Time use and rurality – Canada 2005

This paper provides a preliminary assessment of rurality as a factor affecting where and how people use their time, in a North American context. Rurality is a complex concept, but two key aspects are the degree of urban influence, and economic dependence on resource industries (farming and fishing particularly). Using dichotomous variables from the 2005 Canadian time use survey, we find that rural residence and resource employment both strongly influence time use and travel behaviour. Responding to fewer and more distant opportunities, people with rural residence participate less than urbanites in paid work, education, and shopping, and thus on average spend less time in these activities. Differences in time use between resource and nonresource workers are generally less marked than those related to urban versus rural workers. However, resource workers spend significantly less time in care-giving and sports, and more time in shopping and education. Participation in many activities is lower for resource workers, but those who participate spend significantly more time in paid work, domestic work, shopping, and education. Rural residents were found to spend considerably less time in travel than urban dwellers. On average, they take fewer trips per day, of shorter average duration, and spend less time in travel. Resource workers take significantly fewer trips than non-resource workers, spend less total time in travel, and have trips of lower average duration.Rurality, time use, resource industries, travel, Canada

Students’ Perceptions of Choice-based Assessment

The traditional teacher-centered approach to assessment places teachers in total control of what, how, and when students’ learning is assessed. Alternatively, choice-based assessment is a learner-centered approach to assessment that allows students to choose, to some extent, what, how, and/or when their learning is assessed. A case study was designed to expose undergraduate students to a choice-based assessment strategy and subsequently measure the extent to which they agreed, or disagreed, that the strategy influenced their level of engagement and satisfaction with their learning. Students voluntarily shared their perceptions over two survey cycles (n=22 in spring 2017 and n=36 in fall 2017) with an overall response rate of 84 percent. Results clearly demonstrate that most students expressed strong support for this choice-based assessment strategy; it enabled them focus on their strengths and interests, it influenced their level of engagement, it made them feel more responsible for their learning, and it made them feel empowered. However, choice was not motivating for all students; a few students expressed concerns over the potential for procrastination, a lack of experience with choice, and/or too many choices, which were more likely symptoms of the strategy’s design rather than choice-based assessment. Overall, this case study clearly demonstrated that students were highly receptive to having a choice in what, how, and when their learning is assessed, which provides further evidence of the untapped potential for choice-based assessment strategies to foster student engagement, improve student satisfaction, and empower students to actively participate in their learning

Time use, travel behavior, and the rural–urban continuum: results from the Halifax STAR project

This paper considers variations in time-related aspects of travel behavior along the urban–rural continuum, using the four categories of inner city, suburbs, inner commuter belt (ICB), and outer commuter belt (OCB). It employs geo-coded and GPS-validated data from the STAR survey conducted in the county-sized regional municipality of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Many significant inter-zonal differences are identified, and most travel variables are characterized by progressive urban-to-rural gradients, with large differences between inner-city and outer-commuter values. A clear break between city and country is seldom evident, however. Inner-city residents make most trips, but have trips of shortest duration, and spend least time in travel. Residents of the commuter belts spend most time in travel, and have trips of longest duration. While long trips and much driving were expected in commuter zones, there are significantly fewer trips in the OCB, which we attribute to lack of need, lack of opportunities, and adjustments in discretionary behavior

