Towards a realistic microscopic description of highway traffic

Simple cellular automata models are able to reproduce the basic properties of highway traffic. The comparison with empirical data for microscopic quantities requires a more detailed description of the elementary dynamics. Based on existing cellular automata models we propose an improved discrete model incorporating anticipation effects, reduced acceleration capabilities and an enhanced interaction horizon for braking. The modified model is able to reproduce the three phases (free-flow, synchronized, and stop-and-go) observed in real traffic. Furthermore we find a good agreement with detailed empirical single-vehicle data in all phases.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

International Labor Standards, Soft Regulation, and National Government Roles

[Excerpt] In this article, we briefly describe the different approaches to the regulation of international labor standards, and then argue for a new role for national governments based on soft rather than hard regulation approaches. We argue that this new role shows potential for significantly enhancing progress in international labor standards, since it enables governments to articulate a position without having to deal with the enforcement issues that hard regulation mandates. We justify this new role for governments based on the increasing use of soft regulation in the international arena. Of course, this approach is not without its own problems, but given that existing approaches have all provided imperfect solutions to the problem of improving labor standards globally, re-visiting the role of national governments is in our view, highly important

Scheduling science on television: A comparative analysis of the representations of science in 11 European countries

While science-in-the-media is a useful vehicle for understanding the media, few scholars have used it that way: instead, they look at science-in-the-media as a way of understanding science-in-the-media and often end up attributing characteristics to science-in-the-media that are simply characteristics of the media, rather than of the science they see there. This point of view was argued by Jane Gregory and Steve Miller in 1998 in Science in Public. Science, they concluded, is not a special case in the mass media, understanding science-in-the-media is mostly about understanding the media (Gregory and Miller, 1998: 105). More than a decade later, research that looks for patterns or even determinants of science-in-the-media, be it in press or electronic media, is still very rare. There is interest in explaining the media’s selection of science content from a media perspective. Instead, the search for, and analysis of, several kinds of distortions in media representations of science have been leading topics of science-in-the-media research since its beginning in the USA at the end of the 1960s and remain influential today (see Lewenstein, 1994; Weigold, 2001; Kohring, 2005 for summaries). Only a relatively small amount of research has been conducted seeking to identify factors relevant to understanding how science is treated by the mass media in general and by television in particular. The current study addresses the lack of research in this area. Our research seeks to explore which constraints national media systems place on the volume and structure of science programming in television. In simpler terms, the main question this study is trying to address is why science-in-TV in Europe appears as it does. We seek to link research focussing on the detailed analysis of science representations on television (Silverstone, 1984; Collins, 1987; Hornig, 1990; Leon, 2008), and media research focussing on the historical genesis and current political regulation of national media systems (see for instance Hallin and Mancini, 2004; Napoli, 2004; Open Society Institute, 2005, 2008). The former studies provide deeper insights into the selection and reconstruction of scientific subject matters, which reflect and – at the same time – reinforce popular images of science. But their studies do not give much attention to production constraints or other relevant factors which could provide an insight into why media treat science as they do. The latter scholars inter alia shed light on distinct media policies in Europe which significantly influence national channel patterns. However, they do not refer to clearly defined content categories but to fairly rough distinctions such as information versus entertainment or fictional versus factual. Accordingly, we know more about historical roots and current practices of media regulation across Europe than we do about the effects of these different regimes on the provision of specific content in European societies

Design management: changing roles of the professions

This paper sets out to explore how recent changes in procurement in construction have affected the roles that professions play in the design process. It discusses how professions that traditionally took the role of design manager now find themselves participating within previously unforeseen contexts, working in multidisciplinary teams led by contractors and with changed responsibilities at the design stage. Supply chain members who were not previously involved during the early project phases are being engaged at the earliest phases of the project life cycle and even taking leadership roles while designers sometimes work as supply chain partners. A study of design in construction and other sectors shows that in dealing with design management issues it is critical to deepen appreciation for the unique characteristics of design and the design process. The paper argues that contractors and designers taking on design management roles in a dynamic industry seeking to explore best practice and innovative approaches to procurement and in the delivery of projects need to acquire new skills, management education and develop the necessary qualities

'Defend and extend': British business strategy, EU employment policy and the emerging politics of Brexit

