Cycle commuting in Belgium: Spatial determinants and ‘re-cycling’ strategies

This paper attempts to explain the spatial variation of the use of a bicycle for commuting to work at the level of the 589 municipalities in Belgium. Regression techniques were used and special attention was paid to autocorrelation, heterogeneity and multicollinearity. Spatial lag models were used to correct for the presence of spatial dependence and a disaggregated modelling strategy was adopted for the northern and southern parts of the country. The results show that much of the inter-municipality variation in bicycle use is related to environmental aspects such as the relief, traffic volumes and cycling accidents. Town size, distance travelled and demographic aspects also have some effect. In addition, there are regional differences in the effects of the structural covariates on bicycle use: the impact of variables such as traffic volume and cycling accidents differs substantially between the north and the south of the country. This paper also suggests that high rates of bicycle use in one municipality stimulate cycling in neighbouring municipalities, and hence that a mass effect can be initiated, i.e. more cycle commuting encourages even more commuters in the area to cycle. These findings provide some recommendations for decision-makers wishing to promote a shift from car to bicycle usecycling, commuting, spatial lag model, spatial regime, pro-cycling strategies

Concussions, cuts and cracked bones : A systematic literature review on protective headgear and head injury prevention in Olympic boxing

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Older adults’ environmental preferences for transportation cycling

Introduction: Cycling is a non-polluting and healthy transportation mode for older adults. However, there is limited knowledge about the infrastructural changes necessary to stimulate cycling among older adults (>= 65 years). This is particularly true for electric cycling (e-biking), an increasingly popular form of cycling. The current experiment with manipulated photographs examined the environmental preferences for transportation cycling among older adults. Additionally, it examined whether subgroups with different environmental preferences exist and whether these subgroups differ on socio-demographics, health characteristics, transport behaviour, e-bike use and cycling levels. Methods: A structured questionnaire and choice-based conjoint exercise was completed by 895 Flemish older adults. The conjoint exercise included 13 choice tasks each presenting two street situations, which were manipulated on nine environmental attributes. Hierarchical Bayes and latent class analyses were applied to obtain environmental preferences and identify subgroups. Results: In the total sample, type of cycle path was the most important environmental attribute (importance = 40.0, 95% CI = 39.0-41.0) determining older adults' preference for transportation cycling. The second most important attribute was traffic density (16.7, 95% CI = 15.9-17.4), followed by cycle path evenness (11.8, 95% CI = 11.4-12.1) and distance (10.6, 95% CI = 10.1-11.0). Six subgroups with different environmental preferences were identified. These subgroups could be characterized based on differences in cycling limitations, driving status, e-bike use and cycling levels. Conclusions: The provision of well-separated cycle paths should be considered a priority in urban planning initiatives aiming to stimulate transportation cycling among older adults. Such initiatives should be evaluated to validate the current findings and optimize future initiatives

Psychosocial and environmental correlates of walking, cycling, public transport and passive transport to various destinations in Flemish older adolescents

BACKGROUND: Active transport is a convenient way to incorporate physical activity in adolescents' daily life. The present study aimed to investigate which psychosocial and environmental factors are associated with walking, cycling, public transport (train, tram, bus, metro) and passive transport (car, motorcycle, moped) over short distances (maximum eight kilometres) among older adolescents (17-18 years), to school and to other destinations. METHODS: 562 older adolescents completed an online questionnaire assessing socio-demographic variables, psychosocial variables, environmental variables and transport to school/other destinations. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression models were performed. RESULTS: More social modelling and a higher residential density were positively associated with walking to school and walking to other destinations, respectively. Regarding cycling, higher self-efficacy and a higher social norm were positively associated with cycling to school and to other destinations. Regarding public transport, a higher social norm, more social modelling of siblings and/or friends, more social support and a higher land use mix access were positively related to public transport to school and to other destinations, whereas a greater distance to school only related positively to public transport to school. Regarding passive transport, more social support and more perceived benefits were positively associated with passive transport to school and to other destinations. Perceiving less walking and cycling facilities at school was positively related to passive transport to school only, and more social modelling was positively related to passive transport to other destinations. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, psychosocial variables seemed to be more important than environmental variables across the four transport modes. Social norm, social modelling and social support were the most consistent psychosocial factors which indicates that it is important to target both older adolescents and their social environment in interventions promoting active transport. Walking or cycling together with siblings or friends has the potential to increase social norm, social modelling and social support towards active transport

