Introducing a multi-variate classification method: Risky driving acceptance among different heterogeneous driver sub-cultures

Introduction: Heterogeneous driving populations with many different origins are likely to have various sub-cultures that comprise of drivers with shared driver characteristics, most likely with dissimilar traffic safety cultures. An innovative methodology in traffic safety research is introduced which is beneficial for large datasets with multiple variables, making it useful for the multi-variate classification of drivers, driving attitudes and/or (risky) driving behaviours. Method: With the application of multidimensional scaling analysis (MDS), this study explores traffic safety culture in the State of Qatar using a questionnaire and investigates the similarity patterns between the questionnaire items, aiming to classify attitudes towards risky driving behaviours into themes. MDS is subsequently applied to classify drivers within a heterogeneous driving sample into sub-cultures with shared driver characteristics and different risky driving attitudes. Results: Results show that acceptance of speeding is highest among the young Arabic students and acceptance of distraction and drivers’ negligence such as phone use and not wearing a seatbelt is highest among male Arab drivers. Acceptance of extreme risk-taking like intoxicated driving and red-light running is highest among South-Asian business drivers. Conclusion: It is important and practical to understand risky behavioural habits among sub-cultures and thereby focussing on groups of drivers instead of individuals, because groups are easier to approach and drivers within sub-cultures are found to influence each other. By indicating which groups of drivers are most likely to perform specific risky driving themes, it is possible to target these groups and effectively emphasise certain subsets of risky driving behaviours during training or traffic safety education. Practical Applications: This study provides guidance for the improvement of driver education and targeted traffic safety awareness campaigns, intending to make changes to attitudes and habits within specific driver sub-cultures with the aim to improve traffic safety on the longer term.     

人口与消费对碳排放影响的分析模型与实证

从消费压力人口视角探讨碳排放问题,有利于正确判断和把握气候变化压力的人文因素,以及人口与消费可持续发展的动力学机制.本文通过对STIRPAT模型的扩展,应用岭回归方法计量分析人口、消费及技术因素对碳排放的影响.对我国1980至2007年碳排放情况的统计实证结果表明,扩展的STIRPAT模型对中国国情有较高的解释力.居民消费水平、人口城市化率、人口规模三个因素对我国碳排放总量的变化影响明显;现阶段我国居民消费水平与人口结构变化对碳排放的影响力已高于人口规模变化的影响力,居民消费水平与消费模式等人文因素的变化有可能成为我国碳排放的新的增长点;技术进步因素在此模型中对我国该阶段碳排放的解释力有限,表明我国未来通过技术进步减缓碳排放的潜力巨大.     

大渡河流域电站建设对保护鱼类的影响及对策措施研究

为弄清大渡河流域电站建设对虎嘉鱼等5种保护鱼类的影响情况,探索适宜的保护措施,在流域枯水和丰水期分别选择了电站建设上下游6个有代表性的断面采集水样,采用电感耦合等离子发射光谱法等方法测定了重金属元素等16个指标,用单因子和综合指数评价法对电站上下游水质进行了对比评价;采用实地调查的方法调查了5种保护鱼类在近10年间种群数量的变化趋势。结果表明：电站建设对水质综合影响指数在1．64—1．82之间,影响严重;5种保护鱼类种群数量近10年间急剧下降,目前已为未见或罕见。     

The Grain-population Relationship and the Effect of Main Food Producing Areas in China

With the increase of global population, grain-popula- tion relationship has attracted great attention worldwide. In China, grain-population relationship has become an increasingly impor- tant economic ...     

The Comparative Approach on Outdoor Leisure Behavior of Urban Elderly People： A Case Study in Beijing

With the income increase of elderly people in Beijing and the improvement of leisure facilities since 2000, the quality of elderly people leisure life in Beijing has obviously increased com- pared to t...     

