Habit discontinuity and travel choices

If travel choices are made habitually in specific contexts, rather than deliberately, then, when these contexts change (e.g. with moving house), do travellers deliberate over travel choices and, perhaps, make changes? This thesis investigates this idea (the Habit Discontinuity Hypothesis: Verplanken, Walker, Davis, & Jurasek, 2008). Key literature was reviewed and some important research questions identified. To obtain rich, descriptive information about these experiences, a purposive sample (N = 29) of commuters were interviewed. Thematic analysis of these accounts identified two principal themes: choice factors (reasons for travel choices) and experience of travel. Neither habitual travel-choices nor habit discontinuities were described. Instead, participants identified familiar journeys (on frequently-travelled routes) as habitual and life- events as leading to travel-choice change only when impacting travel goals. Two studies investigated university-student travel-mode choice before and after they moved from one term-time accommodation to another. In each study, a group whose accommodation changed was compared to another group whose accommodation didn't change. Both studies showed a small association between moving accommodation and changing travel behaviour (to or from walking to the university). This association was statistically mediated by (a) prior planning and (b) living with new housemates. Automaticity also changed amongst movers as anticipated. However, evidence with respect to the role of values, ease/difficulty of change and self-regulation failure/ competing priorities with change was inconclusive. There was also no clear evidence that changes in walking distance with residential relocation accounted for change in walking behaviour with residential relocation. These findings are discussed with respect to the habit discontinuity hypothesis, as well as other interpretations

Habit discontinuity and travel choices

If travel choices are made habitually in specific contexts, rather than deliberately, then, when these contexts change (e.g. with moving house), do travellers deliberate over travel choices and, perhaps, make changes? This thesis investigates this idea (the Habit Discontinuity Hypothesis: Verplanken, Walker, Davis, & Jurasek, 2008). Key literature was reviewed and some important research questions identified. To obtain rich, descriptive information about these experiences, a purposive sample (N = 29) of commuters were interviewed. Thematic analysis of these accounts identified two principal themes: choice factors (reasons for travel choices) and experience of travel. Neither habitual travel-choices nor habit discontinuities were described. Instead, participants identified familiar journeys (on frequently-travelled routes) as habitual and life- events as leading to travel-choice change only when impacting travel goals. Two studies investigated university-student travel-mode choice before and after they moved from one term-time accommodation to another. In each study, a group whose accommodation changed was compared to another group whose accommodation didn't change. Both studies showed a small association between moving accommodation and changing travel behaviour (to or from walking to the university). This association was statistically mediated by (a) prior planning and (b) living with new housemates. Automaticity also changed amongst movers as anticipated. However, evidence with respect to the role of values, ease/difficulty of change and self-regulation failure/ competing priorities with change was inconclusive. There was also no clear evidence that changes in walking distance with residential relocation accounted for change in walking behaviour with residential relocation. These findings are discussed with respect to the habit discontinuity hypothesis, as well as other interpretations

Habit discontinuity and student travel mode choice

Overreliance on motorised travel modes aggravates existing problems of public obesity and global climate change. However, travel mode choices are often habitual, and habits are difficult to break, as automatic responses to stable-contexts learnt through repetition. One approach is to destabilise the stable-contexts that cue travel habits. Such an opportunity could arise when people move-house, so we predicted that the travel mode choices and habits of university students would change, without a behaviour change intervention, when they moved-house between academic terms. University students (N = 250) completed two questionnaires, around 5.5 months apart, between new academic years; 153 students moved-house (“movers”). As predicted when movers changed their travel mode choices, their new choices became more automatic and their old choices less automatic. Mover’s travel changes were planned prior to moving-house, however there was insufficient evidence that either changes in the social context or activated values were related to travel changes. We discuss these findings with respect to acquiring habits and the habit discontinuity and self-activation hypotheses (Verplanken, Walker, Davis, & Jurasek, 2008) and the advantages of student house-hunting as a 'window of opportunity' for establish new travel habits amongst university students

Walking and cycling infrastructure priorities: Qualitative testing of a Best-Worst Scaling experiment.

The built environment plays an important role on individuals’ propensity to walk and cycle and local authorities increasingly invest financial resources towards their development. Organisations managing the built environment have developed auditing tools as guidelines to inspect routes and identify improvements to support active travel. Using several auditing tools, this study developed 21 walking and 25 cycling investment-relevant factors that were embedded into two choice-based survey instruments focusing on walking and cycling, respectively. The study aims to internally validate a preference-based elicitation approach known as Best-Worst Scaling (BWS) aimed to capture pedestrian and cyclist preferences. Preferences directly translate into investment priorities aimed at increasing the rates of walking and cycling. As part of a survey instrument, these experiments will help obtain a ranking (preference) order of the most and least important factors that are likely to encourage people to walk and cycle on a common scale. We report findings on the internal validity of the BWS choice tasks as these were examined via a series of cognitive interviews with 20 participants (10 participants for each experiment). In both sets of interviews, four themes emerged regarding how the participants approached the BWS task and six themes related to the understanding of the factors. The study findings provide insights on how participants perceive BWS experiments, which can improve our large-scale BWS survey and similar studies. Furthermore, the study aims to produce an internally consistent BWS instrument that any local authority can use to determine which walking and cycling infrastructure investments to prioritise

