Driving safety improves after individualized training: An RCT involving older drivers in an urban area

Objective: This study aimed to reproduce the results of a previous investigation on the safety benefits of individualized training for older drivers. We modified our method to address validity and generalizability issues.

Methods: Older drivers were randomly assigned to one of the 3 arms: (1) education alone, (2) education?+?on road training, and (3) education?+?on road?+?simulator training. Older drivers were recruited from a larger urban community. At the pre- and posttests (separated by 4 to 8 weeks) participants followed driving directions using a Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation system.

Results: Our findings support the positive influence of individualized on-road training for urban-dwelling older drivers. Overall, driving safety improved among drivers who received on-road training over those who were only exposed to an education session, F(1, 40) = 11.66, P = .001 (26% reduction in total unsafe driving actions [UDAs]). Statistically significant improvements were observed on observation UDAs (e.g., scanning at intersections, etc.), compliance UDAs (e.g., incomplete stop), and procedural UDAs (e.g., position in lane).

Conclusion: This study adds to the growing evidence base in support of individualized older driver training to optimize older drivers’ safety and promote continued safe driving.     

Using Temporal Coherence to Determine the Response to Climate Change in Boreal Shield Lakes

Climate change is expected to have important impacts on aquatic ecosystems. On the Boreal Shield, mean annual air temperatures are expected to increase 2 to 4°C over the next 50 years. An important challenge is to predict how changes in climate and climate variability will impact natural systems so that sustainable management policies can be implemented. To predict responses to complex ecosystem changes associated with climate change, we used long-term biotic databases to evaluate how important elements of the biota in Boreal Shield lakes have responded to past fluctuations in climate. Our long-term records span a two decade period where there have been unusually cold years and unusually warm years. We used coherence analyses to test for regionally operating controls on climate, water temperature, pH, and plankton richness and abundance in three regions across Ontario: the Experimental Lakes Area, Sudbury, and Dorset. Inter-annual variation in air temperature was similar among regions, but there was a weak relationship among regions for precipitation. While air temperature was closely related to lake surface temperatures in each of the regions, there were weak relationships between lake surface temperature and richness or abundance of the plankton. However, inter-annual changes in lake chemistry (i.e., pH) were correlated with some biotic variables. In some lakes in Sudbury and Dorset, pH was dependent on extreme events. For example, El Nino related droughts resulted in acidification pulses in some lakes that influenced phytoplankton and zooplankton richness. These results suggest that there can be strong heterogeneity in lake ecosystem responses within and across regions.     

Characteristics and predictors of recidivist drink-drivers

Objective: The current study compared characteristics of nonrecidivist versus recidivist drink-drivers and of recidivists in their first versus second appearance at Back on Track (BOT), the remedial measures program for impaired drivers in Ontario, Canada.

Methods: Information from 59,134 convicted drivers who participated in BOT between 2000 and 2010 was examined to identify drivers who completed the program a second time following reconviction.

Results: A total of 586 recidivists were identified. Compared to nonrecidivist drivers, recidivists at first attendance were more likely to be male and had higher scores on measures of alcohol dependence and adverse legal consequences of substance use. Compared to nonrecidivist drivers, recidivists at second attendance were significantly older, had a higher income, were more likely to be retired, and were less likely to be employed part-time. They had fewer legal problems. Recidivists reported fewer drinking days and fewer drinks per occasion but greater use of benzodiazepines than nonrecidivists and had higher scores on a measure of future risk of alcohol- and drug-related problems. Comparison of recidivists' characteristics at first versus second attendance confirmed many of these findings, with second-time recidivists reporting fewer drinks per drinking day and greater use of benzodiazepines and having higher scores on a measure of future substance use problems than first-time recidivists.

Conclusions: Results suggest that identification of drivers at increased risk of recidivism may be possible at first program attendance by examining indicators of increased alcohol-related problems. In addition, recidivists appear to show a greater readiness to change at second attendance. Implications for remedial program development and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

Human drivers,biophysical changes,and climatic variation affecting contemporary cropping proportions in the northern prairie of the U.S

Grassland to cropland conversion in the northern prairie of the United States has been a topic of recent land use change studies. Within this region more corn and soybeans are grown now (2017) than in the past, but most studies to date have not examined multi-decadal trends and the synergistic web of socio-ecological driving forces involved, opting instead for short-term analyses and easily targeted agents of change. This paper examines the coalescing of biophysical and socioeconomic driving forces that have brought change to the agricultural landscape of this region between 1980 and 2013. While land conversion has occurred, most of the region’s cropland in 2013 had been previously cropped by the early 1980s. Furthermore, the agricultural conditions in which crops were grown during those three decades have changed considerably because of non-biophysical alterations to production practices and changing agricultural markets. Findings revealed that human drivers played more of a role in crop change than biophysical changes, that blending quantitative and qualitative methods to tell a more complete story of crop change in this region was difficult because of the synergistic characteristics of the drivers involved, and that more research is needed to understand how farmers make crop choice decisions.     

