Presented by Dr Karen Lucas on 9th July 2014 http://www.its.leeds.ac.uk/people/k.lucas Abstract: Until now, human and social factors have not been very dominant aspects of transportation research. The general trend has been a biased towards more technical and engineering studies and transport economics. Nevertheless, there has been continuous social science research on the fringes of transport studies. For example behavioural psychology has been used in traffic safety risk management and human geography has been concerned with the interface between space, time, and mobility. There has also been a significant academic discourse around transport equity and the mobility and accessibility needs of transport disadvantaged groups, which has gathered momentum in recent years. More lately, sociologists and cultural geographers have begun to explore the embodied meanings and the cultural significance of different transport modes within our everyday social practices. A number of scholars within the Institute of Transport Studies at Leeds have already forged important cross-disciplinary partnerships with other disciplines within and outside the University. In this lecture, I will explore the potential to further strengthen and exploit these new directions within transport research. I will briefly reflect on the opportunities for achieving this through mechanisms such as within the University’ core research themes, the new Social Science Strategy, other research University-wide supported initiatives and more informal collaborations. But more importantly I will be asking whether it is possible to use these inter-disciplinary collaborations to radicalise our research enquiries so that we are able to offer transformational solutions to overcome the currently environmentally unsustainable and socially unjust allocation of mobility resources within and between nations.

1. Institute for Transport Studies
FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENT
Human and Social Factors in Transport
What are the opportunities for building inter-disciplinary
partnerships at Leeds
Dr Karen Lucas,
Institute of Transport Studies, University of Leeds, UK
ITS SEMINAR SERIES
9th
July 2014

2. Background
• Human and social factors have not been very dominant aspects of transportation
research compared with more technical avenues of enquiry
• Huge increase in number of projects, PhDs, journals and academic publications
around these issues in last 10-15 years
• Conference opportunities
– Transport Geography Research Group of Royal Geographical Society
– Association of American Geographers Annual Conference
– Transportation Research Board ‘Social and Economic Factors Committee’
– World Conference for Transport Research (WCTR) new Special Interest Group
‘Cultural and Social Issues in Transport’ established 201
• Numerous publishing outlets within the transportation journals
– Journal of Transport Geography; Transport Policy, Transportation, Transportation
Research A & C & E, International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, Transport
Reviews, Mobilities, etc.
• Also in diverse non-transport facing journals:
– e.g. Journal of Poverty; Applied Geography; Ageing & Society; Built Environment;
Energy Policy; Environment and Planning A & B; Regional Studies; Human Factors,
etc.

3. What are human and social
factors?
Refers to a wide variety of research issues including:
•Various traveller behaviours, attitudes, perceptions, experiences, habits, social
practices and social norms
•Human interaction with new transport and communication technologies -
vulnerability, safety and risk
•Relationships between transport, network capital, mobility, accessibility and human
and social capital
•Human exposure to negative transport externalities, transport justice and social
(in)equalities
•The transport needs of different social groups in different spatial contexts
•The wider role of transport in economic, political and social integration and
cohesion
•Transport planning, policy and governance and participation and exclusion from
transport decision processes

4. Methodologies
• Both qualitative and quantitative studies and often using
hybrid/mixed methods and analysis
• Everything from behavioural and choice modelling through
GIS-based and other spatial modelling to qualitative,
participative, ethnographic and action-based research
• Also a focus on developing new forms of impact analysis
and social appraisal methods
• Often studies have a cross-disciplinary focus and set of
expertise, e.g. environmental modelling with epidemiology;
social practices and in context of technical interventions;
psychological surveys with index of happiness; travel
behaviours with health & wellbeing

5. Visioning the inter-disciplinary
interface within ITS and beyond
Modelling
EconomicsSafety
Our group
ITS
Faculty
Geography
EnvironmentEngineering
LUBS
Psychology

6. Existing cross-disciplinary
partnerships
• Civil Engineering
• Geography
• Leeds Social Science
Institute
• Business
• Psychology
• Health/Epidemiology
• Social Policy
• ???

