This study investigates the concessioning of the commuter rail subsystem, which was discussed in the White Paper on National Transport Policy. The theoretical divide between private and public sector enterprise is investigated in terms of a principal-agent approach. The hypothesis underlying the fundamental shift of services traditionally provided by government enterprise to the private sector is X-efficiency gains under a concession regime. There are, however, potential challenges under a concession regime that must be anticipated. Challenges are identified in terms of an incomplete contract approach with its underpinning source manifested in a bounded rationality concept. The study investigates how rail concessionaires are regulated under a concession regime from an economics perspective and various price mechanisms are explored. The study provides strategies to deal with challenges under a rail concession regime with a view to minimising conflicts that will arise between the parties involved in a concession agreement. / Transport, Logistics & Tourism / M.Comm.(Transport Economics)

Waldo Tobler, con la sua prima legge della geografia, afferma “Ogni cosa è correlata con qualsiasi altra, ma le cose vicine sono più relazionate di quelle lontane" (Tobler, 1970). Se questo era certamente vero nel 1970, tale convinzione è stata messa in discussione con l’avvento delle Tecnologie dell’Informazione e della Comunicazione (ICT). Nel dibattito riguardo al processo di globalizzazione molti studiosi e giornalisti sostengono infatti che, con la velocizzazione delle telecomunicazioni, la distanza fisica è destinata a perdere il proprio potere esplicativo relativamente a molti fenomeni socio-economici (Cairncross, 2001; Friedman, 2005). Questa dissertazione vuole contribuire al dibattito rispondendo, seppure parzialmente, alla domanda “La distanza importa ancora?” e definire alcune possibili implicazioni di policy. L’obiettivo è quello di mostrare il ruolo della distanza geografica in tre diversi contesti economici caratterizzati da differenti dimensioni dell’unità di analisi. I risultati suggeriscono che, anche se su scala globale lo sviluppo delle nuove tecnologie ha modificato la percezione individuale della distanza come deterrente alle interazioni, lo spazio geografico mantiene ancora la sua rilevanza del definire le relazioni socio-economiche locali, aumentando il ruolo di città e regioni quali centri della maggioranza delle attività economiche. / Waldo Tobler, with his first law of geography, stated “Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things" (Tobler, 1970). If it was certainly true in 1970, this belief is called into question in an era of development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). In the debate over globalization processes, several scholars and journalists argue indeed that, with the increasing speed of telecommunications, physical distance is losing its explanatory power as determinant of socio-economical relationships (Cairncross, 2001; Friedman, 2005). This dissertation aims to give a contribution to this debate, partially answering to the broad question “Does distance still matter?" and to draw possible policy implications. The purpose is to show the role of geographical distance in three different economic environments, characterized by diversified size of the unit of analysis. Results suggest that, even if at a global scale improvements in ICTs have changed the individual perception of the distance as deterrent in interactions, geographical space still maintains its relevance in defining local socio-economic relationships, increasing the role of cities and regions as the core of most of economic activities.

L’objectif principal de ce mémoire est l’étude de la relation entre le navettage, soit le fait de faire la navette quotidiennement entre le domicile et le travail, et l’épuisement professionnel. Plus précisément, les rôles de modération du moyen de transport et de la région du milieu de travail, tant distinctement que simultanément, sur la relation entre la durée et la distance de navettage et l’épuisement professionnel sont examinés. L’épuisement professionnel a été mesuré grâce au MBI-GS (Maslah Burnout Inventory – General Survey). Les données proviennent de l’étude SALVEO menée au Canada par l’Équipe de Recherche sur le Travail et la Santé Mentale (ERTSM). Les données ont été recueillies entre 2009 et 2012 dans 63 milieux de travail selon un taux de réponse de 71.3 %, équivalent à 2162 employés. Les multiples analyses de régression effectuées sont pamis lespremières à lier significativement le navettage à l’épuisement professionnel. En effet, les navetteurs qui travaillent en grandes régions urbaines sont significativement plus épuisés émotionnellement que les travailleurs des petites régions urbaines ou des régions rurales. Il existe une relation curvilinéaire entre la durée de navettage et la dimension du cynisme. Une relation curvilinéaire existe également entre la durée de navettage et la mesure globale de l’épuisement professionnel. Enfin, le moyen de transport ainsi que la région dans laquelle se situe l’établissement de travail modèrent simultanément la relation entre la durée de navettage et la dimension de l’efficacité professionnelle. Globalement, les résultats suggèrent que le stress de navettage provient de l’ajustement quotidien des travailleurs