An Investigation of Intra-Household Interactions in Travel Mode Choice

AN INVESTIGATION OF INTRA-HOUSEHOLD INTERACTIONS IN TRAVEL MODE CHOICE This thesis develops a modelling framework to integrate intra-household interactions with tour-based mode choice. The findings provide evidence of intra-household interactions in travel mode choice of each household member and highlight factors associated with joint household activities and shared ride arrangements, with a distinction between weekdays and weekends. The results indicate that household resources, mobility and social constraints, and opportunities to coordinate household members’ activities play an important role in arranging joint household travel. Also, modelling outputs signal the differences that interpersonal interactions make to model elasticities and the implications for transport policy. The originality and the contribution of this research lie in four main areas. First, it tests the relevance of interactions between household members to household mode choice decisions and adds an additional ‘layer of interactions’ to the activity-based modelling framework. The study offers an analysis of household travel decisions embedding context and situation effects, thereby reflecting more realistically the nature of travel decisions. Second, this study offers a typology of joint household tour patterns embedded in a modelling approach which permits a variety of activity-travel patterns amongst all household members together with intra-household interactions. Third, the research provides evidence on the effects of land use factors measured at the micro-level so as to identify which aspects of the built environment are most likely to support policy change for sustainable transport choices. Finally, by separating weekend activity-travel from their weekday counterparts, this study is able to quantify empirically differences which suggest different transport management measures aimed to alleviate traffic congestion and promote public transport use

Fitting the bike to the chain: An analysis of transitions towards households integration of multi-modal cycling

This study explores the integration of cycling with public transport (Cycling-PT) from a household perspective. Varied household types were reflected in the individuals and families who participated in fourty-seven interviews and small group discussions in Nottingham and Leeds. Participants were recruited at railway stations, bike hubs and via activist and bicycle user groups and other gatekeeper organisations in the voluntary, local authority and education sectors between June 2016 and January 2017. Drawing on literature from the Activity Approach (AA), Mobility Biographies and structuration theory, an interview topic guide was used during individual interviews and small group discussions, supported by visual cue cards. Additional visual elicitation methods supported a second phase of discussions with individuals and families, the participants assembling 3D Styrofoam models of railway stations, using miniature Lego characters to recreate scenarios of journeys when they had combined Cycling-PT. Together, these methods provided insight into the variability of household travel behaviour over the life-course, mental models and reflexive processes. Interviews with eight family groups who took part with their children revealed how Cycling-PT had enabled the everyday activities of families through specialisation of roles for childcare and employment. Benefits to households included access to employment, particularly for people unable to drive. Time-savings over using buses to access rail journeys contrasted with more divided opinions on cost savings. Families integrated taking children to daycare, or school, with regular combined Cycling-PT commutes, carried by bicycle and train with their parents. Adolescent children travelling independently to visit relatives during school holidays. Childcare provision was influential in family travel decisions, collecting children at the end of the working day acting to constrain the combination of Cycling-PT. Parents valued secure storage for bicycles (and other mobility devices) at nurseries, schools, transport hubs and workplaces. Qualitative thematic analysis of interview transcripts using NVivo revealed beliefs and related to physical activity shared within households that had motivated the combination of cycling with PT. Participants associated improved mood with the integration of cycling with PT, the combined modes enabling the transition between work or study and household activities. Bicycle parking at PT hubs complemented carriage of bicycles on board trains to enable a full range of activities to be achieved. Workplace facilitation included flexible, or negotiated working arrangements, changing facilities, storage and showers for cyclists, salary-sacrifice bicycle purchase schemes and supportive colleagues. These findings have implications for policy, transport design, and offer directions for future research

