Explaining car drivers' intention to prevent road-traffic noise: An application of the Norm Activation Model

Strengthening car drivers’ intention to prevent road-traffic noise is a first step toward noise abatement through voluntary change of behavior. We analyzed predictors of this intention based on the norm activation model (i.e., personal norm, problem awareness, awareness of consequences, social norm, and value orientations). Moreover, we studied the effects of noise exposure, noise sensitivity, and noise annoyance on problem awareness. Data came from 1,002 car drivers who participated in a two-wave longitudinal survey over 4 months. Personal norm had a large prospective effect on intention, even when the previous level of intention was controlled for, and mediated the effect of all other variables on intention. Almost 60% of variance in personal norm was explained by problem awareness, social norm, and biospheric value orientation. The effects of noise sensitivity and noise exposure on problem awareness were small and mediated by noise annoyance. We propose four communication strategies for strengthening the intention to prevent road-traffic noise in car drivers.

Non-illness-related factors contributing to traffic safety in older drivers: a litterature review

Background/Study Context: Older drivers are at increased risk of becoming involved in car crashes. Contrary to well-studied illness-related factors contributing to crash risk, the non-illness-related factors that can influence safety of older drivers are underresearched. METHODS: Here, the authors review the literature on non-illness-related factors influencing driving in people over age 60. We identified six safety-relevant factors: road infrastructure, vehicle characteristics, traffic-related knowledge, accuracy of self-awareness, personality traits, and self-restricted driving. RESULTS: The literature suggests that vehicle preference, the quality of traffic-related knowledge, the location and time of traffic exposure, and personality traits should all be taken into account when assessing fitness-to-drive in older drivers. Studies indicate that self-rating of driving skills does not reliably predict fitness-to-drive. CONCLUSIONS: Most factors discussed are adaptable or accessible to training and collectively may have the potential to increase traffic safety for older drivers and other road users.

Modelling the system behaviour of wet snow avalanches using an expert system approach for risk management on high alpine traffic roads

The presented approach describes a model for a rule-based expert system calculating the temporal variability of the release of wet snow avalanches, using the assumption of avalanche triggering without the loading of new snow. The knowledge base of the model is created by using investigations on the system behaviour of wet snow avalanches in the Italian Ortles Alps, and is represented by a fuzzy logic rule-base. Input parameters of the expert system are numerical and linguistic variables, measurable meteorological and topographical factors and observable characteristics of the snow cover. Output of the inference method is the quantified release disposition for wet snow avalanches. Combining topographical parameters and the spatial interpolation of the calculated release disposition a hazard index map is dynamically generated. Furthermore, the spatial and temporal variability of damage potential on roads exposed to wet snow avalanches can be quantified, expressed by the number of persons at risk. The application of the rule base to the available data in the study area generated plausible results. The study demonstrates the potential for the application of expert systems and fuzzy logic in the field of natural hazard monitoring and risk management.

Reactive Co-Radicalization: Religious Extremism as Mutual Dicontent

Extremist rhetoric and behaviour, including violence, emanating from those fearing and opposed to Islamic extremism—and typically generalising that to Islam or Muslims—is undeniable. Equally, there is evidence of Muslim rhetoric that fires up fears of a threatening West and antipathy to religious ‘others’ as damned infidels, including Christians and Jews who are otherwise regarded as co-religionists—as ‘peoples of the Book’. Mutual discontent and antipathy abound. On the one hand, Islamic extremism provokes a reactionary extremism from parts, at least, of the non-Muslim world; on the other hand, Muslim extremism appears often in response to the perception of an aggressive and impositional colonising non-Muslim world. ‘Reactive Co-Radicalization’, I suggest, names this mutual rejection and exclusionary circle currently evident, in particular, with respect to many Muslim and non-Muslim communities. This article discusses reactive co-radicalization as a hermeneutical perspective on religious extremism with particular reference to two European cases.

Estimating the uptake of traffic-derived NO2 from 15N abundance in Norway spruce needles

The 15N ratio of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted from vehicles, measured in the air adjacent to a highway in the Swiss Middle Land, was very high [δ15N(NO2) = +5.7‰]. This high 15N abundance was used to estimate long-term NO2 dry deposition into a forest ecosystem by measuring δ15N in the needles and the soil of potted and autochthonous spruce trees [Picea abies (L.) Karst] exposed to NO2 in a transect orthogonal to the highway. δ15N in the current-year needles of potted trees was 2.0‰ higher than that of the control after 4 months of exposure close to the highway, suggesting a 25% contribution to the N-nutrition of these needles. Needle fall into the pots was prevented by grids placed above the soil, while the continuous decomposition of needle litter below the autochthonous trees over previous years has increased δ15N values in the soil, resulting in parallel gradients of δ15N in soil and needles with distance from the highway. Estimates of NO2 uptake into needles obtained from the δ15N data were significantly correlated with the inputs calculated with a shoot gas exchange model based on a parameterisation widely used in deposition modelling. Therefore, we provide an indication of estimated N inputs to forest ecosystems via dry deposition of NO2 at the receptor level under field conditions.

