Udpegning af potentielle sorte pletter baseret på GPS-data fra kørende biler

Der er sket en markant reduktion i antallet af omkomne på de danske veje i de senere år. Dog er antallet af tilskadekomne, der modtager behandling i Sundhedsvæsenet i forbindelse med trafikulykker kun faldet lidt. Derimod er antallet af ulykker registreret i de offentlige statistikker faldet voldsomt, hvorfor mørketallet er steget til ca. 91%. Da sortpletarbejdet, der er en hovedhjørnesten i trafiksikkerhedsarbejdet, baseres på de officielle statistikker, er det baseret på et usikkert grundlag. Artiklen tager udgangspunkt i GPS-data fra biler i det nyligt afsluttede ITS Platformsprojekt og undersøger, om koncentrationer af kraftige decelerationer og de afledte herfra, ryk, indsamlet fra kørende biler, kan anvendes som en supplerende metode til at udpege sorte pletter. Ideen baseres på den svenske konfliktstudieteknik, hvorfra der kan dokumenteres en sammenhæng mellem antallet af konflikter (nær-ulykker) og faktiske rapporterede ulykker. Denne undersøgelse baserer sig på data fra 380 biler i tre måneder, hvilket svarer til ca. 1,9 mio. km. Den antyder, at koncentrationer af store decelerationer genfindes, hvor der er store trafikmængder, men ikke nødvendigvis, hvor der kan konstateres problemer med vejnettets indretning og omgivelser. Den indikerer, at koncentrationer af store ryk kan genfindes, hvor vejnettet er uhensigtsmæssigt indrettet og/eller hvor der tidligere er konstateret ulykker. Et litteraturstudie antyder ligeledes, at ryk giver en bedre indikation på nær-ulykker end decelerationer. Til gengæld kan det konstateres, at ryk optræder koncentreret i forbindelse med ujævnheder på vejnettet, hvorfor registreringer i disse lokaliteter skal fjernes, for at ryk kan være en troværdig indikator. Endvidere konstateres det, at antallet af registrerede decelerationer/ryk i det anvendte datasæt er for lavt til at det endelig kan afklares, om sorte pletter kan identificeres ved hjælp af ryk

Udpegning af potentielle sorte pletter baseret på GPS-data fra kørende biler

Der er sket en markant reduktion i antallet af omkomne på de danske veje i de senere år. Dog er antallet af tilskadekomne, der modtager behandling i Sundhedsvæsenet i forbindelse med trafikulykker kun faldet lidt. Derimod er antallet af ulykker registreret i de offentlige statistikker faldet voldsomt, hvorfor mørketallet er steget til ca. 91%. Da sortpletarbejdet, der er en hovedhjørnesten i trafiksikkerhedsarbejdet, baseres på de officielle statistikker, er det baseret på et usikkert grundlag. Artiklen tager udgangspunkt i GPS-data fra biler i det nyligt afsluttede ITS Platformsprojekt og undersøger, om koncentrationer af kraftige decelerationer og de afledte herfra, ryk, indsamlet fra kørende biler, kan anvendes som en supplerende metode til at udpege sorte pletter. Ideen baseres på den svenske konfliktstudieteknik, hvorfra der kan dokumenteres en sammenhæng mellem antallet af konflikter (nær-ulykker) og faktiske rapporterede ulykker. Denne undersøgelse baserer sig på data fra 380 biler i tre måneder, hvilket svarer til ca. 1,9 mio. km. Den antyder, at koncentrationer af store decelerationer genfindes, hvor der er store trafikmængder, men ikke nødvendigvis, hvor der kan konstateres problemer med vejnettets indretning og omgivelser. Den indikerer, at koncentrationer af store ryk kan genfindes, hvor vejnettet er uhensigtsmæssigt indrettet og/eller hvor der tidligere er konstateret ulykker. Et litteraturstudie antyder ligeledes, at ryk giver en bedre indikation på nær-ulykker end decelerationer. Til gengæld kan det konstateres, at ryk optræder koncentreret i forbindelse med ujævnheder på vejnettet, hvorfor registreringer i disse lokaliteter skal fjernes, for at ryk kan være en troværdig indikator. Endvidere konstateres det, at antallet af registrerede decelerationer/ryk i det anvendte datasæt er for lavt til at det endelig kan afklares, om sorte pletter kan identificeres ved hjælp af ryk

Disturbance promotes non-indigenous bacterial invasion in soil microcosms:analysis of the roles of resource availability and community structure

Invasion-biology is largely based on non-experimental observation of larger organisms. Here, we apply an experimental approach to the subject. By using microbial-based microcosm-experiments, invasion-biology can be placed on firmer experimental, and hence, less anecdotal ground. A better understanding of the mechanisms that govern invasion-success of bacteria in soil communities will provide knowledge on the factors that hinder successful establishment of bacteria artificially inoculated into soil, e.g. for remediation purposes. Further, it will yield valuable information on general principles of invasion biology in other domains of life.Here, we studied invasion and establishment success of GFP-tagged Pseudomonas fluorescens DSM 50090 in laboratory microcosms during a 42-day period. We used soil heating to create a disturbance gradient, and hypothesized that increased disturbance would facilitate invasion; our experiments confirmed this hypothesis. We suggest that the key factors associated with the heating disturbance that explain the enhanced invasion success are increased carbon substrate availability and reduced diversity, and thus, competition- and predation-release. In a second experiment we therefore separated the effects of increased carbon availability and decreased diversity. Here, we demonstrated that the effect of the indigenous soil community on bacterial invasion was stronger than that of resource availability. In particular, introduced bacteria established better in a long term perspective at lower diversity and predation pressure.We propose increased use of microbial systems, for experimental study of invasion scenarios. They offer a simple and cost-efficient way to study and understand biological invasion. Consequently such systems can help us to better predict the mechanisms controlling changes in stability of communities and ecosystems. This is becoming increasingly relevant since anthropogenic disturbance causes increasing global change, which promotes invasion. Moreover, a thorough understanding of factors controlling invasion and establishment of artificially amended micro-organisms will mean a major step forward for soil-remediation microbiology

Electrochemical oxidation of CO on Cu single crystals under alkaline conditions

We perform a joint experimental-theoretical study of the electrochemical oxidation of CO on copper (Cu) under alkaline conditions. Using cyclic voltammetry on Cu single crystal surfaces, we demonstrate that both Cu terraces and steps show CO oxidation activity at potentials just slightly positive (0.03-0.14 V) of the thermodynamic equilibrium potential. The overpotentials are 0.23-0.12 V lower than that of gold (approx. 0.26 V), which up until now has been considered to be the most active catalyst for this process. Our theoretical calculations suggest that Cu's activity arises from the advantageous combination of simultaneous *OH adsorption under CO oxidation potentials and surmountable *CO-*OH coupling barriers. Experimentally observed onset potentials are in agreement with the computed onsets of *OH adsorption. We furthermore show that the onsets of *OH adsorption on steps are more affected by *CO-*OH interactions than on terraces due to a stronger competitive adsorption. Overall, Cu(100) shows the lowest overpotential (0.03 V) of the facets considered.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures plus supplementary informatio

How is rape a weapon of war?: feminist international relations, modes of critical explanation and the study of wartime sexual violence

Rape is a weapon of war. Establishing this now common claim has been an achievement of feminist scholarship and activism and reveals wartime sexual violence as a social act marked by gendered power. But the consensus that rape is a weapon of war obscures important, and frequently unacknowledged, differences in ways of understanding and explaining it. This article opens these differences to analysis. Drawing on recent debates regarding the philosophy of social science in IR and social theory, it interprets feminist accounts of wartime sexual violence in terms of modes of critical explanation – expansive styles of reasoning that foreground particular actors, mechanisms, reasons and stories in the formulation of research. The idea of a mode of critical explanation is expanded upon through a discussion of the role of three elements (analytical wagers, narrative scripts and normative orientations) which accomplish the theoretical work of modes. Substantive feminist accounts of wartime sexual violence are then differentiated in terms of three modes – of instrumentality, unreason and mythology – which implicitly structure different understandings of how rape might be a weapon of war. These modes shape political and ethical projects and so impact not only on questions of scholarly content but also on the ways in which we attempt to mitigate and abolish war rape. Thinking in terms of feminist modes of critical explanation consequently encourages further work in an unfolding research agenda. It clarifes the ways in which an apparently commonality of position can conceal meaningful disagreements about human action. Exposing these disagreements opens up new possibilities for the analysis of war rape

“When the Cannons Talk, the Diplomats Must Be Silent”: A Danish Diplomat in Constantinople during the Armenian Genocide

The envoy Carl Ellis Wandel was the sole Danish diplomatic representative in Constantinople before, during, and after World War I, and between 1914 and 1925 he wrote hundreds of detailed reports on the destruction of the Ottoman Armenians, as well as on related subjects. This article analyzes and contextualizes some of his most important reports, showing how these hitherto unknown sources contribute to the understanding of vital aspects of the Armenian Genocide, not least concerning the ongoing scholarly debate between ‘‘intentionalist’’ and ‘‘structuralist’’ interpretations of the event and concerning the destruction of the Ottoman Armenians as a particularly radical part of a Young Turk project of Turkification