Dead-end Street Research Articles

The Study on Factors Influencing Pedestrian Volume based on Physical Environment of Street - Focused on Main Commercial Street of Seoul -

It is important to make the pedestrian-friendly streets for qualitative satisfaction of ambulatory experience and street vitalization within commercial streets. Therefore this study analyzes the relationship between physical environmental factors of street and pedestrian volume. The higher pedestrian volume goes with the higher building coverage ratio, the nearer distance to subway station, the wider sidewalk, the exclusive pedestrian road rather than shared pedestrian road; especially with regard to block organization and street system, the more regular type of block, the wider road, the more number of road intersection, the main road rather than the rear-side road; the higher commercial density, the lower residential density, and the street with small-sized commercial facilities concentrated together rather than the street with large-sized facilities located. This result represents that the pedestrian volume is high as the road width is wide and the accessibility to transportation is good; that the characteristics of urban organization such as regular-type block, wide choice of street due to road intersection instead of dead-end road, good road network, etc. can increase the pedestrian volume; that it is important to concentrate the small-sized commercial facilities instead of large-sized commercial facilities for the street vitalization.

Urban green infrastructures in Europe: new architectural orientations for finding a way out of the dead-end road of industrialized modernity

Historically cities and urban green infrastructures showed a diverse and dynamic character. The rise of urban agriculture is increasingly embedded in urban practices that aim to fashion a more sustainable and healthy city-region and food provisioning food system. This invites to rethink city-spaces and analyze grassroots dynamics as the spatial interweaving of densely populated urban centres and green open space, which represent actively, socially constructed functionalities and multi-spatial connectivity. Developing and implementing integrated policies to support these new practices is a major challenge.

E-books in the environment of the University of Ljubljana – useful manuals or a dead end street : experiences of the CTK. Knjižnica

ABSTRACTE-books are an essential part of the digitized material, which is available to the users of academic libraries. Compared to e-journals, which have already been embraced by the users, e-books do not meet the publishers’ expected usage level. The article also describes Central Technical Library’s experience with different suppliers and different e-books business models; and highlights the results of the one-year usage of NetLibrary e-books, which are accessible to the users of the University of Ljubljana. The usage results, comparisons and experiences imply some possible reasons and indicate some solutions that may result in a better usage of that material.

Realistic and Efficient Radio Propagation Model for V2X Communications

Multiple wireless devices are being widely deployed in Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) services on the road to establish end-to-end connection between vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) networks. Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) play an important role in supporting V2V and V2I communications (also called V2X communications) in a variety of urban environments with distinct topological characteristics. In fact, obstacles such as big buildings, moving vehicles, trees, advertisement boards, traffic lights, etc. may block the radio signals in V2X communications. Their impact has been neglected in VANET research. In this paper, we present a realistic and efficient radio propagation model to handle different sizes of static and moving obstacles for V2X communications. In the proposed model, buildings and large moving vehicles are modeled as static and moving obstacles, and taken into account their impact on the packet reception rate, Line-of-sight (LOS) obstruction, and received signal power. We use unsymmetrical city map which has many dead-end roads and open faces. Each dead-end road and open faces are joined to the nearest edge making a polygon to model realistic obstacles. The simulation results of proposed model demonstrates better performance compared to some existing models, that shows proposed model can reflect more realistic simulation environments.

What Makes the Difference?

I have been always interested on the inner mechanisms that generate new innovative ideas. In reality, we have two kinds of innovative results: the valuable one generated by applying and refining ideas already formulated by others, and the one, which is not ahead the state-of-the-art simply because it opens new avenues to the human knowledge. Both categories are relevant especially the first one because it produces astonishing numbers. For that category the essence of innovation is advancing the state-of-the-art by an extent that is measured with solid and well-defined parameters (or figures of merit). The other category is fuzzy: the new avenues are not well defined and, in some cases, they are dead-end roads. However, the second type of scientific activity fascinates me much more than the first one because it corresponds to the road marked by creative people. Obviously, in our discipline it not possible to invent something by totally groping in the dark; in some sense we don't have basic research; it is necessary to create new things by having in mind problems and necessities valuable for the scientific progress. However, these kinds of creative contributions, even if incremental, do not follow a step-by-step approach but look ahead of any logic, linear and engineering flow.

