12,222 research outputs found
Transportation Construction Work-Zone Safety Impact on Time-Related Incentive Contracting Projects
Work-zone safety on highway projects continues to be a national concern, and project safety performance is one of the indicators of project success. Many contractors and State Transportation Agencies believe that expedited construction time under incentive contracting contributes to reducing the safety risk of road users traveling through work zones. However, the truth of this belief has never been measured or supported by any statistical evidence. Therefore, this research investigates the statistical relationship between time-related incentive road construction projects and frequency of vehicle crashes in California to understand the impact of time-related incentive provisions on project safety performance. The research team collected incentive and non-incentive project data from the California Department of Transportation. Additionally, vehicle crash data was collected from the California Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) software, the locations of construction projects and crashes at the project locations were then pinpointed on GIS centerline layers. The research team performed statistical analyses to test the relationship between the frequency and characteristics of crashes at incentive project sites and ones at non-incentive project sites before, during, and after construction. Finally, the analysis results for both time-related incentive projects and non-incentive projects were summarized to provide project planners and managers with a better understanding of the impact of time-related incentive contracting on project safety performance
Cinderella: The study of cross-cultural encounters in pre-modern societies
The vast number of Cinderella variants across the world is staggering and almost unfathomable. Hundreds of versions exist all across the world including Africa, Europe, and Asia. Most people are familiar with the modern Cinderella version written by a French author in the 17th century. But unbeknownst to a majority of the population, this story dates back centuries ago from earlier time periods. One of the earliest written accounts of the Cinderella story was found in China about 850-860 A.D and the name of the protagonist was Yeh-hsien, instead of Cinderella. By means of comparative textual analysis, three versions of Cinderella from across the world in pre-modern societies (Egyptian, Indian, & Chinese) will be examined for cultural traces and methods of diffusion. I will then briefly attempt to establish my case from the textual evidence that it is possible to examine evidence for cross-cultural encounters in pre-modern societies
The Light and Period Variations of the Eclipsing Binary AA Ursae Majoris
We present new multiband CCD photometry for AA UMa made on 8 nights between
January and March 2009; the light curves are the first ever compiled.
Historical light curves, as well as ours, display partial eclipses and inverse
O'Connell effects with Max I fainter than Max II. Among possible spot models, a
cool spot on either of the component stars and its variability with time permit
good light-curve representations for the system. A total of 194 eclipse timings
over 81 yrs, including our five timings, were used for ephemeris computations.
We found that the orbital period of the system has varied due to a periodic
oscillation overlaid on an upward parabolic variation. The continuous period
increase at a fractional rate of 1.310 is consistent with
that calculated from the W-D code and can be interpreted as a thermal mass
transfer from the less to the more massive secondary star at a rate of
6.610 M yr. The periodic component is in
satisfactory accord with a light-time effect due to an unseen companion with a
period of 28.2 yrs, a semi-amplitude of 0.007 d, and a minimum mass of =0.25 but this period variation could also arise from
magnetic activity.Comment: 23 pages, including 5 figures and 8 tables, accepted for publication
in PAS
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