Journal articles on the topic 'Choice of transportation – Ontario – Toronto'
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Ledsham, Trudy, Steven Farber, and Nate Wessel. "Dwelling Type Matters: Untangling the Paradox of Intensification and Bicycle Mode Choice." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2662, no. 1 (January 2017): 67–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/2662-08.
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Urban intensification is believed to result in a modal shift away from automobiles to more active forms of transportation. This study extended the understanding of bicycle mode choice and the influence of built form through an analysis of dwelling type, density, and mode choice. Apartment dwelling and active transportation are related to intensification, but an understanding of the impact of increased density on bicycling is muddied by the lack of isolation of cycling from walking in many studies and by the lack of controls for the confounding effects of dwelling type. This study examined the relationship between dwelling type and mode choice in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In this study of 223,232 trips, 25 variables were controlled for, and multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to estimate relative risk ratios. Strong evidence was found that a trip that originated from an apartment-based household was less than half as likely to be taken by bicycle as a similar trip that originated from a house-based household in Toronto in 2011. Increased population density of the household location had a positive impact on the likelihood that a trip would be taken by walking and a negligible and uncertain impact on the likelihood that it would be taken by transit. However, increased population density had a negative impact on bicycling. Further analysis found that the negative impact of density did not seem to apply to those who lived in single detached housing but rather only to the likelihood that apartment and townhouse dwellers would cycle. Further research is required to identify the exact barriers to cycling that apartment dwellers experience.
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Ashrafi, Zahra, Hamed Shahrokhi Shahraki, Chris Bachmann, Kevin Gingerich, and Hanna Maoh. "Quantifying the Criticality of Highway Infrastructure for Freight Transportation." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2610, no. 1 (January 2017): 10–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/2610-02.
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Events that disable parts of the highway transportation network, ranging from weather conditions to construction closures, may affect freight travel times and ultimately degrade economic productivity. Although previous studies of criticality typically focused on the impacts of natural disasters or terrorist attacks on systemwide travel times, these studies did not quantify the costs associated with disruptions to the economy because of disruptions to the freight transportation system. This paper quantifies the economic criticality of the highway infrastructure in Ontario, Canada, with the use of a new measure of criticality that determines the cost of highway closures (in dollars) on the basis of the value of goods, the time delayed, and the associated value of time. When criticality is measured in this way, it has some correlation with truck volumes, but the correlation differs when the values of shipments and the physical redundancy in the network are considered, and results in new insights into critical freight infrastructure. For example, the highway network within the greater Toronto, Ontario, Canada, area has a high degree of redundancy, but highways farther away from this metropolitan area have less redundancy and are thus more critical. Moreover, sections of Highway 401 located west of the greater Toronto area were found to be more critical—even though it carries lower truck volumes—than those located east of the greater Toronto area because of the lower redundancy in the western portion of the network. This measure has many potential applications in freight transportation planning, operations, and maintenance. Finally, with the cost of these disruptions quantified in dollars, one can then calculate the monetary benefits of potential transportation improvements for comparison (i.e., perform a cost–benefit analysis).
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Lue, Gregory, and Eric J. Miller. "Estimating a Toronto pedestrian route choice model using smartphone GPS data." Travel Behaviour and Society 14 (January 2019): 34–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2018.09.008.
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Helferty, Natalie. ""Localization": A means to reduce negative transportation impacts in the "natural city"." Ekistics and The New Habitat 71, no. 427-429 (December 1, 2004): 233–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.53910/26531313-e200471427-429193.
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The author runs "Natural Heritage Consulting" in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. She is a former Adjunct Professor at Ryerson University having taught Applied Ecology as a joint program between the School of Occupational and Public Health and the School of Urban and Regional Planning. She has provided environmental policy input on government initiatives such as the formation of the Greenbelt around the City of Toronto in her capacity as a member of the Province of Ontario's Greenbelt Task Force. The text that follows is a revised and edited version of a paper presented by the author at the Natural City conference - "Success Stories" - organized by the Centre for Environment, University of Toronto from 31 May to 2 June, 2006.
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Li, Siyuan, Matthew Muresan, and Liping Fu. "Cycling in Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Route Choice Behavior and Implications for Infrastructure Planning." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2662, no. 1 (January 2017): 41–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/2662-05.
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This research investigated the route choice behavior of cyclists in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with data collected from a smartphone application deployed to many cyclists in the city. For the study, 4,556 cyclists registered and logged more than 30,000 commuting trips over 9 months. In addition to the time-stamped, second-by-second GPS readings on each trip, information on age, gender, and rider history was collected on a voluntary basis. Multinomial logit route choice models were estimated for the commuting cycling trips. The results revealed the critical importance of cycling facilities (e.g., bike lanes, cycling paths and trails) on cyclists’ route choice decisions, and provided valuable information for use in Toronto’s ongoing bicycle network planning.
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Kelsey, Mary Wallace. "Christine Wilson's presentation at the 1999 Food Choice Meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada." Appetite 38, no. 1 (February 2002): 75–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/appe.2001.0450.
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Hadayeghi, Alireza, Amer S. Shalaby, and Bhagwant Persaud. "Macrolevel Accident Prediction Models for Evaluating Safety of Urban Transportation Systems." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 1840, no. 1 (January 2003): 87–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/1840-10.
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A series of macrolevel prediction models that would estimate the number of accidents in planning zones in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as a function of zonal characteristics were developed. A generalized linear modeling approach was used in which negative binomial regression models were developed separately for total accidents and for severe (fatal and nonfatal injury) accidents as a function of socio-economic and demographic, traffic demand, and network data variables. The variables that had significant effects on accident occurrence were the number of households, the number of major road kilometers, the number of vehicle kilometers traveled, intersection density, posted speed, and volume-capacity ratio. The geographic weighted regression approach was used to test spatial variations in the estimated parameters from zone to zone. Mixed results were obtained from that analysis.
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Palm, Matthew, and Steven Farber. "The role of public transit in school choice and after-school activity participation among Toronto high school students." Travel Behaviour and Society 19 (April 2020): 219–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2020.01.007.
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Gingerich, Kevin, Hanna Maoh, and William Anderson. "Border Crossing Choice Behavior of Trucks along Trade Corridor between Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Chicago, Illinois." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2477, no. 1 (January 2015): 85–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/2477-10.
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Sweet, Matthias N. "User interest in on-demand, shared, and driverless mobility: Evidence from stated preference choice experiments in Southern Ontario." Travel Behaviour and Society 23 (April 2021): 120–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2020.12.003.
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Abrahams, C., S. Verma, R. Glazier, L. Jaakkimainen, and S. Shultz. "16. Postgraduate training and its effect on practice location, career choice and practice profile: Tracking 10 years of output from the University of Toronto." Clinical & Investigative Medicine 30, no. 4 (August 1, 2007): 36. http://dx.doi.org/10.25011/cim.v30i4.2776.
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The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between location and specialty of training and practice characteristics such as type of practice (i.e. community versus academic), socio-demographic profile of patients and their complexity, hospital/health facility affiliations and workload/productivity.
The analysis required an extraction of registrant data from the University of Toronto Postgraduate Web Evaluation and Registration (POWER) system for a cohort of exiting residents and fellows from 1993 to 2003. The data extract was linked to several administrative databases held by ICES, including physician practice and billing information from the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) and anonymized patient demographic data from the Registered Persons Database (RPDB).
