Digital Technologies and Collective Transport: Testing microtransits Added Value

This chapter analyses the impact of globalisation on carbon dioxide emissions in the panel data of 13 Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) countries from 1991 to 2012. A panel autoregressive distributed lag (PARDL) methodology was used to decompose the total effects of globalisation on carbon dioxide emissions in short- and long-run components. There is evidence that globalisation contributes to reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the long run. A possible explanation of this result is that the process of globalisation causes technological enhancement in LAC countries, which contributes to a decrease in environmental degradation. However, globalisation has other implications, such as the transfer of responsibility from the state to the private sector, where this transfer corresponds to the shifting of regulatory attributes to independent governmental regulatory authorities, in other words, “regulation for competition”.KeywordsEnergy economicsEconometricsFossil fuelsLatin American and the CaribbeanMacroeconomicsTrade opennessJEL CodesE6F1Q40Q43

The evidence on the effectiveness of youth training programs in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) tends to be encouraging regarding the quality of employment of beneficiaries (positive impacts are observed regarding the access to formal employment), although there is significant heterogeneity across countries and by gender of the beneficiaries. It is not clear how easily one can generalize from the results of an impact evaluation in a particular country. We address the underlying heterogeneity in the characteristics of the beneficiaries of youth training programs in LAC by relying on the individual-level data used in the experimental impact evaluations of three of these programs. We show that we can identify, and characterize, the individuals satisfying a common support condition, i.e. those who are similar across programs. We use non-experimental multiple treatment estimators to eliminate differences across programs, which work better for men than for women. For men satisfying common support (i.e. comparable), who have worse initial conditions than non-comparable individuals, the positive treatment effects on formality disappear for some programs. The results highlight the importance of treatment effect heterogeneity, which may have implications for focalization and program design. They also make explicit the limits to the external validity of each of the experiments, and how difficult is the interpretation of the results from meta-analysis studies. By stressing for which types of individuals it is possible to make comparisons across programs, our study points towards a more nuanced comparison of impact evaluation studies of youth training programs.

The evidence on the effectiveness of youth training programs in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) tends to be encouraging regarding the quality of employment of beneficiaries (positive impacts are observed regarding the access to formal employment), although there is significant heterogeneity across countries and by gender of the beneficiaries. It is not clear how easily one can generalize from the results of an impact evaluation in a particular country. We address the underlying heterogeneity in the characteristics of the beneficiaries of youth training programs in LAC by relying on the individual-level data used in the experimental impact evaluations of three of these programs. We show that we can identify, and characterize, the individuals satisfying a common support condition, i.e. those who are similar across programs. We use non-experimental multiple treatment estimators to eliminate differences across programs, which work better for men than for women. For men satisfying common support (i.e. comparable), who have worse initial conditions than non-comparable individuals, the positive treatment effects on formality disappear for some programs. The results highlight the importance of treatment effect heterogeneity, which may have implications for focalization and program design. They also make explicit the limits to the external validity of each of the experiments, and how difficult is the interpretation of the results from meta-analysis studies. By stressing for which types of individuals it is possible to make comparisons across programs, our study points towards a more nuanced comparison of impact evaluation studies of youth training programs.

Purpose: Persons living with HIV have elevated risks of HPV-related cervical, anogenital, and oropharyngeal cancers. Yet, research on optimization and implementation of prevention interventions (prophylactic HPV vaccination, cervical and anogenital cancer screening and triage, and precancer therapeutics) for HPV-related cancers among persons living with HIV has been limited. With a goal to expand this evidence, and building on strong academic research partnerships developed for HIV research between institutions in the US and the Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) region, the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) initiated ULACNet, a new Cooperative Agreement clinical trials network in 2019. Methods: ULACNet comprises of three Partnership Centers each led by US-based institutions (University of California San Francisco, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center), working collaboratively with US and LAC institutions and with the NCI to develop and conduct multicenter prevention clinical trials focused on filling key scientific gaps and evaluating novel interventions. Results: ULACNet encompasses six countries (US, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Peru, and Dominican Republic), twenty partner institutions, and over 100 collaborating scientific investigators, clinical and public health practitioners, research staff, and patient advocates. ULACNet will collaboratively conduct nine prevention clinical trials (two prophylactic HPV vaccine trials in adults and perinatally-HIV infected adolescents, three trials for clinical validation of molecular biomarkers and imaging technologies for screening and triage, two candidate HPV therapeutic vaccine trials, and two trials of topical therapeutic agents). Facilitation across network partners is achieved via a Coordinating Committee and three Working Groups (focused on HPV testing and screening, precancer treatment, and recruitment and retention activities). Conclusion: ULACNet seeks to leverage established academic global health partnerships to conduct high quality collaborative clinical trials to inform clinical practice and ultimately reduce the burden of highly preventable HPV-related cancers in persons living with HIV worldwide. Citation Format: Emma Brofsky, Margaret House, Brandy Heckman-Stoddard, Mostafa Nokta, Satish Gopal, Vikrant Sahasrabuddhe. Development of International Cancer Research Partnerships Through the NCI US-Latin American-Caribbean HIV/HPV-Cancer Prevention Clinical Trials Network (ULACNet) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 9th Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research; Global Cancer Research and Control: Looking Back and Charting a Path Forward; 2021 Mar 10-11. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2021;30(7 Suppl):Abstract nr 20.