Ways of increasing enterprises' innovation activity

The article deals with topical issues of modernization of the Russian economy. Argues «modernization from above» only by the state is not possible. It is necessary to participate in this historic process business and labor organizations. However, depicts a large government role in providing incentives for upgrading business and labor, to overcome the monopoly in the economy. Only competition can force the Russian organization «chase» for innovation. Along with this article shows the role of the state in encouraging businesses to invest in staff organizations, and involve employees into ownership and control. In this regard, the experience of some developed countries are showed. The special attention is paid to the choice of the path of economic modernization in Russia. «Westernization» is described as a dead-end road of modernization, which is promising for a modernization of the national model for the example of a number of Eastern countries. The paper also shows the feasibility of the modernization of labor relations in the example of «Uralelectromed».

Cognitive Science Meets Psychoanalysis

Cognitive Science Meets Psychoanalysis

Extracorporeal artificial liver support in hepatic failure: pathfinder, bridge to recovery or dead end street?

Extracorporeal artificial liver support in hepatic failure: pathfinder, bridge to recovery or dead end street?

Sanitation under challenge: contributions from the social sciences

This paper reviews the contribution the social sciences can make to the challenge of providing access to sustainable sanitation services and infrastructures for billions of people, in both the over- and underdeveloped parts of the world. The paper reviews and discusses three particular social scientific topics relevant for the sanitation challenge: the nature of socio-technical change, the issue of multilevel governance, and the role of the citizen-consumer. It is argued that sanitation is as much a social as it is a technical issue, and that the role of social scientific knowledge needs to be strengthened and given more attention in this context. The key contribution from the social sciences is to be found in its capacity to help widen the narrow, technical definitions of sanitation by including actors and their needs and belief systems, and by highlighting the alternative socio-technical tools and governance arrangements that are instrumental in moving beyond some of the dead-end roads of traditional water engineering and sanitation provision.

From policing the garbage can to garbage can policing

Policing in most Latin American countries meets with enormous challenges. Most of them are due to unsolved political and social problems. In a number of studies these challenges and the way the police meet them are analysed. The notion of ‘garbage can decision-making’ is used to seek an explanation for the disappointing results of the reform efforts reported in most studies and to analyse the way police deal with the impossible situation they find themselves in. The tendency to become part of the garbage can and start acting in their own interest and to do that in a criminal way is the almost unavoidable consequence of the dead end street they are in.

The longitudinal influence of home and neighbourhood environments on children's body mass index and physical activity over 5 years: the CLAN study

To determine the independent contributions of family and neighbourhood environments to changes in youth physical activity and body mass index (BMI) z-score over 5 years. In 2001, 2004 and 2006, 301 children (10-12 years at baseline) had their height and weight measured (BMI was converted to z-scores using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reference charts; see http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) assessed using accelerometers. In 2001, parents reported on the home environment (social support, role modelling, rules and restrictions, physical environment) and perceived neighbourhood environment (local traffic, road safety, sporting venues, public transport), and Geographic Information Systems were used to map features of the neighbourhood environment (destinations, road connectivity, traffic exposure). Generalized estimating equations were used to predict average BMI z-score and MVPA over time from baseline home and perceived and objective neighbourhood environment factors. Among boys, maternal education and heavy traffic were inversely associated, and sibling physical activity, maternal role modelling of MVPA and the presence of dead-end roads were positively associated with MVPA. Having unmarried parents, maternal MVPA role modelling and number of home sedentary items were positively associated with BMI z-score among boys. Among girls, having siblings, paternal MVPA role modelling, physical activity rules and parental physical activity co-participation were positively associated with MVPA. Having unmarried parents and maternal sedentary behaviour role modelling were positively associated, and number of sedentary behaviour rules and physical activity items were inversely associated with BMI z-score among girls. The home environment seems more important than the neighbourhood environment in influencing children's physical activity and BMI z-score over 5 years. Physical activity and weight gain programmes among youth should focus on parental role modelling, rules around sedentary and active pursuits, and parental support for physical activity. Intervention studies to investigate these strategies are warranted.

