Child Abuse and Trauma Why I think Childhood Should be Carefree - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 1045 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/04/05 Category Society Essay Level High school Topics: Child Abuse Essay Did you like this example? Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul(Malone). Parents are one of the main reasons why children are being abused. Child abuse is behavior by an adult who harms a childs physical, mental, or emotional health and development. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Child Abuse and Trauma: Why I think Childhood Should be Carefree" essay for you Create order In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe shows how Okonkwo treats his children. Okonkwo only treated his children a way because he had a fear of ending up like his father. Child Abuse causes trauma, unusual fears, and self confidence issues which can affect little kids as they grow up, especially since they do not understand what is happening. Trauma happens all the time and it is horrible. Trauma can affect your health stability. Nwoye is the oldest son of Okonkwo, who Okonkwo believes is weak and lazy. Okonkwo beats Nwoye hoping he corrects the faults that perceives him. Nwoye begins to pick up more of the masculine behaviors, which makes Okonkwo happy. But he was developing a sad-faced youth. From the book Things Fall Apart we know that, Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent, but somehow he still preferred the stories his mother used to tell (Achebe 53). So Okonkwo wanted his boys to sit with him in his obi, so that hecan tell them stories about the land, and he told them about masculine, violence, and bloodshed stories. Each is ashamed to be connected to the other now, Nwoye because he has never forgiven his father for killing Ikemefuna and Okonkwo, because of Nwoyes new religion (Achebe 112). Nwoye did not really have a great relationship with his father, even though he looks up to him. Ther e is no affection or respect in their relationships. Okonkwo was always tougher on Nwoye than all his other children, only because he was the oldest son. It is reasonable to ask if parenting or teaching because statistics show that most acts of child sexual abuse are perpetrated by men who identify as such (Achebe 28). This is traumatizing for a kid because parents should analyze their actions first before doing it because they know their kids will be scarred for life. Many abused children cling to the hope that growing up will bring escape and freedom (Wakefield). They want to grow up because they just dont want to live in the environment that they are living in. More in the story Okonkwos kids tend to get more afraid of him because they dont feel comfortable living with him. Fear, a worry that changes your thinking, it will stop you from achieving your most wanted goals. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo fears becoming like his lazy, shameful father, and Nwoye fears his fathers wrath. Children were warned not to whistle at night for fear of evil spirits. (Achebe 15). The children in the book have a fear of their father because of the way he treats them, makes them scared. He wanted Nwoye to grow into a tough young man capable of ruling his fathers household when Okonkwo is dead (Achebe 49) Okonkwo was teaching his boys how to do work, but when they worked outside they could not talk. It is reasonable to ask if parenting or teaching because statistics show that most acts of child sexual abuse are perpetrated by men who identify as such (Achebe 54). As for the boy himself, he was terribly afraid. He could not understand what was happening to him or what he had done. When Ikemefuna was walking he looked back and saw a man growling at him, and he felt cold fear down his back. The control we have over fear is difficult because we have all kinds of different worries that we need to overcome. Over time peoples feelings about themselves and others change. They may feel strong and indestructible one minute than something could change the way they feel. A certain event could change ones self confidence. People become different when they are exposed to a certain situation. He ran with the animals, drank at their springs not knowing fear or wisdom (Achebe 16). He knew he had a fear of something but, he doesnt know it yet. He never really liked people proving him wrong, he always wanted to be right. And, most importantly, he never gave up. As his persistence is described, He could see neither what was ahead nor behind. For days he traveled in this blindness without a light to guide him, ascending or descending, he could not be sure, going on with only the companion of grief in which he felt Enkidu at his side (Achebe 59). Even though he was lost and with a father like Unoka, Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men had. He neither inherited a barn nor a titl e, nor even a young wife. But in spite of these disadvantages, he had begun even in his fathers lifetime to lay the foundations of a prosperous future. It was slowed and painful. His life became a quest to find the secret to eternal life which he might carry back to give his friend (Achebe 55). Okonkwo was not afraid of war. He was a man of action, a man of war. Unlike his father he could stand the look of blood. As a child he had an unstable childhood. This is why I think childhood should be carefree, like: playing in the sun and not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul. Parents are one of the main reasons why children are being abused. Child abuse is behavior by an adult who harms a childs physical, mental, or emotional health and development. As you know in Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe shows how Okonkwo treats his children. Okonkwo only treated his children a different manner because he had a fear of ending up like his father. This why child Abuse causes trauma, unusual fears, and self confidence issues which can affect little kids as they grow up, especially since they do not understand what is happening. This topic is important because parents need to be aware of this problem. This is why I think childhood should be carefree, like: playing in the sun and not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.

Essay on Fast Food Addiction - 667 Words

Fast Food is Our New Addiction Obesity is increasing rapidly because of the fast food. Showing and telling people how unhealthy to eat the fast food is extremely hard because it is now the popular culture for the societies those are dominated by the fast food industries. High profit and low cost is the primary reason why there are many Burger Kings and McDonald’s in the world (Kenway, â€Å"Junk food: The New Tobacco†). Yet some readers may challenge my view by insisting that the fast food industries are dominating the societies however, people who are against me do not consider that they have many food options instead of the fast food (Blutt, â€Å"Is Food The New Tobacco). I intend to prove that fast food is the new tobacco and societies†¦show more content†¦In the present day fast food is the new tobacco and some options are best suited for this particular problem such as reducing salt and saturated-fat contend of food, avoiding the use of trans fats, and p romoting fruit and vegetable consumption (Roberts, â€Å"We’ve tackled tobacco- why not unhealthy food†) On the one hand, I agree with Eric Schlosser that â€Å"Fast food has proven to be a revolutionary force in American life.† It may be stated as a revolution because food is culture such as art and literature. Schlosser also indicates that â€Å"The extraordinary growth of the fast food industry has been driven by fundamental changes in American society.† In the given day, some parents spend their money to buy fast food instead of buying food and preparing meals at home (Scholosser, â€Å"Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All- American Meal†). In conclusion, fast food is becoming an addiction and a part of our lives. While it is true that people do not have time to cook every day or fast food restaurants can perform some improvements on their meals, it does not necessarily follow that ideas. The authorities may help people to quit smoking or alcohol, however people who obliged to eat fast food cannot live without eating it. Also people who are responsible for fast food industries do not say that â€Å"You must eat fast food to survive†, it is obvious that it is just people’s choice.Show MoreRelatedFast Food Addiction Essay1457 Words   |  6 Pagesthe surface of America’s love affair with fast foods, research finds some revealing manifestations that are propelling increasing obesity rates and are thus pushing us toward a growing health epidemic. The increasingly busy lifestyles of our society along with our overreliance on processed and pre-packaged foods are driving the multi-billion dollar food industry today. The food industries strategy to optimize profits through mass produced and processed foods is creating physically addictive productsRead MoreDon t Blame The Eater By David Zinczenko962 Words   |  4 Pagesthoroughly about fast food and the companies behind it. Zincozenko also talks about fast food companies have affected him and other in todayâ₠¬â„¢s world. Zinczenko ate a lot of fast food when he was younger because that is what his mother could afford. There were many people in this situation then and there are many people in this situation now. People go to fast food restaurants because it is convenient, cheap, and on the go. However, all these ‘restaurants’ do not sell quality food as they advertiseRead MoreThe Western Phenomenon Of Fat And Poor1109 Words   |  5 Pagesweight-related diseases? Many Americans live paycheck to paycheck. After bills are taken care of, the necessity that always suffers because of financial insecurities is food. People are quick to choose the cheap and fast food options over their healthy and time-consuming counterparts. This leaves many Americans to pick up the check for their bad food decisions later in life. At McDonald’s, a cheeseburger is cheaper than a salad, but a triple bypass surgery or a lifetime insulin supply surely costs more in theRead MoreDon t Blame The Eater By Davi d Zinczenko931 Words   |  4 Pagesaffected him. In addition, he speaks about fast food and the companies behind it. Zinczenko ate a lot of fast food when he was younger because that is what his mother could afford. There are countless people in this situation. People also go to fast food restaurants because it is convenient, cheap, and on the go. The problem is that these ‘restaurants’ do not sell quality food as they advertise on TV, radio, and online. They sell cheap, processed foods that cause health problems to their consumersRead MoreThe Article Don t Blame The Eater By David Zinczenko974 Words   |  4 PagesZinczenko shares his experience on how fast food has effect his childhood and teenage years. He explains how teenagers can put on weight with a fast food and part of the problem is the lack in nutritional information about fast food. In addition, he speaks about fast food and the companies behind it. Zinczenko ate a lot of fast food when he was younger because that is what his mother could afford. There are countless people in this situation. People also go to fast food restaurants because it is convenientRead MoreFast Food Is Bad For You1377 Words   |  6 PagesIt is not a secret that fast food is bad for you, however people believe that there is nothing wrong with eating fast food in moderation. It really comes down to ignorance being blissful. Our bodies are like vehicles. You want the best fuel for the car, but does fast food provide the right fuel for your body? The fast food industry gives that option to people, giving regular gas when gas-guzzler’s require premium fuel. The main reason fast food should be foods to avoid is an obvious one: it can leadRead More Were All Dying for a Big Mac Essay1699 Words   |  7 Pages and youve got an hour to eat. No problem; theres a McDonalds a mere five minutes from the office. You could go there-its hot, its fast, and its convenient. Besides, they supposedly have healthy foods like chicken and fish on the menu. Approximately 45.8 million people are served at fast food restaurants every day in America, and why not? Fast foods are pre-prepared meals that are served quickly at several restaurants strategically located throughout nearly every American city. But thereRead MoreAdvantages And Disadvantages Of Fast Food1327 Words   |  6 Pages The prevalence of fast food is growing at a rapid pace in more and more countries around the world. The advantages of fast food such as cost, taste, convenience, and fast service makes eating fast food a convenient and cheap source of food for busy individuals. While fast food has its advantages it also has its disadvantages such as high in fat/calories, weight gain, and serious health risks. In this paper, I will discuss the disadvantages of fast food and why they outweigh the advantages whileRead MoreThe Epidemic Of The United States1668 Words   |  7 Pagesjunk food companies, this outbreak continues to claim thousands of lives each year. In our country today, this epidemic trails tobacco use in the second leading cause of preventable death. Many researchers have studied this horrible plague, and the only cure is the motivation to live a healthier lifestyle. Although the profits from major junk-food companies contribute significantly to America s economy, the nation is blind to the detriment of junk food to their bodies: therefore, junk food shouldRead MoreEssay on The American Fast Food Industry1420 Words   |  6 Pages The fast food industry in America has many drawbacks at the cost of supplying food to the American population. Since many people are ignorant of the process their food goes through in order to become the edible meal they consume, American companies easily take advantage of them. In class, we discussed a â€Å"Food Bill of Rights†. I believe that this is necessary in order to keep the food industry safe for the American public and environment. The main focus of my â€Å"Food Bill of Rights† is to ensure

