Community Participation And Travel Choice: An Analysis Of Central Florida New Urban And Conventional Suburban Residents

Previous research has demonstrated a relationship between the built environment and social and transportation outcomes when comparing traditional and conventional suburban neighborhoods, but much remains to be learned about whether New Urbanism can produce similar results. Among studies where new urban neighborhoods have been assessed, most have centered on regions with highly-utilized public transit systems and with climates that are amenable to utilitarian physical activity. This research sought to build on the existing research base through direct comparison of new urban and conventional suburban neighborhoods in central Florida, a region with an under-developed transit system and a climate that renders utilitarian physical activity impractical. Further, this research sought to lend greater insights into neighborhood selection factors across neighborhood types. A mixed-methods, single-case design was utilized to evaluate one new urban and one conventional suburban neighborhood in the central Florida region. Regional new urban neighborhoods were subjectively rated for adherence to tenets of the Charter of the New Urbanism, with the neighborhood (Celebration, in Osceola County, FL) found to most closely adhere to these tenets selected as the experimental group for the study. A socio-demographically comparable conventional suburban neighborhood (Sweetwater, in Seminole County, FL) was selected as the control group. Quantitative methods consisted of a household survey issued to 250 randomly- and convenience-sampled addresses in each neighborhood, followed by regression analysis to evaluate study hypotheses. Qualitative methods employed analysis of open-ended survey responses, detailed case studies of selected neighborhoods, and resident interviews. The household survey yielded net response rates of 15.79 percent and 25.50 percent iv for experimental and control neighborhoods, respectively, and a mean cross-neighborhood response rate of 20.64 percent. Twenty resident interviews (10 per neighborhood) were conducted. Quantitative and qualitative findings were compared to collectively address research questions. Regression results indicated no statistically significant difference between neighborhoods in attitudinal and behavioral components of community participation, in vehicle miles driven per week, or utilitarian physical activity frequency. However, results indicated that new urban residents had more positive attitudes toward utilitarian physical activity than conventional suburban residents and that attitudes toward community participation and utilitarian physical activity were positively correlated with associated behaviors. Qualitative findings provided substantial individual- and environmental-level insights to factors impacting evaluated attitudes and behaviors, and supported some quantitative findings while not aligning with others. Neighborhood selection factors were found to be quite different across neighborhoods: Celebration residents identified neighborhood social atmosphere and connection to the Walt Disney Company brand as top contributors to their selection decision, while Sweetwater residents expressed that access to quality schools was the most important factor in their selection decision. Qualitative findings indicated that car culture and climate within the central Florida region diminished both attitudinal and behavioral components of utilitarian physical activity across neighborhood types. This research expanded the understanding of the social and transportation outcomes of New Urbanism, particularly with respect to the central Florida region. While case and quantitative limitations may have impeded the ability of this study to draw decisive conclusions v about research questions, distinctive themes regarding social and transportation outcomes were identified. Findings of this research supported those of some prior studies while contradicting others, indicating that further exploration is needed to establish a firm understanding of the capabilities of new urban development to achieve desired outcomes, and of regional characteristics that may influence these outcomes

Le paleoenvironnement vegetal des occupations humaines de la Grotte de Payre à la fin du Pleistocène moyen et au début du Pleistocène supérieur (Ardèche, France)

The Middle Paleolithic site named Payre is located in the south-east of France, in the Middle Rhone Valley, in the Mediterranean world. Since 1990, the excavations have yielded a sequence dated from the isotopic stages 7 to 5. The palynological study based on settlement levels from the isotopic stages 6 and 5 has provided us with information about the vegetal environment of the end of the Middle Pleistocene and the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene. When men came, the landscape was semi-forest and the climate was temperate with Mediterranean influences.[es] El emplazamiento arqueológico del Paleolítico Medio de Payre se sitúa al sureste de Francia, en el valle del Ródano, en el contexto mediterráneo actual. Las excavaciones que vienen llevándose a cabo desde 1990 presentan una secuencia fechada en los estadios isotópicos 7 al 5. El estudio palinológico de los niveles de ocupación de los estadios isotópicos 6 y 5 nos informan sobre el contexto vegetal del final del Pleistoceno Medio y de principios del Pleistoceno Superior. Los diferentes periodos climáticos se caracterizan por la predominancia de los taxones arbóreos como Quercus t. ilex y Buxus. El paisaje es a lo largo del diagrama, globalmente semi-abierto y el clima de tipo templado presenta influencias mediterráneas. [fr] Le gisement paléolithique moyen de Payre est situé dans le sud-est de la France, dans la moyenne vallée du Rhône en contexte méditerranéen. Les fouilles, qui s'y déroulent depuis 1990, livrent une séquence datée des stades isotopiques 7 à 5. L'étude palynologique des niveaux d'occupation des stades isotopiques 6 et 5 nous informe sur le contexte végétal de la fin du Pléistocène moyen et du début du Pléistocène supérieur. Le paysage est, lors des diverses occupations humaines, globalement semi-ouvert et le climat de type tempéré sous influence méditerranéenne

