Book reviews

Traffic Mix Model

(TRRU Research Report No. 30).

A Methodology for Estimating Recreation Traffic Flows.

August 1977, University of Edinburgh. 144 pps.

“Recreation in the Highlands and Islands”

Tourism and Recreation Research Unit, University of Edinburgh, December 1976.

Research Report No. 22, 411pp with tables and diagrame; Research Report No. 31, 145 with tables and diagrams.

Tourism and Recreation in the Chichester Area: a basis for planning

Tourism and Recreation Research Unit, Research Report No. 35, University of Edinburgh.

The Real Wealth of Nations

S. R. Eyre

Arnold, London, 1978. £7.95.

Landscape Construction

M. F. Downing

E. & F. N. Spon, London, 1977

Planning and Organizing for Social Change. Action Principles from Social Science Research.

Jack Rothman

Columbia University Press. 628 p.p.

Models and Cities and Regions

A. G. Wilson, P. H. Rees, C. M. Leigh (editors) 1977

Wiley, £12.75.

Ecology and Ekistics

C. A. Doxiadis Edited by Gerald Dix

Paul Elek, London 1977. Environmental Studies Series. 91 p.p. Paperback. £3.75.

Tackling Urban Deprivation : The Contribution of Area‐Based Management

T. Mason, K. Spencer, C. Vielba and B. Webster

Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham, Dec. 1977. 93p.p. No price stated.

Marketing Geography : with special reference to retailing

R. L. Davies

Methuen, 1976. £3.45.

“Public Participation in Planning”

Edited by W. R. D. Sewell and J. T. Coppock

J. Wiley & Sons Ltd., Chichester, 1977. 208 p.p. £9.00.

“The Individual Citizen and Public Participation”

William Hampton and Raymond Walker

Linked Research Project into Structure Planning, Interim Research Paper. 13, 1978. 24 p.p. £1.00.

A Future for Planning Science Fiction Cities

Town Planning discussion paper No. 27. Stephen Wood

U.C.L. 1977.

“The Bicycle Planning Book “

Mike Hudson (editor)

Open Books Publishing Ltd. and Friends of the Earth, 1978. Paperback, £1.95.

Residential Location and Urban Housing Markets

G. K. Ingram (1977) (ed.)

Cambridge, Mass : Ballinger Publishing Co., for the National Bureau of Economic Research.     

GC/MS analysis of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in sediment samples from the Niger Delta region

Thirteen sediment samples from different locations in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria were analyzed for the presence of 16 polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) via gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The specific target compounds for this study included naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, flourene, phenanthrene, anthracene, flouranthene, pyrene, benz[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]flouranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[ghi]perylene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene, and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene. Four isotopically labeled polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (acanaphthene-d10, phenanthrene-d10, chrysene-d12 and perylene-d12) were used for internal standardization. All 16 PAHs were found in most of the thirteen samples with concentration ranging from 0.1 microg/kg to 28 microg/kg. It was also found that the 5 and 6-ring PAHs were present in higher concentrations than all the other compounds, indicating their high resistance to microbial degradation.     

Effects of Changing Forest and Impervious Land Covers on Discharge Characteristics of Watersheds