Emancipation of women free essay sample

While working on the Great Gatsby Fitzgerald acknowledged that the women characters are subordinate evaluate the importance of women in Fitzgeralds Great Gatsby. The 1920s were the foundation of the dramatic change to society, many people called it The roaring twenties. During this period many Americans were uneasy about their consumer society and the new mass culture. Women were most affected by the roaring twenties, this new up rising of sexually free women with bobbed cuts and short skirts, drinking and smoking landed them the nickname flappers. Women had now been given the right to vote and had new high status Jobs. Machinery took over their household work and new birth control methods were inhibiting them to have fewer children. Women were constantly fghting in this age to be noticed and with people like Fitzgerald who created these characters with no important woman character (qtd. In Turnbull 197) they had no hope of the freedom and status they wanted. The faceless women at Jay Gatsbys parties were the perfect representation of what they call flappers. These women were at these parties purely because they were free, free from the war I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited. People were not invited-they went there. This shows how people in this period would Just go to any party they could and not one of them were concerned in the slightest about the sources of Gatsbys wealth. These parties needed women, they required female energy and I am sure that the number of young Englishmen dotted about; would have no participation at this party without the women. The women at these parties were the perfect stereotype of male perspectives l never care what I do, so I always have a good time. This shows how women were seen as loose and unladylike as they would do what they pleased even if it wasnt the correct way to ct, they had complete lack of ethical concern. Although women believed that they were purely independent they clearly werent girls were putting their heads on mens shoulders in a puppyish. Convivial way. they were utterly unaware of the objectification men had towards them and put on this perception of being entirely free they are emancipated yet they contribute their share of vulgarity which appalls Daisy. (Ivan Strba) this shows how Fitzgerald Judges these faceless women through characters, even through the same gender, which is loaded with irony. Myrtle Wilsons inclusion in the novel is to represent the lower class of women who thrived for the freedom and wealth of the upper class and do anything in their power to do so. Myrtles constant interference with the marriage of Tom and Daisy Buchanan, she is introduced into the novel by her telephone call, which disturbs the urbane surface of Daisys dinner party'(lvan Strba) this is the first evidence where she is portrayed as lower class and looked down on by other women characters in the book Toms got some women in New York. Who hasnt the decency not to disturb at nner. This snows now women who were ot lower class idnt know right trom wrong and werent taught social morals. Nick also Judges her for her status her lower class pretensions appear comical to Nick because he Judges them from a position of social superiority, but her overt sexuality impresses him(lvan Strba) this also shows how Myrtle doesnt hide her sexual desire for Tom and is very open in the way she is. Myrtle is always fighting for her place Her flower name suggests a fleshy yet beautiful climbing plant vigorously moving upwards. (lvan Strba) this is the perfect representation of Myrtle as she is a climbing plant doesnt have the ability to climb, his is a symbolism for her trying to climb Vigorously up the social ladder to the upper class. There is always something holding her back, which is background, where she lives the valley of ashes. The valley of ashes is a gigantic trash burning operation(Litkicks mystery spot series). It was the road between Great Neck and Manhattan. It is where myrtles husband George runs a decrepit auto garage. This is also where Myrtle is murdered, she is still seen as a sexual object through her injuries left breast was swinging loose like a flap the mouth was wide open and ipped at the corners it also shows how she never belonged in the higher social class with the imagery mingled her thick, dark blood with the dust this implies that is was wrong what she was trying to do with Tom and how it would of always ended badly as she was stuck in this fantasy. Myrtle always felt like her and Tom were going to end up together get married to each other right away where as Tom always thought of her as nothing more than an object since her social status is simply unworthy of any more profound engagement(lvan Strba) even though Myrtle knows his she is still constantly luring him in, even though he has made up a stupid lie that he cannot leave Daisy because she is catholic she still has some sort of hope that one day he will think of her as more than Just a mistress. You could also argue that she is in it purely for the money and has no intention of a relationship with Tom, Ivan Strba touches on this subject constantly attempts to lure Tom into her womb this could be a symbolism of pregnancy where Myrtle knows if she were to get pregnant Tom would give all the money he had to make sure that, that baby would have no link back o him, therefore she would get what she wants. Jordan Bakers slight masculinity and indifferent personality is the representation of the small percentage of women who were strong enough to stand on their own and didnt rely on the security of men for wealth and social class. Underneath Jordans bitchy hysteria she is extremely vulnerable, she constantly has this front that she doesnt need anyone to protect her. Jordan barely even acknowledges men, for example the first time she meets Nick she pretends she doesnt care is almost imperceptibly but she does secretly lips fluttered. This is evidence that she doesnt ive much away to people completely emotionless, especially men as she doesnt want to destroy this veneer of survival which has an element of tragedy as you feel sympathy for the character as to what could of made her this way. Jordan is described as self-sufficient distancing from any emotional entanglement(lvan Strba), which reflects her relationship with Nick, or lack of one for that matter as Nicks opinion ot ner changes instantly as ne tinds out sne cheated to win a golt tournament Dishonesty in a woman is a thing you never blame deeply†I was casually sorry, and then I forgot. This is the first of many lies Jordan tells, this portrays that Jordan feels as though she has to lie to play the game she cant be seen as a woman who is sweet and innocent or it will ruin this image that she has created for herself. By playing with Nicks feelings she is showing authority of the character and not letting him take control this is why she is with Nick because he is vulnerable compared to other characters such as; Tom or Gatsby, as he doesnt have as much money as them, Nick also Judges that she avoids relationships with clever men that might see through her(lvan Strba) and has a lower status, therefore she knows he ont have power over her. Jordan is the perfect example of new women and the freedom they claimed after the World War, and with characters like Nick who simply does not know quite how to handle this cool, unbalanced independent woman of the Strba) they allow women to play with their feelings. Daisy Buchanan is objectified by several men and is not resistant to the objectification. With her lack of personality and beautiful looks, she has lost all identity through the desire for the veneer of glamour and wealth. The character of Daisy is made up of this image that everyone else has of her exists only as a fragile eneer, a shinning radiance of Gatsbys construction. The centerpiece of Toms wealth(lvan Strba) she is constantly being refereed to objects rather than a person, a center piece is the idle way to describe her, as they are pretty to look at, but there is nothing to them, they are simply there to look good. Daisy has no identity and tends to hide behind the men, especially Gatsby and Tom. Daisys love for Gatsby is uncertain, this makes her a dislikable character as it creates frustration for the reader, as she doesnt have nerve or the sprit to pursue it. You could say that Daisy is cared to be with Gatsby as he is from West Egg, which was seen as the place of new money this could bring her doubt as she wouldnt want to risk the life style she has now as Gatsbys money is new, whereas East Egg was almost like certain money, from inheritance etc. Also Tom places doubt in her head about Gatsbys money certainly not for a common swindler whod have to steal the ring he out on her finger, this could most definitely influence Daisys hesitance towards the life with Gatsby as she just wants a life for herself. The love between The Buchanans can be seen as superficial, a love that was established for legal means(Min Jae ogsheadgastby. blogspot) but then turned into something more real between the couple, although adultery appears in both characters, there is something there that I stopping either one from leaving, it could be love or it could be to maintain his veneer of happiness through wealth and social class. They are seen as what society wanted, happily married, with money what many people called the American dream. Gatsby is the ultimate sacrifice for Daisy, she is the one who causes his death and she doesnt even have the decency to go to his funeral leaving was Daisys scapegoat, hich shows the lack of back bone she has, and she Just runs away when things get bad she and Tom had gone away early that afternoon Its simply symbolic of the fleetingness of wealth during the time period. Overall I think that the women are important in the novel, as the men wouldnt be who they are without the women, they may not be the most important but the novel needed temales in order tor it to work. It is good representation of the changes in the roles women had in the 1920s and also the different personalities the women had and Fitzgerald portrayed this well through the female characters.