Results of this study will inform workforce policy issues such as the overall contribution made by Toronto graduates to Ontario, other Canadian provinces and international practice pool of physicians, trends regarding medical career choice, similarities and differences between career choices of International Medical Graduates versus Canadian Medical Graduates, impact of location/program of training, impact of length of training and profile/geography of patients served by graduates of Toronto. The study will aim to create a methodology/template for analysis that can be applied to other medical schools and catchment areas in human health resource planning.
Chan B, Willett J. Factors Influencing Participation in Obstetrics by Obstetrician-Gynecologists. 2004; 103(3):493-498.
Noble J, Baerlocher MO. Future Practice Profiles of Canadian Medical Trainees. Clinical and Investigative Medicine 2006; 29(4):288-289.
Watson DE, Katz A, Reid RJ, Bogdanovic B, Roos N. Family Physician Workloads and Access to Care in Winnipeg: 1991 to 2001. Canadian Family Physician 2004; 171(4):339-342.
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Miquelon, Dale. "A tribute to James "Jim" Stewart Pritchard, 1939-2015." Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord 25, no. 1 (January 31, 2015): 1–6. http://dx.doi.org/10.25071/2561-5467.490.
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Jim Pritchard, (BA, Carleton University; MA, University of Western Ontario; PhD, University of Toronto) was president of the Canadian Nautical Research Society/Société canadienne pour la recherche nautique from 2002 to 2005 and an active member of the executive council from 1996 until shortly before his untimely passing during the preparation of the present number of The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord. He worked tirelessly for the journal – to ensure its survival during challenging times of transition, and, always, to keep its contents vital. His book reviews were numerous, the first appearing in volume I. He nurtured the highest standards of scholarship, invariably with good humour, good sense, and generosity. In recognition of Jim’s leadership, and his willing labours in the trenches of administration and peer review, the editors have gathered tributes from a few of his many friends – leaders in scholarship in their own right – whose lives and work he touched.
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Gingerich, Kevin, and Hanna Maoh. "The role of airport proximity on warehouse location and associated truck trips: Evidence from Toronto, Ontario." Journal of Transport Geography 74 (January 2019): 97–109. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2018.11.010.
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Hui, Vivian, and Khandker Nurul Habib. "Homelessness vis-à-vis Transportation-Induced Social Exclusion: An Econometric Investigation of Travel Behavior of Homeless Individuals in Toronto, Canada." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2665, no. 1 (January 2017): 60–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/2665-07.
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The intersection of homelessness and transportation is an overlooked component of transport-related exclusion research, yet mobility is recognized as playing a significant role in anyone’s well-being. The lack of research in this field is concurrent with the lack of understanding of homeless individuals’ mobility needs and travel behavior. As a result, there is little that can guide the policy-making process for the travel needs of homeless individuals. In 2015, as a response to this research gap, an interview was designed and then conducted with 159 homeless individuals across eight shelters and drop-in agencies in the city of Toronto, Canada. The interview included stated adaptation experiments to reveal how transportation affected or hindered homeless individuals’ activity participation processes. Decision choice models were estimated with econometric modeling methods, which indicated the influence of variables such as age, income, and duration of homelessness on the decision to reject or accept employment opportunities. The results also showed that a person’s accustomed mode choice and daily number of trips had an effect on the decision to travel for social activity purposes.
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Zeuli, Kimberly, Austin Nijhuis, Ronald Macfarlane, and Taryn Ridsdale. "The Impact of Climate Change on the Food System in Toronto." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15, no. 11 (October 24, 2018): 2344. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112344.
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As part of its Climate Change and Health Strategy, in 2017, Toronto Public Health engaged stakeholders from across the food system to complete a high-level vulnerability assessment of the impact of climate change on the food system in Toronto. Using the Ontario Climate Change and Health Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment Guidelines, the City of Toronto’s High-Level Risk Assessment Tool, and a strategic framework developed by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, Toronto Public Health identified the most significant extreme weather event risks to food processing, distribution and access in Toronto. Risks associated with three extreme weather events that are the most likely to occur in Toronto due to climate change were analyzed: significant rain and flooding, an extended heat wave, and a major winter ice storm. The analysis finds that while extreme weather events could potentially disrupt Toronto’s food supply, the current risk of an extended, widespread food supply disruption is relatively low. However, the findings highlight that a concerted effort across the food system, including electrical and fuel providers, is needed to address other key vulnerabilities that could impact food access, especially for vulnerable populations. Interruptions to electricity will have food access and food safety impacts, while interruptions to the transportation network and fuel will have food distribution and access impacts. Actions to mitigate these risks could include addressing food access vulnerabilities through ongoing city-wide strategies and integrating food access into the City’s emergency response planning. The next steps will include engaging with multiple partners across the city to understand and strengthen the “last mile” of food distribution and develop community food resilience action plans for vulnerable neighbourhoods.
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Perera, Nandana, Bahram Gharabaghi, and Peter Noehammer. "Stream Chloride Monitoring Program of City of Toronto: Implications of Road Salt Application." Water Quality Research Journal 44, no. 2 (May 1, 2009): 132–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wqrj.2009.014.
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Abstract In cold regions, winter road safety is a major challenge for municipalities and provincial highway transportation agencies. Road salt is widely used to improve winter road conditions, but concerns have been raised about the effects of road salts on the environment. This paper describes a water quality monitoring program designed to measure both background chloride concentrations and the effects of road salt application on stream water quality in four watersheds (Humber River, Don River, Highland Creek, and Morningside tributary of Rouge River) located within the City of Toronto boundary. The effect of road salts on stream water quality was evaluated based on chloride concentration because of its conservative nature. A bilinear correlation was developed to transform measured specific conductance levels in stream water to chloride concentrations. There are no Ontario aquatic fresh water quality guidelines for chloride, but chloride concentrations in almost all the monitored streams in Toronto periodically exceeded chronic and acute chloride threshold levels of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The City of Toronto has been proactive in its efforts to implement management practices to reduce the impact of road salt application on the environment while maintaining safe driving conditions for its road users. Normalized salt application rates in Toronto have been on a gradual declining trend in the last decade from about 0.08 to 0.07 tonnes of salt applied per centimetre of snowfall per kilometre of lane. With public safety in mind, further reductions in salt application rates are being considered to reduce the adverse environmental effects to acceptable limits.
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Mahmoud, Mohamed S., Khandker M. Nurul Habib, and Amer Shalaby. "Survey of Cross-Regional Intermodal Passenger Travel." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2526, no. 1 (January 2015): 108–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/2526-12.
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This paper presents an investigation of the mode choice behavior of cross-regional commuters in the greater Toronto and Hamilton area of Ontario, Canada. A survey of cross-regional intermodal passenger travel (called SCRIPT) was developed and conducted during the spring and the fall of 2014. SCRIPT collects data on respondents' revealed preference in daily commuting trips to pivot each respondent's mode choice stated preference experiment separately. An innovative multimodal trip planner tool was developed to generate feasible travel options for each stated preference experiment with information on household auto ownership level, proximity to transit, work start time, and total travel time from home to work, as well as predeveloped discrete choice models to identify access station locations of intermodal travel modes. The stated preference experiments were based on the D-efficient design technique. The survey used 1,203 randomly selected cross-regional commuters. The paper reports on a mode choice model estimated by the revealed preference data portion of the survey to verify the validity of the survey design, sampling procedure, and data quality. An empirical model provides insight into cross-regional commuters' mode choice behavior.