Effects of changing patterns of forest and impervious land covers on hydrologic regimes of watersheds were evaluated for urban and rural areas of the lower Cedar River drainage near Seattle, Washington. Land cover characterizations were used in a spatially explicit hydrology model to assess effects of land covers on watershed hydrology during presettlement conditions (full forest cover), 1991 and 1998. For the presettlement to 1991 period, urban watersheds showed decreases in forest covers (range 63% to 83%) and increases in impervious surfaces (range 43% to 71%). Rural watersheds showed similar patterns but smaller changes, with forest covers decreasing (range 28% to 34%) and impervious surfaces increasing (range 8% to 15%). For the 1991 and 1998 period, changes in forest covers for urban and rural watershed were <24%, with losses in some watersheds and regeneration in others. Impervious surfaces continued to increase, but increases were larger in rural (range 38% to 60%) than in urban watersheds (range 4% to 27%). Flood-frequency curves indicated that discharge rates (m sec^–1) for all watersheds were higher in 1991 and 1998 than historical and suggested that chances for floods increase because of changing land covers. The largest increases in discharge rates were in urban watersheds, with rates for 2-year, 10-year, and 25-year recurrence intervals being more than two times greater than the rate during historical conditions. Changes in flow regimes were indicated by presettlement discharge levels of less frequent recurrence intervals (10-year and 25-year) occurring in posturbanization times (1991 and 1998) during more frequent intervals (2-year and 10-year). Normalized flows (m yr^–1) of watersheds for 2-year, 10-year, and 25-year recurrence intervals indicate how flow regimes in 1991 and 1998 can change as functions of different areas of land covers. During 1991 and 1998, abrupt increases in flows occurred when forest covers were low (range 17% to 37%) and impervious surfaces were >46%. In contrast, the lowest flows occurred when forest covers were most extensive (range 59% to 81%) and impervious surfaces were <23%. We conclude that our use of spatial characterizations of impervious surfaces and forested covers in a spatially explicit hydrology model provides a robust approach for revealing how variations in different types and spatial distributions of land covers can affect flood regimes and flows of different watersheds.     

Feasibility and costs of phosphorus application limits on 39 U.S. swine operations

Concerns about manure P and water quality have prompted new regulations imposing P limits on land application of manure. Previous research established that P limits increase land needs for animal feeding operations. We evaluated the effect of N, annual P, and rotation P limits on the feasibility of manure management. A mechanistic model characterized manure management practices on 39 swine operations (20 unagitated lagoon and 19 slurry operations) in five states (Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania). Extensive information collected from each operation was used to determine effects of manure storage type, ownership structure, and application limits on attributes of manure management. Phosphorus limits had substantially greater effect on slurry operations, increasing land needs 250% (0.3 hectares per animal unit [AU]) and time for manure application 24% (2.5 min AU(-1)) for rotation P limits and 41% (4.4 min AU(-1)) for annual P limits. Annual P limits were infeasible for current land application equipment on two operations and had the greatest effect on time and costs because they required all but three slurry operations to reduce discharge rate. We recommend implementing rotation P limits (not to exceed crop N need) to minimize time effects, allow most farmers to use their current manure application methods, and allow manure to fulfill crop N and P needs in the year of application. Phosphorus limits increased potential manure value but would require slurry operations to recover at least 61% of manure value through manure sales. Phosphorus limits are likely to shape the U.S. swine industry through differential effects on the various sectors of the swine industry.     

Problem driver remediation: a meta-analysis of the driver improvement literature

PROBLEM: Given the public safety risk posed by violation and crash repeaters and the substantial costs for state driver improvement programs, it is important that their effectiveness be scientifically demonstrated and that intervention programs are based on sound research findings. METHOD: Crash and traffic violation standardized effect sizes (d) representing 106 individual interventions were coded from 35 methodologically sound studies and analyzed using meta-analysis. RESULTS: Driver improvement intervention in general was associated with small but significant reductions in both crashes (dw = 0.03) and violations (dw = 0.06). Significant effects were found on both measures for warning letters, group meetings, individual hearings, and license suspense/revocation. Of the driver improvement interventions studied, license suspension/revocation was by far the most effective treatment for both crashes and violations (dw = 0.11 and 0.19). Since one of the objectives of license suspension/revocation is to eliminate driving for the period of suspension, it is possible that much or all of the effect is due to reduced exposure and/or more careful driving during the suspension interval. Results were mixed for other types of interventions, although distributing educational or informational material was not associated with any reductions. Interventions associated with violation reduction tended to also be associated with crash reduction, although the relationship was not very strong (r = .30). DISCUSSION: Although interpretation of the effect size estimates was complicated by almost ubiquitous heterogeneity, the results do suggest an overall positive impact of driver improvement interventions in general. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The results support the continued use of driver improvement interventions, chiefly warning letters, group meetings, individual hearings, and especially license suspension/revocation. The results also suggest that court-triggered traffic violator programs are less effective than interventions triggered by drivers license agencies.     

