INTRODUCTION: The impact of a driver's cognitive capability on traffic safety has not been adequately studied. This study examined the relationship between cognitive failures, driving errors and accident data. METHOD: Professional drivers from Iran (160 males, ages 18-65) participated in this study. The cognitive failures questionnaire (CFQ) and the driver error questionnaire were administered. The participants were also asked other questions about personal driving information. A principal component analysis with varimax rotation was performed to determine the factor structure of the CFQ. Poisson regression models were developed to predict driving errors and accidents from total CFQ scores and the extracted factors. RESULTS: Total CFQ scores were associated with driving error rates, but not with accidents. However, the 2 extracted factors suggested an increased effect on accidents and were strongly associated with driving errors. DISCUSSION: Although the CFQ was not able to predict driving accidents, it could be used to identify drivers susceptible to driving errors. Further development of a driving-oriented cognitive failure scale is recommended to help identify error prone drivers. Such a scale may be beneficial to licensing authorities or for developing driver selection and training procedures for organizations. 相似文献
Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) is one of the major environmental problems of Indian cities. Improper management of municipal solid waste (MSW) causes hazards to inhabitants. Various studies reveal that about 90% of MSW is disposed of unscientifically in open dumps and landfills, creating problems to public health and the environment. In the present study, an attempt has been made to provide a comprehensive review of the characteristics, generation, collection and transportation, disposal and treatment technologies of MSW practiced in India. The study pertaining to MSWM for Indian cities has been carried out to evaluate the current status and identify the major problems. Various adopted treatment technologies for MSW are critically reviewed, along with their advantages and limitations. The study is concluded with a few fruitful suggestions, which may be beneficial to encourage the competent authorities/researchers to work towards further improvement of the present system. 相似文献
Work-related accidents are considered as a major health problem worldwide. The aim of present study was to determine the epidemiological pattern of occupational accidents among workers insured by the Iranian Social Security Organization (ISSO) between 2001 and 2005.Subjects consisted of all workers and drivers who had a work-related accident during 2001–2005 and were registered in the Iranian Social Security Organization (ISSO) database according to the inspection reports. An ordinal logistic regression model (proportional odds regression model) was used to assess the concurrent effects of independent variables on accident outcomes.Overall, 86,437 work-related accidents were investigated. The accidents were more frequent in metal workplaces and electrical industries, respectively. More than half of the accidents were due to incautious activities. Workers’ age (age at the time of accident) (OR = 0.99, CI: 0.989–0.994), gender (OR = 1.3, CI: 1.191–1.683), marital status (OR = 1.25, CI: 1.143–1.675) as well as accident setting (OR = 1.88, CI: 1.728–1.975) had significant effect on accident outcomes. Pattern of occupational injuries in Iran was consistent with the global pattern for accident outcomes. 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Malaria is a dangerous disease affecting millions around the globe. Biosynthesized nanoparticles are used against a variety of diseases including... 相似文献
Drought is a significant natural hazard that slowly evolves over time. Because of its character, drought is difficult to monitor and impacts are often poorly documented. Agriculture is one of the most sensitive sectors that are prone to drought. The objective of this research is to assess the impacts of drought on soybean production and revenue in Kentucky. Soybeans are one of Kentucky’s most important commodities. In this study, impacts of 1930–1931, 1940–1942, 1952–1955, 1987–1988, 1999–2000, and 2007 droughts were considered. It was found that over the recent years, up to 56 % of the revenue from soybeans was lost due to drought. During the first half of the twentieth century, revenue loss reached up to 77 %. This research is valuable to the general public as well as planners and policy makers. Proper documentation of impacts of past droughts will help identify drought vulnerabilities and results in better risk management and mitigation. 相似文献
In municipal and industrial practices, wastewater treatment sludges are generally conditioned with organic polymers before dewatering. The dewatering polymers are expensive and contribute significantly to the overall sludge management cost. This paper discusses a preconditioning strategy that holds great promise for enhancing dewatering properties of wastewater treatment sludges, while reducing the cost. In this approach, the waste activated sludge (WAS) is briefly preconditioned with an acid before flocculating with an organic polymer. Experimental results showed that acid preconditioning significantly enhanced dewatering. Separately acidifying WAS and subsequently combining it with primary sludge produced higher presscake solids than acidifying the combined sludge to the same final pH. Acidification exhibited the added benefit of reducing Escherichia coli counts in sludge, thus improving its biological character. This may provide flexibility in choosing a beneficial use application. 相似文献
Objective: Considering the high annual number of fatal driving accidents in Iran, any approach for reducing the number or severity of driving accidents is a positive step toward decreasing accident-related losses. Accidents can often be avoided by a timely reaction of the driver. One of the steps before reacting to a hazard is perception. Some driver characteristics may affect road hazard perception. In this research, it was assumed that various driver characteristics, including demographic characteristics and cognitive characteristics, have an impact on driver perception.
Methods: The driving simulator used in this research provides various scenarios; for example, passing a pedestrian or animal across the road or placing fixed objects in a 2-lane separated rural road for 2 groups of experienced and inexperienced drivers under day and night lighting conditions. The go/no-go test was carried out in order to assess drivers’ attention to driving tasks and inhibitory control. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to estimate the relation between driver characteristics and sensitivity to road hazard perception. A new hazard perception index was proposed based on the time intervals in the hazard vulnerability.
Results: The results show that the most effective variables in the analysis of sensitivity to hazard perception are driving experience (in kilometers) during the last 3 years and road lighting conditions. Moreover, hazard perception sensitivity was improved by better inhibitory control, selective attention, and decision making, more carefulness, the average amount of daily sleep, and marital status.
Conclusion: The results of this research may be useful in educating and advertising programs. It also could enhance sensitivity to perception of hazards such as pedestrians, animals, and fixed obstacles among young and novice drivers. 相似文献
Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Malaysia is a developing country, and its economic growth has caused the increase in the generation of industrial waste in terms of its volume. The... 相似文献
Study of Great Egret breeding success was carried out for the first time in Hara Biosphere Reserve of Iran. Since Great Egret is considered as wading bird as well as wetland-dependent species which is located on top of the food chain in this ecosystem, its breeding study is an appropriate means for evaluating food supply fluctuations and environmental threatening factors by comparison of different years. On the other hand, Great Egret is considered a suitable indicator to examination of biological changes, impact of pollutions, and other effective human activities on Hara Biosphere Reserve. Therefore, read-ahead is required for area management planning in order to maintain the health of mangrove ecosystem and control threatening factors of the sensitive biodiversity of area. The results indicate that the average breeding success of Great Egret in different stages of hatching success, fledging success, and breeding success were equal to 0.54, 0.61, and 0.50 in 2008 and 0.61, 0.59, and 0.42 in 2009, respectively. 相似文献
Environmental Chemistry Letters - Nanoparticles synthesis under green conditions has been performed using natural resources to diminish the use of toxic chemicals. For instance, microbial synthesis... 相似文献