Am Beispiel des israelischen Telefonsystems wird aufgezeigt, welche Bedeutung einer einheitlichen Telekommunikation auch bei räumlichen Unterschieden und Problemen zukommt. Eingegangen wird insbesondere auf Fragen der Dezentralisierung, der Zentralisierung und Regionalentwicklung in der Telekommunikation. (HWWA)
A major trend, recently drawing much attention, is the employment of new technologies in retailing. This involves a shift from some aspects of the traditional store format towards the introduction of electronic means of performing retail activities. E-retail encompasses three main activities—specifically, a product search activity (often referred to as a product-evaluation or information-gathering facility), an online purchase function, and the product delivery capability. Early studies have asserted that information technology would generate a revolution in the retail sector, owing to the potential of the web to reduce the costs of transaction, transportation, and searching. Yet the proportion of virtual shopping is significantly smaller than that of traditional shopping. An understanding of this difference can be obtained by modeling consumer choices. This paper will examine the different shopping activities, by modeling both purchase and delivery choices. Identifying the reasons that consumers use virtual (electronic) modes is crucial in order to influence the share of electronic shopping and to understand the potential impacts. Modeling the probability of using e-shopping should reveal the significant variables that may encourage or discourage the use of this mode of shopping.
ABSTRACT Commuting is popularly viewed as a stressful, costly, time‐wasting experience from the individual perspective, with the attendant congestion imposing major social costs as well. However, several authors have noted that commuting can also offer benefits to the individual, serving as a valued transition between the home and work realms of personal life. Using survey data collected from about 1,300 commuting workers in three San Francisco Bay Area neighborhoods, empirical models are developed for four key variables measured for commute travel, namely: Objective Mobility, Subjective Mobility, Travel Liking, and Relative Desired Mobility. Explanatory variables include measures of general travel‐related attitudes, personality traits, lifestyle priorities, and sociodemographic characteristics. Both descriptive statistics and analytical models indicate that commuting is not the unmitigated burden that it is widely perceived to be. About half of the sample were relatively satisfied with the amount they commute, with a small segment actually wanting to increase that amount. Both the psychological impact of commuting, and the amounts people want to commute relative to what they are doing now, are strongly influenced by their liking for commuting. An implication for policy is that some people may be more resistant than expected toward approaches intended to induce reductions in commuting (including, for example, telecommuting). New creativity may be needed to devise policies that recognize the inherent positive utility of travel, while trying to find socially beneficial ways to fulfill desires to maintain or increase travel.