"Living in a Communal Garden" Associated with Well-Being While Reducing Urban Sprawl by 40%: A Mixed-Methods Cross-Sectional Study.

This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2015.00173BACKGROUND: The extent to which novel land-efficient neighborhood design can promote key health behaviors is examined, concentrating on communal outdoor space provision (COSP). OBJECTIVES: To test whether a neighborhood (Accordia) with a higher ratio of communal to private outdoor space is associated with higher levels of resident's (a) self-reported local health behaviors and (b) observed engagement in local health behaviors, compared to a matched neighborhood with lower proportion of COSP. METHODS: Health behaviors were examined via direct observation and postal survey. Bespoke observation codes and survey items represented key well-being behaviors including "connecting," "keeping active," "taking notice," "keep learning," and "giving." The questionnaire was validated using psychometric analyses and observed behaviors were mapped in real-time. RESULTS: General pursuit of health behaviors was very similar in both areas but Accordia residents reported substantially greater levels of local activity. Validated testing of survey dataset (n = 256) showed support for a stronger Attitude to Neighborhood Life (connecting and giving locally) in Accordia and partial support of greater physical activity. Analyses of the behavior observation dataset (n = 7,298) support the self-reported findings. Mapped observations revealed a proliferation of activity within Accordia's innovative outdoor hard spaces. CONCLUSION: Representation is limited to upper-middle class UK groups. However, Accordia was found to promote health behaviors compared a traditional neighborhood that demands considerably more land area. The positive role of home zone streets, hard-standing and semi-civic space highlights the principle of quality as well as quantity. The findings should be considered as part of three forthcoming locally led UK garden cities, to be built before 2020.This research was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, grant number EP/P505445/1. Special thanks is directed toward Ian Cray and Peter Danson of the Accordia Resident Association and Richard Footitt of the Richmond Road Resident Association, in Castle. Gratitude is also extended to Professor Huppert (Department of Psychiatry), Professor Steemers (Department of Architecture), Prof. Mark Haggard (Department of Psychology) and Dr. David Olgivie (Centre for Activity and Environment Research) based at the University of Cambridge for their support throughout the study and Professor Florian Kaiser at Otto-von-Guericke University

Attracting FDI: Australian Government investment promotion in Japan, 1983-96

The trading relationship between Australia and Japan has been traditionally based on commodity exports, and a key Australian policy goal in the past has been to encourage Japanese investment in this sector in the hope of stabilising commodity trade. A serious deterioration in Australia’s terms of trade from the beginning of the 1980s resulting from a number of events – the global recession, the restructuring of Japanese industry and changes in Japan’s relations with the United States and the European Community – showed the need to diversify exports to Japan away from a heavy reliance on commodities and raw materials towards higher value-added primary products, manufactures and services. The attraction of Japanese investment into these sectors was an important part of this strategy. Japanese manufacturing investment was distinctly lacking in the mid-1980s and the Hawke and Keating governments used various methods to inform Japanese business of investment opportunities, provided tax incentives and research and development support for transnational corporations, and created the Investment Promotion Section (IPS) within the Tokyo office of Austrade to help promote investment. This paper shows how the IPS, which was established in 1991 to attract Japanese investment in manufacturing, high technology and processing industries, proved particularly successful in facilitating investment. This was especially yes after its restructure in early 1994 when it moved away from broad educational efforts towards specific investment projects which matched potential investors with Australian firms. With a focus on areas in which Australia held comparative advantages, such as processed foods and further processing of raw materials, the effectiveness of investment promotion increased dramatically and Australian exports to Japan and the Asia Pacific region expanded considerably

Trauma and acute care surgeons report prescribing less opioids over time.

IntroductionConfronted with the opioid epidemic, surgeons must play a larger role to reduce risk of opioid abuse while managing acute pain. Having a better understanding of the beliefs and practices of trauma and acute care surgeons regarding discharge pain management may offer potential targets for interventions beyond fixed legal mandates.MethodsAn Institutional Review Board-approved electronic survey was sent to trauma and acute care surgeons who are members of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, and trauma and acute care surgeons and nurse practitioners at a Level 1 trauma center in February 2018. The survey included four case-based scenarios and questions about discharge prescription practices and beliefs.ResultsOf 66 respondents, most (88.1%) were at academic institutions. Mean number of opioid tablets prescribed was 20-30 (range 5-90), with the fewest tablets prescribed for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy and the most for rib fractures. Few prescribed both opioid and non-opioid medications (22.4% to 31.4 %). Most would not change the number/strength of medications (69.2%), dose (53.9%), or number of tablets of opioids (83.1%) prescribed if patients used opioids regularly prior to their operation. The most common factors that made providers more likely to prescribe opioids were high inpatient opioid use (32.4%), history of opioid use/abuse (24.5%), and if the patient lives far from the hospital (12.9%). Most providers in practice >5 years reported a decrease in opioids (71.9%) prescribed at discharge.ConclusionTrauma and acute care surgeons and nurse practitioners reported decreasing the number/amount of opioids prescribed over time. Patients with high opioid use in the hospital, history of opioid use/abuse, or who live far from the provider may be prescribed more opioids at discharge.Level of evidenceLevel IV