The Framework of Trade in the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance

This paper establishes an overview of the variables and constraints that affected trade in the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. It explores the origins of COMECON, the demographic and resource distribution of the member nations, and the role of trade in a centrally planned economy. The paper’s primary focus is on the emergence of a bilateral trade structure, the faulty price mechanism, and the nonconvertibility of currencies. The paper documents the origins and relationships between the constraints of trade within COMECON, and argues that ultimately, these constraints prevented COMECON from fully achieving its economic objectives.

Psychological inquiries : in an series of essays, intended to illustrate the mutual relations of the physical organization and the mental faculties

by Sir Benjamin C. Brodie

Impact of traffic pollution on telomere length and chronic diseases: Results from the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis and the Mexican-American cohort study

Exposure to air pollutants in urban locales has been associated with increased risk for chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease (CVD) and pulmonary diseases in epidemiological studies. The exact mechanism explaining how air pollution affects chronic disease is still unknown. However, oxidative stress and inflammatory pathways have been posited as likely mechanisms. ^ Data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and the Mexican-American Cohort Study (2003-2009) were used to examine the following aims, respectively: 1) to evaluate the association between long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) (PM10 and PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NO x) and telomere length (TL) among approximately 1,000 participants within MESA; and 2) to evaluate the association between traffic-related air pollution with self-reported asthma, diabetes, and hypertension among Mexican-Americans in Houston, Texas. ^ Our results from MESA were inconsistent regarding associations between long-term exposure to air pollution and shorter telomere length based on whether the participants came from New York (NY) or Los Angeles (LA). Although not statistically significant, we observed a negative association between long-term air pollution exposure and mean telomere length for NY participants, which was consistent with our hypothesis. Positive (statistically insignificant) associations were observed for LA participants. It is possible that our findings were more influenced by both outcome and exposure misclassification than by the absence of a relationship between pollution and TL. Future studies are needed that include longitudinal measures of telomere length as well as focus on effects of specific constituents of PM and other pollutant exposures on changes in telomere length over time. ^ This research provides support that Mexican-American adults who live near a major roadway or in close proximity to a dense street network have a higher prevalence of asthma. There was a non-significant trend towards an increased prevalence of adult asthma with increasing residential traffic exposure especially for residents who lived three or more years at their baseline address. Even though the prevalence of asthma is low in the Mexican-origin population, it is the fastest growing minority group in the U.S. and we would expect a growing number of Mexican-Americans who suffer from asthma in the future. Future studies are needed to better characterize risks for asthma associated with air pollution in this population.^

La mutual en la legislación argentina

Fil: Zavala, Armando.

Vehicular traffic surveillance and road lane detection using radar interferometry

Speed enforcement on public roadways is an important issue in order to guarantee road security and to reduce the number and seriousness of traffic accidents. Traditionally, this task has been partially solved using radar and/or laser technologies and, more recently, using video-camera based systems. All these systems have significant shortcomings that have yet to be overcome. The main drawback of classical Doppler radar technology is that the velocity measurement fails when several vehicles are in the radars beam. Modern radar systems are able to measure speed and range between vehicle and radar. However, this is not enough to discriminate the lane where the vehicle is driving on. The limitation of several vehicles in the beam is overcome using laser technology. However, laser systems have another important limitation: They cannot measure the speed of several vehicles simultaneously. Novel video-camera systems, based on license plate identification, solve the previous drawbacks, but they have the problem that they can only measure average speed but never top-speed. This paper studies the feasibility of using an interferometric linear frequency modulated continuous wave radar to improve top-speed enforcement on roadways. Two different systems based on down-the-road and across-the-road radar configurations are presented. The main advantage of the proposed solutions is they can simultaneously measure speed, range, and lane of several vehicles, allowing the univocal identification of the offenders. A detailed analysis about the operation and accuracy of these solutions is reported. In addition, the feasibility of the proposed techniques has been demonstrated with simulations and real experiments using a Ka-band interferometric radar developed by our research group.

Mutual Coupling Reduction Techniques in Electronic Steering Antennas in X Band

This work provides the development of an antenna for satellite communications onboard systems based on the recommendations ITU-R S.580-6 [1] and ITU-R S.465-5 [2]. The antenna consists of printed elements grouped in an array, working in a frequency band from 7.25 up to 8.4 GHz (15% of bandwidth). In this working band, transmission and reception are included simultaneously. The antenna reaches a gain about 31 dBi, has a radiation pattern with a beam width smaller than 10oand dual circular polarization. It has the capability to steer in elevation through a Butler matrix to 45