Investigating the impacts of policy on school travel

Millions of children travel to and from school each day as part of their daily routine. A large percentage of children make this journey by car, and the numbers are steadily rising and this is leading to many environmental and health implications for children. The current economic climate has persuaded the British Government to look again at policies relating to all school travel funding to highlight areas where savings and cuts can be made. This is interesting because the home-to-school transport provision policy has been in place since the Education Act 1944 and this policy costs local authorities in England over £1 billion a year. Therefore, the focus of this thesis is threefold. Firstly, it seeks to determine the main issues within school travel and reports on the views of current professionals in the school travel industry. Structured in-depth interviews were carried out with 16 UK and US school travel experts. The questions focused on the current stakeholders of school travel, issues regarding school travel, bus use in school travel, and the challenges faced by transport planners to ensure school pupils have a safe and pleasant journey to school. Secondly this thesis quantifies the traffic and environmental impacts of the school choice policy in England. It achieves this by analysing School Census data from 2009 from the Department for Education. Multinomial logit modelling and mixed multinomial logit modelling are used to illustrate the current travel behaviour of English children in their journey to school and examine how there can be a significant reduction in vehicle miles travelled, CO2 emissions and fuel consumption if the school choice policy is removed. The results suggest that if all children attended their nearest school, this would result in reductions in their personal mobility, vehicle miles travelled and CO2 emissions. Finally, this thesis examines the policies relating to the funding criteria of home-to-school public school transport provision. Specifically, the paper employs a multilevel modelling technique to develop a series of relationships between bus usage by school and the level of spending by local education authorities on home-to-school bus travel provision while controlling for other factors such as school quality, land-use patterns and various proxies for household incomes. The results suggest that there is a significant effect of funding on the total school-level bus passenger mileage for primary (aged less than 11), secondary (aged 11 to 16) and Post 16 schools.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Metrics for Evaluating Walking School Bus Programs: A Case Study of Waterloo Region, Ontario

Normative planning concerns direct sustainable development planning; however, many assertions are made without empirical backing and discount many of the values and characteristics of today’s populations. A potentially viable form of Active and Sustainable School Transportation (ASST) is the Walking School Bus (WSB) concept. The WSB can be defined as a group of students walking to school together under the supervision of one or more adults (or older students). Proponents often suggest the WSB as a means to address the barriers to ASST by taking into account the key values influencing school-based travel decisions. The purpose of this thesis is to address the question to what extent and in which circumstances are WSB programs successful in addressing the key barriers to ASST. Using a case study of four elementary schools of the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) in Southwestern Ontario, WSB routing is developed using Geographic Information Systems software. To address the research question, metrics are established that evaluate WSB routes based on safety, convenience, and cost. These metrics are used to compare the WSB results at all four schools to determine if neighbourhood walkability and student density influence the outcomes. Further, the policy context in which student transportation services are provided in Ontario is explored. The results of this study indicate that WSB programs can be successful in achieving a safe and convenient way for students to use ASST. Participation in WSB programs at four WRDSB schools would cut down exposure to unsupervised travel by 93%. This includes a 61% reduction in unsupervised intersection crossings. WSB programs are most convenient for parents as the results suggest an average of 16 minutes and 26 seconds per day may be saved by not accompanying their child to and from school. A student participating in a WSB program may experience only a minor inconvenience of 1 minute and 3 seconds on average extra per trip because of route detours. Finally, the cost of WSB programs, if led by paid adults, can be substantial. Approximately 11 Full-Time Equivalent positions would be required to operate WSB programs at all four case study schools using the parameters established for this study. Comparison of the WSB results at all four schools indicated only nominal variations between neighbourhoods with high and medium walkability ratings and between neighbourhoods with high and low student density. This shows that WSBs are feasible in varying neighbourhood types within the Region of Waterloo and has demonstrated that neighbourhood walkability and student density have no apparent effect on the achieving the primary objectives of a WSB program. Human decision-making and individual’s values influencing these decisions adds a substantial amount of complexity to the field of ASST. In a society that continues to be risk adverse, WSBs may become increasingly desirable despite the upfront cost. Therefore, this thesis does not draw any conclusions on whether or not WSB programs should be implemented, but rather provides the basis for evaluating the costs and benefits of WSB programs in a broader decision-making context

Development and feasibility of an intervention to promote active travel to school

