Dipping Headlights: An Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma or Assurance Game

When two cars meet in the dark on a rural road, and both drivers use their headlights on full beam, they will both be dazzled. Because of that, we usually dip the lights. However, if modeled as a finite prisoner’s dilemma super-game, the standard game theoretic solution would be that both drivers defect and use full lights throughout the super-game. If modeled as an Assurance game, cooperative strategies have better chances of succeeding. Several different strategies are presented and discussed, and in particular whether the strategy most often used by drivers can be invaded by the strategy novice drivers learn in their driver education. On theoretical grounds, one can expect the cooperation to unravel because novice drivers are taught to defect both in the beginning and at the end of the super-game. However, empirical results from three different surveys reveal that novice drivers change their behavior and adapt to normal practice with experience in real traffic. Hence, cooperation has sustained because cooperative and retaliating strategies dominate in the population. In addition, when drivers retaliate by flashing their headlights, it is probably perceived as a negative penalty which causes the inexperienced drivers to adjust the behavior to normal practice

Cyclists' Perception of Maintenance and Operation of Cycling Infrastructure—Results From a Norwegian Survey

Aasvik O and Bjørnskau T (2021) Cyclists’ Perception of Maintenance and Operation of Cycling Infrastructure—Results From a Norwegian Survey. Front. Psychol. 12:696317. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.696317The Norwegian authorities want to limit the extent of car use in city areas to existing levels. Such a limitation would help combat climate change, improve health of citizens, and alleviate congestion. This implies that any further increase in transport needs will have to be met by walking, cycling and use of public transport. Reaching this ambitious goal requires knowledge about cyclists' preferences concerning operation and maintenance (M&O) of roads and foot/cycle paths. Previous research suggests that M&O have great implications for travel mode choice, bicycle route/path choice, safety, security, and comfort. With the need to serve bicyclists of all ages and genders, this study additionally explores which M&O of roads and foot/cycle the different demographic groups perceive positively or negatively. This article reports results from a nationwide survey in the summer of 2019. Two thousand three hundred seventy-six cyclists across Norway (55% male; 29% 60) participated to determine the cyclists' perceptions about year-round M&O of roads and foot/cycle paths. Respondents, rather than being randomly selected, completed an internet-linked survey. The variables included maintenance of foot/cycle paths in terms of salt and snow plowing and operation and maintenance of roads in terms of glass, holes/bumps, and conditions. Our results suggest that female cyclists suffer more from adverse conditions than do males. We also find that males are more likely to cycle during winter, which is an additional indication that adverse conditions affect women and men differently. Surprisingly, older cyclists report to be less affected by poor conditions than younger cyclists. Self-selection to participate in the survey among older cyclists might be an important explanation for this result. Cycling conditions vary greatly between geographical areas, reflecting the large climatic variations across Norway. Most respondents have experienced a cycle accident where conditions contributed, and many sometimes forfeit cycling due to adverse conditions. Implications for future research and practice of M&O are discussed.publishedVersio

Does age matter? Examining age-dependent differences in at-fault collisions after attending a refresher course for older drivers

Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Abstract: The “Driver 65+” course is a voluntary refresher course offered to all drivers aged 65 years or older in Norway. The current study estimated differences in at-fault motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) between older drivers who had attended in the course and older drivers who had not attended the course. Methods: Two samples of drivers were selected from the database of an insurance company and were sent a questionnaire in the mail. The first sample consisted of 2039 car owners aged 70 years or older who had reported a collision to the insurance company during the last 24 months. The second sample consisted of 1569 drivers aged 70 or older who had not reported any collisions during the last 24 months. Results: The results indicated an age-dependent effect; drivers attending the course before 75 years of age had a significantly lower risk of being the at-fault driver in a multi-MVC than older drivers who did not attend the course. Conclusion: The results indicate that the refresher course had a beneficial effect on collision risk for drivers who attended the course before reaching 75 years of age. One possible explanation of this age-dependent effect is that a certain level of visual, cognitive, and motor functioning is needed to implement the strategies learned in the course. However, the design of the study makes it difficult to draw definite conclusions about the causal relationship between course attendance and later collision involvement.Does age matter? Examining age-dependent differences in at-fault collisions after attending a refresher course for older driverspublishedVersio

En direktelinje til fansen : en retorisk studie av norske artisters kommunikasjon i sosiale medier ved promotering av nytt materiale