Cycling on a bike desk positively influences cognitive performance

Purpose: cycling desks as a means to reduce sedentary time in the office has gained interest as excessive sitting has been associated with several health risks. However, the question rises if people will still be as efficient in performing their desk-based office work when combining this with stationary cycling. Therefore, the effect of cycling at 30% Wmax on typing, cognitive performance and brain activity was investigated. Methods: After two familiarisation sessions, 23 participants performed a test battery [typing test, Rey auditory verbal learning test (RAVLT), Stroop test and Rosvold continuous performance test (RCPT)] with electroencephalography recording while cycling and sitting on a conventional chair. Results: Typing performance, performance on the RAVLT and accuracy on the Stroop test and the RCPT did not differ between conditions. Reaction times on the Stroop test and the RCPT were shorter while cycling relative to sitting (p < 0.05). N200, P300, N450 and conflict SP latency and amplitude on the Stroop test and N200 and P300 on the RCPT did not differ between conditions. Conclusions: This study showed that typing performance and short-term memory are not deteriorated when people cycle at 30% Wmax. Furthermore, cycling had a positive effect on response speed across tasks requiring variable amounts of attention and inhibition

Critical environmental factors for transportation cycling in children: a qualitative study using bike-along interviews

Environmental factors are found to influence transport-related physical activity, but have rarely been studied in relation with cycling for transport to various destinations in 10-12 yr old children. The current qualitative study used \u27bike-along interviews\u27 with children and parents to allow discussion of detailed environmental factors that may influence children\u27s cycling for transport, while cycling in the participant\u27s neighborhood

Promoting active transport in older adolescents before they obtain their driving licence : a matched control intervention study

BACKGROUND: Active transport has great potential to increase physical activity in older adolescents (17-18 years). Therefore, a theory- and evidence-based intervention was developed aiming to promote active transport among older adolescents. The intervention aimed to influence psychosocial factors of active transport since this is the first step in order to achieve a change in behaviour. The present study aimed to examine the effect of the intervention on the following psychosocial factors: intention to use active transport after obtaining a driving licence, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, subjective norm, self-efficacy, habit and awareness towards active transport. METHODS: A matched control three-arm study was conducted and consisted of a pre-test post-test design with intervention and control schools in Flanders (northern part of Belgium). A lesson promoting active transport was implemented as the last lesson in the course 'Driving Licence at School' in intervention schools (intervention group 1). Individuals in intervention group 2 received this active transport lesson and, in addition, they were asked to become a member of a Facebook group on active transport. Individuals in the control group only attended the regular course 'Driving Licence at School'. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing socio-demographics and psychosocial variables at baseline, post (after one week) and follow-up (after eight weeks). To assess intervention effects, multilevel linear mixed models analyses were performed. RESULTS: A sample of 441 older adolescents (56.8% female; 17.4 (0.7) years) was analysed. For awareness regarding the existence of car sharing schemes, a significant increase in awareness from baseline to post measurement was found within intervention group 1 (p = 0.001) and intervention group 2 (p = 0.030) compared to the control group in which no change was found. In addition, a significant increase in awareness from baseline to follow-up measurement was found within intervention group 1 (p = 0.043) compared to a decrease in awareness from baseline to follow-up measurement within the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the intervention was not effective to increase psychosocial correlates of active transport. Future intervention studies should search for alternative strategies to motivate and involve this hard to reach target group

Odor Sensor Digital (Osd) Sebagai Pendeteksi Bau Luka Untuk Mengetahui Grade Infeksi

Odor Sensor Digital (OSD) is a device used to detect the smell of injuries that reflect the level of infection. How it works OSD in detecting the level of infection is to capture odors contained in the wound, then the result is sent to the laptop and will be translated and summarized by the software (Software). The goal is to determine the level of infection as a basis for determining an accurate diagnosis. OSD will provide convenience for all healthcare professionals who manage patients, both patients with burns and wound infections. This tool is more efficient in detecting the level of infection and treatment more quickly and accurately, so that complications can be prevente

An international review of the frequency of single-bicycle crashes (SBCs) and their relation to bicycle modal share

Objectives To study cyclists’ share of transport modes (modal share) and single-bicycle crashes (SBCs) in different countries in order to investigate if the proportion of cyclist injuries resulting from SBCs is affected by variation in modal share. Methods A literature search identified figures (largely from western countries) on SBC casualties who are fatally injured, hospitalised or treated at an emergency department. Correlation and regression analyses were used to investigate how bicycle modal share is related to SBCs. Results On average, 17% of fatal injuries to cyclists are caused by SBCs. Different countries show a range of values between 5% and 30%. Between 60% and 95% of cyclists admitted to hospitals or treated at emergency departments are victims of SBCs. The proportion of all injured cyclists who are injured in SBCs is unrelated to the share of cycling in the modal split. The share of SBC casualties among the total number of road crash casualties increases proportionally less than the increase in bicycle modal share. Conclusions While most fatal injuries among cyclists are due to motor vehicle–bicycle crashes, most hospital admissions and emergency department attendances result from SBCs. As found in previous studies of cyclists injured in collisions, this study found that the increase in the number of SBC casualties is proportionally less than the increase in bicycle modal share.publishedVersio