Safety In Numbers Research Articles

Safety in numbers.

Safety in numbers.

How does street environment affect pedestrian crash risks? A link-level analysis using street view image-based pedestrian exposure measurement

Street space plays a critical role in pedestrian safety, but the influence of fine-scale street environment features has not been sufficiently understood. To analyze the effect of the street environment at the link level, it is essential to account for the spatial variation of pedestrian exposure across street links, which is challenging due to the lack of detailed pedestrian flow data. To address these issues, this study proposes to extract link-level pedestrian exposure from spatially ubiquitous street view images (SVIs) and investigate the impact of fine-scale street environment on pedestrian crash risks, with a particular focus on pedestrian facilities (e.g., crossing and sidewalk design). Both crash frequency and severity are analyzed at the link level, with the latter incorporating two distinct aggregation metrics: maximum severity and medium severity. Using Hong Kong as a case study, the results show that the link-level pedestrian exposure extracted from SVIs can lead to better model fit than alternative zone-level measurements. Specifically, higher pedestrian exposure is found to increase the total pedestrian crash frequency, while reducing the risk of serious injuries or fatalities, confirming the “safety in numbers” effect for pedestrians. Pedestrian facilities are also shown to influence pedestrian crash frequency and severity in different ways. The presence of crosswalks can increase crash frequency, but denser crosswalk design mitigates this effect. In addition, two-side sidewalks can increase crash frequency, while the absence of sidewalks leads to higher risks of crash severity. These findings highlight the importance of fine-scale street environment and pedestrian facility design for pedestrian safety.

Behavioral responses of a clonal fish to perceived predation risk.

Predation threat is a major driver of behavior in many prey species. Animals can recognize their relative risk of predation based on cues in the environment, including visual and/or chemical cues released by a predator or from its prey. When threat of predation is high, prey often respond by altering their behavior to reduce their probability of detection and/or capture. Here, we test how a clonal fish, the Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa), behaviorally responds to predation cues. We measured aggressive and social behaviors both under 'risk', where chemical cues from predatory fish and injured conspecifics were present, and control contexts (no risk cues present). We predicted that mollies would exhibit reduced aggression towards a simulated intruder and increased sociability under risk contexts as aggression might increase their visibility to a predator and shoaling should decrease their chance of capture through the dilution effect. As predicted, we found that Amazon mollies spent more time with a conspecific when risk cues were present, however they did not reduce their aggression. This highlights the general result of the 'safety in numbers' behavioral response that many small shoaling species exhibit, including these clonal fish, which suggests that mollies may view this response as a more effective anti-predator response compared to limiting their detectability by reducing aggressive conspecific interactions.

Safety-in-Numbers for route choice of bicycle trips: A choice experiment approach for commuters

Safety-in-Numbers (SiN) implies that the risk of collision per road user is less when there are more road users. Although the available literature has confirmed the existence of SiN as an objective measure of safety, the effect on perceived safety, especially in the context of bicycle riders, has received much less attention. This study investigates the SiN effect on the perceived safety of bicycle riders that influences route choice behavior. A stated preference survey was performed in the South Delhi district of Delhi. The effect of attributes like posted speed limit, the volume of motorized traffic, bicycle infrastructure, and bicycle traffic/ crowding on route choice behavior was investigated. A binary logit model was developed to quantify the effect of these attributes on route choice. The results indicate that, in general, riders prefer routes with more bicycle traffic, hence validating SiN. But the effect does not always hold. For some riders, in the presence of dedicated bicycle infrastructure, when the perceived safety is higher, the presence of more bicycle traffic acts as crowding and demotivates riders to choose that route. The study also reveals that riders prefer routes with a low volume of motorized traffic and dedicated bicycle infrastructure. The outcomes suggest that a policy that encourages infrastructural development to provide lateral separation will encourage more people, hence increasing bicycle mode share as well as the perceived safety of riders.

