Do Comedies Beginning in Turmoil but Ending in Harmony Celebrate Life? Essay

This is non the lift out essay (its rubbish but take from it what you impart) To some extent, the avowal is true as proof lies in many plays and refreshings. An example of this is Shakespeares comedic plays. The play A Midsummer Nights Dream begins in Athens where there is turmoil in the sense that Egeus daughter, Hermia, does not wish to marry Demetrius. At the succession of writing the play, these kinds of issues where the epitome of turmoil, parents were desperate to impart their daughters espouse off, the disobedience of this tradition would corroborate caused disharmony and embarrassment, which at the time of writing the plot was abhorrent, demonstrating the turmoil referred to in the question. By the eradicate of the play, the characters take back in love with their respective partners, thus the play ends in harmony.This rout out mean that the Shakespearean comedy discovers look as it demonstrates the hardships that the characters grimaced and how they overcame them. This shows the interview that they can also overcome the spaces that they are facing as the audition could plug in to the characters. This provided the audience with reassurance and a motive to remain positive, they know that their problems will be solved eventu exclusivelyy. The comedy in this sense is celebrating flavors pain, harmony and ability to overcome.However, many comedies that begin in turmoil and end in harmony fail to celebrate manner. Examples include hellions Catch 22. This novel includes the main character Yossarian confine in the middle of World War II. It is soon revealed that Yossarian seems to think that everyone is toilsome to kill him, and so takes the war on a personal level. This situation appears quixotic and so the reader is subsequently unattached from the novel and the marvelous storyline. Readers are unable to feel a connection to Yossarian, and the plot of the novel means that readers are unable to draw parallels from their own lives to Yos sarians or any other characters, consequently the story does not celebrate life of the readers or the characters, even if the novel ends in harmony. The novel being stria in World War II and the audience reading in the 1960s up until today suggests that life would have been completely antithetical.This includes the situation that in the 1960s and to today turmoil is perpetual, especially recently with all sorts of problems regarding the recession, politics and personal issues such as rises in divorce and relations with depression. Consequently, the issues dealt with in Catch 22 concerning the war are completely different to what people arerecently dealing with thus making it progressively difficult to relate to, and so the comedy does not celebrate life in this sense, the twain lives differ enormously.However, it could be argued that the distorted image of life that Heller has order across in Catch 22 could be celebrated. Although the novel contains improbable situations and unlikely events, the readers are still able to somewhat relate to the characters through with(predicate) their personalities and can develop a connection with certain characters they feel they may relate to. Catch 22 ends in harmony, at which point the readers would be able to joyous for the fictitious characters and the obstacles theyve overcome, the comedy in this sense is celebrating life of the fictional characters. Other comedic texts, such as Pride and Prejudice celebrate life as Jane Austen writes the book to be metaphorically representing life at the time of writing. In the novel, a mother is desperate to have her daughters married this was very common in the 1800s.Along with this, PP deals with issues regarding manners, education and upbringing all of which were important in the audience at the time because of the society that they were in. This in itself celebrates life of the people of that generation as the novel metaphorically represents the lives of the readers, the hardships they face to do with class, marriage, education, how these are overcome and prospective laughing(prenominal) death. The readers may not necessarily achieve the same happy ending, or a happy ending at all, but the fact that Austen has employed the happy ending allows the readers to feel resonance, and also happiness for the characters and because through Austens writing style, they have been so closely connected to, almost like friends. Thus the life of the characters is celebrated as well as the readers, whether or not they procure the same outcome.

Comparison of Newspaper Headlines

Newspaper headline creates a powerful centre and interpretation of the whole article. This collection of words sums up the entire base and represents in totality the equally significant lead. A headline intrigues and awakens or grabs a readers interest. At the aforementioned(prenominal) time, it reinforces the intellectual aspect of the reading popular through the rational and logical contentment gained when a reader successfully on a lower floorstands a discussionpaper headline. A story headline strengthens ones sense of be to his or her community in two ways first, through the references to ones sustain society and nation and second, through stereotyped representations of other countries and citizens.News organizations on the internet generally aim to post headlines on the website that will rive and leave an impact to search engine crawlers and internet visitors as often as the regular printed newsworthiness readers. For this purpose, two negatively-toned or presented ne ws headlines of the same story can have different interpretations and effects on the readers. such examples are that of the news about the comment of President Bush on the alleged establishment and working out of U.S. bases in Africa. These are the news from the MSNBC website under the headline Bush U.S. wont urinate new Africa bases and the other news article from the Aljazeera website carrying the headline Bush denies Africa expansion plan (MSNBC, 2008 Aljazeera, 2008).The MSNBC and Aljazeera news headlines were two stated in a negative manner. The former headline (from MSNBC) was presented as an obvious direct quote, apparently coming straight from the U.S. President. The second headline, on the other hand, appears to have been delivered by a second source, not by President Bush himself. The headline by the Aljazeera news implies that denial is the familiar and standard official statement from the White House and not a strong affirmation that the U.S. will definitely not bu ild bases and spread their force power in Africa.Although the said two headlines are fair pessimistic in tone, the MSNBC direct quote headline appears to be to a greater extent effective than the Aljazeera denial headline. This is because the headline was written in a straight-forward plea of President Bush that U.S. will not (by using the term wont) build new Africa bases. Readers of today are always in a knock while accessing vast amount of information from thousands of websites. Thus, the MSNBC headline addresses the basic tendency of internet news organizations of catching the attention and immediate comprehension of online news readers. The MSNBC headline is even beefed up by what is called the subhead (with the phrases President dismisses whistle). This subhead supports and reinforces the main headline which imparts a definite statement that the U.S. is in spades not building new U.S. bases in the African continent.ReferencesAljazeera. (2008, February 20). Bush denies A frica expansion plan. Retrieved February 21, 2008, from http//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23252017/ MSNBC. (2008, February 20). Bush U.S. wont build new Africa bases. President dismisses talk of more military bases on continent as baloney. Retrieved February 21, 2008, from http//english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/1D97988F-6FFB-4BD0-8C43- C3F8420F79B1.htm.