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Roorda, Matthew J., Abolfazl Mohammadian, and Eric J. Miller. "Toronto Area Car Ownership Study: A Retrospective Interview and Its Applications." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 1719, no. 1 (January 2000): 69–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/1719-09.
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Recent work in the area of comprehensive transportation modeling systems in a microsimulation framework, more specifically auto ownership modeling, has recognized the need for increased experimentation with dynamic models. Implicitly, dynamic models require longitudinal data. A Toronto area car ownership study was conducted to design and administer a longitudinal survey to fulfill the data requirements for such a dynamic model, to validate the survey results, and to conduct preliminary analysis on those results. An in-depth retrospective telephone survey was conducted with the help of a computer aid in Toronto, Canada. Simple univariate analyses were conducted on the data to determine the relationship between characteristics of the household and the occurrence of vehicle transactions, the choice of vehicle type, the duration a vehicle is held, and the degree of consumer loyalty to different types of vehicles.
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Forsey, David, Khandker Nurul Habib, Eric J. Miller, and Amer Shalaby. "Temporal transferability of work trip mode choice models in an expanding suburban area: the case of York Region, Ontario." Transportmetrica A: Transport Science 10, no. 6 (June 14, 2013): 469–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23249935.2013.788100.
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Pamidimukkala, Anupya, Fei Dong, Jessica Ip, and Pamela Zeng. "Diving into Debt: A Study on Factors Related to Debt Risk Score in Toronto." STEM Fellowship Journal 2, no. 1 (July 1, 2016): 22–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.17975/sfj-2016-005.
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This study aimed to find the correlations between data found regarding debt risk and the 140 neighbourhoods in Toronto, Ontario. Debt risk was compared with select variables from available data, including education, health, environment, housing, economics, demographics, transportation, recreation, and safety. The purpose of this study was to help civilians and the government identify possible factors that lead to higher debt risk, as well as find solutions to reduce it. The data was retrieved from Open Data Toronto. A simple linear regression model was built to determine the factors that have a seemingly great correlation with debt risk. It was concluded that the percentage of people who receive social assistance, the percentage of people who applied for rent banks, and the number of reported sexual assaults in a neighbourhood had a positive correlation with increased debt risk. The result is that an age-adjusted rate of people who received breast cancer screening had a negative correlation with increased debt risk. Through the results, several solutions could be proposed to reduce debt risk. More education on safety and health can enable citizens to become more responsible and aware of their financial state. Giving other forms of aid that are not monetary may be beneficial in helping people get out of debt and become more financially independent.
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Anowar, Sabreena, Ahmadreza Faghih-Imani, Eric J. Miller, and Naveen Eluru. "Regret minimization based joint econometric model of mode choice and departure time: a case study of university students in Toronto, Canada." Transportmetrica A: Transport Science 15, no. 2 (February 12, 2019): 1214–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23249935.2019.1573859.
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Maoh, Hanna, Terence Dimatulac, Shakil Khan, and Marek Litwin. "Studying border crossing choice behavior of trucks moving between Ontario, Canada and the United States." Journal of Transport Geography 91 (February 2021): 102992. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2021.102992.
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Hawkins, Jason, and Khandker Nurul Habib. "The evolution of choice set formation in dwelling and location with rising prices: A decadal panel analysis in the Greater Toronto Area." Journal of Transport and Land Use 14, no. 1 (November 21, 2021): 1227–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2021.1854.
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Home location choice is based on both the characteristics of the dwelling (e.g., size, style, number of bedrooms) and the location (e.g., proximity to work, quality of schools, accessibility). Recent years have seen a steep increase in the price of housing in many major cities. In this research, we examine how these price increases are affecting the types of dwelling and locations considered by households. A large sample of real estate listings from 2006 and 2016 from the Greater Toronto Area is used to develop the empirical models. Two recently developed discrete choice models are used in the study: a nested logit model with latent class feedback (LCF) and a semi-compensatory independent availability logit (SCIAL) model. A method of alternative aggregation is proposed to overcome the computational hurdle that often impedes the estimation of choice set models. We find a significant increase in the probability of larger households considering townhouses and apartments over detached single-family dwellings between 2006 and 2016.
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Lewis, Elyse O’C, and Don MacKenzie. "UberHOP in Seattle." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2650, no. 1 (January 2017): 101–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/2650-12.
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UberHOP is a commute-focused interpretation of the Uber suite of transportation services, with the goal of reducing personal vehicle commute trips. The service first launched in Seattle, Washington, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in December 2015 and expanded to Manila, Philippines, in early 2016. UberHOP is similar to vanpooling with fixed pickup and drop-off locations in the primary commute direction during peak hours, but it leverages Uber’s ridesourcing platform to replace fixed departure schedules with riders matched in real time. This paper reports on an intercept survey (83% response rate) to understand who rode, how they traveled to the pickup location, why they rode, and what modes UberHOP was replacing for all 11 UberHOP routes in Seattle during the morning and evening commute periods. In addition, detailed trip and total rider count data were collected during the survey administration process. The results show that many UberHOP riders made UberHOP their primary form of commute mode. Unlike standard ridesourcing services, UberHOP riders predominantly replaced public transportation modes rather than personal vehicles. UberHOP services were canceled in Seattle in August 2016. However, with larger rider densities per trip, the UberHOP model can be profitable, and it is reasonable to expect that Uber or others will resurrect a similar service in the future.
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Soberman, Richard M., and Eric J. Miller. "Impacts of full cost pricing on the sustainability of urban transportation: towards Canada's Kyoto commitments." Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering 26, no. 3 (June 1, 1999): 345–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/l98-066.
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Certain concerns about sustainable transportation derive from the premise that significant atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming can be attributed to automotive emissions. Among measures considered to curtail automobile dependency and increase transit modal split, "full cost pricing" → a means of extracting both environmental costs and hidden subsidies which road users allegedly impose on society → has emerged as an increasingly popular suggestion. This paper examines the potential impact of full cost pricing on the "sustainability" of urban transportation, using Toronto as a case study. The analysis deals with the direct effects on mode choice and vehicle utilization resulting from increased user costs as might be achieved through fuel taxes or road pricing, as well as the indirect, longer term effects on location decisions. To investigate the land-use impacts, population distributions were altered to reflect more compact development and less urban sprawl as a proxy for relocations that might result from an increase in the costs of automobile use. Impacts are presented in terms of changes in total peak period vehicle-kilometres, mode split, and CO2 emissions. Despite several qualifications related to modelling techniques used in the case study, the analysis suggests that, overall, the impacts of large increases in road user costs appear to be less than proponents of full cost pricing would expect. In addition, the analysis suggests the fairly obvious, namely, that the greatest impacts of pricing occur within those choice markets where reasonable alternatives to the private automobile actually exist.Key words: sustainable transportation, road pricing, full cost pricing, urban transportation, emissions.
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Palm, Matthew, Amer Shalaby, and Steven Farber. "Social Equity and Bus On-Time Performance in Canada’s Largest City." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2674, no. 11 (August 27, 2020): 329–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0361198120944923.
