Safety and Operational Evaluation of Truck Lane Restriction

This study was aimed at determining the operational and safety impacts of the 24-hour restriction of trucks from using the median lane of the six-lane Interstate 75 freeway corridor. The 139-mile corridor in North Florida is relatively uncongested operating at level of service (LOS) of B or better on typical weekdays. LOS is a measure of driver's freedom to maneuver in a traffic stream. The simulation analysis showed that opening all lanes to trucks increased the number of lane changing maneuvers by 11% in daytime, a phenomenon likely to increase crashes in the corridor given that the review of reported crashes showed that lane changing was a major contributing cause of crashes currently occurring in the corridor. The analysis of field data indicated that the difference between truck and passenger car speeds and travel times were insignificant on the unrestricted middle and shoulder lanes. Approximately two thirds of both passenger cars and trucks were traveling within the 10-mph pace, defined as the 10-mph speed range with the highest number of observations, that ranged from approximately 70 mph to 80 mph in the corridor that has speed limit posted at 70 mph. The field data also showed that trucks were able to use the middle lane to pass with reasonable delay during the truck peak hour period, using various gap acceptance thresholds

Mistletoe Preparation Iscador: Are there Methodological Concerns with Respect to Controlled Clinical Trials?*

In Europe many cancer patients use complementary therapies, particularly mistletoe. Only a few controlled clinical trials have been performed with the mistletoe preparation Iscador as a complementary treatment for cancer, many of them with medium to low quality due to methodological shortcomings. Reasons for some quality concerns, particularly discontinuation of treatment and/or participation and premature termination are analyzed. Analysis is based on controlled clinical trials dealing with Iscador. Data stem from the archive of published and ongoing research of the «Verein für Krebsforschung» (Society for Cancer Research) in Arlesheim, Switzerland. Controlled clinical studies with cancer patients that were started after 01.01.1990 or were not completed by then have been evaluated. Fifty-six controlled studies are documented, 24 of them randomized and 32 non-randomized. Nine of the randomized studies were done by matched-pair design, the others by conventional parallel group design; six of the last were terminated prematurely primarily for slow recruitment due to patient preferences and compliance of physicians. Patient and physician preference seem to be important factors limiting recruitment for randomized trials and hence implementation. This adds to the overall unwillingness of participation by patients with serious diseases. A well-balanced mix of designs using different research methods and outcomes is suggested combined with analyses, in countries where mistletoe therapy in general or Iscador in particular is unknown or not available

Assessment of the needs of ICT Skills on Employability in SMEs: A VFT approach

the globalised economy comes with extra demand of ICT skills among the graduates. This is due to the demand if ICT technicalities in performing a number of basic activities in the workplaces. Majority of studies which concentrate with ICT skills on employability deals with technical enterprises. In non-technical companies such as construction, manufacturing and agriculture, ICT is studied as among the basic skill-set of graduates. However, recently, there has been special demand of graduates with basic ICT knowledge on recruitment processes. This indicates the growing demand of basic ICT skills among a broad range of professions. However, the type of basic ICT skills required for work is not clear. This study aims to explore and understand the type of ICT skill needed, the significance of each ICT skills on employability and the way of identifying the best graduate based on ICT. This study uses Value Focused Thinking (VFT) to understand and identifying the possible ways of managing ICT skills on employability. VFT uses in-depth interviews will be conducted to identify the fundamental and intermediate concerns regarding ICT skills on employability of graduates. This study explored five main fundamental issues which have to be handled effectively by the stakeholders in order to make sure that ICT graduates are more employable within the SMEs

Assessing the Influence of Self-Efficacy on the Acceptance of Mobile Phone Technology within the SMEs

Mobile phone technologies have proved to provide a significant transformation in performing various activities within companies, especially in least developed regions. Mobile phones provide opportunities for employees of organisations to work any time and anywhere. SMEs comprise of employees who perform multitasking job roles due to their small in size and low financial capabilities and most cases, some of them work remotely from their main offices. Self-Efficacy is a belief that the user has enough skills to use technology to perform a task at hand. This is one of the factors influencing of acceptance of technologies at the workplaces such as SMEs. However, while the majority of studies have explored the influence of self-efficacy in desktop-based computing, it is unclear on the context of mobile phone usage, especially when individuals perfoms their work obligations within SMEs. This study involves a survey of 459 people who works with their small businesses in Tanzania. Among others, the Mobile Phone Self-Efficacy was found to be among the factors which directly influence the Perceived Ease of Use of mobile phone technology as they perform their duties