PhD ThesisIntroduction: Active travel to school (ATS) is a source of physical activity for children. Aim: a) Develop an ATS intervention and b) test its feasibility in Year 5 children. Methods: a) Intervention development: Review of ATS and other relevant interventions; review of behaviour change theory; public involvement. Intervention: every ATS day equalled one ticket into a £5 voucher draw. b) Feasibility testing: Cluster-randomised pilot trial in two primary schools with process evaluation. Daily outcome measures: parental ATS reports (optionally by SMS); child ATS reports; accelerometry (moderate-to-vigorous physical activity [MVPA] during journey to school). Results: a) Limited evidence for ATS intervention effectiveness but some evidence for using incentives in health promotion. Twelve theories identified but their utility for ATS intervention development was unclear. Eight families, a head teacher, and a young person’s group supported the development of an ATS incentive scheme. b) Four schools agreed to participate in the study (3.3%) and two were selected, 29 child-parent pairs were recruited (33.0%), and 27 retained for the 9 week study (93.1%). Materials returned on time: accelerometers (81.9%), parental ATS reports (82.1%), and child reports (97.9%). Parent-child agreement on school travel mode was moderate (k=0.53, CI 95% 0.45; 0.60). MVPA differences (minutes) for parent-reported ‘ATS vs non-ATS trips’ were significant, during parent-reported times as corresponding to the school journey (U=390.5, p<0.05; 2.46 (n=99) vs 0.76 (n=13)) and in the pre-classes hour (U=665.5, p<0.05; 4.99 (n=104) vs 2.55 (n=19)). MVPA differences for child-reported ‘ATS vs non-ATS trips’ were also significant, both during parent-reported trip times (U=596.5, p<0.05; 2.40 (n=128) vs 0.81 (n=15)) and the pre-classes hour (U=955.0, p<0.05; 4.99 (n=146) vs 2.59 (n=20)). In a process evaluation, interviewees reported that procedures were generally appropriate. Conclusion: An ATS incentive scheme seems feasible. ATS reports showed validity vis-à-vis accelerometry. Further work is required to improve recruitment.Thank you also to the MOVE Project (Durham University) for the loan of 90 accelerometers and accessories, to my PhD funder (Sir James Knott Fellowship), to the Catherine Cookson Foundation for the award of £2100 for my research, and to the NIReS (now IfS) for the provision of 10 brand new accelerometers and accessories (worth £1750) at the very beginning of this project

A description of the mental health outcomes of HIV positive adolescents accessing care in Johannesburg

