ports whose efficiency is not favoured by some factors such as size, geographical position and socio-economic conditions of the region in which they are located, must adopt suitable reform strategies to promptly improve their efficiency and competitive position. What differentiates this work from previous studies on the subject is that both cross-sectional and panel data have been collected and analysed at the level of individual container ports in the Mediterranean. The study is based on a wide range of methodologies, both parametric and non-parametric, that have ensured the validity of the empirical examination that has been undertaken and the results obtained. The research analysed the Mediterranean container ports competitiveness, benchmarked and ranked their efficiency by considering the Mediterranean in its totality, including South Europe, Middle East and North Africa. The study puts forward a way to assess container port efficiency based on simple, yet validated and meaningful physical efficiency measures.

The continuous implementation of highly technological functions and specifically intelligent transport systems in public transport highlights the need of highly efficient, accurate and reliable bus operations network. Intelligent transport systems can support a variety of functions, including dynamic bus fleet management which has yet to be established in most bus fleets in the UK in a systematic way. In order to support dynamic bus fleet management by detecting the fundamental role of bus and traffic incidents in bus-based public transport, a microscopic simulation model capable of modelling the impact of the individual incidents‟ characteristics on bus operations has been developed and applied to a variety of scenarios. This research draws on a review of existing literature on bus fleet management and available computer software in this field. It investigates research gaps in modelling the impact of traffic incidents on overall bus performance; it describes the design and development of the new simulation model, SIBUFEM (Simulating Incidents for Bus Fleet Management) for modelling bus operations during whole day periods in which incidents of different types can occur. The model simulates a high frequency bus service using existing field data and incorporates the continuous circulation of buses along the bus route. It uses journey time profiles, passenger-dependent bus stop dwell times and deterministic time-dependent queuing theory to model traffic incidents and the impact of their characteristics on the bus performance parameters. The model results, presented in this thesis, focus on performance measures including but not limited to bus journey times, passenger waiting times and bus delays resulting from various bus and traffic incidents. Incidents vary from bus breakdowns, to traffic incidents such as road-works, traffic accidents, burst water mains, disabled vehicles and illegal parking; in SIBUFEM they are specified in terms of their location, duration and severity (i.e. loss of capacity). The model has been applied to a main bus corridor in Southampton, UK, with a base case of „normal‟ operations established, for comparison with results from 24 different incident scenarios, and using key model performance parameters of average bus journey time, bus speed and excess waiting time. This PhD demonstrates the functionality of SIBUFEM with model results demonstrating the extent to which passenger waiting times increase with increasing incident severity and duration. The overall comparison of the simulation results showed that the more severe the level of severity or the longer the duration of an incident, the higher the expected impact of the event on the overall bus performance was. In terms of the incident location parameter, the effect is greater when the incident occurs in the middle of the bus route than when it occurs at the end. The effect of incident location is especially evident in the case of traffic incidents such as roadworks, traffic accidents and illegal parking. Findings from this research also demonstrated that these incidents are usually more severely affected by a change in an incident parameter than by bus breakdown incidents. The thesis concludes with a discussion on potential dynamic bus fleet management strategies and how SIBUFEM can be further developed to allow these strategies to be evaluated. SIBUFEM is capable of modelling traffic incidents to support dynamic bus fleet management and, thus, encourage the use of intelligent transport systems applications in bus operations. This offers great potential in the field of bus-based public transport as part of a guidance tool for bus operators, as well as the way to increase bus level service thereby increasing customer satisfaction and thus the development of a sustainable transport system.

