Out-of-home activities,daily travel,and subjective well-being

It is argued that utility theory that underpins current cost-benefit analyses of daily travel needs to be complemented. An alternative theoretical framework is to this end proposed which applies subjective well-being (SWB) to travel behaviour analysis. It is posited in this theoretical framework that participation in goal-directed activities, facilitated or hindered by travel, contributes to SWB, that the degree of travel-related stress in participating in these activities reduces SWB, and that positive affect associated with travel in itself has an impact on SWB.     

The role of children’s independent mobility and social media use for face-to-face social interaction with friends

Transportation - Social interaction with friends is an important contributor to children’s well-being, but how transport affects this is rarely studied. For two or more children (not of the...     

Children’s travel to school: satisfaction,current mood,and cognitive performance

We investigate whether travel mode, travel time, and activities during travel influence children’s satisfaction with their travel to school, their current mood, and their cognitive performance after arriving at school. A sample of 344 children (165 girls) between the ages of 10 and 15 years were recruited at five public schools in Värmland County, Sweden. Directly after arriving at school, the children rated how they felt on two scales ranging from very sad to very happy and from very tired to very alert, filled out the Satisfaction with Travel Scale adapted for children (STS-C), reported details about their journeys, and took a word-fluency test. The results for STS-C showed that traveling by school bus and walking or cycling was experienced as having a higher quality than traveling by car. Children who engaged in conversation during their journeys reported a higher quality and more positive feelings than children who were engaged in solitary activities during their journeys. A shorter journey was experienced as having a higher quality and resulting in more positive feelings. Children traveling for longer durations performed better in the word-fluency test if using their smartphones or doing a combination of activities during their journeys.     

Rules for aggregated satisfaction with work commutes

In general trips frequently entail several stages varying in mode, duration, and other factors. In some way travelers aggregate their satisfaction with the stages to satisfaction with the whole trip. In this paper we address the question of how this aggregation is made. We use data from a Swedish survey measuring satisfaction with commutes to and from work and with the stages of the commutes. We test several aggregation rules for their goodness of fit to the observations. Our results show that a normatively correct averaging rule that takes into account the relative durations of the stages out-perform heuristic aggregation rules such as the peak-end, summation, and equal-weight averaging rules. We note that this does not exclude that the heuristic aggregation rules apply to other trips than repetitive commute trips.     

Subjective well-being related to satisfaction with daily travel

Previous research demonstrates an impact on subjective well-being (SWB) of affect associated with routine performance of out-of-home activities. A primary aim of the present study is to investigate whether satisfaction with daily travel has a positive impact on SWB, either directly or indirectly through facilitating the performance of out-of-home activities. A secondary aim is to determine whether emotional-symbolic or instrumental reasons for car use results in higher satisfaction with daily travel than other travel modes. A survey of a population-based sample of 1,330 Swedish citizens included measures of car access and use, satisfaction with daily travel, satisfaction with performance of out-of-home routine activities, and affective and cognitive SWB. The results confirmed that the effect on affective and cognitive SWB of satisfaction with daily travel is both direct and indirect via satisfaction with performance of activities. Percent weekly car use had a small effect on satisfaction with daily travel and on affective SWB, although fully mediating the effect of satisfaction with performance of the activities. This suggests that car use plays a minor role for satisfaction with daily travel and its effect on SWB. This role may be larger if investigated after a forced reduced car use.     

都市环境中边缘群体的叙述:崇尚阿里教派的文本化进程

崇尚阿里的派别过去由于历史误解而被逊尼派和什叶派的主流派看作是“异端”而居住于偏僻的山区躲避迫害。上世纪80年代以来,因该派在叙利亚和土耳其的代表努赛里派及阿拉维派在政治上获得了较高的地位而在社会和经济生活方面发生了很大的变化。原来靠隐秘的传述口语维系宗教传统的记录材料向来被认为是“野史”而被学界所忽视。本文通过分析论证了这些通过口头描述的书面资料如何在历史环境变化的进程中被塑造和重新构建为认同这些崇尚阿里派别的宗教象征和内容,并演绎成为它们宗教信仰和教义的一部份。这种隐秘的叙述资料为宗教人类学的学者们开辟了一个新的研究领域。     

Formation of Denmark Strait overflow water and its hydro-chemical composition

The dense overflow across the Denmark Strait is investigated with hydrographic and hydro-chemical data and the water mass composition of the Denmark Strait Overflow Water (DSOW) is determined by multivariate analysis. Hydrographical properties, the transient tracers CFC-11 and CFC-12, oxygen and nutrients are utilized for the water mass definitions. Distribution and characteristics of water masses north of Denmark Strait are described, the important water masses at the sill and the variability on weekly time-scales are discussed, and the entrainment and mixing of water into the overflow plume in the northern Irminger Basin is calculated. The analysis indicates that water masses both from the Nordic Seas and the Arctic Ocean are important for the formation of DSOW. It is found that water masses transported with the East Greenland Current make up about 75% of the overflow at the sill. The overflow at, and shortly south of, the sill is inhomogeneous with a low-salinity component dominated by Polar Intermediate Water. The high-salinity component of the overflow is mainly of Arctic origin. The water mass composition, and the short-term variability for 7 repeats of sections close to the sill are described, and these illustrate that the overflow is in fact a composite of a number of water masses with different formation and transport histories. This indicate that the overflow is a robust feature, but that it responds to variations in the circulation or atmospheric forcing that influences the formation of intermediate and deep water masses within the Arctic Mediterranean and the North Atlantic. At a section about 400 km south of the sill the overflow is well mixed and modified by entrainment of, mainly, Iceland–Scotland Overflow Water and Labrador Sea Water, together constituting 30% of the overflow plume. The entrainment of Middle Irminger Water dominates shortly downstream of the sill, before the overflow plume reaches too deep but the entrainment seems to be intermittent in time.     

Urban transportation and the press: A survey of editorial opinion

The editorial opinions expressed in the news press can provide information on which issues are currently prominent concerns of the public, and on how public opinion may be aligned on those issues. A survey of all urban transportation-related editorials appearing in a sample of 155 U.S. newspapers during a period of 19 months in 1973–74 revealed that a number of issues related to transit financing, transit and highway investment, bicycles, and the transportation planning process were currently under debate in the urban press. This paper presents the survey's findings regarding the incidence and viewpoint of articles on these and other issues. Transit financing concerns clearly emerged as the most frequently discussed, and some agreement in editorial viewpoint was also found. The paper concludes with the authors' subjective observations on the scope and style of editorial discussion of urban transportation issues.This paper was prepared as background work for a recently-published essay on urban transportation problems (Kemp and Cheslow, 1976). The opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Urban Institute or its sponsors.