<p>The current study examined the relationships among the neighborhood environment, levels of self-efficacy, health behaviors, and health outcomes among adults in the United States. The goals of the research were as follows: 1. To examine the role that health behaviors play in the relationship between neighborhood and health; 2. To determine whether health-related self-efficacy mediates or moderates the relationship between neighborhood and health behaviors; 3. To investigate potential gender, education, and race differences in the relationships among the constructs. </p><p>The study included 5,600 whites and 321 blacks who participated in the first wave of the National Survey of Midlife Development in the Unites States (MIDUS I). The age range of the sample was 20-75 (mean= 47.14 years) and roughly half of the participants were male (47.4%). Data on the neighborhood (including safety, physical conditions, social cohesion, and homeplace), health-related self-efficacy, health behaviors, and the health outcomes of self-rated health, obesity, and cardiovascular disease were collected through telephone interviews and self-report questionnaires. </p><p>Structural equation modeling was employed to address the research goals. The results showed that self-efficacy mediated the relationship between neighborhood and physical activity and that health behaviors mediated the path between neighborhood and physical activity. However, self-efficacy did not serve as a moderator in the association between neighborhood and physical activity. Demographic differences were found according to age, gender, race, and education. Specifically, the model was particularly salient for late midlife and older adults, females, and those with some college education. Furthermore, the impact of neighborhood factors on self-efficacy was greater for blacks than whites.</p><p>The present findings contribute to the literature by elucidating the interrelations among neighborhood and the individual-level factors of self-efficacy and physical activity in predicting health outcomes. Furthermore, the direct effect of physical activity on health outcomes suggests that physical activity engagement should be a particular area of intervention focus, especially among older adults and women. Future research should include objective measures of neighborhood, physical activity, and health, additional contexts such as the workplace, individuals above the age of 75, and greater representation of minority groups.</p> / Dissertation

Existing literature suggests that mixed land-use developments have the potential to reduce traffic by “capturing” some trips internally and providing a pedestrian-friendly environment to facilitate walking for some trips. However, these elements which are meant to provide the traffic-reducing benefits also reduce the overall cost of travel, thereby increasing the total amount of travel. This “induced” travel has implications for the site planning process, which assumes that all internal trips are replacing trips on the external street network. In this investigation, travel survey data were analyzed to determine the nature and extent of induced travel at mixed-use developments. The study site was a 75-acre suburban infill mixed-use development in Plano, Texas. Features of the study site included a diverse land-use mix, a grid-style street layout, and pedestrian-oriented streetscapes. The travel survey was administered as an interview of persons exiting buildings at the site and gathered information about two trips made by the respondent, including whether the trip made at the time of the interview was induced. A trip was considered induced if the respondent would not have made the trip if it had required travel outside of Legacy Town Center. Analysis found that in the morning, four percent of all trips at the study site were induced; in the afternoon, about one-quarter of all trips were induced. Induced trips accounted for one-eighth of internal trips in the morning and forty percent of internal trips in the afternoon. Most internal trips made in an automobile were replacements for off-site travel while most trips made on foot were induced. Based on this study, it is evident that some internal trips at mixeduse developments are not “captured” from external streets, but represent additional trips, induced by travel cost savings in the mixed-use environment. However, it is demonstrated that, even with this additional travel, mixed-use developments still contribute to a reduction in overall vehicle-miles of travel. Stakeholders are encouraged to consider these findings when evaluating new land-use policies or the traffic impacts of proposed mixed-use developments.

The older African American women living Texas fall into one of the most inactive population segments. Recently, the importance of socio-ecological models on human health behavior and more complex associations between variables have been discussed. Therefore, this cross-sectional study focuses on investigating the trends in physical activity among older African American women, exploring the effects of actual environmental variables that might encourage or discourage their physical activity, and discovering any plausible mediating effects between environmental factors and older African American women’s physical activity. The study sample is composed of African American women aged 55 to 84 who reside in independent housing in Bryan, Texas. A total of 282 older African American women’s addresses were systematically selected and a self-administrated survey questionnaire documenting the level of physical activity, psychological well-being, sense of community, perception of safety, physical health status, and background information was collected for each of the women. The environmental influences of natural and built environments were defined using two boundaries: 1) nearby home level (0.5 mile street distance), and 2) neighborhood level (1 mile street distance) from the participant’s house. The natural and built environments were measured using a Geographic Information System (GIS) and aerial photographs. Results showed that a) walking was the most prevalent type of physical activity and streets were the most popular places for older African American women; b) at the nearby home level, greenery and land use mixture were positively associated with older African American women’s physical activity while street pattern and access to commercial areas influenced their physical activity at the neighborhood level; and c) perceptions of crime-related neighborhood problems had significant mediating effects decreasing older African American women’s physical activity. The findings revealed that the environmental variables had a distance effects on older women’s physical activity. In addition, on a policy level, neighborhood problems should be dealt with using careful insight in order to encourage physical activity.

