Preferred modes of travel among older adults: What factors affect the choice to walk instead of drive?

Introduction

There are many factors that influence older adults' travel choices. This paper explores the associations between mode of travel choice for a short trip and older adults' personal characteristics.

Methods

This study included 406 drivers over the age of 64 who were enrolled in a large integrated health plan in the United States between 1991 and 2001. Bivariate analyses and generalized linear modeling were used to examine associations between choosing to walk or drive and respondents' self-reported general health, physical and functional abilities, and confidence in walking and driving.

Results

Having more confidence in their ability to walk versus drive increased an older adult's likelihood of walking to make a short trip by about 20% (PR = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.06-1.40), and walking for exercise increased the likelihood by about 50% (PR = 1.53; 95% CI = 1.22-1.91). Reporting fair or poor health decreased the likelihood of walking, as did cutting down on the amount of driving due to a physical problem.

Discussion

Factors affecting a person's decision to walk for exercise may not be the same as those that influence their decision to walk as a mode of travel. It is important to understand the barriers to walking for exercise and walking for travel to develop strategies to help older adults meet both their exercise and mobility needs. Impact on Industry: Increasing walking over driving among older adults may require programs that increase confidence in walking and encourage walking for exercise.     

The effects of appraisal instrument,feedback and goal-setting on worker satisfaction and commitment

Twenty managers and 125 subordinates participated in a field experiment performed in the Israel Airport Authority. The managers received intensive training in giving performance feedback and setting specific goals when conducting appraisals of their subordinates. Following training, the managers were assigned randomly to one of four conditions: feedback and goals using BOS-based appraisal; feedback using BOS-based appraisal with no goals; feedback and goals using GRS-based appraisal; feedback alone using GRS-based appraisal. Work satisfaction and organizational commitment were measured before and after the performance appraisals were conducted. A two-way analysis of variance followed by univariate analyses by means of a studentized range test revealed that (1) the use of BOS-based appraisal increased work satisfaction significantly more than the use of GRS-based appraisal, (2) feedback followed by goal-setting resulted in significantly higher work satisfaction and organizational commitment than feedback alone, regardless of the appraisal scale that was used, and (3) the combination of BOS-based appraisal, feedback and goal-setting led to significantly higher work satisfaction than was the case in the other experimental conditions.     

POLICY DROUGIT: THE CASE OF SOUTH FLORIDA1

ABSTRACT: In this paper, we review recent experience with drought in south Florida, and report some results of a study of the likely agricultural economic impacts of drought. Our conclusions can be summarized as follows. (1) Whether a period of low rainfall becomes a “drought” in south Florida is determined largely by institutional factors. (2) The impacts of a drought event are dependent on the rules the Water Management District uses to manage the event. If the rules involve effective reductions in irrigation supply, the financial impacts may be large, but are sensitive to the way in which cutbacks are imposed. (3) Current drought management regulations do not appear to minimize the short-run cost of drought. (4) Current policies which seek to minimize the short-run cost of drought are inconsistent with dynamically-optimal policies.     

Population control of exotic rainbow trout in streams of a natural area park

Expansion of the distribution of exotic rainbow trout is thought to be a leading cause for the decline of native brook trout since the 1930s in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA. An experimental rehabilitation project was conducted from 1976 to 1981 using backpack electrofish shockers on four remnant brook trout populations sympatric with rainbow trout. The objectives were to evaluate the effectiveness of the technique to remove the exotic rainbow trout, to determine the population responses by native brook trout, and to evaluate the usefulness of the technique for trout management in the park.Rainbow trout populations were greatly reduced in density after up to six years of electrofishing, but were not eradicated. Rainbow trout recruitment, however, was essentially eliminated. Brook trout populations responded by increasing in density (including young-of-the-year), but rates of recovery differed among streams. The maximum observed densities ir each stream occurred at the end of the project.The findings suggest that electrofishing had a major negative impact on the exotic species, which was followed by positive responses from the native species in the second and third order study streams. The technique would probably be less effective in larger (fourth-order) park streams, but as an eradication tool the technique may have its highest potential in small first order streams. Nonetheless, the technique appears useful for population control without causing undue impacts on native aquatic species, although it is labor intensive, and capture efficiency is greatly influenced by fish size and stream morphology. To completely remove the exotic fish from selected streams, different technologies will have to be explored and developed.     

Large-scale constructed wetlands for nutrient removal from stormwater runoff: An everglades restoration project

The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) constructed a wetland south of Lake Okeechobee to begin the process of removing nutrients (especially phosphorus) from agricultural stormwater runoff entering the Everglades. The project, called the Everglades Nutrient Removal (ENR) project, is a prototype for larger, similarly constructed wetlands that the SFWMD will build as part of the Everglades restoration program. This innovative project is believed to be one of the largest agricultural stormwater cleanup projects in the United States, if not in the world. This publication describes the ENR project's design, construction, and proposed operation, as well as the proposed research program to be implemented over the next few years.     

Community opinion concerning airport noise-abatement alternatives

In the present study we examined (1) community opinion of airport noise-abating alternatives and (2) the influence of perceived control on attitudes concerning noise-abatement policies and annoyance toward aircraft noise. We proposed that residents who perceive themselves as having little control over aircraft noise exposure would express higher levels of annoyance than residents who believe they have some degree of control. Furthermore, residents with low levels of perceived control would be less favorable toward proposed noise-abatement alternatives. Survey results collected from 239 households within the 65 CNEL contour of a community airport in Southern California support these hypotheses. Findings indicate strong public support for noise abatement and strong opposition to land-use alternatives. In addition, residents' perceptions of control in the airport planning and management process are significantly related to their annoyance with noise and their opinions about noise management policies.     

A RIFFLE STABILITY INDEX TO EVALUATE SEDIMENT LOADING TO STREAMS1

ABSTRACT: Riffles in moderately entrenched stream reaches with gradients of 2 percent to 4 percent that have received excessive sediment from upstream have a distinctly different and higher proportion of smaller mobile particles than riffles in systems that are in dynamic equilibrium. The mobile fraction on the riffle can be estimated by comparing the relative abundance of various particle sizes present on the riffle with the dominant large particles on an adjacent bar. Riffle particles smaller than the dominant large particles on the bar are interpreted as mobile. The mobile percentile of particles on the riffle is termed “Riffle Stability Index” (RSI) and provides a useful estimate of the degree of increased sediment supply to riffles in mountain streams. The RSI addresses situations in which increases in gravel bedload from headwaters activities is depositing material on riffles and filling pools, and it reflects qualitative differences between reference and managed watersheds. The RSI correlates well with other measures of stream channel physical condition, such as V and the results of fish habitat surveys. Thus, it can be used as an indicator of stream reach and watershed condition and also of aquatic habitat quality.