Annual performance indicators of enforced driver behaviours in South Australia, 2007

This report was produced to quantify performance indicators for selected enforced driver behaviours (drink driving, drug driving, speeding and restraint use) in South Australia for the calendar year 2007. The level of random breath testing (RBT) in South Australia in 2007 decreased slightly but remained at a relatively high level. The proportion of tests conducted using mobile RBT continued to increase. The detection rate based on evidentiary testing increased in 2007 to the highest level on record, while the detection rate for screening tests decreased. Detection rates in South Australia were comparable with those in other states. Just over 12,000 drug tests were conducted during 2007, the first full year of random drug testing. Relative to other Australian jurisdictions supplying comparative data, South Australia had the highest testing rate per head of population. Around 24 drivers per 1,000 tested were confirmed positive for at least one of the three prescribed drugs with methylamphetamine the most commonly detected drug. Of the fatally injured drivers who were drug tested in 2007, 25 per cent tested positive for illicit drugs. There was a slight decrease in the number of hours spent on speed detection in 2007. Nevertheless, the total number of speed detections increased, with increases observed for speed camera and red light/speed cameras, the latter most likely due to the expansion of the program. The detection rate (per hour of enforcement and per 1,000 vehicles passing speed cameras) increased by around 30 per cent. Data from systematic speed surveys, introduced in 2007, indicated that travelling speeds on South Australian roads were increasing. The number of restraint offences in 2007 decreased by 14 per cent. Males were charged with more restraint offences and were more likely to be unrestrained in fatal and serious injury crashes than females, indicating that males remain an important target for restraint enforcement. The 2007 publicity campaign focused on the consequences of not using restraints rather than increasing the perceived risk of detection.LN Wundersitz, K Hiranandani, MRJ Baldoc

Clarification of the relationship between bound and scattering states in quantum mechanics: Application to 12C + alpha

Using phase-equivalent supersymmetric partner potentials, a general result from the inverse problem in quantum scattering theory is illustrated, i.e., that bound-state properties cannot be extracted from the phase shifts of a single partial wave, as a matter of principle. In particular, recent R-matrix analyses of the 12C + alpha system, extracting the asymptotic normalization constant of the 2+ subthreshold state, C12, from the l=2 elastic-scattering phase shifts and bound-state energy, are shown to be unreliable. In contrast, this important constant in nuclear astrophysics can be deduced from the simultaneous analysis of the l=0, 2, 4, 6 partial waves in a simplified potential model. A new supersymmetric inversion potential and existing models give C12=144500+-8500 fm-1/2.Comment: Expanded version (50% larger); three errors corrected (conversion of published reduced widths to ANCs); nine references added, one remove

Annual performance indicators of enforced driver behaviours in South Australia, 2006

This report was produced to quantify performance indicators for selected enforced driver behaviours (drink driving, speeding and restraint use) in South Australia for the calendar year 2006. The level of random breath testing (RBT) in South Australia in 2006 increased by 7 per cent to its highest ever level. The detection rate based on evidentiary testing decreased in 2006 from the previous year but remained at a relatively high level, while the detection rate for screening tests increased to the highest level since recording commenced in 2003. There was an increase in the proportion of tests conducted using mobile RBT, which is due to the operation of unrestricted mobile RBT for the entire year for the first time. Detection rates in South Australia were comparable with those in other states. There was an increase (7%) in the number of hours spent on speed detection in 2006 compared to 2005, partly due to three months of speed camera inactivity in 2005. Apart from an increase in speed camera detections, red light/speed camera detections also increased (by 30%) in 2006, most likely due to the expansion of the program. The detection rate (per hour of enforcement and per 1,000 vehicles passing speed cameras) increased for the first time since 2001 but remained at a relatively low level. No urban speed surveys were conducted in 2006 but rural surveys revealed a decrease in travel speeds on rural roads. The number of restraint offences in 2006 was 13 per cent higher than the number in 2005. Males were charged with more restraint offences and were more likely to be unrestrained in fatal and serious injury crashes than females, indicating that males remain an important target for restraint enforcement. Publicity expenditure supporting restraint use decreased in 2006, most likely because an existing media campaign was used.LN Wundersitz, MRJ Baldoc