Temporary Extra Jobs for Immigrants: Merging Lane to Employment or Dead-End Road in Welfare?

In the context of a substantial welfare reform in 2005, a new employment program has been introduced in Germany, the so-called Temporary Extra Jobs. These jobs provide temporary work opportunities in the public sector for welfare recipients in order to maintain or enhance the employability of the participants and to improve the job chances for regular employment. While engaged, participants receive welfare benefits, and, in addition, for their efforts in the program, they are paid an hourly wage of between 1 and 2 Euro. Occupations in Temporary Extra Jobs have to be additional in nature, of value for society, and must not compete with regular jobs in the market. Despite being intended to act as a last resort of activation for the most disadvantaged welfare recipients, this function is hardly met. With more than 750,000 participants each year, the program is the most frequently used welfare-to-work program in Germany. Within the population of welfare recipients in Germany, immigrants are clearly over-represented with a two thirds larger share than in the overall population. In 2006, more than 34 percent of all welfare recipients were immigrants while their corresponding share of the population was only about 19.5 percent. However, despite their over-representation in welfare, immigrants are not a specific priority group. For this reason, German welfare lacks integration plans for immigrants that are offered in other countries. Instead, immigrants are placed in the standard welfare-to-work programs that have been designed for all welfare recipients. Therefore, immigrants are also frequently placed in Temporary Extra Jobs, even though the use of the program in this group is somewhat less pronounced than in the group of native Germans. In this paper, we evaluate the effects of participating in a Temporary Extra Job on the chance of exiting welfare by taking up employment for immigrant welfare recipients. Since Germany's welfare-to-work programs are not particularly designed for immigrants but for all welfare recipients, we contrast the findings to the effects for native Germans. In addition, we analyze potential differences in the effects between the two ethnic groups trying to illuminate the causes of these differences. For the empirical analysis we use an inflow sample into welfare in 2006 of about 160,000 observations with individual information obtained from register data. These data enable quite a detailed characterization of the labor market past and current situation of immigrants and natives by covering comprehensive information. In addition, they enable identification of immigrants beyond the concept of citizenship. Our results show, that instead of increasing employment chances Temporary Extra Jobs rather reduce the probability of participants to take up a regular job providing a sufficient income above the subsistence level. Treatment effects are especially adverse if a Temporary Extra Job is started during the second quarter of a welfare spell. Even though program effects for immigrants are in many cases not as unfavorable as for natives, Temporary Extra Jobs are not an effective activation measure for this group either. The analysis of the differences in treatment effects shows that immigrants benefit more from Temporary Extra Jobs than natives with otherwise identical characteristics. However, using this result to derive the conclusion that Temporary Extra Jobs should be more frequently used for immigrants is misleading. The strong negative treatment effects Temporary Extra Jobs exhibit for both ethnic groups indicate that the program fails to achieve its objectives. The effects are more adverse for natives, but the program does not help immigrants either to leave the welfare system. Temporary Extra Jobs are a dead-end road in welfare rather than a merging lane to regular employment both for immigrants and for natives.

Where will they turn: predicting turn proportions at intersections

Predicting a driver's route would be useful for warning a driver of upcoming road hazards, informing about traffic situations, and serving relevant advertising. There are many clues to a driver's future route, including their past behavior and likely destination. Another clue is the driver's turn choices at a sequence of intersections. Strung together, the turn choices form a route. This paper develops a basic algorithm, and variations, to predict the aggregate turn behavior of drivers at intersections. Given an intersection with a few different turn options, including the option to continue straight ahead, our goal is to infer the proportion of drivers who will take each option. For ground truth, we use raw turn counts gathered for government traffic studies by our local municipality at 40 different intersections. Our basic turn prediction algorithm is based on the assumption that drivers tend to choose roads that offer them more destination options. This matches our intuition that turning onto a short, dead-end road is relatively rare compared to turning onto a highway "on" ramp. The best performing algorithm predicts turn proportions with a median error of 0.142.