Are transport markets and associated costs important for international trade? To the present day there is a sparse and fragmented literature pointing towards an affirmative answer. This Thesis reinforces such opinion by accounting for transport markets in general equilibrium models of trade, and providing empirical evidence on the impact of determinants that explain casual trade-and-transport related phenomena. The outcomes of the Thesis promote policy and/or investment activism in developing countries, due to the gains from trade lost to excessive transport costs. Two particular observations are investigated: i) When and why should a transport hub emerge? Using a simple trade model of monopolistic competition with representative firms incorporating network theory, the determinants governing optimal network formation become the level of transport costs, increasing returns in transportation and centrality. Empirical deduction supports that exports increase more on average if a shipping route passing through a hub is selected relative to a direct route, following a reduction in variable trade costs. Thus geographically disadvantaged countries that absorb high transport costs can ameliorate these by trading via a hub. ii) Are tariffs and shipping prices complementary? By not assuming this interaction, standard trade models of representative and heterogeneous firms are unable to identify by decomposing the direct and indirect -that is, via adjustments in transport technology- effects of trade liberalisation, resulting in observing large elasticities of import demand. Invoking a model of monopolistic competition with heterogeneous firms that trade using transport services operating under increasing returns, it is the presence of the latter that amplifies the response of trade volumes to tariffs declines. Yet transportation may also dampen such responses, for the shipping price is a function of the factory price of the good and a markup. The empirical experiments provide support to such propositions. The last chapter is distinct and deliberates on the importance of modeling financial networks that represent real world transaction systems relative to abstract artificial topologies. It is found that the international network of financial exposures exhibits characteristics that are congruent with robust-yet-fragile networks. Employing a common model of contagion illustrates how the robust-yet-fragile network structure absorbs defaults by peripheral countries however becomes susceptible to default cascades when combinations of peripheral countries or a financial centre collapse.

Sustainability is a broad concept which embodies social, economic and environmental concerns, including the possible consequences of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change, and related means of mitigation and adaptation. The reduction of energy consumption and emissions are key objectives which need to be achieved if some of these concerns are to be addressed. As well as being an important component of sustainability in other sectors, a good transport system needs to be sustainable in its own right. Energy consumption and GHG emissions are important issues within the transport sector; in the European Union (EU), for example, transport is directly responsible for between 25 and 30 percent of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and the inclusion of indirect (Scope 2 and Scope 3) GHG emissions may increase this proportion further. If reduction targets are to be met, it may be necessary to encourage behavioural change, including modal shift from those modes of transport which are comparatively highly polluting, towards those modes which pollute less. Rail is potentially a suitable target for such modal shift from road transport (notably the private car for passenger travel) and, in some case, from short-haul and domestic aviation. However, modal comparisons are often based on average data, and are reliant on a number of assumptions. There are likely to be some circumstances where modal shift towards rail makes more sense than others, but the use of average data does not enable policy makers to be discerning. It should also be noted that many modal comparisons are also based purely on operational energy consumption and emissions, and neglect to take the whole life-cycle in to account. Embedded energy and emissions from the construction of vehicles and infrastructure can be quite significant, as can the energy consumption and emissions from vehicle idling in the case of public transport modes. After considering the concept of environmental sustainability, this research begins by reviewing existing energy consumption and emissions data for vehicle operation, where it is noted that data for cars in Europe are quite comprehensive. Manufacturers are obliged to publish fuel consumption and emissions data for each model of car they sell, although the type approval tests do not reflect real-world performance. Studies are reviewed which suggest that the gap between the tests and the real-world has been widening in recent years. The gap appears to be independent of the size of vehicle, but is larger for hybrid vehicles than it is for those powered solely by a petrol or diesel internal combustion engine. Data for trains are less comprehensive, and that data which are available are often based on a limited empirical sample, or simulated data for which a number of assumptions have been made. Sometimes, the details of the measurements taken or simulation parameters used are unclear. As a result, published data for a particular type of train in the literature are sometimes found to vary significantly. In order to make more informed comparisons between rail and other modes, two large empirical datasets have been analysed. Two UK Train Operating