Analysis of Perceptions of Cycling Safety on Roads with Mixed Traffic Depending on Age, Gender, and Riding Experience

Promoting cycling as a sustainable mode of transport necessitates understanding how individuals perceive the risks associated with bicycling based on age, gender, and riding experience. This study addresses a critical gap in the field of traffic by examining cyclists' perceptions of risk and safety on mixed-traffic roads. Despite increased interest in promoting cycling as a sustainable means of transportation, research on this topic is rare. Therefore, this study aims to contribute to existing literature on cyclist perceptions and cycling safety on roads with mixed traffic by examining the significant differences that may exist among age groups, genders, and individuals with varying riding experiences. The research focuses on roads lacking distinct bicycle paths and characterized by heterogeneous traffic streams. The study surveyed 120 cyclists on 13 roads in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo. Safety perception, measured using a Likert scale (1–5), was the dependent variable. Non-parametric methods, specifically the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests, were employed to analyze the data and test the hypotheses. The results revealed statistically significant differences between genders (Mann-Whitney test: U = 720; Z = -5.887, p = 0.000 < 0.05; r = -0.537), between groups with and without riding experience (Mann-Whitney test: U = 1240.5; Z = -2.59; p = 0.01; r = -0.236), and among age groups (Kruskal Wallis test: df = 4; p = 0.022 < 0.05). With Bonferroni correction, post hoc analysis using the Mann-Whitney test demonstrated significant differences (adjusted p < 0.0125) between at least two age groups. The median perception of general safety was at Likert scale 3 (average safety), while the perception of comfort was at level 2 (uncomfortable). These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers involved in urban planning, offering targeted strategies to enhance cycling safety based on age, gender, and riding experience. The findings highlight the complicated interaction of these elements and their impact on riders' safety perceptions. By understanding these dynamics, policymakers and urban planners may build targeted interventions and infrastructure upgrades to promote safer and more inclusive riding environments. This work adds to the field by shining light on the elements that influence cyclists' risk perception, eventually guiding methods for improving cycling safety and boosting the use of bicycles as a sustainable transportation choice. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-SP2023-09-011 Full Text: PD

INTEGRIMI EUROPIAN

Integrimi Evropian do të thotë kultivim të unitetit ndërmjet vendeve dhe popujve evropianë. Brenda Bashkimit Evropian, do të thotë se vendet i grumbullojnë resurset e veta dhe bashkarisht marin shumë vendime. Kjo marje e vendimeve të përbashkëta realizohet nëpërmjet bashkëpunimit dhe bashkëveprimit nëpërmjet Institucioneve të Bashkimit Evropian siç janë Parlamenti i BE, Këshilli i BE, Komisioni i BE etj. Integrim Evropian është proces integrimi politik, legal, ekonomik dhe në disa raste edhe social dhe kulturor i vendeve Evropiane. Procesi i Integrimit Europian kërkon një punë të përbashkët nga të gjitha institucionet qeveritare të një sheti dhe gjithë resurset politike duhet që të aktivizohen në këtë drejtim dhe të shërbejnë drejtpërdrejt në arritjen e këtij objektivi strategjik, që synojnë të gjitha shtetet e kontinentit Evropian. Analitikët e integrimeve evropiane në rend të parë të lidhjeve ndërrajonale e definojnë evropianizimin si proces i redefinimit të politikave kombëtare dhe drejtimet e veprimit të tyre deri në shkallë të ndërmjetme të vetëqeverisjes së pushtetit lokal apo në rajone, ku dinamika politike dhe ekonomike e Bashkimit Evropian si pjesë e logjikës organizative ka për bazë mu rajonin si motor të integrimeve në nivele të ndryshme. Në këtë proces paraprijnë vendet me demokraci të përparuar e të qëndrueshme, me potencial ekonomik, teknologjik, shkencor e ushtarak modern, të integruar gjithnjë e më shumë edhe në struktura të përbashkëta. Bashkëudhëtarë të këtij zhvillimi për progres të gjithanshëm janë edhe mjaft popuj e vende, europiane dhe të tjerë, pavarësisht nga madhësia e tyre. Integrimi europian dhe euroatlantik është një proces gjithëdimensional përherë e më i ndërvarur, që përfshin zhvillimin tërësor të shoqërisë demokratike, legjislacionin dhe institucionet, ekonominë e tregut dhe teknologjinë, politikën për sigurimin kombëtar, rajonal e më gjërë dhe strukturat përkatëse, kohezionin social dhe respektimin real të të drejtave të njeriut e të minoriteteve, shërbimin shëndetësor, arsimin, shkencën, kulturën etj

