Automobile drivers’ willingness to pay for moving violation behaviour—Compared to motorcyclists

A triple-bounded dichotomous choice (TBDC) structure and Spike models are applied to investigate the amount of money Taiwan automobile drivers are willing to pay for five types of moving violations, including local street speeding, expressway and freeway speeding, red light running, right turn on red, and drink-driving. Face-to-face survey was conducted at freeway rest areas by targeting passenger car drivers. The Spike model, superior to other tradition models by capturing excessive zero responses, is applied and the estimated results show that speeders would accept willingness to pay (WTP) of US$37 and US$48,¹ respectively, for local roads and expressways and highways, while red-light runners would accept a WTP of US$44, drivers who turn right on red would accept a lower WTP of US$9, and drunk drivers will accept a WTP as high as US$597. Interestingly, the difference in WTP for drunk driving between drivers and motorcyclists is significant, while others are not.     

The willingness to pay of parties to traffic accidents for loss of productivity and consolation compensation

In this study, willingness to pay (WTP) for loss of productivity and consolation compensation by parties to traffic accidents is investigated using the Tobit model. In addition, WTP is compared to compensation determined by Taiwanese courts. The modelling results showed that variables such as education, average individual monthly income, traffic accident history, past experience of severe traffic accident injuries, the number of working days lost due to a traffic accident, past experience of accepting compensation for traffic accident-caused productivity loss and past experience of accepting consolation compensation caused by traffic accidents have a positive impact on WTP. In addition, average WTP for these two accident costs were obtained. We found that parties to traffic accidents were willing to pay more than 90% of the compensation determined by the court in the scenario of minor and moderate injuries. Parties were willing to pay approximately 80% of the compensation determined by the court for severe injuries, disability and fatality. Therefore, related agencies can use our study findings as the basis for determining the compensation that parties should pay for productivity losses caused by traffic accidents of different types.     

The amount of consolation compensation in road traffic accidents

This study aimed to investigate the amount of consolation compensation that road accident perpetrators were willing to pay victims. It used 2010 statistics for general road accidents from Taiwan's National Police Agency (NPA) for further sampling and to mail questionnaires. In investigating consolation compensation, the framework of the contingent valuation method was used, and the data were collected through the design of different scenarios. In this study, five injury levels were designed to further analyse the consolation compensation price the perpetrators were willing to pay: minor injury, moderate injury, serious injury, disability, and death. The results revealed the price that many perpetrators were willing to pay was zero; however, we overcame this issue by using the Spike model. The estimated results showed that road accident perpetrators were willing to pay more consolation compensation with increased injury severity.     

Emotions and caring mediate the relationship between knowledge of sustainability and willingness to pay for greener aviation

Sustainable initiatives continue to be a major focus of worldwide industries, and this has also become relevant within the aviation industry. As the move to incorporate and switch to sustainable practices increases, the question becomes whether passengers will be willing to pay more for sustainable aviation. Building upon prior research, the purpose of the current study was to identify which factors act as significant mediators between a participant's general knowledge of sustainability, their aviation-specific knowledge of sustainability, and their willingness to pay for greener aviation. Two significant mediators, caring and happiness, were found to explain the relationship between both independent variables and willingness to pay. These findings support the idea that the relationship felt toward sustainability is one that is largely connected through and explained by emotions and how much people care about sustainability. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and the practical applications of these results.     

Willingness to pay for road safety and estimates of the risk of death: evidence from a Swedish contingent valuation study

We examine how WTP for a reduction in road-mortality risk varies with different individual characteristics and how subjective mortality-risk estimates differ from objective (statistical) mortality-risk values. Using data from a Swedish contingent valuation study, we find some support that WTP declines with age and background risk, but we find no support that WTP varies with health status. Further, we find that respondents underassess their own mortality risks, both road- and total-mortality risks, compared to the objective risk measures for Sweden at the time of the survey.     