Companies (TOCs) have also made data from energy metering systems on-board their electric trains available, which have been used to analyse the actual energy consumption of different trains over a number of different routes. The sample size is far larger than that found in literature to date, and it has been possible to consider variation between routes and service types. The v basic principles of simulating the energy consumption (and related emissions) of a train have also been illustrated, and a software tool has been developed for Arup so that it can now make some estimate of operational energy consumption and emissions for a given train over a given route. The aforementioned empirical data have also been used to validate the tool and suggest some appropriate simulation parameters. A review of existing literature concerning whole life-cycle analysis has been undertaken. It is clear that life-cycle costs vary significantly but in general, the overall life-cycle costs of rail appear to be higher than those for any other mode. The biggest additional factors appear to be the embedded carbon and energy in the infrastructure, particularly for a system comprising a lot of bridges, tunnels and large underground stations. For the vehicles themselves, trains typically have a longer lifespan than cars, which reduces the embedded carbon and energy as functions of time. When comparisons are made between modes, passenger-km is a metric which is often chosen, because it helps account for some of the fundamental di�erences between modes, including the fact that public transport modes usually use vehicles which are much bigger than the private car. In order to make comparisons on this basis, however, something about the load factor must be known. The sensitivity to load factor is demonstrated, and the earlier empirical data analysis is used to illustrate the benefits of longer trains. A discussion then follows about the potential pitfalls of making comparisons purely on a per passenger-km basis. This thesis ends by summarising some of the �ndings. Some consideration is given towards the future and the fact that technological developments are being made in Sustainability is a broad concept which embodies social, economic and environmental concerns, including the possible consequences of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change, and related means of mitigation and adaptation. The reduction of energy consumption and emissions are key objectives which need to be achieved if some of these concerns are to be addressed. As well as being an important component of sustainability in other sectors, a good transport system needs to be sustainable in its own right. Energy consumption and GHG emissions are important issues within the transport sector; in the European Union (EU), for example, transport is directly responsible for between 25 and 30 percent of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and the inclusion of indirect (Scope 2 and Scope 3) GHG emissions may increase this proportion further. If reduction targets are to be met, it may be necessary to encourage behavioural change, including modal shift from those modes of transport which are comparatively highly polluting, towards those modes which pollute less. Rail is potentially a suitable target for such modal shift from road transport (notably the private car for passenger travel) and, in some case, from short-haul and domestic aviation. However, modal comparisons are often based on average data, and are reliant on a number of assumptions. There are likely to be some circumstances where modal shift towards rail makes more sense than others, but the use of average data does not enable policy makers to be discerning. It should also be noted that many modal comparisons are also based purely on operational energy consumption and emissions, and neglect to take the whole life-cycle in to account. Embedded energy and emissions from the construction of vehicles and infrastructure can be quite significant, as can the energy consumption and emissions from vehicle idling in the case of public transport modes. After considering the concept of environmental sustainability, this research begins by reviewing existing energy consumption and emissions data for vehicle operation, where it is noted that data for cars in Europe are quite comprehensive. Manufacturers are obliged to publish fuel consumption and emissions data for each model of car they sell, although the type approval tests do not re ect real-world performance. Studies are reviewed which suggest that the gap between the tests and the real-world has been widening in recent years. / The gap appears to be independent of the size of vehicle, but is larger for hybrid vehicles than it is for those powered solely by a petrol or diesel internal combustion engine. Data for trains are less comprehensive, and that data which are available are often based on a limited empirical sample, or simulated data for which a number of assumptions have been made. Sometimes, the details of the measurements taken or simulation parameters used are unclear. As a result, published data for a particular type of train in the literature are sometimes found to vary significantly. In order to make more informed comparisons between rail and other modes, two large empirical datasets have been analysed. Two UK Train Operating Companies (TOCs) have also made data from energy metering systems on-board their electric trains available, which have been used to analyse the actual energy consumption of different trains over a number of different routes. This thesis ends by summarising some of the findings. Some consideration is given towards the future and the fact that technological developments are being made in both the motor and the rail industries.

