There are two problems to be addressed in this study, both involving the integration of public transit systems on the regional level. The first problem is the integration of single-county rural transit systems into multi-county regional transit systems. The second problem is the integration of urban fixed-route/complementary paratransit systems and county demand responsive transit systems. This study will identify barriers to integration of transit systems at the regional level, evaluate best practices from North Carolina and other states, describe incentives to encourage regional integration of transit systems, and develop recommendations for policy and legislative changes to facilitate the implementation of regional transit systems.
This book evaluates the successes, failures, and factors that influence the competition for public bus transport services. Using Germany as a case study, the author explains the dichotomous system of a market with licenses for commercial services, where operators are granted exclusivity, and licenses for non-commercial services, where supplementary direct subsidies are tendered out by public transport authorities. The empirical analysis is based on primary data usually not publicly available, and supplemented by numerous expert interviews. The book aims to provide a basic understanding of the players and their options, offer insights into the German model, and make policy recommendations for those whose goal is to increase competition.
"TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Report 105: Strategies to Increase Coordination of Transportation Services for the Transportation Disadvantaged examines strategies for initiating or improving coordination of local and regional publicly funded transportation services for the transportation disadvantaged"--Publisher's description.
During medical emergencies, hospital staff and emergency medical services (EMS) providers, can face barriers in delivering the fastest and best possible care. Overcrowded emergency rooms cannot care for patients as quickly as necessary, and some may divert ambulances and turn away new patients outright. In many states, ambulance staff lacks the means to determine which hospitals can provide the best care to a patient. Given this absence of knowledge, they bring patients to the closest hospital. In addition, because emergency service providers from different companies compete with each other for patients, and emergency care legislation varies from state to state, it is difficult to establish the necessary local, interstate, and national communication and collaboration to create a more efficient system. In 2006, the IOM recommended that the federal government implement a regionalized emergency care system to improve cooperation and overcome these challenges. In a regionalized system, local hospitals and EMS providers would coordinate their efforts so that patients would be brought to hospitals based on the hospitals' capacity and expertise to best meet patients' needs. In September 2009, three years after making these recommendations, the IOM held a workshop sponsored by the federal Emergency Care Coordination Center to assess the nation's progress toward regionalizing emergency care. The workshop brought together policymakers and stakeholders, including nurses, EMS personnel, hospital administrators, and others involved in emergency care. Participants identified successes and shortcomings in previous regionalization efforts; examined the many factors involved in successfully implementing regionalization; and discussed future challenges to regionalizing emergency care. This document summarizes the workshop.
In this volume, David B. Audretsch and Charles F. Bonser present a view of Globalization and Regionalization that holds that the interaction between a more open trading system and the new telecommunications and computer technology has substantially increased productivity and facilitated the fragmentation of the production process. The fragmentation of the production process has resulted in a new international organization of production. It has accelerated the globalization of national economies and has allowed firms to take advantage of low wages, wherever they are to be found, and, where important, to locate production facilities close to their customers. This expansion in international trade and production mobility has resulted in new sources of gain that contribute to the new economy. In the second chapter of this volume, Alfred C. Aman, Jr. examines whether globalization dictates new approaches to governance. The process by which public policy in England has incorporated regional government is the focus of Kenneth Spencer in Chapter 3. In the fourth chapter Lawrence S. Davidson provides an analysis of the impact of globalization on manufacturing in the US Midwest. In Chapter 5, John W. Ryan shows how there is a dual role of universities in the global economy. On the one hand, universities serve as institutions that foster globalization and reduce the isolation of regions. On the other hand, universities themselves are shaped and influenced by globalization. David B. Audretsch and A. Roy Thurik, in Chapter 6, show how globalization has led to the emergence of the strategic management of regions. In Chapter 7, Jean-Pierre van Aubel and Frans van Nispen examine the links between federalization and globalization in the European context. The impact of globalization on regulatory institutions is the focus of Montserrat Cuchillo in Chapter 8. Finally, in Chapter 9, David Eaton examines the relationship between global trade sovereignty and sub-national autonomy. Taken together, these chapters provide a compelling view that public policy must be considered in a new light in the global economy. Not only does policy have to consider global implications, but also the importance of local characteristics and regional strengths.
Global Regionalization examines the astonishing political and economic changes that have completely reshaped the political geography of certain regions during the past fifteen years. It deals with the concept of global bloc formation, examining the impacts that changing political-economic conditions and relationships in and between nations have on demographic and economic flows.
Public transport is essential to the quality of life of its passengers, both as a means to move around but also to achieve a sustainable environment. However, the passenger's position as a customer is weakened by the dominance of monopolies, regulation and political influence in our public transport systems. This book is one of the first to examine strategies for the representation of user interests in public transport from a variety of perspectives. The authors review approaches to integrating the passengers' views in the planning process and to protecting their interests in operations and customer care across a range of European countries, including Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and EU policies. The book presents the conclusions of this research and examples of good practice. In this respect it will provide useful guidance for policy makers, stakeholder organizations and planners, as well as transport researchers.
The two-volume Emergency Medical Services: Clinical Practice and Systems Oversight delivers a thorough foundation upon which to succeed as an EMS medical director and prepare for the NAEMSP National EMS Medical Directors Course and Practicum. Focusing on EMS in the 'real world', the book offers specific management tools that will be useful in the reader's own local EMS system and provides contextual understanding of how EMS functions within the broader emergency care system at a state, local, and national level. The two volumes offer the core knowledge trainees will need to successfully complete their training and begin their career as EMS physicians, regardless of the EMS systems in use in their areas. A companion website rounds out the book's offerings with audio and video clips of EMS best practice in action. Readers will also benefit from the inclusion of: A thorough introduction to the history of EMS An exploration of EMS airway management, including procedures and challenges, as well as how to manage ventilation, oxygenation, and breathing in patients, including cases of respiratory distress Practical discussions of medical problems, including the challenges posed by the undifferentiated patient, altered mental status, cardiac arrest and dysrhythmias, seizures, stroke, and allergic reactions An examination of EMS systems, structure, and leadership
