Moudon, Anne Vernez; Drewnowski, Adam; Duncan, Glen E.; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Saelens, Brian E.; Scharnhorst, Eric. (2013). Characterizing the Food Environment: Pitfalls and Future Directions. Public Health Nutrition, 16(7), 1238 – 1243.
View Publication
Abstract
Objective: To assess a county population's exposure to different types of food sources reported to affect both diet quality and obesity rates. Design: Food permit records obtained from the local health department served to establish the full census of food stores and restaurants. Employing prior categorization schemes which classified the relative healthfulness of food sources based on establishment type (i.e. supermarkets v. convenience stores, or full-service v. fast-food restaurants), food establishments were assigned to the healthy, unhealthy or undetermined groups. Setting: King County, WA, USA. Subjects: Full census of food sources. Results: According to all categorization schemes, most food establishments in King County fell into the unhealthy and undetermined groups. Use of the food permit data showed that large stores, which included supermarkets as healthy food establishments, contained a sizeable number of bakery/delis, fish/meat, ethnic and standard quick-service restaurants and coffee shops, all food sources that, when housed in a separate venue or owned by a different business establishment, were classified as either unhealthy or of undetermined value to health. Conclusions: To fully assess the potential health effects of exposure to the extant food environment, future research would need to establish the health value of foods in many such common establishments as individually owned grocery stores and ethnic food stores and restaurants. Within-venue exposure to foods should also be investigated.
Keywords
Food Chemistry; Obesity; Health Boards; Dietary Supplements; Food Cooperatives; Restaurant Reviews; Coffee Shops; Food Consumption; Food Quality; Census Of Food Sources; Exposure; Health Value; Neighborhood Characteristics; Store Availability; Racial Composition; Physical-activity; Weight Status; Restaurants; Association; Proximity; Access; Business Enterprises; Fast Food Restaurants; Fish; Grocery Stores; Healthy Diet; Meat; Nutritional Adequacy; Supermarkets
Drewnowski, Adam; Rehm, Colin D.; Moudon, Anne V.; Arterburn, David. (2014). The Geography of Diabetes by Census Tract in a Large Sample of Insured Adults in King County, Washington, 2005-2006. Preventing Chronic Disease, 11.
View Publication
Abstract
Introduction Identifying areas of high diabetes prevalence can have an impact on public health prevention and intervention programs. Local health practitioners and public health agencies lack small-area data on obesity and diabetes. Methods Clinical data from the Group Health Cooperative health care system were used to estimate diabetes prevalence among 59,767 adults by census tract. Area-based measures of socioeconomic status and the Modified Retail Food Environment Index were obtained at the census-tract level in King County, Washington. Spatial analyses and regression models were used to assess the relationship between census tract level diabetes and area-based socioeconomic status and food environment variables. The mediating effect of obesity on the geographic distribution of diabetes was also examined. Results In this population of insured adults, diabetes was concentrated in south and southeast King County, with smoothed diabetes prevalence ranging from 6.9% to 21.2%. In spatial regression models, home value and college education were more strongly associated with diabetes than was household income. For each 50% increase in median home value, diabetes prevalence was 1.2 percentage points lower. The Modified Retail Food Environment Index was not related to diabetes at the census-tract level. The observed associations between area-based socioeconomic status and diabetes were largely mediated by obesity (home value, 58%; education, 47%). Conclusion The observed geographic disparities in diabetes among insured adults by census tract point to the importance of area socioeconomic status. Small-area studies can help health professionals design community-based programs for diabetes prevention and control.
Keywords
Prevalence; Obesity; Us; Disease
Migliaccio, G. C.; Bogus, Susan M.; Cordova-Alvidrez, A. A. (2014). Techniques for Continuous Improvement of Quality of Data Collection in Systems of Capital Infrastructure Management. Journal Of Construction Engineering And Management, 140(4).