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Bus routes provide critical lifelines to disadvantaged travelers in major cities. Bus route performance is also more variable than the performance of other, grade-separated transit modes. Yet the social equity of bus operational performance is largely unexamined outside of limited statutory applications. Equity assessment methods for transit operations are similarly underdeveloped relative to equity analysis methods deployed in transit planning. This study examines the equity of bus on-time performance (OTP) in Toronto, Ontario, the largest city in Canada. Both census proximity and ridership profile approaches to defining equity routes are deployed, modifying United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) Title VI methods to fit a Canadian context. Bus OTP in Toronto is found to be horizontally equitable. It is also found that the U.S. DOT approach of averaging performance between equity and non-equity routes masks the existence of underperforming routes with very significant ridership of color. These routes are overwhelmingly night routes, most of which are only classified as equity routes using a ridership definition. These results suggest that the underperformance of Toronto’s “Blue Night” network of overnight buses is a social equity issue. This OTP data is also applied to a household travel survey to identify disparities in the OTP of bus transit as experienced by different demographic groups throughout the city. It is found that recent immigrants and carless households, both heavily transit dependent populations in the Canadian context, experience lower on-time bus performance than other groups.
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Moniruzzaman, Md, and Steven Farber. "What drives sustainable student travel? Mode choice determinants in the Greater Toronto Area." International Journal of Sustainable Transportation 12, no. 5 (November 9, 2017): 367–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15568318.2017.1377326.
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Covelli, Andrea Marie, Nancy Baxter, Margaret Fitch, and Frances Catriona Wright. "Taking control of cancer: Women’s choice for mastectomy." Journal of Clinical Oncology 31, no. 31_suppl (November 1, 2013): 11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1200/jco.2013.31.31_suppl.11.
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11 Background: Rates of both unilateral (UM) and contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) for early stage breast cancer (ESBC) have been increasing since 2003. Studies suggest that the increase is due to women playing an active role in decision-making. We do not know what factors are influencing the choice for more extensive surgery. Methods: To identify these factors we completed a multi-method study; conducting a systematic review of quantitative literature and qualitative interviews. Decision-making literature was identified from 5 databases and underwent thematic analysis. Purposive sampling identified women across the Toronto Area (Ontario, Canada), who were suitable candidates for breast conserving surgery (BCS) but underwent UM or CPM. Data saturation was achieved after 29 in-person interviews. Constant comparative analysis identified key concepts and themes. Results: ‘Taking control of cancer’ was the dominant theme. Literature illustrated that patients markedly overestimate risk of local recurrence, contralateral cancer and particularly, mortality. Similarly, interviews revealed that fear of breast cancer was expressed at diagnosis and drives the decision-making process. Despite surgeons discussing survival equivalence of BCS and UM, patients chose UM due to fear of recurrence and an overestimated survival advantage. Similarly, patients chose CPM to eliminate contralateral cancer and a misperceived survival benefit. Women were actively trying to Control Outcomes, as more surgery was believed to offer greater survival and therefore greater control. Conclusions: Both the literature and our interviews have illustrated that women seek UM and CPM for treatment of their ESBC to manage their fear of cancer mortality by undergoing more extensive surgery; this in turn drives mastectomy rates. It is important to understand this process so that we may improve our ability to communicate issues of importance to women and facilitate informed decision-making.
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Helliwell, Phillip S., Oliver FitzGerald, and Jaap Fransen. "Composite Disease Activity and Responder Indices for Psoriatic Arthritis: A Report from the GRAPPA 2013 Meeting on Development of Cutoffs for Both Disease Activity States and Response." Journal of Rheumatology 41, no. 6 (June 2014): 1212–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.140172.
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Objective.There are several new composite indices for assessing disease activity in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Each may function as a disease state variable and a responder index. The aim of our study was to determine cutoffs for disease activity and response.Methods.Data from the Group for GRAPPA Composite Exercise (GRACE) study were used to develop cutoffs using a number of different approaches. Voting on choice of cutoff was undertaken at the 2013 GRAPPA Annual Meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Results.After voting, results for cutoffs for low/high disease activity for the Psoriatic ArthritiS Disease Activity Score (PASDAS), GRAppa Composite scorE (GRACE index), and Composite Psoriatic Disease Activity Index (CPDAI), respectively, were 3.2/5.4, 2.3/4.7, and 4/8. The measurement error for each composite score was estimated at 0.8, 1, and 2 for PASDAS, GRACE, and CPDAI, respectively.Conclusion.Response criteria for the new composite indices have been developed. These now require further validation and testing in other datasets.
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Wang, Kaili, Mohammad Faizus Salehin, and Khandker Nurul Habib. "A discrete choice experiment on consumer’s willingness-to-pay for vehicle automation in the Greater Toronto Area." Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 149 (July 2021): 12–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2021.04.020.
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Asgary, Ali, and Nooreddin Azimi. "Choice of emergency shelter: valuing key attributes of emergency shelters." International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment 10, no. 2/3 (September 6, 2019): 130–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijdrbe-10-2018-0044.
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Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine people’s preferences for some of the key attributes of emergency shelters, including type, privacy level, location, spatial arrangement and pet-friendliness. Design/methodology/approach Choice experiment (CE) method was used in this study. A standard CE questionnaire was designed and completed by a sample of 293 residents of the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario (Canada), during the winter of 2015. Findings When using publicly provided shelters, people prefer to stay in hotels, places of worship and then community shelters, in that order. These findings correspond to the values that they place for various attributes through the CE survey. Findings show that responders place the highest values for emergency shelters that provide more privacy, located close to their home, and are pet friendly. Type of shelter and the “arrangement” attributes were not found to be as important and valuable. Research limitations/implications This study uses a convenient sampling method as such may not fully represent the study population. Practical implications Emergency shelter provision by local, regional and national governments cost significant amount of money and thus it is important that the society get the maximum benefit from it. This will be possible when users’ preferences are considered in planning, design, and operation of emergency shelters. The findings enable emergency managers to perform cost-benefit analysis an increase the efficiency of emergency shelters. Originality/value While previous studies have examined emergency-shelter types, characteristics and user-satisfaction levels, this is a novel study because it uses a choice experiment method to extract monetary values for key emergency-shelter attributes.
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Neufeld, Hannah T., Chantelle A. M. Richmond, and Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre. "Impacts of place and social spaces on traditional food systems in southwestern Ontario." International Journal of Indigenous Health 12, no. 1 (June 8, 2017): 93. http://dx.doi.org/10.18357/ijih112201716903.
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<p>Processes of environmental dispossession have had dramatic consequences for dietary quality, cultural identity, and the integrity of traditional food systems (TFS) in many Indigenous populations. These transitions have not been documented among First Nation people in southwestern Ontario, and virtually no studies have investigated TFS in southern or urban regions of Canada. Nested within a larger community-centred project designed to better understand the social and spatial determinants of food choice and patterns of food security, the objective of this paper was to explore First Nation mothers’ knowledge about access, availability, and practices relating to traditional foods in the city of London, Ontario, and nearby First Nation reserves. In 2010, twenty-five women participated in semi-structured interviews that were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed with input from community partners. Our results centre on the women’s stories about access, preferences, knowledge, and sharing of traditional foods. Those living on a reserve relied more consistently on traditional foods, as proximity to land, family, and knowledge permitted improved access. Urban mothers faced transportation and economic barriers alongside knowledge loss related to the use and preparation of traditional foods. Overall our results demonstrate uneven geographic challenges for First Nation engagement in TFS, with urban mothers experiencing uniquely greater challenges than those residing on a reserve.</p>
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Sayani, Ambreen, Mandana Vahabi, Mary Ann O’Brien, Geoffrey Liu, Stephen Hwang, Peter Selby, Erika Nicholson, Meredith Giuliani, Lawson Eng, and Aisha Lofters. "Advancing health equity in cancer care: The lived experiences of poverty and access to lung cancer screening." PLOS ONE 16, no. 5 (May 6, 2021): e0251264. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251264.