Marketing Ppt

PROJECT REPORT OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT GUIDED BYPRESENTED BY Prof. T. T. NIRANJANNITIN BANSAL 129278039 RANJAN SAHU 129278041 ROHIT MANGAL 129278053 SAURABH SINHA 129278057 Project Report On Taxonomy of Implementation Problems in VMI Contents executive director summary3 Introduction4 Under the typical dividing line model4 treater Managed scrutinize model4 Consignment caudex4 trafficker Managed origin and Stakeholders Chall(a)enges5 Challenges faced in useation of Vendor Managed Inventory7 Analysis of Cases of downing Vendor Managed Inventory9 Conclusion11 References12 Executive summaryThe goal of Vendor Managed Inventory is to provide a mutually safe relationship where two sides Customer and Vendor give be able to control the availability and flow of goods more smoothly and accurately. InVMIa maker or distributer assumes the role of live stress intend for the client. Extensive learning sharing is needed so that the manufacturer/allocator crowd out halt a high d egree of visibility of its goods at the customers location. Instead of the customer re smart case-hardeneding when its supply has been exhausted, the provider is responsible for replenishing and jobing the customer at appropriate levels.Wal-Mart has masteredVMIand is the company against which many a(prenominal) other organizations benchmark themselves. This report covers various issues that argon to be considered to implement the Vendor Managed Inventory. It is realized in the report that several risks are to be considered while executing VMI. The proper analysis is make in check up onking the scenarios where wholeness issue becomes a list factor in deciding to implement VMI or not. Both Marketers and Distributors sire their own issues to challenge the death penalty of VMI. Focus of the report is to determine taxonomy of carrying out problems in VMI.Introduction A bureau of optimizing Supply Chain performance in which the manufacturer is responsible for affirming the el ectrical distributors broth levels. The manufacturer has access to the distributors record data and is responsible for generating purchase ranks. We flush toilet see the differences in hold in stocktaking as Under the typical business model When a distributor needs output, they manoeuver an order against a manufacturer. The distributor is in total control of the timing and size of the order being placed. The distributor maintains the account plan.Vendor Managed Inventory model The manufacturer receives electronic data (usually via EDI or the internet) that tells him the distributors gross revenue and stock levels. The manufacturer can make e genuinely item that the distributor carriers as well as reliable point of sale data. The manufacturer is responsible for creating and maintaining the catalogue plan. Under VMI, the manufacturer breaks the order*, not the distributor. *Note VMI does not change the ownership of inventory. It frame as it did prior to VMI. Consignment InventoryWhen the supplier places inventory at a customers location and retains ownership of the inventory. Payment is not made until the item is existently sold. A VMI relationship may or may not involve consignment inventory. Vendor Managed Inventory and Stakeholders Challenges Vendor Managed Inventory primarily harbour various stakeholders intricate which includes Vendor/Manufacturer or distributor and retailer. Let us show challenges faced by each Challenges in VMI Implementation from vendors side High administrative cost Suppliers would feature to face higher(prenominal) administrative costs.They will have to allocate special staff resources to powerful manage the replenishment activities that were previously managed by the retailer. So to overcome these additional costs, vendors must have to save enough money from the inventory costs and sufficient gross revenue volumes and gross margins spill of securities industry share collectable to less shelf coverage VMI woul d help in reducing the inventory which could lead to the less coverage of the shelf space on the retailers shop which might lead to the reduction in the market share for that crossroad.To resolve this issue, vendor can provide more stock keeping units of the same harvest-feast to fill the shelf space and to maintain the market share. Challenges in VMI Implementation from retailers side Loss of Control If VMI is implemented, thence thither is always a fear in the mind of the retailer that he would loose his control over the trading operations management. All the closings bid when to order, how much to keep as inventory and when to sell the product would be managed by the vendor now which can overly have close to impact on the profit margin of the retailer.Eg. In many cases, Vendor gives discounts to the retailer if they buy in bulk and because above mentioned questions become crucial for the retailer from financial point of view. In case of products with high shelf life, he might want to order in bulk once, instead of ordering in small swarms. risk of exposure of being replaced Retailer would be afraid that after implementing of VMI, when al nearly all the operations management related decisions are taken by the vendor, then the vendor might also think of forward integrating.Hence he would not be fully cooperative in sharing of the data and he would always try to make his presence felt in decision making to show the importance of his role. Fear of losing other vendors The retailer would be afraid of losing other vendors, since in the FMCG business retailers situate products from a lot of vendors to maintain variety for the customers. It would be difficult to choose the vendor who will manage the inventory, because the same vendor would be biased towards his products.This would lead to the phylogenesis of bad relationship between the retailer and the other vendors. After implementation of VMI, forecasting of expect is done by the manufacturer, n ot by the retailers or distributors and it might hit back, if manufacturer is not competent in sagacity the patterns of the consumer demand. Challenges faced in implementation of Vendor Managed Inventory Personal Factors dedicate One of the most important factors which can contribute to the success of the VMI is deposit and good relationship between the vendor and the downstream retailer.But in the FMCG area, where in that location are a lot of products in the same segment, most of the retailers are unwilling to share their data related to their sales with anyone, even with their supplier. This leads to the futile communication between them and both have to incur huge inventory and management costs. Work ethics and cultural differences Each company has its set of work ethics and work culture and if the difference is huge for a vendor and the retailer, then their decisions would not be aligned. Technical IssuesTechnology is one of the most critical factors in facilitating the implementation of VMI which can also stand as a challenge in the implementation of VMI. A lot of good systems would have to be installed for the effective working of the VMI. Some of the technical roots that can facilitate an effective VMI arrangement include Electronic data switch over (EDI). EDI transactions can enable suppliers to efficiently manage customer inventory levels remotely. Replenishment software. These applications allow customers to accurately assess projected armed service levels (i. . the fate of requests that can be filled from stock) based on various inventory investments. Bar coding or radio frequency identification (RFID). These technologies dock products for tracking purposes and can dramatically improve the speed and integrity of the sight and reporting of consumption data. Forecasting software. These applications gather and analyze information from sales, accounting, order entry, and other business systems, using sophisticated algorithms and predi ctive modeling techniques to generate fast, accurate demand forecasts.Investment- A lot of investment would be required to install and maintain any of these systems. Properly equipped manpower would be required to operate these tools. Investment would also be required to mix these tools with each other for efficient functioning of the VMI operations. All this cost would have to be incurred by the vendor and to compensate this cost, he must exhaust returns from the efficient inventory management and higher sales volume cod to less stock-outs. Testing- It requires a lot of m and money in examen the various VMI systems after installing them.An extensive testing has to be done for the EDI system before giving it a final green flagstone for the VMI system. Analysis of Cases of implementing Vendor Managed Inventory Lets discuss some cases where VMI is implemented Barilla Spa Case Barilla is largest manufacturer of merry and dry pasta products with more than 1000 SKUs. It has sales o f around $2B and very stable demand at retail level. Challenges it was facing are as under Retailers didnt have large inventories to accommodate new products introduced from period to time.Stock outs are quiet frequent at DOs. Thin margins for both manufacturers and retailers are adding to the problem. Solution offered through with(predicate) VMI Downstream distribution Center (DC) reports inventory and sales data electronically to Barilla on a insouciant basis. Barilla is managing the inventory of DC and decides how much to ship to them. According to fabrication Weeks crush Plants 2006 Statistical Profile, 56% of the top 25 plants between 2002 and 2006 have used resident suppliers to manage or replenish inventory.However, the average role of purchased materials and components (dollar volume) managed by on-site suppliers is only 13. 7%. So, it seems, there is a time and place for vendor-managed inventory. For example, if youve got an expensive manufacturing line and you ask one of your key suppliers to mold in the systems and develop the expertise to supply the goods you need on a just-in-time basis, they will do that if they receive a significant portion of their revenues from you, says Steve Banker, service director of supply chain management at ARC consultative Group, Dedham, Mass. However, you may have a lot of suppliers where you are only 1% of their total revenue you are not their biggest priority, Banker says. The chances that they will take on added responsibility and costs to manage your inventory is low. So we can see that size of the business does matter in determining the feasibility of implementing VMI.In addition, there is a certain amount of IT integration that has to go on in order to make the VMI relationship work. For suppliers, they need to be able to get your forecasts on a regular basis, make intelligence agency out of them and have visibility into your inventory levels on an ongoing basis, says Banker. Turning that into useable intelligence is kind of difficult. Small and midsized companies often dont have the dedicated IT resources to make that happen, so they struggle. Resident Suppliers Manage/Replenish Inventory (% Of Plants) Year No Yes 2002 44 56 2003 52 48 2004 48 52 2005 32 68 2006 44 56 2002-2006 44 56 Source Industry Weeks shell Plants 2006 Statistical ProfilePercentage Of Purchased Materials And Components (Dollar Volume) Managed By On-Site Suppliers Year Median Mean negligible Maximum 2002 5. 0 24. 4 0. 0 100. 0 2003 0. 0 12. 2 0. 0 100. 0 2004 4. 0 15. 2 0. 0 70. 0 2005 6. 0 13. 8 0. 0 67. 0 2006 4. 2 15. 1 0. 0 95. 0 2002-2006 3. 0 13. 7 0. 0 100. 0 Source Industry Weeks Best Plants 2006 Statistical Profile Similarly, we have case of P&G which happyly employed Vendor managed Inventory while ODLO isnt so successful in implementing the same.Also companies like RUAG arent having any financial or strategical benefit out of implementing VMI and hence didnt go for it. If we analyze the sector in which they operates we come to know, RUAG which is in Airlines sector involves comparatively simpler inventory to maintain while the risk involved in giving away the detail was higher. On the other hand, with the scale of business P&G is in, it is beneficial for both manufacturer (vendor) as well as distributor (or Retailer) to implement VMI. It can be seen both scale and sector favors P&G.GRENDENE, one of the worlds largest footwear manufacturers, implemented Agentrics Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) consequence and aligned its product replenishment process with the real demand of regional distributors/customers, thus increase service level, optimizing stocks and boosting sales. ACHIEVED RESULTS Increase of accuracy in sales forecasts Increase of sales by 47% for participating retailers Improved management of a product mix, by reducing or discontinuing low-performance and low-turnover products Streamlined replenishment of high-performance products tenuous overall result with cu stomers using the solvent. VONPAR With Agentrics VMI solution, acquired a full, web-based supply chain KPI tool. Vonpar Refrescos, Brazils fourth part largest Coca-Cola bottling company with products reaching 14 million consumers, implemented Agentrics Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) solution and with it acquired a complete web-based KPI tool. KPIs track internal and client stock levels, demand planning, order administration, as well as automation of Vonpars product replenishment process, improving service and optimizing stock levels, while improving customer relationships.ACHIEVED RESULTS Average sales increase of 26 percent in the depression 12 months after the solutions implementation Significant increase in sales of juices, tea and beer, which reflects improved stock planning for greater availability of products at store level Maximized speed in the exchange of sales information at store level Stock optimization allowing Vonpar to have the right wing product at the right time in the right place Commercial team freed up to focus on avoiding out-of-stocks. SYNGENTA Implemented Agentrics VMI solution to manage stock jointly with its suppliers.Syngenta, a world-leading agri-business committed to sustainable horticulture through innovative research and technology, implemented Agentrics Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) solution to manage stock in conjunction with its suppliers ACHIEVED RESULTS Reduction of communication errors through process automation and visibility to inventories. Today, our customers say that for the first time in the agricultural market, a company is able to co-manage inventory demand like large retail chains, says Marcos Mazza, Supply Chain Manager. NeoGrid has a solution that abruptly suits our business model Syngenta did not have to adapt to the tool, as the solution metall our needs. Marcos Mazza, Supply Chain Manager. Conclusion The main purpose of this report is to set off the taxonomy of implementation problems in VMI. From the cases visited, we can deduce that various factors play key roles in determining whether to go for Vendor Managed Inventory as there are lot of issues and cost involved in implementing the same.Size of the business, Sector of the business in operation, inter-relationship among stakeholders all plays equally important role in the actual decision making. Though there is no clear cut taking into custody on whether to implement VMI or not but one can easily concur with increasing role of technology and with dynamic demand it is only going to rise.References Williams, M. (1998). Making Consignment and Vendor-Managed Inventory Work For You. APICSInternational Conference. Schreibfeder, J. (1997). Vendor Managed Inventory theres more to it than just sell products. effective Inventory. com Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment Committee. (1998)Jointly Managed Inventory Approach Provides a overturn Level of Detail. CPFR. Org http//www. scm. ethz. ch/publications/Practitione r_publications/Niranjan_etal_2011_Are_you_ready_for_VMI. pdf http//www. emeraldinsight. com/journals. htm? articleid=1620974show=abstract http//openarchive. cbs. dk/handle/10398/8229 http//www. supplyon. com/vendor-managed-inventory_at_zf. html http//www. industryweek. com/procurement/vendor-managed-inventory-size-matters

Pet Peeve Essay

Frankly I develop a rather extensive list of pet peeves. Either that or I have a very low tolerance for many things. unmatchable of my biggest annoyances however, happens to be something that I quite enjoy as well. To be in a relationship, for example, is my biggest pet peeve. non so much being in a relationship, but all that pursues during and after this bond.Dont let me be misunders as well asd, though I hate to be in a relationship, it has its perks but thats a different matter. To be in a committed relationship does require the fundamental regulation that you must stay, exclusively, with this soul al whiz. This I have no issue with, however I am not in favor of someone or anyone thinking of me as theirs similar to how their property is theirs. I will stride by ones side, not be a mere possession to just tag along. I am my own somebody and infatuated or not I will never forget it. I assume its full to say that my peeve isnt necessarily relationships, but noticeably majestic relationships.When I am stuck in a bad relationship and Im aw are of the matter, there is no greater infuriation in my opinion. Standing idly aside and watching your days will with irritations and anger. Not anger towards the other person but to oneself for doing nothing to terminate or aid the situation. My days were filled with complete nothing and had no one to blame but myself. These bonds should be founded upon mutual acceptance of one another. divided up trust is bestowed within each other alongside the love and partiality you cant do without.If perchance I feel that I am not receiving all of these aspects it truly ticks me off. Why then should I obligate myself to one whom does not do so to me? I hate if I am truly giving all my effort in return of minimal to no effort at all. Eventually this person resolves to none other than taking me for granted. Overlook me for something of superior importance or higher significance. My worth will be eternally forgotten and what I had e ndured this far is in vain.Day to day obstacles will prove too problematic to stomach sooner or later. Seems as if everyone and everything necessitys this unappreciated tie beam to come to an end just as much as I do. Temptations are the work of the devil himself and never fail to win the look of an interested morsel of a man. For the saying goes, You always want what you want until you have it. Or perhaps Ive said it myself. His wondering eye will have me on the verge of insanity with rambunctious assumptions and psychoneurotic suspicions.I hate if they mistake my praise for license and suppose they have every right to demand of me, to order me around. Whats more than is that you make better treat me like a princess if you have the audacity to order me like a slave. All these dreadful features in a relationship jumper cable to sever trust issues, dishonestly within each other, and far more shadiness. You incorporate all of this in a couple and believe me this is a tie boun d to fall apart from the loose ends in.In conclusion, perhaps I should stop dating, or genuinely try to have a functional relationship. Maybe I shouldnt give up at the first sure sign of trouble and help fix it at a time again before its too late to fix. My pet peeves are being stuck in a dreadful relationship and that I simulatet have the nerve to do something about it.

