Special Libraries, May-June 1977

Volume 68, Issue 5-6https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_sl_1977/1004/thumbnail.jp

Spatial analysis of road crashes involving vulnerable road users in support of road safety management strategies

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Spatial analysis of road crashes involving vulnerable road users in support of road safety management strategies

On urban road networks, approximately 2 out of 3 fatalities involve pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, collectively referred to as “vulnerable road users” (VRU) due to their insufficient physical protection in the event of a collision. For a safer and more sustainable road transportation system, adequate protective countermeasures need to be introduced for this user category. However, related (and limited) resources restrict any safety improvements to certain high-risk sites with elevated rates of road traffic collisions. This study reports the results of a spatial distribution analysis of traffic collisions involving VRU in Turin over the period 2006-2016. The traffic road collisions database from the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) was used for this purpose. Crash data were firstly geo-localized, and then analyzed using Geographic Information System technologies. A cluster analysis and a Kernel Density estimation were used to build spatial patterns of crashes involving VRU. Hazardous sites were identified on a metropolitan scale. Incorrect estimates of the actual collision frequency, which are typical of studies conducted over short periods, were avoided by considering only those sites where collision rates remained significantly high throughout the entire observation period (eleven years). The results show that clusters occur at intersections, many of which are located along corridors affected by heavy traffic flows and wide cross-sections. A further analysis was conducted to explain the role played by the geometric configuration (layout) of most hazardous sections and intersections in the level and severity of injuries and fatalities

Proposed methodology for measurement, survey and assessment of vertical deformation of structures

Purpose – Growing awareness of the importance of preserving the built environment has created an increasing demand for experts capable of performing building inspections to ensure a high level of preservation. Technical surveys include a set of procedures and tests that have become essential tools providing the necessary knowledge required for maintenance, preservation and improvement of buildings. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Within this set of inspection techniques, this paper presents a method developed to produce vertical deformation plans from the levelling data obtained from different floors of a building. It also explains how to perform accurate levelling and an outcome analysis to provide displacement maps. Thus, based upon obtained measurements, it is possible to achieve 2D contour maps and three-dimensional (3D) surface mapping by means of specialized software that is typically used for cartographic and territorial analysis. Findings – The developed methodology provides easier analysis of the deformation of buildings and structures. Consequently, the method produces relatively accurate outcomes that are sufficient to make a proper assessment that facilitates the diagnostic and decision-making process. The case studies analysed show the applicability and usefulness of the procedure. Originality/value – This sustainable and non-destructive system is an essential instrument for providing valuable and useful information to the specialist. The 2D/3D graphical data displays enable easier analysis of survey results, also aiding comprehension of these results in the context of liability claim

Experiences in Large Slope Stability Problems Under Complex Geology

This article presents a brief summary of the origin of metamorphic rocks, specially schist and the presence of shear or gouge zones in metamorphic rocks, as defects that induce weakness characteristics to the rock mass and that depart substantially from the traditionally evaluation of joints and discontinuities, turning eventually into failure surfaces that govern the stability conditions of surface works. The effect these weak zones inflict into the metamorphic rock mass, especially to schist, causing significant slope stability problems, is illustrated through three case histories. The presence of such defects in the rock mass, detected and analyzed by means of exploratory holes drilled from the surface, can be hardly anticipated during the design stage as far as location, dip direction and geotechnical characteristics, given their erratic alignment within the rock mass, and their disguise during the drilling processes when the clay infill is washed away by the drill water, making their recognition and readiness for lab test sampling even more difficult. Special care of these geologic features, often present in metamorphic rocks, must be taken through: 1) direct exploration –such as galleries–, 2) the elaboration and interpretation of adequate geological models and corresponding sensitivity analyses of shear strength parameters of the established failure surfaces and 3) sound decision making and implementation of stabilization measures based on engineering judgment

An Assessment of the Performance of Traffic Control Signals Installed at a Main Junction in Ado Ekiti, Nigeria

The traffic at one of the major isolated signalised junctions in Ado Ekiti, Nigeria was evaluated. Traffic counts were undertaken from 7am to 7pm on the approaches to the junction over a period of one week. Peak periods of traffic appeared to be 7am-10am and 3pm-6pm respectively. The maximum flow rate for the traffic streams was calculated from the geometric characteristics of the junction and the direction of the streams. Owing to non-marking of the lanes, the degree of saturation on each approach to the junction was calculated from the aggregation of such for the traffic streams. The results show that one of the approaches to the junction was mainly congested throughout the day, and therefore the existing traffic control signals were ineffective for the traffic at the approach. Keywords: traffic control signals, saturation, congestion, traffic stream, demand, capacit

Virtual inspection based on 3D survey supporting risks detachment analysis in Pietraforte stone built heritage

The paper presents the first results of a multidisciplinary research project launched to support the conservation and restoration of the stone façades of the Pitti Palace in Florence with innovative techniques from the fields of geomatics and diagnostic analysis. Monitoring campaigns are periodically conducted on the façades of the palace to identify stone elements in critical conditions; such surveys primarily require close and careful observation of the façade, for which a crane basket is required. The paper proposes first attempt to compare results obtained through a traditional workflow with those coming from a deeper use of the high-resolution 3D model to conduct a virtual inspection and to map elements of vulnerability on a GIS. On a test area, the analysis of the factors considered relevant to the risk of detachment was carried out on the digital model and compared with what the experts observed on-site by carrying out Non-Destructive diagnostic tests. Traditionally conducted monitoring and diagnostic surveys are assumed to validate the proposed method, which, following a simple data analysis, remotely identifies all blocks detected as vulnerable by the in-situ inspection, potentially drastically reducing fieldwork. It is therefore proposed as a preliminary screening useful to better address further analysis

Towards an Institutional Counter-Cartography of Nurses’ Wound Work

Under the banner of continuous quality improvement, process mapping has become an increasingly routine feature of healthcare administration. Driven by demands to improve efficiency through standardization, nurses’ knowledge of their often-unpredictable work is routinely changed to fit within graphical representations that depict it as objectively controllable. Tensions that arose as I attempted to apply my knowledge as a specialist nurse in the rapidly changing area of outpatient wound clinics formed the direction for my institutional ethnography (IE) inquiry. As a student new to IE, I encountered challenges as I tried to explain to my informants how Dorothy Smith’s alternative sociology offered a unique way to explicate how their work is being organized. Recognizing that confusion arose when the term “mapping” was used to identify a key analytic process in both quality improvement projects and IE, I searched for a way to articulate how the two approaches are distinct. Parallels and divergences I discovered between the focus of the countercartography movement and the problematic emerging in my own study helped me not only to acknowledge my own participation in the ruling relations, but to better appreciate how using IE offered the potential to create a quite different picture of nurses’ wound work— one which challenges the official versions of their world on paper

Metodología para gestión de información hidrológica en vías navegables: aplicación a Bolivia

The Hydrometric Network of the Bolivian Navy (RHAB) database lacks the ease of consultation required by a modern administrator for the optimization of the management of hydrological resources. Therefore, we presenteda new methodology, generalizable to any country, to develop a multidisciplinary geographic information system (GIS) on the web. It is easy and intuitive to use and oriented to hydrometric information management for early warning, navigation support,and fluvial and lacustrine transport, and for projects and works involving research, engineering, cartography, fishing, tourism, etc. The geographic database containing the hydrological information is accessed through the internet with a geographical web viewer. Different free distribution software applications have been integrated together with different programming languages. The immediate provision of accurate data also helps in the prevention of flood disaster