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The Transportation Needs of Seniors
No full textOver 208,000 residents of Hennepin County, Minnesota are over the age of 55, a number that is sure to rise. This paper examines the transportation needs of the elderly in Hennepin County through a mail out-mail back survey of their existing travel behavior and their unmet needs. The survey had both demographic and attitude questions as well as a travel diary for recording actual trips and desired but untaken trips. We found that 87% of the sampled population feel they are independent travelers. Around 51% of the surveyed population indicated that they are transit users, 25% of them revealed their concerns about difficulties they are facing when using public transit. About 16% of transit users were concerned about waiting time for transit, while only 8% were concerned about the travel time. Only 15% of the surveyed population use paratransit. A large number of comments were received, which add qualitative flavor to the analysis that was conducted. Seniors recognize even if they are currently independent, that will not always be the case, and acknowledge they should plan.Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of TransportationLevinson, David; Wasfi, Rania. (2007). The Transportation Needs of Seniors. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/151684
The Transportation Needs of People with Developmental Disabilities
No full textSociety's reliance on private automobiles as well as low-density development creates mobility challenges for the elderly and the developmentally disabled. Although some in these populations can meet their transportation needs with the existing system, others cannot. This report is part of a study that sought to learn about the transportation needs and concerns of members in these specific population groups.
To learn about the elderly, the researchers partnered with area senior centers and service providers to distribute surveys to approximately 8,000 residents of Hennepin County aged 60 to 90 years old. Besides gathering demographic information about the participants, the survey also gauged their attitudes about traveling and asked them to complete a travel diary. Specifically, the survey asked questions about the difficulty of reaching desired destinations in order to attend medical appointments, work, shop, conduct business, or visit family or friends, among other things.
The first component of the study was measuring existing travel behavior patterns for the elderly, and the next, determining unmet needs and wants of the groups. This provided a baseline of information to proceed with subsequent planning and decision making.
Public transit was the second most-used mode of transportation. Seniors in the sample showed a willingness to use public transit, yet often did not because of a lack of service near their homes or destinations.
Although some seniors have a difficult time using public transit (for example, getting up the stairs), a bigger concern was fear of being a victim of a crime; more than half were also concerned about waiting for transit or the length of time of the trip.
In the study exploring the transportation needs of adults with developmental disabilities, the researchers conducted a survey similar to that used for the senior population. To design and distribute these surveys, the researchers partnered with community agencies that provide support to the targeted population group.
The survey revealed that more than half of these adults live in group homes, while about a quarter live with relatives. Despite not living independently, many (40 percent) consider themselves independent travelers, and 70 percent reported that the mode of transportation they used was their choice.
About half of the trips these adults took were work related, with recreational and shopping trips cited as well. More than half of the sampled population worked every day, while recreation occurred at least once a week for about two-thirds of the population.
About 30 percent reported being unable to make trips they wanted to make, and about 46 percent were unable to make trips they needed to make.
Walking, public transit, and dial-a-ride were listed as the primary modes of transportation the participants used to meet their transportation needs.Federal Transit Administration; Hennepin County, MinnesotaLevinson, David M; Wasfi, Rania. (2007). The Transportation Needs of People with Developmental Disabilities. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/372
Access to Destinations: Monitoring Land Use Activity Changes in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Region
No full textThis study presents an effort to track and model land use change in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Region. To that end, we make use of a unique, high-resolution, cell-level set of land use data for the Twin Cities. The data represent 75 meter by 75 meter land use cells, observed at several points in time during the period from 1958 to 2005. These data are used to validate three different types of land use models, which then are used to forecast land use several decades into the future. The models applied in this study include Markov Chain models, Markov Chain-Cellular Automata (MC-CA) models, and an empirical model based on a logistic regression specification. The models are intended to have a simple, transparent structure that allows the user to identify sources of forecast error. Forecasts of land use are made both for the entire study area and also for a specific corridor along State Highway 610 in the northwestern suburbs of the Twin Cities. The study concludes with a brief discussion of the limitations of the models, and how they might meaningfully be expanded and applied.Minnesota Department of TransportationIacono, Michael; Levinson, David; El-Geneidy, Ahmed; Wasfi, Rania; Zhu, Shanjiang. (2008). Access to Destinations: Monitoring Land Use Activity Changes in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Region. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/151332
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
The influence of the urban built environment on utilitarian walking and body mass index: Trip diary and longitudinal studies of Canadians
