Non-school Days Research Articles

Sugar-sweetened beverage behaviors of Tennessee school children: How do parent- and child-report compare on school days and nonschool days?

This study describes sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) behaviors of children and compares child-reported SSB behaviors to parent-reported SSB behaviors during school days and nonschool days. Six elementary schools from Tennessee participated with 444 students and 287 parents. Descriptive statistics included means, standard deviation (SD), ranges of values, and measures of central tendency. To explore the relationship between parent and child report, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were analyzed. The mean ( SD) differences and limits of agreement were calculated using paired t tests with Bonferroni corrections for multiple outcomes of interest. A p < 0.05 was significant. Reporting differed with SSB type of school day. Children reported higher quantities of sweet tea and "coke/soda." Both agreed on SSB abstention, except for juice. ICCs ranged from 0.383 to 0.513 ( p = 0.000). The lowest and highest ICCs were for sweet tea, based on school days or nonschool days. To determine the best estimate of SSBs, information should be obtained from children and parents to improve accuracy and enhance education about health behaviors.

Predictors of feelings of energy differ from predictors of fatigue

ABSTRACT Background: Studies examining energy and fatigue as a bipolar mood have focused on a single variable, usually fatigue, when studying these moods. Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify factors predicting feelings of energy and fatigue separately while simultaneously examining multiple domains related to these mood states in graduate health sciences students. Method: Seventy-seven participants were recruited from a Physician Assistant, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy program at a small school in Northern New York. Participants completed a series of surveys to measure mood, diet, mental work load intensity on school days and non-school days, and physical activity. Participants also completed the Trail-making Test Part B task on an iPad and their Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) and muscle oxygen consumption mVO2 was measured. A backwards linear regression was used to determine the relationship between energy, fatigue and multiple variables. Results: The predictor variables accounted for 46.1% and 22.7% of the variance in fatigue and energy, respectively. More fatigue was associated with worse sleep quality, more time spent sitting and higher perceived intensity of mental workload on non-school days. More energy was associated with better sleep quality, higher muscle oxygen saturation, lower RMR, and faster psychomotor performance. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that energy and fatigue are separate, yet overlapping constructs that are predicted with different accuracy by different variables. Our results indicate that small lifestyle changes may be necessary to improve feelings of fatigue but comprehensive interventions may be necessary to improve feelings of energy and fatigue.

Exploration of Daily Sit Time among University Athletes

No studies have determined sit time, association between sit time and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA)/training time among college athletes, or differences between sexes among college athletes. Yet an independent relationship has been previously reported between MVPA and sedentary behavior, adiposity, as well as all-cause mortality and all-cause cardiovascular disease among active individuals, including recreational exercisers and professional athletes. Sit time data from 192 male and female full-time college athletes age 18-24 were collected from an electronic survey, the Multi-context Sit-Time Questionnaire (MSTQ). Mean sit times were analyzed for differences between total sit time on school days and non-school days, as well as differences between males and females. Correlation analysis was also completed to determine the relationship between exercise time and sit time. Final analysis of mean hours (from reported minutes) of total daily sit time for all participants was 10.47 ± 2.93 hours, 10.85 ± 2.70 hours for males, and 10.07 ± 3.15 hours for females. As a percentage of total time awake, the college athletes spent 61% of their waking hours sitting. Results showed no statistically significant difference in mean minutes of sitting between school days (M = 641.147, SD = 196.02) and non-school days (M = 613.8, SD = 201.51). There was no significant correlation between average total daily sit time and weekly exercise time, rs(70) = -0.196, p = 0.092. Next, there was no significant difference between average total daily sit time between males (M = 650.85, SD = 162.11) and females (M = 604.236, SD = 189.19), t(73) = 1.141, p = 0.258. The outcomes support previous studies that athletes can be both highly active and highly sedentary because exercise was independent of excessive sitting. Future research must focus on determining the prevalence of high total daily sit time among athlete populations, and whether athletes are at a high risk, similar to physically inactive individuals, because on average, college athletes sit as much or more than individuals defined as physically inactive.

