Periodic Reporting for period 1 - iCHRONOS (The effects of Information and Communications Technology on transport-related social exclusion for vulnerable populations)
Période du rapport: 2022-01-01 au 2023-12-31
To investigate the above-mentioned issues, the MSCA iCHRONOS proposed the following overall scientific objective: to empirically analyse how vulnerable population groups use and experience e-activities and whether it affects their access to major urban amenities based on their spatiotemporal fragmentation levels. This objective was structured around three sub-objectives consisting of: (i) designing and collecting adequate data, mainly throughout surveys and questionnaires; (ii) estimating six indicators to measure activity fragmentation in space and time; (iii) modelling the relationships between the fragmentation measures and the individuals' socio-economic attributes and their habits and perceptions towards e-activities. Additionally, iCHRONOS contributed to generating new and useful information for policymakers to make land use and transport systems more equitable, inclusive, and fair.
To date, two scientific papers linked to iCHRONOS have been published in top-tier journals ranked Q1 in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR). Additionally, iCRHONOS has allowed me to consolidate and intensify the collaboration with international researchers from different countries (Spain, Germany, Belgium), including colleagues from the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research. In sum, the MSCA "iCHRONOS" has allowed a continuous scientific collaboration with colleagues from LISER, but also with (new) colleagues from other institutions. Likewise, the consolidation of my research network, especially with Germany and Spain. In this regard, it is remarkable that by coordinating people from my current network, we were able to submit a Marie Curie Doctoral Network proposal. The "founding" partners were LISER, Goethe University, and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. The entire consortium was finally made up of 24 institutions, including Zaragoza Logistics Center (ZLC) where I was awarded a Ramón y Cajal (tenure track position) fellowship starting on 1st January 2024.
The budget dedicated to research, training, and networking costs allowed me to attend four academic conferences. During 2022, I attended two NECTAR conferences in Toronto (Canada) and Seville (Spain) and the conference in urban geography organized by the Spanish Geography Association (AGE) in Málaga/Melilla. In 2023, I attended the general assembly of the AGE in Logroño (Spain). I also contributed to other conference papers while I did not attend those conferences. For example, the XV Congreso de Ingeniería del Transporte which was held in La Laguna (Spain). Additionally, there are two milestones to be highlighted. On the one hand, I did a three-month research stay at the Insitute of Transport Studies (ITS) in Leeds (UK) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Susan Grant-Muller. I presented iCHRONOS from the very beginning to the research groups she heads. In technical terms, the stay served to learn and advance on the implementation of cross-lagged structural equation modelling. This technique is especially valuable for panel data. From that stay, we are now finishing a paper that will be submitted in the upcoming months. The academic conferences, and especially the research stay at ITS contributed to extending my research network, establishing new collaborations for writing papers, or applying to future project calls.
Dissemination actions were conducted for different target groups (university students, stakeholders from public administration, colleagues from LISER and other institutions), thus, with different objectives. In the case of University Students, I was part of the teaching staff for the course "Geographies of Sustainability" taught at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Luxembourg. Respecting the stakeholders from public administration, I introduced iCHRONOS to the Luxembourg City authorities from the very beginning of the project. I explained to them the benefits it could have for the city and especially to reduce disadvantages for the most vulnerable groups of population. Finally, iCHRONOS was disseminated to a specialized audience, mainly colleagues from LISER and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
Based on the progress made during this MSCA, two main social impacts are foreseen. An important one is that in the era of telecommunications, especially strengthened during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, people who may be able to access places (but also people) physically and digitally may reinforce their social position. A second relevant benefit for society is the possibility of making people "smarter citizens" in terms of transportation. Providing them with tools that help them to decide whether it is more suitable to save travel time by digitally accessing destinations will lead them to travel less, with the consequent reduction of traffic, pollution, and transport expenses. The latter can be especially relevant for vulnerable population groups with low household income levels that prevent them from buying a car or other private transport modes.