Trains, Twitter and the social licence to operate: An analysis of Twitter use by train operating companies in the United Kingdom

Social media has become a platform for passenger train operating companies to share information and engage with their customers. Twitter, in particular, is used by operators to provide live service updates and engage with their customers. A gap in the literature exists regarding the concept of the social license to operate, where organisations engage with stakeholders to gain legitimacy of their operations, within the transportation industry. Further, there is a lack of literature on the use of social media by private train operating companies. This article fills a gap in the literature regarding the use of Twitter by private passenger train operating companies and use of this social media platform for obtaining a social license to operate from customers. Therefore, the aim of this research is to understand how the functions of Twitter use by private train operating companies in the United Kingdom can serve as a means to obtain a social license to operate through an analysis of their Twitter accounts, tweets, and policies. The findings indicate 1) that Twitter is primarily a tool for communication and engagement with their customers; 2) as Twitter functions evolved, providing customer service has become a key function; and 3) the key elements of the social license to operate: legitimacy, credibility, and trust; can be obtained through customer engagement using Twitter

Train tweets and the social licence to operate: Exploring stakeholder engagement through the use of Twitter by train operating companies in the United Kingdom

This thesis provides an examination of the social media platform Twitter and its use by private train operating companies in the United Kingdom. The relationship between the operator and its stakeholders is central to the use of Twitter by these operators. Despite Twitter being widely adopted by public transport operators, there is a lack of understanding of the motivations and uses of Twitter in the context of private train operating companies. Literature on the use of Twitter by public transport operators has focused on the functions of Twitter, content analysis of Twitter user tweets, the collection of data through Twitter, and message framing for tweets. A gap in the literature exists, however, in examining Twitter stakeholder engagement by private train operating companies, particularly from the perspectives of the operator’s staff tasked with managing their Twitter accounts. To better understand the use of Twitter by private train operators, an analysis was conducted using the theoretical framework of the social licence to operate, focusing on how Twitter is used as a stakeholder engagement tool to gain legitimacy, credibility, and trust from the operator’s stakeholders. The aim of this research was to examine the extent to which the use of Twitter by train operating companies in the United Kingdom reflects the social licence to operate. As such, this study was broken down into four objectives: 1) To analyse the Twitter accounts, tweets, and policies of train operating companies in the UK to understand the ways in which Twitter may be used as a means to obtain a social licence to operate; 2) To examine the social licence to operate in the context of UK railway regulatory requirements and Twitter use by train operating companies; 3) To explore the motivation for using Twitter through the perspectives of staff managing rail operator Twitter accounts; and 4) To explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the use of train operating company Twitter use to obtain a social licence to operate. This study was conducted through an analysis of rail operator’s Twitter accounts, policies, regulations, and through a content analysis of their tweets. Semi-structured interviews with Twitter staff from franchise and open access operators were conducted to understand the motivations and policies from the perspectives of staff managing their Twitter accounts. From these objectives, four main findings emerged: 1) This study found evidence that the aspects of the social licence to operate are reflected in the use of Twitter; 2) This study shows the evolution of Twitter use from a mainly information sharing platform to one where customer service functions are offered, reflecting the finding that operators use Twitter as a tool for their customers, rather than a wider set of stakeholders; 3) The study found a lack of regulatory requirements for Twitter use and that the addition of Twitter as a committed obligation in franchise agreements, in the absence of regulations, was included as a means to set measurable requirements for operators; and 4) This study found that train operating companies used Twitter to engage with the wider community during the COVID-19 pandemic instead of only with their customers. This thesis offers recommendations for policy and practice for operators to take full advantage of Twitter’s functions in obtaining a social licence to operate. These recommendations include the establishment of regulatory guidance for Twitter use by train operating companies, a coordination of policies and practices across the rail industry, and expanding stakeholder engagement to include the community rather than focused solely on customers

Mitochondrial ROS production correlates with, but does not directly regulate lifespan in drosophila

The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging (MFRTA) is currently one of the most widely accepted theories used to explain aging. From MFRTA three basic predictions can be made: long-lived individuals or species should produce fewer mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species (mtROS) than short-lived individuals or species; a decrease in mtROS production will increase lifespan; and an increase in mtROS production will decrease lifespan. It is possible to add a further fourth prediction: if ROS is controlling longevity separating these parameters through selection would be impossible. These predictions have been tested in Drosophila melanogaster. Firstly, we studied levels of mtROS production and lifespan of three wild-type strains of Drosophila, Oregon R, Canton S and Dahomey. Oregon R flies live the longest and produce significantly fewer mtROS than both Canton S and Dahomey. These results are therefore in accordance with the first prediction. A new transgenic Drosophila model expressing the Ciona intestinalis Alternative Oxidase (AOX) was used to test the second prediction. In fungi and plants, AOX expression regulates both free radical production and lifespan. In Drosophila, AOX expression decreases mtROS production, but does not increase lifespan. This result contradicts the second prediction of MFRTA. The third prediction was tested in flies mutant for the gene dj-1β. These flies are characterized by an age-associated decline in locomotor function and increased levels of mtROS production. Nevertheless, dj-1β mutant flies do not display decreased lifespan, which again is in contradiction with MFRTA. In our final experiment we utilized flies with DAH mitochondrial DNA in an OR nuclear background, and OR mitochondrial DNA in DAH nuclear background. From this, Mitochondrial DNA does not control free radical production, but it does determine longevity of females independently of mtROS production. In summary, these results do not systematically support the predictions of the MFRTA. Accordingly, MFRTA should be revised to accommodate these findings