Associations of friendship and children’s physical activity during and outside of school: A social network study

Friendships play a significant role in child development and may influence children’s physical activity (PA). Using a whole-network approach, this study examined whether school-based friends are more similar in their pedometer-measured PA compared to children who are not friends, and whether these patterns vary by gender, strength of friendship (best vs. close friends), and during vs. outside of school. The analytical sample included 706 grade 5 students (10- to 11-years-old) in 27 schools who were participating in the APPLE Schools project (Alberta Project Promoting healthy Living for Everyone in schools) in Edmonton and Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada in the spring of 2013. Data collected included student and parent survey responses, time-stamped pedometer data for nine consecutive days, and close and best within-school and within-grade friendship nominations. We used Multiple Regression - Quadratic Assignment Procedure (MR-QAP) to examine the effect of friendship ties on PA similarity overall, and for during and outside of school periods, controlling for covariates and clustering within schools. When all friendships (i.e., close and best) were considered, female friends exhibited more similar levels of overall PA than non-friends, and these findings held for school days, the during-school period, and non-school days. When close and best friends were examined separately in the same model (non-friends as the referent), both close and best friends were more similar than non-friends. The close friendship findings held for non-school days, and the best friendship findings held for school days, including the during-school and before- and after-school periods. For males, only reciprocated best friends had more similar levels of overall PA compared to unreiprocated friendships and non-friends. Programs and policies that focus on increasing PA in children may benefit from incorporating friendship-based strategies and programming, especially for females.

Temporal and geographic patterns of stab injuries in young people: a retrospective cohort study from a UK major trauma centre

ObjectivesTo describe the epidemiology of assaults resulting in stab injuries among young people. We hypothesised that there are specific patterns and risk factors for injury in different age groups.DesignEleven-year retrospective...

Sleep and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder: A pilot actigraphy study

ObjectiveTo explore the clinical characteristics and motor activity profile during sleep periods of children and adolescents presenting with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD). MethodTwenty-one youths (mean age±standard deviation, 11.7±3 years) wore a wrist actigraph for 9 consecutive days (including both school days and non-school days), to measure sleep parameters: sleep latency, sleep efficiency and the number and duration of periods of wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO). We divided the night-time actigraphy recording sessions into three sections and compared the first and last thirds of the night. ResultsAll the study participants had a psychiatric comorbidity (primarily attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depressive disorder or anxiety disorder). On non-school days, bedrest onset and activity onset were shifted later by about 1h. There was no significant difference between school days and non-school days with regard to the total sleep time. Sleep efficiency was significantly greater on non-school days. Sleep was fragmented on both school days and non-school days. The mean number of episodes of WASO was 24.9 for school days and 30.9 for non-school days. Relative to the first third of the night, we observed a significantly greater number of episodes of WASO during the last third of the night, a period associated with a larger proportion of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. DiscussionSleep appeared to be fragmented in the study population of youths with DMDD. The greater frequency of WASO in the last third of the night points to a possible impairment of the motor inhibition normally associated with REM sleep.

Effect of Sleep Duration, Diet, and Physical Activity on Obesity and Overweight Elementary School Students in Shanghai.

This was a cross-sectional survey to investigate the relationship of age, parent education, sleep duration, physical activity, and dietary habits with overweight or obesity in school-age children in Shanghai. The survey gathered information from 13,001 children in grades 1 through 5 (age 6 to 10years) among 26 elementary schools in 7 districts. Activity level was evaluated using the International Children's Leisure Activities Study Survey Questionnaire (CLASS-C). The definitions of normal, overweight, and obese were adjusted for each age. Logistic regression analysis indicated that age, being male, having ≤10hours of sleep on non-school days, eating ≥1 vegetable/day, or drinking ≥1 sugar-sweetened drink/day increased the risk for a child being overweight or obese compared with having >10hours of sleep or ≤3 vegetables or ≤3 sugar-sweetened drinks/month (p ≤ .008). Having >2hours of outdoor activities on non-school days reduced the risk of being overweight or obese compared with ≤2hours of outdoor activities on non-school days (p < .001). We found that age, sex, sleep, and some dietary habits impacted weight, and suggests that specific cultural and economic factors may impact risk of a child being overweight or obese.

