Improved motif identification of activity sequences : application to interactive computer experiment data

\u3cp\u3eThis paper reports the main findings of a study conducted to improve the applicability of motif search to identify segments in activity-travel sequences. The improvement concerns the provision of a statistical criterion of identifying motifs as the key structural information of activity sequencing and simultaneous decisions of activity implementation. The suggested approach is applied to the data, originally collected using the interactive computerized procedure MAGIC to estimate the Simulation Model of Activity Scheduling Heuristics (SMASH) model. The results of the application illustrate that the suggested motif search method depicts the key structural information of activity patterns of a group and distinguishes among different patterns. The paper details the findings and ends with conclusions and a discussion.\u3c/p\u3

Understanding activity scheduling and rescheduling behaviour : theory and numerical illustration

No abstrac

Vacation behavior using a sequence alignment method

The classification and analysis of tourists continues to be an important research theme. Existing typologies are typically based on cross-sectional information of tourists' choice behavior. Consequently, the sequential data embedded in vacation histories is not explicitly considered when developing a typology of vacation behavior. The purpose of this paper is to suggest the use of sequence alignment methods to derive such a typology, incorporating the embedded sequential information. The quintessence of sequence alignment methods is explained and the results of an application to Dutch vacation history data are reported

Relative Predictive Ability

No abstract

New activity diary format : design and limited empirical evidence

The results of a project conducted to compare and evaluate a new activity diary design with two more-traditional diary formats are discussed. The project was conducted as part of a research program involving several research groups in the Netherlands. The design of a stage-based diary, a day-planner format, and a new format representing a combination of the stage-based and day-planner formats is reported. Some small-scale qualitative and quantitative analyses were carried out on the basis of a pilot survey. The three formats were evaluated on their trip-reporting rates, rounding of time, missing activities, and overlapping begin and end times. Respondents were asked about their experiences with reporting trips and activities and their overall impressions of the formats. The advantages and disadvantages of each alternative format are discussed, and some conclusions about design criteria are drawn