As the British government embarks upon the process of exiting the European Union (EU), it will have to navigate the preferences of powerful business interest groups. However, the British politics and political economy literatures have tended to neglect the question of business agency in general and its relation to EU integration in particular. This article analyses British business strategy in relation to EU employment policy between 2010 and 2016. Through a document analysis of business responses to the Balance of Competences Review on EU Employment Policy and Confederation of British Industry (CBI) policy documents, the article argues that British business has attempted to ‘defend and extend’ a liberalising agenda within the EU in the recent past. Brexit fundamentally undermines this strategic orientation. The article accordingly outlines some of the key strategic dilemmas which the ‘Leave’ vote generates for British capital within the emerging politics of Brexit

Dynamic inundation simulation of storm water interaction between sewer system and overland flows

Copyright © 2002 Taylor & FrancisThis is the Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in the Journal of the Chinese Institute of Engineers (2002), available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/02533839.2002.9670691An improved urban inundation model, coupling a 2D non‐inertia overland flow model with a storm water management model, is adopted to simulate inundation in urban areas. The model computes, not only the overland runoff and the water overflow through manholes where surface runoff exceeds the capacity of storm sewers, but also the bidirectional flow interactions between sewers and overland runoff. The model was verified by a typhoon event in Nov. 2000, which resulted in serious inundation in the Mucha area of Taipei City. The result shows that the present model indeed improves simulation accuracy over the earlier model, and can be used to provide a more reliable flood mitigation design

Early onset cannabis use and progression to other drug use in a sample of Dutch twins

One possible explanation of the commonly reported associations between early onset cannabis use and elevated risks of other illicit drug use is that early onset cannabis use increases access and availability to other drugs. It was this argument that in part motivated policy changes in the Netherlands that led to the de facto legalization of cannabis there. This study examines, using a co-twin control design, whether previously observed associ- ations between early onset cannabis use and elevated lifetime rates of other illicit drug use would also be observed in a sample of 219 same sex Dutch twin pairs discordant for cannabis use before age 18. After adjustment for covariates, rates of lifetime party drug use (OR = 7.4, 95% CI = 2.3-23.4), hard drug use (OR = 16.5, 95% CI = 2.4-111.3), but not regular cannabis use (OR= 1.3, 95% CI = 0.3-5.1) were significantly elevated in individuals who reported early onset cannabis use, relative to their co-twin who had not used cannabis by age 18. The elevated odds of subsequent illicit drug use in early cannabis users relative to their non early using cotwins suggests that this association could not be explained by common familial risk factors, either genetic or environmental, for which our co-twin methodology provided rigorous control. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc

"They're Really PD Today": An Exploration of Mental Health Nursing Students' Perceptions of Developing a Therapeutic Relationship With Patients With a Diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder

The therapeutic relationship is of particular importance when working with patients with antisocial personality disorder, but despite this, there is a paucity of literature exploring student nurses’ perceptions of developing a therapeutic relationship with such patients. Hence, this qualitative study explored the perceptions of second-year mental health nursing students of developing a therapeutic relationship with this patient group. Student nurses from a University in the Northwest of England participated in two focus groups, to compare the perceptions of a group of student nurses who had experience in secure settings (forensic hospital) with those who had not. Four key themes emerged: diagnosis, safety, engagement, and finally environmental influences. Both groups commented on looking beyond the diagnosis and seeing the person. The student nurses cited other staff in their clinical placement areas as hugely influential in terms of the development of their perceptions of patients with antisocial personality disorder and how to relate to them

The changing nature of labour regulation: the distinctiveness of the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry

The article addresses the changing nature of labour regulation through analysis of the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry, originating in 1981. It shows how multiple spatial regulatory scales, the changing coalitions of actors involved, employer and client engagement and labour agency have been critical to National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry's survival

Work-Unit Absenteeism: Effects of Satisfaction, Commitment, Labor Market Conditions, and Time

Prior research is limited in explaining absenteeism at the unit level and over time. We developed and tested a model of unit-level absenteeism using five waves of data collected over six years from 115 work units in a large state agency. Unit-level job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and local unemployment were modeled as time-varying predictors of absenteeism. Shared satisfaction and commitment interacted in predicting absenteeism but were not related to the rate of change in absenteeism over time. Unit-level satisfaction and commitment were more strongly related to absenteeism when units were located in areas with plentiful job alternatives