The built environment, Hamilton City Council policies and child driveway safety: a balancing act

Driveway run-overs continue to bring tragedy to New Zealand families at a higher rate than any other Western nation. Meanwhile, little progress appears to have been made in regard to the recommendations of previous research. This project investigates whether recommendations in regard to one key factor in driveway run-overs, the built environment, are reflected in current local body policies and regulations. The research evaluates Hamilton City Council policies affecting the renovation and/or erection of domestic residences with a view to determining whether they are consistent with existing knowledge and best practice initiatives designed to minimise accidental injuries to children on driveways. The project compares the findings of a review of the existing literature on child safety best practice for the built environment and urban design of driveways, with a review of Hamilton City Council policies and guidelines relating to the built environment of residential properties and adjacent roads (the Operative District Plan, Ten Year Plan, Urban Growth Strategy, Vista, and more), along with relevant central government policy. These findings are triangulated with data from interviews with four expert informants – one child safety expert and three Hamilton City Council employees involved in planning, policy and transport – who provide insights into the translation of policies into practice

A computer vision system for detecting and analysing critical events in cities

Whether for commuting or leisure, cycling is a growing transport mode in many cities worldwide. However, it is still perceived as a dangerous activity. Although serious incidents related to cycling leading to major injuries are rare, the fear of getting hit or falling hinders the expansion of cycling as a major transport mode. Indeed, it has been shown that focusing on serious injuries only touches the tip of the iceberg. Near miss data can provide much more information about potential problems and how to avoid risky situations that may lead to serious incidents. Unfortunately, there is a gap in the knowledge in identifying and analysing near misses. This hinders drawing statistically significant conclusions to provide measures for the built-environment that ensure a safer environment for people on bikes. In this research, we develop a method to detect and analyse near misses and their risk factors using artificial intelligence. This is accomplished by analysing video streams linked to near miss incidents within a novel framework relying on deep learning and computer vision. This framework automatically detects near misses and extracts their risk factors from video streams before analysing their statistical significance. It also provides practical solutions implemented in a camera with embedded AI (URBAN-i Box) and a cloud-based service (URBAN-i Cloud) to tackle the stated issue in the real-world settings for use by researchers, policy-makers, or citizens. The research aims to provide human-centred evidence that may enable policy-makers and planners to provide a safer built environment for cycling in London, or elsewhere. More broadly, this research aims to contribute to the scientific literature with the theoretical and empirical foundations of a computer vision system that can be utilised for detecting and analysing other critical events in a complex environment. Such a system can be applied to a wide range of events, such as traffic incidents, crime or overcrowding

Accidental injury, risk-taking behaviour and the social circumstances in which young people (aged 12-24) live: a systematic review