Efficient control based on a verified model for an autonomous underwater vehicle : a case study of Autonomous Benthic Explorer

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution February 1992The Autonomous Benthic Explorer (ABE) is an unmanned underwater vehicle being developed for scientific study of the deep ocean sea:floor. ABE will be completely autonomous from the surface which means that the lifetime of the mission will depend largely on how the vehicle is controlled. An accurate system model is critical for the controller development and trajectory planning. A model of the ABE vehicle dynamics is formulated for surge, heave and pitch motions. These motions in the lon,gitudinal plane are particularly important for the basic ABE trajectories of forward flight, depth changes and maneuvers involving both. A scale model of the ABE vehicle was towed to determine the lift/drag relationships to nonzero angles of attack. The experimental results are used in conjunction with traditional analytical techniques to generate a model of the longitudinal dynamics. The ABE model was studied in simulation over anticipated vehicle trajectories. A proportional plus derivative controller and a sliding mode controller were developed for tracking control. The power consumptions for different controllers and trajectories are examined. The results of this study will be incorporated in the final ABE design.The Office of Naval Research is gratefully acknowledged for its financial support of my graduate education. In addition, this work has been sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation, grant number OCE 8820227

The Effect of Teacher Support on Students from Divorced Families

Statistics reveal divorce as a pervasive and real aspect of modern American society. As a result of the steady divorce rates, the implications for the classroom are far-reaching. While educators cannot resolve the challenge of divorce for students within a given classroom, a concerted effort to assist and understand the educator’s role and influence will better equip teacher’s to best meet the interests of their students. This research project addresses the potential effect of divorce on students. In order for teachers to best serve in a supportive role for their students experiencing the social, emotional, and academic impact of divorce, the project also identifies resources for teachers to assist students through divorce – related situations that may arise within the classroom. As part of the project a Resource Guide was developed. Fifteen colleagues, teaching at the sixth grade level, used the guide for four weeks and assessed its effectiveness with students in their classrooms. Pre- and post-implementation surveys were utilized and results were evaluated to determine the effectiveness of the Resource Guide for those students experiencing divorce and the teachers providing support. The Resource Guide, included in the Appendices section, is a culmination of websites, literature, and strategies that teachers can refer to for assistance

Analyses of Measurements from the CRaTER Instrument on the LRO Spacecraft using Space Radiation Transport Codes

In June 2009, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbital (LRO) Spacecraft was launched to orbit Earth’s Moon. Objectives of this mission are to find potential safe landing sites, locate potential resources, test new technologies, and characterize the lunar radiation environment. Located on the LRO is the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) instrument which is designed to characterize the lunar radiation environment, its biological impact on humans, and impact on equipment. CRaTER will provide a better and more accurate understanding of the lunar radiation environment by measuring linear energy transfer (LET). This lunar environment includes solar particle events (SPEs) and high energy galactic cosmic rays (GCRs). To predict and support CRaTER’s observed data, a comparison to benchmarked radiation transport codes is necessary. The goal of this dissertation is to compare CRaTER’s observed data to simulated results from the Monte Carlo code, High Energy Transport Code – Human Exploration and Development in Space (HETC-HEDS) and the deterministic code, High-Charge-and-Energy Transport (HZETRN). A central part of these analyses is separating the contributions of secondary particles, produced by nuclear interactions in the instrument, from the contributions of these incident primary ions. Also included is a simple analysis of the effects of escaping delta rays on the instrument output spectra

Determinants of farmer adoption of organic production methods in the fresh-market produce sector in California: A logistic regression analysis

This research uses binomial and multinomial logistic regression models to identify the factors that influence farmers adoption of organic technology. Using a sample of 175 farmers growing fresh-market produce in three California counties, the first model examines farmers choice between conventional-only and organic-only production. The second model compares conventional-only and "dual-method" (combined conventional and organic) production, while the third model employs all three choices in a multinomial model. These results, which indicate that gross sales, direct marketing, number of crops and acres, farmer age, and computer usage are significant determinants, have implications on policies that regulate the organic foods sector.Production Economics,

Teaching and learning the concept of area and perimeter of polygons without the use of formulas

The purpose of this study was to increase the student\u27s understanding of the measures of area and perimeter of polygons. The goal of the project was to create a supplemental geometry unit to develop the concept of the area and perimeter of a polygon without the use of formulas and numbers and to measure the effectiveness of this unit on student understanding. Two high school geometry classes with under 28 students each participated in this study