Review of the literature on coffee stops as a road safety measure

Caffeine is a widely available mild stimulant thought to promote alertness. It has been suggested that the consumption of caffeine could be promoted at designated ‘coffee stops’ by the side of the road in rest areas. However, there is some concern that coffee stops might encourage driving when a driver should be resting. Although such roadside initiatives have been operating in Australia and overseas for many years, there are few quantitative evaluations examining the road safety benefits of such programs. Based on empirical research evidence, there is some support for the provision of coffee at roadside rest stops to temporarily alleviate fatigue when driving. However, the combination of drinking caffeine (approximately two cups of coffee) and napping (i.e., 15 minutes) during a break appears to be more beneficial than caffeine alone. Therefore, to enhance the beneficial effects of coffee stops, drivers feeling fatigued should be encouraged to take a 10 to 15 minute nap and to consume coffee. However, even though caffeine has a beneficial effect in alleviating fatigue, these effects are only temporary, lasting for about two hours. Consequently, caffeine alone should not be promoted as a substitute for sleep.LN Wundersitz, MRJ Baldoc

Look Who\u27s Talking: Differences in Rates of Interruptions and Proportion of Time Used by Male and Female U.S. Courts of Appeals Judges

During oral arguments, attorneys are given the chance to elaborate on their written briefs and answer questions from the judges deciding the case. Studying oral arguments can be a window into the power dynamics between judges and attorneys, and can shed light onto how factors like gender may affect judicial decision-making. While a growing body of research has examined gender dynamics in oral arguments in the United States Supreme Court, no existing studies have examined whether these findings hold up in the U.S. Court of Appeals, the second highest courts in the country. We collected data on two years of oral arguments from the 4th Circuit in order to test theories about gender and speech patterns, including interruptions and verbosity

Web tools for large-scale 3D biological images and atlases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Large-scale volumetric biomedical image data of three or more dimensions are a significant challenge for distributed browsing and visualisation. Many images now exceed 10GB which for most users is too large to handle in terms of computer RAM and network bandwidth. This is aggravated when users need to access tens or hundreds of such images from an archive. Here we solve the problem for 2D section views through archive data delivering compressed tiled images enabling users to browse through very-large volume data in the context of a standard web-browser. The system provides an interactive visualisation for grey-level and colour 3D images including multiple image layers and spatial-data overlay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The standard Internet Imaging Protocol (IIP) has been extended to enable arbitrary 2D sectioning of 3D data as well a multi-layered images and indexed overlays. The extended protocol is termed IIP3D and we have implemented a matching server to deliver the protocol and a series of Ajax/Javascript client codes that will run in an Internet browser. We have tested the server software on a low-cost linux-based server for image volumes up to 135GB and 64 simultaneous users. The section views are delivered with response times independent of scale and orientation. The exemplar client provided multi-layer image views with user-controlled colour-filtering and overlays.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Interactive browsing of arbitrary sections through large biomedical-image volumes is made possible by use of an extended internet protocol and efficient server-based image tiling. The tools open the possibility of enabling fast access to large image archives without the requirement of whole image download and client computers with very large memory configurations. The system was demonstrated using a range of medical and biomedical image data extending up to 135GB for a single image volume.</p

Quantitative evaluation of polymer gel dosimeters by broadband ultrasound attenuation

Ultrasound has been examined previously as an alternative readout method for irradiated polymer gel dosimeters, with authors reporting varying dose response to ultrasound transmission measurements. In this current work we extend previous work to measure the broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) response of irradiated PAGAT gel dosimeters, using a novel ultrasound computed tomography system