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During the last decade, lighting has become energy efficient across most sectors in the United States. However, the residential sector shows the least efficiency in lighting because of the use of incandescent lighting. To understand the reason for the slow growth in the adoption of energy-efficient residential lighting, this study identified factors influencing the purchase of energy-efficient lighting products, the willingness to pay more for energy-efficient lighting, and support for policies that ban the use of inefficient lighting in the home. Through systematic random sampling, a mail survey was conducted with homeowners in the Midwest region of the United States. The final sample consisted of 307 respondents. Factor analyses and three multiple regression analyses were conducted. The results revealed that residents' adoption of energy-efficient lighting was predicted by their attitude toward the environment and toward energy-efficient lighting, habitual energy-saving behavior, and their perception of the quality of energy-efficient lighting products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the guest editor discusses an article on alternative sources of light, another reviews the lamps used at retail stores in the U.S. and another explores the measurement of visual task performances in relation to the light sources.

The propensity of fatal traffic collisions transcends driver age and reinforces the need to evaluate, among other factors, the impact of roadway lighting and other features of driver vision, perception, and performance. Collisions may result from a driver's inability to notice delineation, recognize warnings, and other possible road safety controls during various lighting conditions. Hence we compare the relative accident involvement ratio (RAIR) of collisions of millions of drivers from two U.S. States over an 11-year period, 1991–2001. We associate collision trends through RAIR with bathtub curves that are commonly identified with product failure and reliability engineering. Hence we observe the need for improved and automated driver's license testing techniques and applications, especially as these relate to the visual and cognitive abilities of drivers of all ages. Our findings may ultimately improve motorist safety, save lives, and benefit numerous other states, countries, and agencies, including, but not limited to, aviation, commercial vehicles, maritime, and rail sectors, among others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During summer and autumn 2002, 12 subadult red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus (Linnaeus) (261–385 mm total length) were surgically implanted with ultrasonic transmitters and released within the upper reach of the Duplin River Estuary, Sapelo Island, GA, USA. A fixed array of submerged receivers automatically recorded the time that individual tagged fish were detected at 10 sites within the study area. Ten red drum implanted with transmitters were located within the receiver array for 6–96 days post-release. All fish exhibited a high degree of site fidelity at low tide, and movements appeared to be influenced by both tidal and diel cycles. Dispersal on flood tides was observed, but destinations (upriver or downriver) and paths taken (main channel, intertidal channels or flooded marsh surface) varied among individuals. Flood-tide movements were generally restricted to daylight hours. If the start of flood tide occurred after sunset, fish remained stationary. Variation in details of movement patterns among individuals notwithstanding, predictable behaviour and strong site fidelity make subadult red drum vulnerable to recreational fishing in the restricted tidal channels of the tidal marsh–estuary complex. However, the same predictability provides fisheries managers a means of targeting specific areas for protection of over-fished populations of this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]