A thesis completed by published work. Submitted to the School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. johannesburg, South Africa. September, 2017.Background: Adolescents living with HIV are an emerging group in the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Mental health in this population impacts HIV care, treatment, consequential morbidity and secondary transmission. Perinatally infected HIV positive adolescents (PIA) have high prevalence of mental health disorders; loss and bereavement are particularly pervasive in their lives, however little is known about the mental health of PIA retained in care in South Africa. How PIA beliefs concerning their HIV infection are affected by the cumulative effect of bereavement (particularly of parents), the failure to disclose to them the cause of death and the manner in which they learn their own HIV positive status, is a subject understudied. Similarly, there is a paucity of research on effective ways to manage such bereavement. Resilience, or positive adaptation to challenging situations, may be particularly important for PIA, who are exposed to significant stigma, risks and stressors. However, there is limited research regarding adolescents in South Africa, partly because section 71 of the National Health Act (NHA) requires parental or guardian's consent. This presents a significant barrier to research on HIV infected adolescents aged under 18 years. The aim of this research is to describe the mental health of HIV positive adolescents (13-19 years) accessing care and treatment in Johannesburg and generate evidence to inform mental health policy for this population in South Africa. The study describes the mental health outcomes of this population with a focus on how bereavement and disclosure impacts on mental health, as well as how resilience is manifest in this group. Methods: Prior to commencement of the research, an order was obtained from the High Court in Johannesburg as upper guardian of minor children for the statutory parental or guardian’s consent. For the thesis, data from three studies are presented in five published papers. These studies were conducted using a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques resulting in a mixed methods study design. For the quantitative study, HIV positive adolescents aged 13-19 years (n=343) accessing five pediatric antiretroviral clinics in Johannesburg were assessed using standardized measures for depression (Children’s Depression Inventory), anxiety (Children’s Manifext Anxiety Scale), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Child PTSD Checklist) and suicidality (MINI International Psychiatric Interview). In addition to mental health, the survey captured information regarding HIV, sexual reproductive health and coping. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were conducted on all variables using Statistica v13. Two qualitative studies were conducted. The first purposively selected 25 participants from the larger study. The aim was to identify elements of resilience through in-depth interviews in this group of PIA. The second identified the most and least symptomatic participants (n=26) from the larger cohort on scores for mental health (depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, suicidality). Drawings and written accounts of the loss of a significant attachment figure of participants were assessed and compared by professionals (art therapists, psychologists, social workers and counsellors) in three focus group discussions. The goal of this study was to understand the influence of bereavement on mental health and the use of drawing and writing in expressing the experience of loss. Data were analysed in NVIVO 10 using a thematic approach to coding. The final paper details the process of obtaining ethical approval for research with adolescents in public health facilities through a case study (this PhD). Results: Of the enrolled 343 participants, 27% were symptomatic for depression, anxiety or PTSD; 24% reported suicidality. Results indicated high rates of comorbidity amongst depression, anxiety and PTSD. Females scored significantly higher for depression (p<.001), anxiety (p<.01), and PTSD (p<.001) than males. Those reporting suicidality also reported significantly higher on all three mental health scales suggesting that suicidal individuals are more likely to present with higher levels of depression (p<.001), anxiety (p<.001) and PTSD (p<.001). Almost 90% did not feel that they belonged in the family with which they lived. Peer violence was significantly correlated to all mental health problems, also hunger, being inappropriately touched, being hit and being female. High exposure to violence was evident and not feeling safe at home or in community increased risk for all mental health disorders. Knowing one’s HIV status, however, was protective as was having dreams for the future. The qualitative studies highlighted that despite marked stressors in the lives of these adolescents, a high degree of resilience was described. Characteristics of resilience in this group included a pertinent set of beliefs, including a belief in fate and recognition of personal strength as a consequence of managing adversity. Character traits such as a pragmatic acceptance about one’s life, actively taking responsibility, and a robust self-esteem were evident. Social behaviours included the ability to pursue and access adults and healthcare to meet developmental needs, having a desire to support and help others and challenging HIV related stigma. These characteristics were underscored by the capacity for self-reflection. The studies also revealed that PIA have limited understanding of how they became infected, vertical transmission and potential benefits of PMTCT to their future reproductive needs, despite disclosure. Most participants were experiencing complicated grieving which was impacting negatively on their mental health, ability to accept their HIV status and adhere to treatment. The drawings and written accounts of the qualitative study accentuated contextual deprivation, including high exposure to multiple and consistent losses of significant attachment figures. They also pointed to emotional deprivation and impoverishment, including unresolved complicated grieving. Views from participants emphasized missed opportunities, including failure to address the mental health concerns of this population at risk. The case study suggested that without court intervention, most of the participants, being orphans without guardians, could not have participated in the research because the statutory consent was otherwise impossible. This case study argues for exceptions to the parental consent requirement, by reason of the exclusion of Orphaned and Vulnerable Children and Youth (OVCY) from research. Inconsistent and confusing legal policy that inadvertently silences voices that most need to be heard, as well as law that is inconsistent with principles of justice, inclusiveness and autonomy, are put forward to argue for a change to the National Health Act. Conclusion: HIV positive adolescents accessing care demonstrate high levels of mental health problems that are largely unrecognized and could potentially be addressed within health systems. Recognition of mental health challenges in PIA is crucial to effective HIV care and treatment and providers need to be sufficiently sensitized to this reality. PIA need improved communication regarding vertical transmission and PMTCT to properly understand their HIV status and engage effectively in management. Honest communication about how relatives died and disclosure of HIV status is necessary to reduced stigma, complicated grieving and improve mental health. The impact of unprocessed loss early in life has long-term negative consequences for PIA. Innovative methods are required to address unmet mental health needs of this patient population. The use of non-verbal methods (drawing and writing) by healthcare professionals could be especially valuable to both patient and provider, particularly in the case of managing bereavement. PIA, who face high levels of hardship and change, nevertheless exhibit strong resiliency beliefs, traits, and behaviours. Healthcare environments have the potential to be utilized as powerful resources in fostering resilience in PIA, if characteristics of adolescent resilience are integrated into prevention and intervention programming. Finally, a balance is required between protecting adolescents from exploitation and permitting access to benefits of research. Mandating parental consent for all research does not necessarily give effect to policy. For the vast majority of South African HIV infected adolescents parental consent is not possible. Adolescents are understudied and poorly understood and although these laws are there to protect this vulnerable group, it also makes them and their problems less visible. In order to scale up interventions, careful consideration needs to be placed on how the laws can help researchers benefit adolescents. Section 71 of the National Health Act ought to be amended to facilitate valuable and necessary research concerning HIV infected orphan children and adolescents. Keywords: perinatal HIV infection, HIV positive adolescents, vulnerable youth, mental health, healthcare system, disclosure, violence, orphan, bereavement, complicated grief, drawing, resilience, research, National Health ActLG201