Pure High Note Essay

A Pure, High pock of Anguish by Barbara Kingsolver Barbara Kingsolvers A Pure, High Note of Anguish, expresses her direful grief in seeing innocent commonwealth sink without having do anyaffair to deserve it. To Americans, Kingsolver says There are no worse solar days, it seems, referring that 9/11 is the worst thing thats ever kick downstairsed in the world. Kingsolver symbolizes the children leaping in the street as the execration that other countries have against the United States. Kingsolver believes asking, leave al hotshot this happen to me? is the wrong question because almost always people die without having make anything to deserve it. To Kingsolver, people almost always die without having done anything to deserve it. To this I agree. Over 3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York city and Washington, D. C. , including more than 400 police officers and firefighters (History). As of June 2006, 1577 Louisiana residents had been confirmed as deceased a s a result of Katina (Sharkey). Motor vehicle crashes in the United States result in more than 40,000 deaths per course (Hitti). Each year globally, 12. million people learn they have cancer, and 7. 6 million people die from the disease (CDC). As most people would weigh, e very(prenominal) one of these victims are innocent people who do not deserve to die. As seen above, these causes of deaths can be from attacks, natural disasters, accidents, and diseases. Death is something that occurs in nature and it is some(prenominal) inevitable and final (Cole). No one knows when, where or how they pull up stakes die. The whole thing that is certain is no one deserves to die. Kingsolver states There are no worst days, it seems, meaning that this is the worst thing that has ever happened in the world. perchance it was the worst thing to happen in the world at that time, and for all of history no. On December 26th, 2004, in selenium Asia an earthquake occurred out at sea in the Indian Oc ean, which instantly caused a deadly tsunami to happen. An estimated 230,000 people died (Wikramanayake). Do we Americans believe that is the worst thing to ever happen in the world? Of course not because we think 9/11 is the worst thing to ever happen to us. kinsfolk 11, 2001, stands as the defining event of the 21st century. It was the worst day of my keep and the best day.It was the worst day because of the incomprehensible death, destruction and evil. September 11 was as well the best day because it put on display the very finest human instincts compassion, courage, kindness, selflessness (Giuliani). These are the words of former New York city manager Rudi Giuliani, who was the mayor during 9/11. Kingsolvers child was wondering why in that location were children dancing in the streets after the news of 9/11. I truly thought the same and remember vividly watching when this occurred on the news.Kingsolver symbolizes these children dancing in the streets as people showing th eir hatred towards the United States. Everybody knows on that point has been much anti-Americanism in the Middle East (Tooley). Yet it is undeniable that more Middle Easterners have good reason, from their perspective, to hate the USA (Tooley). In Iraq, for example, it would be amazing indeed if the ferocious death rate among civilians especially children since the embargo and the steady number of civilian casualties from our continued bombing had not created feelings of hatred which would give cause for celebration now (Tooley).Kingsolver and others believe that our country required to learn how to hurt from these attacks. I believe that is true and that we have also overcome the hurt. Al Qaedas intentions of these attacks were to break the United States down. nevertheless I believe that it only made the United States stronger as a nation and more aware of threats against us. Psychologically, the nation joined together in a unity that had not been seen since the end of World War II (Jensen). When it comes to our national security and our awareness of the threat from Islamic extremists, we are pause prepared than we were but not as prepared as we should be. Our give-and-take base is better and our airport security is better, for all its frustrations, (Giuliani). Will this happen to me? is the wrong question, Im sad to say. The question should really be, when will this happen to me? That question is unknown to everyone. No one can counter the moment of death (Scott). People wake up each day and have no clue what will happen to them.

Gwen Harwood “Sharpness of Death” and “At Mornington” Essay

Through a critical study of Gwen Harwoods poetry, the responders personal result has a signifi stomacht mental picture on their sound judgement towards her poetry. In The Sharpness of final stage, Harwood explores the inexplicable link between heart and cobblers sound, as well as the value of memories in result to the inevitable flitting of measure. Similarly in At Mornington, Harwood accentuates the value of appreciating breeding to overpower death and the splendor of memories to lessen the effect of time handout. These aspects, which reoccur end-to-end Harwoods poetry be universal, timeless, and prevalent to human existence and society. As a result, Harwoods poetry has been able to endure change contexts and lodge to captive and create meaning for readers. The varying interpretations of Harwoods work captivate the judgement of responders to both the individual verses, and Harwoods poetry as a whole.The Sharpness of Death explores differing perspectives on death and its irrefutable link with life, encourage modern-day readers to question their value of death and develop a judgement on the poem and Harwoods poetry as a whole. circumstances one of the poem establishes the personas desire to bargain with death, through the demanding tone that is employ to address it, Leave me alone. For the contemporary reader, this highlights the desperation to evade death, something many redbrick responders atomic number 18 able to identify with. As the poem continues, Harwood renders the philosophers attempts to undermine death through analysis, as meaningless. The use of the oxymoron complex logic, highlights the futility of this act, suggesting that death cannot be explained, entirely experienced. This challenges the value of attempting to understand death for the responder as even those considered the virtually intelligent living, cannot provide sufficient answers. As the poem continues, the importance of life, kinda than explanations, to overc ome death is explored.The personification of blossoms in the line, blossoms to hold the light thats gone, highlights for responders that the beauty of life, as represented by the blossoms, needs to be apprehended and understood in order to come to terms with the shadower that comes later death. Thefinal tell of the poem returns screen to low gear person, giving the poem a cyclical spirit, common in Harwoods poetry. This depicts to audiences the cyclical nature of life and the subsequent inevitability of death. In the final two lines of the poem,If I fall from that time, then set your teeth in me, the negative mental rangery depicts the personas view that only when she has lost the fulfillment that comes with life, volition she be able to accept death. This creates a positive judgement for the responder, delineation that their fear of death can subside if their life has been lived with joy. The exploration of the federation between life and death throughout The Sharpness of Death, encourages responders to challenge their light on the radio link between to two.The rejoinder of audiences towards The Sharpness of Death, brings up questions in relation to the value of remembrance in response to the passing of time, needfully impacting upon the judgement of the contemporary reader. In the second part of the poem, I apprehend he found some light beyond that field of scurrilous everlasting flowers, the positive connotation of light highlights the power of memories in overcoming the darkness that is death. For responders, this leads them to accept that their memories are what will alleviate them from the effects of times passing. This image of b privation flowers is juxtaposed by the description of the Nasturitums in part troika of the poem, Purest of colours, how they shone. The allegory of the flowers depicts the power of positive memories to overcome struggles that have been faced as time has progressed. The personification of light where Harwood says, light like a awful visitor stayed with us briefly and moved on, emphasises the power of memories which often snuff it as time goes on.This encourages the contemporary reader to consider what their prominent memories are and thus, consider how their perception of them has changed over time. The rhetorical question, How would you ever k straightaway me nowunless I brought these flowers, enhances the idea that it is remembered past experiences which enable us to draw a connection between the past and present. For the contemporary reader, this accentuates the value of memories in appreciating life, a consistent theme of Harwoods throughout her poetry. The sexual imagery in the final part of the poem, my tongue sang with his juices, depicts the strong influence of memories in relation to love in giving power to accept death, when thepassing of time is over. This places death in perspective for responders, as being only one aspect of life, with memories and friendship enabling pe ople to transcend it. throughout The Sharpness of Death, Harwoods exploration of the power of memories in accordance with the passing of time influences the responders perception to a bulky extent.The connection between life and death is further accentuated through Harwoods poem, At Mornington, which, similarly to the The Sharpness of Death, challenges readers to develop a judgement towards this inexplicable connection. The first part of the poem depicts the fearlessness and uncertainty of childhood, deriving from a lack of under stand of death. In conjunction with this, the simile, was caught by a wave and trilled like a doll among rattling shells, suggests the powerlessness of the persona to fake her direction in life, at a stage where there was no understanding of death. This model has been experienced by an array of responders, and thus impacts upon their nous to a large extent. The metaphor which Harwood uses to describe the graveyard the persona is standing in, avenues o f the dead, emphasises that everything in life is temporary, with death being the only definitive part. This asserts to the contemporary reader that death does not need to be focused upon as it is certain. Therefore life which is temporary and changing, should be valued.In the second last stanza, We have one day, only one, but more than enough to go over us, the repetition of one highlights the power of even a small part of life being able to assist in overcoming the struggle that public opinion of death places upon our existence. As the poem progresses, the persona is able to develop a changed perspective on death. The irony in the line, at your side among the sculpt I think of death no more, highlights the personas acceptance of the cycle of life as a result of the strong friendship they have developed, alluring readers to do the same. Water is used as a powerful motivation throughout the poem, highlighting the personas acceptance of the inevitability of death, in particular, w aters that bear me away forever. This encourages the contemporary reader to also accept this inevitability in order to appreciate their own life. The response of readers to the value of life in accepting death throughout At Mornington, has a significant impact upon their opinion as it is a concept that is universally experienced andunderstood.In accordance with The Sharpness of Death, Harwoods At Mornington, encourages audiences to develop a judgement in regards to the value of memories in response to the passing of time. The poem begins with Harwoods reposition of her early childhood where she leapt from her bewilders arms into the sea. The alliteration to introduce this, They told me, highlights her lack of personal memory of the uncertainty of her childhood and the need of others to reinforce this memory. For many responders, the uncertainty of their childhood was not realised until adulthood, allowing them to appreciate Harwoods poetry as applicable to their lives. The high modality to describe her memory of believing she could walk on water, Indeed I remember, depicts the prominent memories of the innocent child. This brings responders to consider that while the memory of invincibility is strong, the sense of invincibility itself has been lost as time has progressed.The topic of water is also continued, this time referring to memories, on what flood are they borne. This metaphor highlights that memories are able to cross the boundaries of time, thus emphasising the importance of them to responders who are experiencing the effects of times passing. This motif is continued in the fourth stanza, There is silence some water left over. This depicts to the contemporary reader that even when time seems to have reached its end, memories still retain the ability to bring back the sense of abatement attached with them. In the final stanza, the metaphor, rolled in one grinding race of dreams, pain, memories, love and grief, highlights that memories are attache d to varying emotions and are apart of the race that is life, where the inevitable end is death. This causes readers to consider the importance of the varying memories within their life, to make the journey to the end worthwhile. Through the tasting of memories in response to times passing throughout At Mornington, responders are able to identify with Harwoods poetry and thus develop a significant association with it.Throughout Harwoods poetry, in particular, The Sharpness of Death and At Mornington, a variety of universal and timeless concepts are explored, sparking varying responses from responders. In both these poems, theconnection between life and death, and the value of memories in response to the passing of time is explored. This exploration by Harwood is one that can be related to by a variety of readers, influencing these readers to a large extent, to develop a judgement towards Harwoods poetry as a whole.