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Background Individuals living with low income are more likely to smoke, have a higher risk of lung cancer, and are less likely to participate in preventative healthcare (i.e., low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for lung cancer screening), leading to equity concerns. To inform the delivery of an organized pilot lung cancer screening program in Ontario, we sought to contextualize the lived experiences of poverty and the choice to participate in lung cancer screening. Methods At three Toronto academic primary-care clinics, high-risk screen-eligible patients who chose or declined LDCT screening were consented; sociodemographic data was collected. Qualitative interviews were conducted. Theoretical thematic analysis was used to organize, describe and interpret the data using the morphogenetic approach as a guiding theoretical lens. Results Eight participants chose to undergo screening; ten did not. From interviews, we identified three themes: Pathways of disadvantage (social trajectories of events that influence lung-cancer risk and health-seeking behaviour), lung-cancer risk and early detection (upstream factors that shape smoking behaviour and lung-cancer screening choices), and safe spaces of care (care that is free of bias, conflict, criticism, or potentially threatening actions, ideas or conversations). We illuminate how ‘choice’ is contextual to the availability of material resources such as income and housing, and how ‘choice’ is influenced by having access to spaces of care that are free of judgement and personal bias. Conclusion Underserved populations will require multiprong interventions that work at the individual, system and structural level to reduce inequities in lung-cancer risk and access to healthcare services such as cancer screening.
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Papaioannou, Elli M., Jason Hawkins, and Khandker M. Nurul Habib. "A study of car and home ownership decisions in the face of increasing commuting expenses (CHOICE) in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)." Case Studies on Transport Policy 8, no. 3 (September 2020): 971–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2020.04.009.
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Jahangiriesmaili, Mahyar, Sina Bahrami, and Matthew J. Roorda. "Solution of Two-Echelon Facility Location Problems by Approximation Methods." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2610, no. 1 (January 2017): 1–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/2610-01.
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The two-echelon delivery structure is a strategy that can be implemented in urban areas to lower delivery costs by reducing the movement of heavy goods vehicles. In a two-echelon delivery structure, large trucks deliver shipments from a consolidation center to several terminals, where packages are transferred to smaller trucks for last-mile deliveries. This paper formulates a model that solves the two-echelon delivery structure by the use of approximation techniques. Several potential terminal locations and demand areas were identified, and the optimal number and locations of the terminals were examined, as the model evaluated the most cost-effective routes between the consolidation center, potential terminals, and demand areas. Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was chosen as the case study area to assess the model, and a cost analysis of the number and locations of the terminals was performed. The experiments showed that the number and the locations of the terminals were greatly influenced by the opening cost of the terminals and the transportation cost of the delivery trucks. It was also discovered that the likelihood of selection of terminals that were positioned near both the consolidation center and the center of the service area was higher than the likelihood of selection of terminals at any other location.
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Khachman, Mohamed, Catherine Morency, and Francesco Ciari. "Impact of the Geographic Resolution on Population Synthesis Quality." ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 10, no. 11 (November 19, 2021): 790. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijgi10110790.
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Microsimulation-based models, increasingly used in the transportation domain, require richer datasets than traditional models. Precisely enumerated population data being usually unavailable, transportation researchers generate their statistical equivalent through population synthesis. While various synthesizers are proposed to optimize the accuracy of synthetic populations, no insight is given regarding the impact of the geographic resolution on population synthesis quality. In this paper, we synthesize populations for the Census Metropolitan Areas of Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver at various geographic resolutions using the enhanced iterative proportional updating algorithm. We define accuracy (representativeness of the sociodemographic characteristics of the entire population) and precision (representativeness of the real population’s spatial heterogeneity) as metrics of synthetic populations’ quality and measure the impact of the reference resolution on them. Moreover, we assess census targets’ harmonization and double geographic resolution control as means of quality improvement. We find that with a less aggregate reference resolution, the gain in precision is higher than the loss in accuracy. The most disaggregate resolution is thus found to be the best choice. Harmonization proves to further optimize synthetic populations while double control harms their quality. Hence, synthesizing at the Dissemination Area resolution using harmonized census targets is found to yield optimal synthetic populations.
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MacDonald, Shannon L., Pamela L. Joseph, Ida J. Cavaliere, Mark Theodore Bayley, and Alexander Lo. "Optimising the mandatory reporting process for drivers admitted to an inpatient stroke rehabilitation unit." BMJ Open Quality 7, no. 3 (July 2018): e000203. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjoq-2017-000203.
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Ontario physicians are legally obligated to report patients who may be medically unfit to drive to the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO). Currently at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (TRI), there are no standardised processes for MTO reporting, resulting in inconsistent communication regarding driving with patients and between healthcare providers, redundant assessments and ultimately reduced patient satisfaction. TRI received 10 patient complaints regarding the driving reporting process in the 5 years prior to this project and a large number of patients were not being reported appropriately.The project aim was to use Lean Methods to achieve 100% reporting and optimise communication and education of drivers admitted to a 23-bed inpatient stroke rehabilitation unit. Interventions included process mapping, identification of wasteful steps and implementation of a standard work. Chart audits before and after implementation were performed.Value stream process mapping identified inconsistent reporting procedures and lack of use of the government-issued driver reporting form. Following implementation of standard work processes, use of the MTO Medical Conditions Report Form increased from 0% to 100%. Indication of whether drivers were reported to the MTO in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation consultation notes increased from 50% to 91%. Identifying reported drivers in the discharge summary, of which patients receive a copy at the time of discharge, increased from 0% to 90%. Physician satisfaction with the new standard work process was qualitatively assessed to be high, with no negative impacts reported.Lean methodology was effective for increasing the usage of the MTO Medical Conditions Report Form, documenting driver status in the initial Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation consultation and indicating MTO reporting status in the discharge summary.Communication between healthcare providers regarding patients’ driving status has been successfully standardised, resulting in improved coordination of care and a reduction in patient complaints to zero in the 14 months since implementation.
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Li, James, and Peter McAteer. "Urban Oil Spills as a Non-Point Pollution Source in the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario." Water Quality Research Journal 35, no. 3 (August 1, 2000): 331–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wqrj.2000.023.
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Abstract Being the economic engine of Canada and the home of 5 million people, the environmental health of the Golden Horseshoe is very important. Among various pollution sources into the lake, urban oil spills as a non-point pollution source have not caught the attention of most residents. These spills can cause terrestrial impacts by poisoning animals and plants, groundwater contamination by infiltration, and surface water pollution by algal bloom and fish kills and destruction of freshwater invertebrates and vertebrates. In order to investigate the significance of this pollution source, 10 years of spill records in the Golden Horseshoe have been compiled. On the average, about 1050 L per day of oil escaped to the land, water and air environment in this region. About one-third of these spills eventually entered Lake Ontario. Among various types of spilled oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel and furnace oil accounted for the highest reported volume. The former Metropolitan Toronto led the frequency and volume of spills, while Hamilton-Wentworth followed closely. Spills frequently occur on roads, at service stations and at electrical transformers, while the highest spill event volumes occur at bulk plants/terminals/depots and at refineries. The predominant causes of spills are related to leaks from containers, pipes and hoses, and cooling systems. However, the principal reasons for oil spills are human error and equipment failure. The transportation, public and petroleum sectors are responsible for 60% of the reported spill cases, while the petroleum sector alone accounts for nearly 50% of the reported spill volume. Given the significant volume of spilled oil, it is important that all levels of government and private industries increase their effort to promote pollution prevention such as preventive maintenance, improved employee training and/or retraining, and proper vigilant supervision. Additionally, control devices such as oil-water interceptors should be sized properly and implemented at strategic location across the Golden Horseshoe.