Effects of technology dissemination approaches on agricultural technology uptake and utilization in Northern Ghana

Agricultural productivity growth is considered a key pathway to resolving poverty and food insecurity issues in developing Africa. One such pathway to improving agricultural productivity depends on technology uptake and utilization. A critical binding constraint to technology uptake and utilization is the mode of disseminating improved agricultural technologies. The selected methods of disseminating agricultural technologies to farmers are known to influence the replicative effect on productivity enhancement among target and non-target farmers. Based on activities conducted by the Agriculture Technology Transfer Project in Northern Ghana between 2017 and 2018, this paper assesses how multiple dissemination methods influenced technology uptake and utilization by farmers. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to collect data from 1009 farmers from the (former) three northern regions, and count data and binary regression methods were further applied to assess the effects of the various dissemination approaches on technology uptake and utilization. Results indicate that a well-designed combination of technology dissemination approaches would be most effective and has adoption potential in Northern Ghana. Lessons from this activity may also be effective in promoting productivity-enhancing technology uptake in similar agricultural communities elsewhere.     

Attitude toward 5G: The moderating effect of regulatory focus

Although the 5G market is expected to be vast, consumers remain concerned about privacy on 5G networks, and acceptance of 5G has been little examined. This study investigated how subjective norms and 5G privacy, speed, and ubiquity influence attitude toward 5G, word of mouth, and willingness to pay for 5G by considering the technology acceptance model. The role of regulatory focus was also evaluated. Privacy, speed, ubiquity, and subjective norms (antecedents); WOM and willingness to pay (dependent variables); attitude toward 5G (mediator); and regulatory focus (moderator) were measured by adapting items developed elsewhere; 222 responses were received, 202 (91%) of which were valid. Privacy significantly negatively affected attitude toward 5G, whereas speed had a significant positive effect. Positive relationships were observed between attitude toward 5G and ubiquity, subjective norms, WOM, and willingness to pay. Attitude toward 5G fully mediated the relationships among privacy, speed, ubiquity, subjective norms, and WOM.     

Understanding the attitude and intention to use smartphone chatbots for shopping

Using the technology acceptance model and diffusion of innovations theory, this study evaluated the intention of consumers to use chatbots on smartphones for shopping. Chatbot is a relatively new technology and is expected to dominate mobile commerce and shopping applications in future. Hence, this study aimed to determine the association of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, price consciousness, perceived risk, trust, and personal innovativeness with attitude and intention to use chatbots for shopping. Respondents were asked to fill a questionnaire after using a Facebook e-commerce chatbot that was specifically created for this study. In total, 350 responses were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Results indicated that attitude toward chatbots was considerably influenced by the variables perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, price consciousness, perceived risk, and personal innovativeness. However, intention to use was directly influenced only by trust, personal innovativeness, and attitude. Mediation analysis indicated that full mediation occurs through the attitude variable for most direct relationships. Moderation analysis by using age, gender, and prior experience with mobile shopping applications indicated considerable differences between the groups in terms of the strength of certain relationships and the mean responses between the variables.     

The frequency and predictors of helmet use among Iranian motorcyclists: A quantitative and qualitative study

Objective

This study examines the rate of helmet use and identifies barriers and facilitators of wearing helmets among Iranian motorcyclists. A mixed-method approach was used, including a structured seasonal survey with specific observations of a random sample of 6010 riders and qualitative methods that included 29 in-depth interviews and seven focus groups (n = 31).

Results

Only 10% of motorcyclists wear a standard helmet while riding. However, another 23% of motorcyclists used non-standard or partial helmets that covered only part of the head and do not prevent head trauma injuries effectively. We observed only 2 of 264 child passengers and 22 of 1951 adult passengers wearing helmets. Almost no one used protective pants or clothing made to be more visible in traffic. Themes emerged from qualitative interviews and were grouped into three main categories: (1) helmet characteristics; (2) social and cultural factors; and (3) personal and psychological factors.

Conclusion

Overall, the motorcyclists in our study believed that wearing a safety helmet protects them against serious injuries or death during a crash; however, only a small percentage of the motorcyclists used safety helmets. National intervention programs addressing motorcycle safety should aim to overcome barriers to and promote facilitators of helmet use, including providing inexpensive standard helmets, banning manufacturing/using unsafe partial or dummy helmets, as well as enforcing helmet use on a consistent basis.     