Evolution of delayed dispersal with group size effect and population dynamics

Individuals delay natal dispersal for many reasons. There may be no place to disperse to; immediate dispersal or reproduction may be too costly; immediate dispersal may mean that the individual and their relatives miss the benefits of group living. Understanding the factors that lead to the evolution of delayed dispersal is important because delayed dispersal sets the stage for complex social groups and social behavior. Here, we study the evolution of delayed dispersal when the quality of the local environment is improved by greater numbers of individuals (e.g., safety in numbers). We assume that individuals who delay natal dispersal also expect to delay personal reproduction. In addition, we assume that improved environmental quality benefits manifest as changes to fecundity and survival. We are interested in how do the changes in these life-history features affect delayed dispersal. We use a model that ties evolution to population dynamics. We also aim to understand the relationship between levels of delayed dispersal and the probability of establishing as an independent breeder (a population-level feature) in response to changes in life-history details. Our model emphasizes kin selection and considers a sexual organism, which allows us to study parent–offspring conflict over delayed dispersal. At evolutionary equilibrium, fecundity and survival benefits of group size or quality promote higher levels of delayed dispersal over a larger set of life histories with one exception. The exception is for benefits of increased group size or quality reaped by the individuals who delay dispersal. There, the increased benefit does not change the life histories supporting delay dispersal. Next, in contrast to previous predictions, we find that a low probability of establishing in a new location is not always associated with a higher incidence of delayed dispersal. Finally, we find that increased personal benefits of delayed dispersal exacerbate the conflict between parents and their offspring. We discuss our findings in relation to previous theoretical and empirical work, especially work related to cooperative breeding.

A fish can change its stripes: investigating the role of body colour and pattern in the bluelined goatfish.

Bluelined goatfish (Upeneichthys lineatus) rapidly change their body colour from a white horizontally banded pattern to a seemingly more conspicuous vertically banded red pattern, often when foraging. Given the apparent conspicuousness of the pattern to a range of observers, it seems unlikely that this colour change is used for camouflage and instead may be used for communication/signalling. Goatfish often drive multispecies associations, and it is possible that goatfish use this colour change as a foraging success signal to facilitate cooperation, increase food acquisition, and reduce predation risk through a 'safety in numbers' strategy. Using a novel approach, we deployed 3D model goatfish in different colour morphs-white without bands, white with black vertical bands, and white with red vertical bands-to determine whether the red colouration is an important component of the signal or if it is only the vertical banding pattern, regardless of colour, that fish respond to as an indicator of foraging success. Use of remote underwater video allowed us to obtain information without the influence of human observers on the communities and behaviours of other fish in response to these different colours exhibited by goatfish. We found that conspecifics were more abundant around the black- and red-banded model fish when compared with the white models. Conspecifics were also more likely to forage around the models than to pass or show attraction, but this was unaffected by model colour. No difference in the abundance and behaviour of associated heterospecifics around the different models was observed, perhaps due to the static nature of the models. Some species did, however, spend more time around the red- and black-banded fish, which suggests the change in colour may indicate benefits in addition to food resources. Overall, the results suggest that the body colour/pattern of U. lineatus is likely a signalling tool but further work is required to explore the benefits to both conspecifics and heterospecifics and to further determine the behavioural functions of rapid colour change in U. lineatus.

Kinematic performance declines as group size increases during escape responses in a schooling coral reef fish

