@article{supak_luo_tateosian_fang_harrell_harrelson_bailey_devine_2012, title={Who's Watching Your Food? A Flexible Framework for Public Health Monitoring1}, volume={16}, ISSN={1361-1682}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9671.2012.01309.x}, DOI={10.1111/j.1467-9671.2012.01309.x}, abstractNote={By responding to potentially life‐threatening emergencies such as foodborne illnesses and water contamination, U.S. public health agencies play a vital role in promoting human health and protecting the environment. Local, state, and federal partners must collaborate to strategically plan initiatives, allocate resources, and evaluate emergency response activities. These collaborative decision‐making processes can be improved by using web‐based mapping applications for visualization and analysis. We developed a web‐based GIS framework which is applied to public health data for North Carolina's (NC) Department of Health and Human Services. The application visualizes all state‐regulated food service facilities and supports query and analysis tools crucial for food recalls or radiation contamination tracking. Built with PostgreSQL/PostGIS, GeoServer, and a customized GeoExplorer map viewer, the framework delivers a web‐based mapping tool that is flexible and Open Source. The flexibility of the framework is an important dimension of its scalability, allowing it to be customizable, modular, and portable so that it is easily configurable to support additional research and education initiatives. This approach reverses a trend toward application‐specific web mapping development in Open Source GIS. To demonstrate flexibility, we configured an additional website for forest landowner management to be used by another state agency, the NC Forest Service.}, number={2}, journal={Transactions in GIS}, publisher={Wiley}, author={Supak, Stacy and Luo, Huan and Tateosian, Laura and Fang, Kunsheng and Harrell, Julia and Harrelson, Cris and Bailey, Andrew D. and Devine, Hugh}, year={2012}, month={Apr}, pages={89–104} }
 @article{floyd_bocarro_smith_baran_moore_cosco_edwards_suau_fang_2011, title={Park-Based Physical Activity Among Children and Adolescents}, volume={41}, ISSN={0749-3797}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2011.04.013}, DOI={10.1016/j.amepre.2011.04.013}, abstractNote={Background Availability of parks is associated with higher levels of physical activity among children and adolescents. Few studies examine actual park use and park-based physical activity in these populations. Purpose This study examined associations among individual, park, and neighborhood environmental characteristics and children's and adolescent's park-based physical activity. Methods Data were collected in 2007 on 2712 children in 20 randomly selected parks in Durham NC. The System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) provided measures of physical activity. Hierarchic regression analysis assessed associations among individual, park, and neighborhood environmental characteristics and children's park-based physical activity. Data were analyzed in 2010. Results Of the 2712 children observed, 34.2% and 13.2% were engaged in walking or vigorous physical activity. Environmental features of parks were associated with activity levels whereas neighborhood characteristics were not. Physical activity was negatively associated with gender (girls) (p=0.003); presence of a parent (p<0.0001); presence of nonparental adult (p=0.006); and an interaction involving the 0–5 years age group and style of play (p=0.017). Higher level of physical activity was associated with presence of other active children (p<0.0001); courts (e.g., basketball); and an interaction between number of recreation facilities and formal activities (p=0.004). Conclusions These social factors and design features should be considered in order to stimulate higher levels of park-based physical activity among children and adolescents. Availability of parks is associated with higher levels of physical activity among children and adolescents. Few studies examine actual park use and park-based physical activity in these populations. This study examined associations among individual, park, and neighborhood environmental characteristics and children's and adolescent's park-based physical activity. Data were collected in 2007 on 2712 children in 20 randomly selected parks in Durham NC. The System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) provided measures of physical activity. Hierarchic regression analysis assessed associations among individual, park, and neighborhood environmental characteristics and children's park-based physical activity. Data were analyzed in 2010. Of the 2712 children observed, 34.2% and 13.2% were engaged in walking or vigorous physical activity. Environmental features of parks were associated with activity levels whereas neighborhood characteristics were not. Physical activity was negatively associated with gender (girls) (p=0.003); presence of a parent (p<0.0001); presence of nonparental adult (p=0.006); and an interaction involving the 0–5 years age group and style of play (p=0.017). Higher level of physical activity was associated with presence of other active children (p<0.0001); courts (e.g., basketball); and an interaction between number of recreation facilities and formal activities (p=0.004). These social factors and design features should be considered in order to stimulate higher levels of park-based physical activity among children and adolescents.}, number={3}, journal={American Journal of Preventive Medicine}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Floyd, Myron F. and Bocarro, Jason N. and Smith, William R. and Baran, Perver K. and Moore, Robin C. and Cosco, Nilda G. and Edwards, Michael B. and Suau, Luis J. and Fang, Kunsheng}, year={2011}, month={Sep}, pages={258–265} }