Examining the performance of engineering treatment evaluation methodologies using the hypothetical treatment and actual treatment settings.

The selection of treatment evaluation methodology is paramount in determining reliable crash modification factors (CMFs) for engineering treatments. A lack of ground truth makes it cumbersome to examine the performance of treatment evaluation methodologies. In addition, a sound methodological framework is critical for evaluating the performances of treatment evaluation methodologies. In addressing these challenges, this study proposed a framework for assessing treatment evaluation methodologies by hypothetical treatments with known ground truth and actual real-world treatments. In particular, this study examined three before-after treatment evaluation approaches: 1) Empirical Bayes, 2) Simulation-based Empirical Bayes, and 3) Full Bayes methods. In addition, this study examined the Cross-Sectional treatment evaluation methodology. The methodological framework utilized five datasets of hypothetical treatment with known ground truth based on the hotspot identification method and a real-world dataset of wide centerline treatment on two-lane, two-way rural highways in Queensland, Australia. Results showed that all the methods could identify the ground truth of hypothetical treatments, but the Full Bayes approach better predicts the known ground truth compared to Empirical Bayes, Simulation-based Empirical Bayes, and Cross-Sectional methods. The Full Bayes approach was also found to provide the most precise estimate for real-world wide centerline treatment along rural highways compared to other methods. Moreover, the current study highlighted that the Cross-Sectional method offers a viable estimate of treatment effectiveness in case the before-period data is limited.

Built Environment Accessibility and Disability as Predictors of Well-Being among Older Adults: A Norwegian Cross-Sectional Study.

Knowledge about the influence environmental factors have on well-being is important to deliver policies supporting healthy ageing and sustainable health equity. An under-researched question is whether and how the built environment plays a role on well-being among older adults with disabilities. This study explores the relationship between built environment accessibility and disability on psychosocial well-being among older adults. Data were used from the Norwegian Counties Public Health Survey collected during February 2021 in Møre and Romsdal county (N = 8274; age = 60-97, mean = 68.6). General linear modelling was performed to examine the relationship and interaction between built environment accessibility (services, transportation, and nature) and disability on psychosocial well-being (quality of life, thriving, loneliness, and psychological distress). Higher levels of disability and poorer accessibility were each significantly related to lower psychosocial well-being across all variables (p < 0.001). Significant interaction effects were observed between disability and built environment accessibility on thriving (F(8, 5936) = 4.97, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.006) and psychological distress (F(8, 5957) = 3.09, p = 0.002, η2 = 0.004). No significant interaction effects were found for quality of life and loneliness. These findings indicate good built environment accessibility is associated with thriving and reduces psychological distress among older adults with disabilities. This study supports and extends previous findings on the importance of accessible and equipped environments for well-being and may aid policy makers when planning built environments to foster healthy ageing among this population group.

Effects of design consistency on run-off-road crashes: An application of a Random Parameters Negative Binomial Lindley model.

Run-off-road crashes are one of the most common crash types, especially in rural roadway environments contributing significantly to fatalities and severe injuries. These crashes are complex and multi-dimensional events, and factors like road geometry, driver behaviour, traffic characteristics and roadside features contribute to their occurrence, separately or interactively. Sudden changes in road geometry, in particular, can influence driver behaviour, and therefore, in developing a micro-level crash risk model for run-off-road crashes, one of the challenges is incorporating the effects of driver behaviour (disaggregated information) that may arise from the variations in road geometry (aggregated information). This study aims to examine the interaction between road geometry and driver behaviour through a set of measures for design consistency on two-lane rural roads. Multiple data sources, including crash data for 2014-18, traffic data, probe speed data and roadway geometric data, for twenty-three highways in Queensland, Australia, have been fused for this study. Seventeen types of design consistency measures with regard to alignment consistency, operating speed consistency and driving dynamics are tested. A run-off-road crash risk model is estimated by employing the Random Parameters Negative Binomial Lindley regression framework, which accounts for excess zeros in the crash counts and captures the effects of unobserved heterogeneity in the parameter estimates. Results indicate that the geometric design consistency capturing the interaction between driver behaviour and operational factors better predicts run-off-road crashes along rural highways. In addition, roadside attributes like clear zone width, infrastructures, terrain, and roadway remoteness also contribute to run-off-road crashes. The findings of the study provide a comprehensive understanding of the influence of variations in roadway geometry on driver behaviour and run-off-road crashes along rural highways.

Effects of geometric attributes of horizontal and sag vertical curve combinations on freeway crash frequency.