流域经济增长空间分异研究——基于2001～2009年长江流域数据的面板计量分析

流域经济是以水系为轴线的区域经济,其发展状况对国民经济有重要影响,其研究为区域开发提供新视角。在理论方法上,根据内生经济增长理论,采用柯布 道格拉斯生产函数,构建一个包括技术进步、物质资本和人力资本作为内生要素的流域经济增长框架。在实践论证上,以长江为样本域,运用面板计量分析方法,测度生产要素对流域上中下游经济增长的影响。结果显示：不同生产要素对流域经济不同域段作用强度不同,且呈现出明显的梯度效应,即沿江而下,技术进步和人力资本对经济增长的贡献度逐渐加大,物质资本则恰好相反。在此基础上,提出缩小流域经济的不平衡程度的政策建议,主要包括促使流域上游地区人力资本开发、实施流域大开发战略和推进流域城市化等     

Population Growth, Available Resources, and Quality of Life： China＇s Post-Reform Economic Development

Two opposing intellectual traditions and their contem- porary developments regarding the relations among population, available resources, and quality of life as reflected in economic growth are reviewe...     

基于网格划分的宜兴市区滨水区可达性评价

城市滨水区可达性不仅仅是空间距离的阻隔,还包括人们对滨水空间的需求及滨水区自身对公众的吸引力。依据潜能模型的概念,选取人口密度、滨水区综合质量和以土地利用表达的交通作为评价因子,借助ArcGIS93软件,建立了基于网格划分的滨水区可达性计算模型。该模型通过对研究区域进行等距网格划分以及定量计算网格内的人口密度、最小阻力成本和滨水区综合质量来进行滨水区可达性的定量评价。运用该模型评价了宜兴市中心城区居民至各滨水区的可达性水平,发现各滨水区平均可达性水平存在明显差异,最高的是团氿,最低的是蠡河;对每个滨水区而言,可达性从空间上均呈现出以滨水区为中心由内向外递减的趋势。评价结果可为城市滨水区合理建设格局的制定和居民享用滨水区的公平性提供决策参考     

Attitudes of rural population in emergency exposure situations

People growing crops in kitchen gardens eat locally self-produced food and are the subject of growing attention as the potential for a more sustainable development. A survey was carried out in two provinces in northern Italy to gather information on the consumption of local horticultural products, peoples’ expectations of authorities in the case of a nuclear accident and peoples’ behaviour in the absence of official information. Results show that up to 70% of the owners of kitchen gardens possess diets comprised of more than 60% of self-produced vegetables and can be regarded as particular groups of population. In the case of a dispersion of radioactive material, the local population would take advantage of official information on preventive measures to protect farms and local crops from contamination. Results of the survey show differences in the attitude of the population due to age, gender and past experience.     

Inhalation dose assessment of indoor radon progeny using biokinetic and dosimetric modeling and its application to Jordanian population

High indoor radon concentrations in Jordan result in internal exposures of the residents due to the inhalation of radon and its short-lived progeny. It is therefore important to quantify the annual effective dose and further the radiation risk to the radon exposure. This study describes the methodology and the biokinetic and dosimetric models used for calculation of the inhalation doses exposed to radon progeny. The regional depositions of aerosol particles in the human respiratory tract were firstly calculated. For the attached progeny, the activity median aerodynamic diameters of 50 nm, 230 nm and 2500 nm were chosen to represent the nucleation, accumulation and coarse modes of the aerosol particles, respectively. For the unattached progeny, the activity median thermodynamic diameter of 1 nm was chosen to represent the free progeny nuclide in the room air. The biokinetic models developed by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) were used to calculate the nuclear transformations of radon progeny in the human body, and then the dosimetric model was applied to estimate the organ equivalent doses and the effective doses with the specific effective energies derived from the mathematical anthropomorphic phantoms. The dose conversion coefficient estimated in this study was 15 mSv WLM⁻¹ which was in the range of the values of 6-20 mSv WLM⁻¹ reported by other investigators. Implementing the average indoor radon concentration in Jordan, the annual effective doses were calculated to be 4.1 mSv y⁻¹ and 0.08 mSv y⁻¹ due to the inhalation of radon progeny and radon gas, respectively. The total annual effective dose estimated for Jordanian population was 4.2 mSv y⁻¹. This high annual effective dose calculated by the dosimetric approach using ICRP biokinetic and dosimetric models resulted in an increase of a factor of two in comparison to the value by epidemiological study. This phenomenon was presented by the ICRP in its new published statement on radon.