The popular and scientific literature has been discussing the advent of ‘big data’ with a measure of excitement and apprehension. For the first time in history, it seems, every breath we take, every move we make, someone’s watching us. But beyond their unprecedented volumes and the anxieties they raise, new communication data have a less obvious aspect, in so far as they are (arguably) of a fundamentally different kind, compared to traditional network datasets. Traditionally, social network data describe relationships between individuals; quasistatic social ties such as friendship, trust, kinship and employment relations. But when they are used to model digitally mediated communicative transactions, the connections are of a different nature. Instead of representing stable social ties, transactions (such as emails, text messages and phone calls) constitute sequences of shortlived events, with each transaction being a possible response to a preceding one and a potential stimulus to the next. The point of departure of this dissertation is the distinction between the topology of the tie structure and the temporal structure of sequences of communicative transactions. Theoretically, the dissertation explores mechanisms of co-evolution between these two structures at three levels of aggregation: (i) the macro-level consisting of the network itself or substructures within it, the level of an organization or a community as a whole; (ii) the meso-level consisting of nodes and social ties; and (iii) the micro-level consisting of sequences of interrelated communicative transactions. On the one hand, networks, individuals and ties are seen as the backdrop against which sequences of transactions unfold. On the other hand, transactions are considered to have (cumulative) consequences on the evolving structure of social ties and the network at large. Methodologically, the thesis uses a publicly available dataset consisting of email transactions within Enron, an American energy and services company, during the few months of its bankruptcy. Two methods are applied to identify and explore the mechanisms. First, the dataset is disaggregated into various types of email transactions, revealing how different transactions contribute to various structural properties of the network. Second, a multilevel analysis approach is used to reveal how structural and transactional mechanisms combine to elicit new communicative transactions on the part of email recipients. The mechanisms identified in the empirical chapters challenge received wisdom about the nature of social networks and their link to the notion of social (trans)action while at the same time addressing practical problems faced by network modellers who need to construct networks out of digitally mediated transaction datasets. In addition, the findings raise general questions about new types of data and the consequences they may have, not only for the field of social networks, but also for popular ways of thinking about ‘the social’ and ways of intervening in its course.

This thesis investigates seafarers’ experiences of ill-treatment onboard ships. A sociological approach to ill-treatment is adopted, with a focus on characteristics of the work environment onboard which affect seafarers’ experiences of and responses to ill-treatment. A qualitative approach was employed to understand seafarers’ perceptions of ill-treatment. Semi-structured interviews based on the Negative Acts Questionnaire were conducted with seafarers and managerial personnel from one multinational and one Indian company. The seafarers were drawn from all ranks. Thematic analysis of the data revealed that seafarers’ perceptions, experiences and responses to ill-treatment were heavily influenced by characteristics of the work environment, including industry and company norms such as short-term contracts, the hierarchy, onboard, distance management and HR policies and training. Seafarers encountering ill-treatment can choose to exit their situation, raise their voice or remain silent. The findings showed that while support structures such as grievance procedures and union membership existed for seafarers experiencing ill-treatment, the majority of seafarers chose to remain silent because of complex interactions between a variety of workplace features. Fears included job insecurity, concern for career advancement, fear of blacklisting and personal financial concerns. Those seafarers that did choose to escape their situations found that there could be repercussions on their finances and their career ambitions, or that exercising their voice resulted in a reshuffle of seafarers but nothing of import changed. The professional socialisation process and culture onboard the ship are very important in influencing seafarers’ perceptions of ill-treatment, and play a role in the occurrence of preventative behaviour and use of coping mechanisms. In addition, the industry norms of short-term contracts, the purported manning crisis and a race to the bottom mentality force seafarers to be highly insecure in their jobs and encourage them to accept their situation until they can escape it.

