Evaluation of the potential modal shift induced by the use of a real time multimodal navigator: psycho-social study of travel behaviour and attitude.

Our modern world, and its relative stability, is facing two major threats. The first one is the depletion of fossil fuels resources that feed millions of trucks and boat worldwide, carrying goods from one side of the planet to another. The second one is climate change which, if not limited, will provoke drastically changes to our known environment. One way, that may be the most efficient, to mitigate both threats is to pull people out of their cars, and, to this end, The European White Paper (2011) on transport highlights the essential role of ITS. Today, many cities have deployed multimodal real-time information systems, but few have assessed the impacts of those systems on traveller behaviour. This global context guided the investigation made in the present thesis: in order to analyse potential modal shift induced by the introduction of multimodal navigators, we had to understand psychological factors of decision making. Chapter 1 proposed an extensive review of the current knowledge and state of the art of social psychology as applied in pro-environmental behaviours. We understood some concepts, highlighted some theoretical and methodological flaws that led us to use, though restrictively, some old-fashioned concept of attitude together with some – insufficiently recognised – powerful methodological tools that constitutes the IRT. The objective of this thesis was twofold: 1) assessing the validity of a general attitude measures, in the sense of Campbell and understanding if the generally adopted measure of attitude is compelling within traditional frameworks derived from social psychology theories; 2) make use of psychological determinants influencing modal choice to highlight which segment of the population is more likely to perform a modal shift from cars to public transport or soft modes. To this end, the research was divided in three methodological step: 1) fitting a Rasch model on the General Ecological Behaviour in order to obtain a valid measure of the attitude toward the environment; 2) psycho-social correlational model comparison using Structural Equation Modelling in order to extract the most determining factors behind decision making; 3) a psycho-social based segmentation of ATIS potential users, that would help in identifying the potentiality of ATIS in inducing a modal shift. This research contributed, firstly, in gathering evidence that a wider use of IRT for psychological measurement may be a benefit for the scientific community. Secondly, some newly developed psychological constructs, based on specific values, have been shown to have a significant influence on travel behaviour. We hope that this contribution will allow some other use of specific values and innovative factors research. Finally, we suggest that up to 10% of our sample population may be induced toward a greener urban mobility. As the Opticities research project - within which this thesis has been conducted - is still ongoing, further investigation will be made in the near future. The analysis of in-itinere and ex-post dataset will allow us to understand whether or not people have modified their mobility patterns using the multimodal navigator TUeTO

Engaging in pro-environment travel behaviour research from a psycho-social perspective: A review of behavioural variables and theories

This paper aims to review variables and behavioural theories originating from social and environmental psychology as applied to transport research, to better understand decision-making mechanisms, information processing and modal choice. The first section provides an overview of the main psycho-social variables which explain behaviour and, notably, pro-environment behaviour. The analysis shows the relations among variables, highlighting some potential cause-effect mechanism or, at least, the influence that such variables can have on behaviour. Furthermore,the strengths and weaknesses of using psycho-social variables to predict travel behaviour are discussed. Such analysis feeds the section related to the behavioural theories. These are reviewed with a focus on potential application to transport sector, showing the would-be added value of introducing a socio-psychological approach in the current vision, focused on stochastic models based on maximisation of personal utility. To this end, attention is paid to the data collection andanalysis, basic for any models and even more challenging to collect when they deal with personal characteristics of individuals. Finally, the concept of attitude and intention is discussed, opening the doors between disciplines to overcome the attitude-behaviour gap

Case study on effects of the mandatory validation on bus commercial speed

The paper aims to define the new operational requirements and procedures to allow the Gruppo Torinese Trasporti (Torino public transport company) to implement mandatory validation without negative impacts on both the company and the users. To this end, a four-step methodology has been put forward: a) choice of the reference route; b) sampling plan and data collection; c) data analysis design and model specification and d) definition and analysis of future scenarios. Attained results show an increase of commercial speed from 1.5% to 14.5%, and an increase of the proportion of total dwell time on total trip time from 1 to 13 points. The most unfavourable situation for the company would be banning people from boarding the bus/tram through any door (the case today). Indeed, it would require an increase of trips in the morning peak hour in order to maintain the same time interval at bus stops. However, the impact on passengers’ travel time is non negligible since total vehicle trip time shows a rise of up to 10 minutes during weekends shifts (from 62 minutes in the current situation to 72 minutes for the worst case scenario). Thus, the present system limits the outcomes negatively for the users in terms of waiting time. However, a change could lead to such positive consequences as fuller passenger cooperation to validate tickets/passes and a more ordered boarding, thus reducing fraud and improving the image of the company

Case study on effects of the mandatory validation on bus commercial speed

The paper aims to define the new operational requirements and procedures to allow the Gruppo Torinese Trasporti (Torino public transport company) to implement mandatory validation without negative impacts on both the company and the users. To this end, a four-step methodology has been put forward: a) choice of the reference route; b) sampling plan and data collection; c) data analysis design and model specification and d) definition and analysis of future scenarios. Attained results show an increase of commercial speed from 1.5% to 14.5%, and an increase of the proportion of total dwell time on total trip time from 1 to 13 points. The most unfavourable situation for the company would be banning people from boarding the bus/tram through any door (the case today). Indeed, it would require an increase of trips in the morning peak hour in order to maintain the same time interval at bus stops. However, the impact on passengers’ travel time is non negligible since total vehicle trip time shows a rise of up to 10 minutes during weekends shifts (from 62 minutes in the current situation to 72 minutes for the worst case scenario). Thus, the present system limits the outcomes negatively for the users in terms of waiting time. However, a change could lead to such positive consequences as fuller passenger cooperation to validate tickets/passes and a more ordered boarding, thus reducing fraud and improving the image of the company

