Fatal pedestrian crashes on interstates and other freeways in the United States

Introduction: More than 800 pedestrians die annually in crashes on interstates and other freeways in the United States, but few studies have examined their characteristics. Method: Data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System on pedestrians fatally injured during 2015–2017 were analyzed. Chi-square tests compared characteristics of pedestrians killed on interstates and other freeways with those that died on other roads, and across crash types among freeway deaths. Land use characteristics of locations where pedestrians were killed while crossing freeways in a large state (California) were identified using Google Earth. Results: A larger proportion of pedestrians killed on freeways died on dark and unlit roads (48% vs. 32%), were male (78% vs. 68%), or were ages 20–44 (55% vs. 32%) compared with pedestrians killed on other roads. Crossing (42%) was the most common crash type among pedestrian deaths on freeways, followed by disabled-vehicle-related crashes (18%). Pedestrians who died while crossing more often had blood alcohol concentrations ≥ 0.08 g/dL (40%) than those in disabled-vehicle-related (22%) or other crashes (34%). Deaths in crossing crashes were more likely than other freeway deaths to occur on urban roads (81%), at speed limits ≤50 mph (13%), or between 18:00 and 23:59 (49%), and 58% of crossing crashes analyzed for land use were located between residential and other (e.g., commercial, recreational) uses. Over a third (37%) of deaths in disabled-vehicle-related crashes occurred at speed limits ≥70 mph. Conclusions: A surprising proportion of pedestrian deaths occur on controlled-access roads not designed for walking. Countermeasures for these crashes need to be implemented to see meaningful reductions in pedestrian fatalities overall. Practical applications: Improving roadway and vehicle lighting, requiring reflective warning devices for marking disabled vehicles, constructing pedestrian overpasses and underpasses in areas frequently crossed, and promoting alternative means of traveling between residential and commercial areas could help.     

Beyond depletion: Daily self-control motivation as an explanation of self-control failure at work

The organizational self-control literature usually applies resource perspectives that explain self-control failure at work by depletion of self-control resources. However, these perspectives neglect the role of self-control motivation. On a daily level, we examine several self-control aspects (resources, motivation, demands, and effort) as predictors of a manifestation of self-control failure at work, namely, daily counterproductive work behavior toward the organization (CWB-O). Additionally, we investigate self-control effort as a mechanism predicting the depletion of self-control resources throughout the day. We analyzed data from 155 employees in a 2-week diary study with 2 daily measurement points. Multilevel path modeling showed that self-control motivation and self-control demands, but not self-control resource depletion, predicted self-control effort. There was an indirect effect from self-control motivation on CWB-O via self-control effort but no indirect effect from self-control demands on self-control resource depletion throughout the day via self-control effort. Findings suggest that self-control motivation is a crucial factor explaining self-control failure at work and cast further doubt on the idea that exerted self-control effort is the only mechanism leading to self-control resource depletion.     

“Science is Everywhere,but No One Knows It”: Assessing the Cultural Distance to Science of Rural South African Publics

ABSTRACT

In science communication, a prerequisite for reaching different parts of a society is to find out how these publics experience and interpret science. Since rural South African publics are perceived to exhibit a large cultural distance to science, the present exploratory study aimed to know in more detail how rural South Africans perceive and understand science in their local and social contexts. Theoretical notions on cultural distance and the methodological approach of segmentation studies were considered. Semi-structured interviews with rural South Africans were carried out in four towns (n?=?52) that differ with respect to having a large scientific installation in their vicinity, or not. Sensitively comparing local and social contexts helped identifying three different publics who differed regarding their perceptions of science; however, the large scientific installations only made a difference in perceptions for those publics who were generally less exposed to and less knowledgeable about science.     

What matters for work engagement? A diary study on resources and the benefits of selective optimization with compensation for state work engagement

This diary study addresses the benefits of employees' daily use of selective optimization with compensation (SOC) for state work engagement. We hypothesized that day‐level SOC not only directly fosters work engagement but that SOC also reveals its beneficial effects for work engagement in interaction with both external and internal resources. Specifically, we proposed SOC substitutes for job control, role clarity, and state of being recovered, thus helping employees manage low daily levels of these resources. We tested our hypotheses with a sample of 138 employees who completed two daily surveys over a total of 545 workdays. Results of multilevel analyses revealed that SOC benefits work engagement in both proposed ways. First, day‐level SOC was positively related to state work engagement. Additionally, day‐level role clarity and state of being recovered predicted state work engagement, but day‐level job control did not. Second, SOC benefitted state work engagement by offsetting low levels of role clarity and being recovered, and by boosting job control in their respective relationships with work engagement. The results suggest that by using SOC at work, employees can actively enhance their own work engagement on a given workday. This knowledge provides promising starting points for the development of interventions.     

