scholarly journals A data-driven approach for assessing biking safety in cities

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Daraei ◽  
Konstantinos Pelechrinis ◽  
Daniele Quercia

AbstractWith the focus that cities around the world have put on sustainable transportation during the past few years, biking has become one of the foci for local governments globally. Cities all over the world invest in biking infrastructure, including bike lanes, bike parking racks, shared (dockless) bike systems etc. However, one of the critical factors in converting city-dwellers to (regular) bike users/commuters is safety. In this work, we utilize bike accident data from different cities to model the biking safety based on street-level (geographical and infrastructural) features. Our evaluations indicate that our model provides well-calibrated probabilities that accurately capture the risk of a biking accident. We further perform cross-city comparisons in order to explore whether there are universal features that relate to cycling safety. Finally, we discuss and showcase how our model can be utilized to explore “what-if” scenarios and facilitate policy decision making.

2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 686-687
Author(s):  
William B. Quandt

At least since Ernest May's influential (1973) ‘Lessons’ of the Past, students of American foreign policy have been conscious of the powerful hold that some analogies seem to have on the minds of decision makers. All of us can think of “Munich” and “Vietnam” as shorthand for a whole series of judgments that we rely on to work through the maze of foreign policy calculus. In the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack in September 2001, we heard reference to “Pearl Harbor.” And we can now anticipate that “9-11” will take its place as a marker for a set of lessons concerning the struggle against terrorism.


2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adnan A. Hyder ◽  
Prasanthi Puvanachandra ◽  
Richard H. Morrow

Indicators that summarise the health status of a population and that provide comparable measures of a population disease burden are increasingly vital tools for health policy decision making. Decisions concerning health systems across the world are greatly affected by changes in disease profiles and population dynamics, and must develop the capacity to respond to such changes effectively within the resources of each nation. Decisions must be based on evidence of the patterns of diseases, their risk factors and the effectiveness of alternative interventions. This paper focuses on the main approaches used for developing summary measures that include mortality and morbidity occurring in a population. It discusses the rationale for composite measures and reviews the origins of each main approach. The paper also examines methodological differences among these approaches making explicit the value choices that each entails, outlines the advantages and limitations of each measure, and shows how they relate to one another.


1989 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Richard Friman

Decision making under conditions of crisis is an integral part of international relations. Yet in most introductory IR texts, crisis decision making consists of Graham Allison's models, the Cuban missile crisis, and updated examples, discussed in five pages or less. In supplementing such texts, instructors of international politics at the introductory level may find themselves skirting Scylla and Charybdis. In the cliffs lies the extensive simulation exercise requiring additional readings and valuable class time to establish the game. Ahead, lies the whirlpool of detailed historical case studies all vying for attention as the necessary cases for relating to the student experience.Over the past few semesters, I have sought to resolve this dilemma with a simple simulation exercise that integrates current events with the basics of decision making under crisis. The demands on class time are minimal. The simulation adds anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour to the regular classroom time spent on discussing foreign policy decision making. Instructor preparation merely requires a scan of reference materials and some creativity. The results, in terms of student interaction, awakening the shy student, and promoting learning instead of regurgitation of simple facts have all been extremely positive for classes as small as 25 students and as large as 65 students.


Author(s):  
Li Wengang ◽  
Chen Yulai ◽  
Guo Jia

Since the Reform and Opening up in the late 1970s, China has been seeking an innovation-driven knowledge society. In the past decade, the central government and local governments took effective measures to quicken China's steps towards a knowledge society. In the recent 18th National Congress of the CPC, reform and innovation was highly emphasized to give fresh impetus to knowledge society building. Within the context of increasing globalization and Africa-China long-lasting friendship and cooperation, China and African countries can learn from each other in knowledge society construction. As the second largest economy in the world, China is playing an increasing role in knowledge society construction in Africa. Can Africa learn from China's experiences? This chapter provides some answers to this query.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wullianallur Raghupathi ◽  
Viju Raghupathi

In this article, the authors use analytics to explore the association between economic growth and climate change at a country-level. They examine different indicators to better understand the macro issues and guide policy decision-making. The authors analyze global economic growth and climate change using the World Bank data of 131 countries and 16 indicators for the period 2005 to 2010. The analysis shows overall economic growth is positively associated with climate change. This implies country leaders should design and implement structured development plans if they are to promote economic growth to alleviate poverty while simultaneously mitigating climate change.