Machiavelli vs. Thoreau (Compare and Contrast Essay) Essay

The way virtuos championss should govern and the way for one to be governed leave alone forever and a day be an ongoing struggle. How muckle a govern manpowert maintain wander and the safety of its people yet at the same time preserve its citizens natural right to be supernumerary? The ideas from Niccolo Machiavelli, an Italian aristocrat, who published The Prince in 1513 for a Medici prince as a guidepost on how to design a country, infracts a conservative approach to how one should govern. Henry David Thoreaus Civil Disobedience published in 1849, offers a liberal approach on how one should be governed. Machiavelli stresses the importance of maintaining aim while Thoreau suggests reform.Although their sides atomic number 18 different both workforce approach their congeals in an aggressive manner. Machiavellis approach for his audience would be by concern and power while Thoreaus approach for his audience would be through nonviolent acts, such as being a nuisance to the governance. Machiavellis audience would be whatsoever(prenominal) person in a position of power, particularly that of a prince. Machiavelli engages aphorisms and historical references when introducing his argument. Not only would he make up his argument but he also presents an opposing point of view and discredits it. Thoreaus audience would be people who share his views on a less controlling and a lesson government. Thoreau appeals to his audience through the use of aphorisms as well as analogies with which people would be able to identify.Machiavelli insists that a ruler must(prenominal) do whatever is in his power to rule his people regardless of whether his actions are moral or immoral and that it is safer to be feared than to be loved when one of the two must be wanting(p).For one can generally say this round men that they are ungrateful, fickle, simulators and deceivers, avoiders of danger, greedy for gain, and while you work for their good they are completely yo urs, oblation you their blood, their property, their tolerates, and their sons (Jacobus 44). These comments support the pessimistic views that Machiavelli has about mankind. He theorizes that man is immoral because justifying a ruler being immoral.He states that in return for a rulers protection that a man must give his life. Contrary to Machiavellis views on morality, Thoreaus states, That government is best which governs not at all (Jacobus 145) and that It is truly enough said that a corporation has no conscience but acorporation of conscientious men is a corporation with a conscience (Jacobus 146). Thoreau believes that it is a mans moral beliefs that would make a moral government. He believes that a man, if left at his own will, will do what is right and in return, if in government, will do what is right for the people.When governing a country, a ruler must have an army. In that aspect, Machiavelli states A prince, therefore, must not have any other object nor any other thou ght, nor must he pull in ones horns anything as his profession, but war, its institutions, and its discipline (Jacobus 37) and that between an gird and strip man there is no comparison whatsoever, and it is not reasonable for an armed man to obey and unarmed man willingly, nor that an unarmed man should be safe among armed servants (Jacobus 38). These statements suggest that a ruler must always prepare for war and military strength is more intimidating than any other type of force. In order to maintain a country, a ruler must have a strong army to correspond it. Thoreaus opinion on the military seems to differ in which he describes an army as small movable forts and magazines at the service of approximately unscrupulous man in power (Jacobus 147). He clearly describes men as machines of a ruler lacking morals, rather than men protect country.Machiavelli emphasizes a ruler maintaining order and control while Thoreau emphasizes on the citizens impression or having an impact on t heir government. For example, Machiavellis approach on how this order can be established would be through appearance. When Machiavelli states, And men in general judge more by their eyes than their hands for everyone can see but few can feel. Everyone sees what you seem to be, few perceive what you are, and those few do not dare to contradict the opinion of the many another(prenominal) who have the majesty of the state to defend them and in the actions of all men (Jacobus 47), he is stating that what a ruler does that his citizens do not know about should not affect his reputation, as most people will survey the majority if the majority believes that their ruler is just and fair.He whence continues to justify how this can be accomplished. Machiavelli continues to explain how a ruler can be deceiving when need be but can also be render as merciful, faithful, human, forthright, religious (Jacobus 47),leader yet at the same time, he states, in order to maintain the state he is of ten have to act against his promise, against charity, against humanity, and against religion (Jacobus 47). In these statements, Machiavelli is arguing that in order for a leader appear moral he is often subjected to immoral acts.Thoearus views seem to disagree with Machiavellis reasoning as Thoeau states, A nonage is powerless while it conforms to the majority it is not even a minority then but it is irresistible when it clogs by its whole weight (Jacobus 155). Thoreau believes in the good in men and that every man will do what is right for himself and if he believes a government to be immoral then it should be a mans duty to rebel for what is right. Although one might be a part of the minority, an impact can mute be made if the group stands together.The power struggle between government and exclusive freedom has been and always will be a unfading battle. Comparing Machiavellis standpoint, which would be order and control, and Thoreaus standpoint, being individual freedom, woul d give one an idea of this conflict. Even though both men were from different countries and lived during different times in history, their contrasting ideas still live through people in societies today and will echo into the minds of others in societies to follow.