Managing heart failure patients: when good-old-fashioned clinical care is not enough

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is the terminus of most other chronic cardiac diseases. For many patients, CHF is a dead-end road. In advanced stages of the disease, emphasis switches from...

Konsensökumene? Differenzökumene? Ökumene der Profile?

Has the search for »consensus« in the dialogues of the Christian churches turned out to be a dead end street? Should the churches not rather start to emphasize their own respective »profile« more strongly? The paper examines Ulrich Körtner's thesis that recently a »paradigm change« »from ecumenism of consensus to ecumenism of differences« has taken place. According to Körtner, the plurality of denominations is at the same time a negative result of sinful selfishness, as it is a positive expression of the variety of creation and the polyphony of the Holy Spirit's gifts. Thus, neither simply conserving denominational identity, nor trying to overcome the separation of churches is good or bad in itself. Ecumenical dialogues, as Körtner puts it, should aim at leading churches to acknowledge that they need each other »to become whole« , and to find so much common ground, that they can share Holy communion. The search for visible unity of the »people of God« , however, according to Körtner, is limited by the fact that the Jews necessarily are part of this people. With reference to the dialogues of the churches, nevertheless, the paper interprets Körtner's concept as rather continuing than overcoming the idea of »ecumenism of consensus«.

Cover Picture: Proteomics 3/2009

AbstractIn this issue of Proteomics you will find the following highlighted articles:Dead end road without telomeraseEukaryotic cells can replicate without the protective telomerase at chromosomal ends but at a price: a gradual loss of chromosomal terminal repeats and, ultimately, the ability to replicate. Continued loss leads to cellular replicative senescence, instability and apoptosis. Zimmerman et al. used nanoLC/TOF‐MS to examine proteomic profiles of five tumor cell lines from four tissues which carried a telomerase suppressing DN (dominant‐negative) hTERT (human telomerase reverse transcriptase) mutation. Downregulated genes included histones H4, H3 and H2B; up‐regulated genes were histone H2A and cytokeratin CK 19. Several of these proteins are being further studied for possible roles as biomarkers for telomere‐dysfunction associated diseases.Zimmerman, S. et al., Proteomics 2009, 9, 521–534.Unsticking the wicketO‐linked carbohydrates are one of the most frequent post‐translational modifications of eukaryotic proteins and the resultant glycopeptide one of the most difficult to analyze. With multiple attachment points, composition, and branching points, the carbohydrates obstruct isoelectric and electrophoretic focusing, yielding nondescript smudges on 2‐DE gels or mass spectra. Hanisch et al. have worked out a chemical protocol for removing most of these pesky sugars while the core protein remains intact and reversibly attached to a matrix compatible with automated, high‐throughput arrays. After desialylation, the glycoprotein is treated with NaIO4 for mild oxidation then cleaved with ammonia. The last two steps were repeated, leaving a product readily digested by trypsin for LC‐MS/MS analysis. Unfortunately, the de‐O‐glycosylated product is not resolved on 2‐D gels and yields an anomalously high MWon 1‐D gels for unexplained reasons.Hanisch, F.‐G. et al., Proteomics 2009, 9, 710–719.In concert tonight: !!The Astrocytes!!Like an underground music group, astrocytes have been actively ignored for many years, consigned to a back row seat with a minor role in the development of the central nervous system. Several groups have begun to apply proteomic tools to tease out a fuller description of astrocyte functions. Here, Keene et al. detail their findings with cultured astrocytes exposed to inflammatory cytokines for one or seven days. A total of 169 secreted proteins (290 in all) were identified by gel electrophoresis/nano‐LC/MS‐MS. Gene ontology assignments were made using a number of tools to properly assign secretory/extracellular proteins. Classical morphological changes were observed as well as expected secretions (PGE2, nitric oxide, IL6).Keene, S. D. et al., Proteomics 2009, 9, 768–782.