Masteroppgave samfunnskommunikasjon- Universitetet i Agder, 2016Denne oppgaven undersøker hvordan norske popartister promoterer nytt materiale ved hjelp av sosiale medier. Studien sammenligner to debutanters praksiser med praksisene til to etablerte artister. Problemstillingen som blir besvart er: ”Med hvilke retoriske strategier kommuniserer norske artister på Facebook og Instagram ved promotering av ny musikk?”. Oppgaven studerer praksisene til artistene Sondre Justad, Siv Jakobsen, Sondre Lerche og Marit Larsen. Studien benytter teori om sosiale medier, promoteringsteori og klassisk retorikk som teoretisk rammeverk. Den har et kvalitativt fokus, og triangulerer multimodal retorisk tekstanalyse med kvalitative intervju. Studien viser at samtlige artister i stor grad spiller på ethos- og pathosappeller i sin kommunikasjon, og at de utnytter de sosiale medienes egenart i måten de gjøre det på. De orienterer seg alle om både et promoteringsmodus og et identitetsbyggende modus, men i varierende grad og på ulike måter. Forskjellene i artistenes praksis er i stor grad knyttet til stilvariasjoner, og har i liten grad sammenheng med fartstid i bransjen

Smisker du?

Vår Bacheloroppgave tar for seg fenomenet innsmigrende adferd. Vi undersøkte innsmigrende adferd ut i fra problemstillingen: o Hvilken effekt har innsmigrende adferd for selgere i dag? Ut i fra dette fokuserte vi på to ulike avdelinger i bedriften Bisnode Norge. Valg av bedrift grunngis med tanke på at alle var ansatt som selgere. Samtidig som ansvarsområder og erfaring var ulik. Dette ut i fra problemstillingen, og ønsket om å konsentrere oppgaven til selgere. Kunnskap om innsmigrende adferd ble innhentet fra forskningsartikler, artikler, litteratur fra erkjente teorier om innsmigrende adferd og tidligere pensumlitteratur. Effekten av innsmigrende adferd kan forsøkes å skape en forståelse ut i fra flere elementer. Vi valgte dermed ut tre elementer som opplevdes relevant for innsmigrende adferd, men også for arbeidslivet og organisasjonen. Oppgaven stiller spørsmålene: 1. Er de ti ulike kategoriene for innsmigrende adferd representative for selgere i dag? 2. I hvilken grad blir innsmigrende adferd godtatt i de to avdelingene? 3. Hvordan utspilles forskjellene mellom de ulike avdelingene? For å forsøke å besvare den åpne problemstillingen ble det benyttet en kvalitativ metode, med et intensivt design. Datainnsamlingen foregikk ved hjelp av dybdeintervju med seks informanter. Tre fra hver av de avdelingene vi valgte å undersøke. Ved dybdeintervjuene ble den samme intervjuguiden benyttet i de ulike avdelingene. Resultatene viste til at de ti kategoriene for innsmigrende adferd er representative i varierende grad. Videre at innsmigrende adferd blir godtatt i avdelingene vi undersøkte. Samt at alder og erfaring vil ha betydning. Deretter at det er forhold ved de ulike avdelingene som kan være av betydning for hvor godtatt innsmigrende adferd er. Vi konkluderer med at våre forskningsspørsmål bidrar til å svare på valgt problemstilling. Dette med en erkjennelse om at det er flere variabler som bør inkluderes for å kunne fastslå noe. Vi fant videre at innsmigrende adferd i dag vil ha en positiv effekt dersom det benyttes på en riktig måte

Understanding attitudes to priorities at side road junctions

Junctions are places of interaction and hence conflict for all road users. Two thirds of all collisions in built up areas occur at junctions, with pedestrians and cyclists being most at risk. The aim of the research is to investigate the attitudes to change, and likely behaviour at junctions, of all types of road users, were a general and unambiguous duty to ‘give way on turning’ to be introduced in the UK context. Q-methodology was used because it is good at capturing and describing divergent views and also consensus. Q-mode factor analysis was used and revealed five groups with common perspectives, as follows: optimistic experienced drivers, pessimistic regular cyclists, realistic multi-modals, altruistic pedestrians and the pragmatic sustainably mobile. Differences between groups centred on which road user types should be the prime focus of junction improvements, the relative importance of safety and time saving, and the amount of effort required to implement change. There was a strong consensus between the groups that no level of injury and death at road junctions is acceptable, and that regulation changes should be made. Funding for awareness raising, and supporting any regulation change with concomitant design changes to the physical layout of junctions is also important. There is a consistency of opinion across all groups of road users that the lack of alignment between design and regulation, and lack of compliance with the regulations are not acceptable. Each grouping of respondents thought that it is appropriate to make junctions safe for all, and more attractive and convenient for those that are currently the most at risk. There are practical changes that policy makers and practitioners could and should make. Change in regulations could be undertaken, but it would need to be supported by the following: public awareness raising campaigns; infrastructure design changes; funding; and enforcement

