scholarly journals Applying Spatial Video Geonarratives and Physiological Measurements to Explore Perceived Safety in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1284
Author(s):  
Alina Ristea ◽  
Michael Leitner ◽  
Bernd Resch ◽  
Judith Stratmann
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Baton Rouge ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Perceived Safety ◽  
Physiological Variables ◽  
Urban Safety ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Spatial Video

Spatial crime analysis, together with perceived (crime) safety analysis have tremendously benefitted from Geographic Information Science (GISc) and the application of geospatial technology. This research study discusses a novel methodological approach to document the use of emerging geospatial technologies to explore perceived urban safety from the lenses of fear of crime or crime perception in the city of Baton Rouge, USA. The mixed techniques include a survey, spatial video geonarrative (SVG) in the field with study participants, and the extraction of moments of stress (MOS) from biosensing wristbands. This study enrolled 46 participants who completed geonarratives and MOS detection. A subset of 10 of these geonarratives are presented here. Each participant was driven in a car equipped with audio recording and spatial video along a predefined route while wearing the Empatica E4 wristbands to measure three physiological variables, all of them linked by timestamp. The results show differences in the participants’ sentiments (positive or negative) and MOS in the field based on gender. These mixed-methods are encouraging for finding relationships between actual crime occurrences and the community perceived fear of crime in urban areas.

scholarly journals Assessing the Impact of Street-View Greenery on Fear of Neighborhood Crime in Guangzhou, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 311
Author(s):  
Fengrui Jing ◽  
Lin Liu ◽  
Suhong Zhou ◽  
Jiangyu Song ◽  
Linsen Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Factors ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Perceived Safety ◽  
Street View ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Physical Incivilities

Previous literature has examined the relationship between the amount of green space and perceived safety in urban areas, but little is known about the effect of street-view neighborhood greenery on perceived neighborhood safety. Using a deep learning approach, we derived greenery from a massive set of street view images in central Guangzhou. We further tested the relationships and mechanisms between street-view greenery and fear of crime in the neighborhood. Results demonstrated that a higher level of neighborhood street-view greenery was associated with a lower fear of crime, and its relationship was mediated by perceived physical incivilities. While increasing street greenery of the micro-environment may reduce fear of crime, this paper also suggests that social factors should be considered when designing ameliorative programs.

scholarly journals Morpho-Physio-Biochemical Attributes of Roadside Trees as Potential Tools for Biomonitoring of Air Quality and Environmental Health in Urban Areas

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 236
Author(s):  
Ha Na You ◽  
Myeong Ja Kwak ◽  
Sun Mi Je ◽  
Jong Kyu Lee ◽  
Yea Ji Lim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Biochemical Parameters ◽  
Lipid Peroxide ◽  
Platanus Occidentalis ◽  
Physiological Variables ◽  
Sources Of Pollution ◽  
Species Specific

Environmental pollution is an important issue in metropolitan areas, and roadside trees are directly affected by various sources of pollution to which they exhibit numerous responses. The aim of the present study was to identify morpho-physio-biochemical attributes of maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba L.) and American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis L.) growing under two different air quality conditions (roadside with high air pollution, RH and roadside with low air pollution, RL) and to assess the possibility of using their physiological and biochemical parameters as biomonitoring tools in urban areas. The results showed that the photosynthetic rate, photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiencies, and photochromic contents were generally low in RH in both G. biloba and P. occidentalis. However, water-use efficiency and leaf temperature showed high values in RH trees. Among biochemical parameters, in G. biloba, the lipid peroxide content was higher in RH than in RL trees, but in P. occidentalis, this content was lower in RH than in RL trees. In both species, physiological activities were low in trees planted in areas with high levels of air pollution, whereas their biochemical and morphological variables showed different responses to air pollution. Thus, we concluded that it is possible to determine species-specific physiological variables affected by regional differences of air pollution in urban areas, and these findings may be helpful for monitoring air quality and environmental health using trees.

scholarly journals Prevalence of acute diarrhea and associated factors among children under five in semi-urban areas of northeastern Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarikuwa Natnael ◽  
Mistir Lingerew ◽  
Metadel Adane
Keyword(s):  
Acute Diarrhea ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Odds Ratio ◽  
Associated Factors ◽  
Multivariable Analysis ◽  
Water Sources ◽  
Children Under Five ◽  
Under Five ◽  
Under Five Children ◽  
Study Participants

