Are we there yet? Australian road safety targets and road traffic crash fatalities

Background: Road safety targets are widely used and provide a basis for evaluating progress in road safety outcomes against a quantified goal. In Australia, a reduction in fatalities from road traffic crashes (RTCs) is a public policy objective: a national target of no more than 5.6 fatalities per 100,000 population by 2010 was set in 2001. The purpose of this paper is to examine the progress Australia and its states and territories have made in reducing RTC fatalities, and to estimate when the 2010 target may be reached by the jurisdictions. Methods. Following a descriptive analysis, univariate time-series models estimate past trends in fatality rates over recent decades. Data for differing time periods are analysed and different trend specifications estimated. Preferred models were selected on the basis of statistical criteria and the period covered by the data. The results of preferred regressions are used to determine out-of-sample forecasts of when the national target may be attained by the jurisdictions. Though there are limitations with the time series approach used, inadequate data precluded the estimation of a full causal/structural model. Results: Statistically significant reductions in fatality rates since 1971 were found for all jurisdictions with the national rate decreasing on average, 3% per year since 1992. However the gains have varied across time and space, with percent changes in fatality rates ranging from an 8% increase in New South Wales 1972-1981 to a 46% decrease in Queensland 1982-1991. Based on an estimate of past trends, it is possible that the target set for 2010 may not be reached nationally, until 2016. Unsurprisingly, the analysis indicated a range of outcomes for the respective state/territory jurisdictions though these results should be interpreted with caution due to different assumptions and length of data. Conclusions: Results indicate that while Australia has been successful over recent decades in reducing RTC mortality, an important gap between aspirations and achievements remains. Moreover, unless there are fairly radical ("trend-breaking") changes in the factors that affect the incidence of RTC fatalities, deaths from RTCs are likely to remain above the national target in some areas of Australia, for years to come

Strategy and the Contested Politics of Scale: Air Transportation in Australia

This article explores the ways in which the contested reconfiguration of air transportation infrastructures following deregulation in Australia resulted in the rescaling of air transportation services and their disassociation from the scales of political jurisdictions. In tracing the complex interactions between the state’s and firms’ strategies and their impacts at different scales, the article contends that it is not sufficient to view scale as an arena and outcome of political struggle. Rather, it argues for an activated understanding of scale as strategy. The reconfigurations of the scales of transportation networks in Australia reveal their profound implications for the production of space: for social equity, the fortunes of cities, and the manner of Australia’s insertion in the international division of labor

Opportunities to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Urban Passenger Transport Sector

This paper sets out to appraise the body of literature which has investigated the potential role of a large number of strategies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in line with the objectives set under the Rio Convention. The paper discusses the role of (i) technological vs behavioural ‘fixes’, (ii) the changing spatial and temporal dimension of work activity, (iii) the jobshousing balance and land use, (iv) conventional and alternative fuels, and (v) pricing, charges and taxes. This review and assessment is part of an ongoing study funded by the Bureau of Transport and Communication Economics investigating the cost effectiveness of alternative ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in urban areas in Australia. We draw on a number of real experiments to illustrate the types of policies which are likely to have the greatest impact, given the cost implications

Are Labour Markets Necessarily Local? Spatiality, Segmentation and Scale

This paper draws on recent debates about scale to approach the geography of labour markets from a dynamic perspective sensitive to the spatiality and scale of labour market restructuring. Its exploration of labour market reconfigurations after the collapse of a major firm (Ansett Airlines) raises questions about geography’s faith in the inherently ‘local’ constitution of labour markets. Through an examination of the job reallocation process after redundancy, the paper suggests that multiple labour markets use and articulate scale in different ways. It argues that labour market rescaling processes are enacted at the critical moment of recruitment, where social networks, personal aspirations and employer preferences combine to shape workers’ destinations