Moving on: greener travel for the UK

Transport is the highest emitting sector in the UK, despite the rise in electric vehicles (EVs). To reduce the number of miles driven by car, we must travel differently, using more public transport, walking and cycling. This move away from cars to other types of transport is known as ‘modal shift’. To achieve this, it is important to understand the intersections of the UK’s transport system, how the public responds to changes in policy and what the costs to the government or the public might be. We worked with academics at the University of Cardiff to build a ‘modal shift model’ which allowed us to experiment with combinations of measures to reduce car miles driven, such as improving public transport or changing speed limits. Its outputs show the impact a mix of policies could have, the cost to the government and users, and the revenue the government might expect to gain. Using this, we developed a set of scenarios, each designed to cut total UK car mileage by 25 per cent. This report showcases alternative transport futures decision makers could opt for to meet climate targets and the considerations to be taken into account when designing modal shift policies

Information sharing preferences within buildings: Benefits of cognitive interviewing for enhancing a discrete choice experiment

To design and operate energy efficient and comfortable buildings it is important to know what the occupants’ preferences for indoor environmental quality would be. These preferences are related to a range of personal characteristics that occupants may or may not be willing to share. Preparing materials for a forthcoming stated preference discrete choice experiment (SPDCE) investigating willingness of building occupants to share information, we conducted cognitive-interview pretesting with 12 participants to find out whether these materials were interpretable and meaningful. Qualitative analysis identified seven important limitations, including misinterpretations and uncertainties arising from language and difficulties imagining the situation and options being described. Most participants expressed some desire for a deeper understanding and were not satisfied with the choices they were asked to make. We discuss how identifying these limitations assisted in refining these SPDCE materials, the potential cognitive interviewing has for enhancing the validity of study materials and the importance of better understanding when researching occupant behaviours

Compensatory and catalysing behavioural beliefs: development and psychometric properties of an instrument for measuring spillover-related perceptions in seven countries

There has been growing research interest in behavioural spillover and its potential for promoting more widespread lifestyle change than has typically been achieved through discrete behavioural interventions. There are some routes by which spillover could take place without conscious attention or explicit recognition of the connections between separate behaviours. However, in many cases it can be expected that the making by an individual of a conceptual association between behaviours, specifically in terms of their compensatory (suppressing further action) or catalysing (promoting further action) properties, is a prerequisite for both negative and positive spillover. Despite this, relatively little research has been carried out to assess the beliefs about spillover processes that may be held by individuals themselves, nor to measure these directly. We develop and evaluate a survey-based instrument for this purpose, doing so in a sample of seven countries worldwide: Brazil, China, Denmark, India, Poland, South Africa, and the UK (approx. 1,000 respondents per country). Our approach allows us to assess the psychometric properties of the spillover measures and to examine their cross-cultural properties, including the relationship between beliefs about behavioural spillover and other key variables such as pro-environmental identity and personal values. We observe higher levels of endorsement of compensatory beliefs than previous research, and even higher levels of endorsement of novel items assessing catalysing beliefs. For the first time, we present evidence of the validity of such measures with respect to comparable constructs, and in relation to people’s consistency across different types of behaviours. We reflect on the implications of considering spillover in the context of people’s subjective beliefs, and offer recommendations for developing this line of research in the broader context of spillover research and within a cross-cultural framework

To what extent do people value sustainable-resourced materials? A choice experiment with cars and mobile phones across six countries

The environmental impacts of material production, processing and consumption are profound and increasing. The aim of this study was to examine the extent at which consumers of diverse products – specifically, cars and mobile phones – valued the sustainability of materials resourced to make them. Using two choice experiments in Germany, India, Japan, Sweden, the UK and the US (total N = 6,033), we found that economic and functional attributes dominated product choice. Respondents placed relatively little or no value on ethically- or sustainably- sourced materials whereas non-conventional (organic) materials were important only in some countries. The overall low average scores of self-reported knowledge (4.8 for cars and 4.7 for mobile phones; score range 1–10) and salience about the sustainability of vehicles and phones (5.7 for cars and 4.9 for mobile phones) were partially consistent with this relatively limited influence of the sustainable materials on product preferences. Findings showed considerable cross-national differences in consumer knowledge, preferences and willingness to pay. For example, respondents from all countries except the US placed a significantly positive value on cars made of ethically-sourced-organic materials with marginal willingness to pay values ranging from a minimum of €1,951 in Germany up to a maximum of €4,524 in the UK. In the case of mobile phones, respondents placed both positive and negative values against alternative materials relative to conventional materials, which was the reference case. Also, there was disparity between self-reported sustainability knowledge/concerns and experimental product choices. Policymakers should consider further economic and/or education measures to facilitate consumer demand for products made of sustainable-materials