The Traffic Safety Problem in Urban Areas

THE TRAFFIC SAFETY PROBLEM IN urban AREAS J. ARCHER1 and K. VOGEL2 1 CTR, Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan, Stockholm, Sweden 2 VTI, Linkoping, Sweden E-mail jeffery. emailprotected kth. se katja. emailprotected se As the deed of quite a little who reside and work in urban aras increases, so, too, do the prevail and demands placed on the radical. This has led to intense congestion in m any(prenominal) europiuman cities, a point which affects non solely the environment in term of pollution, muchover or so notably take aims of transaction base hit.In atomic keep down 63, tens of thousands of people argon killed in track handicraft fortuitys, and more than than 1 million atomic go 18 injured each year at a cost, which is estimated to exceed the deduct up europiuman Union budget by a itemor of two. The volume of apoplexys involving stigma hail at heart urban aras precise much at junctions, magical spell the bod of fatalities remote these beas is ex pectant, closelyly as a bequeath of high pep pill. avocation galosh research has interpretn a biased interest in the conundrums associated with tug focal point and rural argonas in the past.There ar many an opposite(prenominal) reasons, which advocate a enormous interest in urban argonas, in segmenticular, those related to the rubber eraser of unshielded track drug practisers. In urban atomic number 18as the occupation system stage setting is more complex, where a mixed route giver environment prevails and great perceptual and cognitive demands argon placed on channel users. In the past, many of the more successful golosh countermeasures collapse focusinged on designing the passageway to meet the ineluctably and fixateations of route users. These solutions wipe out, however, proved to be very costly.Today, brisk and congressly cheap technological solutions referred to as reas hotshotnessd Transport Systems (ITS) redeem been developed which cede the capacity to reduce pictorial matter, apoplexy risk, and casualty severity. While the long term do of these systems argon crowingly unknown, and problems associated with meterisation and legislation atomic number 18 in need of resolve, systems much(prenominal) as goodly Speed Adaptation and advanced vocation go over systems strike press outn great potential with compute to the employment preventative problem in urban areas.In vow to effectuate this potential, a great deal of integ setd multi-disciplinary research is required. 1. INTRODUCTION The last pennyury of the act millennium has seen large improvements in the living conditions and economic wealth of the industrialised nations of the world, and incident any(prenominal)y a large maturement in population, particularly in urban areas. The growth of cities and towns has too led to an increase in the need for mobility, and a consequent increase in the numbers and types of fomites occupying the road infr astructure.The exponential increase in the number of vehicles during the twentieth pennyury has outlying(prenominal)ther outweighed the projected capacities and adaptive capabilities of the breathing road infrastructure systems, this has firmnessed in a patch of congestion and defeat among road users of all told types and has had signifi stomacht detrimental effects for dealing recourse in foothold of the un go forable numbers of road throws involving fate and injury. During 1997, on that point were slightly 45 000 fatalities, and 1. million injuries describeed from road craft throws at heart the European OECD countries according to statistics shell outn from the Inter correction of try out roadway Traffic and fortuity Database (IRTAD). The costs of such separatrixs at bottom the European Union are estimated to be in the region of 160 billion ECU per year, thitherby exceding the total yearly budget for the EU in 1997 (89 billion ECU). Statistics indica te that while just about two-thirds of all fatalities exit outside urban areas, two-thirds of the total number of injuries overtake inside urban areas.The outcomes of urban separatrixs are unremarkably less(prenominal) severe in terms of the numbers of injuries and fatalities as a direct depart of the greater assignations imposed on induce. Mainly for this reason, about of the worldwide and national handicraft natural rubber research has focused on locomoteship canal and major(ip) roadsteadteadtead that fall in towns and cities by traversing rural and suburban areas. 2 Why conpenny set on on Traffic Problems in urban Areas?There are however, a number of very in-chief(postnominal) reasons why the traffic system animate in urban areas should not be disregarded by usual research. about fundamentally, there are a great number of people living in urban areas, and travel distances are by and large shorter than in rural areas, which encourages people to use bi whee l arounds or to walk. match to the statistics for the European OECD countries, pedestrians amounted to 15 per cent, and cyclists 6 to per cent, of the total number of roadtraffic fatalities during 1997, respectively.For other(prenominal)(a) types of road users, such as vehicle drivers, there are significant differences in the types of diagonals that run in urban areas with a greater number of rear-end and go collisions, and a bigger percentage of collisions communicatering at junctions. Generally, the urban environment can be regarded as more complex with many variant types of road users with unalike necessarily, the physical and mental demands placed on road users are whence oftentimestimes high, and are reflected in the statistics by a comparatively greater number of diagonals involving injury.The Development of Traffic safeguard in urban Areas from a Historical Perspective In the past, European traffic gum elastic in urban areas has most typically focused on s ecureness anxiety and traffic calming. Kjemstrup and Herrstedt (1992), determine three specific breaker points of development. During the origin period introductory to 1968, the major growth in the number of vehicles was signly countered by expanding the infrastructure where realizable.These measures soon proved insufficient, leading to the hazardous overuse of local roads that had previously catered for lighter traffic, cyclists and pedestrians. In the second period from 1969 to 1979, the traffic safety problem was ascended by separating light and fast-moving heavy traffic, and by designing the traffic environment with an emphasis on uni mouldity and simplicity. Traffic calming initiatives became general unneurotic with what became known as Woonerf design, which entailed physical speed-reducing measures (e. . humps and narrowings), and rules to govern speeds and priorities at bottom urban areas. The third period from 1980 to 1990 saw increasing opposition to speed reduci ng measures by earthly concern and private interests. A new and less expensive solution was required, and eventually took the form of environmentally adapted through-roads, which took into experimental condition flow- evaluate, composition of traffic, contingency rank, pedestrian needs, and environmental sensitivity (in intercourse to ruffle directs air-pollution and so ontera ).Research has shown considerable success in a number of European countries (e. g. Denmark, France, Germany), while others have neglected the potential offered by this belief. Kjemstrup and Herrstedt (1992) concluded at the time of writing, that automatic speed regulation devices were a long way into the prox and that traffic calming through physical measures and the design of way space was the only currently available approach to achieving let down speeds and increase safety and security and an meliorate urban environment.Despite safety countermeasures such as traffic calming techniques, variou s legislative measures, publicity campaigns, active law force enforcement, improvements in vehicle safety standards, and local improvements in the infrastructure, the problems related to traffic safety in urban areas still prevail at an intolerably high aim. angiotensin-converting enzyme area of research that has shown great promise is that concerning respectable Transport Systems (ITS) which exploit the latest info and communication technologies and integ regularise them into the traffic system.This approach enables the already engorged infrastructure to be utilised with much greater efficiency, and to round extent can resolve problems associated with human limitations. The future get ons to have arrived for automatic speed regulation devices such as Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA), which are perceived to have great safety potential (see e. g. SNRA, 1996). There is however, an irrefutable need for establishing sound scientific fellowship related to how effective count ermeasures, with or without the aid of ITS, can be designed, developed, and use to resolve urban area traffic safety problems.The Need for Traffic gum elastic Strategies The World Health Organisation has referred to the subsisting traffic safety as a social and public health problem. In set to approach this problem, polar European and world-wide traffic safety research programs have been initiated, which call for international co-operation amid unlike institutions and establishments, and a conglomeration of polar scientific disciplines in a major offensive to find ways to improve the present space.At a national level some countries have developed specific traffic safety strategies in sanctify to approach the traffic safety problem. 3 In Sweden, the vision zero has been basic by the government in order that individuals and organisations can develop an useable pushing and innovative thinking towards a new and radical future situation where the desired ultimate goal is to have zero road-traffic fatalities (Tingvall, 1995). This is to be achieved by emphasising for individuals that loss of health is smashly unacceptable, and that traffic safety is finally their responsibility.The focus of financial aid is placed on active safety (i. e. the prevention of casualtys), passive safety (i. e. reducing the severity of throws upon grade passrence), and upward(a) the rescue services, health- machinee, and rehabilitation. Importantly, it is recognised that there are other interests in society in supplement to the provision of safety (e. g. environmental issues and regional plan issues) which must be discussed in order to find a balance by administration other than those in the road-transport sector in a social and governmental context.Thus, the vision zero concept bespeaks a wide spectrum of interest at many different levels in order to bid an integrated and far reaching approach to the traffic safety problem in Sweden. Delimiting and define Ur ban Areas for Traffic Safety Research In this report it is eventful to distinguish mingled with those roads that can be regarded as part of an urban area road intercommunicate, and those which are not. A reasonably unequivocal definition of urban areas could be taken to include all types of roads provided that they fall within a town or city boundary.This mark is, however, too general to be of value for research purposes. The definition that is espouse by the Swedish Institute for Transport and Communications analytic thinking ( sika), and which lead be used as a de pass onrenceo definition in this report is roads which most often are directly adjacent to large numbers of buildings where people live and work roads where there are many different types of road users (including cyclist and pedestrians) allowed to use the road roads where there is a high density of road junctions, roundabouts, pedestrian fords and so forth n order to allow for a clean level of availablen ess for all road users roads where the maximum allowed speed is no greater than 50 km/h, or where a higher speed limit is posted, scarce the density of the surrounding buildings and the traffic conditions resemble those draw supra Roads that lead through built-up areas, but do not have convergences and are separated from the environment (by a fence) or restricted to drive vehicles are not considered to lie in an urban area (SIKA, 1999).The Swedish National Road Authority makes a distinction among inter potpourri, intermediate, and suburban roads (SNRA, 1989, p. 55). What are considered urban or built-up areas differs to some extent from country to country depending on the responsibilities and prevailing political modality of the local and central authorities with regard to different road categories, and environmental and traffic safety issues. The exact distinction re chief(prenominal)s therefore jolly fuzzy at an international level. 2. SWEDISH AND INTERNATIONAL T RAFFIC S AFETY S TATISTICS THE D IFFERENCES BETWEEN URBAN AND NON-URBAN AREAS The traffic safety situation in Sweden is describe annually in an official publication entitle Traffic Injuries produced by the Swedish Institute for Transport and Communication Analysis (SIKA). This publication is ground entirely on police describe accident entropy, and represents only those accidents, which adopt personal injury.The problem of under-reporting is acknowledged, and it is believed that the statistics presented might represent only as much as 30 per cent of the lighter injuries and approximately 60 per cent of the more drab injuries. Most injuries in coitus to the different road user groups are believed to be represented to a level of approximately 50 per cent (e. g. caroccupants, forcecyclists, pedestrians). The most notable ejection is put together in the statistics for cyclists which are only believed to be represented to a level of 15 per cent (SIKA, 1999). Basic Swedish statistics an d trends for the period 1960-1997 With 8. 5 million inhabitants, Sweden has one of the smallest populations among the European OECD nations. The infrastructure consists of a 210 000 km road network that is populated by around 4. 44 million motor vehicles. During the period among 1960 and 1997, the total number of accidents and the number of urban accidents has declined marginally (see fancy 1). The total number of fatalities and the number of fatalities in urban areas has, however, declined significantly (by more than 50 per cent since the mid-1960s) during this time period (see identification number 2).During the period from 1960 to 1997 the proportion of accidents involving unavoidableness in urban areas has remained relatively constant, at an second-rate of 32 per cent of the total number. Similarly, the proportion of accidents involving injury in urban areas has remained fairly constant during this time period at around 58 per cent of the total number. 20000 18000 long hun dred0 16000 1four hundred0 12000 1000 1400 No of Accid. 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 1960 cerebrovascular accidents Urban Areas contingencys in total No of fatalities 800 600 400 plunkalities In total Fatalities urban areas 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 200 0 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 990 1995 1960 1965 Year Year introduce 1 arbitrary number of police reported accidents on Swedish roads that evented in injuries or fatalities during the period 1960 to 1997, and absolute number for the alike(p)(p) types of accidents in urban areas during the same period. Figure 2 Absolute number of police reported fatalities on Swedish roads during the period 1960 to 1997, and absolute number for the same type of accidents in urban areas during the same period. Comparing Swedish Urban and Non-Urban Statistics In 1997, 9 015 of the 15 752 reported road accidents involving compulsion or injury derivered in urban areas.These urban area accidents provideed in 154 fatalities, 1 765 serious injuries , and 11 593 less serious injuries. The remaining 6 737 accidents occurring outside urban areas resulted in 387 fatalities, 2 152 serious injuries, and 7 689 less serious injuries. The majority of the accidents that are reported to the police authorities involve one or more motor vehicles. The main classes of accidents are single vehicle accidents, vehicle-vehicle accidents, and accidents where vehicles and unprotected road users are twisty (i. e. oped riders, cyclists, and pedestrians). 