Hearing Technology Use and Management in School-Age Children: Reports from Data Logs, Parents, and Teachers.

Consistency of hearing aid and remote microphone system use declines as school-age children with hearing loss age. One indicator of hearing aid use time is data logging, another is parent report. Recent data suggest that parents overestimate their children's hearing aid use time relative to data logging. The potential reasons for this disparity remain unclear. Because school-age children spend the majority of their day away from their parents and with their teachers, reports from teachers might serve as a valuable and additional tool for estimating hearing aid use time and management. This study expands previous research on factors influencing hearing aid use time in school-age children using data logging records. Discrepancies between data logging records and parent reports were explored using custom surveys designed for parents and teachers. Responses from parents and teachers were used to examine hearing aid use, remote microphone system use, and hearing aid management in school-age children. Thirteen children with mild-to-moderate hearing loss between the ages of 7 and 10 yr and their parents participated in this study. Teachers of ten of these children also participated. Parents and teachers of children completed written surveys about each child's hearing aid use, remote microphone system use, and hearing aid management skills. Data logs were read from hearing aids using manufacturer's software. Multiple linear regression analysis and an intraclass correlation coefficient were used to examine factors influencing hearing aid use time and parent agreement with data logs. Parent report of hearing aid use time was compared across various activities and school and nonschool days. Survey responses from parents and teachers were compared to explore areas requiring potential improvement in audiological counseling. Average daily hearing aid use time was ∼6 hr per day as recorded with data logging technology. Children exhibiting greater degrees of hearing loss and those with poorer vocabulary were more likely to use hearing aids consistently than children with less hearing loss and better vocabulary. Parents overestimated hearing aid use by ∼1 hr per day relative to data logging records. Parent-reported use of hearing aids varied across activities but not across school and nonschool days. Overall, parents and teachers showed excellent agreement on hearing aid and remote microphone system use during school instruction but poor agreement when asked about the child's ability to manage their hearing devices independently. Parental reports of hearing aid use in young school-age children are largely consistent with data logging records and with teacher reports of hearing aid use in the classroom. Audiologists might find teacher reports helpful in learning more about children's hearing aid management and remote microphone system use during their time at school. This supplementary information can serve as an additional counseling tool to facilitate discussion about remote microphone system use and hearing aid management in school-age children with hearing loss.

Reduction of pediatric pedestrian hazardous road conditions in a school drop-off zone using video review.

In 2012, 76,000 pedestrians were struck by motor vehicles. This resulted in 20% of all pediatric mortalities between the ages of 5 and 15. We hypothesize that children are exposed to increased risk as pedestrians to motor vehicle injury when arriving to school and that identification of these hazards would improve targeting of injury prevention efforts. Within a county containing 355 public schools, we identified a primary school with 588 students located in an urban setting with concerns for a high-risk traffic environment. Field surveys observed traffic patterns and established an optimal surveillance period 30 minutes before school. Three observation periods, from two discreet and blinded locations, were conducted from January to March 2016. Videos were evaluated by two independent reviewers to identify and score quantifiable hazards. Three controlled observations were conducted on non-school days, followed by three post-intervention observations from October to December 2016. Comparison was made using Student's t test. Data was analyzed using SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). We identified nine safety hazards including double parking (29.3 ± 5.5), dropping off in a bus stop (23.3 ± 7.6), and jaywalking (9.3 ± 3.1). Combining all hazards seen in each observation resulted in an overall hazard average of 83.0 ± 3.6 events/period. Comparing control periods to school observation identified significantly increased hazard events on school days (p < 0.0001). Targeted safety intervention demonstrated a 26% reduction in hazard events (p < 0.0005). We identified the most common hazards associated with children arriving at a primary school in an urban setting, used our analysis to develop an intervention, and demonstrated the impact of our intervention. Our novel use of video review to identify hazards provides a metric against which the impact of pedestrian road safety interventions might be measured. Epidemiological, level II; Therapeutic, level IV.

