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Effects of Reading Text While Driving: A Driving Simulator StudyAlthough 47 US states make the use of a mobile phone while driving illegal, many people use their phone for texting and other tasks while driving. This research project summarized the large literature on distracted driving and compared major outcomes with those of our study. We focused on distraction due to reading text because this activity is most common. For this research project, we collected simulator observations of 203 professional taxi drivers (175 male, and 28 female) working at the same Honolulu taxi company, using the mid-range driving simulator VS500M by Virage. After a familiarization period, drivers were asked to read realistic text content relating to passenger pick up displayed on a 7-inch tablet affixed to the dashboard. The experimental scenario was simulated on a two-lane rural highway having a speed limit of 60 mph and medium traffic. Drivers needed to follow the lead vehicle under regular and text-reading conditions. The large sample size of this study provided a strong statistical base for driving distraction investigation on a driving simulator. The comparison between regular and text-reading conditions revealed that the drivers significantly increased their headway (20.7%), lane deviations (354%), total time of driving blind (352%), maximum duration of driving blind (87.6% per glance), driving blind incidents (170%), driving blind distance (337%) and significantly decreased lane change frequency (35.1%). There was no significant effect on braking aggressiveness while reading text. The outcomes indicate that driving performance degrades significantly by reading text while driving. Additional analysis revealed that important predictors for maximum driving blind time changes are sociodemographic characteristics, such as age and race, and past behavior attributes.
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Seismicity and Stresses in the Kantishna Seismic Cluster, Central AlaskaThe Kantishna Cluster is an enigmatic and energetic cluster of earthquakes located in central Alaska, just to the northwest of Mt. McKinley/Denali and adjacent to the Denali Fault. The Kantishna Cluster has no visible fault traces, and is often speculated to have a connection to the Denali Fault. The Kantishna Cluster is located at a hub of tectonic activity including Bering Block rotation to the west, bookshelf faulting to the northeast, and rotation of southern Alaska due to Pacific plate convergence to the south. The intention of this study was to broaden the knowledge base about the Kantishna Cluster and use the Mw 7.9 Denali Fault earthquake to find a relationship between the cluster and the Denali Fault Zone. Rate calculations in conjunction with z- and b-value changes show that the Denali Fault earthquake had little influence on the seismicity of the Kantishna Cluster, with the exception being the southern most portion closest to the Denali Fault. The highly variable background rate of seismicity in the Kantishna Cluster makes seeing changes in the seismicity difficult. Stress tensor inversions suggest a change in the stresses in the Kantishna Cluster; however, triangle diagram comparisons show that the pattern of earthquake mechanism types did not change. Coulomb stress change calculations predict small changes that were not observed in the data. Double difference hypocentral relocations show that the cloud of earthquakes collapses down to several distinct features. Seismicity trends resolved from hypocentral relocations made it possible to infer fault planes or planar structures in the region. The newly uncovered structures are utilized in the formation of a model involving two wedges to describe the seismicity in the Kantishna Cluster. The two wedges are being “squeezed” in opposite directions accommodating for compression across the cluster due to Pacific plate convergence.
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Homicide in Alaska: 1976-2016AJiC's Homicide in Alaska: 1976-2016 compiled 41 years of data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR). This is the first time these data on homicide in Alaska have been examined across a multi-year timespan. The report describes homicide incidents, victims and suspects. These characteristics included weapon use, relationships between victims and suspects, circumstances, demographic characteristics, and more presenting the differences among race and sex groups. Additionally, the report makes note of the magnitude and characteristics of homicides involving American Indian and Alaska Native female victims, as well as how the rate of homicide victimization differs by race and sex of the victim. In addition to the full report, three one-page fact sheets are included: 1) Homicide Victimization Fact Sheet; 2) Firearms Fact Sheet, and; 3) Relationships Fact Sheet.
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Data (Appendix) for Book Chapter 43: Citizen Science Experience in Lumbini/Nepali for Sarus Cranes and Lesser Adjudants (Storks) with Regmi and Huettmann 2020 Hindu Kush Himalaya: Watersheds Downhill, SpringerThis dataset consist of an appendix of citizen science data for the Sarus Crane and Adjudant storks in Lumbini and Jagdishpur Reservoir, Nepal. It's a plain MS Excel sheet.