Indigenous crop diversity maintained despite the introduction of major global crops in an African centre of agrobiodiversity

Societal Impact Statement The global success and expansion of a small pool of major crops, including rice, wheat and maize, risks homogenising global agriculture. Focusing on the agriculturally diverse Ethiopian Highlands, this study tested whether farm diversity tends to be lower among farmers who grow more introduced crops. Surprisingly, it was found that farmers have successfully integrated introduced crops, resulting in more diverse and heterogenous farms without negatively impacting indigenous crop diversity. This is encouraging because diverse farms, comprising indigenous agricultural systems supplemented by introduced crops, may help address global challenges such as food insecurity. Summary The global expansion of a handful of major crops risks eroding indigenous crop diversity and homogenising agroecosystems, with significant consequences for sustainable and resilient food systems. Here, we investigate the farm-scale impact of introduced crops on indigenous agroecosystems. We surveyed 1369 subsistence farms stratified across climate gradients in the Ethiopian Highlands, a hotspot of agrobiodiversity, to characterise the richness and cultivated area of the 83 edible crops they contained. We further categorise these crops as being indigenous to Ethiopia, or introduced across three different eras. We apply non-metric multidimensional scaling and mixed effects modelling to characterise agroecosystem composition across farms with different proportions of introduced crops. Crops from different periods do not differ significantly in frequency or abundance across farms. Among geographically matched pairs of farms, those with higher proportions of modern introduced crops had significantly higher overall crop richness. Furthermore, farms with a high proportion of modern introduced crops showed higher heterogeneity in crop composition. An analysis of socio-economic drivers indicated that poverty is negatively associated with the cultivated area of introduced crops. In our Ethiopian case study, global patterns of major crop expansion are not necessarily associated with agrobiodiversity loss at the farm scale or higher homogeneity across indigenous agricultural systems. Importantly, socioeconomic factors may influence farmers' propensity to adopt novel species, suggesting targets for agricultural extension policies. Given the rapid climatic, economic and demographic changes impacting global food systems and the threats to food security these entail, robust indigenous agricultural systems enriched with diverse introduced crops may help maintain resilience

A novel formulation of inhaled sodium cromoglicate (PA101) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and chronic cough: a randomised, double-blind, proof-of-concept, phase 2 trial

Background Cough can be a debilitating symptom of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and is difficult to treat. PA101 is a novel formulation of sodium cromoglicate delivered via a high-efficiency eFlow nebuliser that achieves significantly higher drug deposition in the lung compared with the existing formulations. We aimed to test the efficacy and safety of inhaled PA101 in patients with IPF and chronic cough and, to explore the antitussive mechanism of PA101, patients with chronic idiopathic cough (CIC) were also studied. Methods This pilot, proof-of-concept study consisted of a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in patients with IPF and chronic cough and a parallel study of similar design in patients with CIC. Participants with IPF and chronic cough recruited from seven centres in the UK and the Netherlands were randomly assigned (1:1, using a computer-generated randomisation schedule) by site staff to receive PA101 (40 mg) or matching placebo three times a day via oral inhalation for 2 weeks, followed by a 2 week washout, and then crossed over to the other arm. Study participants, investigators, study staff, and the sponsor were masked to group assignment until all participants had completed the study. The primary efficacy endpoint was change from baseline in objective daytime cough frequency (from 24 h acoustic recording, Leicester Cough Monitor). The primary efficacy analysis included all participants who received at least one dose of study drug and had at least one post-baseline efficacy measurement. Safety analysis included all those who took at least one dose of study drug. In the second cohort, participants with CIC were randomly assigned in a study across four centres with similar design and endpoints. The study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02412020) and the EU Clinical Trials Register (EudraCT Number 2014-004025-40) and both cohorts are closed to new participants. Findings Between Feb 13, 2015, and Feb 2, 2016, 24 participants with IPF were randomly assigned to treatment groups. 28 participants with CIC were enrolled during the same period and 27 received study treatment. In patients with IPF, PA101 reduced daytime cough frequency by 31·1% at day 14 compared with placebo; daytime cough frequency decreased from a mean 55 (SD 55) coughs per h at baseline to 39 (29) coughs per h at day 14 following treatment with PA101, versus 51 (37) coughs per h at baseline to 52 (40) cough per h following placebo treatment (ratio of least-squares [LS] means 0·67, 95% CI 0·48–0·94, p=0·0241). By contrast, no treatment benefit for PA101 was observed in the CIC cohort; mean reduction of daytime cough frequency at day 14 for PA101 adjusted for placebo was 6·2% (ratio of LS means 1·27, 0·78–2·06, p=0·31). PA101 was well tolerated in both cohorts. The incidence of adverse events was similar between PA101 and placebo treatments, most adverse events were mild in severity, and no severe adverse events or serious adverse events were reported. Interpretation This study suggests that the mechanism of cough in IPF might be disease specific. Inhaled PA101 could be a treatment option for chronic cough in patients with IPF and warrants further investigation