Neocolonialism free essay sample

According to Merriam Webster the definition of neo-colonialism is the economic and political policies by which a great power indirectly maintains or extends its influence over other areas or people. It continues to actively control the affairs of the newly independent state. Neocolonialism is showed through economic and monetary measures. In most cases neocolonialism is manifested through economic and monetary measures. For example Philippines a neocolonial state of USA is the target market for imports. According to Leong Yew a Research Fellow and University Scholars Programme of National University of Singapore said that neo-colonialism can be called economic or dollar imperialism. It can be also manifested if developing countries are still dependent on leading nations. Like for example the Philippines because it still dependent on USA. If there are calamities we asked help from the USA. Neo-colonialism can also be cultural in a sense how US culture affects our culture and we tend to change because of it. We will write a custom essay sample on Neocolonialism or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Philippines is a neocolonial state because it is still structured to serve its former colonial master which is US. An example of this are the OFW’s although they bring a lot of dollars in our country still they serve other countries because they know that they will earn more there. Instead of them using their skills and knowledge to benefit the Philippines they go abroad to suffice the needs of their family hence benefit other country Sources: http://www. postcolonialweb. org/poldiscourse/neocolonialism1. html http://www. chrispforr. net/row2/chrisphil7/neocolonial/neocolonial. htm

Diesel Fuel Injection Research Paper Example

Diesel Fuel Injection Research Paper Example Diesel Fuel Injection Paper Diesel Fuel Injection Paper One big difference between a diesel engine and a gas engine is in the injection process. Most car engines use port injection or a carburetor. A port injection system injects fuel just prior to the intake stroke (outside the cylinder). A carburetor mixes air and fuel long before the air enters the cylinder. In a car engine, therefore, all of the fuel is loaded into the cylinder during the intake stroke and then compressed. The compression of the fuel/air mixture limits the compression ratio of the engine if it compresses the air too much, the fuel/air mixture spontaneously ignites and causes knocking. Because it causes excessive heat, knocking can damage the engine. Diesel engines use direct fuel injection the diesel fuel is injected directly into the cylinder. The injector on a diesel engine is its most complex component and has been the subject of a great deal of experimentation in any particular engine, it may be located in a variety of places. The injector has to be able to withstand the temperature and pressure inside the cylinder and still deliver the fuel in a fine mist. Getting the mist circulated in the cylinder so that it is evenly distributed is also a problem, so some diesel engines employ special induction valves, pre-combustion chambers or other devices to swirl the air in the combustion chamber or otherwise improve the ignition and combustion process. |[pic] | |Photo courtesy DaimlerChrysler | |Atego six-cylinder diesel engine | Some diesel engines contain a glow plug. When a diesel engine is cold, the compression process may not raise the air to a high enough temperature to ignite the fuel. The glow plug is an electrically heated wire (think of the hot wires you see in a toaster) that heats the combustion chambers and raises the air temperature when the engine is cold so that the engine can start. According to Cley Brotherton, a Journeyman heavy equipment technician: All functions in a modern engine are controlled by the ECM communicating with an elaborate set of sensors measuring everything from R. P. M. o engine coolant and oil temperatures and even engine position (i. e. T. D. C. ). Glow plugs are rarely used today on larger engines. The ECM senses ambient air temperature and retards the timing of the engine in cold weather so the injector sprays the fuel at a later time. The air in the cylinder is compressed more, creating more heat, which aids in starting. Smaller engines and engines that do not have s uch advanced computer control use glow plugs to solve the cold-starting problem. Of course, mechanics arent the only difference between diesel engines and gasoline engines. Theres also the issue of the fuel itself. Diesel Engines vs. Gasoline Engines In theory, diesel engines and gasoline engines are quite similar. They are both internal combustion engines designed to convert the chemical energy available in fuel into mechanical energy. This mechanical energy moves pistons up and down inside cylinders. The pistons are connected to a crankshaft, and the up-and-down motion of the pistons, known as linear motion, creates the rotary motion needed to turn the wheels of a car forward. Both diesel engines and gasoline engines covert fuel into energy through a series of small explosions or combustions. The major difference between diesel and gasoline is the way these explosions happen. In a gasoline engine, fuel is mixed with air, compressed by pistons and ignited by sparks from spark plugs. In a diesel engine, however, the air is compressed first, and then the fuel is injected. Because air heats up when its compressed, the fuel ignites. The following animation shows the diesel cycle in action. You can compare it to the animation of the gasoline engine to see the differences: The diesel engine uses a four-stroke combustion cycle just like a gasoline engine. The four strokes are: Intake stroke The intake valve opens up, letting in air and moving the piston down. Compression stroke The piston moves back up and compresses the air. Combustion stroke As the piston reaches the top, fuel is injected at just the right moment and ignited, forcing the piston back down. Exhaust stroke The piston moves back to the top, pushing out the exhaust created from the combustion out of the exhaust valve. Remember that the diesel engine has no spark plug, that it intakes air and compresses it, and that it then njects the fuel directly into the combustion chamber (direct injection). It is the heat of the compressed air that lights the fuel in a diesel engine. In the next section, well examine the diesel injection process. |Compression | |When working on his calculations, Rudolf Diesel theorized that higher compression leads | |to higher efficiency and more power. This happens because when the piston squeezes air | |with the cylinder, the air becomes conce ntrated. Diesel fuel has a high energy content, | |so the likelihood of diesel reacting with the concentrated air is greater. Another way | |to think of it is when air molecules are packed so close together, fuel has a better | |chance of reacting with as many oxygen molecules as possible. Rudolf turned out to be | |right a gasoline engine compresses at a ratio of 8:1 to 12:1, while a diesel engine | |compresses at a ratio of 14:1 to as high as 25:1. | http://auto. howstuffworks. com/diesel2. htm