Prelims

Previous research on ride-hailing has focused on the effects that the built environment, demographic variables, and personal attitudes have on the frequency of ride-hailing use, finding that adopters are mainly young and highly educated people with increased levels of technology embracement. Despite that some scholars have shown that the convenience of ride-hailing such as their flexibility and major geographical coverage has led to users to prefer services provided by Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) over public transportation for some trips, there is a lack of research on how perceptions of public transit systems and TNCs can induce ride-hailing usage. In this article we extend the understanding of ride-hailing phenomena by proposing that structural gaps in public transit are key explanatory variables in the uptake and willingness to pay for ride-hailing trips. Building on an international survey in Mexico City, Bogotá, and Medellín, we develop a Structural Equation Model (SEM) incorporating latent variables expressing perceptions people have about features of ride-hailing and vulnerabilities in public transit. Results show that these variables are relevant. We also confirm that educational attainment and income are instrumental for ride-hailing trips, and that technology embracement is the most important variable to distinguish among levels of adoption. Findings inform public policy by focusing on the negative experiences of using public transit and how this could be generating more ride-hailing trips. TNCs are an attractive transport alternative that can fill gaps in public transit systems but that are also benefiting from structural problems in the transit systems.

Public transit has been proven as an affordable travel method, while the inequitable distribution is a rising concern among practitioners and researchers. A transit desert, based on the demand and supply concept in measuring the mismatch in allocating the level of public transit service, has proved its ability to be applied in cases across countries. According to this concept, this study investigated transit deserts in four cases in Europe. Results indicate that the public transit system in Grand Paris and Madrid are superior due to a smaller population living in areas where public transit cannot meet the demand. Moreover, we noticed that the spatial distributions of transit deserts were significantly different, and the public transit accessibility of green spaces in Greater London and Madrid requires attention. These findings prove the potentials of the transit desert concept in generally evaluating and comparing the performance of different regional public transit systems which can guide the public transit investments by regional/cross-national agencies.

Patient education is highly recommended in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to support patient management. The challenge is to adhere to the recommendations for providing health education to RA patients in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) countries taking into account factors such as patient health illiteracy, lack of rheumatologists, and lack of resources including access to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). As existing educational material in regional languages is not readily available and inadequate, we propose developing a web-based educational program that would fulfill the requirements of most patients with RA across LAC countries with an emphasis on the correct and safe use of methotrexate.

Identifying transit deserts for low-income commuters in Wuhan Metropolitan Area, China

Digital development for a progressive networked society

Public transport equity in Shenyang: Using structural equation modelling

Management of crowd information in public transportation (PT) systems is crucial, both to foster sustainable mobility, by increasing the user's comfort and satisfaction during normal operation, as well as to cope with emergency situations, such as pandemic crises, as recently experienced with COVID-19 limitations. This paper presents a taxonomy and review of sensing technologies based on Internet of Things (IoT) for real-time crowd analysis, which can be adopted in the different segments of the PT system (buses/trams/trains, railway/metro stations, and bus/tram stops). To discuss such technologies in a clear systematic perspective, we introduce a reference architecture for crowd management, which employs modern information and communication technologies (ICT) in order to: (i) monitor and predict crowding events; (ii) implement crowd-aware policies for real-time and adaptive operation control in intelligent transportation systems (ITSs); (iii) inform in real-time the users of the crowding status of the PT system, by means of electronic displays installed inside vehicles or at bus/tram stops/stations, and/or by mobile transport applications. It is envisioned that the innovative crowd management functionalities enabled by ICT/IoT sensing technologies can be incrementally implemented as an add-on to state-of-the-art ITS platforms, which are already in use by major PT companies operating in urban areas. Moreover, it is argued that, in this new framework, additional services can be delivered to the passengers, such as, e.g., on-line ticketing, vehicle access control and reservation in severely crowded situations, and evolved crowd-aware route planning.