SFA intake among Japanese schoolchildren: current status and possible intervention to prevent excess intake.

Although a high intake of fat, particularly SFA, is a well-known risk factor for CVD, fat intake in Japan has attracted relatively little attention from health professionals to date due to the low intake in the Japanese population. However, recent surveys have shown an increase in fat intake in younger Japanese populations. Here, we described the fat intake and dietary sources of SFA in Japanese schoolchildren. Also, we experimentally exchanged a high-SFA food with a low-SFA substitute in the data, and calculated the resulting changes in nutrient intakes. The study was conducted nationwide under a cross-sectional design. A non-consecutive, three-day diet record was performed on two school days and a non-school day. Fourteen elementary and thirteen junior high schools. Elementary-school children (n 629) and junior high-school children (n 281). Prevalence of excess fat intake was 35·4 % in boys and 45·0 % in girls. Excess SFA intake was suspected in 97·7 % of boys and 99·4 % of girls when the dietary reference intake values for adults were applied. Major dietary sources of SFA were meat (26·4 % of total SFA intake), dairy products (25·7 %) and confectioneries (11·3 %). Since one-third to nearly one-half of our Japanese schoolchildren consumed excess fat, careful monitoring of fat intake in the Japanese population should be continued. Adoption of low-fat milk and/or lean meat in daily meals might be a suitable means of reducing fat, particularly SFA intake, in schoolchildren.

Reduction of Pediatric Pedestrian Hazardous Road Conditions in a School Drop-Off Zone Using Video Review

BACKGROUND In 2012, 76,000 pedestrians were struck by motor vehicles. This resulted in 20% of all pediatric mortalities between the ages of 5 and 15. We hypothesize that children are exposed to increased risk as pedestrians to motor vehicle injury when arriving to school and that identification of these hazards would improve targeting of injury prevention efforts. METHODS Within a county containing 355 public schools, we identified a primary school with 588 students located in an urban setting with concerns for a high-risk traffic environment. Field surveys observed traffic patterns and established an optimal surveillance period 30 minutes before school. Three observation periods, from two discreet and blinded locations, were conducted from January to March 2016. Videos were evaluated by two independent reviewers to identify and score quantifiable hazards. Three controlled observations were conducted on non-school days, followed by three post-intervention observations from October to December 2016. Comparison was made using Student's t test. Data was analyzed using SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). RESULTS We identified nine safety hazards including double parking (29.3 ± 5.5), dropping off in a bus stop (23.3 ± 7.6), and jaywalking (9.3 ± 3.1). Combining all hazards seen in each observation resulted in an overall hazard average of 83.0 ± 3.6 events/period. Comparing control periods to school observation identified significantly increased hazard events on school days (p < 0.0001). Targeted safety intervention demonstrated a 26% reduction in hazard events (p < 0.0005). CONCLUSION We identified the most common hazards associated with children arriving at a primary school in an urban setting, used our analysis to develop an intervention, and demonstrated the impact of our intervention. Our novel use of video review to identify hazards provides a metric against which the impact of pedestrian road safety interventions might be measured. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Epidemiological, level II; Therapeutic, level IV.

Time-Use Patterns and Health-Related Quality of Life in Adolescents.