Use Our Top Tips For Creating Your Best Exemplification Essay

Use Our Top Tips For Creating Your Best Exemplification Essay Exemplification Essay Writing Tips: Full Guide An exemplification essay is one of the favorite professors’ tasks and sometimes students are really terrified with that assignment. And the reason for that is that professors really enjoy testing your knowledge. In fact, that type of writing isn’t that complicated as it may seem, though one of the rarest and most specific. It’s fair to say that it is a more accurate argumentative essay. More About an Exemplification Essay The definition of an exemplification essay is pretty short and clear, while it requires you to prove your main argument or thesis, provide the reasons and support those arguments by examples. Some professors call it even an illustrative essay since the examples you provide illustrate your point of view. However, almost all argumentative essays are about examples to prove the thesis. So what’s the difference? When creating your classic argumentative essay, you use the evidence to support your main argument or thesis. For that purpose, you use real-life examples, various data or statistics to support your thesis. You can cite various professors or scientists, for example, when writing your argumentative essay and it will be enough. However, it is not enough for an exemplification essay, while such shreds of evidence affirm the thesis but do not support it as a real-life example. So, exemplification essays can be truly considered more precise variations of the argumentative essays. Their aim is to show why a certain opinion is correct through an understandable life example. It is a bit easier to write an exemplification essay than other types of essay, while you have to think of your reader first. Once you make a point, you should have evidence not supporting, but illustrating it. Good evidence for an essay telling about the social media dangers on the young girls’ self-image, for example, could be telling about the girls who rank lower on self-esteem evaluation. This evidence would be very helpful. If you note that social media sometimes is addictive, the example won’t be understandable enough to support your thesis, as well as showing that there are higher amounts of disorders after using social media for pretty long timeframes among girls. It would be better to provide research showing that younger girls are more focused on their appearance as they spend more time on social media networks, for example. Why is this example better? If someone is focused on his or her appearance, it is one of the signs of a damaged self-image. Also, it is possible to provide an example showing how competitive girls are with each other on social media, which also shows their low self-image. In your exemplification essay, you should support the validity of the tota l thesis. How to Create a Good Exemplification Essay: Step-By-Step Guide In order to write a good exemplification essay, you should have a strong plan and outline. Try to have all the points in your mind and work them out to create a tight essay. How to start: Choose a position/argument. Think of at least five reasons to prove the correctness of your position. Point out the strongest ones. Do some research and find evidence (example) for three of the reasons. Your evidence has to be very specific. Read the reasons and examples once again. Now use just once sentence to connect them to the bigger life picture. Format If you have written other types of essays previously, you won’t have any difficulties with your exemplification essay, while it has the same format as all other essays’ types. Introduction and conclusion are mandatory, as well as three body paragraphs. The only difference is about the content of the body paragraphs, while you will have to focus on the evidence and make each piece directly illustrating your point. Outline Introduction: Here you can discuss the social media appearance and some of its advantages. Then softly go to the discussion of its negative aspects. For example: Using social media influences the self-image of young females in a negative way. Young girls are taught to be more competitive by society and that sense of competition among young women is only increased by social media. For example: According to research, young females more actively participate in the â€Å"compare and despair† aspects that develop in social media. There are more accounts of girls having high followings rates in social media in the result of their beauty. For example: according to the studies, when using social media, young females are inundated with unrealistic beauty standards. They claim that it influences negatively their self-image. There are lots of promotions of make-up hacks, products, and tutorials for young ladies in social media. Females are all the time reminded that their appearance is crucial. For example: according to research, young females feel pressured to buy cosmetic products on social media. Conclusion: Social media brings a sense of comparison and competition all the time, it highlights unrealistic beauty standards, and thus, is being toxic for young females. Outline Pattern Introduction A â€Å"hook† sentence that catches attention. Three subject sentences. The thesis statement in the argument. Second paragraph The first reason to support the thesis. An example supporting the reason. Discussion of that example’s importance. Third paragraph The second reason to support the argument. An example supporting the reason. Discussion of that example’s importance. Fourth paragraph The third reason to support the argument. An example supporting the reason. Discussion of that example’s importance. Conclusion State your thesis once again. Summarize three main claims of yours. Connect the thesis to the bigger picture of the future, life, history, society, etc. Topics for Your Exemplification Essay Easy Topics Is it better for students to have rich parents who don’t participate much in his life? Is it better for students to have poor parents who can participate actively in the life of their child? Is it necessary to cancel the SAT exam? Do most people reflect their friends they spend most of their time with? Should smartphone usage be illegal for children under 18? Good topics Is college degree less important today than fifteen years ago? Should population control be enforced by the government to ensure some of the species and planet survival? Do modern technologies or social media cause more incidents of social anxiety? Should children with obesity get mandatory nutritional assistance from the government dieticians? Should smoking become illegal in all public places? Is the young generation damaged by celebrity culture? Topics for college students Should the US army be sent abroad for foreign nations? Should religious organizations pay taxes? Should junk and fast food items be taxed at a higher rate? Should political campaigns accept donations from big corporations? Should the drugs be legalized to make the economy more stable? Should immigration policies in the States be stricter? Topics for high school students Is it necessary to ban politicians from spending high amounts on their campaigns? Should farm animals have more legal protections? Is marriage institution becoming outdated? Should social and religious cults be more regulated by the government? Is spanking children acceptable as a punishment form? Exemplification Essay Example What is Friendship Once two people establish a bond between them, friendship occurs. A healthy friendship includes mutual respect. Both people should care for each other’s fate, as well as physical and emotional well-being. Friendship contains some acts of kindness, for example, which do not require anything in return. People should act in the best interest of the other person. As an example, I want to tell about a young man dumped by his girlfriend. They started relationships when they both were in school and in college already they started to live together. The friend of this man helped him to move out of the hours into a house of his family member, after he discovered his friend was moving out of the house he shared together with his girlfriend. He didn’t require anything in return. A young woman saw her friend’s boyfriend flirt with other women very often. This woman decided not to tell her friend anything just because she didn’t want to harm their relationship. Instead of it, she talked to one of the girls this guy flirted with and asked her to show his girlfriend the text messages he sent her. Thus, her friend found out everything about her boyfriend but this didn’t damage the relationship between two girls. Students in my college often are with their friends when they were ill or had times of grief and didn’t ask anything in return. They might never get the same support back (maybe because it was not necessary) but the friendship remained strong. There are so many real-life examples of friendship in which people do various things without getting rewards in return. The acts of kindness or looking out for the interests of another person happen just because of friendship. The friendship itself is a reward, otherwise caring and kindness of people would be caused only by their self-interest. Conclusion Now you know that exemplification essays can be considered a more precise type of argumentative essay. It is more understandable to the reader while it contains the real-life examples illustrating the thesis or argument so well. Its aim is to show why a certain viewpoint is correct or not. Even an average reader can perceive the information well. But in case you have problems with writing your exemplification essay, our top writers are always ready to help. Our experts can cope with any task, can write an essay from scratch, edit your own essay, or give you fruitful recommendations to improve it and get your best mark!