The Impact of Personal Privacy on the Acceptance of Mobile Phone Technology: A case of Tanzanian SMEs

The adoption of mobile technology has gained a serious attention in organizations and individuals. SMEs in the developing countries have hugely been relying on mobile phone technology in performing their activities. The main reasons for the popularity of mobile phones include their perceived low cost, less learning curve, mobility and its compatibility with the usage at the SMEs level as compared to the desktop computers. Despite existence on studies on adoption of mobile technology in different contexts, few of them have explicitly explored the way personal privacy can affect its acceptance to be used at the workplaces. This study covers this gap by conducting a survey to assess whether or not personal privacy has an impact on the intention and usage of mobile phones among the employees of SMEs. The results show that personal privacy is influencing perceived usefulness of using mobile phones in the SMEs while it has no impact to the Behaviour intention to use. The discussions, implications, and suggestions for future work were also discusse

Exploring the Values of Mobile Phone Technology in Tanzania Tourism SMEs

SMEs have been one of the reliable sources of income and employment worldwide. Mobile technologies have widely been used in performing a number of activities for SMEs. Mobile phone technology is maintained by a single or few operators which leave endusers with huge relief as they no longer deal with technical issues. However, despite the notable advantages of using mobile phone technology in SMEs, their values have been explained in a generic way. Specifics on direct and indirect benefits and concerns on particular aspect and circumstances have not been explored. The main challenge is that it is difficult to single out the values of a technology in organisations because there are other separate factors which also contribute to the overall performance. Identifying specific values of mobile technology on the performance of SMEs is vital for improving the utility of such performance in accomplishing the strategic objectives. This study explores values of mobile phone technology in Tanzania tourism SMEs. The methodology is grounded in the theory of Value Focused Thinking, which uses deep facetoface interviews, with the employees and managers the in Tanzania tourism SMEs. The analysis shows that mobile phone technology improves collaboration and sharing of information between SMEs stakeholders. Among the main concerns to the SMEs level include the security, battery capacity, mobile network coverage, Quality of service and operational costs. Also, implications and future studies are highlighted in this study

Operational and Safety Evaluation of Freeways with Posted Minimum Speed Limit

An operational and safety evaluation was conducted in relation to the posting of the minimum speed limit of 40 mph and the maximum speed limit of 70 mph on the Florida rural interstate freeway system. The results showed that 57% of the recorded vehicles exceeded the maximum speed limit. Additionally, while only 0.14% of recorded vehicles had speeds below the 40 mph posted minimum speed limit, 9% of crash-involved vehicles were estimated to have speeds below 40 mph. The overrepresentation of slow-moving vehicles in the crash data suggests that even a small proportion of under-40-mph vehicles can have negative implications on safety. Thus, regulation of vehicle speeds at the lower end of the speed distribution is equally important. The second order polynomial model developed to estimate the risk of a vehicle being involved in a crash as a function of the speed deviation from the mean speed of traffic indicated that the minimum risk occurred when the driving speed was 8 mph above the mean speed, equal to the 85th percentile speed observed in the field. Further, the Poisson regression modeling indicated that the difference between the 85th and 15th percentile speeds had a positive effect on crashes

Gender differences in gratifications from fitness app use and implications for health interventions

Previous research has shown gender differences in the motivations to be physically active, in mobile phone gratifications, and social media usage, but so far these areas have not been studied together. Based on the uses and gratification approach and self-determination theory, we aimed to identify gender-specific gratifications and determinants of fitness app usage in combination with fitness-related Facebook groups. Results of an online survey (N = 171) and of a mobile experience sampling method (N = 31) revealed that the app Runtastic was primarily used for achieving goals and to improve enjoyment for physical activity, with men and older participants sharing results with others in Facebook groups more often than women and younger participants. Conclusions regarding genderspecific targeting strategies and user-centered design and content of mHealth features are presented