No full textThere is growing interest in developing livable cities with neighbourhoods that encourage active living. The urban built environment including land use, amenities and transportation systems is increasingly expected to provide a variety of benefits including neighborhood walking-friendliness. To date, there have been few long term studies with large population samples that have assessed the relationships between walking-friendliness of places and the level of utilitarian walking (i.e., walking for a specific purpose such as to go to work or to school) in people. Most research to date has relied on cross-sectional study designs and the conclusions of many existing studies are invariably limited owing to problems of self-selection of motivated walkers into walking-friendly neighbourhoods. This dissertation addresses some of the methodological limitations in this research area by measuring utilitarian walking using geographic information system-based estimates in a cross-sectional approach, and by geocoding respondents of a population-based longitudinal survey for quasi-experimental designs to assess the role of urban built environments on utilitarian walking and body weight. My dissertation has produced three key findings: 1. Montreal residents were able to achieve the recommended 30 minutes of physical activity each working day by commuting to work using public transportation. This benefit was greatest for suburban residents who walked approximately 35 to 50 minutes per day to and from commuter train stations, the majority of whom were affluent. Transportation system characteristics had greater influences on walking to public transport than did neighbourhood physical characteristics. 2. Canadians who were exposed over time to highly walkable urban neighbourhoods were more likely to engage in moderate and high utilitarian walking than Canadians with less exposure to highly walkable neighbourhoods. A unit increase in the probability of spending more time in the fourth Walk Score® quartile neighborhoods increased the probability of moderate (increase of 4.0%, 95% C.I. 2.9%, 5.1%) and high utilitarian walking (increase of 7.7%, 95% C.I. 5.8%, 9.7%) compared to those spending the same time in low walkable neighbourhoods (first Walk Score® quartile neighbourhoods). Canadians who moved from neighbourhoods that were less walking-friendly to neighbourhoods of a higher walkability, were 59% (95% CI 3 %-146%) more likely to increase their utilitarian walking than those who moved to neighbourhoods with a similar walkability level. 3. Trajectories of body mass index (BMI - a measure of body weight adjusted for height) of Canadian men varied according to the friendliness of the urban built environment for walking, even after controlling for individual characteristics that influence body weight. Moving to more walkable neighbourhoods (2 Walk Score® quartiles higher), was associated with approximately a one unit (kg/m2) decrease in BMI for men (95% C.I. -1.7,-0.3). There was no detectable influence of neighbourhood walkability on body weight for women. Improving public transport service reliability and neighbourhood walkability have potential to increase utilitarian walking and decrease body mass index in populations, even for those who are otherwise inactive in their leisure time. Planning to construct walkable communities supported by reliable public transport should be considered among public health policies to promote utilitarian walking and reduce overweight and obesity.L'intérêt pour le développement de quartiers urbains viables encourageant une vie active va grandissant. On s'attend de plus en plus à ce que l'environnement bâti urbain, qui inclut l'utilisation du terrain, les services et les systèmes de transport, offre une variété d'avantages incluant la marche conviviale du quartier. À ce jour, peu d'études à long terme sur de vastes échantillons de population ont évalué le lien entre la possibilité de marche conviviale des lieux et le niveau de marche à des fins utilitaires (c.-à-d. marcher pour une raison particulière comme aller au travail ou à l'école). La plupart des recherches menées à ce jour reposent sur des études transversales. Les conclusions de plusieurs études existantes sont quant à elles invariablement limitées en raison de l'auto sélection de marcheurs motivés dans des quartiers propices à la marche. Cette thèse aborde certaines des limites méthodologiques dans ce domaine de recherche, en mesurant la marche à des fins utilitaires en utilisant des estimations basées sur l'information géographique dans une technique transversale, et par géocodage des répondants d'une étude longitudinale représentative de la population pour un modèle quasi-expérimental afin d'évaluer le rôle de l'environnement bâti urbain sur la marche à des fins utilitaires et le poids corporel. Ma thèse a tiré trois conclusions principales: 1. Les Montréalais ont réussi à atteindre les 30 minutes recommandées d'activité physique chaque jour de travail en utilisant les transports en commun pour s'y rendre. Ceux qui en ont tiré le plus d'avantages sont les résidents de banlieue qui marchaient de 35 à 50 minutes par jour à destination et en provenance des stations de train. Les caractéristiques du système de transport ont eu plus d'influence sur le fait de marcher vers le transport en commun que les caractéristiques physiques du quartier. 2. Sur la durée, les Canadiens vivant dans des quartiers urbains très propices à la marche étaient plus susceptibles de marcher à des fins utilitaires à intensité modérée à élevée que les Canadiens vivant dans des quartiers moins propices à la marche. Une augmentation d'unité dans la probabilité de passer plus de temps dans les quartiers du quatrième quartile Walk Score® augmentait la probabilité de marche à des fins utilitaires modérée (augmentation de 4 %, 95 % I.C. 2,9 %, 5,1 %) et élevée (augmentation de 7,7 %, 95 % I.C. 5,8 %, 9,7 %) par rapport à ceux qui ont passé le même temps dans des quartiers peu propices à la marche (quartiers du premier quartile Walk Score®). Les Canadiens ayant déménagé de quartiers moins propices à des quartiers plus propices ont été plus susceptibles à 59 % (95 % I.C. 3 %-146 %) d'augmenter leur marche à des fins utilitaires par rapport à ceux qui ont déménagé dans des quartiers ayant un potentiel piétonnier similaire. 3. Les trajectoires de l'indice de masse corporelle (mesure du poids corporel ajusté à la taille) des hommes canadiens ont varié selon la convivialité de l'environnement urbain bâti pour la marche, même en tenant compte des caractéristiques individuelles ayant une influence sur le poids corporel. Le fait de déménager dans un quartier propice à la marche (2 quartiles Walk Score® plus haut), était approximativement associé à une unité (kg/m2) de baisse de l'IMC chez les hommes (95 % I.C.-1,7, -0,3). Le potentiel piétonnier d'un quartier n'avait pas d'influence décelable sur le poids corporel chez les femmes. L'amélioration de la fiabilité du transport en commun et le potentiel piétonnier d'un quartier peuvent faire augmenter la marche à des fins utilitaires et diminuer l'IMC des populations, même chez ceux qui sont inactifs dans leur temps de loisirs. Prévoir la construction de communautés propices à la marche en combinaison avec à un transport en commun fiable devrait être pris en considération dans les politiques de santé publique afin de promouvoir la marche à des fins utilitaires et de réduire l'embonpoint et l'obésité
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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