Risk communication, value judgments, and the public-policy maker relationship in a climate of public sensitivity toward animals: revisiting britain's foot and mouth crisis

This paper offers some suggestions on, and encouragement for, how to be better at risk communication in times of agricultural crisis. During the foot and mouth epizootic, the British public, having no precedent to deal with such a rapid and widespread epizootic, no existing rules or conventions, and no social or political consensus, was forced to confront the facts of a perceived "economic disease. Foot and mouth appeared as an economic disease because the major push to eradicate it was motivated exclusively by trade and economic reasons and not because of threats it posed to the lives of human beings and livestock. The British public deferred responsibility to their elected officials for a speedy end to this non-life threatening viral epizootic. The latter, however, did not have a contingency plan in place to tackle such an extensive outbreak. The appeal to an existing policy, i.e., mass eradication, as the exclusive strategy of containment was a difficult pill for the public to swallow well before the end of the 226-day ordeal. Public outcry reflected (in part) serious misgivings about the lack of effective communication of risk-informed decisions between government agents and all concerned. The government's handling of the matter underestimated concerns and values about animal welfare, public trust, and the plight of farmers and rural communities. A general loss of trust by some segments of the public was exacerbated by perceived mismanagement and early fumbles by government agents.Public moral uneasiness during the crisis, while perhaps symbolic of growing discontent with an already fractured relationship with farmed animals and the state of animal farming today, arguably, also reflected deep disappointment in government agents to recognize inherently and conditionally normative assumptions in their argument as well as recognize their narrow conception of risk. Furthermore, broader stakeholder participation was clearly missing from the outset, especially with respect to the issue of vaccination. A greater appreciation for two-way risk communication is suggested for science-based public policy in agriculture, followed by suggestions on how to be more vigilant in the future.     

LIFAC ash--strategies for management

LIFAC is a more recent addition to flue gas desulphurization methods for reducing sulphur emissions during coal combustion for the production of electricity. Ashes from the combustion of a low-sulphur lignite coal using LIFAC technology were used to evaluate different ash management strategies. The ashes, as produced and after treatment by the CERCHAR hydration process, were examined for their disposal characteristics and their utilization potential in concrete. They were also evaluated as underground disposal material using the AWDS process.     

License extensions for clean-record drivers: A 4-year follow-up

Over 4,000,000 of California's 17,000,000 licensed drivers used to come to the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) annually to take written and vision tests in order to renew their driver licenses. In an effort to increase public convenience and reduce costs, extension of the license by mail was implemented for selected groups of drivers with clean records over the life of their previous licenses. Continued implementation of the program was subject to evaluation of its effect on traffic safety. Since clean-record drivers make up about 50% of the renewal population, this program made it possible for some 2,000,000 drivers annually to avoid coming to the DMV for license renewal. Two studies of program safety effects were conducted, one evaluating a 2-year extension (760,000 subjects), and the other a 4-year extension (407,000 subjects). Random assignment to a group offered extension by mail or to a control group undergoing standard renewal testing and procedures was followed by careful tracking of accident and conviction activity. During the 48-month period following mailing of renewal notices or extension offers, the extension group had a slightly higher accident rate than did the in-person renewal group — an increase of 1%, or 13 accidents for every 10,000 extension offers. Although this small increase in accident rate would translate into about 2,500 additional accident involvements per year if applied to the current volume of clean-record drivers eligible for extension, statistical tests of significance indicated that the increase could easily be due to sampling error (p>.10). A supplemental Bayesian analysis resulted in a .24 probability that there was no true increase. The administrative cost savings attributable to the extension program were conservatively estimated to be $3,000,000 per year.