An international review of the frequency of single-bicycle crashes (SBCs) and their relation to bicycle modal share

Objectives To study cyclists’ share of transport modes (modal share) and single-bicycle crashes (SBCs) in different countries in order to investigate if the proportion of cyclist injuries resulting from SBCs is affected by variation in modal share. Methods A literature search identified figures (largely from western countries) on SBC casualties who are fatally injured, hospitalised or treated at an emergency department. Correlation and regression analyses were used to investigate how bicycle modal share is related to SBCs. Results On average, 17% of fatal injuries to cyclists are caused by SBCs. Different countries show a range of values between 5% and 30%. Between 60% and 95% of cyclists admitted to hospitals or treated at emergency departments are victims of SBCs. The proportion of all injured cyclists who are injured in SBCs is unrelated to the share of cycling in the modal split. The share of SBC casualties among the total number of road crash casualties increases proportionally less than the increase in bicycle modal share. Conclusions While most fatal injuries among cyclists are due to motor vehicle–bicycle crashes, most hospital admissions and emergency department attendances result from SBCs. As found in previous studies of cyclists injured in collisions, this study found that the increase in the number of SBC casualties is proportionally less than the increase in bicycle modal share.publishedVersio

Factors contributing to young moped rider accidents in Denmark

Young road users still constitute a high-risk group with regard to road traffic accidents. The crash rate of a moped is four times greater than that of a motorcycle, and the likelihood of being injured in a road traffic accident is 10-20 times higher among moped riders compared to car drivers. Nevertheless, research on the behaviour and accident involvement of young moped riders remains sparse. Based on analysis of 128 accident protocols, the purpose of this study was to increase knowledge about moped accidents. The study was performed in Denmark involving riders aged 16 or 17. A distinction was made between accident factors related to (1) the road and its surroundings, (2) the vehicle, and (3) the reported behaviour and condition of the road user. Thirteen accident factors were identified with the majority concerning the reported behaviour and condition of the road user. The average number of accident factors assigned per accident was 2.7. Riding speed was assigned in 45% of the accidents which made it the most frequently assigned factor on the part of the moped rider followed by attention errors (42%), a tuned up moped (29%) and position on the road (14%). For the other parties involved, attention error (52%) was the most frequently assigned accident factor. The majority (78%) of the accidents involved road rule breaching on the part of the moped rider. The results indicate that preventive measures should aim to eliminate violations and increase anticipatory skills among moped riders and awareness of mopeds among other road users. Due to their young age the effect of such measures could be enhanced by infrastructural measures facilitating safe interaction between mopeds and other road users

Necrotiserende enterocolitt : - en kvalitetskontroll-studie

Abstract Background. Necrotizing enterocolitis is a severe gastrointestinal disease affecting newborn, especially premature, infants. Much about the etiology and patophysiology of NEC is still unclear, but it seems to be multifactorial. Research and clinical studies have come up with many hypotheses about risk factors, some of them contradictory. Objectives. To investigate risk factors for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and if there are any differences between the patients with this disease in 1995-1999 versus 2006-2007. Methods. A retrospective case-control study of necrotizing enterocolitis in newborn infants born at Rikshospitalet during 1995-1999 and 2006-2007. Controls were matched according to gestational age; two controls per case. The two time-groups were also investigated against each other. Descriptive analyses with Mann-Whitney and Fisher´s exact tests were used, as well as univariate Cox regression model for analyses of the risk factors. Results. Some of the factors related to feeding showed statistically significant differences between the case- and control-groups. These factors were whether the patient has achieved to be 50% or 100% enterally fed or received breast milk fortifier before symptoms of NEC appeared, compared to the control-group. We also found statistically significant differences between NEC-patients in 1995-1999 versus 2006-2007 regarding factors related to feeding. There was a clear tendency to differences in the postnatal age at which for amino acids and lipids were started, with a much later start-up time for the group from 95-99. There were also significant differences in the maximumdose of amino acids, higher doses being given in the 95-99-group. In addition to the differences in factors related to feeding, we also found statistic significant differences between the group from 95-99 and the group from 06-07 in the number of patients who received antenatal steroids, the number of patients who died and the number of patients who developed IVH, with most patients with these factors in the group from 06-07. The birth weight and the minimum weight also shoved statistically significant differences, with lower weights in the group from 06-07. Conclusions. The study is too small to allow for unequivocal conclusions, but based on our findings regarding feeding, a reasonable question appears to be whether feeding strategies may be an important factor which can influence the development of necrotizing enterocolitis