The geometric design of the combinations of horizontal and sag vertical curves (sag combinations or sag combined curves) is vital to road safety. However, there is little research that investigates the safety effects of their geometric attributes based on the analysis of real-world crash data. To this end, the crash, traffic, geometric design, and roadway configuration data are collected from 157 sag combinations on six freeways in Washington State, during 2011-2017. Poisson, negative binomial (NB), hierarchical Poisson, and hierarchical NB models are developed for analyzing the crash frequency of sag combinations. The models are estimated and compared in the context of Bayesian inference. The results indicate that significant over-dispersion and cross-group heterogeneity exist in the crash data and that the hierarchical NB model yields the best overall performance. The parameter estimates show that: five geometric attributes, including horizontal curvature, vertical curvature, departure grade, the ratio of horizontal curvature to vertical curvature, and the layout of front dislocation, have significant effects on the crash frequency of sag combinations. Freeway section length, annual average daily traffic, and speed limits are also important predictors of crash frequency. The analysis results and the proposed model are useful for evaluating the safety performance of freeway sag combinations and optimizing their geometric design based on substantive safety evaluation.

An interpretable prediction model of illegal running into the opposite lane on curve sections of two-lane rural roads from drivers' visual perceptions.

Illegal running into the opposite lane (IROL) on curve sections of two-lane rural roads is a frequently hazardous behavior and highly prone to fatal crashes. Although driving behaviors are always determined by the information from drivers' visual perceptions, current studies do not consider visual perceptions in predicting the occurrence of IROL. In addition, most machine learning methods belong to black-box algorithms and lack the interpretation of prediction results. Therefore, this study aims to propose an interpretable prediction model of IROL on curve sections of two-lane rural roads from drivers' visual perceptions. A new visual road environment model, consisting of five different visual layers, was established to better quantify drivers' visual perceptions by using deep neural networks. In this study, naturalistic driving data was collected on curve sections of typical two-lane rural roads in Tibet, China. There were 25 input variables extracted from the visual road environment, vehicle kinematics, and driver characteristics. Then, XGBoost (eXtreme Gradient Boosting) and SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanation) methods were combined to build a prediction model. The results showed that our prediction model performed well, with an accuracy of 86.2% and an AUC value of 0.921. The average lead time of this prediction model was 4.4 s, sufficient for drivers to respond. Due to the advantages of SHAP, this study interpreted the impacting factors on this illegal behavior from three aspects, including relative importance, specific impacts, and variable dependency. After offering more quantitative information on the visual road environment, the findings of this study could improve the current prediction model and optimize road environment design, thereby reducing IROL on curve sections of two-lane rural roads.

Understanding how to create healthier places: A qualitative study exploring the complex system of urban development decision-making.

Tackling complex system challenges like creating healthy environments requires understanding priorities and structures affecting multiple actors. This qualitative study, involving 132 multi-sectoral stakeholders spanning the urban development decision-making system, explores how to influence healthier place-making. Using thematic analysis we develop themes around competing stakeholder priorities; structural 'rules' and influential relationships; and justifying a focus on health, requiring greater clarity and consensus around definitions of 'healthy' urban development. Building on the socio-ecological model we highlight how a multi-faceted approach is required for change at multiple levels in the complex system to target individual actor motivations, organisational priorities and structural 'rules'.

The moderating role of parent perceptions in relationships between objectively measured neighbourhood environment attributes and pre-schooler's physical activity: Findings from the PLAYCE study.

We examined the moderating effects of parent perceptions of the neighbourhood environment on associations between objectively measured neighbourhood environment attributes and physical activity among pre-schoolers. The number of neighbourhood parks was positively associated with pre-schooler energetic play when parents had above average perceptions of access to services. Objectively measured street connectivity was associated with fewer minutes of energetic play when pedestrian and traffic safety was perceived to be below average by parents. Greater understanding of the role played by parents in pre-schooler's exposure to physically active supportive environments is needed to inform environmental interventions for specific age groups.

Research on the Weighting Values of Community Aging-Friendly Construction Indexes With Different Expert Groups.

The construction of weight values for the indicators of community aging-friendly construction is helpful to guide the formulation of strategies for allocating elderly resources in community aging-friendly constructions, and to reflect the shortcomings of community aging-friendly constructions and propose improvement strategies when evaluating the effectiveness of the existing community aging-friendly constructions. The paper uses the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) to calculate the weighting values of each indicator, consulting the government, industry, and academic experts. The research results show that the weighting-value order is "public environment (W = 0.364)," "health care (W = 0.342)," "humanistic care (W = 0.204)" and "social economy (W = 0.090)." Accordingly, the article proposes specific suggestions to improve the effectiveness of community aging-friendly constructions, including the need to find consensus among all parties involved in the aging industry, the need to focus on improving the public environment of the community, and the need to improve the socio-economic policies as soon as possible.