Repetitive Exposure to Bacteriophage Cocktails against Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Escherichia coli Provokes Marginal Humoral Immunity in Naïve Mice

Phage therapy of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is of great interest due to the rising incidence of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens. However, natural or therapy-induced immunity against therapeutic phages remains a potential concern. In this study, we investigated the innate and adaptive immune responses to two different phage cocktails targeting either Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Escherichia coli—two VAP-associated pathogens—in naïve mice without the confounding effects of a bacterial infection. Active or UV-inactivated phage cocktails or buffers were injected intraperitoneally daily for 7 days in C57BL/6J wild-type mice. Blood cell analysis, flow cytometry analysis, assessment of phage distribution and histopathological analysis of spleens were performed at 6 h, 10 days and 21 days after treatment start. Phages reached the lungs and although the phage cocktails were slightly immunogenic, phage injections were well tolerated without obvious adverse effects. No signs of activation of innate or adaptive immune cells were observed; however, both active phage cocktails elicited a minimal humoral response with secretion of phage-specific antibodies. Our findings show that even repetitive injections lead only to a minimal innate and adaptive immune response in naïve mice and suggest that systemic phage treatment is thus potentially suitable for treating bacterial lung infections

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Validation of a unidimensional and probabilistic measurement scale for pro-environmental behaviour by travellers

International audienceIn the current debate, ecological themes have become a key element that can influence public policy, as recent events involving green activist groups have shown. Public policies targeted to education, along with focused advertising, can strongly influence people’s beliefs and their emotional reactions. Understanding individual behavioural responses is therefore of the utmost importance for policy makers wishing to encourage more sustainable mobility. They could be greatly assisted by an effective measure of ecological behaviour giving them a better understanding of the determinants of travel behaviour, enabling them to analyse the impact of adopted policies. Ideally, such a measure should be simple to use, and it should be usable across different cultural and geographical contexts so as to allow comparisons between different countries. This paper seeks to determine whether the General Ecological Behaviour (GEB) questionnaire—as a dichotomous multi-items Rasch scale for ecological behaviour measurement—is valid for use in a different cultural context. We refer to the relevant literature, and we describe our approach in detail so that it may easily be adopted by interested practitioners. The research was done in the metropolitan area of Torino (Italy), where a multimodal real-time smartphone application to assist travellers and encourage them towards more sustainable mobility was being developed and trialled. Within this framework, an investigation was done into the pro-environmental behaviour of the participants in the app trial. Our aim was to determine whether a general pro-environmental attitude can legitimately be assessed using Item Response Theory and, notably, the Rasch model. Results suggest that, using an Item Response Theory model, GEB is a questionnaire that is able to effectively measure pro-environmental behaviour by travellers. There are no discrepancies between pro-social behaviour (a trait that is known to correlate with environmentally friendly attitudes and that the GEB questionnaire seeks to measure) and actual environmentally friendly behaviour; one-dimensionality, item reliability, and the absence of simple differential item functioning are all good indicators of a model that functions well. GEB has shown its potential in providing an understanding of people’s attitudes towards environmental issues and of how this information might be used to better tailor public policies in a number of sectors, in particular transport

Smart Card Data Mining to Analyze Mobility Patterns in Suburban Areas

This paper aims to define an algorithm capable of building the origin-destination matrix from check-in data collected in the extra-urban area of Torino, Italy, where thousands of people commute every day, using smart cards to validate their travel documents while boarding. To this end, the methodological approach relied on a survey over three months to record smart-card validations. Peak and off-peak periods have been defined according to validation frequency. Then, the origin-destination matrix has been estimated using the time interval between two validations to outline the different legs of the journey. Finally, transport demand has been matched with existing bus services, showing which areas were not adequately covered by public transport. The results of this research could assist public transport operators and local authorities in the design of a more suitable transport supply and mobility services in accordance with user needs. Indeed, tailoring public transport to user needs attracts both more customers and latent demand, reducing reliance on cars and making transport more sustainable

Effects of the mandatory validation on bus commercial speed: case study in Torino (Italy)

to all PT subscribers to validate their ticket and pass when they board a bus/tram (already mandatory for metro). Such law entails relevant changes both for users, who had to internalise this new habit, and for GTT (public transport company operating in Torino), that had to face several operational and technical issues. The paper aims at defining the new operational requirements and procedures to allow GTT to implement the mandatory validation without negative impacts on both the company and the users. To this end, a four-step methodology has been put forward: a) choice of the reference route and trips sampling; b) data acquisition; c) boarding times analysis and d) future scenarios definition. Attained results show that the most unfavourable situation for the company is banning people from boarding the bus/tram through any door as is the case today (scenario 2). In fact, requiring the boarding/alighting through only one door would require an increase of trips in the morning peak hour, to maintain the same time interval at bus stops, thus limiting the negative outcomes for the users in terms of waiting time. However, such change could lead to positive consequences, namely the induction to validate tickets and passes and a more ordered boarding, thus reducing the number of people not paying the ticket and improving the image of the company