Estimating the Value of Life,Injury, and Travel Time Saved Using a Stated Preference Framework

The incidence of fatality over the period 2010–2014 from automobile accidents in North Cyprus is 2.75 times greater than the average for the EU. With the prospect of North Cyprus entering the EU, many investments will need to be undertaken to improve road safety in order to reach EU benchmarks. The objective of this study is to provide local estimates of the value of a statistical life and injury along with the value of time savings. These are among the parameter values needed for the evaluation of the change in the expected incidence of automotive accidents and time savings brought about by such projects.In this study we conducted a stated choice experiment to identify the preferences and tradeoffs of automobile drivers in North Cyprus for improved travel times, travel costs, and safety. The choice of route was examined using mixed logit models to obtain the marginal utilities associated with each attribute of the routes that consumers choose. These estimates were used to assess the individuals’ willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid fatalities and injuries and to save travel time. We then used the results to obtain community-wide estimates of the value of a statistical life (VSL) saved, the value of injury (VI) prevented, and the value per hour of travel time saved. The estimates for the VSL range from €315,293 to €1,117,856 and the estimates of VI from € 5,603 to € 28,186. These values are consistent, after adjusting for differences in incomes, with the median results of similar studies done for EU countries.     

The relationship between highly-cited papers and the frequency of citations to other papers within-issue among three top information science journals

Scientometrics - This study investigates a potential relationship between highly-cited scholarly papers and the number of citations received by other papers with which they share a journal issue....     

Intentions and willingness to drive while drowsy among university students: An application of an extended theory of planned behavior model

A web-based questionnaire was used to assess the utility of constructs from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) to predict intentions and willingness to engage in drowsy driving in a sample of 450 university students. Those students who reported more favorable attitudes and subjective norm and greater perceived control and willingness in relation to drowsy driving behavior were more likely to report stronger intentions to engage in drowsy driving behavior. Augmenting the TPB constructs with the PWM construct of willingness significantly explained up to an additional 8 percent of the variance in drowsy driving intention. Perceived behavioral control and willingness were consistently the strongest predictors of drowsy driving intention in the augmented model, which together with the control (personal) variables explained up to 70 percent of the variance in intention. Thus, the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Prototype Willingness Model may be useful for understanding motivational influences on drowsy driving behavior in young people and present promising theoretical frameworks for designing more effective interventions against drowsy driving in this population.     

The growing number of patent citations to scientific papers: Changes in the world,nations, and fields

This study analyzes USPTO patents in the period 1998–2017. The number of science-related patents has increased twice as fast as the number of patents and scientific publications, and the number of cited papers per patent has almost doubled. These results vary substantially from one scientific and technological field to another. The proportion of the research papers cited by a patent has doubled. It refers to papers that are mostly published by the countries that have developed both scientific and technological capability and, surprisingly, are mainly used by inventors abroad. However, a weak relationship between the number of citations received from patents and papers reveals that the assessment of research performance needs some changes as the percentage of papers related to the innovations has grown over time.     

Operating styles,working time and daily driving distance in relation to a taxi driver's speeding offenses in Taiwan

This study explored the determinant factors of taxi drivers’ speeding violations in Taiwan. Data were gathered from a nation wide survey and included 6923 professional taxi drivers in 2006. The results indicated that 96.6% were males and 92.5% had less than a college level education. Daily working hours were from 2.5 h to 15 h with a mean of 10.12 h. The data also indicated that taxi drivers worked approximately 27.35 days and only took 2.65 days rest per month. Of the observed taxi drivers, 25.6% reported at least one speeding violation in a one-year period. The results of a generalized linear model (GLM) revealed that the determinant factors associating with a taxi driver's speeding violation were not related to gender or educational level. However, age, job experience, operating styles, kilometers driven daily, driving late at night, and monthly off duty days were significantly associated with committing the speeding violations.     