To describe 24-hour time-use patterns and their association with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in early adolescence. The Child Health CheckPoint was a cross-sectional study nested between Waves 6 and 7 of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. The participants were 1455 11- to 12-year-olds (39% of Wave 6; 51% boys). The exposure was 24-hour time use measured across 259 activities using the Multimedia Activity Recall for Children and Adolescents. "Average" days were generated from 1 school and 1 nonschool day. Time-use clusters were derived from cluster analysis with compositional inputs. The outcomes were self-reported HRQoL (Physical and Psychosocial Health [PedsQL] summary scores; Child Health Utility 9D [CHU9D] health utility). Four time-use clusters emerged: "studious actives" (22%; highest school-related time, low screen time), "techno-actives" (33%; highest physical activity, lowest school-related time), "stay home screenies" (23%; highest screen time, lowest passive transport), and "potterers" (21%; low physical activity). Linear regression models, adjusted for a priori confounders, showed that compared with the healthiest "studious actives" (mean [SD]: CHU9D 0.84 [0.14], PedsQL physical 86.8 [10.8], PedsQL psychosocial 79.9 [12.6]), HRQoL in "potterers" was 0.2 to 0.5 SDs lower (mean differences [95% confidence interval]: CHU9D -0.03 [-0.05 to -0.00], PedsQL physical -5.5 [-7.4 to -3.5], PedsQL psychosocial -5.8 [-8.0 to -3.5]). Discrete time-use patterns exist in Australian young adolescents. The cluster characterized by low physical activity and moderate screen time was associated with the lowest HRQoL. Whether this pattern translates into precursors of noncommunicable diseases remains to be determined.

Associations among Screen Time and Unhealthy Behaviors, Academic Performance, and Well-Being in Chinese Adolescents.

Screen time is negatively associated with markers of health in western youth, but very little is known about these relationships in Chinese youth. Middle-school and high-school students (n = 2625) in Wuhan, China, completed questionnaires assessing demographics, health behaviors, and self-perceptions in spring/summer 2016. Linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine whether, after adjustment for covariates, screen time was associated with body mass index (BMI), eating behaviors, average nightly hours of sleep, physical activity (PA), academic performance, and psychological states. Watching television on school days was negatively associated with academic performance, PA, anxiety, and life satisfaction. Television viewing on non-school days was positively associated with sleep duration. Playing electronic games was positively associated with snacking at night and less frequently eating breakfast, and negatively associated with sleep duration and self-esteem. Receiving electronic news and study materials on non-school days was negatively associated with PA, but on school days, was positively associated with anxiety. Using social networking sites was negatively associated with academic performance, but positively associated with BMI z-score, PA and anxiety. Screen time in adolescents is associated with unhealthy behaviors and undesirable psychological states that can contribute to poor quality of life.

Exploring Out-of-School Play and Educational Readiness

Play researchers and theorists have cautioned that children’s early play is changing in a manner that is detrimental to their development. Meanwhile U.S. governmental pressures and increasingly higher standards for education are changing the landscape of kindergarten and early learning. This study investigates the relationship between children’s out-of-school play and their educational readiness. Parents of kindergarten students in a suburban Midwestern school district completed the Child Play Survey on time their children spent in out-of-school play. Kindergarten teachers rated students on three domains of readiness using the newly devised Illinois Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS 2015): Attention to Learning—Self-Regulation (ATL-REG); Social and Emotional Development (SED); and Language and Literacy Development (LLD). Correlational and regression analyses suggest that time in out-of-school play is not positively associated to teacher ratings of academic and behavioral performance in kindergarten. Rather, increased time in outdoor play on school days and non-school days resulted in lower scores on all three readiness domains. Time in outdoor play was correlated to free-reduced lunch eligibility, the socioeconomic measure utilized in the study. Parent education level, income level, attendance at 3-year-old preschool and daycare attendance were found to positively influence readiness measures. Implications for future research are presented.

School lunches in Japan: their contribution to healthier nutrient intake among elementary-school and junior high-school children.