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Hasnine, M. Sami, Adam Weiss, and Khandker Nurul Habib. "Stated Preference Survey Pivoted on Revealed Preference Survey for Evaluating Employer-Based Travel Demand Management Strategies." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2651, no. 1 (January 2017): 108–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/2651-12.
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This paper presents a study of commuters’ responses to various employer-based transportation demand management (TDM) strategies that was conducted in the Region of Peel, Ontario, Canada. The study involves design and implementation of a web-based survey of daily commuting mode choices and an efficient design-based stated preference (SP) experiment on the mode choice effects of potential employer-based TDM strategies. For the SP experiments, the survey also collected an elicited confidence rating from the respondents. The survey of 835 random commuters was conducted in fall 2014 and spring 2015. The paper uses empirical models of mode choices (revealed and stated) and an ordered probability model of the elicited confidence rating information to evaluate the data quality. The empirical models reveal that parking cost, monthly parking scheme, indoor parking facilities, emergency ride home, and bike share had higher impacts on commuting mode choices than did bike access facilities and a carshare strategy at the workplace. In relation to respondents’ confidence on SP responses, commuters with a higher number of cars in the household and with longer commuting distances seemed more certain and confident in their responses than did others. In addition, females were found to be more confident when answering SP choice questions.
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Casello, Jeffrey M., Adam Fraser, Alex Mereu, and Pedram Fard. "Enhancing Cycling Safety at Signalized Intersections: Analysis of Observed Behavior." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2662, no. 1 (January 2017): 59–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/2662-07.
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Urban transportation systems tend to operate most effectively when common expectations exist about all user travel behavior under various conditions. A wide range of behavior among cyclists presents a significant challenge to the achievement of safer and improved designs at intersections. In this research, cyclists were observed (i.e., through the use of video at fixed-camera locations) as they made left turns at six intersections in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The intersections were classified into five types on the basis of their physical designs and operational characteristics. Cyclist behavior was assessed to determine the propensity to traverse the intersection legally, designated as “rule compliance.” Further, the analysis determined the likelihood that a cyclist would traverse an intersection in a path that was consistent with the design; this outcome was defined as “facility compliance.” The results revealed that the presence of bike boxes, two-phase lefts, and turning lanes with advanced green phases positively influenced cyclists by increasing the likelihood that left turns would be legal and consistent with the behavior intended through the design. The results also suggested that the highest rates of rule and facility compliance existed under the condition in which cyclists approached an intersection during a green signal. On the basis of the observations in the research, design recommendations were made to accommodate cyclists better and produce more consistent behavior and presumably to enhance safety.
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Krzyzanowska, Monika K., Cameron Phillips, Ken Deal, Melanie Lynn Powis, Simron Singh, Laavanya Dharmakulaseelan, Harsh Naik, Aditi Dobriyal, and Nasrin Alavi. "Does the risk of emergency department visits and hospitalizations during systemic therapy for cancer influence patient decisions regarding treatment?" Journal of Clinical Oncology 36, no. 30_suppl (October 20, 2018): 213. http://dx.doi.org/10.1200/jco.2018.36.30_suppl.213.
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213 Background: When different treatments (tx) produce similar prognostic outcomes, other tx attributes such as toxicity may impact tx preferences. We conducted a discrete choice experiment to evaluate how patients’ value the risk of an emergency department visit (ED) or hospitalization during treatment when deciding about chemotherapy. Methods: Patients with breast, head and neck or colorectal cancer who were contemplating, receiving or had previously received systemic treatment were recruited from 2 academic cancer centres in Toronto, Ontario. Each participant completed 10 choice tasks (5 each in the adjuvant and metastatic settings, respectively) from a possible 128 combinations. Each choice task prompted them to choose between two hypothetical systemic therapies, based on 3 attributes (likelihood of benefit, risk of requiring an ED visit and risk of hospitalization during treatment) that varied across 4 levels. Data was analyzed using a multinomial logit model and individual part-worth utility (PWU) values were estimated using hierarchal Bayes routines. Results: Between 06/2015 and 09/2017, 293 patients completed the survey. Most patients were female (76%), had a diagnosis of breast cancer (63%) and were currently receiving systemic therapy (72%). 59% of patients were receiving tx with curative intent. PWU values varied as expected with higher PWUs seen for higher treatment benefit, lower risk of ED visits and lower risk of hospitalization. Treatment benefit was the most important decision attribute in both the adjuvant (59%, 95%CI 57.8-60.1%) and metastatic (67.7%, 95%CI 66.8-68.7%) scenarios, followed by risk of hospitalization (18.8 vs 22.8%) then risk of ED visits (13.5 vs 18.3%). Results were the same when stratified by patient’s own treatment intent. Conclusions: While the risks of hospitalization and ED visits contribute to patient tx preferences, the extent of tx benefit was the most important attribute regardless of treatment intent.
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Nurul Habib, Khandker. "Modelling the choice and timing of acquiring a driver’s license: Revelations from a hazard model applied to the University students in Toronto." Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 118 (December 2018): 374–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2018.09.012.
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Bolderston, Amanda, Nicole Harnett, Cathryne Palmer, Julie Wenz, and Pamela Catton. "The scholarly radiation therapist. Part two: developing an academic practice—the Princess Margaret Hospital experience." Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice 7, no. 2 (June 2008): 105–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1460396908006328.
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AbstractPart two of this two-part series presents the results of a departmental initiative implemented in 2003 at a large urban cancer centre, Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This new model for radiation therapists was called Advanced Integrated Practice (AIP) and was developed, in part, to encourage and promote scholarship within radiation therapy. The AIP model incorporated integrated clinical specialty roles designed to blend exemplary clinical practice with focused academic activities. This paper discusses an evaluation of the AIP model undertaken to obtain a formal measure of how the model had evolved, how the radiation therapists and other stakeholders were responding to the new model, whether the initial outcomes were realized and to create plans for further development of the design. The evaluation utilized a mixture of traditional qualitative research methodologies such as focus groups, quantitative surveys and a variety of other available measurable outcomes. Outcomes from the model included increased opportunities for diverse roles that incorporated an element of academic practice and augmented career choice and scope for radiation therapists. In addition, academic output and research work also increased within the department. Lessons learned from the implementation and evaluation of the model are shared, and the authors offer some suggestions to increase scholarly activity within the profession.
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Boadway, BT, J. MacPhail, and C. Jacobson. "Ontario Medical Association Position Paper on Health Effects of Ground-Level Ozone, Acid Aerosols and Particulate Matter." Canadian Respiratory Journal 5, no. 5 (1998): 367–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/1998/285495.
