Identification of determinants for rescheduling travel mode choice and transportation policies to reduce car use in urban areas

[EN] This paper presents a qualitative analysis about the determinants related to rescheduling travel mode decisions during the activity scheduling process. Notably, we were interested to study changes between intention and behavior. Data used came from an in-depth Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) follow up survey to habitual drivers carried out during the implementation of a panel survey. An interpretative qualitative method based on Analytic Induction was used to cope with the complex nature of rescheduling decisions and the characteristics of the data. The Theory of Planned Behavior has been used to gain a better understanding of the reasons associated with rescheduling travel mode decisions and to obtain a possible explanation of the phenomena studied. In our sample, 12 codes were identified as the main determinants of travel mode changing. Main reasons for rescheduling a travel mode are different considering gender, age, and the type of travel mode change. Main reasons for changing a nonprivate preplanned travel mode to a private travel mode are different considering the type of travel mode preplanned. New determinants of rescheduling decisions different from those associated with other activity scheduling decisions previously identified emerge when analyzing travel mode changes. A number of important sustainable transportation policies to reduce car use in urban areas are derived from the results of this study.This research is partially funded by MINERVA project founded by the ICDCi National Program of Society Challenges of the Spanish Ministerio de Econom ıa, Industria y Competitividad (TRA2015-71184-C2-1-R).Mars, L.; Ruiz Sánchez, T.; Arroyo-López, MR. (2018). Identification of determinants for rescheduling travel mode choice and transportation policies to reduce car use in urban areas. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation. 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/15568318.2017.1416432S11

Exposure to mobile telecommunication networks assessed using personal dosimetry and well-being in children and adolescents: the German MobilEe-study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite the increase of mobile phone use in the last decade and the growing concern whether mobile telecommunication networks adversely affect health and well-being, only few studies have been published that focussed on children and adolescents. Especially children and adolescents are important in the discussion of adverse health effects because of their possibly higher vulnerability to radio frequency electromagnetic fields.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We investigated a possible association between exposure to mobile telecommunication networks and well-being in children and adolescents using personal dosimetry. A population-based sample of 1.498 children and 1.524 adolescents was assembled for the study (response 52%). Participants were randomly selected from the population registries of four Bavarian (South of Germany) cities and towns with different population sizes. During a Computer Assisted Personal Interview data on participants' well-being, socio-demographic characteristics and potential confounder were collected. Acute symptoms were assessed three times during the study day (morning, noon, evening).</p> <p>Using a dosimeter (ESM-140 Maschek Electronics), we obtained an exposure profile over 24 hours for three mobile phone frequency ranges (measurement interval 1 second, limit of determination 0.05 V/m) for each of the participants. Exposure levels over waking hours were summed up and expressed as mean percentage of the ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) reference level.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In comparison to non-participants, parents and adolescents with a higher level of education who possessed a mobile phone and were interested in the topic of possible adverse health effects caused by mobile telecommunication network frequencies were more willing to participate in the study. The median exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields of children and adolescents was 0.18% and 0.19% of the ICNIRP reference level respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In comparison to previous studies this is one of the first to assess the individual level of exposure to mobile telecommunication networks using personal dosimetry, enabling objective assessment of exposure from all sources and longer measurement periods. In total, personal dosimetry was proofed to be a well accepted tool to study exposure to mobile phone frequencies in epidemiologic studies including health effects on children and adolescents.</p

Conduct of a personal radiofrequency electromagnetic field measurement study: proposed study protocol

Background: The development of new wireless communication technologies that emit radio frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) is ongoing, but little is known about the RF-EMF exposure distribution in the general population. Previous attempts to measure personal exposure to RF-EMF have used different measurement protocols and analysis methods making comparisons between exposure situations across different study populations very difficult. As a result, observed differences in exposure levels between study populations may not reflect real exposure differences but may be in part, or wholly due to methodological differences. Methods: The aim of this paper is to develop a study protocol for future personal RF-EMF exposure studies based on experience drawn from previous research. Using the current knowledge base, we propose procedures for the measurement of personal exposure to RF-EMF, data collection, data management and analysis, and methods for the selection and instruction of study participants. Results: We have identified two basic types of personal RF-EMF measurement studies: population surveys and microenvironmental measurements. In the case of a population survey, the unit of observation is the individual and a randomly selected representative sample of the population is needed to obtain reliable results. For microenvironmental measurements, study participants are selected in order to represent typical behaviours in different microenvironments. These two study types require different methods and procedures. Conclusion: Applying our proposed common core procedures in future personal measurement studies will allow direct comparisons of personal RF-EMF exposures in different populations and study areas

Perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness in a Korean context: An indigenous qualitative study

Multinational corporations (MNCs) across the world have sent an increasing number of managers abroad to leverage unprecedented opportunities in the era of globalization. However, their failure rate has been above 33% for decades, resulting in substantial costs (Puck, Kittler, & Wright, 2008). One of the primary reasons for this failure is a lack of understanding of the national and organizational cultures within the host countries (Festing & Maletzky, 2011). For example, while a number of MNCs have entered the Korean market, several such as Yahoo, Motorola, and Walmart have failed and withdrawn due to the companies’ lack of adjustment to the Korean cultural context (Choe, 2006; Woo, 2013). In spite of the significance of culturally embedded practices, most researchers who have explored management and leadership in Asian countries, whether they were Western or indigenous researchers, have implemented studies using extant Western management and leadership theories derived within the Western cultural context (Leung, 2007; Tsui, 2006). Numerous scholars have claimed that this could be problematic because the findings of such studies may not be applicable to non-Western countries (Li, 2012; Liden & Antonakis, 2009), and may fail to provide insights and understanding of novel contexts or to reveal indigenous aspects of management and leadership (Tsui, 2007). Consequently, there have been increasing calls for indigenous management and leadership research within Asian countries (see Li et al., 2014; Lyles, 2009; Tsui, 2004; Wolfgramm, Spiller, & Voyageur, 2014). Over the past 30 years, managerial effectiveness and leadership effectiveness have been substantially neglected areas of management research (Noordegraaf & Stewart, 2000; Yukl, Gordon, & Taber, 2002). In addition, there has been little agreement on what specific behaviors distinguish effective managers from ineffective ones. Furthermore, more research is needed to examine the managerial and leadership behaviors that are critical for shaping the performance of individuals, groups and organizations (see Borman & Brush, 1993; Cammock, Nilakant & Dakin, 1995; Mumford, 2011; Noordegraaf & Stewart, 2000; Yukl et al., 2002). While most of the research related to managerial and leadership effectiveness has been conducted in the U.S., the few notable non-U.S. studies include that of Cammock et al. (1995) in New Zealand who developed a behavioral lay model of managerial effectiveness using the repertory grid technique. Another notable exception is the cumulative series of perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness studies conducted by Hamlin with various indigenous co-researchers in Western and non-Western countries (see Hamlin & Patel, 2012; Ruiz, Wang, & Hamlin, 2013) using Flanagan’s (1954) critical incident technique (CIT)

Toward a Unified Framework of Perceived Negative Leader Behaviors Insights from French and British Educational Sectors

In this paper, we challenge the commonly held assumption that actors in the education sector are largely ethical, and that there is therefore little need to scrutinize leader behaviors in this sector. We also overcome past scholars’ tendencies to either focus selectively on positive leader behaviors, or to stay content with categorizing leader behaviors into effective and ineffective (if at all they do focus on negative leader behaviors). Using data (Critical Incidents) from three case studies previously conducted in eight British and French academic establishments, we show that not only do negative leader behaviors abound in the education sector, but they can also be differentiated into three types: (1) behaviors emanating from leaders’ lack of functional skills i.e., ineffective behaviors, (2) behaviors emanating from leaders’ insouciance toward harming the organization and its members i.e., dysfunctional behaviors, and (3) behaviors emanating from leaders’ lack of honesty, integrity, ethicality, and transparency i.e., unauthentic behaviors. We enrich current understanding on ineffective, dysfunctional, and unauthentic leader behaviors, and offer a unified (yet differentiated) framework of negative leader behaviors in the academic sector. Since each type of negative behavior emanates from different motivational drivers, different measures are required to curb them. These are also discussed. A comparison of our findings with those from leadership studies in other sectors reveals that negative leader behaviors in the education sector are quite similar to those in other sectors

Residential characteristics and radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposures from bedroom measurements in Germany

Breckenkamp J, Blettner M, Schüz J, et al. Residential characteristics and radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposures from bedroom measurements in Germany. Radiation and Environmental Biophysics. 2012;51(1):85-92