In industrialised countries such as England and Wales, unintended injury (which ranges from sprains in sport to hospitalisation and death due to drugs or transport crashes) is the leading cause of death in children aged 0 to 14 years, and a major cause of death in young adults aged 15 to 24. It is also a major cause of ill health and disability in these age groups. There is a large body of research on young people and their perceived propensity to take risks. Common sense suggests that an increased willingness to place oneself at risk will result an increased likelihood of physical injury. However, given that pathways to injury are complex and not always well understood, the UK Department of Health commissioned a large systematic review to examine this multifaceted issue. Drug use • The review found that the use of drugs is associated with an increased risk of accidental death among young people and that 12–24 year olds are less at risk than those immediately older. However, risk of death increases with length of drug use, so there is value in targeting interventions at this age group. • Many more young men than women die from drug overdoses, because more men take drugs, but those women who do use drugs are at higher risk. Certain other groups of young people are more at risk than others. These include young people in deprived areas and men who have recently been released from prison. • There was a clear disjunction of views between young people who used drugs and those who did not. The young people who did not take drugs regarded them as risky and stated that media images about possible negative consequences dissuaded them from trying them, while those who did tended not to believe ‘official’ messages about possible harms and did not perceive taking drugs as being dangerous. Cannabis in particular was singled out as possibly being good for you, with some young people believing it to be cheaper than alcohol. The recent reclassification of cannabis and the subsequent debate may have helped to reinforce this view. • The burden of the more serious injuries – as demonstrated by the mortality statistics – is carried by young people in the lower socio-economic groups. • In road injuries, drugs are found in the bloodstream of more young fatal accident victims than older age groups; however, it is difficult to assess whether drugs actually contributed to the accident. • Driving on cannabis was thought to be more acceptable than drink-driving and not thought to be dangerous. Alcohol use • Almost everyone admitted to hospital for alcohol poisoning is aged between 11 and 17. After a sharp peak among 14 and 15 year olds, hospital admissions for injuries with alcohol involvement decline slowly between the ages of 16 and 30. • Correlational studies have shown that alcohol puts the drinker at an increased risk of injury, that young people are more likely to have injuries than older people, and that young men are more at risk than young women. In the one study that examined ethnicity, minority ethnic status did not increase alcohol-related injuries, and may in fact have had a protective association. • Views studies found that young people say that they do not commonly mix alcohol and other drugs. Most young people reported that drinking places them at greater risk of injury, though some did not. The younger teenagers – 14 and 15 year olds – felt most in danger of injury when drinking. Young people felt that they learned to manage their drinking through experience and that unsupervised, outdoor drinking was the most dangerous and was more common among younger teenagers (with injuries being considered less common in licensed venues). Peers encourage both drinking and drunken pranks, but also protect one another when they have become more vulnerable as a result of drink. Young people felt that drinking reduces their perceptions of danger and some stated that injury as a result was inevitable. Most young people were cautious about getting very drunk, though being sick as a result of drinking is common and not regarded as serious. Bad experiences – whether to self or someone else – might change behaviour in the short- but not long-term. • One study which examined attempts to reduce alcohol-related injuries found some evidence that motivational interviews in A&E departments are more effective than information handouts. Drink-driving • Drink-driving was generally considered dangerous and not socially acceptable, whereas driving on cannabis was more acceptable and not thought to be dangerous. Some young people stated that a lack of public transport (or alternatives, such as taxis) made it more likely that they would drink and drive. • Interventions based on models of behaviour change to reduce drink-driving are ineffective or have a negative effect. Combining different approaches has more effect than using a single approach. Education or skills training has either negative or no effects on driver behaviour and subsequent accidents, possibly because these approaches lead to over-confidence or early licensing. • Legislation and enforcement on reducing drink-driving has been found to be effective

Cycling near misses: A review of the current methods, challenges and the potential of an AI-embedded system

Whether for commuting or leisure, cycling is a growing transport mode in many countries. However, cycling is still perceived by many as a dangerous activity. Because the mode share of cycling tends to be low, serious incidents related to cycling are rare. Nevertheless, the fear of getting hit or falling while cycling hinders its expansion as a transport mode and it has been shown that focusing on killed and seriously injured casualties alone only touches the tip of the iceberg. Compared with reported incidents, there are many more incidents in which the person on the bike was destabilised or needed to take action to avoid a crash; so-called near misses. Because of their frequency, data related to near misses can provide much more information about the risk factors associated with cycling. The quality and coverage of this information depends on the method of data collection; from survey data to video data, and processing; from manual to automated. There remains a gap in our understanding of how best to identify and predict near misses and draw statistically significant conclusions, which may lead to better intervention measures and the creation of a safer environment for people on bikes. In this paper, we review the literature on cycling near misses, focusing on the data collection methods adopted, the scope and the risk factors identified. In doing so, we demonstrate that, while many near misses are a result of a combination of different factors that may or may not be transport-related, the current approach of tackling these factors may not be adequate for understanding the interconnections between all risk factors. To address this limitation, we highlight the potential of extracting data using a unified input (images/videos) relying on computer vision methods to automatically extract the wide spectrum of near miss risk factors, in addition to detecting the types of events associated with near misses

Genetic association study of QT interval highlights role for calcium signaling pathways in myocardial repolarization.