View Publication
Abstract
oLa infraestructura del transporte es una de las mas grandes inversiones que realizan los gobiernos. Las agencias gubernamentales de transporte administran este capital y utilizan la informacion de las condiciones de este para decidir la programacion y tipo de mantenimiento y recursos a ejercer. Para recolectar la informacion pertinente, las agencias emplean evaluadores adiestrados para evaluar la infraestructura, ya sea en sitio o analizando fotografias y/o videos. Las evaluaciones visuales son empleadas para inspeccionar las condiciones de la infraestructura, incluyendo el desgaste de la superficie de los caminos y carreteras. Este articulo describe un Data Quality Assessment & Improvement Framework (DQAIF) (Sistema de Evaluacion y Mejora de la Calidad de la Informacion) para medir y controlar los datos de los evaluadores del deterioro de carreteras, al controlar el criterio de estos. El DQAIF es en un proceso ciclico de Mejora Continua de Calidad compuesto por: a)la evaluacion del nivel de acuerdo entre evaluadores -por medio del analisis estadistico (inter-rater agreement analysis), b)la evaluacion de la consistencia a traves del tiempo -mediante analisis de regresion lineal, y c)la implementacion de practicas gerenciales para mejorar los resultados mostrados en las evaluaciones anteriores. Se llevo a cabo un estudio de caso para validar el sistema propuesto. Los resultados mostraron que el DQAIF es efectivo para identificar y resolver problemas de la calidad de los datos obtenidos en las inspecciones de infraestructura. Con este sistema se garantiza la reduccion del riesgo de la subjetividad y asi aplicar acciones de mantenimiento mas oportunas. El DQAIF puede ser empleado en un programa de gerencia de infraestructura o en cualquier programa de ingenieria en donde la informacion esta sujeta al juicio o criterio personal de los individuos que realizan la evaluacion. Este proceso puede ser adaptado, incluso, para evaluar el desempeno de sistemas automatizados de evaluacion de pavimentos.
Keywords
Manual Pavement Distress; Quality Control; Pavement Management; Inspection; Quantitative Analysis; Data Collection; Assets; Reliability; Construction Materials And Methods
D’Incognito, Maria; Costantino, Nicola; Migliaccio, Giovanni C. (2015). Actors and Barriers to the Adoption of LCC And LCA Techniques in the Built Environment. Built Environment Project And Asset Management, 5(2), 202 – 216.
View Publication
Abstract
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the existing barriers to the slow adoption of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) in construction, and the main responsible actors. Design/methodology/approach - The research design is based on a two-phase approach. First, the existing literature was studied through a multiple-step content analysis (CA) approach, which combined unsupervised concept mapping with computer aided CA. Using a relational CA approach, statistical-based analysis tools were initially used to identify the relationships between actors and barriers. Later, a Delphi study was administered to a panel of experts, to triangulate, validate, and refine the initial results. Findings - The study revealed that organizational culture is the most relevant barrier, and that clients and professionals are the actors that predominantly influence the adoption of LCC and LCA in projects. Technical and financial barriers, such as the lack and quality of input data and the high costs of implementation are also deemed relevant. Research limitations/implications - The CA was performed by a single rater on a sample that included 50 papers in English language. Future research may focus on enlarging the sample, extending it to other languages, and linking the source (or the expert) to their professional context to evaluate geographical differences in barriers. Originality/value - The adopted approach gives new insights on the relationships behind the rejection of LCA and LCC suggesting that solutions at the organizational level may be more effective than technical ones.
Keywords
Construction; Innovation; Content Analysis; Sustainability; Organizational Culture; Lca; Lcc; Life Cycle Management; Innovations; Life Cycle Costs; Experts; Software; Corporate Culture; Concept Mapping; Urban Environments; Computer Aided Mapping; Life Cycles; Life Cycle Engineering; Decision Making; Organizational Aspects; Supply Chains; Research Design; Professionals; Construction Industry; Construction Costs; Life Cycle Analysis; Urban Areas; English Language; Barriers; Regulation Of Financial Institutions; Life Cycle Assessment
Wier, Megan L.; Schwartz, Michael; Dannenberg, Andrew L. (2015). Health Impact Assessment: Considering Health in Transportation Decision Making in the United States. TR News (0738-6826), 299, 11 – 16.
Abstract
The article talks about Health Impact Assessment (HIA) when it comes to transportation decision making in the U.S. and discusses the Collaboration between public health professionals and transportation in order to execute HIA.