Personalising the learning of young children with the use of ICT : an action research case in a Greek primary school

This thesis is an account of an action research project undertaken in a Greek primary private school. The project aimed at personalising the students’ learning with the use of ICT. The project ran for three consecutive school years and involved students (twenty-six in year 1, sixteen in year 2, and fifty-one in year 3) and, their parents (in years 1 and 2). The students were eight-years old when the project started. The focus of the innovation concerned the teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language. The project was an attempt to create a partnership with students and to offer opportunities for students to make choices in their learning. In year 1 teaching methods, including argumentative processes, learning task design and assessment processes, were re-designed and students were encouraged to engage in collaborative learning. All these changes were sustained in year 2 and the use of ICT, including online discussion, was introduced to enhance and extend collaboration and learning. The use of on line ‘chat’ was extended to parents as a way of communication with school. All these innovations were sustained in year 3 and further exploration of students’ and parents’ perceptions of learning with technology carried out. Action research is employed as a methodological approach in this study. In particular, the study reports on cycles of implementation and reflection carried out over three years. A variety of methods were used. Diaries were selected to record situations, questionnaires to access the perceptions of the children and parents, and chat logs and interviews used to explore these perceptions in greater depth. The mix of methods enabled comparison and contrast not just between data derived by different methods but by different sources as well, i.e. parents and children. The main theoretical concepts explored in this thesis are Personalised Learning, ICT use, and Collaboration. This research project sees Personalised Learning as the ‘focal innovation’ and ICT use as embedded within personalisation. Collaboration is considered a fundamental construct in both personalisation and the embedded use of ICT. This thesis asks whether personalisation is a coherent concept and whether it can be sustained with the use of ICT. It finds that personalised learning can offer a coherent organising principle for pedagogic reform, and can be defined by its concern for collective co-production of knowledge, student voice, assessment for learning, learning-to-learn strategies, and student centeredness. Personalised learning and ICT are recognised as a good match and personalised learning is seen to need ICT in order to be sustained. However, innovation requires time and evaluation of outcomes is value laden. The thesis finds action research to be an appropriate methodology for curriculum reform

Unmet goals of tracking: within-track heterogeneity of students' expectations for

Educational systems are often characterized by some form(s) of ability grouping, like tracking. Although substantial variation in the implementation of these practices exists, it is always the aim to improve teaching efficiency by creating homogeneous groups of students in terms of capabilities and performances as well as expected pathways. If students’ expected pathways (university, graduate school, or working) are in line with the goals of tracking, one might presume that these expectations are rather homogeneous within tracks and heterogeneous between tracks. In Flanders (the northern region of Belgium), the educational system consists of four tracks. Many students start out in the most prestigious, academic track. If they fail to gain the necessary credentials, they move to the less esteemed technical and vocational tracks. Therefore, the educational system has been called a 'cascade system'. We presume that this cascade system creates homogeneous expectations in the academic track, though heterogeneous expectations in the technical and vocational tracks. We use data from the International Study of City Youth (ISCY), gathered during the 2013-2014 school year from 2354 pupils of the tenth grade across 30 secondary schools in the city of Ghent, Flanders. Preliminary results suggest that the technical and vocational tracks show more heterogeneity in student’s expectations than the academic track. If tracking does not fulfill the desired goals in some tracks, tracking practices should be questioned as tracking occurs along social and ethnic lines, causing social inequality