An overdue alignment of risk and resilience? A conceptual contribution to community resilience

A systematic review of literature on community resilience measurement published between 2005 and 2014 revealed that the profound lack of clarity on risk and resilience is one of the main reasons why confusion about terms such as adaptive capacity, resilience, and vulnerability persists, despite the effort spared to operationalise these concepts. Resilience is measured in isolation in some cases, where a shock is perceived to arise external to the system of interest. Problematically, this contradicts the way in which the climate change and disaster communities perceive risk as manifesting itself endogenously as a function of exposure, hazard, and vulnerability. The common conceptualisation of resilience as predominantly positive is problematic as well when, in reality, many undesirable properties of a system are resilient. Consequently, this paper presents an integrative framework that highlights the interactions between risk drivers and coping, adaptive, and transformative capacities, providing an improved conceptual basis for resilience measurement.     

中国地表城市热岛驱动因素及其空间异质性

基于MODIS卫星遥感数据,计算了中国284个地级市2018年的年平均地表城市热岛强度,分析了中国地表城市热岛的空间分布规律和空间集聚模式.结合多元遥感数据、气象数据和社会经济统计数据,利用地理加权回归模型分析了日间和夜间地表城市热岛强度主要驱动因素的空间异质性结果表明,中国地表城市热岛强度的空间分布存在明显的空间自相...     

Agency and structure: a grounded theory approach to explain land-use change in the Mindo and western foothills of Pichincha,Ecuador

ABSTRACT

Although life and land decisions are individual, driven by perceptions of reality, they reflect broader social processes. This research aims to understand relevant land-use change processes and the context within which land-use change occurs in the study area. For this, we employ grounded theory techniques and procedures to analyze narratives and life history interviews. Based on these narratives, we re-construct past land-use changes. Additionally, we identify structural conditions that drive change, several dimensions of change, including cultural-cognitive dimensions, and future discourses. The identified structural conditions motivate changes in concepts, actions, and practices, in land-use, and institutions, eventually leading to generational changes. Further research is needed to examine how the so-called structural conditions producing change varies in different settings and contexts. These findings can provide insight into certain patterns and knowledge that may contribute to community planning, policy design, and the conception of sustainable solutions with more grounded knowledge.     

中国旅游经济增长源泉分解及其时空演化特征

依据数据包络分析法、最佳产出函数以及SDA两极分解法,构建了测算旅游经济增长源泉的非参数分解框架,并以2005~2012年中国30省份的旅游业为研究单元,结合投入与产出指标数据,对旅游经济增长源泉进行分解与测算。研究表明:2005~2012年,全要素生产率对旅游经济增长的贡献正逐步超过资源要素投入,成为推动中国旅游经济增长的主要源泉,相应贡献率从2006年的49.01%上升到2012年的82.18%,其中技术进步是全要素生产率贡献攀升的关键,而技术效率特别是其中的规模效率对旅游经济增长的贡献相对较小,且处于下滑态势,纯技术效率的影响微乎其微,资源要素投入的贡献率则从2006年的50.99%下降到2012年的26.52%;分区域来看,各区域旅游经济增长源泉的变化存在一定差异,使得中部、西部旅游经济增速超越东部,其中中部地区旅游经济增速加快主要受规模效率驱动,而西部地区则主要受纯技术效率驱动,并呈现出2005~2008年资源要素投入驱动与2009~2012年全要素生产率驱动两个阶段;从2006年到2012年中国旅游经济增长方式愈发趋于集约型,越来越多省区旅游业的全要素生产率贡献超过资源要素投入贡献,旅游经济增长更多地依靠全要素生产率驱动。     

Industrial development zone and South African environmental legal initiatives post-1994: a quest for sustainable industrial development

Many developing countries are currently undergoing increased industrialization, which has accelerated environmental degradation. This study aims to examine South Africa's industrial development path as a socio-economic strategy pursued along the rill-lines of sustainable industrial development (SID) in view of the post-1994 environmental legislative initiatives. An exploratory review guided the study analysis. As industrial development zones (IDZs), environmental sustainability research is virtually non-existent, leading to the poor understanding of this programme's role in SID. This study reveals that the government political commitment, 1996 South Africa's Constitution and National Environmental Act (No. 107 of 1998) are key pillars reconciling the environment and industrial development in diffusing apartheid legacies. Non-compliances re-occur in industries outside the IDZs due to shortage of environmental monitoring inspectors and government priorities changes. Therefore, there is need to ‘green’ IDZ stakeholders for proper environmental legislation implementation. Finally, the study highlights new potential directions for research into SID zoning.     

基于灰色关联分析的天津市碳排放驱动因素研究

天津市拥有中国重要老工业基地和低碳城市试点的“双重身份”,当前面临城市化工业化阶段的能源刚性需求巨大和减排压力日渐增大的双重压力,因此制定适宜天津市现阶段发展特征的碳排放政策追在眉睫.采用政府间气候变化专门委员会(IPCC)推荐的碳排放核算方法对天津市2001-2010年的CO2排放进行了估算,结合低碳城市试点指标剖析了天津市面临的减排困境;为找出解决办法,采用灰色关联分析法对天津市碳排放的驱动因素进行了识别.结果表明,能源消耗总量、人口指标、经济增长速度和产业结构指标等是CO2排放的关键因素,并由此得出结论,天津市碳减排的工作重心应集中于优化产业结构和能源利用结构、提高能效、倡导低碳消费等方面.