IntroductionEscaping predation is essential for species survival, but prey must effectively match their response to the perceived threat imposed by a predator. For social animals, one mechanism to reduce risk of predation is living in larger group sizes, which dilutes each individual's risk of capture. When a predator attacks, individuals from a range of taxa (e.g., fishes, sharks, and amphibians) perform an escape response, to evade the attack.MethodsUsing the schooling coral reef damselfish Chromis viridis, we assess if there is an optimal group size that maximizes both individual escape response performance as well as group cohesion and coordination following a simulated predator attack, comparing schools composed of four, eight, and sixteen fish. The escape response was assessed through simulated predator attacks, measuring escape latency, kinematics (average turning rate, and distance covered), and group dynamics (school cohesion and coordination). The experiments were conducted with varying group sizes to analyze the impact on escape performance and group behavior.ResultsWe found that fish in various group sizes exhibited no difference in their reaction timing to a simulated predator attack (i.e., escape latency), but larger groups exhibited slower kinematics (i.e., lower average turning rate and shorter distance covered during the escape response), potentially because larger groups perceived the predator attack as less risky due to safety in numbers. Both school cohesion and coordination (as measured through alignment and nearest neighbor distance, respectively) declined in the 100 ms after the predator's attack. While there was no impact of group size on alignment, larger group sizes exhibited closer nearest neighbor distances at all times.DiscussionThe findings suggest that larger group sizes in schooling coral reef fish may lead to energy conservation by displaying less costly behavioral responses to predator threats. This potential energy saving could be attributed to a higher threshold of perceived threat required to trigger a rapid escape response in larger groups. The study emphasizes the intricate interplay between individual and collective behaviors in response to predation and sheds light on the nuanced dynamics of group living in the face of predation.

Safety in Numbers or Lost in the Crowd? Litigation of Mass Claims and Access to Justice in Ontario

Safety in Numbers or Lost in the Crowd? Litigation of Mass Claims and Access to Justice in Ontario

Rōpū Whānau: A whakawhiti kōrero research methodology

Kapa haka is not simply the song and dance of Aotearoa’s Indigenous people; it is deeply steeped in mātauranga Māori, and a way of simultaneously exemplifying Māori history, present, and future. Meanwhile, this ever-expanding archive and cartography tool is also a community-focused cultural practice, methodology, pedagogy, and way of life. Contemporary kapa haka - both competitive and for entertainment - fosters, develops, validates, and celebrates the Māori world, the language, and our ‘ways’; arguably the fundamental building blocks of Māori identity and what the West might consider ‘popular culture’. 
 
 Kia Rite! Kapa haka for screens, is a Marsden funded project from which this article is but a tiny thread. It will focus on the influence and impact of screen production on the art’s ebbs and flows, and the conflicts between maintaining ‘traditions’ and exploring innovation in and towards the Indigenous-led creative academic future. Over the last century, kapa haka has evolved exponentially, and as the wider project will explore, in large part, as a response to the advancement of screen technologies. 
 
 An important strand in Kia Rite! will investigate the kapa haka audience, employing a refined iteration of Rōpū Whānau (Wilson, 2013), a conversation/discussion facilitation methodology initially designed for whakapapa related groups who were asked to respond to screen materials. For Kia Rite! Rōpū Whānau will view archival to contemporary kapa haka as a whānau, whilst also framing a multi-generational audience study that extends to include tamariki (children and youth). The inclusion of tamariki veers sharply from most human ethics practices in research, and thus presenting this as an idea may be a vanguard, and is undeniably experimental considering the sharp contrast from common research praxes. Exploring such responses to screened kapa haka in this way demands a kaupapa Māori/a-iwi design that is familiar to the whānau and has their best interests at heart. This article contends the best practice for such interaction is a whakawhiti kōrero (crossing over of stories, narratives, talks) methodology to reflect and embody the whakataukī (proverbial saying) “he aha te kai o ngā rangatira? He kōrero” which literally translates “what is the food of chiefs? It is talk”. This is an important aphorism since in te ao Māori ‘chiefliness’ isn’t what goes into someone’s mouth, but what comes out. 
 
 Although related because it sits in the research paradigm, the distinction between focus groups and Rōpū Whānau is stark in many ways, as the latter were developed specifically to move beyond ‘safety in numbers’ methodologies (Kitzinger, 1994) to a ‘safety within the whānau’ format, as will be delineated in this article. Encouraging participants from the same whānau and including tamariki effectively invites the duty of care to protect tamariki mokopuna and other vulnerable parties, and in actuality provides an extra layer of ethics to alleviate some of the institutional anxiety about dealing with young people. This critical article brings forward the fundamental elements of Rōpū Whānau and for the most part have provided a platform for experimentation, both a nod to previous research methods and at crucial times, sharply diverge from them, and centrally pushing the boundaries of what group research is and what it can be. 