Making Chile More Pedestrian-Friendly for Older Persons: Expert Perspectives.

Walking provides numerous benefits to older persons, but its practice is hindered by social factors and the built environment. This article aims to understand the factors that encourage or discourage older people's walking behaviors, as well as the policies influencing those factors in Chile. It does so by reporting the analysis of twenty-five semi-structured interviews with Chilean policymakers and local leaders. The experts consistently represented walking as a beneficial activity for older persons that, nonetheless, occurs in adverse built environments. They asserted that the absence of older people in the public discussion and a top-down policy-making structure hamper its promotion.

Physical Activity of Children and Adolescents in Croatia: A Global Matrix 4.0 Systematic Review of Its Prevalence and Associated Personal, Social, Environmental, and Policy Factors.

BACKGROUND: The previous review of physical activity (PA) among Croatian children and adolescents was conducted a decade ago. Therefore, the aim of this study was to summarize recent evidence on PA of Croatian children and adolescents and associated personal, social, environmental, and policy factors. METHODS: Eighteen experts reviewed the available evidence and provided ratings (from the lowest grade "F" to the highest grade "A+") for the 10 Global Matrix indicators. A systematic search with 100 keywords was conducted in Hrcak, PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science for documents published from January 01, 2012, to April 15, 2022. We also conducted internet searches and secondary analyses of data (relative frequencies) from 6 studies. RESULTS: After assessing 7562 references, we included 90 publications in the review and 18 studies (83.3% of medium-to-good quality) in evidence synthesis. We found a high prevalence of insufficient PA (especially among girls) and excessive screen time (especially among boys). PA participation of children and adolescents in Croatia has declined over time. The following grades were assigned to the indicators for Croatia: B- for overall PA, C- for organized sport and PA, C for active play, C- for active transportation, D+ for sedentary behavior, inconclusive for physical fitness, D+ for family and peers, B- for school, B- for community and environment, and D+ for government. CONCLUSIONS: Coordinated actions are needed across sectors to improve PA promotion, with a focus on increasing PA among girls, reducing sedentary screen time among boys, improving parental support for PA, and further development of national PA policies.

Construct validity of the physical activity neighborhood environment scale-Oman.

Aims: This study aims to examine the construct validity of Physical Activity Neighborhoods Environment Scales, Oman (PANES-O), and compare the subjective perceptions with objective measures in Muscat, the capital area of Oman. Methods: Walkability index scores using GIS maps were calculated for 35 study areas in Muscat based on which five low and 5 high walkable study areas were randomly selected. A community survey was then conducted in November 2020 in each study area using the 16-item PANES-O instrument to measure the participants' perception of neighborhood density, land use mix, infrastructure, safety, aesthetics, and street connectivity. Due to pandemic restrictions, a social media-based purposive sampling strategy was utilized to reach community-based networks and complete digital data collection. Results: Significant differences between the low and high walkablehigh-walkable neighborhoods were observed for 2 of 3 macroenvironment subscales, density and land use. Respondents in high walkable neighborhoods perceived their areas as having more twin villas (P = 0.001) and apartment buildings (P < 0.001), greater access to destinations (like more shops, and places to go within walking distance; P < 0.001), easy access to public transport (P < 0.001), and more places to be active (P < 0.001); than their counterparts in low walkable neighborhoods. In terms of microenvironmental attributes, respondents in high walkablehigh-walkable neighborhoods perceived their areas to have better infrastructure, better aesthetic qualities, and better social environment than their counterparts in low walkablelow-walkable neighborhoods. Significant differences in perceptions across 12 of the 16-item PANES tool confirmed that 6 of the 7 subscales were significantly sensitive to built environment attributes between the low and high walkable study areas. Respondents in high walkable neighborhoods perceived their areas as having greater access to destinations (like more shops, places to go within walking distance; P ≤ 0.001), easy access to public transport (P ≤ 0.001), more places to be active (P ≤ 0.001), better infrastructure (like more sidewalks, facilities to bicycle; P ≤ 0.001), and better aesthetic qualities (P ≤ 0.001). PANES-O also was able to rate high walkable neighborhoods to be higher in residential density and land-use mix compared to the low walkable neighborhoods demonstrating its sensitivity to the GIS maps' objective measures. Conclusions and recommendations: These results provide preliminary strong support for the construct validity of PANES-O, suggestingconfirming that it is a promising tool for assessing macroenvironmental perceptions related to physical activity in Oman. Further research using objective measures of microenvironments and device-based physical activity scores is needed to confirm the criterion validity of the 10 micro-environmental attributes of PANES-O using objective measures for the microenvironment. PANES-O could be used to generate and develop the needed evidence on the most appropriate approaches to improving the built environment to promote physical activity and urban planning in Omanthe country.

