Engaging older adults as advocates for age-friendly, walkable communities: The Senior Change Makers Pilot Study

As the U.S. population ages, communities must adapt to help older adults thrive. Built environment features, like safe sidewalks and crosswalks, provide the foundation for age- and physical activity-friendly communities. Controlled studies are needed to evaluate advocacy training programs that instruct and support seniors to advocate for more walkable neighborhoods. The Senior Change Makers Pilot Study evaluated an advocacy program that taught seniors to evaluate pedestrian environments using the validated MAPS-Mini audit tool, identify barriers, and advocate for improvements. Participants (n = 50) were recruited from four low-income senior housing sites in San Diego, CA, which were randomly assigned to an 8-week advocacy program or physical activity (PA) comparison intervention. Evaluation included surveys, accelerometers to assess PA, and direct observation. Primary outcomes were seniors’ advocacy confidence and skills. Main analyses used repeated measures ANOVAs. Seniors in the advocacy condition (n = 17) increased their advocacy outcome efficacy (p = .03) and knowledge of resources (p = .04) more than seniors in the PA condition (n = 33). Most seniors in the advocacy condition completed a street audit (84%), submitted an advocacy request (79%), or made an advocacy presentation to city staff (58%). Environmental changes included repairs to sidewalks and crosswalks. City staff approved requests for lighting, curb cuts, and crosswalk markings. Seniors’ accelerometer-measured PA did not significantly increase, but self-reported transportation activity increased in the PA condition (p = .04). This study showed the potential of advocacy training to empower seniors to make communities more age- and activity-friendly.

The Driving Factors of Carbon Emissions in China’s Transportation Sector: A Spatial Analysis

Studies on the CO2 emissions from the transportation sector in China are increasing, but their findings are inconclusive. The main reason is that the spatial correlation of CO2 emissions from the regional transportation sector has been ignored in examinations of the driving factors of CO2 emissions from this sector. In this paper, new emission factors are adopted to calculate the CO2 emission levels from the transportation sector in Chinese provinces. By fully considering the spatial correlation of regional CO2 emissions and based on a two-way Durbin model incorporating both spatial and temporal fixed effects, the driving factors of CO2 emissions from the transportation sector in China are studied. The CO2 and spatial regression results for the transportation sector in China suggest the following: 1) Most of the regions with the highest CO2 emissions from the Chinese transportation sector are located on the east coast; they have gradually expanded over time to include the central and western regions. 2) The CO2 emissions from the transportation sector are higher in South China than in North China, and the regions with higher CO2 emissions have gradually shifted from north to south. 3) Transportation activity intensity, urbanization level, technological level, industrial structure and per capita GDP greatly impact CO2 emissions from the transportation sector in each province of China. Among these factors, transportation activity intensity, urbanization level, and per capita GDP exert not only direct effects but also indirect effects, whereas technological level and industrial structure exert only direct effects.

UTT: A Conceptual Model to Guide the Universal Design of Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are closer to becoming a reality in changing the landscape of commercial and personal transportation. The launch of these vehicles come with the promise of improved road safety, reduced traffic fatalities, and enhanced mobility. However, there are questions as to whether the design of AVs will meet the needs of everyone, including people with disabilities and older adults. We argue that there exists no conceptual model that guide sthe inclusive design of autonomous vehicles to benefit all intended users. This paper proposes such a model, called the User Transportation-Activity Technology (UTT) model, which supports the inclusive design of AVs. We present a review of current models of assistive technology design and their drawbacks followed by an introduction of the UTT model and its application in AV design. This paper may benefit researchers, designers, and developers of autonomous vehicles interested in addressing accessible design issues in such vehicles.

Accelerometer and Survey Data on Patterns of Physical Inactivity in New York City and the United States

Objective: Inactive lifestyles contribute to health problems and premature death and are influenced by the physical environment. The primary objective of this study was to quantify patterns of physical inactivity in New York City and the United States by combining data from surveys and accelerometers. Methods: We used Poisson regression models and self-reported survey data on physical activity and other demographic characteristics to predict accelerometer-measured inactivity in New York City and the United States among adults aged ≥18. National data came from the 2003-2004 and 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. New York City data came from the 2010-2011 New York City Physical Activity and Transit survey. Results: Self-reported survey data indicated no significant differences in inactivity between New York City and the United States, but accelerometer data showed that 53.1% of persons nationally, compared with 23.4% in New York City, were inactive ( P < .001). New Yorkers reported a median of 139 weekly minutes of transportation activity, compared with 0 minutes nationally. Nationally, 50.0% of self-reported activity minutes came from recreation activity, compared with 17.5% in New York City. Regression models indicated differences in the association between self-reported minutes of transportation and recreation and accelerometer-measured inactivity in the 2 settings. Conclusions: The prevalence of physical inactivity was higher nationally than in New York City. The largest difference was in walking behavior indicated by self-reported transportation activity. The study demonstrated the feasibility of combining accelerometer and survey measurement and that walkable environments promote an active lifestyle.

Coopetitive Games for Management of Marine Transportation Activity: A Study Case

In this paper, we will use coopetitive game theory to analyze a case of real coopetition among port companies, for what concerns loading and unloading of goods, within a competitive management scenario of marine transportation activities. Our research consists of the analysis of a study case involving coopetition between two real companies from which we obtained the financial and contractual data allowing us to define two modeling payoff functions, both of them based on real agreements and tariffs. We recognize actual coopetition and an asymmetric R&D alliance in this type of agreement, where a bigger enterprise deals with a smaller competitor, in order to capture more value from their activities. In particular, our model will show a precise coopetitive bi-dimensional trajectory within which we suggest, after a quantitative analysis, different kinds of solutions: the purely coopetitive solution, a Kalai-Smorodinsky solution and, finally, a transferable utility Kalai-Smorodinsky solution. Our methods provide specific strategy procedures determining win-win solutions for both.