scholarly journals Is Cycling an Attractive Transport Solution in a Mediterranean City?

2021 ◽  
pp. 101-118
Author(s):  
Dimitra Tarasi ◽  
Tryfon Daras ◽  
Theocharis Tsoutsos

AbstractBy exploiting the opinion of the society in a Mediterranean city, this paper identifies the mechanisms behind utility cycling and determines the aspects of using the bike in cities for daily commuting. This study focused on the assessment of biking as an alternative mode of transport within a typical Mediterranean city in Crete. Limited road safety is the principal reason that hinders 60% of respondents from cycling, and 41% from riding more frequently. The survey results are congruent with this statement, provided a significant difference in the ratios of actual recreational cyclists (39%) and those who like to ride for entertainment, but they hesitate (71%). In order to quantify this, the attitude of the bikers was grouped in two fact factors influencing: the clothing and the technological one. Based on the opinion of the local society, high priority policies are recommended, such as proper infrastructure, sensitization campaigns, and education programs.

Subject Rail upgrade and expansion plans in Turkey. Significance An ambitious programme of upgrading and expanding the Turkish rail system promises to improve the efficiency of passenger and freight transit within Turkey and abroad. Completed projects have slashed journey times between some cities. Impacts The new stations along the Marmaray line will improve transport in Istanbul’s suburbs, making the crowded city more ‘liveable’. A switch to rail will ease congested roads, reduce transport costs and pollution, and improve road safety. It will provide an alternative mode of transport for some major cities only served by road and air.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 5049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Jaszczak ◽  
Agnieszka Morawiak ◽  
Joanna Żukowska

It is well known that growing motor traffic in urban areas causes air pollution and noise which affects the environment and public health. It is hardly surprising then that cycling should be used as an alternative mode of transport, not just in major cities but also in smaller ones including those that are members of the Cittaslow network. Their approach is based on sustainable development, care for the environment and transport solutions which will support a healthy lifestyle, reduced energy consumption and fewer emissions. The objective of the article is to analyse how well cycling is used as a means of transport in Polish Cittaslow towns. For this purpose, an analysis was conducted to understand how towns use their transport space to ensure accessibility and road safety. Reference is made to revitalisation programmes of Cittaslow towns with focus on what has been done to improve and build cycle paths in each town and outside of it. The work uses the following research methods: analysis of the literature, analysis of documents, including analysis of road incidents and traffic count. It has been demonstrated that cycling infrastructure in the towns under analysis has been marginalised. As a result, recommendations and suggestions are given which may inform decisions on how to build and transform cycling infrastructure in Cittaslow towns and in similar towns in Poland and abroad.


Author(s):  
Tran Minh Hieu ◽  
Nguyen Duong Ngoc Mai Chi

This study applied SERVQUAL scale of Parasuraman et al to measure factors affecting customer satisfaction on service quality at Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank - An Giang Branch (Techcombank An Giang). The study was conducted to survey 207 customers who have been using the service at Techcombank An Giang. The survey results were analyzed by the Cronbach's Alpha reliability test method, then used Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to verify and evaluate the scale of service quality. The results of the regression analysis show that customer's satisfaction about service quality at Techcombank An Giang includes four factors: The factor with the highest level is the Empathy with Beta = 0.253, the second of factor is the Responsibility with Beta = 0.248, ranked third in the influence level is the Tangible with Beta = 0.235, and the lowest impact level is the Reliability with Beta = 0.144. The research also uses statistical methods to describe and test the differences of demographic factors with customer's satisfactionon service quality.The analysis results show that there is no difference between customer's satisfaction on service quality and factors such as gender, age, income, number of transaction banks, regular transaction banks, and time to use the service at Techcombank An Giang. Through the research results, the author would like to propose some ideas to improve the quality of services, thereby attracting new customers and importantly, keeping traditional customers because the development orientation of Techcombank is to take care of old customers to cross sell other products of the bank. The Stud results offer a basis for the branch to identify the factors influencing customer satisfaction on their service quality, thereby having an appropriate strategy to improve customer satisfaction.


Actuators ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Otremba ◽  
José Romero Navarrete ◽  
Alejandro Lozano Guzmán

Road safety depends on several factors associated with the vehicle, to the infrastructure, as well as to the environment and experience of vehicle drivers. Concerning the vehicle factors influencing the safety level of an infrastructure, it has been shown that the dynamic interaction between the carried liquid cargo and the vehicle influences the operational safety limits of the vehicle. A combination of vehicle and infrastructure factors converge when a vehicle carrying liquid cargo at a partial fill level performs a braking maneuver along a curved road segment. Such a maneuver involves both longitudinal and lateral load transfers that potentially affect both the braking efficiency and the lateral stability of the vehicle. In this paper, a series of models are set together to simulate the effects of a sloshing cargo on the braking efficiency and load transfer rate of a partially filled road tanker. The model assumes the superposition of the roll and pitch independent responses, while the vehicle is equipped with Anti-lock braking System brakes (ABS) in the four wheels. Results suggest that cargo sloshing can affect the performance of the vehicle on the order of 2% to 9%, as a function of the performance measure considered. A dedicated ABS system could be considered to cope with such diminished performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 238212052110164
Author(s):  
Abbie West ◽  
Cara Cawley ◽  
Elizabeth Crow ◽  
Alexis M. Stoner ◽  
Natalie M. Fadel ◽  
...  

