高湿天气的时空变化及其对交通安全的影响

利用1951—1998年40多年的气象资料,根据每日08时的空气相对湿度值超过95%的出现频率,分析了京珠高速等沿线高湿天气的时空变化特点以及该时空分布特征给车辆运行和驾驶带来的影响问题。同时指出:高湿天气具有明显的区段性差异和季节性差异;该差异将会使驾驶环境变得复杂,给车辆的行驶和驾驶人员的心理带来很不利的影响,直接影响着交通安全。还根据分析结论提出了减少安全事故发生的具体措施。     

Drivers and barriers to water transfer in a New Zealand irrigation scheme

Policy makers, economists and water researchers have advocated water transfer and trade as a key potential response to worldwide water scarcity and/or efficiency problems. This paper examines aspects of an operational irrigation scheme in New Zealand that enables transfer of water between shareholders, arguing that the set-up and processes involved with the scheme can provide a wider context for analysis and consideration of social and cultural issues involved with resource allocation. Analysis of the key drivers and barriers for water reveal that while there is potential for real benefits from transferring water for farmers and the community, an examination of some of the processes used, and barriers to transfer reveals important lessons for planning and regulatory perspectives, including the importance of looking at the issues from a procedural and distributive justice viewpoint.     

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.     

Biochemical study of retired pentachlorophenol workers with and without following dietary exposure to PCDD/Fs

Objectives

This is the first research study to compare among female, non-smoker workers: (a) the exposure to benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTXs) in urban air during work in the street (traffic policewomen, TP) vs. work in vehicles (police drivers, PD); (b) the exposure to BTXs in urban environments (in street and in car) vs. rural environments (roadwomen, RW); (c) the values of blood benzene, urinary trans, trans muconic acid (t,t-MA) and urinary S-phenylmercapturic acid (S-PMA) in urban areas (in street and in car) vs. rural areas.

Methods

Passive personal samplings and data acquired using fixed monitoring stations located in different areas of the city were used to measure environmental and occupational exposure to BTXs during the work shift in 48 TP, 21 PD and 22 RW. In the same study subjects, blood benzene, t,t-MA and S-PMA were measured at the end of each work shift.

Results

Personal exposure of urban workers to benzene seemed to be higher than the exposure measured by the fixed monitoring stations. Personal exposure to benzene and toluene was (a) similar among TP and PD and (b) higher among urban workers compared to rural workers. Personal exposure to xylenes was (a) higher in TP than in PD and (b) higher among urban workers compared to rural workers. Blood benzene, t,t-MA and S-PMA levels were similar among TP and PD, although the blood benzene level was significantly higher in urban workers compared to rural workers. In urban workers, airborne benzene and blood benzene levels were significantly correlated.

Conclusions

Benzene is a human carcinogen, and BTXs are potential reproductive toxins at low dose exposures. Biological and environmental monitoring to assess exposure to BTXs represents a preliminary and necessary tool for the implementation of preventive measures for female subjects working in outdoor environments.     

Dissociation between driving performance and drivers' subjective estimates of performance and workload in dual-task conditions

Introduction

The current study measured how concurrent driving and in-vehicle activities of different levels of engagement varied in terms of performance and subjective estimates of demand and performance.

Method

In this test track study, 41 younger and older drivers completed a series of cognitive tasks while driving an instrumented vehicle. One task involved an engaging guessing game where drivers tried to guess the identity of an object. The other task involved a simple mental arithmetic task.

Results

We observed some dissociation between drivers' performance and their subjective reports. For instance, drivers tended to estimate their performance as better for the more engaging guessing task than the arithmetic task, though their performance was actually worse. At the same time, subjective estimates of workload across the two tasks did not vary in the dual-task condition even though they did in the single-task baseline conditions, suggesting that drivers failed to account for the added demands in dual-task situations.

Conclusions

We discuss the implications of these findings for driver safety.

Impact on Industry

Crashes due to distraction can carry tremendous costs for employers, in terms of injury, disability, and loss of potentially productive work years, whether these crashes occur on or off the job.     

Does the built environment affect when American teens become drivers? Evidence from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey

Problem

Motor vehicle crashes are the most common cause of death for American adolescents. However, the impact of where teens live on when they begin driving has not been studied.

Method

Data from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey were used to estimate the effect of residential density on the driver status of teens aged 16 to 19 years after matching on demographic characteristics.

Results

Controlling for demographic characteristics, 16 and 17 year old teens in high density neighborhoods had driver rates 15 percentage points below teens living in less dense areas (p < 0.001). The effect for 18 and 19 year olds was a 9 percentage point decrease (p < 0.001).

Summary

These results suggest teens living in less dense and more sprawling communities initiate driving at a younger age than comparable teens in compact areas, placing them at increased risk for crash related injuries. Impact on Industry: The role of environmental factors, such as neighborhood walkability and provision of transit, should be considered in young driver programs.     

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.     

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.     

Adaptation of a Canadian culpability scoring tool to Alberta police traffic collision report data

Objective: The objective of this study was to adapt a previously validated Canadian Culpability Scoring Tool (CCST) to Alberta police report data.

Methods: Police traffic collision reports from motor vehicle (MV) collisions in Calgary and Edmonton (Alberta, Canada) from 2010 to 2014 were used. Adaptation of the CCST was completed with input from personnel within Alberta Transportation, contributing to face and content validity. Two research assistants, given only the information necessary for scoring, evaluated 175 randomly selected MV–MV collisions. Interrater agreement was estimated using kappa (k) and reported with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Discussion of disagreements between the research assistants and consultation from Alberta Transportation informed the algorithm used in the Alberta Motor Vehicle Collision Culpability Tool (AMVCCT). The AMVCCT was automated and applied to all motorists involved in collisions. Binary logistic regression was used to examine characteristics of the culpable and nonculpable drivers and their effects were reported using odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs.

Results: Interrater agreement for the random sample was excellent (k = 0.95; 95% CI, 0.92–0.99). Of those drivers hospitalized, 1,130 (37.54%) were rated not culpable and 1,880 (62.46%) were rated culpable. The odds of being culpable were higher for males than for females (OR = 1.43; 95% CI, 1.23–1.66). The odds of being culpable were higher in those impaired by alcohol than those considered “apparently normal” (OR = 61.10; 95% CI, 22.66–164.75). The odds of being deemed culpable, when compared with drivers >54 years old, were higher for those <25 years old (OR = 1.72; 95% CI, 1.35–2.20) and lower for those in the 40- to 54-year-old age group (OR = 0.78; 95% CI, 0.63–0.96). Driving between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. resulted in higher odds of being culpable compare with all other 6-h time blocks. Direction and statistical significance remained consistent when applying the tool to all MV collisions. Sensitivity analysis including the removal of single vehicle collisions did not affect the direction or statistical significance of the main results.

Conclusions: The AMVCCT identified a culpable group that exhibited characteristics expected in drivers who are at fault in collisions. The age groups 25–39 and 40–54 demonstrated different results than the CCST. However, this is the only difference that exists in the findings of the AMVCCT compared to the CCST and could exist due to differences between the driving populations in Alberta and British Columbia. It is possible to adapt the CCST to provinces outside British Columbia and, in doing so, we can identify risk factors for collision contribution and not-at-fault drivers who represent the driving population.