à leurs conditions de navettage, qui se répercute en emploi. Les organisations devraient donc s’intéresser au développement de pratiques de gestion en ressources humaines misant sur l’amélioration des conditions de navettage de leurs employés. Ces pratiques RH pourraient moduler la relation entre le navettage et les problèmes de santé mentale au travail. / The main goal of the thesis was to study the relationship between commuting and burnout. Specifically, we assessed the moderation effect of both the mode of transportation and the workplace areas, distincly and simultaneously, on the relationship between commuting duration and distance with burnout, Burnout was measured using the MBI-GS (Maslah Burnout Inventory-General Survey). Data was collected during the SALVEO Canadian study by the Équipe de Recherche sur le Travail et la Santé Mentale (ERTSM) between 2009 and 2012 in 63 workplaces. 2,162 employees participated, resulting in a response rate of 71.3%. The multiple regression analysis performed are among the firsts to significantly associate commuting to burnout. Indeed, commuters who work in large urban areas are significantly more emotionally exhausted than workers in small urban or rural areas. There is a curvilinear relationship between commuting time and dimension of cynicism. A curvilinear relation also exists between commuting time and the overall measure of burnout. Finally, the means of transport as well as the workplace area simultaneously moderate the relationship between commuting time and dimension of inefficacy. Overall, results suggest that the stress of commuting comes from the daily adjustment of workers to their commuting conditions, which is reflected in employment. Organizations should therefore be interested in the development of human resources management practices focusing on improving their employees' commuting conditions. These HR practices could modulate the relationship between commuting and mental health problems at work.

Commuting became an inseparable part of everyday life of contemporary society and an analysis of commuting flows has a fundamental meaning for capturing social- geographical organization of society. The main object of this thesis is to identify changes in geographical aspects of commuting to work and school in the Benešov district during the period 2001-2011. The second object is to evaluate the impact of macroregional centre of Prague on the commuting in Benešov district. The district is, taking into consideration the nearness and a good traffic connesction to Prague, appropriate example for assessing the impact of macroregional centre on neighbouring micro-regions. This impact is followed by an analysis of commuting flows and also by a questionnare survey. The purpose of the questionnare survey is to capture how people feel about commuting to work and labour market in Prague. Keywords: commuting, socio-geographical regionalization, macro-region, micro- region, functional region, Benesov, Prague, Vlasim, Votice.

The objective of the thesis is to evaluate the current situation of capacities of primary schools compared with the number and the distribution of pupils in compulsory education age in Prague suburban municipalities. In the analysis the area of Pragueʼs hinterland (districts Praha-východ and Praha-západ) was examined. The paper assesses the impacts of suburbanization on demographic development and on primary education in this region. Insufficient capacities of primary schools are significant problem in last few years in this area. In connection with uneven development of the region the problem does not affect all municipalities with equal intensity. Serious problems were identified in the particular area of the northern, southern and south-eastern hinterland of Prague. The strategy of the municipalities to ensure the sufficient capacities of primary schools depends on whether the municipality establishes its primary school or not and it is also connected with the availability of basic education for residents of the municipality. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

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In den letzten Jahren finden die prägendsten Stadtentwicklungsprozesse in Mexiko-Stadt ausschließlich in der Peripherie statt. Heutzutage leben hier 90% der Gesamtbevölkerung (Sobrino 2004). Seit dem Ende des letzten Jahrtausends ist in der Metropole eine polyzentrische Entwicklung zu beobachten, was sich in einer Bevölkerungsabnahme im Stadtzentrum ausdrückt, ohne dass das Bevölkerungswachstum insgesamt innehält. Damit bestätigt sich hier das hochaktuelle Modell einer Stadt-Region, welches sich durch eine ungleichmäßige Ausdehnung und diffuse Urbanisation (Delgado 2008) charakterisieren lässt. Diese schließt auch weiter außerhalb gelegene Regionen mit ein, die gleichzeitig ländlichen und städtisch Merkmalen aufweisen. Es ist eine noch nicht gelöste Aufgabe, den Bedarf nach städtischen Wohnungen zu decken. Dazu wurde der Immobilienmarkt den privaten Finanzmärkten überlassen, und gleichzeitig beendete der Staat die öffentlichen Wohnungsbaumaßnahmen und erleichterte den Zugang zu privaten Krediten, was den Weg zur Immobilienspekulation öffnete. Die Möglichkeit Sozialwohnungen als Wohneigentum zu erwerben ist, wie alle sozialen Garantien der Vergangenheit, im Strudel neoliberaler Politik verschwunden, die ganz