Differences in police, ambulance, and emergency department reporting of traffic injuries on Karachi-Hala road, Pakistan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Research undertaken in developing countries has assessed discrepancies in police reporting of Road Traffic Injury (RTI) for urban settings only. The objective of this study was to assess differences in RTI reporting across police, ambulance, and hospital Emergency Department (ED) datasets on an interurban road section in Pakistan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study setting was the 196-km long Karachi-Hala road section. RTIs reported to the police, Edhi Ambulance Service (EAS), and five hospital EDs in Karachi during 2008 (Jan to Dec) were compared in terms of road user involved (pedestrians, motorcyclists, four-wheeled vehicle occupants) and outcome (died or injured). Further, records from these data were matched to assess ascertainment of traffic injuries and deaths by the three datasets.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 143 RTIs were reported to the police, 531 to EAS, and 661 to hospital EDs. Fatality per hundred traffic injuries was twice as high in police records (19 per 100 RTIs) than in ambulance (10 per 100 RTIs) and hospital ED records (9 per 100 RTIs). Pedestrian and motorcyclist involvement per hundred traffic injuries was lower in police records (8 per 100 RTIs) than in ambulance (17 per 100 RTIs) and hospital ED records (43 per 100 RTIs). Of the 119 deaths independently identified after matching, police recorded 22.6%, EAS 46.2%, and hospital ED 50.4%. Similarly, police data accounted for 10.6%, EAS 43.5%, and hospital ED 54.9% of the 1 095 independently identified injured patients.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Police reporting, particularly of non-fatal RTIs and those involving vulnerable road users, should be improved in Pakistan.</p

Spatial planning of public charging points using multi-dimensional analysis of early adopters of electric vehicles for a city region

The success of a mass roll out of Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) is largely underpinned by establishment of suitable charging infrastructure. This paper presents a geospatial modelling approach, exploring the potentials for deployment of publicly accessible charging opportunities for consumers based on two traits — one, trip characteristics (journey purpose and destinations); two, PEV adoption intensity. Its applicability is demonstrated through a case study, which combines census statistics indicating lifestyle trends, family size, age group and affordability with travel patterns for an administrative region in the North-East England. Three categories of potential PEV users have been identified — ‘New Urban Colonists’, ‘City Adventurers’ and ‘Corporate Chieftains’. Analysis results indicate that Corporate Chieftains, primarily residing in peri-urban locations, with multi-car ownership and availability of onsite overnight charging facilities form the strongest group of early adopters, irrespective of public charging provision. On the other hand, New Urban Colonists and City Adventurers, primarily residing in the inner-city regions, show potentials of forming a relatively bigger cohort of early PEV adopters but their uptake is found to be dependent largely on public charging facilities. Our study suggests that effective PEV diffusion in city-regions globally would require catering mainly to the demands of the latter group, focussing on development of a purpose-built public charging infrastructure, both for provision of on-street overnight charging facilities in residential locations and for fast charging at parking hubs (park and ride, amenities and commercial centres)

Prevention of non-communicable diseases in Pakistan: an integrated partnership-based model

Development and implementation of non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention polices in the developing countries is a multidimensional challenge. This article highlights the evolution of a strategic approach in Pakistan. The model is evidence-based and encompasses a concerted and integrated approach to NCDs. It has been modelled to impact a set of indicators through the combination of a range of actions capitalizing on the strengths of a public-private partnership. The paper highlights the merits and limitations of this approach. The experience outlines a number of clear imperatives for fostering an enabling environment for integrated NCD prevention public health models, which involve roles played by a range of stakeholders. It also highlights the value that such partnership arrangements bring in facilitating the mission and mandates of ministries of health, international agencies with global health mandates, and the non-profit private sector. The experience is of relevance to developing countries that have NCD programs running and those that need to develop them. It provides an empirical basis for enhancing the performance of the health system by fostering partnerships within integrated evidence-based models and permits an analysis of health systems models built on shared responsibility for the purpose of providing sustainable health outcomes

Spatial Data Analytics of Mobility with Consumer Data

Consumer data arising from the interaction between customers and service providers are becoming ubiquitous. These data are appealing for research because they are frequently collected and quickly released; they cover a wide variety of attitudes, lifestyles and behavioural characteristics; and they are often dynamically replenished and longitudinal. It is demonstrated that consumer data can make important contributions to understanding problems in transport geography and in solving applied problems ranging from migration, infrastructure investment and retail service provision to commuting and individual mobility. However more effective exploitation of these data depends on the construction of bridges to allow greater freedom in the transfer of data from the commercial to the academic sector; it requires development of frameworks for privacy and ethics in the secondary use of personal data; and it is contingent on the emergence of effective strategies for the amelioration of selection bias which impairs the quality of many consumer data sources

The logistical efficiency of Irish food exports

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:m00/45064 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Challenging the Norm? The 'EthoPolitics' of Low Cost Homeownership in Scotland

Influenced by Nikolas Rose’s concept of ‘ethopolitics’ this paper explores attitudes to home and tenure amongst low-cost homeowners in Scotland. In doing so, it seeks to highlight the contested nature of contemporary governing practices and the way in which ‘governable subjects’ can challenge, reinterpret and resist dominant policy discourses, which promote homeownership as the preferred tenure of choice, whilst simultaneously pathologising and problematising social housing.PostprintPeer reviewe