Attitudes Toward Wilderness Study Areas: A Survey of Six Southeastern Utah Counties

Southeastern Utah is a region of world-renowned red-rock sandstone formations, large tracts of federal public land, rural communities centered on agriculture and extractive industries, and is often at the epicenter of environmental protection efforts in the western United States. Environmental groups have proposed formal Wilderness designations for much of the regions public land—proposals that have been actively fought by rural community leaders who do not want large areas locked-up from traditional livelihood and recreational uses. The debate over wilderness designation in the region has been characterized in the media as one that is particularly contentious and polarizing. A survey of southeastern Utah residents was conducted in order to better understand this conflict. The survey focused on attitudes toward wilderness designation and management. We found that residents of southeastern Utah have negative attitudes towards the designation and management of Wilderness Study Areas. We propose that these attitudes should be carefully considered and engaged in future policy and management decisions. We suggest that negative opinions expressed by residents of southeastern Utah are not directed primarily at the concept of environmental protection but rather at the strong perception that these programs and initiatives have been carried out in a heavy-handed manner and dominated by outside influences that have overwhelmed local voices.     

A survey-based system for safety measurement and improvement

PROBLEM:A task force sought to develop a method for safety measurement that is reliable and valid and provides a framework for improvement efforts. METHOD: Over a 10-year period, through working in a chemical company with about 6,000 employees and over 50 plants, the authors researched the use of employee surveys to measure safety and as a diagnostic tool for improvement efforts. RESULTS: The statistical studies indicate that this survey, which evolved from the Minnesota Safety Perception Survey, is both reliable and valid as a measurement tool. The survey measures important components of the management system including (a) management's demonstration of commitment to safety, (b) education and knowledge of the workforce, (c) effectiveness of the supervisory process, and (d) employee involvement and commitment. This study also describes anecdotal evidence that the diagnostic element of the survey enables the development of effective action plans to improve safety performance. This evidence includes ratings of the process by plant managers who have used it. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The survey and related methods have helped to improve safety performance in several companies.     

Risk-mitigating beliefs,risk estimates,and self-reported speeding in a sample of Australian drivers

PROBLEM: Research suggests that people who engage in risk-taking behaviors often hold specific beliefs that can mitigate or reduce their perceptions of risk associated with those behaviors. METHOD: A scale was developed (Speeding Risk Belief Scale (SRBS)) to assess beliefs about speeding-related risk and predict self-reported speeding in a random-digit telephone survey of 800 South Australian drivers between the ages of 16 and 50. RESULTS: The scale was internally consistent, and path analyses showed it to be associated with self-reported speeding, both directly and indirectly through participants' estimates of speeding-related risk. DISCUSSION: Origins of risk-mitigating beliefs and the extent to which they may be causally linked with speeding are discussed, and recommendations are made for future research. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: This research has strong implications for the conduct of countermeasure campaigns that disseminate information on speeding-related risk.     

Survey on the status of imported wastes used as raw material in China

 A survey was conducted on the status of imported waste steel–iron scrap and paper–cardboard, and their environmental impacts were analyzed based on the survey results. It was concluded that the importation of wastes will continue, and that it can be helpful to meet the steel–iron and paper-market demands. Some suggestions are offered to address these issues. Received: May 1, 2001 / Accepted: October 1, 2001     

12-Year longitudinal study linking within-person changes in work and family transitions and workplace injury risk

Introduction: Despite the rich tradition of research on predictors of workplace injury, most studies rely on cross-sectional, between-person designs. Furthermore, prior research has often overlooked the possibility that factors outside the work domain can influence the occurrence of actual injuries at work. To address these limitations, the current study examined the effects of work and family demands on the occurrence of workplace injury. Drawing on the intuition of the work-home resources model (W-HR), we investigated how within-person level changes in demands and resources from both domains influence work injuries over a 12-year period. Method: We used 12 years of longitudinal data (N = 7,820) to study the long-term within-person changes in work and family domains and to capture the event of low frequency incidence such as workplace injury. Specifically, we conducted multilevel analyses to study the links between within-person change in time and energy resources both in work and family domains and within-person change in the likelihood of experiencing a workplace injury. Results and conclusion: The findings showed that within-person changes in work hours, spousal work hours, income and number of children, were significantly associated with changes in the likelihood of experiencing a workplace injury. We conclude with a discussion of implications for theory and future research of workplace injuries. Practical application: The research provided useful insights on the intimate association between work and family domains in the context of safety management.     

Disability among adults injured in motor-vehicle crashes in the United States

INTRODUCTION: Little population-based information exists about the long-term effects of motor-vehicle crash-related injuries. METHOD: We analyzed data from the 1995 National Health Interview Survey Disability (NHIS-D) Supplement to estimate the prevalence of crash-related disability among noninstitutionalized U.S. adults aged 18 years and older. RESULTS: More than 1.2 million adults were living in their homes with the disabling effects of motor-vehicle crash-related injuries in 1995. The prevalence of crash-related disability was highest for persons in their mid-life years, ages 35-64. Half of the respondents had sustained the injuries more than 5 years before the interview. Forty-one percent of working-aged individuals reported being unable to work because of their disability. CONCLUSIONS: Because crash-related disability is most prevalent during the mid-life years, quality of life and productivity may be affected for decades. These findings highlight the personal and societal burden associated with motor-vehicle crash-related disability in the United States.     

基于地理国情普查的主体功能区规划实施监测与评估研究

主体功能区规划作为全国国土空间开发的战略性、基础性和约束性规划,目前已进入有序实施阶段,根据规划要求,需要对其实施进行持续监测和评估。地理国情普查所获取的海量地理国情信息正为主体功能区规划实施监测与评估提供了支撑。系统论证了应用地理国情普查成果开展规划监测与评估的可行性,并指出"边普查边应用"项目在机制上提供了保障。分析了主体功能区规划和地理国情普查对规划实施监测评估的要求,兼顾地理国情普查的数据成果,同时考虑指标的代表性和数据的可获取性,确立了优化开发区、重点开发区、农产品主产区和重点生态功能区的规划实施监测与评估指标体系,并以随州市曾都区为例,探讨了利用地理国情普查数据开展主体功能区规划的指标选取和技术过程等关键问题。     

Public acceptance potential for reuse applications in Turkey

The water reuse applications are becoming increasingly important in Turkey due to fresh water scarcity problems. However, the success of reuse practices depends on the public's acceptance. Therefore, this study was designed to determine the public awareness, and the potential for acceptance, of reuse applications in Turkey by way of a survey carried out for this purpose. 500 questionnaires were sent to different regions of Turkey and 375 of them were returned. The study indicated that both women and men have concerns about usage of wastewater, especially regarding the use of treated wastewater as drinking water. Results also showed that the area of greatest concern among the public is the health risks associated with recycled water. Respondents of both genders felt that treated wastewater reuse for applications not involving close personal contact was acceptable, due to reduced health risk concerns. On the other hand, the cost of reclamation is another major public concern.     

Prevalence and trends of distracted driving in Canada

Introduction: This study evaluates prevalence and trends in distracted driving in Canada based on multiple indicators collected from the Road Safety Monitor (RSM) and Canada’s National Fatality Database maintained by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF). Method: Data from the RSM on self-reported distracted driving behaviors were analyzed using multivariate techniques including logistic regression analysis in various years spanning from 2004 to 2019. Data from TIRF’s National Fatality Database from 2000 to 2016 were also analyzed using piecewise regression analysis to evaluate trends and prevalence of driver distraction. Results: Significantly more Canadians reported talking on their phone hands-free or handheld phone while driving in 2019 compared to 2010. There was a 102% increase in the percentage that reported texting while driving in 2019 (9.7%) compared to 2010 (4.8%). For every 10-year increase in age, drivers were 44% less likely to text, 38% less likely to use a handheld phone, and 28% less likely to use a hands-free phone. Males were 62% more likely to use a handheld phone and 50% more likely to use a hands-free phone than females. Findings related to drivers’ perceived danger of distracted driving and attitudes are also presented. Although the number of distraction-related fatalities has not increased substantially from 2000 to 2016, the percentage of all fatalities where distraction was a contributing factor has increased. Unlike drinking drivers, distracted drivers more often kill other road users in crashes than kill themselves. Conclusions: In conclusion, while most Canadians appear to understand that one of the high-risk forms of distracted driving (i.e., texting while driving) is indeed dangerous, there is a minority who are unaware of, or resistant to, this fact. Practical Applications: Enforcement activities and education initiatives to combat distracted driving ought to be tailored to the target audience based on the patterns uncovered.     

Capturing LiDAR‐Derived Hydrologic Spatial Parameters to Evaluate Playa Wetlands

The digital elevation model data from traditional stereo photogrammetric methods are inadequate in providing accurate vertical parameters to feed hydrologic models for low‐lying, extremely flat areas. High‐resolution light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data provide the robust capability of capturing small variations in low‐relief playa wetlands. The Rainwater Basin in south‐central Nebraska includes a complex of seasonally shallow playa wetlands that attract millions of migratory waterfowl every spring and fall. This research focuses on the development of a procedure with applicable protocols to produce LiDAR‐derived three‐dimensional wetland maps and to extract the critical surface parameters (i.e., watershed boundaries, flow direction, flow accumulation, and drainage lines) for playa wetlands. The topo‐hydrologic conditions of playa wetlands were evaluated at the watershed level. The results show that in the Rainwater Basin, 70.7% of the historic hydric soil footprints identified in the Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database were not functioning as topographically depressional wetlands. This finding was confirmed by a recent five‐year Annual Habit Survey showing that 69.8% of the historic hydric soil footprints did not function during the spring migratory bird seasons between 2004 and 2009. The majority of playa wetlands' topographic conditions have been substantially changed and the SSURGO data cannot fully reflect current topographic reality in the Rainwater Basin.