The aim of this research is to investigate the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in optimization of Public Transportation Systems (PTS), particularly in regard to the productivity and performance enhancement methods. In doing so, this research will ultimately develop a number of PTS enhancement methods to further improve the productivity and performance of such assets. Systematically, while ICT includes all the types of communication devices and systems, PTS can be defined as specific systems that are used to transport the public and are owned by governments. Although, some PTS may be operated by private contractors, generally their assets such as trains, buses and so on, belong to governments. Nevertheless, such infrastructure requires comprehensive and effective ICT to ensure that it operates efficiently. Although, the use of ICT for analogous assets has many advantages such as reduced incident response time; it also possesses disadvantages including increased costs. Accordingly, to further understand and balance such issues, Sydney Metro was examined as the basis of a case study. The analysis of the Sydney Metro verified that, the inclusion of ICT is central in the optimization of PTS, thus leading to its superior productivity and performance.

Every country requires efficient public transportation to reduce the reliance on motor vehicles, decrease harmful emissions and noise pollution, and, most importantly, provide accessible transportation for urban populations with limited resources. Yet, several challenges hinder the efficiency of the public transportation system, affecting factors like daily ridership, infrastructure, revenue, and operations. Therefore, this research investigated barriers and their impact on the daily ridership of rail transit services, especially in densely populated areas characterized by high automobile usage, inadequate pedestrian facilities, and limited connectivity to other transportation modes. To accomplish this goal, a self-administered questionnaire was developed, and a survey was conducted to collect responses from commuters at various public transport hubs. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze data gathered from a sample of 1000 participants. The findings from the SEM model indicated a positive correlation between Instrumental Attractiveness (IA) and Facility Design and Operation (FDO) with daily travel. Conversely, Service and Information (SI) along with Environmental Comfort (EC) exhibited a negative correlation with daily travel. Private sector employees without personal vehicles and a monthly income below fifty thousand exhibited a strong preference for public transport. Individuals with higher incomes who owned vehicles showed lower preferences towards public transport usage. The main contributors to low ridership in public transport included poor connectivity with metro and feeder buses, lack of availability of discount tickets, insufficient seating at stations, and inadequate route map information. Gasoline prices have a notable impact on daily ridership too, as higher fuel prices tend to attract more travelers to use public transport. The ridership data demonstrate a positive trend in response to increased gasoline prices. The findings from this study are useful for transportation engineers, practitioners, planners, and policymakers.

Background: The ubiquity, availability and exponential growth of digital information and communication technology (ICT) creates unique opportunities for learning and teaching in the senior secondary school biology curriculum. Digital technologies make it possible for emerging disciplinary knowledge and understanding of biological processes previously too small, large, slow or fast to be taught. Indeed, much of bioscience can now be effectively taught via digital technology, since its representational and symbolic forms are in digital formats. Purpose: This paper is part of a larger Australian study dealing with the technologies and modalities of learning biology in secondary schools. Sample: The classroom practices of three experienced biology teachers, working in a range of NSW secondary schools, are compared and contrasted to illustrate how the challenges of limited technologies are confronted to seamlessly integrate what is available into a number of molecular genetics lessons to enhance student learning. Design and method: The data are qualitative and the analysis is based on video classroom observations and semi-structured teacher interviews. Results: Findings indicate that if professional development opportunities are provided where the pedagogy of learning and teaching of both the relevant biology and its digital representations are available, then teachers see the immediate pedagogic benefit to student learning. In particular, teachers use ICT for challenging genetic concepts despite limited computer hardware and software availability. Conclusion: Experienced teachers incorporate ICT, however limited, in order to improve the quality of student learning.