Noé e sua arca: da Torá ao Corão

The flood narrative is a rare example of the history of literature reception  that seems not to lose its power of resignification in new historical contexts. It captures a wide public during its transmission process, which lasts no less than three millennia. Since leaving its native land in the kingdom of Sumer in Lower Mesopotamia, the thread of the narrative undergoes some changes, modifying its intentions when translated into new realities. Nevertheless, the effects of this narrative about the flood waters and the smart lifesaving  boatman have a long history. The main character has his name changed when arriving to a new destination; in the Torah, priests and thinkers of ancient Israel call him Noah; in the Koran, the sura tells the story of Nuh. The subject of the narrative, in its several versions, is always the same: the end of a crisis with extreme threats to those to whom it was addressed and the arrival of the new, where survivors face chaos on the barge provided by the saving deity. In the biblical version of Noah and his ark, the saving will of God is extended to the whole earth. Can this will of God  be overcome in this universal version? Shouldn't it be told only as a story plenty of grace? Why did the New Testament writings highlight only the analogy "as in the days of Noah!" and did not recover the unsurpassed  promise found in the "there will be no more flood to destroy the earth"? As it happens in the New Testament, "the days of Noah"  in the Koran are also relived in the struggles of the Arabian prophet with his opponents, especially in his early public performance in Mecca.La narrativa del diluvio es un raro ejemplo de la historia de la recepción de literatura que parece no perder su fuerza de resignificar-se en nuevos contextos históricos, para ganar a su público más diverso en un proceso de transmisión que ha durado no menos de tres milenios. Desde que dejó su tierra natal en el reino de Sumer, en la Baja Mesopotamia, el hilo de la narración sufre algunos cambios. Las intenciones cambian al traducirse la historia para dentro de nuevas realidades, sin embargo, podemos hablar de una larga historia de los efectos de esta narrativa de las águas diluvianas, del barquero inteligente y su conducción salva vidas. El nombre del personaje principal cambia al llegar a un nuevo destino. En la Torá, los sacerdotes y los pensadores del antiguo Israel le llaman Noah / Noé; una sura del Corán habla de la historia de Nuh. Las diferentes versiones tienen siempre como tema el final de una crisis con amenazas extremas a las personas que se entienden las destinatarias y narran la llegada de lo nuevo, donde los supervivientes pasan por el caos en la barcaza de seguridad, proporcionada por la divinidad salvadora. Esta voluntad salvífica de Dios expresada en Noé y su arca, que se extiende a toda la tierra, ¿todavía se puede superar? ¿No  debería ser contada sólo como una historia llena de gracia? ¿Por qué los escritos del Nuevo Testamento ponen de relieve en la historia de Noé y su arca apenas la analogía "como en los días de Noé!" y no rescatan la promesa insuperable que garantiza "no habrá diluvio jamás para destruir la tierra"? Como se señaló en el Nuevo Testamento, también en el Corán el profeta árabe ha visto una analogía entre "los días de Noé" con los tiempos de luta con sus oponentes, especialmente al comienzo de su actividad pública en la ciudad de Meca.A narrativa do dilúvio é um raro exemplo da história da recepção de literatura que parece não perder sua força de ressignificar-se em novos contextos históricos, conquistando públicos os mais diversos durante um processo de transmissão que já dura nada menos que três milênios. Desde que deixou sua terra natal no reino dos sumérios, na Baixa Mesopotâmia, o fio condutor da narrativa sofreu algumas alterações. As intenções modificam-se quando a história é traduzida para novas realidades, mas ainda assim podemos falar de uma longa história dos efeitos dessa narrativa das águas diluvianas, do barqueiro esperto e de sua condução salva-vidas. A personagem principal troca de nome assim que chega a um novo destino. Na Torá, sacerdotes e pensadores do antigo Israel o chamam de Noah / Noé; uma sura do Corão fala da história de Nuh. As diversas versões tratam do fim de uma crise com ameaças extremas àqueles que se sabem destinatários e narram a chegada do novo, em que sobreviventes atravessam o caos na barcaça segura providenciada pela divindade salvadora. Essa vontade salvadora de Deus estende-se à terra inteira, na versão do Noé bíblico e sua arca. Há como superá-la nessa sua versão universal? Não deveria ser contada apenas como história cheia de graça? Por que os escritos do Novo Testamento (NT) destacam da história de Noé e sua arca apenas a analogia "como nos dias de Noé!" e não resgatam a promessa insuperável do "nem mais haverá dilúvio para destruir a terra"? A exemplo do que acontece no NT, também no Corão "os dias de Noé" são revividos nos embates do profeta árabe com seus opositores, especialmente nos primórdios de sua atuação em Meca