This thesis studies processes of cultural mediation and the role of digital media within them. It is based on the experiences of a group of cultural mediators within a particular music scene in contemporary Chile, and focuses on actors’ meaningful repertoires of action, their material arrangements and their relation with information and communication technologies (ICTs). ‘Mediation’ in a broader sense means processes through which human and non-human agencies produce and shape meanings, attaching them to various cultural flows such as information, images, and identities. As cultural mediators, actors define the music scene, curating and circulating through digital media various flows which they deem worthy of being considered by audiences, and distinguishing themselves across different fields. The thesis is based on nine months of fieldwork (2011) in Santiago, following the everyday practices of the creators of eight music websites through which global and local cultural flows are mediated, organised, and circulated. It analyses how various technological devices facilitate individuals’ construction of networks where cultural flows circulate, and through which their uses of taste are displayed and objectified. It proposes the concept of ‘digital capital’ as an assemblage of actors, practices, objects, and meanings, which is convertible into other types of capital (e.g. economic) and exchangeable in various fields. It is a mode of practice and expertise through which, using digital technologies, individuals create networks where cultural flows circulate. Through the making of websites, music fans become cultural mediators, developing their digital capital as cultural and technical expertise. This expertise is convertible into economic capital and positionality across different fields, especially the field of advertising. Digital capital can be summarised in the question: ‘what are the connections and associations between technical knowledge, cultural flows, and social position, as well as conversions of capital, behind someone who is using Twitter or Facebook, or making a website about a music scene?’ Against this backdrop, it is explored how actors produce and perform ‘cultures of mediation’, commoditising culture as consumption goods.

This thesis addresses the challenges of producing digitally mediated healthcare information, a high-stakes arena which is conceptualised as a complex discourse and its diverse producers as interlocutors within this discourse. The study is located theoretically in the tradition of universal or formal pragmatics, the foundation of Habermas’s theory of communicative action. Building on this theoretical core a conceptual framework is developed that integrates insight from several other traditions, including communication studies. The notion of communicative transparency is aligned with the idealised goal of a rich informational context supporting a range of perspectives in movement towards a balanced and consensual understanding by lay and expert actors of healthcare in our world. The central research question is: Can digital mediation increase the transparency of healthcare communication? The empirical focus rests on two organisations involved in the creation of digital information products. Key mediators of meaning in digital healthcare information are identified as the diverse types of expertise of its producers, the materiality of digital artefacts, and the communicative mechanisms, processes and practices that often lead to departures from the normative idealised standard of transparency. The methodology is a comparative case analysis based on field research employing principally interviews to build a rich corpus, analysed using a recursive in-depth thematic coding procedure to reveal the ways in which digitally mediated healthcare meanings are shaped and shared. The study demonstrates how communicative transparency emerges from shared frames of reference and common models of communication. It is concluded that digital mediation can indeed increase the transparency of healthcare information by supporting the deepening of Habermasian rational discourse, providing that validity claims to truth, truthfulness, and rightness can be raised and resolved at all stages in the discourse among all interlocutors, whatever their role and status.

This thesis examines media representations and audience reception processes through a detailed study of media reporting and public understandings of asylum and refugee issues. It is based on sixty interviews in which refugees seeking asylum, professionals working with them and members of the general public were invited to comment on their own memories and beliefs using pictures from the TV coverage. The pictures used are included in a detailed thematic content analysis of national and regional broadcast news. Public understandings are systematically compared to the content of media reporting. In particular it explore people’s memories and beliefs of national and regional broadcast news. The content analysis revealed that the national news represents asylum in unsubstantiated and problematic ways whilst the regional news has a more balanced approach to representation of the issue. The thesis explores the diversity of audience reactions and the different ways in which people may accept or reject the media representations. However it also draws attention to the themes which recurred in all of the interviews and argues that there is strong evidence of media effects. The thesis highlights factors in media coverage which are particularly influential. It demonstrates how language, structures, and images may influence audience responses and examines how media representations may structure patterns of misinformation. The audience were poorly informed on asylum and refugee issues. In addition attention is drawn to viewers’ everyday relations and experiences. Some interviewees use specific knowledge to reject news reports. The research provides comprehensive and fruitful insights of cultural differentiation linked to ‘race’/ethnicity, gender, class and geographical location. The thesis concludes by arguing for a media studies schema which connects questions about audience reception with questions about media production and content as well as the construction of broader relations within society enabling researchers to contribute to current debates about power, control and social conditions.