‘Safety in Numbers’ for Walkers: Effects of Pedestrian Volume on Per-Pedestrian Crash Rate and Severe Injury Probability

The ‘safety in numbers’ phenomenon is very intriguing to many walking advocates. Some studies have examined the phenomenon for walkers, but they mostly focused on the relationship between pedestrian volume and the likelihood of vehicle–pedestrian crash occurrences. This study evaluated the effects of the ‘safety in numbers’ phenomenon not only on the risk of crash occurrences, but also on the probability of severe or fatal injuries. Pedestrian volume and crash data obtained from the six districts in Seoul Metropolitan City and Jeju Island were jointly analyzed to examine the expected pedestrian crash rate and the probability of severe or fatal injury as a function of pedestrian volume. The analysis confirmed that the expected pedestrian crash rate and the probability of severe or fatal injuries decline as pedestrian volume increases, although the absolute number of crashes and injuries increases. The increase in the number of pedestrian crashes is less than the increase in pedestrian volume. In addition, the probability of severe or fatal injuries tends to diminish with a larger pedestrian volume. These findings can be used as logical evidence to support future policies promoting walking trips, and they suggest that policy measures encouraging walking trips can deliver additional benefits beyond the well-known economic, health, and environmental benefits.

The Wisdom of the Crowd is not a Forgone Conclusion. Effects of Self-Selection on (Collaborative) Knowledge Construction.

Web 2.0 has elevated the possibilities of collaboration to unprecedented levels. Therein lies great potential, as the aptly coined phenomenon "Wisdom of the Crowd" implies. When it comes to controversial topics, however, there is no safety in numbers alone. On the contrary, collaboration among only like-minded people may even exacerbate biases (e.g., Echo Chambers). Yet, it is human nature to seek out like-minded others. Consequently, the process of self-selection is crucial if the heterogeneity of opinions serves as a safeguard against undesirable effects of group processes (e.g., attitude polarization). Accordingly, online environments that invite more heterogeneous (vs. homogeneous) users should produce less biased content. We tested this hypothesis in a field study, comparing articles on the same 20 controversial topics from the online encyclopedias Conservapedia and RationalWiki with Wikipedia (and Britannica serving as a gold standard) and exploring the opinions of discussants in the three online encyclopedias. As expected, articles from Conservapedia and RationalWiki were significantly less balanced than articles from Wikipedia and Britannica. We replicated this finding in a lab study with 257 participants who self-selected to one of three online wikis (Vegan Love, Nutrition, Meat & Fish) and individually as well as collaboratively wrote an encyclopedia-like article about "Diets." As expected, Wikis with a specific focus (Vegan Love, Meat & Fish) predominantly attracted authors with a positive attitude toward this focus and, as a consequence, resulted in more biased content than in the Nutrition Wiki. Overall, our results suggest that crowds alone do not guarantee wisdom-self-selection is a crucial process that needs to be taken into account.

Safety in Numbers

As we navigate the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and face ever more complex challenges to our experience of the public sphere, the phrase ‘safety in numbers’ entails increasingly contradictory connotations. What is the role of large public space gatherings in rebuilding confidence in our use of public space and what creative and logistical strategies may be used to this end? This article represents the first in a series of studies, exploring the work of internationally acclaimed public art production company, Artichoke. A “reverse-engineering” focus is applied here, as we revisit three seminal projects across Artichoke’s fifteen-year body of work: respectively, The Sultan’s Elephant (2006), Lumiere (2009-ongoing) and Processions (2018). While there is no “standard” Artichoke work, these projects share important commonalities in relation to the potential of ephemeral public art events to adapt and disrupt our perception of public spaces. Each project achieved considerable impact, with audience numbers reaching hundreds of thousands and even millions through media dissemination: in doing so, Artichoke’s work has not only pioneered new forms of large-scale spectacular and participatory events, but also played a significant role in shaping policies for public art commissioning and realisation. Drawing on archival data, as much as on a range of anecdotal experiences provided by audience testimonials and interviews with Helen Marriage, Artichoke’s Artistic Director and CEO, the article aims to evaluate learnings and strategies that have allowed this company’s approach to be resilient and innovative in relation to public engagement. The projects explored here were mostly realised long before our cities were shaped by the unprecedented restrictions caused by the pandemic; yet, they nonetheless all had to deal with substantial logistical and creative challenges, deriving from complex safety measures and an ever-changing urban and cultural landscape. Looking back is here intended as a means to think ahead, as we consider key traits in Artichoke’s work: in particular, its continued adaptability, its fluid negotiation between artist-led expertise and participation, and its unique aesthetic in temporarily disrupting our relationship with the ‘soft city’.

