Territorial expression of electoral activity of Lithuanian national minorities

The article presents territorial differentiation of the interrelationships of electoral (dependent) and different nationalities (independent) variables. In order to substantiate the relationship, mathematical-statistical methods, including correlation and regression were used. The main sources of the analysis was the data of 2016 and 2020 elections of Seimas, obtained from the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Lithuania and Statistics Lithuania’s data of different national minorities from 2011 population and housing census. The spatial level of the analysis is the census area. Research revealed a higher voter turnout in those areas, where national minorities constitute the majority of the population.

Active commuting to work among teachers of public basic education of the state of Minas Gerais

- The aim of the study was to verify the prevalence and factors associated with active transport to work among public basic education teachers in the state of Minas Gerais. An epidemiological survey of the websurvey type was carried out with teachers from the state public system of basic education in Minas Gerais. The collection took place from August to September 2020 via digital form. The dependent variable was active transport to work and the crude; and adjusted Poisson Regression was used. 15,641 teachers participated in the study, of which, 26.1% were actively commuting to work. There was a higher prevalence among women (PR=1.08; 95%CI 1.01; 1.17), aged 41 to 59 years (PR=1.20; 95%CI 1.12;1.28), from the urban area (PR=1.51; 95%CI 1.37;1.66), with lower family income (PR=1.75; 95%CI 1.48;1.93), those with working time higher than 20 years (PR=1.27; 95%CI 1.19;1.35), who work as teachers for up to 39 hours per week (PR=1.15; 95%CI 1.06;1.25), with eutrophic weight (PR=1.09; 95%CI 1.02;1.17) and those who practiced physical activity 5 times or more a week (PR=1.25; 95%CI 1.15;1.36). The results showed that there is a significant prevalence of teachers who do not carry out active transport to work. The highest prevalence of active transport to work was significantly associated with several variables, among which the census area and family income. Incentives are needed to promote active transportation among teachers.

THE PERSISTENCE OF TRADITIONAL VALUES: GRANDPARENTS REARING GRANDCHILDREN

The goal of this study is to examine how cultural values are preserved and transmitted by grandparents rearing grandchildren in one community in the southeast region of the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in Alaska. The eight participants (six females and two males) lived in a community in the Kusilvak Census Area, with ages ranging from 47 to 73 years old. Participants’ took part in a semi-structured interview, which were then transcribed and coded into larger themes of 1) loss of traditional values, 2) continuing traditional values, 3) practicing traditional values, and 4) transmitting traditional values. The participants provided examples of how the cultural values that were strong at one point in their lives, were no longer exemplified in their community, and, in fact, behaviors that went against accepted values were seen. Participants spoke most often of how community members were cared for, how the community was valued over the individual, and the connections within families. The GRGs practiced those traditional values by caring, supporting, and loving the people in their families and communities, and by practicing humor and sharing with others. While this community has been influenced by modern ways of living currently found in the United States and Canada, it still remains relatively isolated from the technological and social influences that dominate what is considered “typical, modern” family life. The findings from this study illustrate the important roles that GRGs play in the persistence of cultural values, and the importance of incorporating these values in programs to assist this community.

Risk factors for loneliness: The high relative importance of age versus other factors

Background: Loneliness is a potent predictor of negative health outcomes making it important to identify risk factors for loneliness. Though extant studies have identified characteristics that are associated with loneliness, less is known about the cumulative and relative importance of these factors, and how their interaction may impact loneliness. Thus, here, we investigate risk factors for loneliness.Methods: 4,885 individuals ages 10-97 years from the US completed the three-item UCLA Loneliness Survey on TestMyBrain.org. Using census data, we calculated the population and community household income of participants’ census area, and the proportion of individuals in the participant’s census area that shared the participant’s demographic characteristics (i.e., sociodemographic density). We evaluated the relative importance of three classes of variables for loneliness risk: those related to the person (e.g., age), place (e.g., community household income), and the interaction of person X place (sociodemographic density). Results: We find that loneliness is highly prevalent and best explained by person (age) and place (community household income) characteristics. Of the variance in loneliness accounted for, the overwhelming majority was explained by age. On age, loneliness peaks at 19 years, and declines thereafter. The congruence between one’s sociodemographic characteristics and that of one’s neighborhood had no impact on loneliness.Conclusions: Age appears to be the most important risk factor for loneliness, which peaks just prior to the peak age of onset for psychotic disorders, and, contrary to popular belief, declines thereafter over the lifespan. These data may have important implications for public health interventions.