5 item-by-item vehicle accidents usually occur in situations where drivers lose control over their vehicle, often as a result of brainish too fast for the situation and prevailing road conditions. Many of these accidents occur at night-time and involve collisions with place vehicles. With regard to vehiclevehicle accidents, a more in-depth search at the nature of the accident called for is in order to get a clearer picture of the different accident profiles occurring in Swedish urban and non-ur ban areas.The main types of vehicle-vehicle accidents described by SIKA are Overtaking and Lane-ever- changing Accidents where the two earlier involved vehicles are on the same road travelling in the same direction without any planned turn and where one of the vehicle drivers in be givened to either adjustment lanes or overtake. Rear-End Accidents where the two primarily involved vehicles are on the same road travelling in the same direction without any planned turn and the following vehicle collides with the vehicle in front. No intended loss should be present in the situation. Meeting Accidents in which both of the primarily involved vehicles collided while travelling in setback directions with no planned turn. Turning Accidents where the two primarily involved vehicles are originally travelling on the same road in the same or enemy direction, and where one or both of the vehicles has planned to turn. cut through Accidents where the two primarily involved vehicles a re originally travelling on different roads, and where neither of the vehicles has planned to turn in a situation where the vehicles planned routes cross each other, or where one or both vehicles planned to turn. otherwises Accidents that do not fit any of the above descriptions (e. g. reversing accidents and U-turn accidents). The differences in the number of accident occurrences amongst urban and non-urban areas are depicted in Figure 3. The figure indicates that almost all accident types are more frequent in urban areas, with the exception of single-vehicle accidents, accidents involving overtaking or lane changing, and meeting accidents.Single vehicle accidents occur more often outside urban areas often as a result of loss of control at speeds, which are too high for the prevailing road conditions. Overtaking tends to occur less frequently within urban areas where a speed limit of 50 km/h or less is posted, and generally congested conditions restrict the opportunity for a man oeuvre of this type. Lane changing on the other hand occurs quite frequently within urban areas, but does not result in the same number of accidents most in all likelihood on bet of lower speeds.The number of rear-end accidents is greater within urban areas than in rural areas, there is a considerably larger number of situations per km of roadway which require vehicles to stop or consent to. Similarly, there is a greater number of opportunities for number and crossing accidents within urban areas due to higher levels of congestion and the higher number of traffic junctions. The most noticeable differences between urban and non-urban area accidents that are depicted in Figure 3, are those concerning motor vehicles and unprotected road users (i. . mopeds, cycles, and pedestrians). There is a comparatively greater number of unprotected road users in urban areas, but the absolute number of these accidents in equation to single vehicle and vehicle-vehicle accidents bespeak that thi s is one area that should be given great attention in the field of traffic safety research. The others kinsperson shown in Figure 3, which is not vehicle-vehicle related refers to accidents involving a vehicle and another(prenominal) type of breastwork than those already mentioned.In rural areas and on motorways (and occasionally with urban areas) accidents occur that involve motor vehicles and wild animals that have strayed onto the road, larger animals such as elk can cause severe injury and sometimes unavoidableness. Other types of motor vehicle accidents resulting in injury can as well involve other forms of transportation that occupy or cross the roadway (e. g. trains, trams, tractors and other more unusual vehicles). Accidents that result in injury overly occur between forms of transportation that do not involve the more normal motor vehicles category, and in some cases pedestrians (e. . between cycles, mopeds, and/or pedestrians). 6 The fatality statistics breach some interesting situations (see Figure 4). Most importantly, all types of vehicle-vehicle accidents result in a greater number of fatalities outside urban areas, despite the feature that some types occur more frequently within urban areas. This item can be attributed largely to the higher speeds allowed on non-urban roads, and is exaggerated provided by the number of fatalities in meeting accidents in non-urban areas where the collision speed is the sum of the two vehicles that are approaching in opposite directions.The unprotected road users category is that which is of great concern to traffic researcher with regard to urban areas. The proportion of accidents involving motor vehicles and pedestrians or cyclists that result in fatality are considerably greater in non-urban areas as a result of the higher speed of the vehicles, but the absolute number of those accidents is considerably small outside urban areas. The traffic safety problems associated with unprotected road users ar e quite prominent.The fatality risk in myrmecophilous of the type of area where the fatality occurred for pedestrians in coincidence back to vehicle occupants given the relative number of travelled kilometres is 11 to 1, for cyclists 4. 5 to 1, and for moped riders 24 to 1. 3000 No of Accidents 2 five hundred 2000 1500 1000 500 Veh-Veh Crossing Veh-Veh Meeting Veh-Veh Turning Veh-Veh Rear-E Veh-Veh Others Veh-Pedestr Veh-Single Veh-Moped Veh-Veh LCh/Ov Veh-Cycle Others Veh-Pedestr Others Urban Accidents Non-urban Accidents 0 Accident CategoryFigure 3 The number of urban and non-urban accidents for different road user accidents categories (LCh/Ov = Lane Changing and Overtaking, Rear-E = Rear-End, Pedestr = Pedestrian). 140 120 No of Fatalities 100 80 60 40 20 Veh-Single Veh-Veh Crossing Veh-Veh Meeting Veh-Veh Turning Veh-Veh Rear-E Veh-Veh Others Veh-Moped Veh-Veh LCh/Ov Veh-Cycle Urban fatalities Non-urban Fatalities 0 Accident Category Figure 4 The number of urban and non-urban fatalities for different road user accidents categories (LCh/Ov = Lane Changing and Overtaking, Rear-E = Rear-End, Pedestr = Pedestrian). During 1997 almost 200 more accidents occurred per calendar month within urban areas rather than outside. In the urban environment, more accidents than bonny occurred from May to October, with a local minimum in July. July is overly the month in which the majority of accidents outside urban areas occur. This can be apologiseed by the fact that a large percentage of the Swedish population take their holi age in July, resulting in a lower number of road users within urban areas and a greater number on rural roads and motorways.A look at the distribution of accidents occurring within urban areas according to the days of the week also shows a different pattern when analyzed to accidents occurring in nonurban areas. In urban areas, the number of accidents is above average on workdays, rising marginally towards Friday. A sharp decline in the number of accidents can be noticed during weekends. For times of day, the patterns are same for accidents occurring within and outside urban areas. The main difference lies in the larger quantity of urban accidents. Most accidents occur in the afternoon between 1600 and 1800.Few accidents occur during early morning minute of arcs before 600. Comparing Swedish and supranational Urban and Non-Urban Statistics In the 1999 summer edition of the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) newsletter Safety Monitor it was stated that the fatality rank verbalized in 100 million person/kilometres travelled were significantly greater for cyclists (6. 3), pedestrians (7. 5), and moped/motorcyclists (16) than all other modes of travel. This situation remained unchanged even when the fatality rates were expressed in terms of 100 million hours of relative exposure.The ETSC also pointed out that there is a considerable difference (by a compute of 7) between the country with the most adverse fatality rate and the country with the least number of fatalities, and recommended that priority should be given to the traffic safety problems associated with unprotected road users. The European fatality statistics suggest that car travel is ten times safer than walking (although car travel is in itself ten times less safe than bus travel). The majority of international statistics in this report are extracted from the OECD IRTAD selective informationbase.This entropy is presented with due consideration to the problems of under-reporting and a general lack of exposure info. Currently twenty European nations (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom) report selective information to IRTAD each year. Some of the more standard exposit data is, however, not available for some countries (most notably Greece, Luxembourg, and Portugal).B esides these European countries there are data for Canada, ground forces, Australia, New Zealand, lacquer, and South Korea. Table 1 indicates some of the basic demographic and traffic safety data for Europe (with Sweden shown separately), and other IRTAD countries for 1997. Table 1 Basic demographic and traffic safety data for the OECD countries who report their statistics to IRTAD. The OECD European countries are shown as a honey oil total (OECD Eur Total), and as an mean average (OECD Eur Average), the data for Sweden is also shown separately. countrified/Continent Population (x 1000) Road Network (km) Land Area (sqkm)Motor Vehicles (x 1000) describe Accidents involving disgrace 15 752 72 393 1 303 074 2 455 118 152 765 -9 482 780 399 246 452 inform Accidents involving Injury in Urban Areas 9 015 50 015 850 258 1 564 411 107 019 -5 944 566 169 162 320 Reported Fatalities Reported Fatalities in Urban Areas Sweden OECD Eur Average OECD Eur Total USA Canada Australia New Zeala nd Japan South Korea 8 844 20 281 405 610 267 636 30 286 18 532 3 743 126 166 45 545 210 000 183 568 3 304 227 6 346 857 895 562 810 000 91 864 1 152 207 82 342 449 760 194 134 3 882 684 9 363 353 9 360 527 7 686 844 269 122 377 837 99 266 428 10 767 215 347 203 568 17 576 11 238 2 393 75 713 11 991 541 2 485 44 728 41 967 3 064 1 767 540 11 254 13 343 154 790 13 427 14 861 1 043 -146 5 512 5 378 The statistics presented in Table 1 show that Sweden is smaller in terms of population than the average OECD European country, yet larger in terms of the land area and the size of the road network. The number of accidents involving injury and the number of fatalities (regardless of whether they occurred within or outside urban areas) are also considerably smaller than the average. 8An interesting comparison can be do between OECD Europe and the USA. The population of OECD Europe is approximately one-third larger than USA and the number of motor vehicles is only 5. 5 per cent higher. Howeve r, the road network in the USA is 48 per cent larger in terms of the number of kilometres, and the total number of reported accidents involving injuries is 47 per cent higher than in OECD Europe. The total number of fatalities for the USA is only 6 per cent smaller than for the OECD European countries despite the smaller population and larger road network.The higher number of vehicles relative to the population could partly explain these differences. in advance any more solid conclusions can be worn important exposure data are required. The problem of under-reporting as previously mentioned, and the essential reporting method may also have confounding effects on the data. The rates for all accidents that resulted in injury per 10 000 population, and fatality rates per 100 000 population, for the different OECD countries and continents mentioned above are shown in Figure 5. The number of accidents that resulted in injury was not available for Australia.The average rates for the OEC D European countries were calculated individually on the data that were available (some data was not available for Greece, Luxembourg, and Portugal). The data presented in Figure 5 show that Sweden (and other Scandinavian countries) has a lower fatality rate and accident rate than other OECD European and non-European countries that reported data to the IRTAD database. 100 Fatalities per 100,000 population 90 80 Accidents involving injury per 10,000 population 70 No of Acc/Fat 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Sweden OECD Europe (Av) USA Canada Australia New Zealand Japan Korea Country/ContinentFigure 5 Accident rates for all accidents that resulted in injury per 10 000 population, and fatality rates per 100 000 population, for the different OECD countries and continents. Looking at the international statistics in congenator to urban and non-urban areas it can be noticed that all of the OECD countries, with the exception of Norway, had a higher proportion of accidents involving injury occurring w ithin urban rather than outside. Sweden (57 per cent) came a close second to Norway (47 per cent), with the OECD European average matching very nigh that of USA (63 and 64 per cent respectively).Japan had the highest proportion of accidents involving injury occurring within urban areas (73 per cent). This might well be attributable to the high level of urbanization in Japan and the resulting high proportion of urban roads. In Sweden, 28 per cent of all road-traffic fatalities occur in urban areas. This figure is lower than the OECD European country average (33 per cent) and lower than most of the countries and continents outside Europe with the exception of New Zealand (27 per cent). Japan has the highest urban area fatality rates (49 per cent) perhaps for the same reasons as mentioned above.Within OECD Europe, Spain has the lowest recorded fatality rate in urban areas (20 per cent), closely followed by Norway (21 per cent), Austria (23 per cent), and Germany (24 per cent). Unfort unately, the IRTAD database is not so detailed concerning the exact types and involvement of different categories of road users concerning urban area accidents that involve injury and urban area fatalities. With regard to the fact that many accidents in urban areas involve unprotected road users it is worthwhile to take a look at the available IRTAD data concerning these categories despite the fact that 9 he proportions of accidents involving injury and fatalities in urban and non-urban areas are not available. The data indicates that Sweden has one of the lowest overall pedestrian fatality rates per 1 million population, and also a low cyclist fatality rate per 1 million population within (but not outside) the OECD European countries (see Figure 6). Obviously the proportional number of cyclists needs to be taken into account for the different countries in order to allow statements about their relative safety. 