The effect of alcohol, THC and their combination on perceived effects, willingness to drive and performance of driving and non-driving tasks

Background

Driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) is one of the main causes of car accidents. Alcohol and marijuana are the most popular drugs among recreational users. Many classify these drugs as “Light” drugs and therefore allow themselves to drive after consuming them.

Objective

The study had two main objectives: 1) to investigate the effect of alcohol (BAC = 0.05%), THC (13 mg) and their combination on driving and non-driving tasks. 2) to investigate the extent to which people are willing to drive based on their subjective sensations and their perceived effects of the drugs.

Method

7 healthy men and 5 healthy women, ages 24-29, all recreational users of alcohol and marijuana, completed 5 experimental sessions. Sessions included: drinking and smoking placebo, drinking alcohol and smoking placebo, drinking placebo and smoking THC, drinking alcohol and smoking THC, drinking placebo and smoking placebo 24 hours after drinking alcohol and smoking THC. Three types of measures were used: subjective perceptions (with questionnaires), performance parameters of the driving and non-driving tasks (arithmetic task and a secondary target detection task) and physiological changes (heart rate).

Results

Overall, the combination of alcohol and THC had the most intense effect after intake. This effect was reflected in performance impairments observed in the driving and non-driving tasks, in the subjective sensations after intake, and in the physiological measures. Despite significant differences in the size of the effects after the various treatments, there were no differences in the distances subjects were willing to drive while under the influence on each of the treatments.     

钨合金的冲击拉伸行为及其本构和断裂判据的表述

利用飞轮式Hopkinson拉杆实验技术对钨质量分数为93% 的钨合金在-50～100℃温度范围、应变率ε=102～10３s-1区间的动态拉伸性态进行了测试，提供了相应的σ-ε曲线和最大拉伸失效应变，并以此为依据建立了该合金动态拉伸行为的本构关系，提出了该合金受动载发生塑性失稳以致发生拉断的判据。利用断口分形分析理论，对试件拉伸断口微观特征所作的分析和对宏观力学性态实验所作的结论给予了有力的支持。     

网上购物扩展的计划行为模型的提出与验证

整合了以往的计划行为模型、技术接受模型、交易成本分析，提出了网上购物扩展的计划行为模型（ETPB），并对该模型用结构方程进行了验证。结果发现，开放性人格通过网上购物行为控制正向影响网上购物意向，信任倾向分别通过网上购物交易成本、主观参照正向影响网上购物意向。对于大学生来说，开放性人格对网上购物意向有间接正向影响，而信任倾向、网上购物风险对网上购物意向没有显著的影响；对在职人员来说，信任倾向通过网上购物交易成本间接正向影响网上购物意向，网上购物风险对网上购物意向有直接正向影响，而开放性人格对网上购物意向不存在显著的间接影响。     

招聘公务员问题的优化模型与评述

本文针对2004年高教社杯全国大学生数学建模竞赛的D题"招聘公务员"问题的评卷情况,首先概括地介绍了这个问题的背景、评卷要点、问题的解决方法和答卷中存在的问题。最后给出了解决这个问题的一个优化模型及求解结果。     

Government policies and attitudes to social media use among users in Turkey: The role of awareness of policies,political involvement,online trust,and party identification

Few research studies have examined the impact of government policies toward social media on individuals’ attitudes to social media use, particularly when these policies aim to denounce and control social media platforms, as was the case in Turkey in 2013–2016. A conceptual model, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 2005) [1], was proposed to investigate the mediating role of awareness of government policies, degree of political involvement, online trust, and the moderating role of party identification in predicting the attitudes to social media use. Data were collected through a survey of 653 social media users in Istanbul, Turkey (mean age = 31.76, SD = 10.96; 40 % women, 83 % Turkish ethnicity) in September 2015. Using PLS-SEM modelling, the awareness of government policies, the degree of political involvement, and the online trust were found to partially mediate the relationship between the frequency of social media use and the attitudes to social media use for the users of Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, while the moderating role of party identification was not significant in this model. The results provide additional support for the role of social context and past behaviors in predicting the attitudes and future intentions in the use of digital communication technologies.