The role of school lunches in diet quality has not been well studied. Here, we aimed to determine the contribution of school lunches to overall nutrient intake in Japanese schoolchildren. The study was conducted nationwide under a cross-sectional design. A non-consecutive, three-day diet record was performed on two school days and a non-school day separately. The prevalence of inadequate nutrient intake was estimated for intakes on one of the school days and the non-school day, and for daily habitual intake estimated by the best-power method. The relationship between food intake and nutrient intake adequacy was examined. Fourteen elementary and thirteen junior high schools in Japan. Elementary-school children (n 629) and junior high-school children (n 281). Intakes between the school and non-school days were significantly different for ≥60 % of nutrients. Almost all inadequacies were more prevalent on the non-school day. Regarding habitual intake, a high prevalence of inadequacy was observed for fat (29·9-47·7 %), dietary fibre (18·1-76·1 %) and salt (97·0-100 %). Inadequate habitual intake of vitamins and minerals (except Na) was infrequent in elementary-school children, but was observed in junior high-school children, particularly boys. School lunches appear to improve total diet quality, particularly intake of most vitamins and minerals in Japanese children. However, excess intakes of fat and salt and insufficient intake of dietary fibre were major problems in this population. The contribution of school lunches to improving the intakes of these three nutrients was considered insufficient.

Sleep deficiency on school days in Icelandic youth, as assessed by wrist accelerometry

AimsThe purpose of this study was to objectively measure, with wrist-worn actigraphy, free-living sleeping patterns in Icelandic adolescents, and to compare sleep duration, sleep quality and clock times between school days (SchD) and non-school days (NSchD) and the association between sleep and body mass index (BMI). MethodsA cross-sectional study on 15.9-year-old (±0.3) adolescents from six schools in Reykjavík, Iceland, took place in the spring of 2015. Free-living sleep was measured on 301 subjects (122 boys and 179 girls) over seven days using wrist-worn actigraphy accelerometers. Total rest time (TRT), total sleep time (TST), sleep quality markers, and clock times for sleep were quantified and compared between SchD and NSchD and between the sexes, using paired and group t-tests as appropriate. Linear regression was used to assess the association between sleep parameters and BMI. ResultsOn SchD, TST was 6.2 ± 0.7 h, with sleep efficiency (SLE) of 87.9 ± 4.4% for the group. On NSchD, TST increased to 7.3 ± 1.1 h (p < 0.001), although SLE decreased to 87.4 ± 4.7% (p < 0.05). On SchD and NSchD, 67% and 93% had bed times after midnight, respectively, and on SchD 10.7% met sleep recommendations (8 h/night). There was no association between BMI and average sleep parameters. ConclusionThe majority of Icelandic adolescents did not get the recommended number of hours of sleep, especially on SchD. While TST increased on NSchD, many participants still did not achieve the recommendations. These findings provide information on the sleep patterns of adolescents and may serve as reference for development of policies and interventions to promote better sleep practices.

Understanding holiday hunger

The All-Party Parliamentary (APP) Inquiry into Hunger in the United Kingdom concluded that hunger will be an enduring part of the fabric of society unless urgent action is taken (APP Inquiry into Hunger, 2014). As part of the Inquiry’s examination of the extent and causes of food poverty attention was drawn to hunger among school-age children and young people, particularly during the school holidays. The relationship between hunger and free school meals (FSM) is an important element of this phenomenon. There are approximately 170 non-school days in the year when FSMs are not available to pupils (Graham, 2014). However, holiday hunger is not limited to families who rely on means-tested financial support with many households experiencing increased financial pressures during non-term time periods. This article will explore the prevalence and impact of holiday hunger and the ways in which it may be addressed. The article draws on an interview with Ruth Smeeth (Member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent North) who is vice-chair of the All-Party arliamentary Group (APPG) on School Food.

Improving removal performance of pollutants by artificial aeration and flow rectification in free water surface constructed wetland

