Regime-sanctioned oligarchs

No oligarchic system, similar to those in Ukraine or Russia, developed in Belarus after 1991, but the formation of a group of prominent regime-linked businessmen has accelerated in recent years. They owe their influence to informal concessions from the regime to do business in selected sectors of the economy. They often do not take over state property but act as intermediaries, earning a hefty commission for doing so. They also operate in the criminal sphere, primarily involving the large-scale smuggling of goods into Russia and the European Union. This article aims to show the evolution and specifics of big business in Belarus. The growing capital potential of big Belarusian businessmen, estimated at a dozen or so, and their rising influence on the economic decisions made by the authorities while maintaining total political loyalty, make it justified to call at least some of them oligarchs. The system emerging in Belarus bears certain similarities to some post-Soviet oligarchic systems while having its own distinctive features. The accumulated capital and contacts give at least some of the emerging Belarusian oligarchs a good starting position for taking a front seat in a possible future political transformation, should the conditions arise for that to begin.

The spectrum of body injuries of the driver and passenger in the case of a lethal traffic injury in a frontal collision in the interior of class E cars

The article discusses the state of examination of a lethal automobile injury to a driver and a passenger in a frontal collision in the passenger compartment of class E cars. Aim of the work. Investigate the injuries of the driver and passenger in the passenger compartment of an E class car and highlight the signs of being in the passenger compartment in the driver’s or passenger’s seat for practical use in forensic medical research. Materials and methods. The objects of the study were 179 «Acts of forensic medical examination of corpses» and «Conclusions of an expert» on road accidents accompanied by injury and death of people obtained from the archives of the Zhytomyr Regional Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination, accompanied by the death of persons inside car. The damage to the driver and passenger in a frontal collision in the passenger compartment of class E cars was carefully considered. A set of proven reliable methods was used in the work: anthropometric, morphometric, photographic, forensic, statistical analysis. Results. As a result of the registration of damages, the features inherent in damages received in the passenger compartment of an E-class car in a frontal collision were revealed. In particular: injuries to the soft tissues of the left leg prevailed among the front seat passengers, and not among the drivers, as is commonly believed; fractures of the bones of the lower extremities were found only in drivers; fractures of the bones of the right upper limb were observed only in front seat passengers; damage to the soft tissues of the left hand was characteristic only of drivers; the drivers had pelvic fractures on the right and left; the drivers had rib fractures on the left in combination with ruptures of the lungs on the side of the injury; the passengers had injuries to the ribs on the right, but no right-sided ruptures of the lungs were recorded. Conclusions. It has been established that the spectrum of damage to a driver and a passenger in a fatal car injury in a frontal collision in the passenger compartment of class E cars is characterized by a sufficient variety. Fractures of the right and left lower extremities and fractures of the thoracic spine are among the features that distinguished the driver from the passenger in a frontal collision in the passenger compartment of class E cars.

Symbolism in Hemingway’s The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

This paper analysed Ernest Hemingway’s The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber using New Criticism framework on symbolism. Comparisons of drinks, clothes, and colours paralleled the difference between Francis, a wealthy yet unconfident man, and Wilson, a man of masculinity. The next was the sitting positions of the characters in the car in which front seat symbolised authority and power whereas back seat inferiority and lack of confidence. Car symbolised protection, segregation, and power for Margot, whereas camp, and savannah foresaw Francis’ transformation from a wealthy person of comfort (camp) to a man of manly conviction signified with savannah offering wilderness. This transformation was also attributed to Francis’ overcoming obstacles symbolised with a lion and buffalos. Guns and rifles possessed by male characters indicated their dominance with Margot, the only female, practically left-out, except by the end of the story when she wielded a rifle shooting Francis dead.

Riding shotgun – Front-seat research and the socio-material considerations of ethnography on the move

In this article, we explore methodological considerations of using the car as space for ethnographic research on police work. With a socio-material perspective, we are concerned about how the car’s particular materiality and mobility shapes social interaction that takes place within it. We argue that this affects the researcher role, and that the researcher’s spatial position in the car affects the researcher role further. The position’s impact on interaction is made evident when the researcher is ‘riding shotgun’, rather than being placed in the back seat. We argue that this front-seat role comes with increased reciprocity towards the driver/officer, demanding a more (inter) active research practice. Hence, the riding shotgun position potentially increases the empirical input with the closer interaction between the researched and the researcher. More generally, the case illustrates the very delicate considerations of researcher positioning within ethnography on the move.

