1,721,024 research outputs found
The importance of punctuality in rail transport investigation on the delay determinants
Full text linkThe railway system is a fundamental component of the economy of most countries, since it has the capability to transport every day millions of passengers as well as millions of dollars’ worth of goods from origin to destination. According to many empirical works and papers, rail, which produces very low CO2 emissions, is one of the most environmentally friendly and safe transportation modes. Moreover, it is appreciated for its high energy efficiency. One of the most common and frequent issue about rail transport is the concept of arrival time, that is of punctuality and delay. The aim of the paper is twofold: it firstly provides a critical literature review on delay categories as a starting point for the development of a new, easy and complete classification of delay based on the link between motivations, causes and responsibility. Secondly, applying this classification, a panel data analysis with fixed effects has been performed to understand motivation and responsibility of the delay on an important Italian interregional railway line. Moreover, the application of survival analysis is used to understand the failure time probability of a train journey and to estimate the percentage of trains that arrive to a destination
Proximity to public transportation and sustainable commuting to college. A case study of an Italian suburban campus
No full textAs sustainability has become a key and urgent challenge both in urban and suburban contexts, in the last years commuting patterns of university populations have received a growing attention from scholars and policymakers. Urgent solutions are required to improve the people quality of life, by encouraging, especially in systematic mobility, the use of alternative and greener transport modes than private vehicles. In this paper we examine, as a case study, the students and staff commuting habits of a public medium-size university campus that is located in a peripheral area of the city of Varese (north-west of Italy) far from the rail and extra-urban bus stations and with many green spaces. Using data from a survey on a sample of more than 1800 respondents, the goal of this paper is to investigate, by a multinomial logit model, the main determinants of the commuting mode (car, bus, train and carpooling) and the car dominance motivations, particularly focusing on the spatial/trip factors. The main results highlight the crucial role of public transport (bus and train stops and stations) proximity both in medium-short and long-distance trips. Other factors affecting the mode choice concern the commuter age and partially the gender, the frequency and length of the trips. Differently from the results of the empirical literature about urban colleges, we found a positive correlation between the distance and the use of train. The findings of this study could help the policymakers to identify the most effective sustainable transport policies, for example introducing parking fees and increasing the public transit accessibility
Reducing the carbon footprint in college mobility: The car commuters' perspective in an Italian case study
No full textDespite the negative environmental impact of private cars, especially when driven alone, thousands of college commuters around the World are still car dependent. In order to promote eco-friendly commuting and reduce the GHGs caused by cars, different Travel Demand Management (TDM) policies are in place at many colleges, but they do not usually consider the car commuters' point of view when identifying proper measures. In this paper, by using survey data from an Italian medium-size public university, we study what TDM policies are perceived by car users as the most effective in reducing the number of solo-drivers and consequently their carbon footprint. By estimating a multinomial logit model, we found that restrictive parking policies are statistically supported by female car commuters, students and employees belonging to science departments, and those who know that driving alone could impede alternative modes. Indeed, transit-oriented and multimodal options (including bikes) are chosen by faculty/staff car users, by users willing to leave their cars at home when the weather is good, and in general by people living in towns without railway stations. Instead, probably due to inadequate rail services, car users living in areas far from the college are weakly inclined to use transit-plus-bikes modes. Beyond improving TDM policies, these results can help mobility managers design localized tools to reduce the environmental impact of college commuting
Le abitudini del pendolarismo universitario e la propensione al cambiamento. Il caso dell'Università degli Studi dell'Insubria
No full textTo develop sustainable communities, car dominance in commuting habits and low
propension to eco-friendly means, especially in small and medium towns, are problems that
need an urgent solution. With the aim to map modal choices and evaluate the usage of
public transit in central and suburban poles of attraction, data of the Mobility Survey of the
University of Insubria are used. While cars are dominant in suburban sites (Varese),
collective means have a higher usage in central sites (Como). By testing the evaluation of
public transit in both cities, we confirm that free parking and low-quality collective
transports are crucial factors that limit sustainable modal changes in these poles
Determinanti della scelta modale nei percorsi casa-Università: differenze territoriali ed implicazioni di policy
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Sustainable behaviour of B Corps fashion companies during Covid-19: A quantitative economic analysis.
No full textThis paper investigates whether or not Italian Certified B Corps® in the fashion industry achieved levels of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance that are comparable to listed companies in the same industry during the Covid-19 pandemic. After a review of the literature concerning B Corps, CSR and the circular economy, as well as some coverage of pandemic impacts, a quantitative approach is used to analyze the data empirically. Based on the data available, the study incorporated the entire population of Italian listed companies and B Corps in the fashion industry. Moreover, this study confirms the relationship between CSR and financial performance. The availability of sustainability documents other than the required social responsibility report does not directly affect a company’s profitability, but they are necessary for the long term. The results also confirm the positive relationship between sustainability certification and higher financial performance, as the most sustainable companies were also the most profitable. Certified B Corps® declare their willingness to adopt circular economic principles to the same extent as non-certified listed companies. Moreover, the results show that consumers mainly remember the information disclosed on a company’s homepage; therefore, managers should publish more there. However, they should not underestimate the importance of their sustainability report because it is an effective social communication tool, especially in the long term. Finally, obtaining the B Corp certification will allow companies to inform stakeholders of their social responsibility and achieve higher financial results
Italian wine sustainability: new trends in consumer behaviors for the millennial generation
No full textPurpose – The role of sustainability is predominant in many aspects of consumer purchasing decisions.
Millennials and young people are, in this field, potential players who buy and consume wine with ecosustainable decisions but, in the literature, these aspects are analyzed with nonuniform findings. This paper aims to investigate the wine consumption among young people belonging to the millennial generation, Y generation and Z generation considering also the gender.
Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a questionnaire with 2000 respondents. The data are analyzed to understand consumption decisions in the wine sector. This information is analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics (hypothesis test and multiple regression).
Findings – The results of the paper show a clear propensity to be sustainable of the young generation compared with the elderly, highlighting the role of Millennials. Moreover, considering gender, there is a greater sustainable wine tendency (considering both the environmental and the economic/decisional component) in female compared with male.
Research limitations/implications – This work reflects the Italian reality of the pre-COVID-19 period. Obviously, the pandemic situation and the geographic scenario analyzed could change the results of a second wave of the survey.
Social implications – This study contributes to improve the knowledge concerning the wine consumption habits of Italian young generations.
Originality/value – The paper manages to underline the different aspects of sustainability in the wine purchasing decisions by young consumers by focusing on the considered generations
The role of individual social responsibility and corporate social responsibility in the tax fraud war: a comparison between the priorities of Italian and Romanian consumers
Full text linkCorporate social responsibility (CSR) and fiscal responsibility have become a hot topic of debate in recent years. Many studies have investigated CSR and tax avoidance; however, such studies have overlooked countries' tax cultures and fiscal responsibility from a historical perspective and have not addressed how these elements affect current tax avoidance practices. Using a questionnaire, that was administered to a sample of Italian and Romanian respondents, and inferential techniques (Mann–Whitney-test and correlation-test) the paper tries to understand the aspects that be useful in the future development and implementation of more robust fiscal ISR and CSR processes. Our results reveal similarities and differences between the relevance of certain aspects between countries, identifying tax culture as a distinctive element from a geographical point of view. Despite the considerable differences, we found a strong demand for greater transparency of the company with administrations and communities and desire for the development of initiatives to spread a responsible tax culture
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