2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 183-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doug Burns

Abstract Since its inception in early 2000, Vanderbilt University's Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) Service has experienced a high level of success as measured by high proficiency rates and increasing patient procedures each year, low complication rates during and after PICC placements, and an increasing scope of influence within the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Children's Hospital, the surrounding community, and in the Southeastern United States. Primary drivers of the PICC Service's continuing success include consistent applications of technique and technology, a data-driven approach to assessing the program's progress, and appropriately managing customers' expectations and needs. Over the past five years, data were collected on more than 12,500 PICC placements performed in this specialized nursing program. Retrospective analyses of the data demonstrate an increasing rate of successful placements (from 87.2% to 92.4%) since the program's inception in 2000 to late 2004. Furthermore, the choice of PICC technology has had a significant impact on the odds for occlusion or infection. The Vanderbilt PICC Service provides a model by which other programs can be established, maintained, and expanded into advanced practice.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Malvina Ongaro

The Covid-19 pandemic has shaken the world. It has presented us with a series of new challenges, but the policy response may be difficult due to the severe uncertainty of our circumstances. While pressure to take timely action may push towards less inclusive decision procedures, in this paper I argue that precisely our current uncertainty provides reasons to include stakeholders in collective decision-making. Decision-making during the pandemic faces uncertainty that goes beyond the standard, probabilistic one of Bayesian decision theory. Agents may be uncertain not just about factual properties of the world, but also about how to model their decision problems and about the values of the possible consequences of their options. As different stakeholders may have irreconcilable disagreement about how to resolve these uncertainties, decision-making procedures should take everybody’s perspectives into account. Moreover, those communities that are hit harder by the pandemic are also those that are typically excluded from knowledge production. Thus, in the face of Covid-19 uncertainty, both democratic and epistemic considerations highlight the importance of stakeholders’ inclusion in policy decision-making.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 22-34
Author(s):  
Tabassom Sedighi

The Bayesian network (BN) method is one of the data-driven methods which have been successfully used to assist problem-solving in a wide range of disciplines including policy making, information technology, engineering, medicine, and more recently biology and ecology. BNs are particularly useful for diverse problems of varying size and complexity, where uncertainties are inherent in the system. BNs engage directly with subjective data in a transparent way and have become a state-of-the-art technology to support decision-making under uncertainty.


2015 ◽  
pp. 153-166
Author(s):  
Li Wengang ◽  
Chen Yulai ◽  
Guo Jia

Since the Reform and Opening up in the late 1970s, China has been seeking an innovation-driven knowledge society. In the past decade, the central government and local governments took effective measures to quicken China's steps towards a knowledge society. In the recent 18th National Congress of the CPC, reform and innovation was highly emphasized to give fresh impetus to knowledge society building. Within the context of increasing globalization and Africa-China long-lasting friendship and cooperation, China and African countries can learn from each other in knowledge society construction. As the second largest economy in the world, China is playing an increasing role in knowledge society construction in Africa. Can Africa learn from China's experiences? This chapter provides some answers to this query.


2017 ◽  
Vol 09 (02) ◽  
pp. 34-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shichen WANG

In the past three years, a trend towards the centralisation of decision-making power in Chinese foreign policy instituted by Xi Jinping has become more and more apparent. The driver of the shift in Chinese foreign policy is the reform of its decision-making system. The ‘reform’ not only refers to institution building but also includes change of the former procedures of foreign policy decisionmaking to create a more efficient decision-making system.


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