7. What is the motivation?
• Funders such as RCUK and EC increasingly emphasis multi-disciplinary
research enquiries;
• Leeds’ University Strategy identifies cross-cutting research themes as
the way forward and ITS’ Research Strategy echoes this:
– Because human and social factors in transport offer this broad base
our research is the best opportunity for cross-disciplinary interaction
within UoL and beyond
– The focus on societal outcomes makes this is a good way for ITS to
enhance its research impact across all 4 RGs
– H&S Factors already has experience in delivering high quality cross-
disciplinary projects, e.g. DEMAND Centre, Driver Centre,
Disruptions, etc.
– It is the best way to promote research innovation, discover new
horizons and identify opportunities

8. University Draft Strategic Plan
Research & Innovation
•Strong disciplines with an appropriate balance of ‘curiosity-driven’ and applied research
•Highly focused interdisciplinary research networks with the expertise, range and reputation to address funding and impact
priorities in the UK and further afield
•Successful doctoral training centres and a vibrant PhD and post doctoral community
•A step-change in postgraduate research funding
•Investing in University fellowships & tenure track appointments to nurture and incentivise early career researchers
•Highly competitive, strategic leadership appointments and a commitment to supporting and retaining existing, high
performing staff and academic leaders
•Sector-leading technology platforms with first rate technical support – these will be attractive to staff and meet relevant
industry standards
•Stronger links with industry and active funder relationships
•Translating research into pedagogy; creating research opportunities for students.
What we will do:
•Invest in 250 new academic fellows to sustain our academic future, 100 to be externally funded
•Invest in postgraduate research studentships: £2.7m central funding in 2014/15, with matched faculty support, and total
funding of £22.4m in the period 2015-2020; make a determined effort to raise further support from industry, government &
EU for doctoral training
•Continue University development and investment for existing & emerging research strengths
•Establish world-leading positions in key aspects of major interdisciplinary research themes; health, water, food, energy,
culture & cities
•Invest in platform technologies, ensuring shared use of expensive equipment & resources
•Ensure our research outputs (publications and data) are freely accessible in line with the policies of research funders

9. Leeds Social Science Strategy
Vision and Strategy
•It is our ambition for the University of Leeds to be a globally recognised powerhouse for social science
research and innovation where our world-leading research has significant and broad impact on society,
shaping global public debate and policy and supporting the training of the next generation of social science
leaders.
•Our aims are:
– To develop wide ranging and significant societal, economic and environmental impact
– To support social science disciplines in achieving globally-recognised excellence in research
– To become world-renowned for our centres of interdisciplinary social science research and innovative methods
– To train the next generation of social science leaders equipped to tackle global challenges
– To maximise the effectiveness of social science research funding by becoming the focus of significant international and national
investment.
•To take these aims forward our strategy for the social sciences is to:
– enhance the capacity of social science research to produce knowledge with impact that shapes regional, national and international policy,
public debate and professional practice
– promote interdisciplinary research and team-building that afford novel and critical insights to contemporary research challenges
– support and enhance the successful capture of large-scale, problem-focused and complex cross-disciplinary research funding grants
– forge and promote cross-institutional partnerships within the region, nationally and across the globe which add value
– advance the integration of social sciences methodologies and concepts within cross-disciplinary research themes and programmes
throughout the University
– further develop our reputation as a world leader in advanced skills and methods training by capacity building for postgraduate and early
career researchers.

10. What are the barriers?
• Different disciplines have different research cultures, standards and
methodologies
• Trans-disciplinarians often feel ‘left out’ by both disciplines – it takes time
to build up trust relationships
• You can feel like you are not speaking the same language and/or like a
Jack of All Trades and master of none
• You effectively need to network and function in 2 (or more) academic
circles – who has the time?
• The world of publishing has not caught up yet - it is not always easy to
publish in journals outside your main discipline
• It can slow down your career development pathway – multi-disciplinarily
is often not rewarded as quickly or as well as the ‘siloed’ approach

11. Discussion
Over to you!!!

12. And thanks for
listening
K.Lucas@leeds.ac.uk
@drkarenlucas
http:/www.leeds.ac.uk/people/k.lucas