Improving the removal performance of pollutants in constructed wetlands (CWs) is a very important topic. In this work, artificial aeration and flow rectification were used to enhance the pollutant-removal efficiencies of free water surface (FWS) CW in treating campus wastewater. Experimental results demonstrated that, under a rather low average concentration of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD < 12.3 mg l−1), artificial aeration and flow rectification showed a superior potential in increasing the removal ratio of BOD from 46.7% to 68.3% on school days and from 13.2% to 46.7% on non-school days. An effective increase in ammonium-nitrogen (NH4+N) removal from 32.9 – 54.8% to 78.2 – 78.6% was achieved. Also, great improvements in removal loading rates to 4.498 g-N d−1 m−2 and 1.738 g-N d−1 m−2 under influent loading rates of 5.750 g-N d−1 m−2 and 2.211 g-N d−1 m−2 on school days and non-school days, respectively, enlarged emerging applications of FWS CWs. It implied that artificial aeration and flow rectification increased the efficiency of land use in FWS CWs and reduced the cost of pollutant removal. No significant effects of artificial aeration on total phosphorous (TP) removal performance were observed. From the experimental results with artificial aeration and without flow rectification, it demonstrated that proper flow rectification was crucial in using aeration to improve the removal performance of FWS CWs. The resuspension of sediments that was induced by aeration worsened the removal performances of BOD and NH4+N but improved the removal of TP by improving adsorption and sedimentation.

Associations Between the Neighborhood Environment and Moderate-to-Vigorous Walking in New Zealand Children: Findings from the URBAN Study.

Urban design may affect children's habitual physical activity by influencing active commuting and neighborhood play. Our objective was to examine associations between neighborhood built-environment features near children's homes and objectively measured physical activity. We used geographical information system (GIS) protocols to select 2016 households from 48 low- and high-walkability neighborhoods within four New Zealand cities. Children (n=227; mean age±standard deviation [SD] 9.3±2.1years) from the selected households wore accelerometers that recorded physical activity in the period 2008-2010. We used multilevel linear models to examine the associations of GIS and street-audit measures, using the systematic pedestrian and cycling environmental scan (SPACES), of the residential environment (ranked into tertiles) on children's hourly step counts and proportions of time spent at moderate-to-vigorous intensity on school and non-school days. During school-travel times (8:00-8:59 a.m. and 15:00-15:59 p.m.), children in the mid-tertile distance from school (~1 to 2km) were more active than children with shorter or longer commute distances (1290 vs. 1130 and 1140 steps·h(-1); true between-child SD 440). After school (16:00-17:59 p.m.), children residing closest to school were more active (890 vs. 800 and 790 steps·h(-1); SD 310). Neighborhoods with more green space, attractive streets, or low-walkability streets showed a moderate positive association on non-school day moderate-to-vigorous steps, whereas neighborhoods with additional pedestrian infrastructure or more food outlets showed moderate negative associations. Other associations of residential neighborhoods were unclear but, at most, small. Designing the urban environment to promote safe child-pedestrian roaming may increase children's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.

The dynamics of robbery and violence hot spots

This paper examines how hot spots shift by hour of day and day of week. Hot spot analysis is more likely to have a substantial impact on crime patterns if spatiotemporal shifts are incorporated into the crime analysis process. Even in some of the highest crime neighborhoods in Bronx County (NY), not all micro-level geographies (e.g. street segments and property lots) contain substantial (if any) amounts of crime over the 5-year study period. Moreover, while there are 168 h in a week, even the hottest hot spots do not contain crime 24 h a day, 7 days a week, and 52 weeks a year. Hot spots shift by both space and time and it is important to illustrate these dual shifts when researching and analyzing different levels of geographies and/or hot spots. Spatiotemporal crime analyses are appearing much more frequently in our academic literature in recent years and have become a principal contributor to the progression of routine activities, crime pattern theory, place-management and situational crime prevention. In addition, spatiotemporal hot spots provide important subject and opportunity context and can help answer some of the questions about what specific types of crime opportunities are available inside of hot spots based on land-use and people’s movement patterns. When studying geographical hot spots, it becomes important to measure and illustrate the interrelated temporal shifts within each of the specific hot spots (i.e. not all hot spots are the same) that are generated. Similarly, when studying temporal hot spots, it is important to measure and illustrate the interrelated spatial shifts within each of the temporal frame(s) that are examined. Examples of space–time and time–space hot spot analysis are provided using violent crime data from the New York City Police Department. Key findings of this research include significant shifting of hot spots from weekday to weekend and afternoon to evening, as well as decisive spatiotemporal pattern variations between school-day robberies vs. non-school day robberies.