Abstract Background Diarrheal disease is still one of the most common causes of mortality and morbidity in children under five in developing countries, including Ethiopia. Lack of specific data on the prevalence of acute diarrhea and associated factors among under-five children in the semi-urban areas of Gelsha, found in northeastern Ethiopia’s South Wollo zone, remains a major gap. Therefore, this study was designed to provide data that is important for proper planning of intervention measures to reduce the problem in this area. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 340 systematically selected children under five in semi-urban areas of Gelsha from January to March 2019. The data was collected using a structured questionnaire and an observational checklist. Bivariable (crude odds ratio [COR]) and multivariable analysis (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]) were employed using binary logistic regression model with 95% CI (confidence interval). Variables with a p-value < 0.05 from the multivariable analysis were declared as factors significantly associated with acute diarrhea. Result The prevalence of acute diarrhea among children under five in the study area was 11% (95%CI: 7.8–14.3%). About two-thirds (63.60%) of study participants used water from improved sources. About half (54.90%) of study participants practiced poor handwashing and 45.10% practiced good handwashing. We found that factors significantly associated with acute diarrhea were a child’s age of 12–23 months (AOR = 4.68, 95% CI: 1.45–1.50), the presence of two or more under-five children in the house (AOR = 2.84, 95% CI: 1.19–6.81), unimproved water sources (AOR = 2.97, 95% CI: 1.28–6.87) and presence of feces around the pit hole/slab/floor of the latrine (AOR = 3.34, 95% CI: 1.34–8.31). Conclusion The prevalence of acute diarrhea among children under five was relatively high. To reduce the problem, various prevention strategies are essential, such as the provision of health education to mothers/caregivers that focuses on keeping sanitation facilities clean and child care, and construction of improved water sources. Furthermore, implementing a strong health extension program, advocating an open defecation-free environment, and practicing a community-led total sanitation and hygiene approach might be helpful to sustainably reduce childhood diarrhea.

Contextual Density and US Automotive CO2 Emissions across the Rural–Urban Continuum

2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 590-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Perumal ◽  
David Timmons
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Fuel Efficiency ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Population Densities ◽  
Spatial Differences ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Household Travel ◽  
Vehicle Fuel Efficiency ◽  
National Household Travel Survey

Using data from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey, we quantify the effects of settlement patterns on individual driving habits and the resulting automotive carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. We employ CO2 emissions to capture this impact accurately, as it reflects both vehicle miles traveled and any spatial differences in vehicle fuel efficiency choices. While previous studies have compared automotive travel in urban and suburban areas, our approach characterizes emissions across the entire US rural–urban gradient, focusing on the effects of population density. Rather than using categorical measures of contextual density (city, suburb, town, etc.), we use a geographical information system to calculate continuous measures of contextual density, that is, density at different proximities to households. These measures of contextual density allow us to model travel effects induced by the gravitational pull of the population densities of urban cores. Further, our methodological approach frames location choice as an endogenous treatment effect; that is, residential locations are not randomly assigned across our sample and significantly alter driving behavior. We find that individuals living in urban cores generate the lowest per capita automotive CO2 emissions, due to close proximities of population concentrations. Rather than attracting individuals who would likely have low CO2 emissions anyway, urban location apparently mitigates the emissions of people who would otherwise tend to have high automotive CO2 emissions. We find larger elasticities with respect to density than previous studies and also find that the attractive forces of population densities affect driving patterns at distances up to sixty-one kilometers outside of urban areas.

scholarly journals The Evaluation of Green Investments in Urban Areas: A Proposal of an eco-social-green Model of the City

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luisa Sturiale ◽  
Alessandro Scuderi
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Collaborative Governance ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Scientific Debate ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Green Model ◽  
Green Investments

The new and more conscious sensibility towards the environmental sphere supports the idea of “green city”, promotes initiatives of structural integration of the green with the built environment and involves a considerable number of disciplines in a cultural and social debate. The literature reports different experiences of collaborative governance, between administrations and citizens, which tend to enhance the interaction between the different social actors involved in the investments of Green Infrastructures, to share objectives and management methods and to assess the extent of ecosystem services. The objective of this article is to propose a methodological approach to assessing green investments in the urban area, which is able to internalize the social perception of citizens regarding this important component for the urban landscape, with a view to guiding the city’s government towards a new urban eco-social-green planning and evaluation model. It presents a concise framework of the scientific debate on climate change and on the effects of urban planning issues; some relevant experiences of Green Infrastructures; and the proposed methodology, applied to the reality of the “urban green system” of Catania, based on an integrated approach between participatory planning and the method NAIADE (Novel Approach to Imprecise Assessment and Decision Environments).

scholarly journals A Behavioral Confirmation and Reduction of the Natural versus Synthetic Drug Bias

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 360-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian P. Meier ◽  
Amanda J. Dillard ◽  
Eric Osorio ◽  
Courtney M. Lappas
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Pain Reliever ◽  
Perceived Safety ◽  
Behavioral Choice ◽  
Behavioral Confirmation ◽  
Synthetic Drugs ◽  
Behavioral Choices ◽  
Synthetic Drug ◽  
Study Participants

Research reveals a biased preference for natural v. synthetic drugs; however, this research is based on self-report and has not examined ways to reduce the bias. We examined these issues in 5 studies involving 1125 participants. In a pilot study ( N = 110), participants rated the term natural to be more positive than the term synthetic, which reveals a default natural-is-better belief. In studies 1 ( N = 109) and 2 ( N = 100), after a supposed personality study, participants were offered a thank you “gift” of a natural or synthetic pain reliever. Approximately 86% (study 1) and 93% (study 2) of participants chose the natural v. synthetic pain reliever, which provides a behavioral choice confirmation of the natural drug bias. In studies 3 ( N = 350) and 4 ( N = 356), participants were randomly assigned to a control or experimental condition and were asked to consider a scenario in which they had a medical issue requiring a natural v. synthetic drug. The experimental condition included a stronger (study 3) or weaker (study 4) rational appeal about the natural drug bias and a statement suggesting that natural and synthetic drugs can be good or bad depending on the context. In both studies, the natural bias was reduced in the experimental condition, and perceived safety and effectiveness mediated this effect. Overall, these data indicate a bias for natural over synthetic drugs in preferences and behavioral choices, which might be reduced with a rational appeal.