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This review of the evidence of the health effects of air pollutants focuses on research conducted in Ontario. Seven key Ontario studies are cited. These findings are highly significant for people living in the Great Lakes basin (and particularly the Windsor-Quebec corridor), where high levels of certain air pollutants (eg, ground-level ozone and ultra-fine particles) occur more frequently than in other parts of Canada. The issue is a serious one, requiring an integrated and comprehensive approach by many stakeholders, including the active involvement of organized medicine. It is important that the health effects of these air pollutants are understood. Governments must act to reduce emission levels through statue and regulation bolstered by noncompliance penalties.The findings of research have included the following: in a Toronto study, a 2% to 4% excess of respiratory deaths were attributable to pollutant levels; children living in rural Ontario communities with the highest levels of airborne acids were significantly more likely to report at least one episode of bronchitis, as well as to show decreases in lung function; and have been linked to increases in pollutants, emergency room visits and hospitalizations in Ontario.Every Ontarian is affected by air pollutants, although he or she may be unaware of the asymptomatic effects such as lung and bronchial inflammation. This health problem is preventable; while physicians know of the adverse health impacts of air pollution and they are concerned, individually they now focus on the treatment of symptoms. The major recommendations of the report are as follows:* Enactment of more stringent sulphur and nitrogen oxide emission limits, including a provincewide sulphur dioxide reduction of 75% from current cap levels, and the maximum allowable nitrogen oxides emission limits of 6000 tonnes annually from Ontario Hydro.* New transportation sector emission limits that should include California-level standards for light and heavy duty vehicles, reductions from off-road engines, an expanded vehicle inspection and maintenance program, and tougher standards for sulphur-in-fuel content.* Petitioning the United States Environmental Protection Agency administrator under Section 115 of the United States Clear Air Act to require reductions in the American emission of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which damage the health of Canadian residents and their environment.* Physician advice to patients about the risks of smog exposure, physician support for more health effects research on air pollution, and physician promotion of the development of air pollution-related health education materials.The recommendations discussed in this paper will, if acted upon, lead to a significant reduction in the overall burden of illness from air pollutants, especially in children and the elderly. These recommendations have been selected from a review of recommendations made by various authorities, and are those that the OMA feels a particular responsibility to support.
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Borjian, Shahrzad, Jake Schabas, and John Segal. "Exploratory Method for Practitioners Analyzing the Impact of Integrated Fare Structures in Decentralized Metropolitan Regions." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2652, no. 1 (January 2017): 124–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/2652-14.
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Metrolinx, the regional transportation agency tasked with improving the coordination and integration of all transportation modes in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, has developed an exploratory method for analyzing the effects of new fare structures that integrate the fare systems of multiple transit service providers in the region. The method uses a data set of all weekday trips made in the region segmented by modes used and origin–destination information. A formula derived from the mode choice modeling theory is used to obtain fare elasticity based on unit cost, mode share, and time of day. The distribution of elasticities produced is then calibrated according to a literature review of fare elasticities, and in the future, it will be done according to local market research. The result is a spreadsheet-based tool that provides analysts with an ability to test more complex changes to fare systems, including testing fare integration between agencies and introducing fares by distance, mode, time of day, or a combination of those features. Exploratory in nature, the method is not a replacement for comprehensive market research or fare pilots. However, it addresses the shortcomings of traditional fare analyses that use only aggregate elasticities for diverse market segments by better reflecting the spectrum of transit user sensitivities associated with specific travel characteristics. Furthermore, it provides analysts with a straightforward tool to test the effects of complex fare structures more commonly used in Europe and Asia enabled by smart card and open payment technology on ridership, revenue, emissions, and social equity.
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Covelli, Andrea Marie, Nancy N. Baxter, Margaret Fitch, and Frances Catriona Wright. "Taking control of cancer: Why women are choosing mastectomy." Journal of Clinical Oncology 31, no. 15_suppl (May 20, 2013): 9571. http://dx.doi.org/10.1200/jco.2013.31.15_suppl.9571.
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9571 Background: Rates of both unilateral (UM) and bilateral mastectomy (BM) for early stage breast cancer (ESBC) have been increasing since 2003. Studies suggest that this is due to women playing a more active role in their decision making, however they do not describe why women are choosing this option. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using grounded theory to identify factors influential in women’s choice for mastectomy. Purposive sampling was used to identify women across the Greater Toronto Area (Ontario, Canada), who were suitable candidates for breast conserving surgery (BCS) but underwent UM or BM. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Constant comparative analysis identified key ideas and themes. Results: Data saturation was achieved after 29 in-person interviews. 12 interviewees were treated at academic cancer centres, 6 at an academic non-cancer centre and 11 at community centres. 15 women underwent UM; 14 underwent BM. Median age was 55. ‘Taking control of cancer’ was the dominant theme that emerged. There were 7 subthemes: 1.the Diagnosis of cancer was received with shock and fear; 2.during Surgical Discussion both BCS and UM were discussed; BM was discouraged by the surgeon 3.women Misperceived Risk, misunderstanding recurrence and survival rates 4.Women’s choice for UM was due to fear of recurrence and/ or radiation 5.Women’s choice for BM was due to fear of recurrence, ‘never wanting to do this again’ and/or need for cosmetic balance 6.Sources of Information varied in importance, previous cancer experience had the greatest impact 7.women were actively Controlling Outcomes, more surgery was seen as greater control. Conclusions: Women seeking UM and BM for treatment of their early stage breast cancer manage their fear of recurrence and ‘never wanting to go through this again’ by undergoing more extensive surgery. The patient’s effort to control the cancer outcome is the driving factor behind women choosing mastectomy.
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van der Werf, Paul, Kristian Larsen, Jamie A. Seabrook, and Jason Gilliland. "How Neighbourhood Food Environments and a Pay-as-You-Throw (PAYT) Waste Program Impact Household Food Waste Disposal in the City of Toronto." Sustainability 12, no. 17 (August 28, 2020): 7016. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12177016.
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Household food waste has negative, and largely unnecessary, environmental, social and economic impacts. A better understanding of current household food waste disposal is needed to help develop and implement effective interventions to reduce food wasting. A four-season waste characterization study was undertaken with 200 single-family households across eight neighbourhoods in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The City of Toronto provides residents with a pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) waste program that includes a choice of four garbage cart sizes (Small [S], Medium [M], Large [L], Extra Large [XL]), with increasing annual user fees ($18.00–$411.00 CAD), as well as a green cart (organic waste) and blue cart (recycling). On average, each household disposed 4.22 kg/week of total food waste, 69.90% of which was disposed in the green cart, and disposal increased significantly (p = 0.03) by garbage cart size to L but not XL garbage carts. Of this total, 61.78% consisted of avoidable food waste, annually valued at $630.00–$847.00 CAD/household. Toronto’s PAYT waste program has been effective at diverting food waste into the green cart but not at reducing its generation. Higher median incomes were positively correlated, while higher neighbourhood dwelling and population density were negatively correlated, with total and avoidable food waste disposal. Regression analyses explained 40–67% of the variance in total avoidable food waste disposal. Higher supermarket density and distance to healthier food outlets were associated with more, while dwelling density was related to less, total and avoidable food waste disposal. Distance to fast food restaurants and less healthy food outlet density were both negatively associated with avoidable food waste disposal in the garbage and green cart, respectively. Avoidable food waste reduction interventions could include increasing garbage cart fees, weight-based PAYT, or messaging to households on the monetary value of avoidable food waste, and working with food retailers to improve how households shop for their food.
