Road traffic crashes among farm vehicle drivers in southern China: A cross-sectional survey

Objective: The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence and potential risk factors of farm vehicle–related road traffic crashes among farm vehicle drivers in southern China.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was used to interview 1,422 farm vehicle drivers in southern China. Farm vehicle–related road traffic crashes that occurred from December 2013 to November 2014 were investigated. Data on farm vehicle–related road traffic crashes and related factors were collected by face-to-face interviews.

Results: The prevalence of farm vehicle–related road traffic crashes among the investigated drivers was 7.2%. Farm vehicle–related road traffic crashes were significantly associated with self-reported vision problem (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 6.48, 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.86–10.87), self-reported sleep disorders (AOR = 10.03, 95% CI, 6.28–15.99), self-reported stress (AOR = 20.47, 95% CI, 9.96–42.08), reported history of crashes (AOR = 5.40, 95% CI, 3.47–8.42), reported history of drunk driving (AOR = 5.07, 95% CI, 2.97–8.65), and reported history of fatigued driving (AOR = 5.72, 95% CI, 3.73–8.78). The number of road traffic crashes was highest in the daytime and during harvest season. In over 96% of farm vehicle–related road traffic crashes, drivers were believed to be responsible for the crash. Major crash-causing factors included improper driving, careless driving, violating of traffic signals or signs, and being in the wrong lane.

Conclusion: Findings of this study suggest that farm vehicle–related road traffic crashes have become a burgeoning public health problem in China. Programs need to be developed to prevent farm vehicle–related road traffic crashes in this emerging country.     

Factors affecting adolescents’ use of urban public spaces in their leisure time: an exploratory study from the city of Vienna

Urban public spaces are important areas for leisure, recreation and physical activity and therefore contribute to the quality of life in cities. In particular, for adolescents they provide important spaces to meet with their peers, away from parental or school control. In many cities worldwide, public spaces have undergone severe developmental processes, and often a withdrawal from public space is noted. With regard to the opportunities those spaces provide for adolescents, it is necessary to investigate their current meaning for adolescents in a leisure context. In this article, qualitative research methods were used to investigate factors affecting adolescents’ use of public spaces in Vienna, Austria. In total 45 adolescents were interviewed. Results show that public open spaces are not regarded as important leisure spaces, and data reveal a strong retreat to private areas for leisure purposes. Perceived insecurities and fears support these processes and often result in avoidance of public spaces but also the wish for more control by authorities.     

Emergent publics and affects in environmental governance

Drawing on the wide social scientific literature on emotions and affects, we highlight the value and potential contribution of the affect theory for understanding public engagement in environmental policy and planning. We suggest that such theorization complements political ontologies that envision concerned publics to arise as citizens are attached to objects and other beings in their everyday life. Focus on emotions and affects enables in-depth exploration of the corporeality of these attachments, increasing understanding about how affected publics get driven for action and how new sensibilities and horizons for action are created. Based on the discussion of affect theory and case examples, we argue that emotions and affects should be treated as crucial carriers of knowledge about transformation of political subjects and their concerns. They also direct analytic gaze beyond public participation procedures and encourage the development of novel, more inclusive settings for public engagement.     

‘We cannot be at the forefront,changing society’: exploring how Swedish property developers respond to climate change in urban planning

It is increasingly expected that private actors play the role as entrepreneurs and front-runners in implementing climate measures, whereas empirical studies of the position, role and engagement of private actors are scarce. Situated in the context of urban planning, a critical arena for triggering climate transitions, the aim of this paper is to explore how Swedish property developers respond to climate change. Qualitative analyses of corporate policy documents and semi-structured interviews with property developers reveal a vast divergence between the written policies, where leadership ambitions are high, and how the practice of property development is discussed in interviews. In the latter, there is little evidence of property developers pursuing a forward-looking or cutting-edge climate change agenda. Instead, they are critical of increased public regulation for climate-oriented measures. Explanations both confirm previous studies, highlighting lack of perceived customer demand, uncertainty of financial returns and limited innovations, and add new elements of place-dependency suggesting that innovative and front-runner practices can only be realized in the larger urban areas. Municipalities seeking to improve their climate-oriented profile in urban planning by involving private property developers need to develop strategies to maneuver the variance in responses to increase the effectiveness of implementation.     

生态工业园建设研究——基于与传统工业园差异上的论述

从建设的角度,生态工业园较传统工业园存在巨大差异性,它涉及：①企业生产链的构建和完善;②生态工业园与所在社区的共建;③公共服务平台的构建等传统工业园建设中未涉及或较少涉及的新领域。其目的是实现资源的最大利用与环境的最小污染。构建生态工业园需要宏观上的政府政策支持以及微观上的以政府占主导地位的各个生态工业园规划领导小组的具体实施。     

中国生活垃圾处理处置的公众参与情况现状分析

随着中国城市化进程的加快,城市生活垃圾产生量逐年增加,处理处置压力也与日俱增,迫切需要建立针对处理的公众参与机制。但目前中国公众参与仍处于探索、尝试的初级阶段。本文以典型垃圾处理厂为例,分析和调研了垃圾处理工程运行过程的公众参与现况,指出目前中国生活垃圾在处理过程公众参与存在的问题,提出完善公众参与工作的建议。     

基本环境质量与地方政府公共服务

环境资源具有公共物品属性。环境保护是一种为社会提供集体利益的公共物品和劳务。通过保护自然环境,防治污染和其它公害,扩大有用资源再生产,其产品就是环境质量。基本环境质量是在环境容量允许的情况下,能满足人类的基本需要的水清、天蓝、地干净的宜居环境,是能喝上干净水、呼吸清洁空气、吃上放心食物的安康环境。基本环境质量是人民群众健康生活和经济社会可持续发展的基础,是广大人民群众应当享受的最基本的环境权益。政府承担着公众赋予的公共职能和公共权力。地方各级政府是以提供公共产品、为人民服务为首要职责的公共服务型政府。基本的环境质量是一种公共产品,是政府必须确保的公共服务。     

基于双层规划的危险品运输专用车道优化设计

为更有效地设置危险品运输专用车道,在降低运输风险的同时减少专用道对路权的占用,从路网整体出发,以总体出行成本最小、路网运输风险最小和专用道利用率最大为目标,构建双层规划模型;使用NSGA-2算法求解双层规划模型,结合算例网络进行分析,验证模型和算法的有效性。结果表明:模型可综合考虑路网风险和总体出行成本,得到有效的专用道布局方案;在危险品运输交通量较大和采用路径限制政策的情况下,专用道可取得更好的风险控制效果、更低的总体出行成本和更高的专用道利用率。     

大型商圈安全评价体系及案例研究*

为整体评价大型商圈的安全性,结合公共安全科技三角形理论,从突发事件的危险性、承灾载体的脆弱性、应急能力3方面构建大型商圈安全评价指标体系,通过网络分析法和模糊综合评价法确定指标间权重系数,对大型商圈进行安全风险评价。结果表明:体系全面考虑了大型商圈安全风险影响因素及其内在关系,可为大型商圈安全评价体系构建和定量评估提供参考。