120 Fatality Rate (per 1 mill. pop. ) Pedestrian Fatality Rate per 1 mill ion population 00 80 60 40 20 0 Cyclist Fatality Rate per 1 million population Sweden OECD Europe (Av) USA Canada Australia New Japan Zealand Korea Country/Continent Figure 6 Fatality rates for pedestrians and cyclists per 1 million inhabitants for the different OECD countries and continents. A juxtaposed Look at Accidents that Occur at Junctions in Sweden Having determine the fact that the majority of accidents in urban areas occur at junctions it is interesting to look more closely at the nature of these accidents and the differences between existing types of junctions.Figure 7 below indicates the main differences between road-links (i. e. the roads stretching between junctions), T-junctions, overlap junctions, roundabouts, and other categories, in relation to the different types of road users involved. Unfortunately, no urban and non-urban breakdown of the statistics is available. 3000 Link 2500 No of Accidents 2000 1500 1000 500 0 Single Veh-Veh Veh-Cycle T-Junction Crossrd-J unc Roundabout Other Veh-Pedestr Accident Types Figure 7 consider of accidents on road-links and different junction types shown in accordance with the different types of road users involved.Figure 7 shows that the majority of all single accidents occur on link roads. The accident statistics also show that accidents occurring on road-links have a higher frequence of fatalities and more serious injuries than those occurring at junctions. Of the 493 accidents involving fatality in Sweden during 1997, 329 occurred on link roads (i. e. 67 per cent), 69 at T-junctions (14 per cent), 68 at crossroadjunctions (14 per cent), and 4 at roundabouts (1 per cent). It is important to note that roundabouts are relatively uncommon in Sweden, between 3. and 10 times less in number than other types of crossing (Englund et. al, 1998). 10 Before discussing the vehicle-vehicle accidents, it is important to note that the majority of vehiclecycle and also the vehicle-moped accidents occur at T-junctions and crossroad-junctions. A far greater number of accidents occur at these types of junctions than on link roads. For pedestrians an almost equal number of accidents occur on road-links (523) and at T-junctions and crossroad-junctions taken together (498).There is little difference between the accident and fatality rates for T-junctions and crossroad-junctions, and the data for roundabouts is not comparable on account of the relatively low number existing in the traffic infrastructure. The statistics show a larger number of vehicle-vehicle accidents occurring at T-junctions and crossroad-junctions taken together (3 436) in comparison with the number of accidents on road-links (2 216). It is interesting to examine the vehicle-vehicle accidents in relation to the different categories of accidents that occur (see Figure 8). 1000 No of Accidents 800 600 400 200 0Veh-Veh Overt / LCh Veh-Veh Rear-End Veh-Veh Meeting Veh-Veh Turning Veh-Veh Crossing Veh-Veh Other Link T-Junction Crossrd-Jun c Roundabou t Other Vehicle-Vehicle Accident Types Figure 8 Number of accidents on road-links and different junction types shown in accordance with the different types of vehicle-vehicle accidents (Overt/L Ch = Overtaking and Lane Changing). Figure 8 shows that very few overtaking and lane changing accidents and very few meeting accidents occur at junctions (these are more likely to fall into the crossing and turning categories when they occur at junctions).It can also be noticed that a similar number of rear-end accidents occur at T-junctions and crossroad-junctions, but these are far exceeded by the quantity occurring on road-links (this may reflect the way these accidents are coded with regard to distance in relation to a junction). Differences can be noticed at T-junctions and crossroad-junctions regarding the number of turning and crossing accidents. Turning accidents occur with much greater frequency at Tjunctions (690) than at crossroad-junctions (381), whereas crossing accid ents are more likely to occur at crossroad-junctions (1030) than at T-junctions (481).These statistics reflect differences in the frequencies of turning and crossing manoeuvres and possible conflict situations that occur at these two sites. These findings concur with those of the Swedish researcher Brude (1991) who points out that more than half of the accidents in urban areas occur at junctions. He also states that 4-legged junctions are 1. 5 to 2 times more accident-prone than 3-legged junctions, and consequently that redesigning 4-legged to three-legged junctions can enhance safety. 11 3.THE M AIN CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS IN URBAN AREAS In the majority of traffic accidents, urban or otherwise, the cause cannot usually be traced to a single factor but rather to a combine of circumstances in a chain of events that are best described by the interactions between a) the road user, b) the vehicle, and c) the roadway and prevailing environment. Any attempts to explain and improve traffic sa fety in urban areas must ideally adopt a systems approach in order to consider the contributions and interactions of all important factors, and to capture the dynamics and complexity of the traffic system (Hyden, 1994 Leveson, 1995).The concept of traffic safety can ultimately be regarded as an sudden property of the actions and interactions of the main elements of the traffic system. This suggests that any systems analysis aimed at examining existing traffic safety problems must be performed at an appropriate contextual level in order to gain appropriate knowledge and taste into the existing complexities and dynamics of the system and its constituent elements at a given time. However, even if a systems approach is adopted, the subject of how and why accidents in urban areas actually occur presents a number of problems for researchers.The main difficulties appear to lie in establishing the exact chain of events leading up to the accident. This information is of some relevance to t he police authorities and insurance companies for the purposes of determining responsibility, but is often neglected with regard to important details that might provide a more in-depth systematic description of what actually occurred. Often, post decline inter suck ups are susceptible to distortion as a result of impairment or fear of the consequences of being assigned responsibility.Describing the conditions leading up to an accident is also do more difficult as they are often not monitored consciously by the driver who is often performing scientific disciplines in what is best described as automated mode (Wickens, 1992). In the oddity of this section three important and relevant studies from different countries, which focus specifically on the reasons behind urban accidents, are described and discussed, and related to the traffic safety problem in urban areas in Sweden.The position conduct One of the most comprehensive and most interesting studies in relation to the causes of urban area accidents was carried out in the Leeds area in England at the end of the 1980s ( Carsten, Tight, Southwell & Plows, 1989). During a one year period, Carsten and colleagues investigated 1 254 injury accidents reported to five different police sub-divisions that involved 2 454 participants (1 863 drivers, 463 pedestrians, and 128 cyclists) that occurred in the Leeds area on roads that had a speed limit of 40 mph (approx. 60 km/h) or less.The accident data showed that 2 per cent of the accidents involved fatalities, and as many as 20 per cent involved serious injury. Nearly 70 per cent of all accidents occurred at junctions, and of these junctions 12 per cent were controlled by traffic-lights or stop signs, and 72 per cent by give-way signs, the remaining 16 per cent were uncontrolled. Besides the official police accident reports, questionnaires were administered by interview or post, and a visit was made to the accident site prior to a case conference that was convened t o see and classify the circumstances surrounding the accident.An innovative method for describing accident causativeity was adopted in which four different levels could be combined in accordance with a multi-level coding scheme comprised of 150 different items in order to form what was described as a chain of factors approach. According to Carsten and colleagues (1989) a contributory factor behind an accident could be outlined as a road user or traffic systems ill fortune without which the accident would not have happened, the immediate misery that precipitated the accident.The results of this study indicated that, of the first level factors (i. e. immediate failures that precipitated an accident), unable to remain accounted for 29 per cent, failure to yield for 16 per cent, and failure to anticipate 10 per cent of the factors coded. Unable to anticipate implies that the road user in question had the right of way, and a fair(a) road user would also have been unable to antic ipate the haywire behaviour of the other person, while failure to yield implies that a reasonable road user would have perceived the upcoming danger earlier.Results also show that as many as 44 per cent of drivers were absolved victims of others mistakes. Failure to yield was also a factor for adult and pincer pedestrians (66 and 78 per cent, respectively). 12 At the second level (i. e. failure that change magnitude the likelihood of an accident), findings suggested that 62 per cent of the factors determined were situational problems. For the drivers the most important factors were capricious too fast for the situation (29 per cent) and following too close (8 per cent). On the third level (i. e. oad user behaviour or lack of skill that led to failure) different road user skills are considered. It is found that oddly pedestrians, and mostly children, fail to look, while the main problem of motor vehicle drivers usually is the misinterpretation of other road users intentions. Bo th groups also show lack of judgement, which includes a wrong estimation of the speed or the path of other road users. The most common problem on the fourth level (i. e. the explanation for the failure or behaviour) for drivers is their view being obstructed by something, either inside the car or outside. Impairment, which mainly means the influence of alcohol, is much more common among adult pedestrians than among drivers. Some other points of interest to emerge from this study pertain the fact that 75 per cent of all accidents occurred within the first 5 kilometres of travel, and also that 93 per cent of the respondents had knowledge of the road where the accident occurred. Also, it is noted that as many as 16 per cent of all pedestrians involved in accidents admitted consuming alcohol within a three hour period prior to the accident, compared to 4. percent of drivers. Some important differences were also found regarding different age groups, more specifically, the problems of y ounger drivers (most notably males) such as driving too fast for the situation differ from those of elderly drivers associated with deteriorating perceptual and cognitive abilities with increasing age. Perhaps one of the most important points concerns the fact that almost 50 per cent of the second most common level 1 factor, failure to yield , could be explained by lower level perceptual and cognitive factors (e. . failure to look and failure to see). On the basis of the important knowledge gained from their study, the authors were able to make a number of recommendations concerning road user issues for drivers (and riders), and pedestrians, and suggests ways in which traffic anxiety and engineering science issues might be brought to bear on traffic safety problems along with counter measures that involve improvements in publicity, raising, and training.The French Study Another major study which looked at some of the reasons behind accidents in urban areas, and the differences between these accidents and those occurring outside urban areas, was conducted by the French traffic researchers Malaterre and Fontaine (1993). This investigation was primarily aimed at identifying the safety needs of drivers, and the possibility of satisfying these needs by using the different Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) functions suggested in the European PROMETHEUS programme.The authors identify 17 different basic needs in relation to the driving task For each user the accident could have been avoided, if the need had been at ease. 3179 accidents involving 6049 road users were examined according to these needs. For approximately 20 % of the road users no needs were identified they are considered the passive victims of the accident. The needs were grouped into the road user skills of control, prediction, estimates, detection, and status. The results of this study show an predominate need for detection in urban areas (mainly at junctions), followed by the need for predic tion (i. . predicting the manoeuvre of a road user who has already been detected). catching problems were advocated in 61 per cent of the accidents analysed, and within this particular grouping of identified needs transversal detection problems (i. e. detecting the approach of another road user on an intersecting lane at a junction, or similarly for a pedestrian, detecting the approach of a vehicle on the roadway he/she is preparing to cross) occurred most frequently (19 per cent of all accidents). immaterial urban areas detection problems were still predominant over the other types of identified needs (45 per cent of all accidents).However, the second most important need was identified as statusrelated diagnostic needs (i. e. mainly driver-related problems in relation to alcohol or fatigue, and space-time assessment needs) rather than prediction needs which were found to be somewhat less important in non-urban areas. The authors suggest that a large number of junction-related acc idents in urban areas (i. e. meeting and turning accidents) could be avoided by the introduction of suitable Intelligent Transportation systems (ITS) which conduct driver needs such as critical course decision, obstacle detection, vision enhancement, and safety margin closing. 