Workplace mediations in cyberspace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Workplace mediations in cyberspace - Essay Example Bandwidth and connectivity speeds have been increasing. Parties in disputes are using technology to bypass the legal mechanisms or institutions (Armbrust 2000). The virtual platform is not only private but decentralized. This has enabled organizations develop a decentralized environment in the quest to develop dispute resolution mechanisms using cyberspace (Barrett and Barrett 2012). The participants of the cyberspace mediation are expected to develop a decision without involving the judges. The representation of multiparty disputes and other parties is not affected. Internet offers a platform for glass root information and development of information from the pluralistic nature of its architecture (Wang 2010). The applications within cyberspace make it possible to use enormous information from a variety of sources during the mediation process. The dispute resolution professionals are optimistic about the cyberspace mediation and the potential thereof (Hawk, Rieder, and Oviedo 2008). The development of a virtual dispute resolution mechanism is perceived to be the modern organizations’ highest aspirations (Barrett and Barrett 2004). The virtual architecture is expected to prove that mediators can use technology to resolve organizational issues within a short period (Armbrust 2000). This cyberspace mediation saves time and space. Research shows that virtual mediation shall cause organizations to invest in enhanced technology. This shall benefit other aspects about the operations of an organization (Breslow and Mousoutzanis 2012). Virtual negotiations eliminate travel costs and save money for the parties (Barrett and Barrett 2004). The mediators are said to be more effective in the digital platform given that the temperatures of the disputes appear to be low because of the geographical barriers. Numerous mediators argue that cyberspace mediations pose straightforward challenges (Doherty and Guyler 2008). However, the challenges are be overcome as a growing n umber of internet users get acquainted to online settings (Barrett and Barrett 2004). Critics argue that online communication and dispute resolutions cannot be a substitute to solving challenges while physically present (Breslow and Mousoutzanis 2012). This is linked to the values and attributes of communication during mediation. Many mediators argue that the fact that disputants are incapable of speaking is the reason for mediation (Armbrust 2000). The choice of using a digital platform which is perceived as slow and prone to breakdown is questionable (Hawk, Rieder, and Oviedo 2008). However, a growing number of organizations are targeting the global market and opening branches across the world (Gonc?alves 2008). The process of dispute resolution between to international branches or employees working in different continents has necessitated the use of technology (Barrett and Barrett 2004). The process of online mediation is said to ensure organizations or multinational operate as u nits despite the geographical barriers (Breslow and Mousoutzanis 2012). Online mediation offers better safeguards for caution and sensitivity compared to the conventional mediation (Breslow and Mousoutzanis 2012). The online mediums of mediation are lessening as a growing number of organizational or workplace activities become founded on technology (Armbrust 2000). The demands of the online platforms and the mediation process have advanced to the place of accepting online communications for exclusive transactions (Barrett and Barrett 2004). Technology has developed to an extent of replicating face-to-face interactions in comprehensive and inexpensive ways (Hartley 2007). Majority of participants in the online understand the dynamics and

Marriage and the Family Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marriage and the Family - Personal Statement Example The solution that the educator that I interviewed presented was simply the desire of the parents to take some time off their careers in order to stay longer at home and monitor the development of their children. It is not always good to depend on the nannies and tutors to preside over the learning of their children. The parents have to be committed to regularly be there when their children needs them. The counselor that I interviewed mentioned that there are three fundamental procedures of decision-making in the present day families: the top-down method, the democratic method, and the subculture method. Top-down or implemented decision-making normally happens in the family structure of disoriented families, because the heads of these families do not know that it normally leads in bad developments that are hard to manage, even though they may be effortless to tell to the members of the family (Napier 5). In short, they do not know that top-down methods may lead in forced compliance from the children for instance, but in reality they do not totally agree to it. As a solution to this problem, the counselor suggested that families implement the deliberate methods to decision-making which are hard and eat up a lot of time, but the dedication and trust to the development will be more effective than an altered family setting which decreases outputs and results. C. Opinion of the Social Worker The social worker that I interviewed mentioned that majority of the failed activities of families at present rely tremendously on the lack of interpersonal interaction and relationship among the family members. Bounded with a distorted objective, the control of developments at families is not always coordinated with the family members that will benefit or will immediately feel the impacts. Discussing the objective of development at families nowadays is not always important (Cherlin 6). As a solution to this problem, the social worker recommended that families should start to realize that interaction is the highly recommended way that the families must always use. If the family members can effectively communicate with each other, obtaining the trust of each other and managing a smooth relationship will always be easy to do, and this leads to a smooth flow of family functions. Personal Notes I believe that family is the most important treasure in the world. While it is true that families cannot be perfect all the time, the family members must always have the initiative to help each other grow and become united as one. Of course, the parents have to be role models in order for the children to follow. If the family stays together as one cohesive unit all then time, then problems no matter how they may be can be easily deflected and the family will be strong and firm with their support for each other. WORKS CITED Cherlin, Andrew. Public and Private Families: An Introduction. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 5th edition 2006 Lamanna, Mary Ann. Marriages & Families: Making

Shaping American History Essay Example for Free

Shaping American History Essay As they say there is nothing constant but change. While there is nothing that can be added to this truism, one can argue that although American society is constantly evolving, the changes that are happening in the 21st century are simply the byproduct of the events that transpired in the past, particularly after World War II. These pivotal decades after the Second World War covers the latter part of the 20th century and these five important periods in modern US history are popularly known by their epithets: the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80, and 90s. The following pages will show the pivotal events that occurred within each decade that consequently shaped American history. In the Aftermath of the War The Second World War was one of the bloodiest in the history of mankind. But aside from the carnage, the most important thing to remember about World War II is the effect it had on the political landscape. Germany was reduced to rubble and humbled beyond recognition. Japan was also humiliated especially after two atomic bombs leveled two key cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although Great Britain belonged to the winning team, the human and monetary cost of the war forced this once proud nation to take a backseat to two emerging global superpowers, the United States and the Union Soviet Socialist Republic. While the whole world was rebuilding from the ashes of war, the United States began to grow from strength to strength. It also began to evolve, particularly in the area of politics and technology. Its policies after the war as well as the scientific breakthroughs experienced by American scientists made the US a force to contend with. The United States of America replaced Europe as the center of the world. The following historical events will help characterize America in the decades after World War II. The 1950s Television There were so many things happening in the decade of the 50s. It was rebuilding time all over the world. The euphoria from winning the global conflict began to wane and Americans started to ease back into normalcy. During this time American citizens began to notice something that used to be in their peripheral vision during World War II but after the war it slowly began to move front and center – the television set. But it had to begin from scratch, â€Å"There was hardly a large enough audience base to interest advertisers in investing in what programming was available. And there was no evidence that television was more than a costly toy† (Sig, 1998). But things began to change for this little apparatus. Technology was a major factor as well as the astute businessmen who saw the great potential for TV. It did not take very long before American began to appreciate the sitcoms, soaps and news broadcast that they can enjoy watching in their television set. With regards to the impact of TV, John Corner was able to put it succinctly when he remarked that TV radically altered the scale, speed of circulation, and nature of knowledge in society and he adds that there is also, â€Å"The extension of the public knowledge field by television, a process co-extensive with television’s steady colonization of everyday life †¦ has changed the nature both of public and private life† (Thumim, 2002). In light of what is happening today, there is so much truth in this last statement. The use of television as a means to broadcast message into homes made a huge impact in American lives considering the history altering events that occurred after the 1950s. If the television set failed to replace radio as the major method of relaying information then it would have been impossible for Americans to feel the seriousness of the Cold War, the excitement of seeing man landing on the moon, the ambivalence concerning the Vietnam War, the social turmoil of the 80s, and many others.

Kids Vs Kids :: essays research papers

KIDS VS. KIDS The average child witnesses eight thousand murders and one hundred thousand acts of violence by the time he or she finishes elementary school. In the past fifteen years school violence has become a clear but present danger. It used to be children were involved in fistfights, or other types of squabbles. They may have received a black eye or bloody nose. Now they are armed with not fists but sawed off shotguns and malice. This is a serious issue that needs to be observed and resolved. These need to be taken in to consideration, home environment, society, and school policy. These are the key issues that are causing children to act out so violently. In the early eighties we were not having the problems with school shootings that are happening now. Home environment is the big factor that’s been children are for most of their life; the influences that come from here are powerful. Hopefully parents are teaching their children to be good people, to have compassion for others, but in some cases this is not happening. Society has evolved in the past fifteen years. Things are a little different. More mothers were at home raising their children and not out in the workplace. The Internet was not available to the population until 1989-1990. With out this being monitored for students it could be very harmful. The Internet is full of wonderful information, but also potentially dangerous material. School policy was different because they were not having such violent problems. There were problems in schools in the eighties but not so many, so often. From nineteen eighty eight to nineteen ninety-two the homicide rate increased by fifty percent, assault by forty eight percent, robbery, forty nine percent and rape fifteen percent. At these rapid increasements they crept into schools with a bang. The average home in the nineties is, both parents working forty hours a week, tired and might not be so observant to what their children are doing and learning. The home environment is so important and vital to the solving of this problem. The Internet is available at home, or in most libraries. This needs to monitored especially for younger users. In hope to help eliminate the shootings most schools in the U.S. have adopted the zero tolerance policy. The zero tolerance policy is helpful in keeping order and does not tolerate much else.

