This article focuses on free fare public transport policy (FFPT) as an example of the sustainable mobility paradigm FFPT is one of a number of instruments through which a balance between the economic costs and efficiency in the public transport system can be reached. Even though the strategic approach of FFPT systems is used worldwide, their implementation is somewhat sporadic. By investigating examples of currently or formerly existing free fare public transport schemes, this study analyses the overall ability of FFPT to reach the strategic targets required. The study identifies four key areas that the municipalities are trying to target (reducing car use externalities, social justice/benefits provision, increasing the efficiency of public transport, and promoting sustainable means of transportation). As the specific conditions of each locality generate particular issues, the strategy of each transport system authority differs from one to another. It is, therefore, necessary for the transport planning authorities to implement various tools (both supportive and repressive) whose synergies will target the main objectives. A systematic and conceptual approach is what underpins the successful development of the urban transport system in the long-term.
This article provides a sociological analysis of the disadvantaged African Canadian migrants’ experiences and challenges of the integration process in the province of Ontario. In this qualitative study, migrants discussed the challenges of resettlement, livelihood, health, and social well-being from their perspectives. They shared their personal experiences with housing, health services, lack of work, and access to social support services. Data used in this research come from transcribed stories gathered through intensive one-on-one interviews with 26 African Canadian migrants, each lasting 1−2 hours, and three focus groups with 30 others. The 56 participants in the study were recruited from three Ontario cities of Ottawa, Toronto, and Kitchener. The survey covered the period from March 2013 to October 2017. Using the grounded theory (GT) method, interviews were transcribed, coded, categorised, and analysed using NVivo 10. In this study, participants have shared their experiences with racism and discrimination, and most have cited lack of access to adequate social programs, employment support, and resettlement services as the most significant barriers to meaningful social and economic integration. They reiterated the importance of employment support and social services programs tailored toward migrants’ needs with an emphasis on socio-political, cultural, and economic integration.
Ethnic groups involved in separatist movements have often been engaged in violence, rather than electoral politics, in order to fulfil their demands. The present paper analyses the dynamics of the sovereignty movements of the Koch-Rajbanshi community of north-eastern India, an indigenous group that has used active and suppressed violence for accomplishing their demands along with electoral contests. Nuanced analyses of literature, electoral information, schedule-based surveys and personal interviews of Koch-Rajbanshi respondents were used for this purpose. Results indicated that most elected Koch-Rajbanshi representatives belonged to mainstream political parties and failed to bring about practical solutions for the sovereignty issue. The pro-sovereignty outfits were unable to gain electoral success and further hindered the movement. Fear of backlash from the ruling party also stopped many Koch-Rajbanshi commons from being involved in the electoral process. Accordingly, adequate electoral representation of Koch-Rajbanshi political groups was identified as the only democratic solution to this escalating conflict.
An Introduction to Macro-Level Spatial Nonstationarity: A Geographically Weighted Regression Analysis of Diabetes and Poverty Carlos Siordia, Joseph Saenz, Sarah E. Tom | Abstract | Full text .pdf | The Aesthetic Value of Socio-Cultural Identities and the Cultural Dimension of…