Improving intersection safety and efficiency are the primary goals of alternative intersection designs. These designs seek to improve on traditional traffic control methods, often by reducing intersection conflict points, reducing or eliminating time-wasting signal phases, or both. However, public opposition to these new designs can be a large barrier to implementation of alternative intersections despite their known safety and efficiency benefits.<br><br>This study evaluated current public perception and factors influencing that perception for four alternative intersection designs - the roundabout, the restricted crossing U-turn (also known as J-turn and reduced conflict intersection), the displaced left turn (also known as the continuous flow intersection), and the diverging diamond interchange (also known as the double crossover diamond interchange). <br><br>To achieve this objective, a survey instrument was designed and distributed to a target sample of 1,000 adults residing in the State of Indiana. The survey solicited participant awareness of these designs, acceptance of a potential implementation of the design in their community, and driver confidence using the design along with participant socio-demographic data. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was then conducted. <br><br>The survey results indicate that residents of Indiana are not aware of designs not currently widely implemented in the state, that opposition to these rarer designs is prominent, and that drivers were generally less confident in their ability to safely navigate these unfamiliar designs. Younger respondents, male respondents, more highly educated respondents, respondents who travel more often or for farther distances, and respondents who rate their own driving ability highly are more likely to be aware, accepting, and confident using alternative designs. <br><br>The results of this study will inform future outreach efforts pertaining to alternative intersections by improving transportation agency understanding of public opinions and primary concerns regarding these designs and provide potential paths for improving public perception. <br>

<p>The overarching theme of this research is about environmental microplastic pollution, and how much various entities are willing to sacrifice economically to obtain a cleaner environment. To gauge such willingness, this research utilizes various economic measures that have been widely used, albeit with novel modifications. The focus of this research is on stated preferences about microplastic pollution. The topic of microplastics is still very novel, and market players on the demand side or on the supply side have yet to provide products that deal with this new pollutant. This lack has necessitated the need for stated preference research. This research delves into this novel environmental problem from various viewpoints.</p> <p> Chapter 1 of this research is about how much the US adult population is willing to sacrifice to obtain an environment that is less impacted by microplastic pollution. The results show that US adults in general possess a willingness to obtain an environment free from microplastics. However, a sizable minority of US adults do not show such willingness as well. Such results remained true even when information about microplastic pollution were provided to all respondents before preference elicitation. </p> <p> Chapter 2 investigates how much consumers in different countries will diverge about their willingness to pay for seafood that has less microplastic contamination. The countries chosen differed widely in their seafood consumption habits. Thus, it was hypothesized that such differences will lead to contrasts in their willingness to pay for less contaminated seafood. The hypothesis was found to be true but not in the way that was expected. The results show that frequent consumers of seafood had less willingness to pay when compared to others, although in whole all consumers showed willingness to avoid microplastics in their seafood. </p> <p> Chapter 3 makes use of the same data as Chapter 2 but looks at possible reasons for the disparity in responses besides factors explored in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 focuses on the cultural differences to explain the differences in behavior. To do so, it utilizes the Value-Belief-Norm theory widely employed in past research but modifies it to account for a form of hypothetical bias. The research delves into the relationships between many factors of interest that affect environmentally friendly consumption behavior and the findings show that a certain cultural tendency is central to such behavior, at least for microplastics. </p> <p> The research has done its best to research into the economic relationship between microplastic contamination of the environment and how much various individuals are willing to sacrifice to obtain an environment that is less impacted by such pollution. The findings here show that there is room for improvement in the way the microplastic pollution problem is being handled. However, in all settings the results show that a sizable majority want to be less impacted by microplastic pollution, a key takeaway for all interested parties.</p>

Shared mobility is considered a more sustainable alternative to private modes. Nonetheless, its sudden and sometimes “out of control” emergence poses issues that need to be addressed. Lack of regulations and public space mismanagement cause sidewalks and city roads to be overcrowded with shared vehicles (especially in the case of micromobility). This causes nuisance and safety concerns and hinders the societal benefits shared mobility may provide. Shared mobility hubs have the potential to address these issues. The research was carried out within the context of the SmartHubs project, an EIT Urban Mobility project initiated in 2021 by a diverse consortium of 7 cities, companies, and universities to develop and validate effective and economically viable mobility hub solutions. This degree project aims to improve the Decision-Support-Tool (DST) developed by SmartHubs to identify locations of shared-mobility hubs having high potential in driving sustainable travel usage. To achieve that, the thesis proposes a methodology for determining smart hub locations and their corresponding utilities based on the combination of GIS cluster analysis of free-floating shared mobility parking patterns and a stated-preference study. The potential hub locations were determined from the cluster analysis of free-floating trip characteristics. Using the stated preference survey data, the thesis develops a model to estimate the probability of parking at the hub as a function of explanatory variables, including walking distance, reward policies and the parking situation. The model testing results showed that the proposed methodology can well predict the hub (usage) demand and improve the current DST originally developed in the SmartHubs project.