Mexiko ergriffen hat. Ixtapaluca liegt in der östlichen Peripherie Mexiko-Stadts und ist eine der am meisten von der Immobilienspekulation betroffenem Regionen, die Ende der neunziger Jahre begonnenen hat. Seither wurden hier mehrere Megawohnungsbauprojekte umgesetzt, die somit in der weitentferntesten Peripherie von Mexiko-Stadt liegen. Bei der hier stattfindende “Massenproduktion” von Wohnraum für die untere Mittelklasse ergeben sich wesentliche Vorteile für die dahinterstehenden privaten Bauunternehmen: die Lage der Baugrundstücke in suburbanen ländlichen Gebieten verringert den Bodenpreis; da es keine staatliche Regelungen gibt, kann minderwertiges Baumaterial verwendet werden, weshalb diese Bauprojekte sichere Gewinne garantieren - wenn auch nicht für die Käufer der Wohnungen. Für die angesprochene Bevölkerungsschicht stellen die “Unidades Habitacionales” die einzige Möglichkeit dar, eigenes Wohneigentum für die Familie zu erwerben. Die dahinterstehende Verkaufsstrategie profitiert von einer Illusion: dem Mythos des Eigenheims mit tiefgründiger Bedeutung in der mexikanischen Kultur. Die Konsequenzen dieses Urbanisierungsmodels sind vielschichtig. Sie reichen von der Ebene der Metropole über die lokale Ebene bis hin zum Privaten. Über Interviews mit Betroffenen nähert sich diese Arbeit den Personen an, die bereits Wohneigentum in den “Unidades Habitacionales“ in Ixtapaluca und Umgebung erworben haben. Darüber soll eine Reflexion des Lebens in den Familien nach dem Immobilienkauf stattfinden. Mittels detaillierter Aufschlüsselung der täglichen Routinen war es möglich, Schemata für das Zeitbudget der Betroffenen herauszuarbeiten und diejenigen Aktivitäten zu erkennen, die das Familienleben in der neuen Wohnumgebung prägen. Resultierend aus der Wohnlage wird das nun notwendige Pendeln zum Arbeitsplatz zur zeitfressendsten Aktivität. So wird der Traum vom Wohneigentum zum Albtraum, da der tägliche Weg zum Arbeitsplatz angesichts der extrem schlechten Verkehrs-Infrastruktur immer komplizierter wird. Dafür müssen täglich bis zu drei bis fünf Stunden aufgewendet werden, die für andere wichtige “Aktivitäten” wie das Familienleben, Essenspausen oder Ruhephasen fehlen. / It has been Mexico City’s periphery, currently home to more than 90% of the city’s total population (Sobrino, 2004), which has played the leading role in the urban processes of the past years. Since the end of the last millenium the city has become polycentric and sustained a loss of inhabitants in central areas. However, it has continued to grow and the present model would suggest the formation of a City-Region (Región Centro de México), whose excentric expansion and diffuse urbanization (Delgado, 2008) integrates outlying territories of an ambiguous nature, displaying rural as well as urban characteristics. While providing urban housing continues to be an unsolved problem and with a real estate market that has been surrendered to private capital, the State has cancelled its housing policy and facilitated access to loans, which has paved the way for real estate speculation. Like all the social guarantees of the past, access to housing has been reduced to a neoliberal model, which now prevails throughout the state of Mexico. Ixtapaluca, situated on Mexico City’s eastern periphery, is one of the municipalities in the metropolitan area most affected by such real estate speculation, which started in the late 1990s. Since then, several large-scale housing projects have been constructed in areas most removed from the center: in the municipalities on the conurbation’s outer periphery. Such a model of mass production for the working classes presents several advantages for private construction companies: the fact that the housing complexes are situated in periurban agricultural areas means prices for land are low; at the same time, the total lack of state regulation make it possible to use building materials of inferior quality. Most importantly, such projects are a guaranteed investment, but not for the people who buy the houses. For them, these housing projects are the only option to have a place of their own, of acquiring a family home and family fortune. The marketing strategies used to sell them disguise an illusion: the myth of the privately owned house a theme of great cultural relevance in Mexico, the perfect trap. There are various consequences of this model are played out on several levels: from the metropolitan to the local to the individual. Basing this study on personal interviews made it possible to get as close as possible to the inhabitants and to map the impact on their family life of purchasing a home in one of the Housing Projects of the region (Ixtapaluca, Chalco). By means of a detailed list of daily routine activities, it was possible to schematize and visualize the families’ time-budget as well as to identify those activities for which people use most of their time after moving into the new house. As these new settlements are situated on the periphery, commuting to and from work becomes one of the most time-consuming activities. Because of this, the dream of the family home turns into a nightmare: getting to the workplace becomes more complicated (inadequate public transport) and takes up between three and five hours every day, which means that there is less time for other fundamental activities like resting, meals and family life.