Weaving Privacy and Power

We investigate the privacy practices of labor organizers in the computing technology industry and explore the changes in these practices as a response to remote work. Our study is situated at the intersection of two pivotal shifts in workplace dynamics: (a) the increase in online workplace communications due to remote work, and (b) the resurgence of the labor movement and an increase in collective action in workplaces-especially in the tech industry, where this phenomenon has been dubbed the tech worker movement. The shift of work-related communications to online digital platforms in response to an increase in remote work is creating new opportunities for and risks to the privacy of workers. These risks are especially significant for organizers of collective action, with several well-publicized instances of retaliation against labor organizers by companies. Through a series of qualitative interviews with 29 tech workers involved in collective action, we investigate how labor organizers assess and mitigate risks to privacy while engaging in these actions. Among the most common risks that organizers experienced are retaliation from their employer, lateral worker conflict, emotional burnout, and the possibility of information about the collective effort leaking to management. Depending on the nature and source of the risk, organizers use a blend of digital security practices and community-based mechanisms. We find that digital security practices are more relevant when the threat comes from management, while community management and moderation are central to protecting organizers from lateral worker conflict. Since labor organizing is a collective rather than individual project, individual privacy and collective privacy are intertwined, sometimes in conflict and often mutually constitutive. Notions of privacy that solely center individuals are often incompatible with the needs of organizers, who noted that safety in numbers could only be achieved when workers presented a united front to management. Based on our interviews, we identify key topics for future research, such as the growing prevalence of surveillance software and the needs of international and gig worker organizers.We conclude with design recommendations that can help create safer, more secure and more private tools to better address the risks that organizers face.

Impact of food availability and predator cues on meadow vole response to social vs. non-social odorants

Abstract The risk of predation and food deprivation may alter the degree to which animals associate with conspecifics. We examined if food deprivation, the risk of predation, or simultaneous exposure to both altered meadow voles’ preference for odour cues in a way that adheres to the terminal investment, safety in numbers, or avoidance hypotheses. Satiated or food-deprived meadow voles were given the choice to investigate either opposite-sex conspecific bedding, same-sex conspecific bedding, clean bedding, or self-bedding when exposed to mink urine or olive oil. Mink urine and food deprivation did not impact the amount of time meadow voles spent with each type of bedding, but meadow voles did begin investigating more quickly when experiencing either or both stressors. However, food deprivation and mink urine did not have an additive impact on any measured variable. Further research is needed to determine if the terminal investment hypothesis is the hypothesis that best describes the mating behaviour of meadow voles facing one or multiple stressors.

Environment‐triggered demographic changes cascade and compound to propel a dramatic decline of an Antarctic seabird metapopulation