Grand Theft Auto-Based Cycling Simulator for Cognitive Enhancement Technologies in Dangerous Traffic Situations.

While developing traffic-based cognitive enhancement technology (CET), such as bike accident prevention systems, it can be challenging to test and evaluate them properly. After all, the real-world scenario could endanger the subjects' health and safety. Therefore, a simulator is needed, preferably one that is realistic yet low cost. This paper introduces a way to use the video game Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V) and its sophisticated traffic system as a base to create such a simulator, allowing for the safe and realistic testing of dangerous traffic situations involving cyclists, cars, and trucks. The open world of GTA V, which can be explored on foot and via various vehicles, serves as an immersive stand-in for the real world. Custom modification scripts of the game give the researchers control over the experiment scenario and the output data to be evaluated. An off-the-shelf bicycle equipped with three sensors serves as a realistic input device for the subject's movement direction and speed. The simulator was used to test two early-stage CET concepts enabling cyclists to sense dangerous traffic situations, such as trucks approaching from behind the cyclist. Thus, this paper also presents the user evaluation of the cycling simulator and the CET used by the subjects to sense dangerous traffic situations. With the knowledge of the first iteration of the user-centered design (UCD) process, this paper concludes by naming improvements for the cycling simulator and discussing further research directions for CET that enable users to sense dangerous situations better.

Neighborhood-Built Environment and Ageism in Later Life.

Ageism is a global challenge and a public health concern that the recent COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated. Existing research has mainly focused on individual factors, overlooking the association between the neighborhood-built environment and ageism. This study examined this association and whether its effect varied among areas possessing different socioeconomic characteristics. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1278 older people in Hong Kong and merged this with the built environment factors derived from geographical information system data. We used multivariable linear regression to examine the association. Findings revealed that more parks were significantly associated with a lower level of ageism, an impact that remained significant in low-income or low-education areas. Conversely, more libraries in high-income areas were associated with a lower level of ageism. Our findings provide urban planners and policymakers insight into planning for the built environment that reduces ageism enabling older people to achieve a better life.

Safety evaluation of horizontal curves on two lane rural highways using machine learning algorithms: A priority-based study for sight distance improvements.

OBJECTIVE: Current Road geometric design processes disregard stochastic aspects, resulting in inadequate traffic safety considerations. In addition, the primary sources of crash data are obtained from police department, insurance agency and hospitals, where detailed investigation is not carried out from a transportation perspective. So, the data obtained from these sources may or may not be reliable. The main objective of this study is to account uncertainties using reliability as a tool that considers slow down the vehicle while they maneuver the curve and to develop thresholds of reliability index associated with sight distance based on operating speed design consistent measure as a surrogate safety measure rather than using crash data. METHODOLOGY: This study proposes a thresholds of reliability index associated with sight distance for various operating speed ranges based on design consistent measure. In addition, established the relationship between the consistency levels, geometric characteristics and vehicle characteristics. In this study, classical topography survey was carried out on the field using total station. The data collected comprises speed data and geometric data of 18 horizontal curves (Lane based analysis was carried out). A total of 3042 free flowing vehicle speeds have been extracted from the video graphic survey and used in the analysis. RESULTS: The threshold values of reliability indices associated with sight distance is higher as the operating speed increases for the section to be a consistent design section. The results from the Binary Logit Model show that the consistency level is significantly affected by deflection angle and operating speed. Deflection angle was negatively correlated with the in-consistency level, and the operating speed was positively correlated with in-consistency level. CONCLUSIONS: From Binary Logit Model (BLM) results, we can conclude that an increase in the value of deflection angle will significantly decrease the probability of In-Consistent level, which indicates uncertainties that cause drivers to change the path of vehicle or rate of deceleration of the vehicle while maneuvering the curve will be decreased. Whereas, increase in the operating speed will significantly increase the probability of In-Consistency level.

Effects of built and natural environments on leisure physical activity in residential and workplace neighborhoods.

Few studies have investigated relative contributions of the built and natural environments to and their nonlinear associations with leisure physical activity (PA) in different spatial contexts. Applying gradient boosting decision tree models to data comprising 1049 adults collected in Shanghai, we investigated the associations between built and natural environments and leisure PA in residential and workplace neighborhoods. Results show that the built environment is more important than the natural environment to leisure PA in both residences and workplaces. Environmental attributes have nonlinear and threshold effects. Within certain ranges, land use mix and population density have opposite associations with leisure PA in residences and workplaces, whereas the distance to the city center and the area of water are associated with leisure PA in residences and workplaces with the same direction. These findings help urban planners design context-specific environmental interventions for supporting leisure PA.