School siting and mode choices for school travel: Rural–urban contrasts in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Published versionMode choices for school travel are important to children’s health. School size and siting impose constraints on mode choices, and these factors vary considerably along the rural–urban continuum. Using the Halifax Regional School Board, Nova Scotia, as a case study, this research examines the effects of elementary school size and siting on mode choices and school busing.Data for 96 elementary schools in the school district are examined for statistical relationships between school and catchment area size, rural–urban location, and reliance on school busing. To estimate potential walk ability,a mean Walk Score®was calculated for a 2.4-km pedestrian zone around each school, which represents the school board’s courtesy busing threshold. Mode choices from“hands-up”tallies at four schools were employed to calibrate the use of automobile and walking modes.In inner-city areas, pedestrian zones typically covered almost 90% of the school catchment area, and their walk ability was moderately high. However, in suburban, commuter belt, and rural zones, much less area fell within the pedestrian zone, and walk ability declined considerably. The proportion of students who walked or cycled for school travel were 40% (inner-city), 37% (suburbs), and only 5% in the commuter belt and rural zones. On the other hand, more than 80% of children who lived in the commuter belt and rural zones rode the bus, compared with 30% in the suburbs and only 6% in the inner-city areas. In both the suburban and inner-city schools, a large proportion of students were chauffeured by car.Findings suggest that post-1960 school planning for rural areas around Halifax has paid insufficient attention to the potential for children to walk or bike to school. Consequently, school consolidation and busing practices should be reconsidered in light of their negative impacts on the health and well-being of suburban and rural school children

Exploring Spatial Dynamics with Land Price Indexes

The purpose of this study is to explore the within-region spatial dynamics of appreciation and depreciation rates using three different representations of geographical space. Mean value indexing methods are used to construct global land price indexes, sub-market land price indexes and local land price indexes using transaction price data for vacant residential land within the City of Hamilton, Ontario, between 1995 and 2003. The results are validated against Statistics Canada's series of New Housing Price Indexes, followed by a comparison of the relative performance of the three geographical representations of land price indexes. The results indicate that the mean value indexing methods are robust, although subject to outliers and sample selection bias, and clearly illustrate the spatial dynamics of annual appreciation and depreciation rates across the study area. The results also underscore the need for regular surveillance of the spatial dynamics of urban land markets.

Transport mobility benefits and quality of life: A time-use perspective of elderly Canadians

It is well accepted that mobility is often closely linked to one's independence, well-being, and quality of life. This research seeks to quantify the impacts of transport mobility and investigate their impacts on the quality of life for non-working elderly Canadians. Statistics Canada's Time-Use data are used to develop contextually-derived time budgets that measure daily exposure to psychological, exercise, and community benefits of transport mobility. These time budget measures are stratified by dimensions of life situation and domains of subjective well-being. Results exhibit significant variations in transport mobility benefits by life situation and subjective well-being indices, and also indicate significant association between transport mobility benefits and quality of life. This research concludes with an evaluation of the potential for future applications of Canada's General Social Survey (GSS) time-use modules towards further development of an index of well-being that incorporates the benefits of transport mobility.Transport mobility Quality of life Time-use Elderly Canadians

Leisure-time Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour in Older People: The Influence of Sport Involvement on Behaviour Patterns in Later Life

Given the dramatic demographic change underway in most industrialized nations, the health of older adults is a major concern, particularly given the prevalence of sedentary behaviours and physical inactivity among ageing populations. Researchers have suggested sport participation in later life promotes other health-related behaviours, however, these relationships are poorly understood. It is possible for individuals to be classified as sufficiently active and still spend most of their day involved in sedentary pursuits. Moreover, there is little information on older sport participants’ use of time compared to leisurely active or inactive peers and whether type of physical activity involvement is associated with differences in older adults’ behaviour patterns. With this in mind, data from 1,723 respondents (65 years and older) who completed the sport module of the 2010 Canadian General Social Survey–Time Use were used to investigate the influence of physical activity involvement (competitive sport vs. non-competitive sport vs. physically active leisure vs. inactivity) on time spent in leisure-time physical activity and sedentary behaviours. Results indicated that competitive sport participants spent less time engaging in sedentary behaviours compared to the physically active leisure or inactive respondents; however, sport participants (both competitive and non-competitive) also spent less time engaging in leisure-time physical activities than the physically active leisure group. Implications of these findings to assumptions related to the activity levels of older sport participants, suggestions for future research, and considerations for sport-related interventions aimed at enhancing health in older adulthood are discussed