No description available.

Governments, international agencies, and researchers routinely assess health and income inequalities and inequities so as to better communicate the evidence of their levels and trends to both policy-makers and the general public. Measuring the extent to which differences in health or income are unequal or unfair is, however, complex. This thesis contains three chapters centrally concerned with inequalities, though the focus differs across chapters. Chapter 2 helps address the gap between the requirements of indices often used for measuring income-related health inequality and current research practice by providing a non-technical review and critical assessment of the recent literature. This chapter should function as a guide for policy researchers and analysts to help them be more critical consumers of studies that use these indices while also helping applied researchers in choosing inequality measures that have the normative properties they seek. Most measures of inequality make assumptions about the extent to which society is averse to inequality. Moreover, analysts often assume that attitudes toward inequalities in health or income are the same. Chapter 3 is the first study using a mixed-methods approach to assess public attitudes toward inequalities in income, health, and income-related health inequality to determine preferences and how attitudes toward inequalities in these domains differ. Chapter 2 and 3 contribute to a greater understanding of the measurement and interpretation of inequalities. While chapters 2 and 3 focus on inequalities among individuals within a society, chapter 4 focuses on inequalities globally among societies. Chapter 4 examines global health inequalities that result from medical care use using the example of long-standing drug technologies for treating hypertension. The study links availability and affordability of blood-pressure-lowering medicines with individual use and health outcomes. Chapter 4, therefore, provides an empirical illustration on how country-specific policies can play an important role in either countering or exacerbating health differences. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This thesis concerns itself with different aspects of inequality related to health and income, though the focus differs across chapters. The second and third chapters of this thesis contribute to a greater understanding of the measurement and interpretation of inequalities. Whereas the fourth chapter provides empirical evidence on how country-specific policies can counteract or exacerbate health differences. Chapter 2 comprehensively reviews and critically assesses the literature on the technical and normative properties of indices commonly used for measuring income-related health inequality thereby addressing the gap between the requirements of these indices and current research practice. Chapter 3 investigates public attitudes toward inequalities in income, health, and income-related health inequality to determine preferences and where attitudes toward these inequalities differ. Chapter 4 examines global health inequalities that result from medical care use using the example of long-standing drug technologies for treating hypertension and links availability and affordability of medicines with individual use and health outcomes.

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.

Travel demand forecasting is essential for many decisions, such as infrastructure investments and policy measures. Traditionally travel demand modelling has considered trip frequency, mode, destination and route choice. This thesis considers two other choice dimensions, hypothesised to have implications for travel demand forecasting. The first part investigates how the increased possibilities to overcome space that ICT (information and communication technology) provides, can be integrated in travel demand forecasting models. We find that possibilities of modelling substitution effects are limited, irrespective of data source and modelling approach. Telecommuting explains, however, a very small part of variation in work trip frequency. It is therefore not urgent to include effects from telecommuting in travel demand forecasting. The results indicate that telecommuting is a privilege for certain groups of employees, and we therefore expect that negative attitudes from management, job suitability and lack of equipment are important obstacles. We find also that company benefits can be obtained from telecommuting. No evidences that telecommuting gives rise to urban sprawl is, however, found. Hence, there is ground for promoting telecommuting from a societal, individual and company perspective. The second part develops a departure time choice model in a mixed logit framework. This model explains how travellers trade-off travel time, travel time variability, monetary and scheduling costs, when choosing departure time. We explicitly account for correlation in unobserved heterogeneity over repeated SP choices, which was fundamental for accurate estimation of the substitution pattern. Temporal constraints at destination are found to mainly restrict late arrival. Constraints at origin mainly restrict early departure. Sensitivity to travel time uncertainty depends on trip type and intended arrival time. Given appropriate input data and a calibrated dynamic assignment model, the model can be applied to forecast peak-spreading effects in congested networks. Combined stated preference (SP) and revealed preference (RP) data is used, which has provided an opportunity to compare observed and stated behaviour. Such analysis has previously not been carried out and indicates that there are systematic differences in RP and SP data. / QC 20100825