In this issue: Proteomics 3/2009

AbstractIn this issue of Proteomics you will find the following highlighted articles:Dead end road without telomeraseEukaryotic cells can replicate without the protective telomerase at chromosomal ends but at a price: a gradual loss of chromosomal terminal repeats and, ultimately, the ability to replicate. Continued loss leads to cellular replicative senescence, instability and apoptosis. Zimmerman et al. used nanoLC/TOF‐MS to examine proteomic profiles of five tumor cell lines from four tissues which carried a telomerase suppressing DN (dominant‐negative) hTERT (human telomerase reverse transcriptase) mutation. Downregulated genes included histones H4, H3 and H2B; up‐regulated genes were histone H2A and cytokeratin CK 19. Several of these proteins are being further studied for possible roles as biomarkers for telomere‐dysfunction associated diseases.Zimmerman, S. et al., Proteomics 2009, 9, 521–534.Unsticking the wicketO‐linked carbohydrates are one of the most frequent post‐translational modifications of eukaryotic proteins and the resultant glycopeptide one of the most difficult to analyze. With multiple attachment points, composition, and branching points, the carbohydrates obstruct isoelectric and electrophoretic focusing, yielding nondescript smudges on 2‐DE gels or mass spectra. Hanisch et al. have worked out a chemical protocol for removing most of these pesky sugars while the core protein remains intact and reversibly attached to a matrix compatible with automated, high‐throughput arrays. After desialylation, the glycoprotein is treated with NaIO4 for mild oxidation then cleaved with ammonia. The last two steps were repeated, leaving a product readily digested by trypsin for LC‐MS/MS analysis. Unfortunately, the de‐O‐glycosylated product is not resolved on 2‐D gels and yields an anomalously high MWon 1‐D gels for unexplained reasons.Hanisch, F.‐G. et al., Proteomics 2009, 9, 710–719.In concert tonight: !!The Astrocytes!!Like an underground music group, astrocytes have been actively ignored for many years, consigned to a back row seat with a minor role in the development of the central nervous system. Several groups have begun to apply proteomic tools to tease out a fuller description of astrocyte functions. Here, Keene et al. detail their findings with cultured astrocytes exposed to inflammatory cytokines for one or seven days. A total of 169 secreted proteins (290 in all) were identified by gel electrophoresis/nano‐LC/MS‐MS. Gene ontology assignments were made using a number of tools to properly assign secretory/extracellular proteins. Classical morphological changes were observed as well as expected secretions (PGE2, nitric oxide, IL6).Keene, S. D. et al., Proteomics 2009, 9, 768–782.

Tools and Raw Materials in a Workshop for Critical Thought

Tools and Raw Materials in a Workshop for Critical Thought

MRNA cargo no longer on time

heart failure is the most important cause of death in the Western world, and numerous attempts have been undertaken to identify the origin of this disease. Cohn et al. ([1][1]) in 2000 defined cardiac remodeling leading to heart failure as “genome expression resulting in molecular, cellular and

Concerning Cardboard Ghosts, Rosaries, and the Thingness of Things

The moment I see the Halloween cardboard ghost hanging in the grocery store window, I unexpectedly enter its secret life. As I approach the ghost, walking home from high school in Glen Rock, New Jersey, I sense the papery beat of its heart, a throb so thin no one else hears. I pause on the sidewalk to confirm that the rhythm isn't the tap of my penny loafers on pavementme in my autumny orange-and-brown wool outfit with matching kneesocks. As I stand still, silent, I'm now certain the sound emanates from the direction of the window, heartbeats twining with sunrays pulsing off glass. On the sidewalk in front of the grocery store, red and yellow leaves scatter among jugs of apple cider, pots of chrysanthemums, pyramids of polished apples. I recount these details only because, in many ways, the day is seemingly ordinary. Yet because it is Halloween, surely the earth trembles in October winds. A day moon, almost transparent, casts pale shadows. Trick-or-treaters, preparing to spook neighborhoods as pirates, skeletons, witches, cause the everyday world to shiver. And in this tremble, this shadow, this shiverjust as I'm passing the grocery storeI know how the cutout ghost feels. This isn't an apparition. It's not as if I'm hallucinating. I don't conclude the cutout is real. I know the ghost is cardboard. It won't loosen the string that secures it in the plate-glass window. It won't escape to basements or attics. At midnight, it won't conjure itself at a dead-end street at the edge of town. Nor do I fear the ghost will haunt me.