Objective: Approximately 1 in 6 adults 60 and older have experienced a form of abuse in the past year. Many cases remain under-reported due to lack of knowledge and awareness. This study created an educational program on elder abuse for medical students to determine if participation would increase knowledge and awareness of elder abuse. Methods: This study used a pre and post survey methodology to evaluate students’ knowledge and awareness of elder abuse before and after participating in this educational program. Sixty first and second year osteopathic medical students at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Carolinas Campus participated in this study. Students were emailed a pre-survey to evaluate their pre-existing knowledge and awareness. The survey was, previously created by the Student Training on Preventing Domestic Violence (STOP-DV) team using validated measures. Participants then attended educational events about various forms of elder abuse and recognizing its associated signs, and afterward completed the post-survey. The results were compared using t-tests to determine if there was a significant difference. Results: First and second year students differed significantly in pre-survey results of knowledge but not post-survey results. The results showed a significant difference in overall mean knowledge ( P-value < .001) and awareness scores ( P-value < .001) in all students. Conclusion: These results suggest education on elder abuse can enable future physicians to better recognize, understand, and support older adults regarding elder maltreatment.


2021 ◽  
pp. 097325862097951
Author(s):  
Kshitiz Sharma ◽  
T. Sarathamani ◽  
Sunil Kumar Bhougal ◽  
Hemant Kumar Singh

Smartphone has become an essential part of human lives. People tend to treat it as another part of their body. Besides communication purposes, it is used for searching information, monetary transactions, shopping, social networking, entertainment, etc. This study aims at analysing the factors influencing smartphone usage and behavioural changes among college students under four constructs: utilisation, benefits, nomophobic behaviour and perceived risks (UBNR). An instrument was created with factors concerning the research and administered in a top-ranked private university of Bangalore, India. The research was carried out with a total of 122 responses. The results show that there is no significant difference in the attitude of males and females in most of the factors except social anxiety. Females experience more social anxiety and use smartphone more for maintaining their social relationships. There is no significant difference between the age group of students in all the four constructs. Utilisation is positively related with psychological, social, functional and financial benefits and shows that the greater the usage of smartphone, the greater are the benefits. On the other hand, the study reveals that increased usage of smartphone leads to addiction, causes nomophobia and poses threat of perceived risks. A mediation strategy like educating the students for proper use of technology is necessary to overcome the risk of addiction and developing nomophobia.


Author(s):  
Fengfeng Kang ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Zhiguo Wang

AbstractAccurate and reliable testing reports play an important role in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of disease. However, little is known about the appropriateness of laboratory testing reporting in China. This national survey takes clinical biochemistry as an example to investigate the state of reporting appropriateness in our country.An electronic questionnaire was sent to 1209 laboratories. The participants were asked to retrospectively evaluate the error rates of the following quality indicators: report template integrity, report content filling integrity, report delay, report recall, non-conformities between instrument and laboratory information system (LIS) data, non-conformities between report and request, report notification error, and report modification. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to identify the potential impacts of reporting appropriateness.A total of 662 of the 1209 laboratories (55%) submitted the survey results, with three returning incomplete data. For the integrity of the report, only 31% of the laboratories had a complete report template that contained all of 21 elements. In addition, the overall error rate of content filling integrity was 45.9% for 19,770 pieces of reports. The overall σ-values of other six quality indicators were all >4, and no significant difference was found among different departments. Group comparison suggested that reporting electronically had a better performance.The laboratory reporting system in China needs to improve, particularly the integrity of the report. Strengthening information technology will not only promote reporting appropriateness, but also guarantee accurate, standardized and traceable data collection and long-term monitoring.


2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 360-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda F. C. Bullock ◽  
M. Kay Libbus ◽  
Suzanne Lewis ◽  
Debra Gayer

An investigator-designed survey was used to determine if attendance at specific continuing education programs increased the perceived competence of school nurses who enrolled and completed the programs. Respondents were queried about the general content of six courses offered by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services in conjunction with the University of Missouri—Columbia Sinclair School of Nursing. Specific content areas were mental health concerns, suicide prevention, diabetes management, asthma management, seizure disorders, and developing clinical skills as they pertained to school-age children. Comparing a sample of school nurses who had attended the programs with a group whom had not, a statistically significant difference was found in the participant group who reported higher self-perceived competence than the nonparticipant group in all content areas. Results of the study suggest that school nurses who attend specific continuing education programs feel more competent in practice than nurses who do not attend.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Gallagher ◽  
S. Shah ◽  
W. Abassi ◽  
E. Walsh

ObjectivesGuidelines on advising patients on fitness to drive have been published recently by the Road Safety Authority in collaboration with the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. The aim of this audit is to assess if the new guidelines are being adhered to.MethodExamination of the documentation and adherence to the guidelines in the inpatient psychiatric unit, Mayo General Hospital.ResultsOf the 100 patients included in audit cycle one, none had any specific documentation about driving. One patient was admitted with alcohol misuse and was driving. On re-auditing, following presentation at academic meeting and education of team members on the guidelines, there was a minor improvement of 7%.ConclusionThere was no significant difference in documentation on re-audit. However, an increase of 7% is nonetheless encouraging. Information concerning driving should be a standard part of advice given to all psychiatric patients.


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