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This research examines the presence of ride-sharing services through the lens of rural and urban communities. Currently, urban communities are the primary areas where ride-sharing services occur. As the number of ride-sharing companies has grown, several have extended their reach into rural communities. However, by large, rural communities do not have the same level of access to and utilization of ride-sharing services as urban communities. To address this gap, alternative models are emerging to fill some of the un-met needs in rural areas. This study examines the ride-sharing rural urban divide, and proposes a ride-sharing index (RSI) to identify communities that have untapped potential for ride-sharing services. The RSI is an exploratory framework to determine the degree to which ride-sharing, and ride-sharing alternative models are appropriate to address transportation needs for rural and urban residents. This study uses secondary data to examine the constructs presented in RSI, and presents a rating of high, medium or low for a region's readiness for ride-sharing services. This study is formative and can be adapted to wider geographical regions. Implications for different constituents including ride-sharing companies and alternatives, individuals and policy makers are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In this paper it is argued that the dividing line that runs between the human psyche as opposed to any other complex system is made up by symbolic anticipation. The functionality of the human mind as an anticipatory system is entirely caught up in the crucial role that finiteness, shortage or lack plays for human beings. Anticipation for us is the way by which this negative finiteness or lack is translated into a positive longing, want or desire. We take a look at the three dimensional view of Jacques Lacan regarding these matters in a sophistical example and we illustrate how anticipation as a Symbolic phenomenon is distinct from the Imaginary or the Real register. As Lacan points out anticipation creates a symbolic social link which binds two or more interacting humans together in an anticipatory relationship. Beliefs, expectations and convictions are the typically human social links which ground human interaction and set it apart from other forms of social interaction we can observe in other complex biological entities. © 2004 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]