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Hicks, Alex, and Anne Hicks. "105 Actually, it is easy being green: Ten years of the Canadian PAediatric Society Annual General Meeting viewed through a sustainability lens." Paediatrics & Child Health 25, Supplement_2 (August 2020): e43-e44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pch/pxaa068.104.
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Abstract Introduction/Background The Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) recently released the “Global climate change and health of Canadian Children” statement. As climate rapidly evolves from “change” to “crisis” there is an increasing pressure toward sustainable conferencing. Knowing the value of attending meetings, the growing body of literature evaluating travel-related carbon cost and convention sustainability can inform environmental harm minimization. Conferences can pressure venues to increase sustainability by choosing sites and venues wisely and communicating their requirements to rejected venues. They can also offer carbon offset purchase through credible companies (e.g. Gold Standard). Over the last 10 years the CPS has conducted its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at host cities that reflect Canada’s large geographic footprint. Venues included both hotel and standalone conference centers. There is no published evaluation of sustainable practices for CPS meetings. Objectives Evaluate the past 10 CPS Annual General Meetings (AGMs) for: Design/Methods Travel-related carbon cost was estimated with a round-trip calculator for economy seating the most direct available flights (https://co2.myclimate.org/en/offset_further_emissions). Cities of origin for attendee were the 11 CaRMS-matched pediatric residency training programs (https://www.carms.ca/match/psm/program-descriptions/). Venues were evaluated based on current publicly available self-reported information using conference sustainability criteria suggested through a literature review and public rating tools (Green Key, Quality Standards of the International Association of Convention Centres). Ground transportation from the airport was scored /3 by: public transport from airport (1), formal shared transport (1), fee deterrence for parking (1). Venue type was split by hotel-associated (H) and standalone convention centre (CC) meeting facilities. Sustainability of meeting facilities was divided into supports /2 (rentable supports, links to local vendors, catering and personnel) for exhibitors (1) and event planners (1), policies /3 by: sustainability, promotion of a green community (1), and waste management (1), and walkability from accommodation /1. Results The last 10 CPS AGMs were held in western (3; Vancouver 2010, Edmonton 2013, Vancouver 2017), eastern (1; Charlottetown 2016) and central (6; Quebec City 2011, London 2012, Montreal 2014, Toronto 2015, Quebec City 2018, Toronto 2019) provinces; in 2020 it is in Vancouver. Central Canada sites had the lowest air travel carbon cost per attendee. Average air travel-related carbon cost per attendee for different host cities ranged from 0.479 (London) to 0.919 (Vancouver) tonnes, with Ontario and Quebec sites averaging 0.518, Charlottetown 0.654 and Edmonton 0.756 tonnes. Ground transportation scores differed by city from Montreal (3/3 with public transit, formal transportation share and parking fees to dissuade driving) to London (0/3), with more favorable public transit options in larger cities. Venues differed when divided by hotel with meeting facilities (H) vs standalone conference center (CC), with CC outranking H for clearly posted sustainability plans (1.6 vs 1.2/2; 2=venue-specific, 1=company chain policy, 0=no plan), green and sustainable community building plans (1.6 vs 1.2/2; 2=greening local communities, 1=company chain policy, 0=no plan) and green waste management policies (1.2 vs 0/2; 2=venue-specific, 1=company chain policy, 0=no plan). Walkable accommodation was equal and present for all venues, with attached accommodation for all but one CC (Montreal), which had immediately adjacent hotels available. Conclusion As expected, the carbon cost of air transportation per attendee was lower in central provinces. Ground transportation from the airport was better in larger host cities. Standalone conference centres had more sustainable event support and locally focused policies regarding sustainability, environmentally friendly community building initiatives and waste management solutions, three major components of “greening” conferences. Based on the available resources across Canada, we recommend that the CPS considers these sustainability criteria in planning future events.
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Covelli, Andrea Marie, Nancy N. Baxter, Margaret Fitch, and Frances Catriona Wright. "Taking control of cancer: Why women are choosing mastectomy." Journal of Clinical Oncology 31, no. 26_suppl (September 10, 2013): 108. http://dx.doi.org/10.1200/jco.2013.31.26_suppl.108.
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108 Background: Rates of both unilateral (UM) and contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) for early stage breast cancer (ESBC) have been increasing since 2003. More extensive surgery is not a benign procedure without the risk of complications. Studies suggest that the increase is due to women choosing UM and CPM; we do not know what factors are influencing the choice for more extensive surgery. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using grounded theory to identify factors for the choice of mastectomy. Purposive sampling was used to identify women across the Toronto Area (Ontario, Canada), who were suitable candidates for breast conserving surgery (BCS) but underwent UM or CPM. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Constant comparative analysis identified key concepts and themes. Results: Data saturation was achieved after 29 in-person interviews. 12 interviewees were treated at academic cancer centers, 6 at an academic non-cancer center and 11 at community centers. 15 women underwent UM; 14 underwent UM+CPM. Median age was 55. ‘Taking control of cancer’ was the dominant theme. Fear of breast cancerwas expressed at diagnosisand remains throughout decision making. Fear translates into the overestimated risk of local recurrenceand contralateral cancer. Despite discussion of the equivalence of BCS and UM, patients chose UM due to fear of recurrence and misperceived survival advantage. Similarly, patients chose CPM to eliminate the risk of contralateral cancer and misperceived survival advantage. Women were actively trying to Control Outcomes, as more surgery was seen as greater control. Conclusions: Women seeking UM and CPM for treatment of their early stage breast cancer manage their fear of cancer by undergoing more extensive surgery which in turn drives mastectomy rates. It is important to understand this process so that we may improve our ability to discuss issues of importance to women and facilitate informed decision-making.
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Cypel, Tatiana Karine Simon, Vijith Vijayasekaran, Gino R. Somers, and Ronald Melvin Zuker. "Pilomatricoma: Experience of the Hospital for Sick Children." Canadian Journal of Plastic Surgery 15, no. 3 (September 2007): 159–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/229255030701500311.
Full textAbstract:
Background Pilomatricoma (calcifying epithelioma of Malherbe) is a common skin neoplasm in the pediatric population that is often misdiagnosed as other skin conditions or tumours. Objectives The objective of the present retrospective study was to review the clinical and histopathological presentation of this neoplasm in children. Methods The records of the pathology department at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, were searched for all cases of pilomatricoma between 2001 and 2006. The records of these patients were reviewed to determine sex, age, location and size of the tumour, pathological features and recurrence rate. All patients underwent surgical excision of the lesions. Results A total of 93 lesions in 85 patients were identified. The median age was 8.7 years. Of the 85 patients diagnosed with pilomatricoma, 44 (52%) were female. In all cases, the initial presentation was an asymptomatic, slow growing, superficial hard mass with bluish discolouration. The most common sites of occurrence were the face (48%), neck (21%) and upper limbs (18%). The size of the surgical specimens collected ranged from 0.1 cm to 2.6 cm. The diagnosis was confirmed by histopathological examination in all cases. Ghost cells and basaloid cells were described in most of the cases (83%). There were no recurrences in this series. Conclusions This entity should be considered with other benign or malignant conditions in the clinical differential diagnosis of solitary firm skin nodules, especially those on the face, neck and upper limbs. The diagnosis can generally be made by clinical examination. The treatment of choice is surgical excision, and the recurrence rate is very low.