Keywords
Health Impact Assessment; Public Health -- United States
El-Anwar, Omar; Ye, Jin; Orabi, Wallied. (2016). Efficient Optimization of Post-Disaster Reconstruction of Transportation Networks. Journal Of Computing In Civil Engineering, 30(3).
View Publication
Abstract
Catastrophes, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis often cause large-scale damage to transportation systems. In the aftermath of these disasters, there is a present challenge to quickly analyze various reconstruction plans and assess their impacts on restoring transportation services. This paper presents a new methodology for optimizing post-disaster reconstruction plans for transportation networks with superior computational efficiency employing mixed-integer linear programming (MILP). The model is capable of optimizing transportation recovery projects prioritization and contractors assignment in order to simultaneously: (1)accelerate networks recovery; and (2)minimize public expenditures. The full methodology is presented in two companion publications, where the focus of this paper is to propose new methods for (1)decomposing traffic analysis; (2)assessing the traffic and cost performance of reconstruction plans; (3)reducing the massive solution search space; and (4)phasing the use of mixed-integer linear programming to optimize the problem. An illustrative example is presented throughout the paper to demonstrate the implementation phases. (C) 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Keywords
Cost Reduction; Disasters; Emergency Management; Integer Programming; Linear Programming; Project Management; Public Finance; Search Problems; Town And Country Planning; Transportation; Solution Search Space Reduction; Cost Performance Assessment; Traffic Performance Assessment; Traffic Analysis; Public Expenditure Minimization; Network Recovery Acceleration; Contractor Assignment; Transportation Recovery Project Prioritization; Milp; Mixed-integer Linear Programming; Post-disaster Reconstruction Plan Optimization; Transportation Service Restoration; Reconstruction Plans; Transportation System Large-scale Damage; Tsunami; Earthquake; Hurricane; Catastrophe; Transportation Network; Post-disaster Reconstruction Optimization; Optimizing Resource Utilization; Natural Disasters; Housing Projects; Construction; Performance; Robustness; Recovery; Plans; Transportation Network Reconstruction; Post-disaster Recovery; Multi-objective Optimization; Computational Cost; Contractors Assignment; Search Space
Lindell, Michael K.; Prater, Carla S.; Wu, Hao Che; Huang, Shih-kai; Johnston, David M.; Becker, Julia S.; Shiroshita, Hideyuki. (2016). Immediate Behavioural Responses To Earthquakes In Christchurch, New Zealand, And Hitachi, Japan. Disasters, 40(1), 85 – 111.
View Publication
Abstract
This study examines people's immediate responses to earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, and Hitachi, Japan. Data collected from 257 respondents in Christchurch and 332 respondents in Hitachi revealed notable similarities between the two cities in people's emotional reactions, risk perceptions, and immediate protective actions during the events. Respondents' physical, household, and social contexts were quite similar, but Hitachi residents reported somewhat higher levels of emotional reaction and risk perception than did Christchurch residents. Contrary to the recommendations of emergency officials, the most frequent response of residents in both cities was to freeze. Christchurch residents were more likely than Hitachi residents to drop to the ground and take cover, whereas Hitachi residents were more likely than Christchurch residents to evacuate immediately the building in which they were situated. There were relatively small correlations between immediate behavioural responses and demographic characteristics, earthquake experience, and physical, social, or household context.
Keywords
Natural Disasters; Risk Perception; Earthquakes; Social Context; Emotions; Christchurch (n.z.); Cross‚Äênational Research; Cross-national Research; Emotional Response; Protective Action; Disaster Victims Speak; Risk; Preparedness; Evacuation; Hazard
Stewart, Orion T.; Moudon, Anne Vernez; Saelens, Brian E.; Lee, Chanam; Kang, Bumjoon; Doescher, Mark P. (2016). Comparing Associations between the Built Environment and Walking in Rural Small Towns and a Large Metropolitan Area. Environment And Behavior, 48(1), 13 – 36.