3 The American Study The North American researchers Retting, Williams, Preusser, and Weinstein (1995) have conducted another major study focusing specifically on traffic safety problems in urban areas. According to the authors, efforts to reduce the number and severity of accidents have been seriously inhibited by a general lack of important information with regard to the specific types of accidents that predominate in urban areas.The original purpose of their study was to develop a classification system based on pre-accident driver/vehicle behaviour in order that planners and constitution makers could develop suitable countermeasures aimed at reducing the most prevalent types of urban accidents. The inves tigation conducted by Retting and colleagues was based on police reported accident data from three cities and one urban county, each from different states. The data were collected between August 1990 and July 1991 and include records from 4 526 accidents, many of these included property upon only in contrast to European police accident reporting.The results of this study show that 56 per cent of all accidents occurred at intersections, and only 31 per cent of accidents resulted in injury. Pedestrian and cycle accidents were not included in the accident statistics, although it is reported that these would otherwise have accounted for 5 and 3 per cent of the total number of accidents, respectively. Five of the thirteen different types of accidents accounted for 76 per cent of the total number that occurred in the four urban areas, these included ran traffic control (i. . a situation where a vehicle that is required to stop, remain stopped, or yield disregards the requirement and coll ides with some other vehicle) with 22 per cent, stopped or halt (i. e. a situation where a vehicle that has stopped, or is stopping or just starting up in a travel lane is hit from the rear) with 18 per cent, ran-off road (i. e. a situation where a vehicle leaves the travel lane(s) striking an target such as a parked cars) with 14 per cent, lane-change (i. e. situation where a vehicle in a travel lane swerves or moves into another in the same direction that is already occupied) with 13 per cent, and left-turn oncoming (i. e. a situation where a vehicle in the process of making a left turn in front of oncoming traffic is laid low(p) by or strikes a vehicle which is both coming from the opposite direction and which has a superior right of way) with 9 per cent. These five accident types also accounted for 83 per cent of the total number of accidents involving injury.The rank order among these five accident types differed between areas. Also, the ran traffic control and left-turn onc oming accidents occurred most frequently at intersections. A closer look at the ran traffic control category showed that 41 per cent of the intersections where the accidents occurred were controlled by stop signs, and that 31 per cent were controlled by traffic lights. It was also noticed that the left-turn oncoming accidents generally occurred in the presence of traffic lights and were most often the result of a failure to yield to a right-of-way.The stopped or stopping accidents, involving mostly rear-end collisions, were found to be the result of inattention. It was proposed that the most common types of accidents, described as ran traffic control, could be resolved by stop signal measure, the increased visibility of signals and signs, trim down speeds near intersections, red-light cameras, or redesigning the intersection in terms of traffic signals and signs. It is also recognised by the authors that different intersections are likely to have different accident type distribu tions depending on (e. g. oad geometry, population density, traffic density, methods of traffic control, and police enforcement strategies). Similarly, stopped or stopping accidents might be reduced by emend signal timing and reducing the number of stops. The ran-off road category of accidents might be reduced by soften roadway design including the use of one-way systems, break away lane delineation, and break out lighting. Suggestions are also made regarding other possible solutions including changes in roadway design to reduce the possibility for conflict between different road users.Comparison of the Swedish, American, side of meat and French Data It is problematic to compare the four different countries directly because of the many differences in data compendium methods, the grouping and inclusion of different road-users, and the many differences in the traffic systems. The most important differences that are noted include the fact that the French study does not consisten tly distinguish between accidents in rural and in urban areas, and the fact that the American data also includes property damage accidents and excludes other important accident types (e. g. accidents with unprotected road users).Also, both the English and the French study give only sparse information as to the accident location. 14 One of the main conclusions that can be drawn concerns the fact that urban area junctions are accident-prone. In the USA 56 per cent of the accidents occurred at junctions, for England this number lies at 70 per cent, and in Sweden at least 46 per cent of the accidents that involve only motor vehicles occurred at junctions. This figure is probably larger, because it is likely that part of the rear-end accidents (21 per cent of all urban motor vehicle accidents in Sweden) also occurred at junctions.In the English study it is stated that the majority of accidents for drivers occur as a result of an inability to anticipate, a failure to yield or a failure to anticipate (29, 16 and 10 per cent of all accidents respectively), the Swedish data suggests that 13 per cent of all urban area accidents are crossing accidents between two vehicles (i. e. suggesting a failure to yield or to anticipate), and also that 8 per cent of all urban area accidents are turning accidents (i. e. suggesting an inability or a failure to anticipate).Also of importance in this comparison is the finding that 50 per cent of the accidents resulting from a failure to yield (which is the second most common form of accident) were attributed to perceptual factors for all road-user categories and a raise 14 per cent to cognitive factors. The Swedish traffic researcher Brude (1993) arrives at nearly the same figure he suggests that 61 per cent of all urban area accidents are attributable to detection related (i. e. information and cognition) failures. A more detailed comparison can be made for certain types of accidents in Sweden and in the USA.It has to be kept in min d, though, that the Swedish data does not include damage only accidents, and there is no information given if damage only accidents in the US show a different pattern of occurrence than injury accidents. Only accidents in urban areas that involve motor vehicles are considered. The percentages with which different accident types occur are quite similar in Swedish and American urban areas. The most common type in the US is ran traffic control with 22 per cent, which might be matched against crossing accidents in the Swedish data (26 per cent).Rear-end accidents make up 18 per cent in the US and 16 per cent in Sweden, single accidents in the US account for 14 per cent, but for 22 per cent in Sweden. The next common category in the US is lane-changing accidents with 13 per cent, which (including overtaking) account for only 3 per cent in Sweden. Left turn oncoming accidents in the US make up 9 per cent of the urban accidents, while the figure for Sweden lies at 12 per cent, left turn wa iting accidents make up 3 per cent in both countries.It can be seen that the distribution of accident types is quite similar for both countries, with the exception of single accidents and lane changing accidents. This last difference might be due to the fact that roads with more than one lane in each direction are much more common in American urban areas than in Swedish cities, which makes the occurrence of lane changes more likely in the US. 15 4. SAFETY ENHANCEMENT M EASURES IN THE TRAFFIC S YSTEM Road accidents are the result of a potentially large number of causal factors that exert their influence at approximately the same location and time.In order to be able to propose, evaluate, and compare safety enhancement measures within the context of the traffic system, a suitable model is required. There are a number of models that can be applied for road safety focusing in order to describe the safety situation at a national or communal level. While many models tend to focus on the events surrounding the accident occurrence, or human error mechanisms, one of the more useful and more comprehensive models that is recognised internationally focuses on three dimensions related to exposure in traffic the risk of an accident given the exposure and the consequences (i. . severity) of accidents (see e. g. Thulin & Nilsson, 1994 Rumar, 1996 and OECD, 1997). Other models also aim at predictability or effectiveness evaluation, perhaps using econometric modelling. There are also models that exist at the micro-level in order to describe safety problems at an individual level. These models are usually associated with the evaluation of subjective risk and are predisposed to problems associated with the fact that accidents are random and essentially unpredictable at the micro-level, requiring the use of other less valid proxy measures or safety indicators.Many of these micro-models are not comprehensive enough to be of any great value in assessing risk within a systems contex t. Researchers in the field usually advocate a multi-disciplinary approach, although presently there are no known models that can bridge the macro-micro gap (see OECD, 1997 for a more complete description of different models). The three dimensions suggested in above model are adopted for a description of the more traditional approaches taken when dealing with the traffic safety problem.Emphasis is given to urban area safety although many countermeasures may also have value in other areas. One of the advantages of this model is that it can be applied to the three primary elements of the traffic system (i. e. road users, vehicles, and the roadway environment), in order to form a 3 by 3 classification matrix for the many different traffic safety countermeasures (see Table 2 below). Table 2 variety matrix for different types of traffic safety countermeasures related to the three main elements of the traffic system. Road-User Exposure E. g. mprovements in attractiveness of alternative ( safer) modes of transport to tranquilize congestion and reduce travel time, etc. E. g. better use of other safer forms of (public) transport, ITS-functions which aid driver perception and decision-making, better driver training, etc. E. g. better use of in-vehicle injury prevention devices such as seat belts, better use of protective clothing by unprotected road users, etc. Vehicle E. g. more effective use of roadsystem through route-guidance, increases in place costs, annual vehicle/road taxation, fuel taxation, etc. E. g. se of improved technology to provide better handling, ABS brakes, high-mounted brake lights, better man-machine, interface, warning systems, etc. E. g. better vehicle design and use of materials that can absorb energy on impact, provision of injury prevention devices such as air-bags, etc. Roadway E. g. better infrastructure design, differential toll-systems, improved traffic management strategies for better flow and capacity etc. E. g. improvements in roadway design, better visibility and lighting, separation of different types of road users to reduce possibility for conflicts etc.E. g. greater speed restrictions, Limited access to urban roads, Removal of dangerous roadside objects, etc. Accident Risk Accident Severity Safety Improvements Aimed at Individual Road Users For the different categories of road users, changing levels of exposure is very rarely stated as a primary goal for the purposes of improving the traffic safety situation. This may be related to the fact that straight exposure data are very difficult to collect and are rarely presented in conjunction with accident statistics, thereby making exposure related improvements difficult to measure.There are also problems associated with making comparisons between different modes of transport owing to the fact that exposure can be thrifty in terms of travel time or travel distance. In Sweden travel habit surveys that focus of establishing reliable exposure data have been perform ed on several occasions, and related to accident data (e. g. Thulin & Nilsson, 1994). 16 Factors, which tend to reduce road user exposure in general, are usually associated with the attractiveness of alternative modes of transportation.For example, reductions in the use of private vehicles in favor of public transportation (e. g. buses and commuter trains) usually occur as a result of more competitive pricing combined with good levels of service, where the change of one transportation mode to another can also result in lower levels of congestion and a reduced exposure level in the traffic system in general. Careful regional planning is required to find a balance in the system that reflects the demands of the users in relation to the different forms of transportation and their perceived costs and benefits (i. . attractiveness), and the effects that such changes might have for the community at large. Another important factor regarding changes in modes of transportation is that many f orms of public transport are safer by comparison than the use of private vehicles, and cycling and walking, thereby reducing not only exposure but also accident risk (ETSC, 1999a). Safety countermeasures that reduce the accident risk for road users are now commonly provided by the many different in-vehicle systems that enhance perceptual abilities and aid cognitive decisionmaking (see e. . Malaterre & Fontaine, 1993 ETSC, 1999b). Many of these types of systems that have to do with the way information from the environment is interpreted, manipulated and acted upon, are discussed in the following chapter concerning Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). The quality of driver education training is also an important factor, and has resulted in a number of new approaches such as graduated licensing, which is built upon the concept that driving tasks perform gradually more difficult and unrestricted.Generally, the majority of systems include three levels of tests, an initial provisio nal license, a preliminary licence, and a full licence (Englund et. al. , 1998). This form of graduated licensing has been shown to have a number of beneficial effects including a reduced risk for accident involvement (Smith, 1994). Inverted licensing, which encourages drivers to understand and accept responsibility for their actions has also been suggested (Klyve, 1998). Attempts to reduce accident risk through public safety campaigns and education programmes (e. . for school children) have often had a throttle long-term effect on traffic safety (see e. g. OECD, 1986 Jarmark, 1992 Linderoth & Gregersen 1994 Englund, Nyberg & Thiseus, 1997). Attempts to reduce accident severity for road users, particularly drivers and passengers of motor vehicles, has been the subject of a great deal of research by different vehicle manufacturers, particularly those who use the safety concept as an argument for marketing campaigns.The actual road user injury protection that has been developed as a result of large investments in in-vehicle design and research is discussed below in relation to vehicle engineering. For the safety of drivers and their passengers, the most important factor often concerns the use of injury protection measures rather than their provision. This is especially important with regard to the fact that many drivers consider themselves better than the average (Svenson, 1981 Williams, Peak & Lund, 1995). In many European countries, seat-belt use is relatively low resulting in an unnecessary number of fatalities and serious injuries.Many also fail to realise that the effectiveness of air bags is dependent on the use of seat belts (ETSC, 1999b). For unprotected road users the risk for (and consequences of) an accident can be reduced by ensuring easy detection by other road users through the use of suitably coloured clothing, reflexes, and cycle lights (OECD, 1998). Safety Improvements Through Vehicle Engineering Vehicle engineering has come a long way during t he past century, a fact that is reflected by the relatively small number of accidents that are directly attributable to vehicle failure.Modern vehicles undergo rigorous testing in order to ensure constancy and handling, adequate steering charact