To: UTSG list members

 

Below is an advert to attend a 'Social Network Analysis in Transport' Workshop in Nottingham, 2nd-3rd of March 2010.  It should prove to be a very interesting event.  Feel free to forward to anyone you think may be interested.

Kind regards
Tim

Dr Tim Ryley
Senior Lecturer in Transport Studies
Transport Studies Group
Department of Civil and Building Engineering
Loughborough University, Leicestershire LE11 3TU
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)1509 223422
Web-page: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/cv/staff/profile/145.html




Social Network Analysis in Transport Workshop


As part of the FUTURENET project (http://www.arcc-futurenet.org.uk/) investigating the implications of climate change for UK transport infrastructure over the coming decades, the University of Nottingham will host a workshop on 2nd-3rd of March, exploring to how Social Network Analysis (SNA) can be utilised to better understand travel behaviour.

 

In the past, studies of transport users have tended to treat travellers as atomistic units, but it has become recognised that such an approach is unsuitable for addressing many pressing questions at a time when policy has moved away from the 'predict and provide' model to one based on improving the use of already existing network capacity.  Better use of what we have relies, in part, on the cooperative behaviour of transport users, with car sharing being a common example of a means by which considerable efficiency savings can be made. It also relies on a better understanding of leisure travel, which relative to business travel has grown considerably in recent decades. Where do people travel for leisure and who/what do they go to see? Who do they travel with? How important is such travel to them? Successfully managing transport demand requires answers to these kinds of questions. The adoption of new transport technologies or modes is another area to consider - what critical mass of people is needed before cycling becomes a default option for commuters?

 

To investigate these social elements of travel we must consider transport users as social actors. Social Network Analysis is a powerful tool for capturing social influences on individual's decision making. By collecting data concerning travel users' social (e.g. friends, family) and spatial (e.g. neighbours) networks, it allows us to understand travel demand better, so allowing us to better predict and manage future demand.

 

The workshop will be a lunchtime to lunchtime event, and speakers will include a number of international experts in the field (listed below, along with further information). A schedule for the event will follow, but for now could interested parties please register their interest with Dr Murray Goulden ([log in to unmask]).

 

Speakers:     Theo Arentze, Eindhoven University of Technology

                        Juan Antonio Carrasco, Universidad de Concepción

Elenna Dungundji, University of Amsterdam

                        Antonio Paez, McMaster University

Location:      Park Plaza, Nottingham city centre (http://www.parkplaza.com/nottinghamuk)

Date:              Lunchtime to lunchtime 2nd-3rd March 2010

Cost:              £80 for day rate, or £137 including overnight accommodation, dinner and breakfast. A subsidy for PhD students is available on application.