View Publication
Abstract
The association between the built environment (BE) and walking has been studied extensively in urban areas, yet little is known whether the same associations hold for smaller, rural towns. This analysis examined objective measures of the BE around participants' residence and their utilitarian and recreational walking from two studies, one in the urban Seattle area (n = 464) and the other in nine small U.S. towns (n = 299). After adjusting for sociodemographics, small town residents walked less for utilitarian purposes but more for recreational purposes. These differences were largely explained by differential associations of the BE on walking in the two settings. In Seattle, the number of neighborhood restaurants was positively associated with utilitarian walking, but in small towns, the association was negative. In small towns, perception of slow traffic on nearby streets was positively associated with recreational walking, but not in Seattle. These observations suggest that urban-rural context matters when planning BE interventions to support walking.
Keywords
Physical-activity; Utilitarian Walking; Transportation; Obesity; Adults; Travel; Urban; Prevalence; Strategies; Physical Activity; Walkability; City Planning; Urban Design; Community Health; Gis (geographic Information System); Gps (global Positioning System); Accelerometer; Effect Modification
Doescher, Mark P.; Lee, Chanam; Saelens, Brian E.; Lee, Chunkuen; Berke, Ethan M.; Adachi-mejia, Anna M.; Patterson, Davis G.; Moudon, Anne Vernez. (2017). Utilitarian and Recreational Walking Among Spanish- and English-Speaking Latino Adults in Micropolitan US Towns. Journal Of Immigrant & Minority Health, 19(2), 237 – 245.
View Publication
Abstract
Walking among Latinos in US Micropolitan towns may vary by language spoken. In 2011-2012, we collected telephone survey and built environment (BE) data from adults in six towns located within micropolitan counties from two states with sizable Latino populations. We performed mixed-effects logistic regression modeling to examine relationships between ethnicity-language group [Spanish-speaking Latinos (SSLs); English-speaking Latinos (ESLs); and English-speaking non-Latinos (ENLs)] and utilitarian walking and recreational walking, accounting for socio-demographic, lifestyle and BE characteristics. Low-income SSLs reported higher amounts of utilitarian walking than ENLs (p = 0.007), but utilitarian walking in this group decreased as income increased. SSLs reported lower amounts of recreational walking than ENLs (p = 0.004). ESL-ENL differences were not significant. We identified no statistically significant interactions between ethnicity-language group and BE characteristics. Approaches to increase walking in micropolitan towns with sizable SSL populations may need to account for this group's differences in walking behaviors.
Keywords
Walking; Confidence Intervals; Ecology; Ethnic Groups; Hispanic Americans; Income; Language & Languages; Metropolitan Areas; Population; Public Health; Recreation; Rural Conditions; White People; Logistic Regression Analysis; Socioeconomic Factors; Social Context; Body Mass Index; Acquisition Of Data; Physical Activity; Data Analysis Software; Odds Ratio; United States; Environment Design; Ethnicity; Rural Populations; Physical-activity; Built Environment; United-states; Postmenopausal Women; Acculturation; Risk; Transportation; Mortality; Health; Associations; Studies; Demographic Aspects; Telephone Surveys; Minority & Ethnic Groups; Physical Fitness; Low Income Groups; Urban Environments; Demographics; Language; Accounting; Statistical Analysis; Urban Areas; Towns; Populations; Adults; Lifestyles; Latin American Cultural Groups; Sociodemographics; Landscape Architecture; Population Growth; Pediatrics; Leisure; Health Care; Noncitizens; Preventive Medicine; United States--us
Purcell, Mark; Born, Branden. (2017). Planning in the Spirit of Deleuze and Guattari? Considering Community-Based Food Projects in the United States and Mexico. Urban Geography, 38(4), 521 – 536.
View Publication
Abstract
In this article we argue that planning theory and practice should engage more with the normative political vision of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. They reject the transcendent authority of the State and arguably by extension, planning. As planners we should be concerned: need we reconceptualize, or abandon the planning project? We outline their vision, highlighting key concepts including lines of flight, revolution, the new land, and immanent organization, and use two cases from the United States and Mexico, the Food Commons and Center for Integral Farmer Development in the Mixteca, to show that planning in accordance with Deleuze and Guattari may indeed be possible. We end with questions: is what we describe planning? And what is planning - or what should it be?
Keywords
Deleuze And Guattari; Planning Theory; Mexico; Food Systems