SPATIOTEMPORAL ANALYSIS ON CO2 EMISSIONS FROM HOUSEHOLDS IN JAPAN

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Global warming has become worse and worse as the increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions especially by the main contributor carbon dioxide (CO₂). Thus, clarifying the spatiotemporal patterns of CO₂ emissions from residential sector is very important for policy makers. To support the GHG mitigation in local area, this study provides a bottom-up framework that could count the monthly residential CO₂ emissions at community level, demonstrated for Japan. A map-based population census is utilized to count the monthly and yearly emissions by combining the statistics data on households with detailed emission intensities. The residential emissions from each census area are estimated and mapped by Geographic Information System. Through the analysis, we proposed the solutions on GHG mitigation and reported the spatiotemporal patterns for residential emissions.</p>

VISUALIZATION ON FOSSIL-FUEL CARBON DIOXIDE (CO₂) EMISSIONS FROM BUILDINGS IN TOKYO METROPOLIS

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> In this paper, we developed a method on quantifying carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from each building of Tokyo. And the method basing on bottom-up approach and supplemented with some downscaling efforts that could be applied in any other city of Japan. The high-resolution emission map is achieved by linking the national census data with spatial data. At first, the emissions from fossil fuel consumption (nonelectric) in residential and industrial &amp;amp; commercial buildings are counted by the census area level and then allocated to each building by using the height, site area, floor and type of buildings. The types of buildings are distinguished by using the information on building type contained in urban landscape raster map. The emissions are estimated and mapped by Geographic Information System (GIS) technique. The total CO₂ emissions from residential buildings of Tokyo in 2014 are about 5,826<span class="thinspace"></span>Gg and that from industrial &amp; commercial buildings are about 13,085<span class="thinspace"></span>Gg. This method will be helpful for high resolution quantification of CO₂ emissions in local scale.</p>

Status report - FoodReach Toronto: lowering food costs for social agencies and community groups

Toronto has the largest absolute number of food insecure households for any metropolitan census area in Canada: of its 2.1 million households, roughly 252 000 households (or 12%) experience some level of food insecurity. Community organizations (including social agencies, school programs, and child care centres) serve millions of meals per year to the city’s most vulnerable citizens, but often face challenges accessing fresh produce at affordable prices. Therefore in 2015, Toronto Public Health, in collaboration with public- and private-sector partners, launched the FoodReach program to improve the efficiency of food procurement among community organizations by consolidating their purchasing power. Since being launched, FoodReach has been used by more than 50 community organizations to provide many of Toronto’s most marginalised groups with regular access to healthy produce.

Green Space and Physical Activity in Pregnant Women: Evidence From the Growing Up in New Zealand Study

Background:Exposure to green space has been associated with increased physical activity. However, it is not clear whether this association is because active people preferentially live in greener areas. Relationships between exposure to green space and physical activity during pregnancy are not well defined. Our objective was to determine whether exposure to green space was associated with physical activity in pregnant women.Methods:The current study was completed within the Growing Up in New Zealand cohort study of 6772 pregnant women. The proportion of green space in each census area unit was determined and geocoded to residential address. The association between exposure to green space and physical activity was determined using logistic regression analyses after controlling for confounding variables.Results:Exposure to green space was not associated with participation in physical activity during first trimester and the remainder of pregnancy once preference for living in greener neighborhoods was taken into account.Conclusions:The lack of association between green space and physical activity found in this study does not necessarily mean that living in green space will not translate into better pregnancy health. Preference for living in greener neighborhoods should be considered when investigating relationships between green space and physical activity.

Abundance and distribution of the Great Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor at Ljubljansko barje (Central Slovenia) in winters 2008/09, 2011/12 and 2012/13

Results of the survey of wintering Great Grey Shrikes Lanius excubitor at Ljubljansko barje in winters 2008/09, 2011/12 and 2012/13 are presented. The census was conducted by 30-60 volunteers of the Ljubljana branch of DOPPS - BirdLife Slovenia. The survey area was divided into 13-20 census plots. Locations of Great Grey Shrikes, types of structures on which the shrikes perched, and heights of their perches were recorded. The numbers of wintering Great Grey Shrikes at Ljubljansko barje were estimated at 57 (2008/09), 51 (2011/12) and 67 (2012/13) individuals. Crude densities in the census area were 4.2, 3.7 and 4.9 individuals/10 km2, whereas maximal local densities reached 15.0, 14.6 and 14.8 individuals/10 km2. The analysis of the actual land use revealed higher densities of Great Grey Shrikes in the areas with a higher proportion of grassland and a lower proportion of arable fields and gardens in winter 2008/09; there was no such gradient in the other two winters. Great Grey Shrikes were most often observed in treetops, on powerlines and bushes in winters 2011/12 and 2012/13, while in winter 2008/09 they were more often observed on herbaceous stems and less often on powerlines. Moreover, the heights of their perches were lower than in the other two winters.