Diversos problemas de transporte, observados nas grandes metrópoles, têm sido mitigados com o aumento da capacidade da infraestrutura viária, voltada à circulação de veículos motorizados individuais. Com isso observa-se, atualmente, aumento dos congestionamentos, das poluições sonora e ambiental, mudanças climáticas e redução nos índices de atividade física da população. Uma alternativa encontrada por muitas cidades é a transformação de seu sistema viário em um local atrativo para utilização dos Modos Ativos de Transporte – realização de viagens a pé ou de bicicleta. Nesse sentido, a cidade de Porto Alegre desde 2010 vem aumentando a quantidade de ciclovias e ciclofaixas disponíveis. No entanto, a literatura indica que existem diversos outros fatores que influenciam na decisão por usar a bicicleta como modo de transporte, principalmente para os deslocamentos até o trabalho. Dessa forma, essa dissertação teve como objetivo avaliar o impacto que a implantação de vestiário, bicicletário, empréstimo de bicicletas, treinamento para trafegar de bicicleta e ciclovias disponíveis nas principais vias de Porto Alegre, causariam na probabilidade dos funcionários da Companhia Riograndense de Saneamento (CORSAN) utilizarem a bicicleta para realizar pelo menos dois deslocamentos por semana entre a sua casa e o trabalho. Para isso foi realizada uma Pesquisa de Preferência Declarada, incluindo essas variáveis e características socioeconômicas dos funcionários. A análise das medidas foi realizada utilizando o Modelo Logit Ordenado. Foi observado que o impacto da implantação das melhorias propostas possui magnitude maior que as características socioeconômicas das pessoas. Pessoas que atualmente utilizam o automóvel particular para seus deslocamentos diários são menos propensos à inclusão da bicicleta nos seus deslocamentos, assim como as que possuem filhos. A disponibilidade de vestiário com chuveiro e armário mostrou-se a variável mais importante para o estímulo do uso da bicicleta. A presença de um bicicletário interno e seguro, disponibilidade de bicicletas para empréstimo no local de trabalho e a presença de ciclovias no trajeto também apresentaram impactos significativos. O impacto da disponibilidade de treinamento para o uso de bicicleta foi significativamente menor que os observados nas outras variáveis. Considerando a viabilidade econômica e os benefícios observados, recomenda-se a implantação de vestiário e bicicletário, como medida de estímulo ao uso da bicicleta para os deslocamentos até o trabalho. / Most metropolitan areas mitigate transportation problems by increasing road infrastructure for motorized vehicles. This practice results in an increase in traffic congestion, noise and environmental pollution and reduction in the population’s physical activity levels. Many cities have tackled these externalities by transforming their road system into an attractive environment for Active Transport Modes - walking or cycling. As an example, the city of Porto Alegre has invested in the expansion of its cycling network since 2010. According to the literature, cycling infrastructure is one of the main factors that influence the use of bicycle for transportation, especially to work. The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate the impact of implementing different measures to improve the use of bicycle for commutes using as case study Companhia Riograndense de Saneamento (CORSAN). The evaluated measures included availability of changing rooms, cycle parking, bike sharing systems, training on bicycle use, and cycle paths. An Ordered Logit Model was estimated based onStated Preference data. The impact of the proposed measures has greater magnitude than employee’s socioeconomic characteristics. Individuals who currently use the private car for commute are less likely to use bicycles for those trips, as well as those with children. The availability of a changing room with shower and locker proved to be the most important variable to increase bicycle use among CORSAN employees. Cycle parking inside the building in a safe place, a bike sharing system and the presence of cycle paths along the way also had significant impacts. The impact of training availability for bicycle use was significantly lower, compared to other variables. This research also suggests that implementation of changing room and appropriate parking facilities for bicycles are affordable and important measures to promote the use of bicycle for commutes to work.

