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- Landscape valuation of environmental amenities throughout the application of direct and indirect methodsPublication . Loures, Luis; Loures, Ana; Nunes, José; Panagopoulos, ThomasLandscape design, construction and management should no longer be the result of superficial approaches based exclusively on designers’ and planners’ ideas. This research starts with the assumption that the aesthetic component constitutes an essential attribute for better understanding and evaluating landscapes. This study analyzes the aesthetic quality and economic valuation of the Lower Guadiana river landscape, through the application of direct and indirect landscape evaluation methods. In order to gauge not only experts’ opinion, it is supported by the application of public participation techniques about the opinion and perceptions of the site visitors/users. The present research considered the analysis of six landscape subunits regarding landscape quality, fragility and visual absorption capacity. The obtained results showed that there are significant differences between the perceptions of the general public and experts’ analysis. Touristic Complexes and Golf Courses had high visual quality, while Agricultural and Production Areas had high visual fragility. Moreover, the performed analysis made clear that the combined use of landscape assessment methods is suited to this type of study, since it enables quantifying the value of existence, management and maintenance of a particular environmental assets and/or services.
- Spatial assessment of road traffic injuries in the greater Toronto area (GTA): Spatial analysis frameworkPublication . Vaz, Eric; Tehranchi, Sina; Cusimano, MichaelThis research presents a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis approach based on the global spatial autocorrelation of road traffic injuries for identifying spatial patterns. A locational spatial autocorrelation was also used for identifying traffic injury at spatial level. Data for this research study were acquired from Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) based on 2004 and 2011. Moran's I statistics were used to examine spatial patterns of road traffic injuries in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). An assessment of Getis-Ord Gi* statistic was followed as to identify hot spots and cold spots within the study area. The results revealed that Peel and Durham have the highest collision rate for other motor vehicle with motor vehicle. Geographic weighted regression (GWR) technique was conducted to test the relationships between the dependent variable, number of road traffic injury incidents and independent variables such as number of seniors, low education, unemployed, vulnerable groups, people smoking and drinking, urban density and average median income. The result of this model suggested that number of seniors and low education have a very strong correlation with the number of road traffic injury incidents.
- A local spatial analysis criterion of post-traumatic brain injury and accessibility to public transportationPublication . Vaz, Eric; Foster, Akeem; Cusimano, MichaelReported cases of traumatic brain injuries are increasing among the Canadian population. With an annual rate of 187,000 reported cases a year and growing, there is an extrapolated growth of 239,000 cases of traumatic brain injuries occurring annually by 2036. As Ontario intends to be a completely accessible province for those with disabilities by 2025, this paper utilizes GIS to visualize and better understand the relationship between post- TBI residents living in Brampton and their accessibility to public transportation. As Brampton is currently the most expensive city to insure a vehicle because of frequent collisions occurring within the city, creating a more accessible, reliable, and efficient public transportation system can integrate those who have experienced a traumatic brain injury back into society while reducing the required use of a personal vehicle. This will contribute to a safer city, as there are fewer vehicles on the road at risk of being involved in a road accident. There are also further benefits to this, as it will also reduce levels of congestion in the foreseeable future.
- New methods for resilient societies: The geographical analysis of injury dataPublication . Vaz, Eric; Miki, Jessica; De Noronha, Maria Teresa; Cusimano, MichaelIn this paper an empirical assessment of injury patterns is supplied as an example of social endurance -resilient societies can be built by means of geographical analysis of injury data, providing better support for decision makers regarding urban safety. Preventing road traffic collisions with vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, could help mitigate significant loses and improve infrastructure planning. In this sense, the geographical aspects of injury prevention are of clear spatial analog, and should be tested regarding the carrying capacity of urban areas as well as vulnerability for growing urban regions. The application of open source development tool for spatial analysis research in health studies is addressed. The study aims to create a framework of available open source tools through Python that enable better decision making through a systematic review of existing tools for spatial analysis. Methodologically, spatial autocorrelation indices are tested as well as influential variables are brought forward to establish a better understanding of the incremental concern of injuries in rural areas, in general, and in the Greater Toronto Area, in particular. By using Python Library for Spatial Analysis (PySAL), an integrative vision of assessing a growing epidemiological concern of injuries in Toronto, one of North America's fastest growing economic metropolises is offered. In this sense, this study promotes the use of PySAL and open source toolsets for integrating spatial analysis and geographical analysis for health practitioners. The novelty and capabilities of open source tools through methods such as PySAL allow for a cost efficiency as well as give planning an easier methodological toolbox for advances spatial modelling techniques.
- Simulating the impacts of future land use change on soil erosion in the Kasilian watershed, IranPublication . Zare, Mohammad; Panagopoulos, Thomas; Loures, LuisPredicting soil erosion potential is important in watershed management. A rapidly growing Iranian population and climate change are expected to influence land use and soil sustainability. in recent years, northern Iran has experienced significant land use changes due to internal migration along the Caspian coast and conversion of forests and rangelands. Considering the effect of these changes in the future, the purpose of this study is to forecast land use patterns and investigate soil erosion scenarios using the Revised Universal Loss Equation and Markov Cellular Automata. Data from 1981 to 2011 were used as a baseline to estimate changes that might occur in 2030. The results reveal that the mean erosion potential will increase 45% from the estimated 104.52 t ha(-1) year(-1) in the baseline period. Moreover, the results indicate that land use change from forest area to settlements will be the most significant factor in erosion induced by land use change, showing the highest correlation among erosional factors. Projecting land use change and its effect on soil erosion indicate that conversion may be unsustainable if change occurs on land that is not suited to the use. The method predicts soil erosion under different scenarios and provides policymakers a basis for altering programs related to land use optimization and urban growth. Those results indicated the necessity of appropriate policies and regulations particularly for limiting land use changes and urban sprawl in areas of unfavorable soil erosion risk factors.
