Intermodal Transportation in the US Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intermodal Transportation in the US - Case Study Example Intermodal Transportation in the US Government involvement in the country’s intermodal transportation system, particularly in the cargo sector, would allow for continuous movement of products by a number of modes of transport. Congress approved the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) as a successor of ISTEA. This policy was not as far-reaching as ISTEA even though it continued the campaign for intermodalism and center on the ISTEA chassis (Konings et al., 2008). This regulation guaranteed the consideration of cargo mobility in the course of the planning procedure and offered more profound flexibility to fund intermodal stations that entail key and minor freeways, railway stations, sea terminals, and airports. Until this law was passed, the challenge of connectivity between and amongst intermodal stations was not a primary concern. If the federal government had prioritized efforts to solve this challenge, connectors to the country’s freeway system would have improved intermodal services and lowered freeway congestion. I also agree with the author that in a free market economy, the industry had been limited in their ability to deliver innovations in intermodal transportation. In the past 2 Â ½ decades, the movement of goods has been seamless only because of intermodalism in the cargo industry (Holguin-Veras et al., 2008).The most visible manifestation of intermodalism in a free market such as the United States is the increase in container traffic.

Comparing 2 articles and relating it to the study guide Essay

Comparing 2 articles and relating it to the study guide - Essay Example The researcher then needs to make significant decisions regarding the ontological, epistemological and mythological paradigms for the current study. It is based on the nature and type of the research question and research paradigms that a researcher chooses the most appropriate design frame, methods and techniques, and data production instruments for the study. It is worthwhile to analyse two research articles in terms of the above mentioned research decisions. The articles under consideration are the research studies of Hong (2012) and Lasky (2005). While Hong unearths the relationship between teacher resilience and psychological factors such as value, self-efficacy, beliefs and emotions Lasky attempts to examine teacher identity, agency and professional vulnerability in the context of secondary school reform. Thus the paper seeks to analyse the differences and similarities between the two articles against such research decisions as setting up the topic, the research question, scope and scale, paradigm and associated ontology, epistemology and methodology (with research design), and methods and data production instruments. Research decisions: 1. ... clearly identifies the gap in the existing literature and realizes that the existing research on shortage of beginning teachers only addressed external factors from an organizational perspective. Hong also sees the relationship between shortage of beginning teachers and teacher resilience while identifying the distinction between stayers and leavers in a school setting. Thus, the insights gained from the literature review prompts Hong to focus on the role of internal psychological factors such as self-efficacy, beliefs, values and emotions on teacher resilience and career decision-making. As such Hong’s research topic-Why do some beginning teachers leave the school, and others stay? Understanding teacher resilience through psychological lenses-is carefully chosen and sounds to be a good qualitative research topic. On the other hand, Lasky chooses his research topic from the complex fiscal restructuring, curricular reforms and new accountability systems implemented among the se condary schools in Ontario, Canada. The research problem is explicitly stated in the conceptual framework of the paper. Lasky holds that the emotions and professional identity of teachers change when socio-cultural changes occur in their immediate context. Lasky also points out that no previous studies have adequately addressed how teacher identity interacts with such reform mandates as in the secondary schools in Ontario. Similarly, the researcher also wants to probe into how secondary school reforms will contribute towards professional vulnerability of teachers using a sociocultural approach. Thus, Lasky’s research topic-A sociocultural approach to understanding teacher identity, agency and professional vulnerability in a context of secondary school reform-provides ample scope for a