Explaining obesity with urban form: a cautionary tale

In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in studies exploring associations between the built environment and obesity. Many studies have found that built environment characteristics, such as high-density land developments, mixed-land uses, and connected street networks, are associated with lower rates of obesity. However, depending on the research field and the researcher, how one specifies the experimental model and how sociodemographic characteristics of the population are defined and included in the model has led to different policy conclusions and implications. This is not a surprising observation; however, it is one that does seem to have been lost in current discussions. This article highlights several data-processing, model-specification, and model-estimation factors that should be comprehensively considered in studies of the built environment and obesity. Empirical results based on data from Atlanta, GA, USA, illustrate that the association between the built environment and obesity is sensitive to how age, income, and educational attainment are included in the model. Also, a detailed examination of land-use-mix measures shows that it is difficult to create this measure and that results are sensitive to the treatment of missing values. Models that distinguish between overweight and obese individuals are shown to provide richer insights into the associations among obesity, built environment, and sociodemographic characteristics for the Atlanta area. The article concludes by offering modeling recommendations for future studies.

Numerical calculation method for the hydroelastic response of a pontoon-type very large floating structure close to a breakwater

This paper presents an effective scheme for calculating the wave-induced hydroelastic response of a pontoon-type very large floating structure (VLFS) when it is near a breakwater. The basic numerical calculation method is the one previously developed by the same author for a VLFS in the open sea (no breakwater), which is expanded to include the effect of the hydrodynamic mutual interaction between the breakwater and the floating structure. The efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method are validated through comparisons with other numerical results and with existing experimental results. After that confirmation, various numerical calculations were conducted, paying special attention to the resonance phenomena which will occur depending on the relation between the wavelength and the clearance between the breakwater and the floating structure. The irregular frequency phenomenon which appears in the calculation of the fluid dynamic problem is discussed in the appendices, including a method for its elimination. Received: October 31, 2000 / Accepted: December 19, 2000     

公交场站规划中相关政策的研究

通过对昆明、南京、上海、天津四大城市公交场站开发、建设及管理模式的调研,对现有的城市公交场站的开发、建设模式有了较为深入的研究。通过类别分析,对成都市公交场站的发展模式进行了定位,预见其未来发展趋势。并结合成都市城市发展,对成都市公交场站规划与管理提出了具体的建议。     

Decision-Making Model for Farmer Choosing Land Use Based upon Dynamic Optimization Theory

Using the dynamic optimization theory, we described a decision-making model for farmer choosing land use when there are several different kinds of uses for land. To obtain an empirical model that could be easily applied, decision rules for farmer with a single static expectation were given.     

The British colonial ‘divide and rule’ concept: its influence to transport access in inner city of George Town,Penang

George Town, Penang, is the oldest British colonial city in South East Asia. The colonial settlement layout in the inner city area is still intact today. The establishment of George Town as a trading centre had attracted immigrants from all over the world, especially from Asia (Chinese, Indians and Arabs). Recently, George Town has been enlisted under the UNESCO World Heritage Lists as an outstanding example of traditional multi-cultural settlement. The uniqueness of this inner city is that the formation of its urban pattern is the result of ‘divide and rule’ concept adopted by the British authority. Under the ‘divide and rule’ concept, these immigrants were located to settlement areas based on their ethnic background under one leader known as ‘kapitan’ (captain). The study finds that transport access in this inner city was influenced by the ‘divide and rule’ concept. Unlike formation of well-planned gridiron pattern in other British colonial cities such as in North America, Canada and Australia, the formation of the urban pattern in George Town has an irregular gridiron pattern. This type of urban pattern is typical under ‘divide and rule’ concept and this had indirectly influenced the setting and planning of the present street access and transport networks.

Disentangling the influence of neighborhood type and self-selection on driving behavior: an application of sample selection model

The causality issue has become one of the key questions in the debate over the relationships between the built environment and travel behavior. Although previous studies have tested statistical and/or practical significance of the built environment on travel behavior, few have quantified the relative roles of the built environment and residential self-selection in influencing travel behavior. Using 1,479 residents living in four traditional and four suburban neighborhoods in Northern California, this study explores the causal effect of neighborhood type on driving behavior and its relative contribution to the total influence of neighborhood type. Specifically, this study applied Heckman’s sample selection model to separate the effect of the built environment itself and the effect of self-selection. The results showed that, on average, the effect of neighborhood type itself on driving distance was 25.8 miles per week, which accounted for more than three quarters of the total influence of neighborhood type and 16% of individuals’ overall vehicle miles driven. These results suggest that the effect of the built environment on driving behavior outweighs that of self-selection. This paper also discussed the advantages and weaknesses of applying the Heckman’s model to address the self-selection issue.

水下不同边缘扁平结构散射声场特性研究(英文)

鉴于实际中存在的水下扁平结构的边缘特点,也为研究不同边缘附加结构形式对其散射声场的影响规律,并为边缘衍射效应影响抑制机理与技术等奠定基础,本文通过采用边界积分方法和边界元数值计算技术,并结合水下目标散射强度估计和水声无源材料自由场测试等工程实际,对不同边缘结构形式的水下扁平结构在不同频率范围和空间几何配置条件下的散射声场分布规律开展了定量的研究与分析.研究结果表明:在发射声源与结构几何配置等条件一定的情况下,无论前向散射还是镜向散射,附加边缘结构扁平矩板结构散射声场在频域和空间分布趋势上与未附加边缘结构的基本一致,即低频段起伏较小,而中高频段则波动较为剧烈,与结构距离越近越剧烈,这在前向散射中表现得尤为明显,其与波贡献主要成分、附加边缘的结构类型、边缘结构附加方式、结构参数、声波相干作用和边缘重数等因素密切相关.     

柔性墩墩顶抗推刚度的计算

分析了桩基础对于柔性墩墩顶抗推刚度的影响,利用MATLAB编制程序,计算墩顶抗推刚度。     

提高活塞燃烧室抗疲劳开裂性能的新途径

针对活塞燃烧室喉口开裂失效随着爆发压力提高有所增加的趋势,利用FEA技术并结合发动机耐久试验进行了异形销孔结构对燃烧室开裂影响的研究。除了热应力、材料蠕变等会引起喉口疲劳开裂外,发现活塞销孔结构对燃烧室开裂也有重要影响。异形孔结构可提高销孔承载能力,但同时提高了燃烧室边缘拉伸应力幅值,降低了顶部可靠性能,通过优化设计销孔结构可提高燃烧室及销孔承载能力。