Gendered Societal Expectations of Appearance and Their Effects Upon the Individual Essay

It has long been generally accepted that we as humans are influenced greatly by the things that surround our everyday lives. These things can include friends, family, co-workers, the media and even society as a whole. The society in which people live can play a huge role in how they view themselves and how they view others. Over the years researchers have come up with many theories as to how and why society has such a large influence on people. Now-a-days there are appearance prescriptions for everything in our society. It is not good to be too fat, but it is not good to be too skinny either. The way a person looks, dresses and acts is a large factor in how other people will think about, talk about and respond to them. These societal prescriptions also differentiate between other factors such as gender, race, level of education and more. Interestingly most of these prescriptions for appearance in society today are relatively unspoken until someone violates them. This paper will attempt to shed some light on the complex societal prescriptions regarding personal appearance and body imaging; more specifically it will delve into how those prescriptions are gendered within society and how people respond both positively and negatively to those prescriptions. As previously stated appearance prescriptions are very strong in our society especially when it comes to societal expectations regarding gender. These gendered expectations cause people to do all types of things for the sole purpose of fitting in to societal norms. Some women exercise religiously to maintain a good looking body, other women go tanning regularly because they think it is embarrassing, or even unacceptable, to be pale; there are also many men who do the same things for the same reasons. While looking good is not a bad thing sometimes these societal prescriptions, or expectations, can cause people to go too far. When people are not satisfied with themselves and their appearance they can become desperate and have feelings of inadequacy about their physical appearance. These feelings of inadequacy can lead to depression or making destructive decisions which can include but are not limited to over-eating or even eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. There have been numerous studies done on the relationships between societal pressures to be thin and body dissatisfaction among both men and women. One such study, from the University of Texas at Austin that studied the effects of social pressure to be thin on women said that â€Å"These same pernicious messages (that one is not thin enough) are thought to foster negative affect, because appearance is a central evaluative dimension for women in Western culture† (Stice, 2003). This study tested what sources most influence societal expectations of appearance and the different ways those expectations can negatively affect women (Stice, 2003). It concluded that some of the biggest social pressures to be thin come from the mass media, family members and peers (Stice, 2003). It also concluded that the negative effects of these social pressures can go in two different directions, this is not to say that women negatively affected cannot fall victim to both types of effects (Stice, 2003). A synopsis of this study could say that societal expectations to be thin often create body dissatisfaction within women (Stice, 2003). This body dissatisfaction, which can often lead to depression, frequently leads to either restrictive dieting or binge eating. Restrictive dieting, while not bad in itself, can lead to unhealthy eating habits such as eating disorders, laxative abuse or other methods of losing weight that can be extremely harmful to the person practicing them, and binge eating â€Å"because it is commonly believed that eating provides comfort and distraction from negative emotions† (Stice, 2003). A similar experiment, coming from the University of Toronto, studied the relationship between body image and depression among adolescents regarding adiposity (Chaiton, 2009). This study suggests â€Å"that body dissatisfaction may mediate the relationship between overweight and depression† (Chaiton, 2009). It goes on to suggest that the relationship found between obesity and depression is differentiated by gender because of the difference in societal expectations placed on women and men (Chaiton, 2009). The study concluded that females experience body dissatisfaction almost solely when they believe they are overweight, whereas both males who believe that they are under or overweight experience body dissatisfaction which can in all cases lead to some level of depression (Chaiton, 2009). As the aforementioned study showed societal expectations concerning appearance can, and often do, affect men just as much as they do women (Chaiton, 2009). Our society pushes men to be big, muscular and manly. To certain degree the more muscular a man is the more attractive he generally is within society. A study from an international journal regarding social behavior and personality concluded that the attractiveness of a man is more important in determining social desirability than the age of the man in question (Perlini, 2001). Comparatively the results of these two studies add up to say that the attractiveness of a man is one of the main factors in determining societal desirability and one of the biggest factors in being attractive is being muscular or strong. This puts a lot of pressure on males to be concerned with how they look in comparison to society’s expectations of how they should look. There are numerous different theories as to why societal expectations differ between genders, but none that can definitively explain why prescriptions concerning appearance are the way they are (i. e. women should be skinny and men should be muscular). Some theorists take a biological approach saying that something within the genetic makeup of human beings causes men to be larger and more muscular and likewise causes women to be smaller and skinnier; therefore it is innate within human beings to prefer women to be skinnier and men to be more muscular. Other theories use a combination of nature, a biological approach, and nurture, an approach that says how and where people are raised effects how they view the world, to explain why there is such a gendered difference in societal expectations. While still others use strictly nurture based theories to explain these differences. An experiment from Colby College testing the awareness of preschoolers to societal expectations of gender showed that by the age of five or six humans can easily differentiate between what society expects differently of men than of women (Raag, 1998). Granted this study tested the societal expectations of gender based on toys (tools and dishes) and how the children themselves reacted to the toys as well as how the children thought others (parents, babysitters, friends, etc. ) would react to them playing with the aforementioned toys (Raag, 1998). On the whole the children were able to identify that the tools were for boys to play with and the dishes were for girls; the children also, with no hesitation, said that boys playing with dishes or girls playing with tools would often be responded to negatively by parents or babysitters or the like. That means that while this study cannot shed light on the societal expectations of strength versus thinness it does give some credence to the nurture side of the theories mentioned earlier (Raag, 1998). In summation the societal expectations of appearance can have both positive and negative effects upon people. Society pushes for women to be thin, but not too thin and for men to be muscular, but not too muscular. Society pushing people to be in shape is not a bad thing; studies have shown that being physically fit is not only good for people physically, but also mentally. When people feel attractive it boosts their confidence and self-esteem which has been proven to increase mental health. It just happens to be that some of the anxiety or stress put upon people to look good to others can cause them to do harmful things to themselves and others. For instance constant pressure from the media and other outside influences to be skinny and tan has led countless females to have eating disorders and go artificial tanning all the time, neither of which are conducive to being physically healthy. Those same influences have led to countless males developing eating disorders as well to lose weight or even start using all types of drugs, that harm themselves and can harm, or cause them to harm, others, such as anabolic steroids or pro-hormonal supplements simply to gain muscle mass at unnatural and unhealthy rates. The best thing anyone can do to help society as a whole to resist unhealthy expectations regarding appearance is to spread awareness. It may sounds overplayed but awareness about a problem and the education necessary to fix or even just alleviate that problem is always to first step to solving that problem. At the end of every abovementioned study the researchers conducting the study talked about the significance, or importance of that study, and every single researcher included somewhere in that section that raising awareness about the issue at hand was one of the most significant aspects to their respective studies. This is because being aware and educated about a problem is one of the most important and fundamental ways to confront a problem; especially one of this magnitude. This problem will never be solved if society as a whole does not become aware of, and change, how it effects people’s everyday lives regarding physical appearance.

