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Abstract: The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the school-based exercise programs for promoting cardiorespiratory fitness in overweight and obese children aged 6 to 10. Electronic databases (Web of Science and PubMed) were used as searching tools for collecting adequate studies published in the past 20 years. A total of 13 studies met the criteria for inclusion in this review, with a total of 2810 participants, both male and female. According to the results of this systematic review, overweight and obese children aged 6 to 10 who underwent certain interventions had their CRF improved. Furthermore, evidence suggested that interventions carried out during a longer period of time suggested led to greater improvement of cardiorespiratory fitness than a shorter one, but the level of cardiorespiratory fitness gradually decreases after the intervention.
Keywords: physical activity, physical fitness, motor competence, children, health, monitoring and promoting, sport, sedentary behavior, obesity, well-being
Published in DKUM: 07.04.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 3
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Abstract: The study of commuting behavior at the University of Maribor (UM) was the subject of our research, which focused on the building complex of the four technical faculties (BCTF) and was based on the analysis of two questionnaire surveys (with 1057 and 462 respondents, respectively) and the transport policies implemented at the study site from 2010 to 2020. The research aimed to identify the factors influencing student and staff mode choice/shift over a decade period and to understand the weaknesses, strengths, and opportunities for improving sustainable mobility at the university. Since 2010, active commuting has predominated among students, while car use has decreased by 22%. Female students were 16% more likely to walk than their peers, while male students were 5% and 12% more likely to use bicycles and cars, respectively. Active commuting and car use by staff have not changed since 2010, and there was an insignificant difference between genders, 63% of whom used cars. Mode shifts were primarily related to trip origins, subsidization of bus use, availability or unavailability of free parking, and parking fees. Questionnaire responses were a powerful tool for finding the most effective interventions to manage transport at universities. The results also suggest that transport policies can be more effective if they are planned in coordination with housing policies.
Keywords: sustainable commuting, travel behavior, modal choice, active transport, effective interventions, transport demand management, university
Published in DKUM: 14.03.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 2
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Abstract: Motorcycle riders are an increasing group of road users. The intrinsic characteristics of powered two wheelers (PTW) allow them to be particularly flexible, both in urban and extra-urban environments. Nevertheless, crash statistics indicate that riders involved in road accidents are highly likely to suffer severe injuries, underlining the vulnerability of this group of road users. An element that can greatly affect the safety of PTW users is road design, as roads are usually designed for two-track vehicles (cars, buses, and lorries) and do not consider the needs of PTWs. Additionally, handling a motorcycle is quite different from driving a car; thus, the behaviour of riders is different to that of drivers. The aim of this paper is to compare how different road designs are perceived by riders and drivers and to preliminarily assess if riders’ behaviour and attention allocation are related. For the purpose of this research, an eye-tracking experiment was developed outdoors. Both drivers and riders travelled along a route comprising four different road designs and various road layouts, and the output was analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Although it was not possible to carry out a statistical analysis due to the limited number of participants, the results demonstrate that there is a difference in the gaze behaviour of drivers and riders, with the latter being far more focused on the left-hand side of the road and concentrating on defined elements of road design. Furthermore, the experiment demonstrated that a higher number of fixations is related to lower speeds. Finally, it was noted that both kinds of road users focus fairly well on the carriageway, leading to the conclusion that the indications given through road markings may be much more effective than vertical signalisation, which has rarely been observed.
Keywords: road safety, powered two-wheelers (PTW), ridera, eye-tracking, gaze behavior
Published in DKUM: 13.03.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 3
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Abstract: Motorcyclists remain a disproportionately large group of vulnerable road users, with fatality rates significantly higher than that in other road groups. Additionally, fatal accidents involving motorcyclists have a more slowly decreasing trend in comparison to that of other road users, while the number of this kind of users is growing fast. For all these reasons, there is a need to understand what the key factors leading to fatal accidents are in order to identify the possible measures to minimize the accidents themselves or at least their consequences. This would permit, indeed, to positively impact the road traffic system, leading to the creation of the safest road traffic system possible, as it is the goal of the Sustainable Safety approach. The aim of this study is to dive into the mentioned problem, analyzing fatal motorcycle accidents in Slovenia over a decade, highlighting the key factors contributing to these incidents. By integrating data from four databases, the study evaluated accident trends, infrastructural elements, and rider behavior through a multi-stage analysis. Firstly, data were collected from four national, up-to-date databases that contain information about road accidents themselves, the road infrastructure, additional police data, and media descriptions. After merging this information into one comprehensive database, where each row represents all the data available for one accident, a general analysis of accidents’ trends over the considered 10-year period was developed, considering at first all fatal road accidents, then deepening it to accidents caused by a motorcyclist, and finally to single-vehicle accidents. A statistical analysis followed, aimed at identifying a statistical correlation between the accidents and the factors leading to them. The results of the first accident analysis indicated that excessive speed, incorrect driving direction, and overtaking maneuvers are the primary causes of fatal accidents, especially on non-urban roads preferred by motorcyclists. Single-vehicle accidents frequently involve collisions with roadside objects, including safety barriers and poles, underscoring the need for targeted infrastructural improvements. The following correlation analysis revealed that a total of seven factors were statistically significant: three human factors (age, gender, experience)—which were the ones with the strongest correlations—one infrastructural factor (pavement width), and three factors belonging to external conditions (accident type, cause, and location). Of these, four were positively correlated to the causer, while three, i.e., pavement width, causes, and road location, were negatively correlated. This study provides a foundation for future research on less severe accidents and proactive risk behavior analysis, aiming to improve motorcyclist safety comprehensively.
Keywords: motorcycle safety, fatal accidents, road infrastructure, rider behavior
Published in DKUM: 10.03.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 11
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Abstract: Understanding human behaviour in decision problems and strategicinteractions has wide-ranging applications in economics, psychology andartificial intelligence. Game theory offers a robust foundation for this under-standing, based on the idea that individuals aim to maximize a utilityfunction. However, the exact factors influencing strategy choices remainelusive. While traditional models try to explain human behaviour as a func-tion of the outcomes of available actions, recent experimental researchreveals that linguistic content significantly impacts decision-making, thusprompting a paradigm shift from outcome-based to language-based utilityfunctions. This shift is more urgent than ever, given the advancement ofgenerative AI, which has the potential to support humans in making criticaldecisions through language-based interactions. We propose sentiment analy-sis as a fundamental tool for this shift and take an initial step by analysing61 experimental instructions from the dictator game, an economic gamecapturing the balance between self-interest and the interest of others,which is at the core of many social interactions. Our meta-analysis showsthat sentiment analysis can explain human behaviour beyond economicoutcomes. We discuss future research directions. We hope this worksets the stage for a novel game-theoretical approach that emphasizes theimportance of language in human decisions.
Keywords: game theory, artificial intelligence, social preferences, language-based preferences, social physics, moral behavior, trust
Published in DKUM: 27.11.2024; Views: 0; Downloads: 378
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