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The purpose of this study is to validate the version of Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) by considering distractions, fatigue, and drunk driving, the main reasons for accidents in China, as independent parts of violations and errors and further explore the effects of demographic/driving variables and all factors on risk involvement (accident involvement and penalized points). 241 drivers filled in a self-completion questionnaire with 28 items conducted in Xi'an in August 2018. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed a five-factor structure, including violations, distracted driving, errors, drunk driving, and fatigued driving. The frequency of aberrant driving behaviours indicated that distractions were the most prevalent behaviours followed by fatigue. The results showed that drivers with lower education and longer annual mileages were positive with accident involvement while there was no significance in penalized points. Violations and distractions were important factors causing both accidents and penalized points. Therefore, it is effective to reduce accident involvement by establishing educational training and related laws or installing intelligent monitor vehicle equipment to warn drivers to improve safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the acceleration of urbanization and industrialization, air pollution is becoming one of the most serious problems in cities. Urban green spaces, as "green infrastructure", are an important part of urban ecosystems for air purification. Therefore, 10 typical green spaces of urban parks in the city of Xi'an, China, were selected as study areas according to vegetation structure and species composition. Considering meteorological factors and time changes, the effects of the selected green spaces with different vegetation structures of different heights on the reduction in airborne particulate matter concentration were explored. The results showed that the following: (1) Temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and air pressure had significant correlation with the concentration of airborne particulate matter at the different heights, and the correlations were the same at 1.5 m and 5 m. (2) After heating in winter, the concentration of airborne particulate matter with different particle sizes increased significantly. The concentration of airborne particulate matter showed different trends throughout the day, and the small particles (PM1 and PM2.5) had a trend of "lower in the morning and evening, and higher at noon", while the large particles (PM10 and TSP) gradually decreased over time. (3) In the selected green spaces with different vegetation structure types, the concentration of airborne particulate matter below the canopy (1.5 m) was generally higher than that in the middle of the canopy (5 m), but the effects of reducing the concentration of airborne particulate matter were consistent at the different heights. (4) The adsorption capacity of PM1 and PM2.5 concentration was strong in the partially closed broad-leaved one-layered forest (PBO), and poor in the partially closed broad-leaved multi-layered forest (PBM). Partially closed broad-leaved multi-layered forest (PBM) and partially closed coniferous and broad-leaved mixed multi-layered forest (PMM) also had strong dust-retention effect on PM10 and TSP, while closed broad-leaved one-layered forest (CBO) had a poor dust-retention effect. The results showed that the reduction effects of urban green spaces with different spatial structures on air particles were different, and were restricted by various environmental factors, which could provide a theoretical basis for the optimization of urban green space structure and the improvement of urban air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the soundscape in cities is receiving increased attention in urban planning, there is still a lack of knowledge of how personal factors influence the perception of and preference for soundscapes. Most present studies are linked to one or a few specific soundscapes and do not have a holistic approach exploring the pros and cons of all soundscapes in a place. This study surveyed individuals to assess how soundscape perceptions and preferences may differ among various attendees of typical urban forest recreational parks in Xi'an, China, using an on-site questionnaire. The respondents (N = 2034) revealed that rare natural sounds were perceived more positively than the dominating artificial sounds. Five main dimensions of social, demographic, and behavioral attributes were found to be linked to the soundscape perceptions and preferences: (1) familiarity of the park and attendees' age made people more tolerant towards sounds that others find annoying; (2) higher education and higher socio-economic status showed lower tolerance towards sounds; (3) having companions and specific types of recreational use increased the frequent perception of artificial sounds; (4) females generally showed higher sensitivity and lower tolerance than males towards several sounds; and (5) the longer attendees remained in the park, the more positive the overall soundscape preference was. The results indicate that numerous sounds are affecting people's overall experience in the parks. These findings could help decision-makers and urban forest recreational park designers to formulate relevant strategies for park design that are in tune with varying public needs and expectations towards soundscape. The implementation of human-oriented soundscape design can therefore enhance people's well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]