Passenger distractions among adolescent drivers

PROBLEM: Adolescents who drive with peers are known to have a higher risk of crashes. While passengers may distract drivers, little is known about the circumstances of these distractions among teen drivers. METHOD: This study used survey data on driving among 2,144 California high school seniors to examine distractions caused by passengers. RESULTS: Overall, 38.4% of youths who drove reported having been distracted by a passenger. Distractions were more commonly reported among girls and students attending moderate- to high-income schools. Talking or yelling was the most commonly reported type of distraction. About 7.5% of distractions reported were deliberate, such as hitting or tickling the driver or attempting to use the vehicle's controls. Driving after alcohol use and having had a crash as a driver were both significant predictors of reporting passenger-related distraction. CONCLUSION: Adolescents often experience distractions related to passengers, and in some cases these distractions are intentional. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: These results provide information about teenage drivers who are distracted by passenger behaviors. In some cases, passengers attempted to use vehicle controls; however, it seems unlikely that this behavior is common enough to warrant redesign of controls to make them less accessible to passengers.     

Reflections on the use of Bayesian belief networks for adaptive management

A broad range of tools are available for integrated water resource management (IWRM). In the EU research project NeWater, a hypothesis exists that IWRM cannot be realised unless current management regimes undergo a transition toward adaptive management (AM). This includes a structured process of learning, dealing with complexity, uncertainty etc. We assume that it is no longer enough for managers and tool researchers to understand the complexity and uncertainty of the outer natural system-the environment. It is just as important, to understand what goes on in the complex and uncertain participatory processes between the water managers, different stakeholders, authorities and researchers when a specific tool and process is used for environmental management. The paper revisits a case study carried out 2001-2004 where the tool Bayesian networks (BNs) was tested for groundwater management with full stakeholder involvement. With the participation of two researchers (the authors) and two water managers previously involved in the case study, a qualitative interview was prepared and carried out in June 2006. The aim of this ex-post evaluation was to capture and explore the water managers' experience with Bayesian belief networks when used for integrated and adaptive water management and provide a narrative approach for tool enhancement.     

Social Sciences and landscape analysis: opportunities for the improvement of conservation policy design

This article develops a methodology aimed at generating a systematic social diagnosis of social and natural landscapes. The analytical process is divided into six easily replicable and causatively connected steps. The goal is two-fold: first, to present the inextricable connections between physical landscapes and the communities that occupy them. And second, to provide a fundamental tool to public policy designers that should simultaneously improve social acceptability of conservation policies and policy efficiency and effectiveness. Finally, this methodology is consciously heterogeneous from a theoretical perspective. This article puts together, in fruitful dialogue, contributions from varying places on the social theory spectrum: from political economy to poststructural theory.     

Preparation and Characterization of Cellulose/Polypropylene Composite Using an Oxidatively Degraded Polypropylene

In this work, an oxidatively degraded polypropylene (DgPP) was studied as a novel coupling agent for fibrous cellulose (FC)/polypropylene (PP) composite. An optimal preparation time of PP thermal oxidative degradation was 18 h at 130 °C, and the DgPP had functional groups such as γ-lactone and acid groups. The spherulite observation of the DgPP suggested miscibility for the undegraded PP. The addition of the DgPP presented the transparency improvement of FC/PP composite, and this behavior was found to be originated from the grafted DgPP, which was produced by the esterification reaction between the of FC and the DgPP. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation showed that the grafted DgPP coated the FC surface, and the tensile strength of the FC/PP composite increased by an appropriate amount of the DgPP addition. These results suggested that the DgPP was suitable for the coupling agent of FC/PP composite.     

环境监测市场化管理工作思考

阐述了我国及其他国家环境监测市场管理的经验,以及我国在推进环境监测市场化管理方面的探索;指出了目前环境监测市场化管理中存在的问题,提出,应加快建立适合国情的监测总体格局;建立完善环境监测社会化监管制度体系;充分发挥行业协会在监管中的作用;强化对社会监测机构监管力度;提高社会环境监测机构能力。     

浅谈环境监测社会化的质量监管新思路

分析了现阶段社会环境检测市场的发展现状及存在的问题,探讨了从环境检测上岗能力、专业技能再教育、从业履历和信用等方面对社会环境检测从业人员进行管理的必要性,提出在机构环境监测能力、检测人员结构流动性、仪器设备在用状态和更新频率、从事环境监测业务信用等方面建立评估机制,推动环境监测市场健康发展。     

环境监测任务可信度评估在第三方检测机构管理中的作用浅析

环境监测任务可信度评估是对整个监测任务实施的全过程进行跟踪考核并给出考核结果值的一种质量管理模式,可以在资质管理、任务招标、价格评分、合同付款等方面对第三方检测机构的管理提供量化依据。用好可信度评估可以在加强行业监管的同时,规范行业竞争。     

直接测汞法和原子荧光法测定土壤中总汞的比对研究

采用DMA-80直接测汞技术,与国标方法原子荧光法对土壤中总汞的测定进行了方法比对研究。试验结果表明,直接测汞法的检出限优于原子荧光法,精密度和准确性能够满足土壤实际样品的测定,对30个实际样品分析结果的比对表明,方法间无显著差异,该方法快速、准确、无污染。     

CO2和ABC干粉灭火剂扑灭火旋风火焰实验对比分析

为了分析2种灭火剂扑灭火旋风效果,采用实验室自制装置生成稳定的火旋风火焰,喷射CO₂或ABC干粉灭火剂,获取火焰温度场及光电信号数据。研究结果表明:在CO₂灭火剂或ABC干粉灭火剂作用下火旋风火焰温度场呈“下凹”型指数衰减;受灭火剂喷射位置影响,火焰根部、中部及顶端不同区域的灭火剂影响系数不同;基于火焰降温速率和光信号变化,相较于CO₂灭火剂,对火焰起抑制作用的ABC干粉灭火剂降温效率更高、扑灭效果更好。     

Effects of falling weight impact on industrial safety helmets used in conjunction with eye and face protection devices

Industrial workplaces pose concurrent hazards to the upper part of the head and the eyes. Under the circumstances, workers may use protective helmets in conjunction with protective goggles or spectacles. In order to assess the compatibility of this equipment, a method and a test stand for evaluating the behavior of safety helmets and protective goggles/spectacles upon the impact of a falling weight were designed. The results of tests concerning the displacement and deformation of helmets and spectacles/goggles, the forces acting on the helmets, as well as the forces exerted by the spectacles/goggles on the headform upon falling weight impact are presented. The results revealed the ways in which the tested equipment interacted with each other. The influence of equipment construction on the test results was analyzed and inferences concerning the safety of the studied protective devices were made. Some general construction guidelines were formulated for the compatibility of the equipment.