A new leak location method based on leakage acoustic waves for oil and gas pipelines

In order to study a new leak detection and location method for oil and natural gas pipelines based on acoustic waves, the propagation model is established and modified. Firstly, the propagation law in theory is obtained by analyzing the damping impact factors which cause the attenuation. Then, the dominant-energy frequency bands of leakage acoustic waves are obtained through experiments by wavelet transform analysis. Thirdly, the actual propagation model is modified by the correction factor based on the dominant-energy frequency bands. Then a new leak detection and location method is proposed based on the propagation law which is validated by the experiments for oil pipelines. Finally, the conclusions and the method are applied to the gas pipelines in experiments. The results indicate: the modified propagation model can be established by the experimental method; the new leak location method is effective and can be applied to both oil and gas pipelines and it has advantages over the traditional location method based on the velocity and the time difference. Conclusions can be drawn that the new leak detection and location method can effectively and accurately detect and locate the leakages in oil and natural gas pipelines.     

Transverse approach between real world concentrations of SO2, NO2, BTEX, aldehyde emissions and corrosion in the Grand Mare tunnel

With regard to automotive traffic, a tunnel-type semi enclosed atmosphere is characterized by a higher concentration of gaseous pollutants than on urban traffic roads and highlights the gaseous effluent species having an impact on material degradation. Therefore, a transverse approach between air quality and its consequences upon the longevity of materials is necessary, implying better knowledge of tunnel atmosphere and a better understanding of material degradation inside a tunnel for operating administration. Gaseous pollutant measurements carried out in a road tunnel in Rouen (Normandy) give the real world traffic concentrations of experimental exposure conditions. The sampling campaigns, achieved in summer and winter include SO₂, NO₂, BTEX and aldehyde analyses. Effluent profiles in the upward and downward tubes have been established. The current work shows that SO₂, NO₂, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propanal and butanal must be considered in the degradation process of materials in a stuffy environment. As regards NO₂, its concentration depends on the modification of the automotive fleet. The total aldehyde concentrations indicate no particular trend between the two bores. Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propanal, butanal and acrolein species are the most abundant species emitted by vehicles and represent 90% to 95% of the total aldehyde emissions.     

制浆造纸工业废水达标可行性研究

2008年6月颁布的《制浆造纸工业水污染物排放标准》(GB 3544-2008)与原标准(GB 3544-2001)相比,增加了控制排放的污染物项目,污染物排放控制要求也大幅提高,传统的废水二级生化处理工艺已不能满足新标准要求。文章通过梳理和分析调研及现场监测的资料和数据,提出目前制浆造纸企业通过有效的技术改造和升级,增加废水三级深度处理流程,在加强管理的情况下可以实现废水稳定达标排放。但不可避免会增加企业建设和运营成本,大中型制浆造纸企业尚可接受,对小型企业的冲击则相对较大。同时提出目前制浆造纸企业废水处理仍存在一些技术和管理方面的问题,尚需通过制定技术规范、强化环境监管、深入开展相关基础研究等多方面对策,优化制浆造纸行业结构调整,确保行业污染物减排。     

城市重污染河流污染特征与生态修复技术的研究

我国城市和乡镇的快速发展以及污染控制基础设施建设的相对滞后,往往导致相关水系的严重污染和水生态修复所面临巨大的压力。针对具有代表性的城市重污染河流,对其污染特征、污染物迁移转化规律、河流自净功能改善与受控等进行了分析研究,结合"十一五"相关技术研发和示范工程建设成果,总结了城市重污染河流生态修复的有效途径。     

基于超低电容特性的微尘在线监测技术研究

为了更有效地测量工业烟尘排放浓度,研究了一种电容特性的微尘在线监测技术,利用电容传感器输出电压来反映粉尘质量。介绍了电容法测量粉尘量的原理、测量系统组成等,研究了粉尘质量与电容传感器输出电压的关系。对5种不同粉尘的测量结果进行分析表明,粉尘质量与电容传感器输出电压之间存在着一定的比例关系,其相关系数高达0.99。同时进行了微尘在线测量的研究,并采用电容特性曲线对测量系统进行了标定,从而验证了电容法在线微尘监测的可行性。     

漓江沉积柱重金属垂向分布特征及污染评价

对桂林漓江3个采样点沉积柱状沉积物中主要重金属元素(Cd、Cr、Cu、Zn、Pb、As和Ni)的垂向分布进行了测定。结果表明:7种重金属元素具有相似的垂向变化特征;横向上表现为靠近市区的含量高远离,市区的含量低。地积累指数评价结果显示,远离市区的沉积柱7种金属污染程度较轻,仅有Cd和Ni属于无～中污染程度。临近市区的沉积柱形成污染的元素为Cd、Cu、Zn、Pb和As,主要集中在底层和次表层。