Bridging the Built and Social Environments: A Systematic Review of Studies Investigating Influences on Physical Activity.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this review was to examine articles assessing aspects of the built and social environment simultaneously, and how these environments influence physical activity (PA). A thorough review of studies is needed to identify patterns across studies and gaps for future research and practice. METHODS: To be included, articles needed to contain: (1) self-report or objective measure of PA; (2) a measure of the built environment; (3) a measure of the social environment; and (4) an analysis between built environment, social environment, and PA. A systematic literature search of 4358 articles resulted in 87 articles. RESULTS: Several populations were present within the sample including various age groups and different countries. As previously established, the built environment and social environment were consistently associated with PA; however, mediating factors between these 2 layers were less clear. Further, there was a lack of longitudinal and experimental study designs. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest a need for longitudinal and experimental designs with validated and granular measures. As communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, a thorough understanding of how built environment factors enhance or detract from social connectedness and how this reciprocal relationship impacts PA behavior is needed for future policy, environment, and systematic change.

Research on the establishment of evaluation index system of the aging construction of the community.

Introduction: Constructing the evaluation index system for the community's aging-friendly construction can provide a decision-making basis for the overall investment and priority satisfaction strategy for the community's aging-friendly construction. Methods: Through questionnaire survey and statistical analysis, this paper evaluates and analyzes the satisfaction level of various indicators of the community's aging-friendly construction. Results: The results show that the community's humanistic care, public environment, and socio-economic criteria are significantly linearly linked to the overall construction satisfaction level. There are significant differences in the general satisfaction level of older adults in the variables of "age, educational background, residence duration, residence personnel, number of children, and marital status". Discussion: To this end, the article concludes with specific recommendations that improving older-adult care services for older adults with low age and high education, helping older adults in the community to familiarize themselves with the community environment as soon as possible, cultivating the professional abilities of community service personnel, reflecting the warmth of the community for older-adult care and improving social security capabilities are the core content of the future community building for aging.

Street Smart: Developing Relationships to Support Walkable Communities for All.

Background. Physical activity promotion is an essential intervention for the prevention of chronic disease by reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancers, as well as improving brain health. Previous approaches that emphasized physical fitness did not meet the needs of the larger population due to not incorporating integration of movement into daily life. Changes that result in the addition of even small amounts of physical activity, such as through active transportation, can make a big difference in quality of life and longevity. Innovative Approach. To increase opportunities for active transportation, Utah agencies are working across sectors to incorporate physical activity into routine, day-to-day activities that may help to address this challenging public health problem. Human-powered travel is a key component of community design supporting health and healthy behaviors. The Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) built relationships with partners in order to promote active transportation. Lessons Learned & Recommendations. This article will demonstrate ways in which public health, transportation, and planning agencies can better engage to provide opportunities for all people to be physically active. DHHS addresses the importance of sharing public health data among state agencies, inclusion of under-represented populations in community feedback, and engaging in shared projects that will support the involvement of public health in transportation planning.

A Community Profile of Walking and Cycling for Exercise or Transportation in a Rural County in the Southeastern United States.

People living in rural areas of the United States, especially in the southern region, are much less likely to walk or cycle for leisure time or transportation. The purpose of this study is to provide a more detailed community-level estimate of walking and cycling behaviors and attitudes among adults living in a rural county (Hardeman County, TN) participating in a High Obesity Program (HOP) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Telephone interviews and online surveys regarding walking and cycling behaviors, attitudes, and perceptions of the built environment were completed by 634 adults. Questions originated from the 2002 National Survey of Bicyclist and Pedestrian Attitudes and Behavior. Respondents were classified as walkers, cyclists, or both. Chi-square and logistic regression were used for data analysis. Of adults in this county, 67.2% were walkers and 16.2% cyclists. Both forms of active living tended to decrease with age, especially after 50 years. Walking was associated with younger ages, 2-person households, positive perceived health, and a feeling that walking was good for them. Cycling was only associated with age. Most people felt that their communities were safe places to walk or bike. Walking was most often done on roads or road shoulder. Social support and intrinsic motivators may also play a role in walking and bicycling in rural areas. Interventions that promote walking and cycling in rural areas should provide a means for social support, creating activity-friendly routes perceived to be safe, and enhanced destinations for places to be physically active.