En cherchant à identifier les centralités d’un territoire, la capacité d’analyse se confronte très rapidement aux évolutions de la structuration spatiale en cours. La forte hausse de l’emploi, concomitante à la baisse des « stables », engendre une transition de la relation centralité-mobilité. Les nouveaux modes d’organisation urbaine résultent de la redistribution de la concentration de l’emploi et de l’intensification des mobilités alternantes. Nous retiendrons ces deux variables pour caractériser les communes de la Gironde à travers une nouvelle nomenclature dite « des aires de cohérence multicommunales ». Les enjeux d’aménagement qui en résultent, donnent lieu à une approche prospective structurée par l’interrelation entre transport et urbanisme. En effet, les scénarios d’urbanisation sont sujets à un développement autonome non maîtrisé. En anticipant les stratégies d’aménagement des transports, il est possible de limiter l’incertitude quant aux conséquences réelles en termes d’urbanisation. L’enjeu réside dans la définition des conditions d’un développement multipolaire de la Gironde. Cela permettrait d’accompagner le processus d’intégration territoriale, tout en desserrant la contrainte foncière autour de l’agglomération bordelaise. / By seeking to identify the centralities of a territory, one has to take into account the ongoing evolution of the spatial structuration. The strong employment increase, together with the slowdown of people working in the town they live (i.e. “stables”), triggers a transition in the centrality-mobility relation. The new urban organisation modes result from the spatial distribution of employment concentration as well as the intensification of commuting. These two variables will be retained in order to characterise the Gironde’s communes, through a new nomenclature called Areas of Multi-commune Cohesion (AMC). Planning issues that ensued from the AMCs lead to a prospective approach structured by Transport/Urbanism co-development. Indeed, urbanisation scenarii are subject to uncontrolled and autonomous development. By anticipating transport planning strategies, decision makers can limit the uncertainty related to the real urbanisation consequences. The main issue lies in defining the conditions of a multipolar development of Gironde county. This would enable to support the territorial integration process, while loosening land constraints around Bordeaux agglomeration.

Age, male sex, hypertension, smoking, diabetes, dyslipidaemia, and obesity are considered as established risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Several of these established cardiovascular risk factors are strongly influenced by lifestyle. Novel biomarkers from different mechanistic pathways have been associated with cardiovascular risk, but their clinical utility is still uncertain. The overall objective of the thesis was to evaluate the associations between certain lifestyle factors (physical activity and snuff use), biomarkers reflecting the haemostatic and the inflammatory systems and risk of a future first-ever myocardial infarction.  A prospective incident nested case-control study design was used with a total of 651 cases of myocardial infarction and 2238 matched controls from the population-based Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study.  The effects of commuting activity, occupational and leisure time physical activity on risk of myocardial infarction were studied. A clearly increased risk of myocardial infarction was found for car commuting compared to active commuting (walking, cycling or going by bus). High versus low leisure time physical activity was associated with decreased risk of myocardial infarction. Low occupational physical activity was associated with risk of myocardial infarction in men.  The risk of myocardial infarction or sudden cardiac death was studied in male snuff users compared to non-tobacco users. No increased risk was found for myocardial infarction or sudden cardiac death among snuff users without a previous history of smoking. However, for sudden cardiac death the study did not have statistical power to detect small differences in risk.  Plasma levels of haemostatic markers have previously shown to be associated with risk of myocardial infarction, but as haemostatic markers are also acute-phase reactants, it is not clear if their association with myocardial infarction is independent of inflammatory markers. In the present study, the haemostatic markers D-dimer, von Willebrand factor (VWF), tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), and tissue plasminogen activator/plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 complex (t-PA/PAI-1 complex) were associated with risk of myocardial infarction after adjustment for established risk factors and the inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin 6 (IL-6). Furthermore, the addition of eight haemostatic and inflammatory markers could improve the predictive ability for future myocardial infarction beyond that of a model utilizing only established risk factors.  Established risk factors and novel biomarkers were explored as potential mediators of the reduced risk of myocardial infarction related to active commuting. A combination of established risk factors, haemostatic and inflammatory markers appeared to explain a substantial proportion (40%) of the difference in risk for myocardial infarction between active commuters and car commuters. IL-6, t-PA, t-PA/PAI-1 complex, apo B/apo A-1 ratio, and BMI seemed to be the largest potential mediators when tested individually. In conclusion, regular physical activity such as active commuting is associated with reduced risk of a first-ever myocardial infarction. This effect could in part be mediated through a beneficial influence on haemostasis and inflammation, as well as a positive impact on established risk factors. Several haemostatic markers are associated with risk of myocardial infarction independent of established risk factors and inflammatory markers. The combination of haemostatic and inflammatory markers may enhance predictive ability beyond established risk factors. Our findings do not support the hypothesis that snuff use increases the risk of myocardial infarction.