James P. Warren

The effect of economic restrictions on transport practices in Cuba

Like many developing nations, Cuba has undergone--and continues to undergo--a revolution in the way its society lives, works and accesses mobility. However, unlike other developing nations, Cuba is unique in that it has faced enormous pressures for the past forty years due to an economic blockade by its erstwhile dominant trading partner, the United States. Furthermore, this economic pressure was exacerbated in the early 1990s with the political and economic collapse of the Former Soviet Union, and the Eastern European Socialist countries, which had replaced the United States as Cubas principal trading partners. These events have led to a transformation in how goods and people are moved, not least because of a huge reduction in the amount of hard currency available to pay for fuel, vehicles and spare parts. This resulted in a number of innovative behavioural and technological outcomes. Cuba thus provides an enhanced example of how physical, economic and social factors influence the development of transport systems. This unusually severe situation contains lessons for other countries seeking to develop more sustainable transport systems. In particular, the case graphically illustrates the link between economic and transport growth. The paper will outline the development of transport practices in Cuba thus far, look at the options available for the future and draw conclusions on what other countries can learn from the Cuban experience.

Diesel Aftertreatment Systems: 2004-2007, A Cost Assessment

This study assesses the exhaust aftertreatment technologies, and the costs thereof, required to achieve future emissions legislation. Firstly, a brief summary of the types of systems is addressed with a cost of implementation implicitly attached to each system of choice. The three major routes considered to meet the various legislated limits are: a diesel particulate filter coupled with EGR (exhaust gas recirculation), a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system based on urea, and a combination of both a filter and SCR. The systems are reviewed with an emphasis on emissions reduction potential as well as possible diesel fuel savings where applicable. Secondly, the cost implications of using a secondary, water-based fuel (urea) on board diesel vehicles as a basis for NOx reduction via a simple discounted cash flow methodology are explored. By utilising the methodology described, various parameters such as fuel costs (both diesel and urea), annual mileage, fuel economy, and system cost can be varied and examined in detail. The ‘system’ costs are calculated throughout the vehicle life, within a practical framework, in order to assess the feasibility of implementing these advanced aftertreatment systems in the future. Other issues that are briefly considered include quantities of urea predicted to meet the needs of the systems, urea fuel storage and delivery aspects, and potential increase in urea production.

Institutional change for improving accessibility in the design and delivery of distance learning – the role of faculty accessibility specialists at The Open University

The Open University (OU) has an established infrastructure for supporting disabled students. Historically, the thrust of this has focused on providing accessible adjustments post-production. In 2012, the OU implemented securing greater accessibility (SeGA) to raise awareness and bring about an institutional change to curriculum design so that the needs of all students, including disabled students, are taken into account from the outset of module design and production. A core component of SeGA is the introduction of faculty accessibility specialists (AS). This case study discusses the successes and challenges for AS in motivating and supporting production teams in the adoption of inclusive anticipatory practices to make new curriculum accessible. It also outlines the process of reasonable adjustment during presentation. It shows how collaborative working between AS has helped standardise design and production processes for accessibility, principles with wider relevance for supporting disabled students in other higher education institutions.

Transport practices in Amish communities

Car ownership is growing in many countries.While beneficial to individuals in many cases, this trend has often resulted in significant economic, social, and environmental costs to society more generally. In researching possible solutions, one approach is to look at particular areas or communities that exhibit less reliance on the car or are even ‘car free’ to some extent, in order to see if lessons can be learned. Accordingly, this study seeks to define and characterize transport practices in Amish communities—in groups located across the United States and Canada—which for religious reasons have eschewed the car. Specifically, the paper draws on a comprehensive literature and archival review, supplemented with expert interviews, to briefly outline Amish beliefs and traditions, and then relate how these influence people’s mobility by mode, journey purpose, community, and stage of life. The study considers mobility by utilizing twelve broad mobilities as motivations, along with examples applied across six suggested stages of life. The twelve motivations considered are: migration; business / profession; discovery; medical related; military related; post-employment; trailing travel; travel across modes; travel for service work; tourist travel; visiting friends / relatives; and work / commuting. The six life stages are infancy, preschool, scholars, young people, adults, and old folks. The impacts of Amish transport are then considered with respect to society more broadly but also for each of the life stages.

Mapping expert perspectives of the aviation sector

Aviation globally is characterised by significant change and consequently the future of the sector has always been difficult to predict. This study adopts a systemic approach based on findings from exploratory interviews with UK aviation academics to: determine the roles of stakeholders in the air transport system; report the current issues facing the sector; explore how these issues interact and impact on the stakeholders in the system; and speculate on the future implications. Six core stakeholders are identified: airlines, airports, consumers, manufacturers, governing institutions and interest groups. Nine core issues are reported, namely: local environment, climate change, peak oil, the state of the economy, social norms, demographics, disruptive events, national (or international) regulations and capacity. A matrix of interactions and their impacts and implications for managing the aviation system is then presented.

A Review of “Slow travel and tourism”

The concept of slow travel has emerged from a broader “slow” movement, with respect to food (Hall, 2006) and cities (Nilsson, Svard, Widarsson, & Wirell, 2011), and the authors have succeeded in co...

’smart’ Design: Greening the Total Product System

About the book: Since the Rio summit in 1992, the paradigm of corporate environmental responsibility has gradually and consistently extended beyond complying with increasingly stringent environmental regulation and taking up the proactive initiatives of a few world-class companies. Research indicates that the business and financial performance of companies may depend directly on socially and environmentally responsible business practices. Many world-class companies now realize that customers and other stakeholders do not distinguish between a company and its suppliers. As a result, greening the supply chain is an innovative idea which is fast gaining attention in the industry. Greening the Supply Chain is a compilation of important chapters written by a diverse set of international authors which incorporates a broad variety of perspectives. Note: Smart car refers to Smart City coupe and Fortwo, and all terms are registered trademarks of MCC (micro compact car).