Aging is a global phenomenon. Ways to sustain older adults' aging-in-place in the 'community at-large' (defined as traditional communities where most people live) have been overlooked. Consciously engaging in physical activity helps older adults to remain healthy and gives them the ability to access daily-life services, and thus extend their independent years at home. Nearby outdoor environments on residential sites and in the neighborhoods may influence older adults' independent living through physical activity. This study surveyed 206 older adults in 11 assisted-living facilities in Texas regarding their past physical activities when they lived in their own homes and perceptions of the residential site and neighborhood environments. Older adults are shown to have long-term recall ability and capable of reliably estimating their physical activities that occurred up to ten years ago. Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to verify the survey responses and further examine the objective measurements of environments on a subset of 117 participants' residences. Bivariate tests, factor analysis, and multivariate logistic regression modeling were conducted to identify environmental variables correlated to yard activities, neighborhood walking, and years of independent living at home. After controlling for personal and social factors in multivariate logistic modeling, three site features (transitional-areas, connecting-paths, and levels of pleasant indoor sunshine) have been found to influence yard activities; two site features (yard landscaping and corner lot location) and three neighborhood features (walking destinations, safety from crime, and sidewalks) have been found to influence neighborhood walking; one site features (transitional-areas) has been found to influence older adults' years of independent living in the community. Based on the results, guidelines were developed for designing friendly environments for older adults' active and independent living. Nearby outdoor environments on residential sites and in the neighborhoods appear to be important for older adults. The roles of residential site environments in shaping older adults' behavior and independence need more attention. To better understand environmental influences on older adults and promote aging-in-place, more empirical studies and longitudinal research are needed.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the European Union has focused its attention on moving the Central and Eastern European Countries towards democracy and the market economy, which culminated in the accession of these countries to the European Union on May 2004. With the accession of the ten new members to the Union, the European Union has acquired new neighbors and come closer to the old ones, with whom it had only indirectly interested in. There is a conviction in EU circles that future widening towards these countries is not possible without risking the integration process which the European countries have developed in the last fifty years. In addition to this internal consideration, the new neighbors of the EU, some of which have already declared their membership ambitions, are the countries which the EU perceives it cannot integrate in the foreseeable future because of their social, economic and political underdevelopment. In response to these realities, the Union developed the European Neighborhood Policy. In this thesis, potential of the new neighborhood policy to fulfill its objectives of being second best alternative to membership and its promise in providing a meaningful framework that is satisfactory both for the EU and its neighbors will be analyzed. Additionally, its impact on the European Union&rsquo / s foreign policy in general will be elaborated. It will be argued in this thesis that the ENP has such serious limitations in terms of its formulation, institutions, and its incentives that it will fail to realize its original aspirations.

ABSTRACT The trend of expansion of democracy around the globe has been largely increased in the post-Cold War era due to the domestic struggles and dynamics of international system. Not only international conditions, but also democracy promotion activities of international community have influenced this trend. These activities include assistance, guidance and advice provided by the international players. In this regard, this thesis aims to highlight international dimension of democratization. This thesis analyzes the role of the European Union (EU) in the democratization process of Georgia. The EU has become an international actor, promoting democracy and human rights since the 1990s. The EU&rsquo / s contribution to the consolidation of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe through enlargement policy has been regarded valuable in the literature of democratization. In this context, this thesis chooses Georgia as a case study since Georgia / an ex-Soviet country has successfully managed to consolidate its regime change with the Rose Revolution. Besides, the Revolution has trigged the inclusion of the country and South Caucasus to the new Neighborhood Policy of the EU (ENP). This policy has welcomed in Georgia and has overlapped with the EU&rsquo / s increasing interest in the region and European orientation of Georgia. This study seeks to find out the extent to which EU can contribute democratic consolidation in Georgia within the ENP. The basic conclusion of this thesis is that the success of the ENP will depend on the limitations and deficiencies of the ENP together with the peculiarities of the region and the ability of the EU.

In literature on residential areas, the settlement pattern is analyzed starting from their first apperance. In the pre-industrial city was no specialization of land use, the urban layout was relatively irregular, the street markets, shops, workshops and homes being mixed together. However, after industrialization for cities there was a need for housing supply and these were mostly supplied by blocks around working areas. All of these settlements were not healthy and efficient. So with regulations and policies for better settlements more healty and secure places were planned for workers with the idea of modernism. Also modernism brought the pure geometry for building design. The colour and facade of the buildings were determined related to functions or structural rationalist ideas. This standart and simple blocks were critised by some. Like, Sitte&rsquo / s (1889) eulogied historic spaces for their random and artistic city aesthetic. The sprawl of housing areas increased the need for accesibility and social integration to each other and main center. On the other hand, the residential quarters in their inner dynmics, the public realm, circulation, self character etc. must be defined for good working settlement and its environment. This resulted in traditional neighborhood properties for better residential settlements that new urbanist way of thought encouraged more ecology and pedestrian-oriented settlements. In D&uuml / zce after earthquake in 1999, important scale of housing necessity appeared and this need was supplied with mass housing projects in short time. In fact, 20% of the urban settlement is provided by these mass housing projects and the projects will go on. In fact, 40 % of the settlement is expected to be provided with mass housing projects. Master thesis attempts to clarify the design problems in mass housing areas in D&uuml / zce. The problems related to mass housing environment will be discussed, with reference to design concept, to explain whether or not these mass housing areas provide neighborhood standarts.

Previous literature has shown that risk factors for delinquency include individual characteristics of impulsivity and risk-taking as well as contextual influences such as neighborhoods, parenting and engagement in physical activity (e.g., exercise, sports). Theory suggests that individual characteristics interact with contextual factors to influence child development, however evidence is limited. The current study examined the interaction between these individual and contextual risks to influence childhood delinquency in a community sample of 89 children ranging from 9 to 12 years of age (M = 10.4, SD = 1.1). Questionnaire measures showed that both caregiver report of impulsivity and self-reported risk-taking were positively associated with self-reported delinquency, yet no interactions with contextual factors were found. When using computer tasks, neither impulsivity nor risk-taking were significantly associated with delinquency. However, a risk-taking by physical activity interaction was found, such that at low levels of physical activity risk-taking was positively related to delinquency, yet at high levels of physical activity, risk-taking and delinquency were unrelated. Thus, programs that involve physical activity may be useful prevention and intervention strategies for risk-taking children.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes special report study entitled: Communal space in Hong Kong. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1985.