Psychological factors of fear of crime: an empirical study of older people in Lucknow, India

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Avanish Bhai Patel
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The incidents of elder victimisation and cases of victimisation, in general, are increasing fast in the society. These incidents have had negative impact on the sense of well-being and way of life of the older people. Therefore, fear of crime is being considered as a most concerning psycho-social problem amongst the older people in contemporary time. The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of crime rate on the well-being of the older people and examine the linkage between psychological factors and fear of crime amongst the older people. Design/methodology/approach The present study is based on the mixed method approach and an exploratory research designed applied to conduct the study. The field survey has been done from October 2012 to January 2013 on a sample of 220 older people of rural and urban areas of Lucknow in the state of Uttar Pradesh through purposive sampling. For the study, researcher has interviewed 137 male older people and 83 female older people through interview schedules and case studies. The data have been analysed through descriptive and narrative analysis. Findings The study finds that those older people have direct or indirect experience of victimisation, they have anxiety and feel insecurity that someone can victimise them. The study also finds that the happiness of older people is more affected due to anxiety and phobia and have higher level of feeling of fear of crime in their neighbourhood and home. The study also finds whenever anti-social elements are active in the neighbourhood and they commit crimes, fear of crime and anxiety grasp the older people to a large extent causing a fracture in their psychological well-being. Originality/value This work is the original work of researcher. This paper is related to the researcher’s PhD dissertation work. This paper talks about how the psychological well-being of older people affects due to nature of crime in neighbourhood, phobia of crime and anxiety due to criminal activities.

scholarly journals Multi-Mode Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (2SFCA) Method to Measure the Potential Spatial Accessibility of Healthcare Services

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianhua Ni ◽  
Ming Liang ◽  
Yan Lin ◽  
Yanlan Wu ◽  
Chen Wang
Keyword(s):  
Travel Behavior ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Catchment Area ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Spatial Accessibility ◽  
Urban Residents ◽  
Transportation Modes ◽  
Multi Mode

While great progress in the development of a methodological approach to measure the accessibility of healthcare services has been made, the exclusion of the complex multi-mode travel behavior of urban residents and a rough calculation of travel costs from the origin to the destination limit its potential for making a detailed assessment, especially in urban areas. In this paper, we aim to describe and implement an enhanced method that enables the integration of multiple transportation modes into a two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method to estimate accessibility. We used a travel-mode choice survey, based on distance sections, to determine the complex multi-mode travel behavior of urban residents. Taking Nanjing as a study area, we proposed complete door-to-door approaches to determine every aspect of basic transportation modes. Additionally, we processed open data to implement an accurate computing of the origin-destination (OD) time cost. We applied the enhanced method to estimate the accessibility of residents to hospitals and compared it with three single-mode 2SFCA methods. The results showed that the proposed method effectively identified more accessibility details and provided more realistic accessibility values.

Heuristic Inquiry in Teacher Education

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rochelle Fogelgarn
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Sensory Input ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Human Experience ◽  
Heuristic Inquiry ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
Children And Young Adults ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Study Participants

Teacher educators often encounter novice pre-service teachers who naively declare that their chief motivation for choosing a teacher training course is their passion for teaching children and young adults. Our challenge is to sustain that passion and transform it into effective pedagogical practice. As education is a profession with a crucially important affective dimension, preparing pre-service teachers for the rigors of daily teaching requires more than facilitating the acquisition of pedagogical technique and strategy. Heuristic inquiry is a methodological approach that affords teachers-as-researchers the means to portray the lived experience of teaching so that both pre- and in-service teachers can identify with, and learn about, the holistic experience of teaching. In contrast to other methodologies, the heuristic researcher’s own experience regarding the phenomenon informs, guides, and interacts with the lived experience of the study participants. The multidimensional, multiperspectival, and multifaceted “story” of the lived experience of teaching which emerges from a disciplined heuristic inquiry provides pre-service teachers with a window through which they can vicariously experience the joys, challenges, and risks inherent in the work of teaching. Being more deeply aware of what to expect may better prepare novice teachers to remain within the profession with their initial passion intact. As a methodological approach, heuristics involves self-inquiry and dialogue with others in order to discover the meaning, significance, and implications of pertinent human experience. Knowledge crystallizes within the researcher in consequence of sensory input, perception, transpersonal communication, belief, and judgment. The individual and composite portrayals and the creatively synthesized essence of the phenomenon that evolve from heuristic exploration coalesce to give a powerful picture of human experience. When heuristic inquiry depicts the dedicated efforts of dynamic teachers who have managed to make a real and enduring impact on their students’ learning and transformative growth, insight is likely to emerge regarding how to ensure the vibrant sustenance of inspired, effective teaching.

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