Sustainable drainage system site assessment method using urban ecosystem services

The United Kingdom’s recently updated approach to sustainable drainage enhanced biodiversity and amenity objectives by incorporating the ecosystem approach and the ecosystem services concept. However, cost-effective and reliable methods to appraise the biodiversity and amenity values of potential sustainable drainage system (SuDS) sites and their surrounding areas are still lacking, as is a method to enable designers to distinguish and link the amenity and biodiversity benefits that SuDS schemes can offer. In this paper, therefore, the authors propose two ecosystem services- and disservices-based methods (i.e. vegetation structure cover-abundance examination and cultural ecosystem services and disservices variables appraisal) to aid SuDS designers to distinguish and link amenity and biodiversity benefits, and allow initial site assessments to be performed in a cost-effective and reliable fashion. Forty-nine representative sites within Greater Manchester were selected to test the two methods. Amenity and biodiversity were successfully assessed and habitat for species, carbon sequestration, recreation and education ecosystem services scores were produced, which will support SuDS retrofit design decision-making. Large vegetated SuDS sites with permanent aquatic features were found to be most capable of enhancing biodiversity- and amenity-related ecosystem services. Habitat for species and recreation ecosystem services were also found to be positively linked to each other. Finally, waste bins on site were found to help reduce dog faeces and litter coverage. Overall, the findings presented here enable future SuDS retrofit designs to be more wildlife friendly and socially inclusive.     

Route vs. Segment: An Experiment on Real‐Time Travel Information in Congestible Networks

We report the results of an experimental study of route choice in congestible networks with a common origin and common destination. In one condition, in each round of play network users independently committed themselves at the origin to a three‐segment route; in the other condition, they chose route segments sequentially at each network junction upon receiving en route information. At the end of each round, players received ex‐post complete information about the distribution of the route choices. Although the complexity of the network defies analysis by common users, traffic patterns in both conditions converged rapidly to the equilibrium solution. We account for the observed results by a Markov adaptive learning model postulating regret minimization and inertia. We find that subjects' learning behavior was similar across conditions, except that they exhibited more inertia in the condition with en route information.     

Teaching international public relations: An examination of individual and institutional attributes of public relations educators in the U.S.

The study reported here provides an examination of the attributes of selected public relation educators and their institutions in relation to the teaching of international public relations as a course or as a part of a course.     

The Influence of Health Promoting Practices on the Quality of Life of Community Adults in Hong Kong

The importance of a healthy lifestyle is receiving increasing attention due to its impact on health and well-being. However, very few studies have been done on health promoting practices of the general public in Hong Kong. The present study aimed to identify the patterns of health promoting practices of the general public in Hong Kong, to compare health promoting practices across gender and education levels, and to examine the relationship between health promoting practices and quality of life. A total of 941 community adults were recruited using a randomized household survey design. Results revealed that a large proportion of participants reported practicing various types of health promoting behavior related to healthy food choice, engaging in stress management strategies, and refraining from health compromising behavior such as smoking and drinking excessively. Female participants were more likely to choose healthy food, refrain from smoking and drinking alcohol excessively, and take vitamin supplements, whereas male participants were more likely to exercise regularly. Both men and women with higher levels of education were more likely to report not smoking, not drinking alcohol excessively, and participating in social activities. Women with higher levels of education were also more likely to engage in relaxing activities but less likely to report exercising regularly and sleeping sufficiently. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that stress management and social relations significantly predicted better quality of life for both male and female participants, and types of preventive health behavior were significant predictors of quality of life for female participants only. Results highlighted the importance of advocating health promoting practices among the general public in Hong Kong. Implications for future practice were discussed.     

Good for the soul: The relationship between work,wellbeing and psychological capital

Research shows that unemployment negatively affects a person's wellbeing, which in turn can impair their ability to regain employment. Studies also suggest a person's ‘psychological capital’ (PK) (personality traits that influence the productivity of labour) influences the impact of unemployment on wellbeing and facilitates re-employment. This paper combines various economic and psychological theories of unemployment, and using 2004 cross-sectional data from Australia, tests the hypothesis of a simultaneous relationship between employment status and wellbeing and the mediating role of PK. Results support a simultaneous relationship and the partial mediating effect of PK. Individuals with poor PK are at greater risk of being unemployed.     

Awareness of dying: an experience of Chinese patients with terminal cancer

Despite the effort to provide an alternate way to dying, there seems to be little effort to examine the real situation of hospice care. For example, the patients' desired outcomes are seldom addressed. It is recently that studies began to investigate the features of "good death." However, work in eastern cultures, such as Chinese, remains scarce. The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of what it means to die a "good death" from the perspective of Chinese patients. Thirty-three Chinese hospice patients with terminal cancer were interviewed. Grounded in the analysis of qualitative data, seven elements that contribute to dying a good death emerged. Awareness of dying was identified as the foremost essential element of a good death. From the findings of this study, most respondents considered receiving a diagnosis of cancer as one of the significant points of psychological distress in the course of their illness. Half of the patients openly talked about their cancers and more than half of them discussed various issues related to death. That means, about one-third of the respondents talked about death and cancer with openness. These preliminary findings may reflect the progress of hospice work in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, 13 respondents did not mention the word "death" and 16 of them did not mention that they had cancer. They talked about their illness and future using the expressions that they preferred. It is important that health care professionals also respect people who show awareness of dying as much as those who do not present clear evidence of this awareness. Both groups of people can have a positive experience when they die.     

Distributed Decisions in Networks: Laboratory Study of Routing Splittable Flow

We study network games in which users choose routes in computerized networks susceptible to congestion. In the “unsplittable” condition, route choices are completely unregulated, players are symmetric, each player controls a single unit of flow and chooses a single origin–destination (O–D) path. In the “splittable” condition, which is the main focus of this study, route choices are partly regulated, players are asymmetric, each player controls multiple units of flow and chooses multiple O–D paths to distribute her fleet. In each condition, users choose routes in two types of network: a basic network with three parallel routes and an augmented network with five routes sharing joint links. We construct and subsequently test equilibrium solutions for each combination of condition and network type, and then propose a Markov revision protocol to account for the dynamics of play. In both conditions, route choice behavior approaches equilibrium and the Braess Paradox is clearly manifested.