A mutli-technique search for the most primitive CO chondrites

As part of a study to identify the most primitive COs and to look for weakly altered CMs amongst the COs, we have conducted a multi-technique study of 16 Antarctic meteorites that had been classified as primitive COs. For this study, we have determined: (1) the bulk H, C and N abundances and isotopes, (2) bulk O isotopic compositions, (3) bulk modal mineralogies, and (4) for some selected samples the abundances and compositions of their insoluble organic matter (IOM). Two of the 16 meteorites do appear to be CMs – BUC 10943 seems to be a fairly typical CM, while MIL 090073 has probably been heated. Of the COs, DOM 08006 appears to be the most primitive CO identified to date and is quite distinct from the other members of its pairing group. The other COs fall into two groups that are less primitive than DOM 08006 and ALH 77307, the previously most primitive CO. The first group is composed of members of the DOM 08004 pairing group, except DOM 08006. The second group is composed of meteorites belonging to the MIL 03377 and MIL 07099 pairing groups. These two pairing groups should probably be combined. There is a dichotomy in the bulk O isotopes between the primitive (all Antarctic finds) and the more metamorphosed COs (mostly falls). This dichotomy can only partly be explained by the terrestrial weathering experienced by the primitive Antarctic samples. It seems that the more equilibrated samples interacted to a greater extent with 16O-poor material, probably water, than the more primitive meteorites

Rapid accelerations of Antarctic Peninsula outlet glaciers driven by surface melt

Atmospheric warming is increasing surface melting across the Antarctic Peninsula, with unknown impacts upon glacier dynamics at the ice-bed interface. Using high-resolution satellite-derived ice velocity data, optical satellite imagery and regional climate modelling, we show that drainage of surface meltwater to the bed of outlet glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula occurs and triggers rapid ice flow accelerations (up to 100% greater than the annual mean). This provides a mechanism for this sector of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to respond rapidly to atmospheric warming. We infer that delivery of water to the bed transiently increases basal water pressure, enhancing basal motion, but efficient evacuation subsequently reduces water pressure causing ice deceleration. Currently, melt events are sporadic, so efficient subglacial drainage cannot be maintained, resulting in multiple short-lived (< 6 day) ice flow perturbations. Future increases in meltwater could induce a shift in glacier dynamic regime, characterised by seasonal-scale ice flow variations

Higher-level goals in the processing of human action events

The concept of a goal critically separates dynamic events involving humans from other events. Human behaviours are motivated by goals, which are known to the actor but typically inferred on the part of the observer. Goals can be hierarchical in nature, such that a collection of sub-goals (e.g., getting a mug, boiling water) can be nested under a higher-level goal (e.g., making tea), which can be further nested under an even higher-level goal (e.g., making breakfast). The diverse set of talks in this symposia all highlight the foundational role that goals play in action processing and representation. Eisenberg et al. detail how online prediction of others’ goals shapes observers’ sampling of information during action observation. Howard and Woodward provide evidence that children’s memory for non-human events can be facilitated by priming children with their own goal-directed actions. Loucks and Meltzoff highlight the importance of goal structure in children’s memory for complex action sequences. Finally, Cooper presents a computational model to explain the emergence of goal-directed action hierarchies

Evaluation of 19 autoimmune disease-associated loci with rheumatoid arthritis in a Colombian population: Evidence for replication and gene-gene interaction

Objective. Recent studies have identified several common genes associated with multiple autoimmune diseases that support the hypothesis of the presence of shared or general autoimmunity genes. However, most of this work has been performed in populations of white origin. The main objectives of this study are to replicate the genotype-phenotype correlation between 19 such variants and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to evaluate gene-gene interactions between these genes in individuals from an ethnically homogenous nonwhite Colombian population. Methods. Nineteen single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) from 16 genes/loci were genotyped in 353 RA cases and 368 controls. For each SNP, allelic and genotype-based association tests were applied to evaluate genotype-phenotype correlation. Permutation-based tests were used to validate the statistical significance. Gene-gene interactions were assessed by logistic regression. Results. We replicated the genetic association with rs13277113 (p = 0.0009, OR 1.46) and rs2736340 (p = 0.0001, OR 1.63) from C8orf13-BLK (8p23.1, associated with RA and systemic lupus erythematosus), and rs763361 (p = 0.03) from CD226 (18q22.3, associated with multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes) in the Colombian population. The population-attributable risks were estimated as 27%, 34%, and 16% for rs13277113, rs2736340, and rs763361, respectively. We also detected evidence for gene-gene interaction between SNP in MMEL1 (rs3890745) and C80rf13-BLK (rs13277113; p = 0.0002). Conclusion. Our results demonstrate that the IL2/IL21 region, C8orf13-BLK, and CD226 influence RA in Colombians, and RA shares some of the pathogenic mechanisms associated with other autoimmune diseases. The Journal of Rheumatology Copyright © 2011. All rights reserved