Statistical characterisation of bio-aerosol background in an urban environment

In this paper we statistically characterise the bio-aerosol background in an urban environment. To do this we measure concentration levels of naturally occurring microbiological material in the atmosphere over a two month period. Naturally occurring bioaerosols can be considered as noise, as they mask the presence of signals coming from biological material of interest (such as an intentionally released biological agent). Analysis of this 'biobackground' was undertaken in the 1-10 um size range and a 3-9% contribution was found to be biological in origin - values which are in good agreement with other studies reported in the literature. A model based on the physics of turbulent mixing and dispersion was developed and validated against this analysis. The Gamma distribution (the basis of our model) is shown to comply with the scaling laws of the concentration moments of our data, which enables us to universally characterise both biological and non-biological material in the atmosphere. An application of this model is proposed to build a framework for the development of novel algorithms for bio-aerosol detection and rapid characterisation.Comment: 14 Pages, 8 Figure

Measuring price elasticities of demand for outbound tourism using competitiveness indices

The real exchange rate (REX) has long been used as the proxy for prices in tourism demand models. However it has limitations, particularly when it comes to models of outbound tourism. As an alternative, a price competitiveness index (PCI) is developed and used as a proxy for prices in a model of outbound tourism from Australia. Results obtained show that while REX is statistically insignificant and yields a price elasticity of −0.002, PCI is significant and generates a price elasticity of −1.07. The results obtained show that PCI outperforms REX as the preferred price variable in modelling outbound demand on both theoretic and empirical grounds. Furthermore, this index can be used to monitor the inter-temporal competitiveness of a destination

Ancillary human health benefits of improved air quality resulting from climate change mitigation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation policies can provide ancillary benefits in terms of short-term improvements in air quality and associated health benefits. Several studies have analyzed the ancillary impacts of GHG policies for a variety of locations, pollutants, and policies. In this paper we review the existing evidence on ancillary health benefits relating to air pollution from various GHG strategies and provide a framework for such analysis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We evaluate techniques used in different stages of such research for estimation of: (1) changes in air pollutant concentrations; (2) avoided adverse health endpoints; and (3) economic valuation of health consequences. The limitations and merits of various methods are examined. Finally, we conclude with recommendations for ancillary benefits analysis and related research gaps in the relevant disciplines.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that to date most assessments have focused their analysis more heavily on one aspect of the framework (e.g., economic analysis). While a wide range of methods was applied to various policies and regions, results from multiple studies provide strong evidence that the short-term public health and economic benefits of ancillary benefits related to GHG mitigation strategies are substantial. Further, results of these analyses are likely to be underestimates because there are a number of important unquantified health and economic endpoints.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Remaining challenges include integrating the understanding of the relative toxicity of particulate matter by components or sources, developing better estimates of public health and environmental impacts on selected sub-populations, and devising new methods for evaluating heretofore unquantified and non-monetized benefits.</p

An examination of the gender gap in smartphone adoption and use in Arab countries:a cross-national study

This is the first research to study gender differences among consumers in a cross-national context in the Middle East: the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan. A conceptual framework was developed by extending the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) further. It was tested among individuals aged 18–29 years using multi-stage cluster sampling. A total sample of around 900 usable responses from both countries were included in the analysis. The factors national IT development, enjoyment, perceived relative advantage, price value and effort expectancy were found to be significant in the model among Arab women in the UAE and Jordan. The study has theoretical, social and policy relating contributions. The study shows how an extended UTAUT2 fits among both genders in a cross-national context. The study is helpful for policymakers who intend to reduce the gender gap in smartphone adoption and use. The advancement of national IT development and the presence of effective policies focusing on women were found important in both countries

Public transport use in Australia’s capital cities: Modelling and forecasting

From the end of the Second World War in 1945 to the late 1970s, Australian urban public transport (UPT) suffered a large decline in absolute terms, and much more in mode share terms, as car ownership and suburban development boomed. This report models UPT in the period from the late 1970s - when the decline in UPT mode share started to bottom out. The aim has been to be able to develop models of UPT that would allow long-term forecasting of UPT demand to be made. These would then be available to inform policy decisions regarding UPT infrastructure planning, urban transport reform, urban form, congestion and road safety. The basic finding of the modelling was that UPT’s share of total passenger travel has been basically flat at about 10 per cent from the late 1970s to 2004. But from 2005 to 2010 the UPT share rose, due to lower UPT fares and constraints on household disposable income. Forecasting using the models reveals that the rapid growth in UPT in the late 2000s is likely to slow. Nevertheless, even with lower growth rates, UPT demand should increase by about one third between 2010 and 2030, with implications for infrastructure provision and other policy issues associated with public transport in our cities