Submitted by Vinicius Kfuri (vkfuri@gmail.com) on 2014-08-26T19:35:17Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao - Vinicius Kfuri.pdf: 2222768 bytes, checksum: 9c1f03c937603641cc15647f9bac7343 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Gisele Gammaro (gisele.gammaro@fgv.br) on 2014-08-29T17:35:59Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao - Vinicius Kfuri.pdf: 2222768 bytes, checksum: 9c1f03c937603641cc15647f9bac7343 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Gisele Gammaro (gisele.gammaro@fgv.br) on 2014-08-29T17:46:39Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao - Vinicius Kfuri.pdf: 2222768 bytes, checksum: 9c1f03c937603641cc15647f9bac7343 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-09-23T14:00:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao - Vinicius Kfuri.pdf: 2222768 bytes, checksum: 9c1f03c937603641cc15647f9bac7343 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-20 / One of the most popular products of the world is going through severe transformations and, as a consequence, the beer style we know as Pilsner (Light Lager) is no longer the only available option in the market. Given that this sector has a strong growth potential in Brazil, the main objective of this dissertation is to reveal the craft beer consumers preferences using stated preference methods through questionnaires that invite the subject to choose among options related to Color, Palate, Aroma and Alcohol. After stratifying the sample by Age and Experience, the results show that Palate, followed by Color and then Aroma are the most relevant attributes for the Experienced subject while the Non-Experienced value Color as the most relevant attribute, followed by Palate, with Aroma being an irrelevant attribute in his choices. The atribute Alcohol revealed itself insignificant in all stratifications. / Um dos produtos mais consumidos do mundo vem passando por grandes transformações, e a cerveja que conhecemos como tipo Pilsen (Light Lager) deixou de ser opção única nas prateleiras. Dado o potencial de crescimento do setor no Brasil, o objetivo deste trabalho é mapear as preferências do consumidor de cerveja artesanal, usando técnicas de preferência declarada, a partir da aplicação de questionários que convidam o entrevistado a elencar suas preferências diante das combinações dos atributos Cor, Paladar, Aroma e Álcool. A partir da estratificação da amostra em Idade e Experiência, os resultados indicam que Paladar, seguido da Cor e, por último, o Aroma são os atributos mais relevantes para o entrevistado Experiente, enquanto o Não Experiente atribui maior peso à Cor, seguida do Paladar, sendo o Aroma um atributo irrelevante em suas escolhas. O atributo Álcool revelou-se insignificante em todas as estratificações realizadas.

xi, 108 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Micro-level survey data are widely used in applied economic research. This dissertation, which consists of three empirical papers, demonstrates challenges in empirical research using micro-level survey data, as well as some methods to accommodate these problems. Chapter II examines the effect of China's recent public health insurance reform on health utilization and health status. Chinese policy makers have been eager to identify how this reform, characterized by a substantial increase in out-of-pocket costs, has affected health care demand and health status. However, due to self-selection of individuals into the publicly insured group, the impact of the reform remains an unresolved issue. I employ a Heckman selection model in the context of difference-in-difference regression to accommodate the selection problem, and provide the first solid empirical evidence that the recent public health insurance reforms in China adversely affected both health care access and health status for publicly insured individuals. Chapter III examines the construct validity of a stated preference (SP) survey concerning climate change policy. Due to the fact that the SP survey method remains a controversial tool for benefit-cost analysis, every part of the survey deserves thorough examination to ensure the quality of the data. Using a random utility approach, I establish that there is a great deal of logical consistency between people's professed attitudes toward different payment vehicles and their subsequent choices among policies which vary in the incidence of their costs. Chapter IV employs the same survey data used in Chapter III, but demonstrates the potential for order effects stemming from prior attitude-elicitation questions. In addition, it considers the potential impact of these order effects on Willingness to Pay (WTP) estimates for climate change mitigation. I find the orderings of prior elicitation questions may change people's opinions toward various attributes of the different policies, and thereby increase or decrease their WTP by a substantial amount. Thus, this chapter emphasizes the significance of order effects in prior elicitation questions, and supports a call for diligence in using randomly ordered prior elicitation questions in stated preference surveys, to minimize inadvertent effects from any single arbitrary ordering. / Adviser: Trudy Ann Cameron

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.