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. [email  protected] kth. se; katja. [email  protected] se As the number of people who reside and work in urban areas increases, so, too, do the needs and demands placed on the infrastructure. This has led to severe congestion in many European cities, a situation which affects not only the environment in terms of pollution, but most notably levels of traffic safety.In Europe, tens of thousands of people are killed in road traffic accidents, and more than 1 million are injured each year at a cost, which is estimated to exceed the total European Union budget by a factor of two. The majority of accidents involving injury occur within urban areas often at junctions, while the number of fatalities outside these areas is greater, largely as a result of higher speed. Traffic safety research has shown a biased interest in the pr oblems associated with motorway and rural areas in the past.There are many reasons, which advocate a greater interest in urban areas, in particular, those related to the safety of unprotected road users. In urban areas the traffic system context is more complex, where a mixed road user environment prevails and greater perceptual and cognitive demands are placed on road users. In the past, many of the more successful safety countermeasures have focused on designing the roadway to meet the needs and limitations of road users. These solutions have, however, proved to be very costly.Today, new and relatively cheap technological solutions referred to as Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) have been developed which have the capacity to reduce exposure, accident risk, and accident severity. While the long term effects of these systems are largely unknown, and problems associated with standardisation and legislation are in need of resolve, systems such as Intelligent Speed Adaptation and ad vanced traffic control systems have shown great potential with regard to the traffic safety problem in urban areas.In order to effectuate this potential, a great deal of integrated multi-disciplinary research is required. 1. INTRODUCTION The last century of the second millennium has seen vast improvements in the living conditions and economic wealth of the industrialised nations of the world, and consequently a large growth in population, particularly in urban areas. The growth of cities and towns has also led to an increase in the need for mobility, and a consequent increase in the numbers and types of vehicles occupying the road infrastructure.The exponential increase in the number of vehicles during the twentieth century has far outweighed the projected capacities and adaptive capabilities of the existing road infrastructure systems, this has resulted in a situation of congestion and frustration among road users of all types and has had significant detrimental effects for traffic safety in terms of the unacceptable numbers of road accidents involving fatality and injury. During 1997, there were approximately 45 000 fatalities, and 1. million injuries reported from road traffic accidents within the European OECD countries according to statistics taken from the International Road Traffic and Accident Database (IRTAD). The costs of such accidents within the European Union are estimated to be in the region of 160 billion ECU per year, thereby exceding the total annual budget for the EU in 1997 (89 billion ECU). Statistics indicate that while approximately two-thirds of all fatalities occur outside urban areas, two-thirds of the total number of injuries occur inside urban areas.The outcomes of urban accidents are usually less severe in terms of the numbers of injuries and fatalities as a direct result of the greater limitations imposed on speed. Mainly for this reason, most of the international and national traffic safety research has focused on motorways and ma jor roads that link towns and cities by traversing rural and suburban areas. 2 Why Focus on Traffic Problems in Urban Areas?There are however, a number of very important reasons why the traffic system existing in urban areas should not be disregarded by prevailing research. Most importantly, there are a great number of people living in urban areas, and travel distances are generally shorter than in rural areas, which encourages people to use bicycles or to walk. According 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 types of road users, such as vehicle drivers, there are significant differences in the types of accidents that occur in urban areas with a greater number of rear-end and turning collisions, and a larger percentage of collisions occurring at junctions. Generally, the urban environment can be regarded as more complex with many different types of road users with different needs, the physical and mental demands placed on road users are therefore much higher, and are reflected in the statistics by a comparatively greater number of accidents involving injury.The Development of Traffic Safety in Urban Areas from a Historical Perspective In the past, European traffic safety in urban areas has most typically focused on speed management and traffic calming. Kjemstrup and Herrstedt (1992), identified three specific periods of development. During the first period prior to 1968, the major growth in the number of vehicles was initially countered by expanding the infrastructure where possible.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 approached by separating light and fast-moving heavy traffic, and by designing the traffic environment with an emphasis on uniformity and simplicity. â€Å"Traffic calming† initiatives became popular together with what became known as â€Å"Woonerf design†, which entailed physical speed-reducing measures (e. . humps and narrowings), and rules to govern speeds and priorities within urban areas. The third period from 1980 to 1990 saw increasing opposition to speed reducing measures by public and private interests. A new and less expensive solution was required, and eventually took the form of â€Å"environmentally adapted through-roads†, which took into consideration: flow-rates, composition of traffic, accident rates, pedestrian needs, and environmental sensitivity (in relation to noise levels air-pollution etc. ).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 concept. Kjemstrup and Herrstedt (1992) concluded at the time of writing, th at automatic speed regulation devices were â€Å"a long way into the future† and that traffic calming through physical measures and the design of street space was the only currently available approach to achieving lower speeds and increased safety and security and an improved urban environment.Despite safety countermeasures such as traffic calming techniques, various legislative measures, publicity campaigns, active police 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 unacceptably high level. One area of research that has shown great promise is that concerning Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) which exploit the latest information and communication technologies and integrate them into the traffic system.This approach enables the already congested infrastructure to be utilised with much greater efficiency, and to some extent can resolve problems ass ociated with human limitations. The future appears to have arrived for automatic speed regulation devices such as â€Å"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 knowledge related to how effective countermeasures, with or without the aid of ITS, can be designed, developed, and implemented to resolve urban area traffic safety problems.The Need for Traffic Safety Strategies The World Health Organisation has referred to the existing traffic safety as a social and public health problem. In order to approach this problem, different European and world-wide traffic safety research programs have been initiated, which call for international co-operation between different institutions and establishments, and a conglomeration of different scientific disciplines in a major offensive to find ways to improve the present situation.At a national level some countries have developed specific traffic safety strategies in order to approach the traffic safety problem. 3 In Sweden, the â€Å"vision zero† has been sanctioned by the government in order that individuals and organisations can develop an operational energy 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 completely unacceptable, and that traffic safety is ultimately their responsibility.The focus of attention is placed on active safety (i. e. the prevention of accidents), passive safety (i. e. reducing the severity of accidents upon occurrence), and improving the rescue services, health-care, and rehabilitation. Importantly, it is recognised that there are other interests in society in addition to the provision of safety (e. g. environmental issues and regional planning issues) which m ust be discussed in order to find a balance by authorities other than those in the road-transport sector in a social and political context.Thus, the â€Å"vision zero† concept involves a wide spectrum of interest at many different levels in order to provide an integrated and far reaching approach to the traffic safety problem in Sweden. Delimiting and Defining Urban Areas for Traffic Safety Research In this report it is important to distinguish between those roads that can be regarded as part of an urban area road network, and those which are not. A reasonably straightforward definition of urban areas could be taken to include all types of roads provided that they fall within a town or city boundary.This distinction is, however, too general to be of value for research purposes. The definition that is adopted by the Swedish Institute for Transport and Communications Analysis ( SIKA), and which will be used as a de facto definition in this report is: †¢ roads which most of ten 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 crossings etc. n order to allow for a reasonable level of accessibility 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, but the density of the surrounding buildings and the traffic conditions resemble those described above Roads that lead through built-up areas, but do not have intersections and are separated from the environment (by a fence) or restricted to motor vehicles are not considered to lie in an urban area (SIKA, 1999).The Swedish National Road Authority makes a distinction between â€Å"central†, â€Å"intermediate†, and â€Å"suburban† roads (SNRA, 1989, p. 55). What are consi dered â€Å"urban† or â€Å"built-up† areas differs to some extent from country to country depending on the responsibilities and prevailing political climate of the local and central authorities with regard to different road categories, and environmental and traffic safety issues. The exact distinction remains therefore somewhat â€Å"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 described annually in an official publication entitled â€Å"Traffic Injuries† produced by the Swedish Institute for Transport and Communication Analysis (SIKA). This publication is based entirely on police reported accident data, and represents only those accidents, which involve 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 serious injuries. Most injuries in relation to the different road user groups are believed to be represented to a level of approximately 50 per cent (e. g. caroccupants, motorcyclists, pedestrians). The most notable exception is found in the statistics for cyclists which are only believed to be represented to a level of 15 per cent (SIKA, 1999). Basic Swedish statistics and 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 between 1960 and 1997, the total number of accidents and the number of urban accidents has declined marginally (see Figure 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-1960†™s) during this time period (see Figure 2).During the period from 1960 to 1997 the proportion of accidents involving fatality in urban areas has remained relatively constant, at an average 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 1200 16000 14000 12000 1000 1400 No of Accid. 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 1960 Accidents Urban Areas Accidents in total No of fatalities 800 600 400 Fatalities In total Fatalities urban areas 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 200 0 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 990 1995 1960 1965 Year Year Figure 1: Absolute number of police reported accidents on Swedish roads that resulted in injuries or fatalities during the period 1960 to 1997, and absolute number for the same types of accidents in urban areas during the same period. Figure 2: Absolute number of police reported fatalities on Swedish roads d uring 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 fatality or injury occurred in urban areas.These urban area accidents resulted 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 involved (i. e. oped riders, cyclists, and pedestrians). 