Історична наука в УРСР як предмет дослідження в англо-американській історіографії

У статті відтворено образ історичної науки в УРСР у працях англо-американських учених другої половини ХХ – початку ХХІ ст. Вивчено еволюцію ролі та функцій трьох основних акторів історіографічного процесу в Радянському Союзі – влади, істориків та пересічних громадян. Визначено сталі та змінні компоненти у загальній схемі їх взаємодії.In the article the image of historical science in the Ukrainian SSR in the works of the Anglo-American researchers published during the second half of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first centuries is reconstructed. The modification of roles and functions of three main actors in Soviet historiographical process – power, historians and average citizens – is examined. The invariable and change components in the general pattern of its interaction are defined

Convex polyominoes, general polyominoes, and self-avoiding walks using algebraic languages

Beginning with a transfer matrix method used by R. C. Read to find the number of all polyominoes with at most a given number of rows, this method will be reinterpreted in several different ways. First, this transfer matrix method is redefined for convex polyominoes to find a few generating functions for convex polyominoes with some small number of rows. These transfer matrices are then reinterpreted in the form of an algebraic language which simplifies the computations. Finally for the convex polyomino problem, connections are found between the row sizes and a generating function is found for the number of all convex polyominoes enumerated according to area, width, height, and perimeter. In an examination of general polyominoes, Read\u27s transfer matrices are interpreted using an algebraic languages and by this interpretation, exact generating functions are found for polyominoes having 2, 3 and 4 rows. Also in the discussion of general polyominoes, programs are given to find large transfer matrices of numbers where the largest eigenvalue is the growth constant for the generating function. Approximations of these eigenvalues are found for 5, 6, 7 and 8 rows. Finally the same algebraic language interpretation is given for a similar self-avoiding walk problem. The number of SAWs with a restriction on the maximum difference in the first position of the lattice points is found. By using the same technique as was used for general polyominoes, generating functions are given for SAWs with height at most 2 and 3 and the growth constants are given for a height of 4, 5 and 6

Convex polyominoes, general polyominoes, and self-avoiding walks using algebraic languages

Beginning with a transfer matrix method used by R. C. Read to find the number of all polyominoes with at most a given number of rows, this method will be reinterpreted in several different ways. First, this transfer matrix method is redefined for convex polyominoes to find a few generating functions for convex polyominoes with some small number of rows. These transfer matrices are then reinterpreted in the form of an algebraic language which simplifies the computations. Finally for the convex polyomino problem, connections are found between the row sizes and a generating function is found for the number of all convex polyominoes enumerated according to area, width, height, and perimeter. In an examination of general polyominoes, Read\u27s transfer matrices are interpreted using an algebraic languages and by this interpretation, exact generating functions are found for polyominoes having 2, 3 and 4 rows. Also in the discussion of general polyominoes, programs are given to find large transfer matrices of numbers where the largest eigenvalue is the growth constant for the generating function. Approximations of these eigenvalues are found for 5, 6, 7 and 8 rows. Finally the same algebraic language interpretation is given for a similar self-avoiding walk problem. The number of SAWs with a restriction on the maximum difference in the first position of the lattice points is found. By using the same technique as was used for general polyominoes, generating functions are given for SAWs with height at most 2 and 3 and the growth constants are given for a height of 4, 5 and 6

Comparative Performance Measurement In Decentralised Systems: The Case Of The Florida Benchmarking Consortium

Performance measurement has become an established means by which local governments worldwide strive to improve public services. In the United States of America (USA), performance measurement is frequently combined with benchmarking. Benchmarking presupposes comparability of services and performance metrics. When each local government is free to create its own performance measurement system and select its own performance metrics, the result can be a \u27Tower of Babel\u27 that precludes valid benchmarking. This article presents a case study of the Florida Benchmarking Consortium (FBC), a group of some 48 local governments that have come together in an attempt to develop common service definitions and metrics in order to facilitate benchmarking. Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd