An inexpensive technical solution for studying vehicle separations within real traffic flows using on-board sensors

Quantifying the separation between vehicles, both laterally and longitudinally, is an important step to understanding some crash events. Examples include, crashes that occur during the various phases of overtaking manoeuvres on high speed roads (pull out, pass, pull in) or where vehicles are passing bicycles on an adjacent travel path. The paper investigates a new option for measuring separation distance using inexpensive LASER distance measuring (LIDAR) devices. Six LIDAR devices were fitted to a vehicle and the accuracy of measurements to another vehicle during an overtaking manoeuvre were evaluated with off-the-shelf differential GPS technology. Data from the LIDAR devices was also used to calculate the passing speed and length of the overtaking vehicle, and the accuracy of these calculations was evaluated. Preliminary results show that the setup delivers results that are acceptable up to distances of 50 meters and at passing speeds up to 20 km/h. This inexpensive solution will facilitate research where separation distance in real traffic flow is an important consideration. Effective use of the technology should take into account possible weaknesses such as inaccurate device positioning and the potential for spurious data.J. R. R. Mackenzie and J. K. Dutschk

The job design happiness scale (JDHS)

The purpose of this article aims to identify the factors that individuals consider necessary to be happy in their job. Based on these factors, a measure of job design happiness is proposed. Two methods were applied, (1) a qualitative study with content analyses (n=969) to develop an exploratory questionnaire and (2) exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis by applying structural equations models. In this second study the questionnaire was sent to a second sample (n=1079). Five first-order factors were identified: Self-fulfillment; Group Working, Attaining Goals; Leadership and Sustainability and Job/Family Balance. These factors are explained by a second order factor: Job Design Happiness. Further research is needed to determine how the identified ‘job design happiness’ components may interact with one another. Testing the measure of different industries and national cultures is also suggested. Managers and human resources practitioners can improve job and organizational performance by applying the scale in several moments in time measuring the job happiness ‘pulse’, monitoring their decisions. Research on organizational happiness has been increasing but instruments to measure job design happiness, considering organizational factors, are limited.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Effects of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on an Australian neonatal and paediatric retrieval service

First published: 28 February 2022Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic and associated travel and social distancing restrictions have reduced paediatric intensive care unit admissions for respiratory illnesses. The effects on retrieval (transport) services remain unquantified. Our study examined the utility of statistical process control in assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of neonatal and paediatric transfers in an Australian retrieval service. Methods: Data collected prospectively from the SA Ambulance Service MedSTAR Emergency Retrieval database in South Australia were analysed from January 2015 to June 2021. Statistical process control methodology, a combination of a time series analysis and assessment for common and special cause variation, was used to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on retrieval workload (primary outcome of interest). Results: A total of 5659 neonatal and paediatric transfers occurred during the study period and were included. A significant decrease in paediatric transfers occurred after the initial lockdown measures in March 2020 were announced in South Australia (special cause variation). However, a similar reduction was not observed for neonatal transfers (common cause variation). Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that statistical process control may be effectively used to understand the effects of external events and processes on usual activity patterns in the retrieval setting. We found a reduction in retrieval numbers for paediatric transfers but no effect on neonatal transfer numbers. The decline in paediatric transfers was primarily attributed to reduced respiratory cases.Amy Keir, Jeffrey Dutschke, Bron Hennebry, Kate Kerin and John Crave

The Treasured Hunt: Collecting Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts, Past, Present, and Future

Welcome and Opening Remarks: E. Ann Matter, University of Pennsylvania, and Lynn Ransom, Free Library of Philadelphia Session 1. Beginnings: Collecting in the Middle Ages and Renaissance Session Chair: Emily Steiner, Department of English, University of Pennsylvania Claire Richter Sherman, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art, The Manuscript Collection of King Charles V of France: The Personal and the Political David Rundle, History Faculty and Corpus Christi College, Oxford University, The Butcher of England and the Renaissance Arts of Book-Collecting Session 2: Civic Service: The Legacies of Philadelphia-Area Collectors Chair: Peter Stallybrass, Department of English, University of Pennsylvania James Tanis, Director of Libraries and Professor of History Emeritus, Bryn Mawr College, Migrating Manuscripts Derick Dreher, Director, The Rosenbach Museum & Library, Of Private Collectors and Public Libraries: Dr. A. S. W. Rosenbach and John Frederick Lewis Session 3: Keynote address Welcome: H. Carton Rogers, Vice Provost & Director of Libraries, University of Pennsylvania Chair: Robert Maxwell, Department of the History of Art, University of Pennsylvania Christopher de Hamel, Gaylord Donnelley Fellow Librarian, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, The Manuscript Collection of C. L. Ricketts (1859-1941) Session 4: The Hunters and the Hunted: A Roundtable Discussion with Private and Institutional Collectors Chair: David Wallace, Department of English, University of Pennsylvania Moderator: Richard Linenthal, Bernard Quaritch Ltd. Panelists: Lawrence J. Schoenberg, Private Collector Gifford Combs, Private Collector Toshiyuki Takamiya, Private Collector, Keio University Consuelo Dutschke, Curator of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts, Columbia University William Noel, Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, The Walters Art Museu