- The inventory of callous–unemotional traits: psychometric properties among referred and non-referred portuguese female juvenilesPublication . Pechorro, Pedro; Ray, James V.; Gonçalves, Rui Abrunhosa; Jesus, SaúlThe presence of callous-unemotional (CU) traits delineates a subgroup of male youth with severe conduct disorder and antisocial behavior, but little research has been done among female youth. Drawing on 377 female adolescents (103 selected from forensic settings and 274 selected from school settings) from Portugal, the current study is the first to simultaneously examine the psychometric properties of the Inventory of Callous Unemotional Traits (ICU) in incarcerated female youth and community youth. The results support the use of the ICU in terms of its factor structure, and internal consistency despite the fact an item had to be removed from the Callousness dimension. Statistically significant positive associations were found with measures of psychopathic traits and aggression, as well as non-significant associations with empathy and social anxiety. Significant associations were also found with several indicators of delinquent careers including age of criminal onset, age of first contact with the law, Conduct Disorder symptoms and diagnosis, crime seriousness, previous violent offending, number of criminal charges, alcohol use, and drug use. Findings are discussed in terms of the use of the ICU among female juvenile offenders and community youths.
- Quality of life asymmetries based on the residencePublication . Ferreira, Pedro L.; Antunes, Patricia; Ferreira, Lara; Pereira, LNQuality of life (QoL) self-perceptions are, by definition a subjective indicator. Based on the type of residence, the purpose of this paper was to examine possible asymmetries regarding the selfperception of QoL and their opinions regarding life and death.
- EQ-5D-5L valuation study for PortugalPublication . Ferreira, Pedro L.; Antunes, Patricia; Ferreira, Lara; Pereira, LuisAlthough the EQ-5D-3L still is the most popular preferencebased instrument worldwide, we anticipate that the new version EQ5D-5L with five levels within each dimension will be more used and is likely to leave behind the previous one.
- How do residents experience their own festivals? A qualitative approach to meanings and experiencesPublication . Brás, Nídia; Mendes, Júlio; Guerreiro, Manuela; Sequeira, BernardeteRural communities have recently been using events as tools for local development, especially if they are part of their community development policies (Richards & Palmer 2010; Ziakas & Costa 2010; Ziakas 2016). Economic benefits, feelings of belonging to the community, Urban regeneration, quality of life, and cultural and social benefits are usually recognised as the main impacts of events (Fredline, Jago, & Deery 2003; Chalip 2006; Richards & Palmer 2010; Schulenkorf & Edwards 2012; Ziakas 2016). Ziakas (2016) suggests that more research into the impacts of cultural or festival events is needed (Ziakas 2016). Moreover, de Geus, Richards and Toepoel (2016, p. 276) argue that literature ‘on event experiences is very scarce and fragmented’. There is little understanding of what kind of meanings and experiences residents attach to a festival that occurs in the place where they live. Therefore, this study aims to examine the meanings and experiences residents ascribe to a festival in a local community in a small inland region in Portugal – Mértola. Mértola is a small town with 7,274 inhabitants (Instituto Nacional de Estatística [Statistics Portugal] 2011), located in the interior of Portugal. The abundant archaeological remains from the Muslim occupation in the 11th and 12th centuries have given rise to several little museums within the town, which are one of the main tourist attractions and a source of pride for the inhabitants. Known as ‘Museum Town’, Mértola has been the stage of the Mértola Islamic Festival since 2001. The event takes place every two years and ‘seeks to evoke and preserve the heritage of the Muslim period in the south of the Iberian Peninsula’ (Câmara Municipal de Mértola 2015, p. 8). The methodology included semi-structured interviews with residents from different areas of the town and had three main objectives: (i) to understand the experiences of residents in the Islamic Festival, (ii) to understand the meanings that residents attach to the Islamic Festival and (iii) to characterise the most relevant memories of their participation in this festival. Findings of this study are likely to make significant contributions to theory and practice by furthering our understanding of how residents feel and experience the events that take place in their own cities. Also, the study highlights the often-undervalued role of residents as meaning makers and as consumers of the event.
- Key concepts in literature and tourism studiesPublication . Rodrigues Baleiro, Rita; Quinteiro, SílviaResearch on literature and tourism must depart from a distinction between this field of research and that on travel literature. Although they both focus on the act of travelling, there are fundamental differences between these two research areas. The most obvious difference is the fact that literature and tourism studies foster the analysis of a much wider set of texts than that aggregated under the classification of “travel literature”. Furthermore, unlike the travel literature research field, which has existed for a long time, literature and tourism research is recent and, as such, not many scientific studies have been conducted.