5 Single vehicle accidents usually occur in situations where drivers lose control over their vehicle, often as a result of driving too fast for the s ituation and prevailing road conditions. Many of these accidents occur at night-time and involve collisions with parked vehicles. With regard to vehiclevehicle accidents, a more in-depth look 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-urban areas.The main types of vehicle-vehicle accidents described by SIKA are: †¢ Overtaking and Lane-Changing – Accidents where the two primarily involved vehicles are on the same road travelling in the same direction without any planned turn and where one of the vehicle drivers intended to either change 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 overtaking should be present in the situation. Meeting – Accidents in which both of the primarily involved vehicles collided while travelling in opposite directions with no planned turn. †¢ Turning – Accidents where the two primarily involved vehicles are originally travelling on the same road in the same or opposite direction, and where one or both of the vehicles has planned to turn. †¢ Crossing – Accidents where the two primarily involved vehicles are 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. Others – 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 between 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, acciden ts 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 manoeuvre 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 probably on account 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 yield. Similarly, there is a greater number of opportunities for turning and crossing accidents within urban areas due to higher levels of congestion and the higher number of traffic junctions. The most noticea ble 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 comparison to single vehicle and vehicle-vehicle accidents suggest that this is one area that should be given great attention in the field of traffic safety research. The â€Å"others† category shown in Figure 3, which is not vehicle-vehicle related refers to accidents involving a vehicle and another type of obstacle 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 moose can cause severe injury and sometimes fatality. Other types of motor vehicle accidents resulting in injury can also 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 also occur between forms of transportation that do not involve the more common motor vehicles category, and in some cases pedestrians (e. . between cycles, mopeds, and/or pedestrians). 6 The fatality statistics reveal some interesting facts (see Figure 4). Most importantly, all types of vehicle-vehicle accidents result in a greater number of fatalities outside urban areas, despite the fact that some types occur more frequently within urban areas. This fact can be attributed largely to the higher speeds allowed on non-urban roads, and is exaggerated further 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 urba n 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 smaller outside urban areas. The traffic safety problems associated with unprotected road users are quite prominent.The fatality risk independent of the type of area where the fatality occurred for pedestrians in relation 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 2500 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 month within urban areas rather than outside. In the urban environment, more accidents than average occurred from May to October, with a local minimum in July. July is also the month in which the majority of accidents outside urban areas occur. This can be explained by the fact that a large percentage of the Swedish population take their holidays 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 compared 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 similar 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 16:00 and 18:00.Few accidents occur during early morning hours before 6:00. Comparing Swedish and International Urban and Non-Urban Statistics In the 1999 summer edition of the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) newsletter â€Å"Safety Monitor† it was stated that the fatality rates expressed 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 factor 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 database.This data is presented with due consideration to the problems of under-reporting and a general lack of exposure data. Currently twenty European nations (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hun gary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom) report data to IRTAD each year. Some of the more standard detailed data is, however, not available for some countries (most notably Greece, Luxembourg, and Portugal).Besides these European countries there are data for Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, 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 grand total (OECD Eur Total), and as an mean average (OECD Eur Average), the data for Sweden is also shown separately. Country/Continent Population (x 1000) Road Network (km) Land Area (sqkm)Motor Vehicles (x 1000) Reported Accidents involving Injury 15 752 72 393 1 303 074 2 455 118 152 7 65 -9 482 780 399 246 452 Reported 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 Zealand 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 made 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. However, 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. Before any more solid conclusions can be drawn important exposure data are required. The problem of under-reporting as previously mentioned, and the actual 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 OECD 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 OEC D countries and continents. Looking at the international statistics in relation 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 within urban rather than outside. Sweden (57 per cent) came a close second to Norway (47 per cent), with the OECD European average matching very closely 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 urbanisation 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). Unfortunately, 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 countri es (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 million 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 Closer Look at Accidents that Occur at Junctions in Sweden Having identified 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, crossroad junctions, roundabouts, and ot her 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-Junc Roundabout Other Veh-Pedestr Accident Types Figure 7: Number 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 frequency 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 accide nts 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-Junc 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 thes e 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’ accidents 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 enhan ce 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 combination 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 safety in urban areas must ideally adopt a â€Å"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 emergent 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 insight into the existing complexities and dynamics of the system and it’s 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 the 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 crash interviews are susceptible to distortion as a result of trauma or fear of the consequences of being assigned responsibility.Describing the conditions leading up to an accident is also made more difficult as they are often not monitored consciously by the driver who is often performing skills in what is best described as â€Å"automated† mode (Wickens, 1992). In the remainder 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 English Study 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 1980’s ( 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 in volved 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 to determine and classify the circumstances surrounding the accident.An innovative method for describing accident causation 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 â€Å"chain of factors† approach. According to Carsten and colleagues (1989) a contributory factor behind an accident could be defined as â€Å"a road user or traffic systems failure without which the accident would not have happened†, the imm ediate failure 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 anticipate’ 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 â€Å"reasonable road user† would also have been unable to anticipate the faulty behaviour of the other person, while ‘failure to yield’ implies that a â€Å"reasonable road user† would have perceived the upcoming danger earlier.Results also show that as many as 44 per cent of drivers were â€Å"innocent victims of others’ mistakes†. Failure to yield was also a factor for adult and child pedestrians (66 and 78 per cent, respectively). 12 At the second level (i. e. failure that increased 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 ‘driving 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 especially pedestrians, and mostly children, â€Å"fail to look†, while the main problem of motor vehicle drivers usually is the misinterpretation of other road users’ intentions. Both groups also show â€Å"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 influenc e of alcohol, is much more common among adult pedestrians than among drivers. Some other points of interest to emerge from this study concerned 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 noteworthy 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 younger 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 management and engineering issues might be brought to bear on traffic safety problems along with counter measures that involve improvements in publicity, education, 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 Intelligen t Transport Systems (ITS) functions suggested in the European PROMETHEUS programme.The authors identified 17 different basic needs in relation to the driving task: â€Å"For each user the accident could have been avoided, if the need had been satisfied†. 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 :â€Å"control†, â€Å"prediction†, â€Å"estimates†, â€Å"detection†, and â€Å"status†. The results of this study show an overriding need for detection in urban areas (mainly at junctions), followed by the need for prediction (i. . predicting the manoeuvre of a road user who has already been detected). Detection problems were advocated in 61 per cent of the accidents analysed, and within this particular grouping of identified ne eds ‘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). Outside 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 accidents in urban areas (i. e. meeting and turning accidents) could be avoided by the introduction of suitable Intelligent Transportation systems (ITS) which support driver needs such as ‘critical course determination’, ‘obstacle detection’, ‘vision enhancement’, and ‘safety margin determination’. 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 primary purpose of their study was to develop a classification system based on pre-accident driver/vehicle behaviour in order that planners and policy makers could develop suitable countermeasures aimed at reducing the most prevalent types of urban accidents. The investigation conducted by Retting and colleagues was based on police reported accident data from three cities and one urban county, each from di fferent states. The data were collected between August 1990 and July 1991 and included records from 4 526 accidents, many of these included property damage 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 collides with some other vehicle) with 22 per cent, ‘stopped or stopping’ (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 object 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 struck 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 oncoming’ accidents occurred most freque ntly 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 better signal timing, the increased visibility of signals and signs, reduced 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 a ccident type distributions 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 better signal timing and reducing the number of stops. The ‘ ran-off road’ category of accidents might be reduced by better roadway design including the use of one-way systems, better lane delineation, and better 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, English and French Data It is problematic to compare the four different countries directly because of the many differences in data collection 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 t he French study does not consistently 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 further 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. perception and cognition) failures. A more detailed comparison can be made for certain types of accidents in Swede n and in the USA.It has to be kept in mind, 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 a ccidents, while the figure for Sweden lies at 12 per cent, ‘left turn waiting’ 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 management in order to describe the sa fety 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 context. 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: Classification matrix for different types of traffic safety countermeasures related to the three main elem ents of the traffic system. Road-User Exposure E. g. mprovements in attractiveness of alternative (safer) modes of transport to relieve 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 parking 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 accurate 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 measured in terms of travel time or travel distance. In S weden travel habit surveys that focus of establishing reliable exposure data have been performed 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 favour 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 forms 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 become gradually more diffi cult and unrestricted.Generally, the majority of systems include three levels of tests, an initial provisional 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 limited 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 concep t 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 the 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 stability and handling, adequate steering charact