Using Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES) to examine injury in front vs. rear-seated infants and children involved in a motor vehicle crash in New York State

Background In New York State (NYS), motor vehicle (MV) injury to child passengers is a leading cause of hospitalization and emergency department (ED) visits in children aged 0–12 years. NYS laws require appropriate child restraints for ages 0–7 years and safety belts for ages 8 and up while traveling in a private passenger vehicle, but do not specify a seating position. Methods Factors associated with injury in front-seated (n = 11,212) compared to rear-seated (n = 93,092) passengers aged 0–12 years were examined by age groups 0–3, 4–7 and 8–12 years using the 2012–2014 NYS Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES). CODES consists of Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) crash reports linked to ED visits and hospitalizations. The front seat was row 1 and the rear rows 2–3. Vehicle towed from scene and air bag deployed were proxies for crash severity. Injury was dichotomized based on Maximum Abbreviated Injury Severity (MAIS) scores greater than zero. Multivariable logistic regression (odds ratios (OR) with 95% CI) was used to examine factors predictive of injury for the total population and for each age group. Results Front-seated children had more frequent injury than those rear-seated (8.46% vs. 4.92%, p < 0.0001). Children in child restraints experienced fewer medically-treated injuries compared to seat belted or unrestrained children (3.80, 6.50 and 13.62%, p < 0.0001 respectively). A higher proportion of children traveling with an unrestrained vs. restrained driver experienced injury (14.50% vs 5.26%, p < 0.0001). After controlling for crash severity, multivariable adjusted predictors of injury for children aged 0–12 years included riding in the front seat (1.20, 1.10–1.31), being unrestrained vs. child restraint (2.13, 1.73–2.62), being restrained in a seat belt vs. child restraint (1.20, 1.11–1.31), and traveling in a car vs. other vehicle type (1.21, 1.14–1.28). Similarly, protective factors included traveling with a restrained driver (0.61, 0.50–0.75), a driver aged < 25 years (0.91, 0.82–0.99), being an occupant of a later vehicle model year 2005–2008 (0.68, 0.53–0.89) or 2009–2015 (0.55, 0.42–0.71) compared to older model years (1970–1993). Conclusions Compared to front-seated children, rear-seated children and children in age-appropriate restraints had lower adjusted odds of medically-treated injury.

Convolutional Neural Network-Based In-Vehicle Occupant Detection and Classification Method using Second Strategic Highway Research Program Cabin Images

This paper describes an approach for automatic detection and localization of drivers and passengers in automobiles using in-cabin images. We used a convolutional neural network (CNN) framework and conducted experiments based on the Faster R-CNN and Cascade R-CNN detectors. Training and evaluation were performed using the Second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) naturalistic dataset. In SHRP 2, the cabin images have been blurred to maintain privacy. After detecting occupants inside the vehicle, the system classifies each occupant as driver, front-seat passenger, or back-seat passenger. For one SHRP 2 test set, the system detected occupants with an accuracy of 94.5%. Those occupants were correctly classified as front-seat passenger with an accuracy of 97.3%, as driver with 99.5% accuracy, and as back-seat passenger with 94.3% accuracy. The system performed slightly better for daytime images than for nighttime images. Unlike previous work, this method is capable of presence classification and location prediction of occupants. By fine-tuning the object detection model, there is also significant improvement in detection accuracy as compared with pretrained models. The study also provides a fully annotated dataset of in-cabin images. This work is expected to facilitate research involving interactions between drivers and passengers, particularly related to driver attention and safety.

Examining Correlation and Trends in Seatbelt Use among Occupants of the Same Vehicle using a Bivariate Probit Model

Research has consistently demonstrated that seatbelt use is critically important in reducing the likelihood of fatal and serious injuries resulting from traffic crashes. However, after years of nationwide increases in seatbelt use, these rates have largely plateaued, motivating the need for research to better understand those circumstances under which seatbelt use remains relatively low. At an aggregate level, research has shown that occupants in the same vehicle tend to exhibit correlation in seatbelt use or non-use. This suggests that social dynamics may play a role in occupants’ decisions as to whether or not to wear a seatbelt. To that end, this study examines trends in seatbelt use among pairs of drivers and front-seat passengers using data from direct observation roadside surveys. Bivariate probit models are estimated to examine the relationship between seatbelt use and various demographic, vehicle, and site-specific factors. The bivariate framework is also able to account for correlation among important unobserved factors associated with seatbelt use. The results show significantly better fit as compared with independent univariate probit models. The results also suggest both direct and indirect relationships between seatbelt use and various demographic, vehicle, and site characteristics. Seatbelt use rates are found to vary based on occupants’ age, gender, and race. Furthermore, seatbelt use by both the driver and front-seat passenger is also shown to vary based on the other occupant’s age. Heterogeneity is also shown across various geographic regions and roadway functional classes.