Engångshjältar - Hur myter och symboler konstruerar nationalism på Balkan

This thesis is about how nationalism is constructed from two competing groups, Kosovo Albanian and Serbs. Kosovo for Serbs is a deep symbolic value that continues to be a Serbian identification. This is one of the main reasons why no Serbian politician has the courage to give it up. On the other side of the coin we have the Kosovo Albanians that only settles for independence. To recognize the independence for Kosovo could jeopardize the security for the Serbian minority living in Kosovo. So every attempt to solve the rubics cube could lead to instability. The thesis also looks to understand how Chosen Trauma and Chosen Glory has become the social construction of nationalism from both the Kosovo Albanian side and the Serbian side. To hang on a chosen trauma gives the incentive to construct the other as the enemy, which could become a hinder to a multiethnic society. Since the war ended seven years ago Kosovo has, formally still a province of Serbia, been under the administrative protectorate of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). In seven years Kosovo has been living in vacuum. And yet no one has the courage to take a stand over Kosovo's future. The consequences are an unrest population. Kosovo exemplifies a society in which the identities of two competing groups have long been tied to Truths about the other. Nationalism is thus present. The case of Kosovo illustrates what happens when political leaders exploit the most demeaning Truths about the other to create intense feelings of insecurity and victimization. Some claim that under the surface there is still a deep mistrust between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians

Skaka om och blanda mer - Om invandraridentitet i vardagen

The Swedish integration policy acts upon that all citizen should have equal rights and possibilities no matter ethnic and cultural background. In today's Sweden it is more or less a self-evident that immigrants ought to prepare the possibility to preserve their original cultural distinctive character according to the Governments Proposition 1997/98:16. Simultaneously the term integration and its actual meaning and its political significance are not always clear. Immigrants as a categorization are often overloaded with negative overtone and risk to seem discriminated. The category reinforces also a ?we? and ?them? thinking. The category moreover is rough generalized and presupposes a group with common distinguishing features and a solidarity that is separated from the Swedes. This essay seeks to understand how identities are constructed among immigrants. One way to regard identity is to examine how cultural identity is constructed and how it is understood in Sweden since many immigrants in Sweden experience that the have one foot in each culture. Sometimes what a person feels seems to be unimportant and uninteresting if one consider individuals whether they are immigrants or Swedish. In the interviews conducted by five young persons from the Malmoe region contribute both experiences to their narrative story over their identity. Through narratives their identities are portrayed as being ?neither this? nor ?that?. This ambivalence is especially clear in narratives of belonging and the immigrant's possibilities to call themselves and be a part of the ?swedishness?. This can also be described as a hybrid identities

Post-Traumatic Neuropathic Pain: The Role Of The Skin

In the past decades, a body of evidence has shown that the uppermost layer of the skin, the epidermis, not only serves as a protective layer but also plays a pivotal role in the transmission of painful and non-painful stimuli to the central nervous system. The epidermis consists of five layers (Fig. 1): stratum basale, stratum spinosum, stratum granulosum, stratum lucidum (only in palmar and plantar skin) and stratum corneum, from the inner-most to the outer-most layer, respectively. The epidermis contains keratinocytes, which undergo gradual differentiation as they progress from the basal layer to the stratum corneum, with a turnover time of about 27 days. Keratinocytes relay sensory information as they are activated by mechanical, thermal and noxious stimuli and they transmit their information indirectly to the spinal cord by activating nearby located peripheral nerve fibers . For example, upon activation, keratinocytes secrete adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which binds to and activates P2X purinoceptor 3 (P2X3), receptors expressed on adjacent epidermal nerve fibers. In addition to keratinocytes, the epidermis contains Merkel cells, melanocytes and Langerhans cells, all of which serve different sensory purposes (Fig. 1). Merkel cells are believed to play a prominent role in the transduction of light touch . Melanocytes are UV sensitive cells that produce melanin, a pigment that has photo protectant properties. Langerhans cells are antigen-presenting cells, but are also sensitive to thermal stimulation, such as the increasing skin temperature occurring during local inflammation

Building and Calibration Transport Demand Model in Anamorava Region

The main objective of this research is to develop a model and to calibrate it in order to apply it to transport forecasting for Anamorava region. The synthetic model has been developed, and it is composed of a transport network model and a demand model, which is enabled using PTV Visum software as well as using the following variables as input: number of residents, number of people employed, working places available as well as the volume of vehicles entering and leaving certain locations surrounding the Anamorava region at "peak hour". Required coefficients are used for converting the traffic volumes from 12 hours to 24 hours expressed, such as AADT. As a criterion, for initial verification R2, RMSPE, Percentage Deviation and Regression parameters are used. Then, a calibration of the demand model is conducted using the TFlowFuzzy algorithm by employed GEH test, comparing it with the observed data of traffic volumes accomplished simultaneously at some locations inside and in the vicinity of this region for time intervals of 12 hours on two different days in one week in May 2016. In order to fulfil all the criterions, it has been found out that the final model may be used for transport demand forecasting in the future in this region