While seabirds are well-known for making a living under some of the harshest conditions on the planet, their capacity to buffer against unfavourable conditions can be stretched in response to ecosystem change. During population increases, overlap between conspecifics can limit population growth through competition for breeding or feeding resources. What is less well understood is the role that intrinsic processes play during periods of population decline or under a changing environment. We interrogate key demographic parameters and their biophysical drivers to understand the role of intrinsic and extrinsic drivers during a recent near halving of a large Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) metapopulation. The loss of 154,000 breeding birds along the 100-km East Antarctic coastline centred around 63°E over the last decade diverges from a sustained increase over preceding decades and is contrary to recent models that predict a continued increase. The decline was initially triggered by changed environmental conditions: more extensive near-shore sea ice caused a reduction in breeding success. The evidence suggests this decline was exacerbated by feedback processes driving an inverse density-dependent decrease in fledgling survival in response to smaller cohort size. It appears that the old adage of safety in numbers may shape the fledgling penguins' chances of survival and, if compromised over multiple years, could exacerbate difficulties during population decline or if feedback processes arise. The likely interplay between demographic parameters meant that conditions were more unfavourable and negative effects more rapid than would be expected if demographic processes acted in isolation or independently. Failure to capture both intrinsic and extrinsic drivers in predictive population models may mean that the real impacts of climate change on species' populations are more severe than projections would lead us to believe. These results improve our understanding of population regulation during periods of rapid decline for long-lived marine species.

Examining Pedestrian Crash Frequency, Severity, and Safety in Numbers Using Pedestrian Exposure from Utah Traffic Signal Data

Examining Pedestrian Crash Frequency, Severity, and Safety in Numbers Using Pedestrian Exposure from Utah Traffic Signal Data

Investigating Safety in Numbers in Cycling After the Entry of Dock-Based Bikeshare Programs in Three U.S. Cities

This paper investigates the safety in numbers effect in cycling by comparing monthly bicycle crash trends before and after public bikeshare’s launch in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA, from 2010 to 2019, and in Portland, OR, from 2014 to 2019. To estimate the bicycle crash trend in each city, the authors conduct time series analysis with a regression discontinuity design using generalized linear quasi-Poisson models. The entries of dock-based public bikeshare programs signal an increase in biking activity on the road and serve as the point of discontinuity in the analysis. For each city, the analysis models pre- and post-bikeshare bicycle crash trends inside and outside bikeshare program’s service area separately to compare crash trends at different biking activity levels within the same local context. Results show that before bikeshare, crash trends inside and outside service areas had similar patterns in Philadelphia and Portland while moving in opposite directions in Pittsburgh. The post-bikeshare crash trends differed across cities for both inside and outside of the service areas. The finding that bicycle crash trends changed in different patterns across the three cities indicates that there may be no single safety in numbers effect on bicycle crashes. The inconsistent patterns of bicycle crash trends within and across cities suggest confounding factors underlying the change in bicycle crashes.

Why we need a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty

Why we need a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty

Timescale reverses the relationship between host density and infection risk.

Host density shapes infection risk through two opposing phenomena. First, when infective stages are subdivided among multiple hosts, greater host densities decrease infection risk through 'safety in numbers'. Hosts, however, represent resources for parasites, and greater host availability also fuels parasite reproduction. Hence, host density increases infection risk through 'density-dependent transmission'. Theory proposes that these phenomena are not disparate outcomes but occur over different timescales. That is, higher host densities may reduce short-term infection risk, but because they support parasite reproduction, may increase long-term risk. We tested this theory in a zooplankton-disease system with laboratory experiments and field observations. Supporting theory, we found that negative density-risk relationships (safety in numbers) sometimes emerged over short timescales, but these relationships reversed to 'density-dependent transmission' within two generations. By allowing parasite numerical responses to play out, time can shift the consequences of host density, from reduced immediate risk to amplified future risk.

Group size affects predation risk and foraging success in Pacific salmon at sea.

Grouping is ubiquitous across animal taxa and environments. Safety in numbers is perhaps the most cited reason for grouping, yet this fundamental tenet of ecological theory has rarely been tested in wild populations. We analyzed a multidecadal dataset of Pacific salmon at sea and found that individuals in larger groups had lower predation risk; within groups of fish, size outliers (relatively small and large fish) had increased predation risk. For some species, grouping decreased foraging success, whereas for other species, grouping increased foraging success, indicating that safety competition trade-offs differed among species. These results indicate that survival and growth depend on group size; understanding the relationship between group size distributions and population size may be critical to unraveling ecology and population dynamics for marine fishes.