The QT interval, an electrocardiographic measure reflecting myocardial repolarization, is a heritable trait. QT prolongation is a risk factor for ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD) and could indicate the presence of the potentially lethal mendelian long-QT syndrome (LQTS). Using a genome-wide association and replication study in up to 100,000 individuals, we identified 35 common variant loci associated with QT interval that collectively explain ∼8-10% of QT-interval variation and highlight the importance of calcium regulation in myocardial repolarization. Rare variant analysis of 6 new QT interval-associated loci in 298 unrelated probands with LQTS identified coding variants not found in controls but of uncertain causality and therefore requiring validation. Several newly identified loci encode proteins that physically interact with other recognized repolarization proteins. Our integration of common variant association, expression and orthogonal protein-protein interaction screens provides new insights into cardiac electrophysiology and identifies new candidate genes for ventricular arrhythmias, LQTS and SCD

An Investigation on Responsible Innovation in the Emerging Shared Bicycle Industry:Case study of a Chinese firm

In the current era of Industrial 4.0, open innovation, and the sharing economy, innovation ecosystems are formed through government-industry-university (triple helix) interaction. The concept of responsible innovation has emerged to explore how innovation can be conducted in a transparent, trustworthy, and sustainable way so as to respond to the public interest. While current literature provides a conceptual framework, details of how responsible innovation can be formed, developed, and sustained in the sharing economy, in particular in developing countries, have been under-explored. This paper aims to explore factors of responsible innovation, linking dimensions with business practice, and identify the dynamic stages of the industry life cycle. Through an in-depth case study of China’s shared bicycle industry and the firm Hellobike, this paper has prioritized factors which lead to responsibility, such as user safety and friendliness in product design, real-time operations combined with big data, collaboration between industry and local government for industry standardization, and user credit systems. It has enriched key dimensions based on literature and case studies and proposed dynamic interaction models for industry, government, users, and universities at different stages of responsible innovation in the shared bicycle sector. From this empirical study, future research areas have been identified

Understanding walking and cycling using a life course perspective

Understanding of how walking and cycling change over time has been restricted to looking at time series data that reveals aggregate change, and time-limited longitudinal studies of individual behaviour. This thesis presents a study of the change and continuity in individual behaviour over the life course as well as inter-generational influence of, and inter-cohort similarities and differences in behavioural pathways. The behavioural trajectories of adults from two historically-separated birth cohorts, and parent-child dyads, were studied using biographical approach. Interpretive, visual biographies were produced that illustrated behavioural development through life events and transitions. Typologies were constructed to resolve common and distinct pathways in behavioural development.Behaviour change often accompanied changes in residence, employment, family structure and mobility resources. Some distinctions in trajectories were apparent along the dimensions of gender and cohort. The life-long potential for behaviour change was demonstrated by some adaptive, restorative and negative changes that occurred in later life. There was empirical suggestion that earlier cycling experiences were generative of, and influential on, later outcomes, and that some aspects of macro-level social and structural change had brought about cohort distinctions in the opportunity structure for walking and cycling over the life course.Findings were consolidated in a conceptual life course framework that proposed micro and macro-contextual influences of behaviour and addressed the temporal, gendered and inter-generational aspects of trajectory development. Emerging adulthood and, more tentatively, the work-retirement transition were periods of higher propensity for change that preceded periods of relative stability in the life course and behaviour. The findings have applications in the pursuit of measures to support life-long walking and cycling. Some recommendations for policy are made in light of indications that life course experience had distinguished some gender and cohort groups in their ability and readiness to make restorative change in behaviour

How Do You Move? Everyday stories of physical activity

Stories can be a powerful method of exploring complexity, and the factors affecting everyday physical activity within a modern urban setting are nothing if not complex. The first part of our How Do You Move? study focused on the communication of physical activity guidelines to under-served communities. A key finding was that adults especially wanted physical activity messages to come from ‘everyday people, people like us’. This finding also reflects a wider move to use more relatable imagery in health promotion campaigns. Using a portrait vignette approach to create monologues, we set out to explore the experiences of people from diverse backgrounds living in Bristol, all of whom took part in varied leisure time physical activities but would also be considered to lead ‘normal’ lives. We aim to demonstrate that stories of such ‘experts by experience’ can contribute to how physical activity is perceived and elucidate the complex interplay of barriers and enablers in everyday experiences of physical activity